Desperate Measures

But dawn found me sound asleep and thus I missed catching my father before he left to bring a Hunter pair and their suspect to Inferno. I learned much later that he'd gotten that call somewhere around four or five in the morning and had left immediately. The first we knew of it was when Aunt Teri read the note he'd written and placed on the nightstand next to her bed.

I was torn between relief and terror. Now I didn't have to confront him and admit my misdeeds face to face, but I also had lost my chance to have him rescue Monkey first thing. My guilt and fear for her far outweighed what childish relief I felt at delaying my punishment. What was I going to do now? I wondered frantically. I couldn't call him on his spellophone, he'd said he would be unavailable on it for several hours, Inferno was masked and veiled beyond belief, and standard spellophone charms didn't work there.

I bit my lip and pondered my next course of action even as I showered and changed. The way I saw it, I had two choices: one, wait for Dad to return and let him go and rescue Monkey, or two, go and rescue her myself. I knew which option she'd have told me to go for. And I'd have taken it too, really I would've, if things had worked out differently this morning. But as it was, I had a sickening feeling that if I waited something awful would happen to her. Call it instinct, call it precognition, whatever, that little voice in the back of my mind was screeching its head off that it was too dangerous to wait even a few hours.

I recalled something Arista had said once, when she was telling me of all the crazy stunts she used to get up to as a kid back in England. "It wasn't that I didn't know full well the consequences of misbehaving, because believe me, Dad had made them quite clear a number of times. But then something would happen, like Scout nearly dying, or Wrackspur maybe telling Voldy about Mel being a ghostwalker, and suddenly I'd be forced to say to myself, is it worth getting in trouble, to save your friend or your dog? And usually the answer was-hell yes! And so I'd go do the forbidden, knowing all the while at some point I'd have to answer to him for my actions, and I accepted whatever he dished out because I'd earned it and known the consequences beforehand. I broke the rules and Dad punished me, end of story. There was no whining about how it was unfair or I didn't know."

Well, Gavin? Is it worth getting your ass kicked to save Monkey? I asked myself then. I winced just imagining how furious he was going to be when he found out what I'd done this time. But I'd endure even the wrath of Severus Snape for Jane Eyre Arnold, I decided a moment later. She'd risked her neck for me this past November to free me from the Shifter, and she had no magic and was only an ordinary Muggle girl. How could I, a firecaller and a wizard, do any less?

I quickly shut out the small voice in the back of my mind that yelled, do the smart thing and let the adults handle it for once, Gavin Snape. If I did that and she died I'd never forgive myself. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I dressed and went down for breakfast with my cousins and Aunt Teri. I forced myself to act normal, eating and joking around with Drew and Nick. They wanted to go to the beach today, which Aunt Teri agreed to, and I silently cursed, for that took me out of town.

Once we arrived there, I waited until the twins were involved in their surfing and my aunt had settled down in the beach chair to read before I came up to her and said I wanted to go back to the hotel and lie down. Aunt Teri looked at me in concern, "Do you still feel sick, Gavin?" She reached out a hand to feel my forehead.

"Yeah. My head hurts," I lied.

"You do feel slightly warm. Okay, promise me you'll go straight back to the hotel and you can go yourself. Your dad ought to be back soon anyhow, he can give you some more potions if you need them."

"Okay. I'll go back to the hotel, no problem," I agreed swiftly. I wasn't lying either, for I really did want to go back to the hotel, so I could leave Dad a note explaining where I was and why. It was my backup, in case something went wrong, and also an attempt to lessen his anger at my foolishness. I mean, last time I'd gotten in trouble for not leaving a note for my grandparents and running off incognito to New York. This time, at least I'd be able to say "Look, I told you where I was going, Dad, doesn't that count for something? Like maybe you won't take my broom away for an entire month? Or spank the daylights out of me like I deserve?"

The note wasn't going to get me off the hook totally, but it might get me a reduced sentence, I thought hopefully, as I hopped in the cab and rode back to the hotel.

There I quickly located a piece of parchment and a quill and penned a short but detailed note. I left it where he'd be sure to find it, right next to his suitcase. Sorry Dad, I know you're gonna flip out big time and I hate to make you worry, but I've got no choice. Ravens stick together and I hope you can forgive me.

Then I recast the glamour of Tristan Meese over myself and headed out to Rochester Street once more. The Brotherhood didn't know it, but they were about to get a new recruit.

* * * * * *

My plan for infiltrating the Brotherhood was simple, go in and pretend I was a new recruit, one who was clueless but who hated witches. Evelyn had said they liked to recruit young, so I didn't think my age, I now looked about thirteen, would be a problem. Once I was inside I'd observe and listen a little before going in and springing Monkey. I thought about torching the place, burning the damn house to the ground, but I quickly smothered that idea.

Not that I couldn't do it, for as a seventh level firecaller I could do it easily. Even stone and brick will burn if the fire is hot enough. But I'd have to really cut loose in order to do that, and I wasn't certain I could keep from killing innocent people if I let my fire blaze too brightly. Plus, I really didn't like killing people that way, even if they might deserve it. Killing was a last resort, or so my father had always stressed to me. In his whole career as a spy for the Order, I think he'd killed maybe a dozen to two dozen necromancers, including Lucius Malfoy. I knew too that the Hunter code, though it allowed for self- defense and combat magic against a suspect, also put capturing ahead of killing a criminal.

The legendary Amelia Amarotti Snape, in her short but brilliant career as a Hunter, had only one kill to her name-the vile Kittrick Slade. And she was one of my personal heroes, up there with my dad as far as people I most wanted to be like.

So, much as I wanted to smoke the Brotherhood, I controlled my temper. This was not a video game, where I could reset if I screwed up. This was real life, and a wrong decision could cost lives. Later, once I'd gotten Janie away and safe, then maybe I'd show those scum what a real bonfire was like. But until then I'd play it cool.

Getting into the mansion proved ridiculously easy. I knocked on the door, then opened it and went in. Convincing the man sitting at the polished oak desk in the huge marble foyer was a bit harder, but I knew the attitude and the stuff he wanted to hear. I'd had Ferrous's doctrine of magic is evil and witches are to be hated shoved down my throat from the time I was three, and I knew it by heart. Spewing the sentiments back at the guard/recruiter or whatever he was made me nauseous, but I managed it. I also laced my words with the hint of a suggestion spell, something I'd learned when I was with the dragons.

The guy, whose name was Richards, took everything I said for gospel, and then he put my name down in a large black book. "You're the first recruit we've gotten in three weeks, Tristan. Welcome, and after the trial period of three months, you'll be a full member." He rose and said, "Follow me, I'll show you where you can hang out until the Captain comes back. His name's Matthew Hawthorne, his family is descended from the great Judge John Hawthorne, who participated in the Salem witch trials. But all of us call him Captain or sir. He's an Enforcer, a high rank in the Brotherhood. An Enforcer is one who leads the hunts for witches."

How very sporting of him, I thought with a concealed sneer. "Does he lead the Brotherhood then?" I asked, trying to get a feel for who was in charge here.

Richards shook his head. "No. The Grand Judge does. Albert Marcellier. But he is away, concentrating on other matters in the South. But the Captain is one of his most trusted subordinates, third only from the top position. You'll meet him later on, he likes to speak with each new recruit personally."

He led me down a long hallway decorated with portraits of unsmiling grim faced men in stiff suits or judge's robes. I assumed they must be former leaders of the Brotherhood, they looked the type. A shiver of fear crawled down my spine. I felt as if I'd walked into a den of scorpions, and they were going to sting me to death. It was like living with Ferrous all over again, with one difference. I had chosen it this time around, and I could escape if I wanted to.

Once I'd run away, I had vowed that never again would I ever be at someone's mercy the way I'd been at Ferrous's. And I never had been. Richards showed me into a large room wallpapered in striped blue and white.

It had a bed in one corner and a huge TV, plus a couch and a long table with some snacks and juice on it. My stomach rumbled hungrily but I ignored it. "Help yourself to whatever you want," Richards said, indicating the table. "You can watch TV or read if you want, but no going beyond this door. Captain's orders."

"Yes sir," I agreed, looking a bit intimidated. I had no intention of staying in this room once he was gone, of course. "How long do you think it'll be before the Captain comes?"

Richards shrugged. "No idea. Could be a couple of hours though. Until then, you stay put. Will anyone be looking for you at home?"

"Nah. My foster parents don't care where I am, so long as I'm outta their hair," I said nonchalantly.

"Fine. Take a nap or whatever, Tristan." Then he departed.

I heaved a mental sigh of relief. Easy as pie. I made myself wait about ten minutes before I cast another glamour spell, showing me sleeping in the bed. I turned the TV on low, making it seem as if I was watching it. Then I slipped out the door. I would cast a light shield if I heard someone coming, I thought, then I set out to explore the place.

I peered into all the rooms down the hallway near my own, discovering that most of them were unused and had bits of white sheets covering the furniture, one was a boardroom, and one had a good sized game room, complete with a pool table, ping pong table, a pinball machine, and the like. Opposite the game room was a fully equipped gym. Some large guys were working out there, I ducked quickly out of sight. Apparently they took their exercise seriously around here.

I headed up the hall, moving back towards the main entrance and the large set of stairs I'd seen, which was, no doubt, where Monkey was being held. Richards was still on duty in the foyer, going through some paperwork. I wondered if he had another job besides that one, surely these people worked and only did this on the side, they couldn't all be independently wealthy.

I started up the staircase, silent as a shadow, only to halt abruptly as I caught sight of two men walking back and forth on the top of the balcony. They were dressed in some kind of semi-para military uniform and they carried guns on their shoulders.

Hope you all enjoyed the last few chapters! What do you think will happen now?

Next: Gavin discovers something unusual concerning the Captain of the operation while searching for Monkey.