the local Tribunal Executioner reached out en masse. Not everyone was even on the call. I didn’t know phones could only allow so many people at once.
“Okay. Here’s the deal. I need all of you to help spread the word. Phoenix is going Code Black—”
“Who got out of the prison?” Paden demanded sharply.
“Who didn’t is a better question,” I said quickly. “Both cell blocks were breached. In the mayhem, most of the northern cell block inmates were smart enough to just disappear. I’ve only encountered three of them since the initial breach, and only two of those have been taken out. The guards of the prison are handling the containment, but the southern inmates were essentially starting a war on the grounds when Korey told me to get out. Communications went down, and someone needed to make sure everyone was ready for the coming storm.”
“Oh gods,” someone said in a hushed, disbelieving, somewhat frantic way. “Oh, gods. Love, lock—”
“Wait for me to finish,” I growled. “Send everyone to their homes and lock the doors. They’ll be getting to the city probably by dawn. Some might get in faster. I don’t know what the Tribunal knows yet, so I need to let you go with that and get ahold of them. Once they’re in the loop, expect news from them as I’ll probably be on the front line, cleaning this up.”
“Of course. Godspeed, Executioner Sahni.” The werewolf Alpha hung up without another word. Most quickly said goodbye after that, hanging up to get ahold of their people and lock their doors. Some would work all night to redo and strengthen their magical protection. Most would make sure their weapons were close.
I knew a foolish few would try to run. If they flew in the next two hours, they would be able to evacuate the city, but the rest were going to get trapped in a city with no real idea what kind of storm might hit them—literal or figurative.
“No one is replying,” Raphael said, still texting.
“Just give them time. They’ll hear about this soon enough from their other friends if we can’t get to them.”
“Should we go to them? Cassius’ house is safe, right?”
“It is, but so is my condo, and I want to be at my own place. If things get hairy, we’ll head there.” I didn’t tell him it irked me that the thought of going to Cassius’ mansion and hiding was a better idea than anything I had planned.
Does he think I’ll be allowed to hide during this? I guess the answer to that lies with calling my bosses.
I looked through the Tribunal contacts I had, wondering which one I should go to with the news. I needed someone I knew would answer and take this seriously. They all would, but something was beginning to bother me, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I tried Alvina first, my favorite of them all.
“Alvina’s office—”
I hung up when I got her secretary. I wasn’t sure why. It was instinctive. I didn’t want to talk to a secretary. I wanted to talk to a member of the Tribunal. There was a difference.
I scrolled through the names, realizing Alvina was the only one I was comfortable calling outright but considered Hasan’s name when I saw it. His son, Hisao, had trained me and pointed me towards being an Executioner. That little fact had amused Hasan the only time I’d met him. I trusted the son. Hisao was one of the very few people who terrified me, but I trusted implicitly with my life.
I hit Hasan’s name, taking a chance.
“Hasan speaking,” he said, honey practically dripping off the words. The old werecat oozed sex in two words, and that annoyed me.
“This is Kaliya Sahni, North American Tribunal Executioner—”
“What can I do for you?” he asked, his tone more professional. He hadn’t let me finish my sentence, another annoyance. “Has something happened to your charge?”
“No, something has happened, though. Tonight, I went to the prison for a review…” I trailed off as everything started to click together.
9
Chapter Nine
“Kaliya? What happened at the prison?” Laced with worry, Hasan’s voice didn’t fall on deaf ears. I heard him just fine.
I still didn’t answer for a long time, staring at the empty road ahead of me in the dim light of sunset. It was a wild assumption, but I was certain the breakout was planned to get me and Raphael killed. Certain enough, I didn’t trust telling the man on the phone. Certain enough, I assumed