Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“Unless you’ve been living under a rock,” began Knox, “I’m sure you’ve guessed what prompted me to call for this meeting. Jonas is too mired in grief to attend, which is probably for the best since his gifts won’t be very stable while he’s grieving. Would I be right in presuming that you all saw the YouTube clip?”
“The whole world saw it,” said Mila. “Including humans.”
“Luckily, most of the human population sneers at the possibility of anything preternatural,” said Jolene. “Plenty of comments were left about the clip, most of which went along the lines of ‘terrible special effects’ and ‘bad acting’.”
“But some names were mentioned—particularly those of the other Horsemen,” Mila pointed out. “Alethea’s killer also mentioned you, Knox.”
“Only by surname,” he said. “As such, I doubt it will be linked to me. Even if it was, the human authorities will hardly believe there’s a death to investigate—people don’t set others on fire and melt their corpse, do they? Not in the human world.”
Pausing, Knox ran his gaze over each of the Primes. “If anyone here wishes to do as the Horseman asked and step down from their position, say so now.” When no one spoke, Knox gave a satisfied nod.
Malden sighed. “Although I’d investigated the matter of the Horsemen, I’d held out hope that they didn’t exist. Just the idea that demons might band together with plans to overthrow the Primes is bad enough. That such demons would also think to take you on means they’re either powerful, delusional, or utterly stupid.”
“Alethea’s killer was powerful,” said Mila.
Thatcher sighed. “I suppose I’m a suspect, just as I was a suspect during our last meeting.”
Knox’s eyes slammed on him. “At this point, Thatcher, everyone’s a suspect.”
“I watched that YouTube video several times before it was taken down,” said Dario. “It seems obvious to me that Alethea knew her killer.”
Knox nodded, watching the other Prime carefully. “He broadcasted her murder to create fear and panic and anger. But it was a mistake on his part, because he also gave us clues about his identity. For instance, we now know he’s able to steal or replicate a person’s voice. We know he’s male. Caucasian. Well-built. We know he somehow knew Alethea—he said she was in his way.”
Eyes narrowed in thought, Raul rubbed at his chin. “She may well have figured out that he was the last of the Horsemen. That seems the likeliest scenario.”
“Alethea disappeared months before her death,” said another Prime. “Do you think he held her captive all that time? If so, why? And why not kill her right away?”
“I don’t believe she was his prisoner,” said Jolene. “She looked rumpled, but not dirty or malnourished or beaten. Her make-up was close to perfect. Wherever she was all that time, it wasn’t a prison of any sort.” There were murmurs of agreement.
“I spoke at length with Jonas,” said Knox. “Alethea was acting quite secretive before she went missing. Wouldn’t even tell him who she was associating with at the time.”
“I thought she was with Thatcher,” a voice piped up from the opposite end of the table.
“Only for a short time,” Thatcher told him. “It was nothing serious. Just a bit of fun.”
“Maybe you didn’t want that fun to end and so you punished her,” that same Prime accused.
Thatcher sniffed at him. “If you’re going to insist on playing Devil’s advocate, at least offer more interesting theories. If you must know, it was I who ended the relationship. It was obvious that she was seeing someone else. I don’t demand commitment from my sexual partners, but I do demand exclusivity.” His eyes scanned the room. “Perhaps you’ve all forgotten that I aided Knox in reaching his mate before Nora could kill her. If I were one of the Horsemen, surely I wouldn’t have helped him. I notice none of you are pointing fingers at Dario, even though he’s a likely suspect.”
Dario’s brow slowly rose. “You do enjoy throwing accusations at others to divert attention from yourself, don’t you?”
He’s right on that one, Harper said to Knox.
Knox gave her an almost imperceptible nod. It’s a technique Thatcher often uses.
“Nora was your grandmother,” Thatcher said to Dario. “You were close, from what I heard. I find it difficult to believe that you hadn’t sensed that she had such grand plans. And you were of absolutely no help when Knox asked where she might have taken Harper.”
“Because I had no idea,” Dario ground out, cheeks flushing.
Ignoring that, Thatcher added, “And let’s not forget that you were also one of the Primes who campaigned to be the US Monarch, just as Isla did.”
Dario’s face hardened. “Malden also wanted the position, if you remember.”
Malden tossed him a sour look. “Thank you, Dario, for shifting the suspicion so nicely onto me.”
“I don’t believe you are the Horseman, Malden,” Dario told him. “I’m merely pointing out that my campaign to be a Monarch shouldn’t be an indication of guilt. I also didn’t associate with Alethea.”