“All I know is what Brom told me. He saw a vision of mass death because of something affecting the Deus Vis and knew it was connected to a project your father was working on. Justin was secretive about the project, but it appears that Brom’s warning was a wake-up call. Days later, Justin sabotaged his work and went on the run. For that, he was executed.”
Ruby swallowed hard. “Why kill my mother? She wasn’t involved in any project.”
Looking back, Cyn now saw a Dragon fighting to protect her young rather than a villain. The memory stabbed him harder than any of her fiery spikes ever could.
Ruby pointed to herself. “And they wanted me dead. Me, a kid!”
“The assassin was probably ordered to take out everyone on the boat so there would be no witnesses.”
“Who gave the order?”
Cyn’s chest tightened. He had to be careful. There were things she couldn’t know yet. She would hate him, would never work with him. He wanted to tell her as much of the truth as he could, though, so she would understand.
“It came through the Guard.”
“What kind of police agency has assassins?”
“Our government and police force are primarily in place to keep the balance between the different classes of Crescents and to enforce Rule Number One.”
“Mon mentioned that, and so did Leo. What is it?”
Cyn leaned against the wall. “Never reveal your magick. If the Crescent is found to have revealed the Hidden out of recklessness, he or she is terminated. If it was an accident, and the Mundane can’t be memory wiped, he dies.”
“So the Guard goes around killing people?”
“Not always. Generally they act in a right and just way.”
Ruby’s expression crumpled, creating a dimple at her cheek. “How is killing a child just?”
“That’s obviously what the assassin thought.”
“He was someone you worked with, wasn’t he? I want his name, damn it.”
“His name is not important. He was doing his job, nothing more. If he’d refused, someone else would have done it. Someone ruthless enough to complete the task.”
She rubbed her fingers across her mouth, deep in thought. “I guess I should be thankful that he wasn’t completely ruthless. Still, he killed an innocent woman. Maybe an innocent man. I want to know who he is, to have a face and name to focus my hatred on.”
“You’ll have your chance to confront him. But now we focus on you.” He would tell her, when the time was right. Let her vent, gouge his eyes out, whatever she needed to do. Maybe it would make him feel better, too. But not before he trained her.
She stepped closer, her gaze on his. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
“All right.” She pressed her fingers together, a dangerous glint in her eyes. The same glint he’d seen when she held the tip of the letter opener to his chest.
Something about her fire ran through him like a flame across a thread. He had felt nothing in decades. You can’t afford to feel something for this girl.
His cell phone rang from its place inside the cabinet. His first thought was Glesenda, but he didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello,” he answered, unwilling to give out any more information until he knew who was on the line.
“Cyntag, it’s Peter Fernandez,” the familiar voice said. A voice he hadn’t heard in probably twelve years, the last time his mentor and former boss had tried to get him to return to the Guard. “Can you talk freely?”
Cyn glanced at Ruby, who stood near the line of candles running her fingers across her tattoo. “Half moon.” How easily the code words came back.
“Understood. I’m giving you information at great risk. The mission that caused you to resign.”
Cyn’s whole body stiffened. “Yes?”
“The man who issued the assignment came in this morning.”
“Name?” His voice gave away his tension, making Ruby glance up.
“Smith. He inquired about the officer who carried out the hit, if I was sure he had, indeed, carried it out. I assured him that he had but would not give out his name. He mind-probed me and said the first name of the Vega officer. Correctly.”
“I see.”
“Did the officer carry out the entire task?”
Ruby now stood before him with curiosity in her hazel eyes. No doubt piqued by his terse responses and the fact that they gave away nothing. “As far as you know.”
Fernandez cleared his throat. “That’s what I was afraid of. We should talk.”
“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that.” Another call beeped in. Glesenda. “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ve got to take this call.”