time to go from zero to viable warped mages. However, if Diatheke gained access to the 971 serum and the underlying research, they could springboard from it. They likely used a pure sample of the Osiris serum and the 971 serum to create their own new variant.”
The wheels in my head turned faster. “Did the 971 serum have a high mortality rate?”
Linus nodded. “Yes, higher than pure Osiris serum. It’s stronger but deadlier.”
“What are you thinking?” Alessandro asked.
“Runa mentioned that Halle specialized in purification. She excels in removing toxins from the human body. They may be using her to cut down on their fatality rate.”
“None of this explains why Diatheke decided to murder you,” Alessandro said.
Linus tapped some keys on his tablet. A screen slid from the wall and came to life, showing an empty parking lot lit by a single lamp that barely held back the night. A woman with long dark hair sprinted across it, little more than a silhouette. A swarm of familiar flying ticks tore into the woman. Lightning burst from her, arching over the pavement. Ticks rained to the ground, but the swarm kept coming, a black cloud wrapping around her. A piercing scream rang out and died. The swarm boiled, folding in on itself, as the ticks tore into the body in a feeding frenzy. Behind them Lawrence strode into the frame, the light of the lamp playing over his warped features. The video ended. Linus pressed pause. The image froze, showing a dark computer screen and in it a faint reflection, a hint of a silhouette with glasses and familiar sharp hair.
“Augustine,” I breathed out.
Linus nodded. “It was sent to my business office a month ago from an anonymous source.”
Alessandro smiled. “He let you know that he’s aware that you’re the Warden and he wants credit for bringing the matter to your attention, but nothing in that recording is strong enough to tie him to it. Clever.”
“Benedict knows,” I said. “When he was menacing me in his office, he told me to say hello to Augustine. He thought I was working for him.”
“MII is a mammoth beast,” Linus said. “And Augustine is entrenched in the state’s power grid.”
“Benedict couldn’t go after Augustine,” Alessandro surmised. “Too loud and too dangerous, but he couldn’t take the chance that the recording reached the Wardens, so he tried to eliminate you instead. One man versus a corporation.”
Benedict had badly miscalculated. I would rather take on Augustine with all his resources than Linus any day.
Linus studied the whiskey in his glass. “This Magdalene the psionic mentioned. She’s likely the brain of this warped factory. What do we know about her?”
“Nothing,” I said. “A cursory search of the Prime database didn’t reveal any Primes with related specialties. There are four Magdalenes currently in US Houses, of which two are under the age of twelve, one is eighty-two, and the fourth is a telepath and unlikely to be involved.” I tapped the armrest of my chair. “We would be looking for a mage with chemistry or biological specialization.”
“It’s a code name,” Alessandro said. “Everyone in Diatheke takes a new professional name. It’s the firm’s policy.”
Selecting a code name would be personal. It would carry meaning to the person. Very few people chose an alias at random.
“Then here’s your first order,” Linus said. “Identify Magdalene. Nothing else matters. You may use Fullerton to assist you if necessary. If you need money or access, let me know. You’ll tell nobody about what happened here today or about what you’ve learned. Not your sisters, not your cousins, not your mother or grandmothers. Are we clear?”
“Yes,” I said. “But that’s not realistic. I’m not a tyrant, I’m in charge of a family. They’ll want explanations. They know that I came to see you. The moment I start accessing government databases, they will put two and two together.”
Linus took a heavy leather binder from his desk and passed it to me. “Congratulations. House Baylor has been hired as a subcontractor for an unspecified government agency.”
I opened the binder. Nondisclosure agreements, contract, lots of scary language, . . . generous compensation.
“And if I tell them the truth, I would have to kill them?”
“Quite literally.”
My insides turned cold. He wasn’t joking.
“Your mother and your grandmother are both veterans. They understand how it works. Get them on your side and the rest of the family will fall in line.”
“What about the Ettersons?”
“What about them?”
“They’re victims in this case. I don’t want to involve them in this.”