"The ritual involves invoking aleph mem tav, but it cannot be undone or erased. He's in no danger from that."
"Meaning there are other dangers."
"There are always other dangers, Nava." Her statement reminded me of something Rohan would say. To wipe away the bitter taste in my mouth, I took another bite, still determined not to fall on the cake like an animal.
"Does Rabbi Abrams know the details of this ritual?"
"No. Few do."
Taking another careful look around the restaurant, she pulled something out of her purse. She pressed it into my hand, closing my fingers around it. Paper crinkled over a hard center. She shook her head at me when I turned my hand up to examine what I'd been given.
I casually tucked the small package into my pocket.
Dr. Gelman buttered her toast. She kept a pleasant smile on her face, as if we were chatting about nothing of consequence, but her voice was low and insistent. "Why do you think you can't take your Rasha ring off?"
I caved, needing another bite. "It's part of the magic."
She salted her eggs. "More than that. It's a covenant between Rasha and Brotherhood that the hunter dedicates their life to the cause. The symbol of their willing servitude."
"It sounds like handcuffs." I frowned, tugging on my ring. "No one told me that."
"It wouldn't have mattered if they did. You're not given a choice. The Brotherhood is all about power wrapped up in a cause. The most dangerous sort of fanaticism with very lucrative rewards. They are determined to control every aspect. That's why your existence upsets them so much."
"Not everyone hates me." I felt compelled to defend them. "Some of the Rasha would fight to protect me. Rabbi Abrams is on my side, too." I hoped.
"He is. The fact he sent you to me proves it."
"How so?"
"He hasn't told the Brotherhood about Ari's confirmed status yet, has he?" she said.
"No. And I'd wondered about that." Ari had told me that Rabbi Abrams wanted his status kept under wraps until he figured out why re-running the ceremony hadn't worked. "How did you know?"
Dr. Gelman took a pill case out of her bag, dumped a tiny white tablet into her hand and dry swallowed it. "The Brotherhood could induct Ari, but with their way your magic would be nullified."
"Oh." I dragged my finger through some ganache. "A month ago, I would have been first in line for that option." Save Ari, ditch Nava. I wasn't shocked, though it still was kind of sucky to hear it spoken aloud. I shrugged and licked the chocolate off.
"Your existence has upset the order they've worked centuries to create." She scooped up some omelet. "If my ritual works, the Brotherhood can never know. They must believe that Rabbi Abrams performed the regular ceremony again. That he'd made a mistake with the ritual the previous time. These ceremonies require precision and other factors can interfere with magic. If, for example, your brother was feeling extreme emotion."
"Massive. He was also hammered."
"Perfect. Now, if they know you possess a means of inducting a Rasha without them sanctioning it?"
"We could check for other descendants that the Brotherhood didn't think to."
"Sheket." Dr. Gelman gripped my hand. "You're not listening. They will kill you. Kill Ari."
My fork tumbled to my plate. I dragged my sweaty palms along my skirt. My vision tunneled, the room spinning out impossibly long and distorted. Sound blurred.
I looked down at my fingers clenched in my lap, staring at the crease of my knuckles, the slight bend in my pinky finger, and the tiny patch of dry skin at the base of my thumb. Imagining them bloodied and lifeless on the cold hard ground.
"What if they already know?" I whispered.
"If you bought the supplies and made it here alive then they don't know. You've gone this far. Rabbi Abrams understands the danger and the fact he sent you to me means he's willing to hide the truth. There's no reason not to proceed. Have you told anyone else?"
I shook my head, then stopped. I'd told Rohan.
Her face fell. "Can this person be trusted?"
In this? "I have no doubt."
Dr. Gelman finished her breakfast, but I pushed the dessert around on my plate, appetite gone. She awkwardly patted my hand. "At least you're going to make them work to take you down."
She insisted on paying for breakfast. I slowly descended the stairs with her. I didn't try to help, she was too proud for that, but I did stay close in case she needed me. We got to the bottom without incident.
She promised to give me the step-by-step instructions necessary for the induction ritual after she checked one last detail, though she refused to call or email me, since all my communication might be monitored. Fair enough since my phone had been given to me by the Brotherhood, and my laptop encrypted by them.