Chapter 122

Grace

My eyes hurt. My stomach was in knots, and I was certain that if I drank another cup of coffee, I was going to start shaking. Still, I sat at Eason's computer, hoping that using it would give me some inspiration, some clue about what to do, what to write, and what to say. My fingers shook as Charles disconnected again, having run into another group of Blood Moon operatives. My hands were cramping up. I'd been awake all night, keeping Charles informed of whenever Eason was moved. They still hadn't found a way to get to the lower level, and time was running out.

My eyes burned from exhaustion, and as the dawn of the final day approached, I couldn't help but feel the weight of my own inadequacy pressing down on me. The tablet was a line of hope and useless since I didn't know how to get it to give me what I needed. I hadn't even gotten a paragraph of a coherent speech down. Amira was running the complaint line and corresponding with the police about any other developments. They and a few of the militia were dispatched into the sewers from within the city with whatever Enforcer they could find to lead them in the search.

Eason's dot had stopped moving. The flashing grew faster, and he was somewhere deep underground, practically right beneath me, and I couldn't do anything.

Seraphina told me that the center of the ritual had to be essentially under City Hall, but getting there from a manhole nearby was impossible. All I could do was hope that my plan would work. I looked back at the screen. The unfinished speech draft on the screen seemed to mock me. It was terrible, and I knew it. It was screaming, and all the blank space was laughing at me with the knowledge that I... had no plan.

Not a real one anyway.

I could talk and argue and hope that he was so much of a narcissist that he'd get into an argument with me, but honestly, I had a feeling that so long as Eason wasn't in his grasp, we had time.

But how much?

My eyes scanned the screen, my frustration building with each line. We had so little time. What would piss off Alpha Shadow? If he was really a witch, he didn't care about werewolf supremacy. It was a facade. What would he care about? My nails tapped impatiently on the keyboard as I reached for some fragment of inspiration, anything that could make a difference in this desperate hour.

I clicked out and went looking for the file that Eason had built on Blood Moon. He had a file called "Alpha Shadow," but a few files below that was also a file called "Grace's Fuck You."

I opened them both, my heart pounding with hope that it wasn't empty.

Eason's notes were thorough, and it blew my mind to think that Eason had already started to suspect that Alpha Shadow wasn't a werewolf.

Plausible deniability--accountability

Politically immunity-- fraud

Platform--Traditional Challenge

My lips twitched. Our mother had left information about werewolf traditional challenges, but the note next to the note on the Alpha Shadow document struck me.

Witch Honor Challenge: honor, power, achievement, money-- reference Noir Manifesto.

I bit my lip as "Grace's Fuck You" opened. It was half highlighted in different colors, but it was way more than what I had. My lips trembled as I read it. The words were fearless. As the words sank in, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by a complex mix of emotions. Eason had been prepared for this confrontation, anticipating this moment. I ditched most of my draft and filled in the blank spaces Eason had left in his draft based on the notes he had. I could almost hear his voice.

Something more here. Angry. Furious. Protective. Mom vibes.

Slowly, it became easier to fill in the bits that were missing, not just with updates about the Festival and the investigation, but for how I felt about it on behalf of Mooncrest. It wasn't polished at all, but I didn't think it needed to be. We were in crisis, and everyone knew it, and Eason wasn't trying to make me obscure that fact. His notes seemed like he wanted me to express it.

Real here. Vulnerable. Fighter.

I felt some of the tension ease. When I got to the end of it, a knock sounded on the door.

Amira came in with a coffee press and a suit bag in hand.

"Ready?"

I bit my lip and nodded, standing. She refilled my coffee cup before hanging the suit bag up.

"Eason has fantastic taste," she said, her voice light. "I'll have to ask where he shops for you. If this isn't a power suit, I don't know what is."

I looked at it and smiled at the vibrant, blood-red dress. The pin in the lapel of the long jacket that went with it was Mooncrest's crest. It was stylish, edgy, and utterly powerful. Like I was ready to get blood on my clothes.

Fight-starter.

I wanted to wear it even as I was half convinced that I would die in it.

I drank the cup she'd prepared, showered, dressed, and kissed my kids goodbye before meeting her in the lobby. She had the witch's tablet in her arms and had changed into another suit in a solemn gray that had some of the same elements as mine.

Then, she offered me Eason's earbud. My eyes watered seeing it as I realized that she had one in her ear.

"I'll be on the line with the Enforcers and the militia to keep them updated on Eason's movements. So will you."

I nodded and took the earbud, putting it in my ear. My lips twitched.

"I feel oddly official."

"You should."

We walked out to the awaiting car where an Enforcer was waiting to escort us to the city's center. I watched my dot grow further away from my children and closer to Eason's, separated by hundreds of feet.

"Run it again," Amira said. "The plan?"

"Keep him talking. Stall for as long as possible."

I was going to provoke him, to make him angry, and, hopefully, get him distracted enough to back down from his plan.

Arriving at the city square, I noticed the glimmer of light around the podium and around the path we'd take to the podium.

"A shield?"

She nodded. "To protect from a stray bullet and crazy picketers."

I winced, noticing the people gathering.

I took a deep breath.

"You ready?" Amira asked.

I took her hand. "Thank you... for pulling my head out of my ass."

She scoffed. "Save the thanks until after this is over."

I nodded shakily, and we got out. People started to scream and rush towards us, but they were repelled by the shield. Amira settled into the seat beside the podium with the tablet in her lap and Eason's laptop on the little table beside her. I walked to the podium, as my heart started to race.

Stall him. That's all I had to do was stall him until the Enforcers gave the okay.

"Advancing. Pillar disabled."

"We found another one!"

"How many does that make? Seven?"

Was that enough to make sure it didn't work? I didn't know.

"Keep looking," Seraphina said. "Based on the size, we need to disable at least nine more."

I felt sick. It had taken them all night to get to the seventh. Nine more? I gripped the edges of the podium and looked over at Amira. I locked eyes with Amira, who stood nearby, her presence reassuring. She nodded.

"I'll start the broadcast now."

I heard the crackle of the microphone. Then, the screen above the city square turned on, and I could see myself. The emergency broadcast system was on. The wind blew as I took a deep breath.

Based on the information Ethan had given before he'd passed out, Alpha Shadow had planned to start his speech around ten o'clock. The speech was about thirty minutes long. It was about nine-fifty now.

"Good Morning," I said, listening to my voice fill the city. "I know many haven't slept this past night, but I wanted to speak with you. I know you're furious. I know you're scared. I know that..." I shuddered. "That it feels like the right path is for me to step down, but I ask you to think: the person who would take my place, do they know you? Do they care about everything Mooncrest is? Will they charge for the train and the medication for your grandmother? Will they stand here in the city square with you under threat of being blown sky-high? Are they one of you or a puppet to the psycho that is terrorizing us? I think we all know the answer. I--"

His mocking laughter filled the air. I didn't look at Amira as the image of myself shrunk. Amira had cast his live broadcast to the screen so I could see, so we were both live.

Here it was. The countdown had begun.

"I really thought you'd be smarter than this, Grace."