The Office of Records was one of two magic-related institutions that did not fall under my jurisdiction, the Assembly Tribunal being the other. I couldn’t compel the Keeper to comply. Anything he told me was strictly voluntary and the more I asked, the higher the cost would be.
Years ago, Nevada had promised the Keeper that she would fulfill an unspecified favor in return for sparing our evil grandmother Victoria. Since I had started my apprenticeship with Evil Grandmother, she’d mentioned this favor at least ten times. Not many things kept Victoria Tremaine up at night, but this one sure did. She stressed again and again that the Office of Records balanced the favor owed by the favor given and sparing her had been a significant favor.
In any case, this was a conversation best had in private.
“I wish to discuss a confidential matter. Is there a place my mother and Significant Harrison could wait?”
“Of course. Michael, please show our guests to the Blue Room.”
Michael glided across the floor without making a sound. That man made my hair stand on end.
Mom and Cornelius followed him out.
The Keeper regarded me with a smile. “Tea, Acting Warden?”
And he knew. How? The National Assembly must have notified him out of courtesy. I wondered who else had gotten that memo.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Honey, milk, lemon?” the Keeper offered.
“I’ll take it plain.”
The Keeper nodded.
Michael reappeared with a platter supporting a single extra cup. He set the cup in front of me, poured black tea from a teapot, left the platter on the table, and took three steps back.
I sipped my tea. It was lovely and smelled of vanilla. “Delicious.”
“I’m glad it suits your tastes.”
This conversation would have to be structured very carefully. I couldn’t obligate the Office of the Warden to something it couldn’t honor. If the Keeper asked for something in return for the information, I had to be sure we could deliver it. Making an enemy of the Office of Records was not an option.
“I have two requests, one for public information and one requiring discretion. The Office of the Warden would be grateful for any assistance.”
The Keeper’s eyes shone for a moment, as if lit from within. “The Office of Records always welcomes an opportunity to collect a favor from the Office of the Warden, doesn’t it, Michael?”
Michael looked directly at me. Like being sighted through the scope of a rifle.
“Please, make your inquiries,” the Keeper invited.
“Has Kaylee Cabera ever undertaken the trials?”
“No.”
“Has she undertaken any preliminary tests?”
“Yes.”
Now we were in a grey area. The trials took place before witnesses. Their results were public. The nature of one’s magic could be sealed, but not the rank. The results of preliminary tests remained private. They were unofficial practice runs that were published only if the family wanted them to be known.
If I asked about her specific rank, the Keeper could tell me, but the cost of that information would be high. I needed to mitigate our obligation.
“Based on those preliminary tests, does the Office of Records expect Kaylee Cabera to be certified as a Prime?”
The Keeper looked wolfish. “It would take a miracle or a crime against humanity.”
Administering the Osiris serum without authorization constituted a crime against humanity. He just confirmed my suspicions. Kaylee was born with minor power and her mother had gone to Arkan to make her daughter a Prime. That’s why she was untrained. That’s why her magic was odd.
I took out my phone, pulled up a picture of Pete’s ruined face, and placed the phone on the table. “Does the Office of Records know what type of mage could cause this kind of damage?”
The Keeper glanced at the phone. “I always liked Peter. What a shame. This was done by a mentamalleus.”
“A mind hammer?”
The Keeper nodded. “They’re more commonly known as false halcyons, which is not strictly accurate. The false halcyons are not a twisted branch growing from the halcyon tree; rather they are two separate trunks growing from the same root.”
“How do they differ?”
“Halcyon magic attacks certain areas of the brain,” the Keeper said. “Specifically, the amygdala, which assesses environmental threats, and the hypothalamus, which has the power to trigger the production of stress response hormones. Instead of initiating the making of cortisol and adrenaline, which allow us to quickly respond to threats, the affected hypothalamus sends signals for the production of dopamine and oxytocin, causing their target to enter a happy, relaxed stupor. The damage halcyons cause is temporary, and their power is effort-based.”
“Meaning they consciously exert an effort to induce calm?”
“Precisely.” The Keeper nodded. “The magic of a false halcyon also attacks the amygdala and hypothalamus, but primarily targets the frontal cortex, and instead of triggering hormonal responses, it permanently damages the physical structure of the brain. The attack is performed mentally, but if it succeeds, the damage to the mind is mirrored by the physical trauma to the brain. The results are predictably horrific.”
The memory of being struck by Kaylee’s magic was still fresh. Like me. LIKE me.
“Is it emotion-based?”
The Keeper smiled. “Yes. Very much so. A halcyon is calm and logical. A false halcyon is an unstable creature that throws all of themselves into their attack with the passion of an upset toddler. They commit completely, they are fueled by their emotions, and they cause irreparable damage. Like true halcyons, they can induce a temporary state of euphoria, but at the end of it, their victim loses most of their cognitive abilities.”
When I had thought that Kaylee was trying to turn Alessandro into a happy idiot, I’d had no idea how accurate that thought had been.
The Keeper touched my phone gently. “In Peter’s case, the dominant emotion was rage or hatred. The primary directive behind it was very simple.”
“Die?”
“Yes.”
What about Wahl? “What if someone was grazed by a false halcyon attack? Is there any hope of recovery?”
“Yes. Like all magic users, the false halcyons vary in power. If the accidental target was coherent after the attack, the damage is likely slight. It’s much like touching a hot stove. The longer one keeps their hand in the fire, the more severe the burn will be.”
I let out a breath. Wahl had been coherent. He’d been happy and smiling, but coherent.
“False halcyons are notoriously erratic,” the Keeper said. “There are a handful of Houses who still practice that magic, but their members undergo very rigorous mental conditioning from an early age. It’s one of the few kinds of magic considered to be undesirable due to the difficulty of controlling it. Most families took steps to breed it out.”
So Kaylee awakened as a mind hammer, which Luciana would have hidden at any cost until she could get her daughter some training. The Caberas were a noncombat House. Kaylee could be seen as either a critical asset or a huge hindrance, depending on how the rest of the relatives took it.
I could now say with 100% certainty that Kaylee had killed Pete and likely attacked Linus. It was almost elegant: first, Luciana would have put everyone at ease with her halcyon powers and then her daughter would’ve smashed their minds. Except Linus was a siren. His magic had warned him.
I still didn’t understand how Kaylee had evaded the turrets. I would figure this out before the end.
Now I knew who and when. I still didn’t know why. Did Arkan order them to do it and then tied up loose ends by killing Luciana or was this something else? I would have to figure this out on my own.
There were only a few points left to clarify.