Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,58

down the Internet won’t cover everything, but it gives us a hand in tracking down this bastard.”

“Good luck with that,” Sofie said before jumping down from the table and walking through the hall to my bathroom. She sounded less than confident about the Towers’ chances of success. I wasn’t feeling so good about them myself. Losing Internet was going to create a lot of angry and scared people.

“Are the Towers going to at least tell the world why they’re doing this?”

Gideon shook his head. “Not yet. They seem to think that it will give them an edge. If people realize that someone knows the location of one or more Towers, they may decide to help him rather than help us.”

“You think whoever has this information doesn’t know you’re looking for him? The whole Indianapolis thing is a pretty good indication, you know.”

“I’m not saying I agree with it. It’s how they’re handling it.”

I bit my tongue, keeping my grumbling to myself as I walked around the table so I could flop on the couch next to Gideon. Leaning back, I stared up at the hole in the ceiling I had yet to repair. During the summer, I had hanged myself to gain access to the underworld. It had all worked out, sort of, but Trixie didn’t appreciate the constant reminder that she had been the one to find my dead body.

We sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the water falling in the bathroom. Sofie had managed to get the shower going, which wasn’t a surprise since she had managed to get to and from Germany with no problem. Good thing, too, since I had absolutely no desire to give a witch-turned-cat a bath.

There was also a low murmur of noise coming from the bedroom. Robert was watching something on my laptop. The Internet wasn’t down yet.

When Gideon spoke again, there was a wariness in his voice to match his obvious fatigue. “Gage, I’m not going to ask if you know anything about who has the locations. Well, I’m not going to ask you yet.” I tensed next to him, but said nothing. “I don’t want to risk having you lie to me. Just think about it. You know I’m not one of them, but I think we both agree that the best way to protect this world is to keep that information out of the hands of the other races.”

“I know,” I said, closing my eyes. The knowledge hurt. I felt like a traitor to Trixie, Bronx, my family, and everyone who had suffered under the control of the Towers. I could rant and rave all I wanted about how the world had to escape the tight grasp of the Towers, but when the opportunity came, I turned my back on the world in the name of protecting it.

“Then I’m sure that you also know that if the shit hits the fan, I’m going to protect my family first. I’ll try to get word to you, but Ellen and my daughter have to come first.”

“I would expect nothing less.” I opened my eyes and looked over at him. “You have to protect what’s important to you.”

“It’s interesting that you say that since you’re struggling with the idea yourself.”

I sat up, staring over at the warlock who had hounded me for nearly ten years. There were moments when I felt like I knew him, and then there were others when I was sure I was looking at a total stranger. His expression was closed, but I could feel a warning in his words.

“What are you talking about?”

“If Neil had escaped and found out about Trixie or Bronx or your brother, there is no doubt that he would be striking at them next in an effort to get at you. That could still happen if his apprentice survived.”

Frowning, I fell back against the sofa and glared out the repaired sliding-glass door. The sky was black and I had no idea what time it was. It felt like I should be seeing the sun rise, so much had happened.

“I’m not a killer. It’s why I left the Towers. I’m not like them,” I said, even as Bryce’s battered face surfaced before my mind’s eye. I was starting to sound like a broken record. On and on again, I was telling everyone around me, even myself, that I wasn’t a killer. I wanted to think that maybe I wasn’t very convincing, but I was beginning to wonder if maybe they all knew