Drink Deep (Chicagoland Vampires 5)

"You're thinking Tate is in play?" Luc asked.

"I think, at a minimum, he knows what's going on." I told them about the old magic Claudia had mentioned and the scents of lemon and sugar that Catcher hadn't been convinced were meaningful.

But that didn't seem to faze Malik. "You stand Sentinel of this House for a reason, Merit. He trusted you. I trust you.

Luc trusts you. Your instincts are good. Fol ow them where they lead, and we wil support you whatever the result."

He may have taken the reigns of the House in regrettable circumstances, but there was no doubt he was a Master.

The second verse of getting to Tate was pretty much the same as the first, except for the part about careful y skirting the men with large guns who stood in front of the House.

I drove toward the lake and met Catcher at the factory gate. He looked exhausted, and I wasn't sure if the problems in the city or his sorceress were responsible for the bloodshot eyes.

"I hear McKetrick's back on the street."

"I heard the broadcast," he grumbled. "We didn't have a secure facility for interrogation. We cal ed Jacobs, who hauled him in. He questioned him through the night, let us sit in." That explained the exhaustion, I thought. "At least until the mayor cal ed and Jacobs had to let him go. I assume he trotted down to her office and they concocted the story."

"Did you get anything out of him?"

"Not much - but I'm not sure he has much to hide.

McKetrick's pretty clear about his position on vampires.

Genocide's a harsh word, but I wouldn't put it past him."

"Let's hope Kowalczyk is smart enough not to buy in. I don't suppose he gave up the location of his facility?"

"He did not. But he did give up his fingerprints and a little DNA, and we got another set from the gun you brought in.

That gives us something to work with if he starts making trouble."

"I suppose that's something," I conceded, but wondered if that data had been worth the risk. McKetrick was going to be pissed, and the episode was only going to tie McKetrick and Kowalczyk closer together. She'd rescued him, and that wasn't going to be something either one of them forgot.

He pul ed to a stop in front of the building, and I realized uniformed CPD guards, not fairies, were guarding it.

"This is a bad idea," I quietly said, surveying the officers, who al looked like rookies just out of training - and undoubtedly had no defenses against whatever magic Tate wielded.

"They're the reason we were able to get in at al ," Catcher said. "Chuck served with one of their grandfathers, and he cal ed in a favor. The boys in blue are loyal to each other."

"Maybe so," I said. "But these kids are no match for Tate.

He was able to manipulate Celina, and she's as stubborn and resilient as they come."

"There's no other choice," he said. "Chuck had to fight to keep Tate separated from the rest of the prison population.

To tel you the truth, I'm not sure if it's better or worse that Tate's no longer mayor. He started off strong enough - opened the Ombud's office. He was a real supporter of Chuck."

"Until he started manufacturing drugs and attempting to control vampires?"

"There is that," Catcher agreed. "I'm not saying those were good deeds. I just think they're anomalies in the bigger scheme of Tate."

I didn't disagree the change was odd, but I thought it revealed true colors Tate hadn't been able to hide any longer. "Scheme," I thought, was the key word.

I hopped out of the cart, offered up my weapons, then glanced back at Catcher. "You're staying here?"

He'd already pul ed out a book and was flipping through the pages. "Right here waiting, just like the song. I'm scanning the Ordernin>

Given his obvious exhaustion and tireless efforts, I managed not to make a juvenile joke about the "annals" of an organization with the acronym U-ASS.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable."

"We'l see," he grumbled in response, but he was already scanning the pages.

I headed for the door. The kid in uniform offered me a salute, then opened the door to the building. A second uniform stood point at the steel door that led into the office.

"Ma'am. Be careful in there," he said, and when I assured him I would, opened the door and let me inside.

It immediately slammed shut behind me.

I jumped a little, which wasn't exactly the brave facade I'd hoped to put on for this meeting.

"I don't bite, Bal erina," Tate cannily said. In his orange jumpsuit, he was seated at the aluminum table again. Since he clearly wasn't going to use my name, I didn't bother to correct him. I'd also already decided it was useless to play games with a liar, so I sat down across from him and got down to business.

"Are you the one manipulating the city right now?"

He looked back at me, head slightly tilted, his expression inscrutable. "I don't know what you're talking about."

His tone was equal y opaque. I couldn't tel if he was being sarcastic or if he was truly surprised by the question.

I decided there was no point in not putting al my cards on the table - not when the city was at stake.

"The lake went dead. The sky turned red. I understand we're seeing elemental magic, symptoms that are popping up because the city is unbalanced. We've seen water and air so far. Fire and earth could be next."

"And?"

I paused, picking a tone to offer up my theory. I opted for Ethan's "Slyer Than Thou" voice. "It's the strangest thing, Tate. Whenever I'm in your presence, I smel lemon and sugar - like cookies baking."

His expression stayed flat, but his pupils had narrowed just a smidge. I was on to something.

"Yesterday, while the sky was red, it rained. And I smel ed the same thing." I linked my hands together on the table, and leaned forward. "I know you're doing this. And you're going to tel me how to stop it, or we're going to go a round. Right here. Right now."

Okay, I might have gone a bit overboard on the last bit, and not just because I had no weapons and wasn't entirely sure what he could do. But Tate ignored the bravado.

"If I am the maker of these events, how, exactly did I arrange them from my humble abode?"

"I hadn't exactly gotten to that part."

He made a sound of disdain. "You hadn't gotten to any part. You could hardly be more wrong, and that bodes as poorly for the city as anything else. It is not in my nature to produce that kind of magic."

"What are you?" I asked him.

"If this magic isn't mine, why does it matter?"