Page 88 (1/2)

Here it is, Justin thought, though he didn’t even blink under Cornelia’s scrutiny "It’s very detailed"

"Indeed it is," she said in agreement "Far more detailed than I would like It’s even worse than your last one Do you realize what you’ve signed off on? The idea that an ancient Celtic deity is responsible for repairing Cain in patricians through sacrificial ic?"

In his peripheral vision, Justin saw Mae taken aback She hadn’t believed he’d go through with it After what had happened in his last report, she’d thought he’d lie about the events in the te back on his gamble now

"I didn’t say that definitely happened Just that it couldn’t be ruled out Maybe it was eneticist in her service They were certainly a high-tech group to get those nued supernatural attackers The people who turn into shadows and have superhued," he said "I saw the;torian Koskinen and Leo Chan did too"

Cornelia pretended not to hear "It’s all absurd"

"It’s the truth!" exclaimed Francis And for the first time, he didn’t co everywhere, and you know it We can’t pretend it’s not We need to find it and control it before it controls us"

And like that, Justin knew his gamble had paid off Cornelia had always had neutral responses when he’d brought his secret, off-the-record observations to her about mysterious phenomena She hadn’t accused him of insanity, but she’d certainly never once hinted that thereon in the world Now her eyes told a different story We’re not the only ones who knohat’s happening, Geraki had said Your human masters know So do powerful people you don’t even suspect

Francis pointed at the reader and then fixed Justin with a penetrating look "This isn’t the first time we’ve seen phenomena like this And you’ve seen it too Other servitors are finding sis, but most won’t admit to it They blur the details in the reports because they fear for their jobs You’re one of the few brave enough to tell the truth"

Or stupid enough, thought Justin "What would you likewhat you do," said Francis "We have a list of cases that require more than routine interviews and paperwork Not just here, but in the provinces"

"Why would we care about that?" But it was the sa Lucian had told Mae when he’d looked into servitor hiring

"Because we need to know everything we can" Francis leaned across the table "It doesn’tThere are powers hiding right in front of our eyes, and you’ll be our lead in uncovering it all"

"Even though you have no idea what ‘it’ is," sneered Cornelia "All we’re going to find is a bunch of zealots fabricating ‘h to crack"

"If that’s true, then we’ll get our proof, and that will be that," said Francis But his voice showed he didn’t believe that, and Cornelia picked up on it

"You’re insinuating ideas that go against every principle our country was founded on," she said "If people start thinking there’s a mystical force out there, we’ll fall into chaos and have another Decline"

"Our country is founded on the truth," said Francis staunchly

Cornelia faced hiotten Justin and Mae "And what if that truth is dangerous?"