Conspiracies (Mercedes Lackey) - By Mercedes Lackey Page 0,104

stuff just from being around. He’d always get his security firm to investigate potential partners, and if there was even a hint of Bratva about them, he’d back off.”

Muirin nodded. “So Anastus kept talking when I stayed quiet. He told me that when he was sixteen, he took on two of his father’s jobs to prove to his father that he was worthy of being the old man’s heir. And he does the same for Mark Rider, contract killing, except these days he usually has his thugs kill people, he doesn’t do it himself.” Muirin swallowed hard. She looked very white, even in the dim light from the glowing ball in her hand. “And you know, I could almost have gone, ‘Okay, he’s kind of a vigilante, he’s just taking out people like the Shadow Knights, right?’ Except—he’s not. At least, not for Mark Rider. He got really drunk. He told me who some of those people were—some of his victims.” She stopped, and shrank into herself. “Burke … I am so sorry…”

Burke’s head came up, but he looked bewildered. “Huh? What?”

“Your foster parents,” she whispered, staring down at her hands. “It wasn’t an accident, Burke. He killed your foster family and burned the house down around them to cover it up, so you’d have nowhere to go.”

It took all four of them to hold Burke down. But it was Spirit’s shoulder he cried into when he finally broke.

* * *

Spirit stared into the darkness of her room for a very, very long time that night. It was more vindication for her, but—yeah. It was vindication she’d really rather not have had. This was the hard evidence that the Shadow Knights and the Gatekeepers were one and the same. Maybe not all of them, but certainly Mark Rider and his core group. Even Muirin agreed. Spirit had been vindicated.

But Burke …

Poor Burke.

She was pretty sure he wasn’t going to run off and do anything stupid now, although if they hadn’t restrained him, in those first few moments he probably would have. The big question now was, what were they going to do about all of this? They were in the middle of enemy territory. The enemy didn’t yet know that they knew, and the longer they kept that a secret, the better off they’d be, but …

Then she remembered what QUERCUS had said. Ignorance and powerlessness is your greatest defense. And now that made sense. The longer they looked stupid and weak, the more likely it was that they’d be left alone.

She got up, plugged in the Ironkey, and logged on her computer, touch-typing in the dark. QUERCUS? she typed into the chatroom.

I am here.

She wondered about that. She wondered how he could always be there. But then … maybe he knew her hours, or guessed them, and slept when she was in class. Or more likely, he was more than one person.

What you said about ignorance and powerlessness—

Yes. The more ordinary you appear, the safer you are. And they must never think you have somewhere to run to, or they will look for that haven and destroy it.

But I actually don’t have anywhere to run to, she replied, feeling a lump of fear in her gut and tears burning her eyes.

Then QUERCUS replied with something utterly unexpected.

Yet.

She bit back a gasp.

Be careful. Be very careful. And Spirit, you have a weapon that they will see as a weakness. Do not hesitate to use it.

A weapon? she typed. What weapon?

Kindness.

Okay, that sort of made sense. Because the Shadow Knights were trying to divide people up, but you couldn’t do that if the people you were trying to divide them from kept doing nice things for them. Shoot, it had even worked with Muirin!

And it wouldn’t look like she was doing anything at all, not to them. Just being all touchy-feely-hippie-kid. Not a threat, not even close.

I can do that, she typed back, and closed the window. With all of Mark Rider’s geeks living here now, she was even more paranoid about not chatting too long to QUERCUS. She figured five or ten minutes was all right, but not more.

She slipped back into bed, wishing she had some idea of what might come so she could be ready for it.

* * *

The next day was a grueling one, so hard Spirit really couldn’t do anything but spare a thought now and again for Burke. If anyone here knew how he felt, she did. When they finally all met up at dinner,