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law books and criminology books. I want to see if there is any precedent for what James is trying to pull and how we might fight back using the system.”

“You’re wasting your time,” I said. “He isn’t doing this within the system, so fighting him within it won’t work. We need to publicly embarrass or humiliate him. We need to show everyone how evil he truly is.”

Sid put her pen down and rested her chin on her hands. “That’s great, and we’ll do that. But we also need to lock it down so neither he nor anyone else, can ever do this again. That’s where the law comes in.”

“Okay, I can see that. Although…”

My words were interrupted by a pounding at the door. I glanced at Sid, turned the flame down under the pot of pasta I was cooking, and headed to the door to answer it. Another round of heavy thuds hit the door before I could open it. I pulled it open to reveal Auntie Sett standing there, fist raised, about to pound the door again.

“Come on in, Auntie,” I said.

“About time you answered the damned door. That bastard has a lot to answer for, I’m telling you,” she snarled as she pushed past me into the house.

“I assume you’re talking about our beloved Director?” Sid said from her seat at the table.

Sett paused in her rampage to blink at Sid. “Oh, hell. What did he do to you two?”

“Accused us of cheating, with your help, and told us we were no longer officers,” I said.

“With my help,” Sett hissed. “That explains some of what he said. It seems he thought we spoke after you left him because he was acting like I already knew what he was talking about.”

“What happened, Auntie?” Sid asked. “Come on, sit. I’ll get us coffee or beer or whatever you want.”

“It’s lunchtime, beer is good. Want me to order pizza?” Sett said.

“No, I was cooking already. Let me get that finished up and we can talk this out,” I said.

Sett sat down at the table and picked up one of Sid’s books. “Criminal law. Doing some studying? Or research?”

Sid brought the beer back to the table and started to clear it so we could eat. “Research. I want to find a way to pass laws so no one else can do this again.”

“That’s ambitious of you,” Sett said as she handed the book to Sid.

I dished up three bowls of pasta with tomato and meat sauce and set them on the island. A sliced loaf of French bread with butter and a small salad rounded out the meal. Sid finished clearing the table and set the food out while I carried the salad in and we all took a couple of minutes to eat.

Sett dipped her bread in the sauce and took a bite, washed down with a swallow of beer before she spoke again. “The Director has put me on probation, which is basically a suspension with pay. I can still get on campus and access my office, but my classes are being handled by another teacher and I had to turn in my badge and gun.”

“And all he told you was that you supposedly helped us cheat?” Sid said.

“That was the main point he brought up. He rambled a bit about how he didn’t understand how I’d managed to stay on staff at the Academy for so long. That it must’ve been because I was a Fortin that my pathetic skills as a witch and a trainer were allowed to be passed on to students.”

I could tell that Sett was more angry than hurt by the words, but there was a trace of bitterness there.

“Auntie, you have been repeatedly awarded the best trainer title by the cadets for the past, what, ten years? You are an excellent trainer and a much better witch than some of the purely witch-training teachers there. Don’t let that asshat get inside your head. That’s what Grampa Walsh told us, and it goes for you too,” I said.

Sett looked down at her food and took another bite. “He’s good at it, though. Getting into our heads.”

“Yeah, he is,” Sid said. “He pushes my buttons all the time. When he called us into his office, he addressed Sin as Officer Boudreau and me as ‘his sister’. As if I weren’t even worthy of being called an officer. He’s always hated that I exist.”

“Aren’t you being a touch dramatic?” Sett asked Sid.

“No, she’s not. He said as much to her face the last time we were at the manor. He would have been happiest if she were a boy, but otherwise, he’d rather she was dead,” I said.

Sett looked from me to Sid and shook her head. “Walsh suspected that James had psychopathic tendencies. I didn’t realize how accurate he was.”

“He has no emotion that seems true. He can fake it well, but it’s like turning a switch off and on. We saw it the last time we were at the manor. He was sobbing into his hands, saying he was worried about our father, then shifted gears so fast his tears were still wet on his cheeks as he told us how useless we were,” Sid said.

I ate the rest of my pasta and started on the salad. I only heard about half of Sid and Sett’s conversation as I ran the information around in my head.

“So, what do you think, Sin?” Sett asked.

“Huh? I’m sorry, I was thinking.”

“About what?” Sid asked.

“Just all the bits and pieces we’ve gathered so far. We don’t have enough to figure out our next steps against Lord James and his crew.”

“No, you don’t. Not yet,” Sett said. “But I know who has more information. Tonight, meet me in the storage barn next to the one that has your stuff in it. I’ll leave it unlocked. Come around ten.”

I looked at Sid and she nodded, so I turned to Sett. “Alright, we’ll be there. Should we bring anything?”

“Come armed and leave your phones behind.”

* * *

Sid and I ate a light dinner and dressed in dark jeans, black hoodies, and our training boots. We were each armed with a handgun and a silver dagger. Our cell phones were silenced and tucked away in our bedrooms. I left a light on over the stove and we locked up the cottage and left. It was just shy of two miles from our cottage to the barn Sett had mentioned, so we took one of the ATVs and rode up to the end of the barn road and left it in the shadows. There were security lights on each barn that were motion detection activated, so we made our way along the back of them until we got to the right place. A side door was cracked open, revealing a thin line of pale light from inside. I got up next to it and whispered, “It’s us.”

Sett opened the door a little wider and gestured for us to come in, then closed and locked the door behind her. Crates and equipment were piled up in rows, and Sett led us down one row, around the end of two more, then into a cleared space in the middle of the barn near the back. No windows meant no one could see us, and if someone opened the doors, we would be hidden by all of the stuff.

In the space was set a couch, a table with four chairs, and a power strip that ran a computer, a couple of lamps, a mini-fridge and a microwave. I didn’t see much of that because of one of the men seated at the table. “Dad!” I choked out and stepped over to him to hug him.

He hugged me tightly and then turned to hug Sid. “You kids have done so well. I am so proud of you both.”

“We’ve missed you, Dad,” Sid said.

Grampa Walsh stood from his seat at the table. “Sett, grab that other chair, would you?”

Sett pulled another chair over and we all sat at the table. Mugs of coffee sat amid notes and maps spread out on the scarred wood surface.

Sid and I sat on either side of Dad, and Sid kept a hand on his arm. Sett poured everyone some coffee and set a package of cookies on the table.

“Dad, have you been staying here? In the barn?” Sid asked.

“Some of the time, yes. Mostly, when your mother is at her weakest. Now that Alicia, Evelyn, and Jolie have taken her to the city, I can focus wholly on this project and not worry about her.”

“Andre and I have been staying in a hunting cabin about ten miles into the state forest, in the section that’s just starting to grow back after the wildfire two years ago. No one goes hiking or hunting there as it’s not safe to hike there yet and nothing worth hunting has returned,” Grampa Walsh said.

“And we stay here when we need to be close to town,” Dad said.

Grampa looked at Sid and me. “Before we go further, I want you two to know this. You are still officers in the SPD, and you are now under my command. I never relinquished my command, even though some could argue that my being assumed dead relinquished it for me. That was never written into our codes and rules, so I’m still the Commander, and you are now answering to me. Well, to Cosette – she’ll be your handler. Your father and Cosette both work for me.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding and let my shoulders relax. “Thank you, Gr…er…Commander. I appreciate it.”

Sid grinned at him and lifted her chin. “Acceptable, Commander.”

“Smartass,” he muttered at Sid, then winked at her.

Sett reached into a bag on the floor and pulled out two badges and slid them to Sid and I. “Here are your badges and IDs.”

I opened it to find something different than what I’d turned in to Lord James. It still said Supernatural Police Department and my name and photo, but above it was stamped Special Operations. “What’s this?” I asked. “Special Ops?”

Sid flipped her badge over to show me that it was the same.

“You’re part of an elite team that takes orders only through Cosette, Andre or me. There are a few others, and you’ll eventually meet them,” Grampa said.

I looked at each of the faces around the table and something inside me shifted. This was more than just a badge and a job, more than just a way to help our parents. This was a calling. A sacred trust. The men and women sitting here with me trusted that I would have their backs as much as I had theirs. Did this mean I would never go to medical school? No, not considering how long our lifespans could be. But it meant that, for the foreseeable future, I was no longer a potential med student, but an officer of the law. My gaze turned towards my twin and Sid looked back. I saw a similar shift in her posture and expression and gave her a crooked smile. “Plans changed again, eh sis?”

Sid gave me a nod. “Life is change, brother.”

Dad reached out and gripped a shoulder on each of us. “You two impress the hell out of me. Now, let’s get down to business.” His hands returned to wrap around his mug and he took a sip. “As you already know, Angiers is part of the Purists, along with my father, James. We’ve identified a couple more. Your Criminal Law professor, Suzette Lang and her son, Samuel.”

“He’s one of the

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