Shadow Oracle by Laura Greenwood

Twelve

I hate this house.It's never been clearer than in this moment, standing in front of it while the people inside threaten all the things that are good in my life.

I resist the urge to touch the magical wire attached to my clothes. If the Association makes me change, then we're going to have a problem. Hopefully, I can get enough out of them before that happens.

I take a deep breath and knock on the door. I wish I could have Fielding's voice in my ear, but they thought an earpiece would be too conspicuous, especially because I don't have any actual experience wearing one.

They may have a point. If I'd known I'd be doing this, I might have practised with one, though maybe I wouldn't have been able to hear anything over the pounding of my heart in my ears anyway. It's more deafening than it's ever been.

The door cracks open to reveal Ms Margery staring me down sternly. "Follow me," she barks, not even pretending to be a motherly figure. I'm surprised she isn't behaving nicer towards me when she can be seen, but I suppose I'm an adult now. There's no problem with treating me that way.

I resist the urge to glance over my shoulder. There was very little reassurance to be had even if I did, I have no idea where any of the Supernatural Retrieval Agents are even if I did look. Hopefully close enough that they can step in and raid the house when the time comes.

Ms Margery leads me through the house, not saying a word to me.

I look around, an odd sense of foreboding and nostalgia filling me with every step. I don't want to be back here, and yet there's a part of me that still thinks of this place as home.

It makes me hate the place even more.

I'm only a little surprised when she leads me to the Leader's office.

"Inside," she barks.

The door is already open, so I slip inside, not bothering to say anything to her as I do. I hope this is the last time I ever have to see her. Anything that means she's out of my life is good as far as I'm concerned.

"Ah, Syxe. Why don't you sit down and we can talk." The Leader is leaning back in his seat as if he's been waiting his entire day to have a conversation with me like old friends.

I don't trust it. I'm sure he's only acting this way to try and lull me into a false sense of security. I briefly consider remaining standing, but I don't think it'll help me much. No matter what position I'm in, I'm in danger. And I'm supposed to be here getting information out of him, not playing power games.

The door slams shut behind me, making me flinch. I wish it hadn't, I'm sure the Leader saw.

Slowly, I perch myself on the edge of the chair, not wanting to sit all the way back, but unsure why.

"I'm glad you decided to join us, Miss Weston," the Leader says, sitting around and clasping his hands together in front of him.

"You didn't really give me a choice," I point out.

"That's where you're wrong. There's always a choice."

I raise an eyebrow. "I wouldn't call the threat to me, and the threat to my loved ones much of a choice at all," I counter.

"That's where you're wrong."

I bite my tongue, mostly because I can see that it's not going to get me anywhere to push the point. He's well aware that I don't have a choice in being here, he's just playing with me.

And probably trying to avoid admitting anything.

Horror washes through me as I find myself wondering whether he knows I'm wearing the wire. I don't know-how, it's supposed to be undetectable, but maybe he's just assuming I'm here with a nefarious purpose.

"What about the fact my mother signed me away to you?" I ask. "That means I don't have a choice, right?"

The Leader chuckles. "You got to your mother faster than I expected."

"Why? It's the main thing you've been holding over me. You say that she signed my life over to the Shadow Association. But that's not quite true, is it?" I'm bluffing, but I need to get him talking about the illegal things they've been doing or Fielding won't have the information she needs to shut down the house completely.

No matter what happens, the children will be out of here by the end of the day, but that's not good enough for me. I want this place on its knees. I know in the grand scheme of things, stopping one Shadow Association house isn't going to make too much difference, but this isn't about that.

"Why wouldn't it be true?" the Leader asks.

If I'm not mistaken, he's a little bit rattled.

"I think she signed away her parental rights because she didn't know what you were taking from her."

"Oh believe me, Anna Weston knew. You're just like her in a lot of ways."

"How so?" This isn't where I want the conversation to go, but if it's going to get me answers about the mother I've never known, then it may be worth it.

So long as I don't get too lost.

"She liked to think she was capable of turning on us."

My whole body turns cold.

"I thought she came to you just before I was born? She didn't have time to turn on you." My voice comes out small and needy.

A small smile lifts the corners of his lips. He picks up a file and pushes it towards me.

Slowly, I peel it open, revealing the smiling face of my mother along with a dozen reports and photos. I turn the page and gasp at the photo staring up at me. My mother isn't looking at the camera, she's smiling down at a small child with dark hair.

It takes me a moment to realise it's me.

"You said she died in childbirth," I say slowly. Is there a chance she's still alive after all? I try not to let hope bloom up within me, but it's hard. I've never thought much about what it might be like to have a family, at least not until people started asking me about it, but now I've seen what normal life is like, a small part of me wants it.

He sighs. "Did I? I must have gotten you mixed up with one of the other children who has come through here. So many foundlings." The way he says it leaves no doubt in my mind that he's just been messing with me the entire time. He knows who he's talking about and what happened, he just enjoys holding it over me. He's seeking out power, and I'm giving it to him.

"What happened to my mother?" I ask, my voice firmer than I expect it to be given the situation.

"Let me see if I can recall. Ah yes. She started being late back from work and acting like she was hiding something. It didn't seem like keeping you away from her to make sure she behaved was enough for Anna Weston. Maybe it was spending over a decade in a totalitarian city that made her harder to control than we'd have liked."

"So she really did live in the City of Blood?" I ask, starting small.

"Everything I told you about how we found her is true. She escaped, your father didn't and died for it."

A pang of loss shoots through me, even though it's for someone I've never met. And I'll never have a chance to meet.

"Right up until she gave birth to me?"

"Correct."

"So what's the truth about that? You took me away from her to try and keep her in line, right? Like you're threatening Mathias and his family in order to keep me from doing things you don't like."

"I knew you were smart. I should have taken more of an interest in you, then maybe we wouldn't have found ourselves in this predicament." He sighs dramatically.

"So what you're saying is that you'd have groomed me to become just like you."

"No one can be just like me."

"You killed my mother, didn't you?" I ask bluntly. From my briefing with Fielding, I know I'm supposed to try and get him to admit to things without asking questions that could cause him to clam up. But he's too smart for talking around the subject.

A sly smile spreads over his face. "I think you know the answer to that."

"I need to hear it from you. Otherwise, how am I going to know that your threat against the Careys is real."

"It's very real," he says seriously. "And joining us won't make it disappear completely. If you step out of line, it will return."

"Then why shouldn't I just walk out of here right now?"

"Because then we'll definitely kill your boyfriend and his family. And after that, we'll kill you."

"Just like you killed my mother."

"Yes." He leans back in his chair. "See, you do have a choice. You can kill everyone you care about and end up dead, or you can stay here and behave. So long as you do that, no one needs to die."

"But the threat will never end?"

"I wouldn't say never. The threat can't exist if you're dead," he says with a nonchalant shrug.

Anger surges up within me, but I manage to keep it from spilling out.

"Thank you, you've told me all I need to know." I get to my feet and turn towards the door, determined to leave. I've got what Fielding wanted me to come and get. Now I need to focus on getting out of here.

"Where do you think you're going?" the Leader asks.

I face him again, trying to make sure to remove as much emotion from my face as possible. "Home. And just to be clear, I don't mean here."

I don't wait for him to respond and pull open the office door, striding out into the hallway with my heart pounding harder than it ever has before.