Read Online The Hour of Dust and Ashes by Kelly Gay - Free Book Online

dark. Unpleasant,” Aaron said. “All it would take is exposing the First One as truth, not fiction, and the nobles will wage war for a better home, a more abundant home.”
    Aaron was right. It was possible that Tennin might not be the leader of the cult. It could be a noble. Hell, Mynogan had been a noble from the royal House of Abaddon. You didn’t get much higher in status than that. He was dead, but that didn’t mean there weren’t more like him.
    “Did the oracle say anything about the
ash
victims?” Bryn asked. “If she believed they’re possessed?”
    “No,” I answered truthfully. “But we should assume they are.” And I hated to say it but added, “Even you, Bryn. It’s the only way to keep everyone safe.”
    “And to that effect,” Aaron said, “the cult certainly won’t want an exorcist around to reveal the truth. They’ll want to maneuver the victims, use them …”
    “Use me,” Bryn added, gaze fixed on Aaron, her words ringing with a touch of steel.
    The strain between them increased with frightening speed.
    Just when I thought things might escalate into something more, Bryn shrugged. “Unless they decide I’ve outlived my usefulness and have me jump off a building instead.”
    Oh boy.
    Hot rage mushroomed like an atom bomb, then spread out to swamp the room. An eerie, dead silence seemed to stretch for eons. Aaron went completely still, so poised it made me a little uneasy. The light was back in his eyes, making the green color brilliant. I’d never seen him like this before, this … inflamed.
    But then, I’d never witnessed my sister purposefully provoke a Magnus Level warlock. I wanted to grab her hand and get her out of there before things escalated any further. And then give her a good lecture.
    “What do you mean by that?” Aaron asked in a steely tone.
    A smug smile twitched at the corner of Bryn’s lip. I glanced up, shot her a scolding look, and elbowed her in the thigh, jumping in before she could make things worse and start the fight she obviously wanted. “Two
ash
victims jumped from the Healey Building last night. We don’t know why they did it. I’ll be doing the rounds after this, talking to family, checking their homes … See if they left anything behind, a note, a reason …”
    Aaron placed his elbows on his knees, putting his hands together to make a teepee with his fingers and resting his chin on top. “Murder?” His head cocked, eyes glittering, the word slipping from his lips like a threat.
    “Well, like I said. We won’t know until—”
    “It is either murder,” he interrupted in a dangerous tone, “the cult having possessed those two people and then deciding to get rid of them. Or it is the effects of the drug, creating depression deep enough to make suicide an option.”
    Obviously, he didn’t appreciate my attempt at downplaying the situation. He wanted to hear it like it was, and I couldn’t blame him; I was the same way. “All right,” I said. “Here’s what I don’t get. If theywere possessed, why would the spirits inside of them listen to that kind of order? I mean, without bodies and without being strong enough to take an un-addicted person, they’re releasing themselves to the afterlife, giving up a life, a body. So … why would the spirits allow that to happen?”
    Aaron scratched his stubbly jaw. “Depends on how devout a cult member they were in life. You have to remember, they’ve been kept in those spirit jars perhaps for thousands of years. They likely chose to await a new life, to serve the cult in this way. This is a cult that has lasted over two thousand years, Charlie. Even in spirit form, those members would follow orders. True that maybe some wouldn’t, but these two obviously did.”
    “I don’t know … It’s not like Tennin to throw away a mole, you know? It’s not his style.”
    “Then perhaps it’s not him issuing this particular order.”
    Aaron turned to Bryn, his expression analytical and cold and