The Professor glanced up. "Dimitri and I already spoke to the Enforcers."
Zoey choked. She pounded on her chest and downed a glass of water before wiping away tears from her eyes. The Professor was gazing at her with one eyebrow raised.
"And?" she asked, afraid of his answer.
"We expressed that there might be extenuating circumstances. The Enforcers said they'd take it into consideration. They chose not to read our minds."
Her heart was pounding. "How much stronger than a regular Incubus is an Enforcer?" She thought of Vikki's belief she'd be immune to their mind reading.
"They are as powerful as the Sucubatti IAB, if not more so."
"Stronger than Olivia. Wow. But like, how strong is that?" she asked again. "If Vikki is bonded to an Incubus, can they break that?"
"That bond cannot be broken by anyone, especially if the three stages of the rite have been fulfilled."
"Thank god," she sighed.
"To answer your question, the Enforcers are like comparing a hurricane to a thunderstorm. Both are powerful, capable of much destruction, but a thunderstorm rarely wipes out an entire coastline."
Zoey ate thoughtfully, worried for her friend. "I think she's done the three steps. Will she be okay, Professor?"
"My sweet Zoey. I think she is better prepared than you to face them." There was a note of sadness in his voice. "They've requested to see you at eleven."
She froze.
"I did my best to dissuade them. They are talking to her at ten. If they are satisfied, they may not need you."
Panicking, Zoey rose. The Professor released his magic to calm her. It had little effect.
"I can't go in there!" she exclaimed. "I know everything that no one else will tell them!"
"Only if they read your mind, Zoey. If you do as we did and are calm and answer their questions without suspicion, they will have no need to tell Olivia anything negative about you."
She looked at him pointedly. They both knew calm had never been her strong suit. He took a sip of an amber liquid that wasn't apple juice. Her gaze lingered. She'd never seen the Professor drink. He was worried.
"You have one thing going for you," he said, setting it down. He motioned for her to sit. "Whoever helped you last night initiated the bond rite."
"What does that mean?" she asked, seated again.
"It means you've met one of the three requirements to be bound to your soul-mate."
Her blood ran cold. Speechless, she stared at the Professor.
"I felt the shift," he explained. "I can no longer read your mind. The bond will be much stronger than ours was. That might keep the Incubus Enforcers out of your mind."
"It won't help me with the IAB!"
"Vikki is in a much better position, having met all three requirements for a full bond. She can withstand anyone. Yours will be partial. Depending on how strong your soul-mate is, they may or may not be able to read your mind. They will know you've been marked and claimed."
For the first time, she was grateful for the soul-mate mess. Declan didn't know it, but he might save her best friend's life. Maybe she would go back in a few days and thank him in the Incubus way, assuming she survived Olivia's hearing, which was sure to come after this one. She owed him another night.
She sighed and leaned back. "I'll take a fifty-fifty shot over no chance at all."
"Only you would find that encouraging," the Professor said, chuckling. "There are some basic protocols for meeting with an Enforcer. No weapons, remain calm, answer all their questions. And of course, be polite."
"Okay on everything but weapons. If they try to read my mind, I'm taking out any of them I can," she said firmly.
"Zoey, you cannot challenge an Enforcer." The dark note in his voice worried her.
"What choice do I have?" she demanded. "If they read my mind, they find out what you've told me. They find out what Vikki told me, what I read in her diary. They learn everything. I become the weak point, and I betray both of you. No." She shook her head hard. "I won't let that happen. I'll provoke them into killing me first."
His features were grave. "Diary?"
"Yeah. They'll find out I stole her diary so they wouldn't find it," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm toast either way, if not from the Incubatti then the Sucubatti." Which is why our plan to do our own thing is sounding better and better.
He said nothing.
"This is it, isn't it?" she asked. "The last day of my life?"
The Professor laughed.
"There's nothing funny about that."
"It won't go as you believe. I am certain you will leave the room alive and in no worse shape. The Enforcers are terrifying, yes, but they are also highly intelligent," he said. "They won't be provoked into killing you. You have this bond with your Incubus, and I put in a good word for you. They may respect the Incubus who bonded with you enough not to tell Olivia about it. Are you hearing all this?"
She nodded, calming some. She couldn't help feeling vindicated. Declan thought he was winning a bet, when in truth, he had done her a favor that just might save Vikki and the Professor from the Incubatti Enforcers. She'd dwell on what that meant later, if she survived the inquiry.
"I don't really feel bad about last night," she said. Best night of my life. "I mean, about Eric."
"He dumped you. Why would you feel bad?"
"You know why. Because he's gonna call me, we'll get married, yadda yadda."
"The bond between an Incubus and his intended is rare and strong. It's fate. It should feel natural. Don't feel guilty for not thinking of Eric," the Professor said with kindness.
"I still hurt, though," she said. "I really hurt Eric. I really thought..."
"You could be normal. I know. Do you think otherwise now?"
"I don't know. I know I'm not moving into the dorms. I can't stand it there."
"This is your home," he reminded her. "You ditched me for Eric over a year ago, but even before that, I never made you live in the dorms, did I?"
She laughed at the offense in his voice.
"You cared for Eric. It's natural for you to hurt," he said. "Think of it less as a chapter ending but a new story starting. Eric will be fine. You'll be fine, assuming you don't throw down the gauntlet with the Enforcers."
She grinned.
"I need to put your Incubus on speed dial. I've had to call him two nights in a row."
His words stirred her memory. "He said the same thing," she said, puzzled.
"I sent him to pick you up after you got poisoned and again last night, when I knew you were in danger."
"Why?"
"Believe it or not, Declan has been as resistant to his fate as you are to yours. He should've initiated the bond long ago, after he found you. You have stubbornness in common for certain," the Professor said. "One of you will have to grow sense. After speaking to him this morning, I believe he will be the one who does."
"I still don't believe this shit," she told him. "If this thing gets me through the inquiry, you and I are gonna have a little talk about how to get out of this bizarro soul-mate business."
"One thing at a time. Inquiry first," the Professor said. "Focus on being calm. Take a bath, relax, and prepare yourself to answer their questions."
"Alright. I'll do my best. For you and Vikki, not for them," she agreed.
"They'll call at ten thirty, after they interview Vikki, to let me know if they need you to come."
The Professor was worried, but not to the extent she thought he'd be if she were in danger. He cared for her; that much she knew. He wouldn't send her in, if she was going to die. And he didn't seem concerned that any mind reading they did would land him in trouble. Reassured by his steadiness and smile, she took a deep breath and rose.
"I'll go take a bath. Holler when they call."
She ran a bath and climbed in, relaxing. She let her mind go where it wanted. It lingered on Eric, and she felt badly for thinking how little he truly did satisfy her, after the night with Declan. If she'd known she was intended for that, she never would've gotten the hopes up of someone like Eric.
But there was no way she was going to be involuntarily bound to someone like Declan. She knew nothing about him. If he lived in the same apartment building with Incubatti, what was to say he wasn't in charge of the Cambions slaughtering innocent women?
Something within her indicated that wasn't the case. He'd been beyond gentle with her, to the point he'd sacrificed his own pleasure. She'd never heard of an Incubus doing something like that. If he was claiming her according to the three requirements, he had a reason to go slow with her. His goal would be securing her for the long term, not just one night of sex.
Long term. Zoey didn't like thinking about tomorrow, let alone what would come in a few years. The Professor acted as disapproving towards Declan for not claiming her as he did Zoey for the way she ate. Maybe, then, she'd be able to convince Declan himself he didn't want her. He waited over three years to appear, and did so only when the Professor called him.
She began to see a way out of the commitment. It helped her relax even more. She'd be calm at the inquiry, answer their questions then convince Declan he didn't want her. The only thing out of the equation for good: Eric. She wouldn't drag him back to her world, not when she understood she needed something more and he deserved much more than she could give him.
She let herself doze, at ease with the sex energy subdued for once.
Everything would go as planned. Vikki's life depended on Zoey remaining calm this morning. She wasn't going to let her best friend down by provoking the Enforcers into reading her. Though, she wasn't going unarmed, either. Things were quickly getting ugly around her lately.
Chapter Eleven: Declan Unveiled.
A few minutes before eleven, Zoey stood in front of a familiar set of double doors. It was what she and Vikki called the No-No chamber, their second home. The Sucubatti elders held a disciplinarian court a few times a week. In most cases, Zoey or Vikki or another member of Team R was one of those called in for some reason. She'd decided to pretend this was yet another disciplinary hearing.
She felt better at the familiar surroundings. She knew the set up and was calm and ready after her long bath and a nap. She dressed comfortably in leggings and a loose sweater that fell to mid-hip. It covered her hidden weapons well. Vikki texted after her session to say she thought it went well. She referred to the Enforcers as arrogant jackasses, but said their questions were straight-forward and simple. Relieved, Zoey didn't complain when the Professor called to say they wanted to see her, too.
All Zoey had to do was avoid giving them a reason to read her mind.
The doors opened precisely at eleven. She hesitated at the door. A wall of pure power swept over her. Even subdued, the Enforcers' magic was incredible.
The set-up was the same she was accustomed to: the room was dark, with the head of the Enforcers seated where the head of the school sat directly in front of her. There were five of them, evenly spread out in a half circle. She stepped into the center of the spotlight in the center of the room. She could see their hands and nothing else. The only real difference between them and the disciplinary council aside from the stifling magic lighting her blood on fire almost made her smile. The Enforcers used iPads instead of stacks of files and papers.
"Name."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. If the Professor's made her shiver, this one made her body want to quake. She reeled in her control and forced herself to focus. Not seeing their faces made it easier to pretend they were the little old women on the disciplinary hearing boards.
"Zoey Alexander," she replied.
"You come here often, it seems."
"Failure to respect authority or play well with others," another read from her file.
"Either does not or cannot follow simple instructions and rules."
There were three voices, maybe four. She stopped trying to track which one spoke. The magic swirling around her carried the voices every which way. It made her dizzy. She listened instead.
"Overzealousness for killing."
"Assigned to the Professor."
"Refuses to integrate fully into the society. Leads double life among humans."
"Does any of this surprise you?"
So far, so good. It sounded like a typical disciplinary hearing. It took her a moment to realize one had asked her a question.
"Nope," she replied. "Sounds about right. You left out the part about outbursts of violence involving other Halflings. Also, the double life is over."
"Care to explain?"
"No," she said.
"Let me rephrase. Explain this change to your file."
She almost retorted. Instead, she recalled her sole purpose being there: not to screw up.
"I was dating someone on the outside," she said. "It's over."
"A human?"
"Yes," she said with a snort. "A human."
"I didn't know the Sucubatti permitted this. Is he a liability?"
"No. Like every other human, he didn't know anything about what I did or about the Sucubatti or Incubatti societies. Nothing about the war a hundred years ago that split the societies and drove everyone underground. He was way too...trusting."
"You lied to him."