~ Sylas ~

"Relax. I'm not here for trouble."

Aurelio circles the table and stands behind the young man we thought we'd come to meet.

"You may go now, Brady," he says.

The youth pushes out his chair, rises, and begins to walk away, then stops and look around as if suddenly realizing where he is. From the look of dawning confusion and alarm on his face, it seems he had not been a conscious participant in Aurelio's plot.

"You know it's illegal to Spell mundanes without their consent, right?" Jaxon asks, as Aurelio settles himself in the vacated seat. He sounds surprisingly calm.

Aurelio lifts one shoulder in a half shrug. "I have larger concerns, and there's no harm done. If anything, 'Brady' will be more careful about accepting drugs from strangers, in the future. Perhaps he'll even be better off for it."

Jaxon says nothing, and his face is unreadable, but I know his mind must be racing as fast as my heart. Had Nic known? Were we betrayed, or—

Aurelio leans back in his chair and sighs. "I said relax. If I wanted you caught, you'd be in cuffs by now. I'm alone, and I'm only here to talk."

Jaxon remains entirely still, outwardly calm but tense as a coiled spring, dangerous as an animal deciding whether to attack or bolt. Then, almost imperceptibly, he relaxes just enough that I can breathe again.

"Thank you." Aurelio inclines his head as if they've just come to some unspoken agreement. "I appreciate you giving me a chance. I know I've given you little enough reason to trust me. I doubt I would trust me, in your place."

"You're not exactly helping your case," Jaxon says.

Aurelio smiles – or gets the closest to smiling as I've seen yet: his eyelids lower slightly, and the corners of his mouth lift just enough to qualify.

"'Not helping my case,'" he repeats. "Now there's something I've been hearing a lot of, lately. I think that you and my lawyers would get along well."

"Only if they think you're as guilty as I do," Jaxon replies.

"Oh, they do." Aurelio nods. "I'm 'out on my own recognizance,' at the moment, but everyone knows I'll be convicted.

"You don't sound concerned."

Aurelio lifts a brow. "A lot can happen between now and then."

He looks a lot like Jaxon, I realize – like a slightly older, smoother, colder version of the man I love. His face has the same sharp angles, though his features are a little more refined, and his build is similar, though Jaxon has more muscle and less height. Even their expressions are almost mirror images. The difference is that Jaxon's is a mask, hiding depths of emotion I've only just begun to fathom, while Aurelio's is an accurate representation of his feelings — or lack thereof.

"So? What do you want from me?" Jaxon asks. "And whatever it is, leave Sylas out of it. He's got nothing to do with this."

Aurelio shifts his reptilian gaze to me, and I barely suppress a shiver. It's like there's nothing behind his eyes but the cold darkness of deep space.

"He has some say in the matter, does he not?" he asks. "What concerns you, concerns him, I imagine."

Grudgingly, I award him a point.

Jaxon glowers. "Fine. You got five minutes. Talk."

Drawing a long breath through his nose, Aurelio looks back at his brother. "Very well. Here's the situation. Whatever else you think I may be guilty of, on the charges of dealing in stolen artifacts, assassinating Crafters for their Signs, and harvesting Relics of their power, I am innocent. We both know that was mother's game, and I was as ignorant of it as were you. Believe me if you will, or not, it hardly matters."

He waves a hand.

"We may also agree on the fact I'm being framed, and that our younger brother is at least partly responsible for that."

"Do you have proof?" Jaxon asks.

"Enough," Aurelio says. "In truth, I could have the charges dismissed, if I wish. The Synod has asked that I forebear, for the time being."

"The Synod?" I ask. I've never paid much attention to Crafter politics, but I know the Synod is a council of thirteen, and that they govern Crafter policy and practice in the city.

Aurelio turns my way again, and I flinch, but to my surprise he answers me in a mild, almost patient tone.

"Yes. Despite what my brother may have told you, Mr. Lovecraft, I prefer to work within the system. Or rather, to make the system work for me. The Synod have been watching the situation with Marcus unfold, and have grown...concerned. They're aware that he is merely the visible part of a greater, unseen threat. He is as the angler fish's lure – purposefully bright, while the true danger remains hidden in the dark. He's within reach and could be brought down with ease; but that, we fear, would be too much like taking the bait."

Jaxon shifts in his seat. He still radiates tension, on full alert, ready to bolt at the first sign of a trap. I don't know Aurelio nearly so well as he does, but for the moment, I'm inclined to take him at his word. He seems like the sort of man with no patience for wasted time, and like he said – if he wanted us caught, we'd be caught by now.

"So what?" Jaxon asks. "You want me to poke around in the dark? Shine light on things?"

"Not quite." Aurelio's cold ghost of a smile returns. "I don't know if you've heard, but there are wedding bells in the air."

I swallow the lump of ice that forms in my throat, and feel it slither down to settle like a lead weight on my heart. "So, it's true, then," I say.

He nods once. "Indeed. Set for the end of summer, I think."

"Is she...?" I don't even know what I mean to ask, and Aurelio's brows raise the tiniest fraction.

"I hardly know," he says, answering whatever my question might have been. "I've had little contact with Marcus since the night our mother died. But from what I've seen, your sister is...not unhappy, Mr. Lovecraft."

I don't know whether to be relieved or depressed by this, so I just sigh. As usual, whatever's going on is above my pay grade and out of my control, and there's very little I can do about it.

"Your five minutes is up, Rel," Jaxon says tersely. "Either spit it out, or we're gone. Stop us if you can."

If Aurelio hears the threat in Jaxon's voice, he ignores it. "It's been four minutes," he says. "I've still got one."

"My advice? Use it well," Jaxon growls.

Infuriatingly, Aurelio lets at least ten seconds tick by in increasingly tense silence. I decide that Jaxon's family is not good for my blood pressure.

"You're not the only one with ears to the ground, Jaxon," Aurelio says at last. "Marcus is after something. A legendary 'book of shadows' – the Devil's Song. It's rumored to contain the spell Griffin used to seal the magic of his lover's soul within his own Sign, and — possibly — even the secrets of the origins of their bond as Ink and Quill. If Marcus finds it..." He turns his cold gaze on me. "I imagine your sister may not have long to enjoy the...'bliss' of matrimony."

Jaxon reaches over beneath the table and rests his hand on my thigh, offering whatever reassurance he can in a touch.

"On the other hand," Aurelio continues, "if we find it first, with your skill at Spellbreaking, Mr. Lovecraft..." He shrugs. "Well, perhaps our families might disentangle our lines for good."

"Okay, so what? You want me to track it down?" Jaxon asks.

"In part, yes," Aurelio says. "The Synod traced it here, of all places – Harbor City College. Only... that's where the trail goes cold. We've reason to believe it's still here – somewhere – but, politically, it's...a delicate subject. We can't just approach the Deans and ask if they happen to have an evil book of spells lying around, and, by the way, could we have it, please."

"So tell us what the fuck you want," Jaxon snaps.

Aurelio pushes his chair back and stands. "I want you to do what you do best, Jaxon. Walk between worlds. Crafter,  Gifted, Mundane – this threat spans all. Between the two of you—" He nods at me. "—I think you've got the ideal skillset. We want you to infiltrate this place – discover everything there is to know. I – we – will provide whatever support and credentials you need. The rest will be up to you."

"And the end game?" Jaxon asks.

Aurelio's voice turns hard. "The 'end game' is Marcus exposed and punished, my place as heir restored, your good name cleared of all wrongdoing, and...the Lovecrafts, free of the Spellwrights forever. Interested?"

Jaxon looks at me, his expression guarded and unreadable. I nod, very slightly.

If we have a chance at all of that, for Lyssa's sake, I have to take it.

Oddly, Jaxon draws a sharp breath, as though in sudden pain, and shuts his eyes. When he opens them again, he looks only at Aurelio.

"Fine," he says. "Just tell us what to do."