Hi,

So Anna's back in New York, but will she be able to find her place in the city? What do you think are her options?

Lara

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Chapter 56

So, I actually did the impossible. I convinced the head vamp to let me stay in one of the unissued apartments that were in his possession. For now. The big question? Was my line of argumentation better than his, for once, or did he simply give me enough rope to hang myself up on? Apparently Alexander still didn't trust me. And maybe with good reason.

I erected shields and wards of protection all around my room and unpacked what little I took from my apartment. The most important thing was to catch up with what I'd missed while I was staying with the Lumenis. Alexander hadn't been very forthcoming in describing what happened during my absence. Not that he was forthcoming about much these days.

There was the one thing I didn't want to face, but that grasped my attention every time I turned things over in my head: In how far was me being his human servant public knowledge? Before I went to Italy, Brown said he would give me time to work things out and that he'd withhold the information until then. I believed him when he said that. But that was before I was abducted by Medici. I had no idea if Brown revealed the truth while I was abroad.

How would the witch community react? What was I going to tell Laura, Ryan, and Andy? And what were we going to do about the Raven? Alexander agreed to call off declaring me his human servant in front of his coven leaders, but he had been vague about my plan to decoy the Raven into a trap myself.

The most obvious plan of action would be to find the half-witches involved with the Bloody Warden and gain all the information I could get my hands on, but it was a long and elaborate one –at best. Alexander wanted the Raven to be found and convicted asap.

Whether he agreed with my plan or not, he charged me with the one thing he couldn't do: go to places a vampire couldn't access. He expected me to do it during the night – all under the watchful gazes of trusted vampires and undead spies he sent to protect me.

Protect me! Hah! As if.

I shook my head. If I wanted results, I had to get answers. I could think of only one person involved in the Raven incident whose whereabouts I knew of. Someone who would most certainly be able to give me more information on the Raven's scheme. Would she give me answers? And would trying to obtain them get me killed?

* * *

Going to the prison where Chris Hayes was in custody, awaiting trial – it was a bold move. Someone might argue it was suicidal, given what happened in Italy. Going to the prison, walking through their wards and having them read my aura – it was a test to the soul and could hurt me worse than the Raven and a horde of ancient vampires combined.

I didn't want to expose myself as a witch that once dipped into Spirit. But I didn't want to turn into a rogue witch either. I needed proof that I still was one of the good guys, and I needed it before I went to the prison. So I did the only thing I could think of. I contacted the witch that used to moonlight in and around the Crimson District, paid her handsomely for reading my aura. Holding my breath in anticipation for what she would see. Hoping she wasn't going to rat me out, if she saw more than just red in there. No honor among thieves and criminals.

She didn't find anything unusual with my aura. I was still one of the good guys.

So here I was, sitting in my old green Ford, hands on the steering wheel, staring at the prison gates like the idiot I felt I was. The Devotio Correctional Facility was the only prison in the state that had the kind of equipment and magical prowess to hold deviants of the supernatural kind. It was in the south of New York, close to the border to Pennsylvania. A naked block of concrete planted in a ring of forests and trees, spelled and secured to the nines and beyond.

I'd been here before on TF3 business. It didn't make things easier. I knew what was coming. I was going to have to walk through the protective spells and undergo a thorough search of my aura. The tough part would come after that. Once I stepped through the final layer of spells, my magic was going to be blocked. I would walk through the building just like any other prisoner with my powers stripped away from me. The first time was bad enough, I wasn't particularly looking forward to having that kind of experience yet again.

Considering that I'd only slept what amounted to five hours, I did pretty well with my two hour drive from the city. I didn't want to push my luck, though. If the guards magically searched me more than once, I was going to lose it. Not something I could afford. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

What I was about to do was dangerous. Maybe stupid even, but I had no choice. Not if I wanted to stop Medici. Since the prospect of being exposed as a human servant was looming over my head like a Damocles sword anyway, I figured it was worth a try.

I had nothing to lose. But myself, I finished silently. I took a deep breath. You can do this.

Chris Hayes was still on remand, awaiting her trial – which was a good thing. It made things easier.

I got out of my car, staring at the gates. Wind whipped against my face, cold and unforgiving. The sensation of being watched washed over me, the idea that someone was watching me from up there made me shiver. No matter how hard or how long I looked, I couldn't see a hint of motion. The prison might as well have been shut down.

Another deep breath and I was walking towards the gates with my head held high. I marched into the prison like I owned the place, gave the security in charge my ID, and told them I was part of the team investigating into Magenta Warrens' murder – technically not even a lie. They didn't ask for my TF3 badge or further identification. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Too soon.

They made me wait for thirty minutes. Long enough for me to begin to worry.

If they double-checked with the TF3 and found out I wasn't part of the team any longer I was utterly and thoroughly screwed.

Brown said he was going to withhold the fact that I was Alexander's human servant for the time being. That would mean I was still listed as Circle member. But that was before I was abducted by the Raven. The only question left was, if the information that I was no longer part of the TF3 was out already.

It wasn't. I got through without them double checking with the TF3. They didn't know I was kicked out. Apparently the networking between TF3 and Circle was still loose enough for glitches like the one I was walking through. It was the one thing I counted on from the start. Refreshing, that things were working the way I wanted them to. For once.

At some point my luck was going to run dry, I knew that. I was betting on it lasting long enough for me to do what I needed to do. The difficult part was yet to come. I had to make sure that whatever passed between Chris and me stayed between us. For now.

* * *

It was a fact. The room had the cold sterility of a hospital reception area – sans the smell. The lint-dusted linoleum floor looked bland and boring, a washed out gray matching the walls and hallways of the prison. On the plus side, the room wasn't monitored – just like I'd requested.

I watched her enter in silence, handcuffs like tongues of silver molded on her wrists. Blond, curly hair was tied back in a low ponytail, her face naked and offensively pale without make-up. The orange scrubs were wrinkled, looked like a soft sheet of plastic on human skin.

The two guards steered her to the steel chair opposite mine with blank faces, giving me a nod once she was seated. I returned the gesture and waited for them to leave. It was not until the door closed with a silent, clicking noise that I turned my full attention to her.

Chris Hayes. Former member of the Circle. Exceptionally talented and powerful. Predestined to become one of the future elite witches. But that was a long time ago. Before she started the Bloody Warden – an underground movement targeting vampires. Before she got entangled in a conspiracy to murder.

Before she was attacked and mauled by a vampire.

I swallowed and shoved the thought back, right into the black box it had come from. I was having too many of those to feel comfortable lately.

For a long moment none of us said anything. As if each of us was waiting for the other one to make the first move, evaluating the possibilities and tactical errors the other might make.

"I was wondering if you'd show up," she finally said.

I gave her a smile that didn't reach my eyes, pretending I didn't feel chilled to the bone. The uneasiness that had washed over me ever since I caught a glimpse of her, draped in orange and cuffed, didn't abate.

Yeah, just what you need now, Anna.

"Then I guess I don't have to bother with unnecessary explanations," I said.

I suppressed the urge to finger the scarf I'd wrapped around my neck this morning, a subtle attempt at hiding the bite marks I had thanks to Alexander. Instead I kept my hands on the table, forcing my limbs into complete stillness. I had to nail this.

"You know, I've been thinking," I said. "You worked together with the Raven, got his rogues a free ticket to Warrens' house in order to have her killed and get him out of prison. I was wondering what you could have possibly gotten out of it that was worth having Raphael Medici on the loose." I leaned back, careful to keep my hands on the table. "What was in it for you, Chris?"

She gave me an unpleasant smile. How could she look so confident in what looked like a crumpled bag of plastic, even in the situation she was in?

"What made you think I'd even talk to you?"

"You know more about the Raven, and other things, than you let on. You never openly admitted to being the accomplice of him to begin with. I think I know why. You haven't played your trump card yet, Chris, have you?"

Her smile didn't waver. Not for a second. "And what would that be?" She snorted. "Knowledge about Raphael Medici?"

I shrugged. "Among other things."

I steeled myself. This could go one way or the other. If I wanted my plan to work, I had to sound utterly confident. I put on a bland fake smile, the kind I'd seen on the head vamp many times before.

"I have access to files about your business ventures. I even have the unnamed file about you-know-what," I said.

I was talking about the USB device Andy and I retained from the half-witches. And it was one big fat bluff. I still had no clue why the information was so important that everybody wanted to get their hands on it. But if I could use it as leverage to get more information on the Raven, I was willing to take chances.

I cocked my head. "It was your trump card, wasn't it?"

A widening of her eyes, a slow intake of breath.

"It's just a matter of time until the information will be leaked to the public," I said. "It's just a question of who's going to figure it out first. Your trump card, gone. Just like that. Wasted. So talk to me, before it's too late. I'm the only one who could identify those half-witches, Chris. This room's not monitored. What you say here and now stays between us. I want an exchange of information for the half-witches' safety. Give me the information I need and I won't reveal their identity."

She stared at me for a long moment.

"Walk away from my offer now, and I'll go to Brown," I said. "This instant."

Chris looked away, hands flexing and fisting in front of her, like she could shake off what was coming. Silence rose and ebbed. A mountain of solidness between us.

Her eyes went back to me, flashing anger. "What do you want to know?"