The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima Read Free Book Online Page B

line—that Thorn Hill was a terrorist camp, and the massacre was some kind of an accident,” Jonah said. “Now they’re looking for some of that terrorist expertise. To fight back against Madison Moss, they claim.”
    “Who’s Madison Moss?” Thérèse asked.
    Jonah stared down at his hands, biting his lip to keep from speaking his mind. We should know this stuff, he thought. We’re Gabriel’s key operatives. We have to navigate this world whether we like it or not.
    “She’s the young lady who holds the Dragonheart,” Gabriel said. “The source of power for Weir magic. It gives her the ability to cut off the spigot of power. It’s completely changed the relationships among the mainline guilds.”
    “In other words, it’s reduced the power of wizards,” Jonah said. “And they don’t like that. Amazing she’s survived Sthis long.”
    “The good news is, I don’t think Ms. Moss wants to control anybody,” Gabriel said. “She is, shall we say, a reluctant despot. On the other hand, Rowan DeVries is on the Interguild Council.”
    “So the person who murdered Jeanette is on the council?” Mike snorted. “These are the good guys?”
    Try and find a good wizard, Jonah thought. Betcha can’t.
    Jonah finished relaying what he’d seen and heard in the mansion on the Thames. “Even in private, Longbranch, DeVries, and the others kept to the script, claiming that the massacre was something we did to ourselves.”
    “I’m sure some wizards actually believe that,” Gabriel murmured.
    “But if the Black Rose engineered it, and Rowan’s father, Andrew DeVries, was in charge—” Jonah began.
    “Rowan DeVries was just a little older than you when Thorn Hill happened,” Gabriel said. “Frankly, it’s unlikely that the wizards who kidnapped Jeanette were involved in the Thorn Hill disaster.”
    Here we go again, Jonah thought. Gabriel will diffuse blame and keep us from going after the real villains.
    “They mentioned the Anchorage,” Jonah said. “But they didn’t seem to think we were much of a threat, and didn’t want to tangle with you.”
    “Good,” Gabriel muttered. “At least they’re not blaming us.”
    “Well, not yet,” Jonah said. “But that could change. Now they’re finding clues with the mainliner dead: nightshade flowers, scattered over the bodies.”
    “Nightshade!” Gabriel levered out of his chair and stalked to the window as six slayers reflexively grabbed for their amulets. “My God.”
    “So someone is trying to blame it on us,” Mike said.
    “Who would do that?”
    “I don’t know,” Gabriel said, staring out through the glass. “Did the wizards connect that to us? Or mention any other clues around the bodies?”
    “No,” Jonah said. Nightshade was hiding in plain sight, just an hour away from mainliner headquarters at Trinity.
    Most mainliners had heard of the Anchorage, of course, but they didn’t know anything about the existence of Nightshade and its targets.
    I wish we didn’t know, Jonah thought, fingering his sefa.
    I wish we could just throw away these amulets and pretend that shades don’t exist.
    “How did they find Jeanette?” Gabriel asked, in a low, tight voice. “Do you know?”
    All of a sudden Gabriel cares, Jonah thought. When it seems like the Anchorage might be a target. “If they talked about it, it was before I arrived. But it couldn’t have been too hard. It’s not like she was hiding.”
    “Did you leave any witnesses? Anyone who could identify you?”
    “No. Longbranch and Wylie are dead. DeVries left before I came out of cover.” Jonah paused, then plunged on. “I should have riffed him, too.”
    Gabriel spun away from the window, visibly agitated.
    “That’s the last thing we need right now,” he snapped.
    “What are you afraid of, Gabriel?” Jonah demanded.
    “First, wizards tried to murder us. Now they pretend that it was our fault. The other mainliners treat us like—like— we Sshould be going after them