The Blood of Amietta

IX. The Double Agent

"Mila!"

The voice catches me off guard, making me nearly drop the wine glass I'm cleaning. I glance up, catching the eyes of Sheriff Thomas. He stands halfway through the doorway with a worried look on his face.

"I need you to come with me," he says urgently. "Right now."

I furrow my brows. "Everything okay?" I ask, slightly concerned. "I promised Arabelle that I would watch the bar."

He groans. "It's important, I promise."

I don't move. He groans again, realizing that I'm not budging. Thomas glances around the bar pointedly. It's pretty dead– not at all surprising considering the fact that it's two in the afternoon on a Tuesday. The place is empty except for a couple of guys sitting at the table next to the jukebox.

"Noelani's going to tell the town," Thomas says, making sure he's quiet enough to keep from being overheard.

"Tell the town what?" I ask, playing dumb. I still have no idea how much he knows and I'm not going to be the one to accidentally tell him.

He shoots me a glare. "You know what."

"I'm pretty sure I do, but I'm gonna need you to say it," I decide.

He sighs. "The seal," he murmurs, even quieter than before. "She wants to tell them her plan to break the seal."

Well that was certainly clear enough for me.

I give Thomas a curt nod. "Let's go."

I swiftly kick the two men out and make sure to lock the bar up behind me. Hopefully Arabelle won't be too mad.

I let Thomas lead me towards the town square. It's not too hard to keep up with his fast pace, considering the fact that we are both the same height. Thank the Deities for blessing me with long legs.

"Where is she?" I ask after a minute or two, realizing that I have no idea where we are headed.

"Her office."

I nod, feeling a little more comfortable. Over the past few weeks, I've gotten fairly familiar with Noelani's office. We often have our magic lessons there, squeezed within the random blocks of time she manages to clear in her busy schedule.

Not that it matters much. I've been unable to learn a single thing since our lessons started. Noelani won't teach me anything until I can figure out how to have a vision on command– that's proving to be easier said than done. Yet, I don't see her offering any useful advice on how to control them.

The two of us really don't get along.

In other words, this whole arrangement between us is going just about how I imagined it.

We make it to Noelani's office in record time. Thomas strides through the door, barely taking the time to glance at the receptionist. It turns out that she doesn't have the same qualms about letting Thomas through as she did with me. She simply smiles at the sheriff, despite the tense look on his face.

The mayor looks up, shocked as we enter her office.

"Hello," she greets politely, eyes shifting between Thomas and I with a frown. "We don't have a meeting scheduled."

I ignore her greeting, choosing instead to sit in one of the chairs placed in front of her desk. "What's this I hear about you spoiling our plans to the town?" I ask.

She glares– not at me, but at Thomas. "You told her."

Thomas throws his hands up. "I told you I would!" he exclaims. "Damn it, Noelani, you really thought that I would let you go through with this?"