Accidental Surrogate

Sinclair

I growl down at the man before me, who is younger than I thought he would be, for one with

such power. He has thick black hair and a day’s worth of stubble on his thin cheeks. The man

glares up at me with dark, angry eyes and opens his mouth to speak but before he can, I slap him

– hard with an open palm.

–

The man gasps with surprise and pain, his eyes going wide as he stares down at the floor, and I

smirk. I doubt this man has been slapped anytime recently, if ever. He has the smug look of

someone used to being in charge.

But he’s in my house now.

“You’ll speak when we tell you to speak,” I growl, and then I turn to the head of my

–

reconnaissance team, who is standing against the wall, his hands on his knees, panting a little.

Craig isn’t a small man to see him so undone by the efforts suggests that this diminutive priest

is, indeed, powerful in other ways.

“How did you catch him?” I snap. Craig looks up at me and does his best to straighten up.

“We followed the leads, sir,” he replies, looking me in the eyes, “that we gleaned from the

conversation with the other priest, who wished to remain anonymous. They were…fruitful. We

found this one’s lair, for lack of a better word. It was actually in a sewer -in an abandoned

maintenance room. He was living there doing…” Craig hesitates and then shrugs. “Forgive me, Sir,

for the dramatic language, but ‘arcane magics‘ are the only words coming to my mind now. Lizard

skins…and and snail shells, in jars – he had a cauldron –”

“Thank you,” I say, interrupting and nodding towards the head of my investigative team. “You.

will give your details to Alastair, as soon as you can. For now, though I want everyone here for

the interrogation.” I lean forward towards the priest, who watches me with wary eyes and a

clenched jaw.

continue, lowering my voice and

need be.”

then, by baring his teeth at me in a little snarl.

at him, which makes him faulter. And then

tensed, ready to rip this man’s head off. Roger

looks down

are. And what your people want with my brother’s child.”

a too–wide expression that shows all of his teeth. “No,”

his voice now. Roger stares at him blandly for a moment

reconnaissance team standing behind the priest who whips forward

places it swiftly against the priest’s

priest’s body, making him shriek and twist in

pulls it away quickly. The priest goes a little slack

leg of the chair to get the priest’s attention. “What do

with

looks up at Roger again and just huffs a short, humorless

priest says, shaking his head and holding his gaze.

growing on his face. “You

then he starts to laugh – really, truly laugh, as

upstairs –

my heart stops as I recognize it, instantly, as

Ella

tense, in my rocking chair by Rafe’s basinet, one hand on

is – shushing him quietly as

–

at

little bird – maybe a

a black–masked face calmly tapping on

me. I gasped, my body turning to ice as I froze, as he quietly pointed

for him.”

–

it seemed to go so fast – the man pulled back his arm, and made a fist, and crashed it

the window –

know how he did it – it should have broken

head–first, into the room through the hole he made with

window cracking and shattering

–

half an instant later, my instincts came back to me,

my child’s rolling basinet behind me and screamed

rocking chair away and back into the corner now, Rafe in his cradle behind me, as

of the window. As he stands, my heart jumps when

–

–

more more men behind him, working their way up

fast –

man in the lead is on his feet now, grinning at me, starting to prowl