Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

“But?”

“But I wish I could help him, especially since it was my fault that he was captured.”

Chapter Sixteen

Giovanni Sinclair walked past his adopted father’s assistant and knocked on the door. A muffled reply bid him to enter.

His father had requested his presence, and when James Sinclair called, you came. Those who disobeyed him were ruined. Sometimes they even disappeared. Or so went the rumors.

His classmates had always given him a wide berth because of the rumors about his father, seldom inviting him out to the pub or to play sports, but over the years, Gio had learned to accept it. Few knew the truth of his father’s hard work and sacrifice to ensure that all Feiru had the same rights and opportunities as humans. Only in the last few years had his father’s quest to repeal Article I started to gain traction.

Gio himself believed in the importance of changing the antiquated Feiru law, but despite his best efforts to prove he could be an asset to his father’s work, Sinclair had never tapped him to help in his plans. Sinclair rarely visited London, and Gio saw him even less. Not even his undergraduate work at Oxford or his recent acceptance into the law program at University College London had been enough to attract his father’s attention.

Which made today’s call to meet all the more mysterious.

Stepping inside his father’s office, Gio kept his face blank, aware that his father saw emotion as a weakness. “You wanted to see me?”

James Sinclair nodded. “Yes, son, take a seat.”

Gio settled into the large cushioned chair in front of his father’s desk and Sinclair got right to the point. “Over the last few years, I’ve allowed you to dabble in university and the law, but you need to put all of that on hiatus. I have other plans for you.”

He kept his face impassive, not wanting to get his hopes up. “What kind of plans?”

“We’ll get to that in a minute.” Sinclair leaned back in his chair. “First, tell me what you know of my work.”

Gio suspected that this was some kind of test, but while some would opt to brown-nose, Gio knew his father appreciated honesty. “You support the repeal of Article I and wish to contain all elemental abilities. I know you’re using politics to achieve the first aim, but I’m not entirely certain how you plan to reach the second.”

Sinclair nodded. “And how do you feel about those aims?”

After he finished his schooling, Gio wanted to become a member of Parliament. As things stood now, two things prevented that: Article I and first-born abilities. “I would do anything I could to repeal Article I. You know I want to be an MP, but that’s impossible until the law changes.”

Sinclair nodded. “And what about the first-borns? What do you think should be done with them?”

He shrugged his shoulder. “As long as they’re treated well inside the AMT compounds, I care little what else happens to them.”

“What if there was a way to erase their elemental abilities? Would you think it ethical to make the treatment mandatory, without exception?”

Gio blinked. “Does such a treatment exist?”

“Answer my question.”

Gio didn’t like giving an answer without all the facts, but he knew that if he refused to answer, his father might dismiss him and he would lose his chance.

Still, if there was one thing he’d learned from his father, it was how to give an answer without committing to anything specific. “If all Feiru were free of elemental abilities, then the reasons for keeping Article I become null and void. Who wouldn’t benefit from that, especially in the case of first-borns? Not only could they re-enter society, but the High Council could close most, if not all, of the AMT compounds and save tremendous amounts of money.”

His father nodded. “Exactly.” Sinclair leaned forward, riffled through some papers until he found the right folder, and slid it across the desk. “Now, what I’m about to tell you can’t be discussed outside of these walls, except to a pre-approved circle of people. Do you understand?”

Hope flitted inside Gio’s chest. His father was finally going to trust him.

Gio nodded and his father continued. “There’s a formula about to go into produc

tion that plays with a Feiru’s genetics, and it erases their ability to feel and direct elemental energy.”

He couldn’t stop from asking his question. “How long has this been available?”

“It was only proved successful very recently. However, the key person we need to finish the replication process, a patient that’s been undergoing treatment, has escaped—and I need you to find her.”

While he wanted to immediately jump at the chance to include himself, Gio knew there were others more qualified for the job. “Why me?”