Greys III - Revelations

Chapter 31 - Do What You Must

Malachi, James, Kael, Nevaeh, Chi, Halo, Horn, Spade, and I crowded Abby's office. Every Darkling at the Vault all in one bibliophile's messy room. Something about it seemed mildly humorous to me, but it might have just been the awkward air in the room that made a nervous laugh try to bubble up my throat. I held it down at the look on Abby's face.

He gazed deeply and solemnly at each of us, but when he got to James, my Pair nodded, just slightly, but Abby's shoulders slumped and his face fell further.

"Who knew?"

His voice was as disappointed as his face. I didn't answer because I didn't even know what there was to know - but the question was clearly directed at James. He rolled his shoulders deftly and nodded his head to the door, his hair wet, sticking to his face and neck from a recent shower.

"They can leave, you know who stays, and then I'll tell you every salacious detail. I'm not going to deny my guilt."

Something dropped in my stomach at his words. His guilt. What had he done? I had only been gone maybe thirty minutes when I was called to Abby's office, when we all were. What could he have done in such a short amount of time? He couldn't have gone anywhere. I glanced at the other faces in the room and immediately saw the glint in Malachi's eye, the barely concealed grin on his face. I knew he was a part of that 'guilt'.

"No, I would like you to admit to the room what you have done. And who else was involved." Abby's voice sounded tired, but his eyes were not watery for once. He looked angry.

"I killed Grayson. Took his heart to check that he had one. Surprisingly, he did. I'm perceptive of souls, you see, and his was still just as black and rotting as it was fifteen years ago. So I gave him what he deserved. A far quicker death than he deserved, actually, but I am nothing if not merciful."

James' voice was empty but I saw his chin lift higher, a physical manifestation of his lack of remorse, his defiance, before he continued.

"Malachi was there but didn't participate in the killing. How could he? When he wears your collar. Grayson died by my hands only."

I wasn't surprised James had killed his old tutor, not really, but I still felt my eyes widen. The air in the room felt frozen, my lungs freezing with it as a tumble of questions circled my mind. What would Abby do? What was the sentence for murder within the Vault? Would Abby be lenient because of James' past with Grayson? Could he claim self-defense? Was that even a thing when dealing with Halves and mages?

My questions and confusion quickly turned to anger. James should have told me instead of sending me off like an annoying child. Did he really think I would have tried to stop him? Did he really think I wouldn't have understood? Grayson deserved to die, and I would have helped, even if it went against Abby. Didn't James know that? I had taken his side against the mage even when we hated each other. But he hadn't even given me the chance. He hadn't trusted me, again.

I remembered Malachi's grin and my eyes landed on him again. His smile had grown in the silence, and when we met eyes he snaked his tongue out, catching a piercing between his teeth as he smirked. Then all the pieces fell into place like torrential rainfall; Malachi watching Grayson in the mess hall as a cat watches a mouse it has by the tail, James agreeing to 'help him' if he helped us with Chi, their shared looks throughout the day like they were scheming, because they were. That camaraderie I had felt - it suddenly all made sense.

Think.

My teeth ground as I looped back to why James would keep this from me and a cold thought settled into my mind, forming more and more, solidifying until I knew exactly how this meeting would play out.