Southwest Truths (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 3) by Kal Aaron (the red fox clan .txt) 📗

She’d contacted him via her mirror, insisting they meet. He’d responded and given her a specific time and told her to meet him where she’d met Lee to discuss “the issue.” When she arrived at a rural location north of Phoenix, he was waiting in his regalia as if he hung out near dry creek beds all the time.

It made her wonder about all the Sorcerers responsible for sealing Jofi. Lee had always said he spoke for them, and she’d assumed operational matters were within his control. Had Samuel known about every meeting? Had they planned them together?

Samuel glared at her as she put down the kickstand and hopped off the bike. She pulled off her helmet and shook out her hair. The last time she’d come here, it’d been without Jofi. It felt weird having him there, even if the meeting wasn’t with Lee.

“This is unwise,” Samuel said. “We should both be keeping a low profile. I thought we agreed on that. The last things we need are additional injuries and casualities.”

“But I’ve got new information,” she replied. “And it isn’t something I wanted to share via a shard. When you can’t trust Sorcerers, you can’t trust shards.”

“The reason I’m here is that you mentioned having new information, but I’m more curious about where you got it.” Samuel narrowed his eyes. “Do you know who killed Lubon? Were you involved in the incident in Los Angeles after all? I’ve only now become aware of it, which is curious if you were involved. I would hope you’d share that information with your Elder and fellow target.”

“Yes, I was involved, and yes, I know exactly who killed Lubon,” Lyssa replied.

Samuel’s face reddened. “This is not the time to hold information back from me. Even in your wildest flights of paranoia, you can’t possibly believe I had myself attacked.”

Lyssa shook her head. “A lot of things happened close together, and I had to verify certain things before I told anyone.” She took a deep breath. “I mostly trust you, but this goes beyond simple rogues. When Eclipses are being used by the bad guys, Torches and Elders have to be more careful.”

“Eclipses?” Samuel asked. “What are you talking about?”

“I have no reason not to trust you, and because of that, I’m going to level with you. I’ve got a stupid plan, and that means I’ll need your help getting the final push I need to go to Last Remnant.”

“There are more important things than your brother, Miss Corti,” Samuel snapped.

Lyssa glared at Samuel. “You’re pissy. Someone almost killed you and did kill your friends. I get it, so I’m going to let it pass, but let me make one thing clear. This isn’t just about my brother anymore. This is about all of the Illuminated Society, so you can either help me with my suicidal plan or crawl back into a hole and wait until half the Elders are dead.”

Samuel folded his arms, his glare intensifying. “If it’s a stupid plan, how could I possibly disagree? But first, before I consider helping you with a new plan, I need you, as you put it, to level with me.”

“Fine.” Lyssa cracked her knuckles and looked around. She nodded at a large, flat rock. “You might want to sit down. This is going to take a while, and it’s going to piss you off.”

Samuel chose not to sit. Lyssa felt a little sorry for him when his vein bulged in his forehead and almost recommended the rock again. His reddened face contrasted with his white suit.

“Tristan St. James.” He spat the name like it was a curse. “Of course. At this point, nothing about this surprises me.”

“Remember, I wasn’t able to confirm everything he said, but I confirmed a few things with Caroline.” Lyssa shrugged. “What he was talking about matches some of what I’ve found out recently. I know you think I’m a crazy bitch obsessed by her dead brother, but Allard’s the one who told me about the memory card, and I didn’t know what would be on it.”

Samuel scrubbed a hand down his face. “You should have told me about the memory card immediately. You shouldn’t have held that information back. It could have been investigated by more resources.”

“I didn’t know I could trust you then. I needed to make sure the information didn’t disappear into a black hole because the Society was more interested in covering its ass than getting to the truth.”

“I’m your Elder,” Samuel shouted. “It’s your duty to tell me these things. You’re edging toward being as bad as St. James.”

“Oh?” Lyssa pointed at her face. “I am? Last time I checked, I hadn’t killed any Sorcerers except in clear self-defense. I’m not running around hunting people down. I’m just looking for the truth. I know that’s a foreign concept to you, but I’m not going to apologize.” She pulled back her jacket and patted one of her holsters. “Yeah, someone went for you, but a lot of people went for me, and the damned Eclipse who was sent with us might have helped them almost kill Aisha.” Her voice grew louder. “Between the Eclipse and everything else, we’ve got a lot of evidence that an Elder or two might be involved in doing something wrong. I don’t think it’s crazy to be a little more careful.”

Samuel sneered. “That’s nothing but self-serving drivel. All these conclusions flow from the word of a borderline rogue.”

“Sure, but Caroline confirmed he’s not trying to kill me, and he wasn’t involved in the attacks on you and Lee.”

“That doesn’t mean his other conclusions and suspicions are correct or justify his or your behavior.”

“But his evidence fits with everything else.” Lyssa shrugged. “If St. James had been wrong even once, you guys would have fried him. I don’t completely trust him, but I think he’s onto something, and I think I’m on to something. I don’t know if they are