He was absolutely right. Smug, but right. I'd completely violated protocol, and everything that he was saying was the truth.

"I should have," I said, "you're right, but I felt that Cassandra's life might be in immediate danger. I didn't think there'd be time to notify the proper channels and organize some type of rescue."

"But you did think that bringing Mia Polanski, a minor, to a bloody crime scene was somehow the appropriate thing to do?"

"I didn't want to let her out of my sight. And besides"-I exhaled-"she's already been exposed to a bloody crime scene. I'm not saying that it was the best choice of action, but I was trying to protect both Mia and Cassandra."

"If you'd really been interested in protecting Mia, wouldn't it have been more prudent to remand her to CORE custody?"

I could feel a blush creeping up my face. "Like I said-I didn't think that there was time for that."

"Why?"

I closed my eyes. "It was just-a feeling."

"In our line of work," Selena said, leaning forward, "sometimes that's all we've got. You know that, Marcus. She may not have followed procedure, but it does seem like she had the girl's best interests in mind."

Marcus sighed. "I respect that-I do. And I understand why you might have thought that way, Tess." His eyes fixed on mine. "But we have to deal with the context here. To an outside observer, you've miraculously shown up at two crime scenes in as many days. You've continued to work on a case that you were dismissed from, at least until the paperwork was processed. Now it'll take forever to clear you on the Vailoid death, no matter what Selena or I tell the higher-ups. "

I swallowed.

"You've also-either deliberately or unconsciously- placed a minor in grave danger by bringing her to a potentially active crime scene. And all of this could have been avoided if you'd simply picked up that little cell phone and called one of us."

"In all fairness," I said, "you were the one who assigned me to interview the necromancer, Marcus. I was on my way back from the club when Mia called. The case was already on my mind."

"And if I'd assigned you to a completely different case, then would you have followed procedure? Would you have told Mia to contact us?" He shook his head. "No, I think you would have done exactly the same thing. You may have been trying to protect the girl, but you did it by violating the rules and precepts that make this organization run smoothly and ethically. You put Mia Polanski in danger, and you deliberately ignored the instructions that I gave you."

"Yeah," I said, "but it's not always about following procedure. This isn't just a case to me, Marcus. This is my life. That demon didn't just attack Mia-it attacked Derrick and me, too, and it would have killed us if we gave it the chance."

"We can protect the girl," Marcus said. "We have the resources to keep her safe. You're just one person, Tess. You stormed into that building like you were the hero of the day, and you could have just as easily gotten killed."

"Derrick and I are both trained-"

He raised his hand impatiently. "You're an OSI level one, and you haven't even passed your first review."

"He's right," Selena said. "You should have called me- or anyone-for backup. Going in there alone was reckless and stupid, Tess. You weren't thinking clearly."

"Which is exactly why I had you put on temporary leave from this case."

Marcus looked at me, and I was once again surprised by what I saw in his eyes. Concern. Some small part of him- divided from the career-hungry OSI and the authority figure who worshipped the procedure manual-actually cared about my welfare. And not for the first time, I started to wonder how badly I was screwing both Selena and Marcus even as I tried to protect Mia. I was stuck between a rock and a flamethrower. Not a pretty place to be.

"I know what you think of me, Tess," he said. "I know you're convinced that I'm a supercilious prick-"

Selena's eyes widened, but she didn't interrupt him.

"That I'm always riding you, punishing you unfairly. That I'm out to get you. But I'm not."

All I could do was nod.

"I see a lot of potential in you, whether you believe that or not. The potential to be a great occult investigator. But you're also arrogant. You're dismissive of authority, and you don't take instruction well. Plus, your commitment to the job isn't exactly solid. You aren't giving one hundred percent."

"It's hard to be a hundred percent committed," I said, "when the CORE doesn't even pay me enough to cover seventy-five percent of my rent."

"Every investigator begins at the bottom, and every OSI-1 gets the same pay. All I'm saying, Tess, is that you can't divide your loyalties forever. You're going to have to make a choice-soon-and I hope that you make the right one." His eyes darkened. "Because if you aren't fully committed, you won't pass your review."

"I understand that," I said slowly.

"Then let's continue with the explanation." Selena leaned forward again. "You went to SemTec Laboratories, and then what?"

"We wanted to make sure that Cassandra was okay. But Mia had never been to her office before. All she knew was that it was on the fourteenth floor."

"And how did you gain access to the building?"

Shit.

I swallowed. "I used my athame to temporarily disable the security system. That's how I opened the door."

"So breaking and entering, then," Marcus clarified.

"The lobby was empty," I pressed on, trying to ignore the sound of my career going down the toilet. "At the time, I suspected that the entire building might be deserted- everyone seemed to have gone home for the night. So we took the elevator up to the fourteenth floor."

"And what did you see there?"

"Well, it looked like a serology lab of some kind. There was a lot of DNA and ABO-typing equipment."

"Which we've confiscated," Marcus supplied.

"Of course." I ground my teeth. "I wasn't sure what it was all for, but it looked like there was some kind of DNA test in progress. PCR comparison with a blood sample. I logged the slide as evidence."

"We saw that in your report."

"Did you find out who the blood belonged to?" I asked.

"We can't release that information right now."

Damn. He knew something, and he wasn't going to tell me. Neither was Selena. I was officially out of the loop.

"Fine," I said. "Anyway, we examined the lab without touching anything. Then we heard a sound-a crash. It was a window breaking."

"And you went to investigate," Selena replied.

"Not exactly. Mia ran ahead of us to see what was going on. We had no choice but to follow her."

"But if she hadn't done that," Marcus said coyly, "you would have called for backup and notified us. Right?"

I met his gaze evenly. "I don't know."

Marcus started to say something, but Selena interjected. "So what did you see when you entered Cassandra Polanski's office?"

"There was a dead Vailoid demon lying on top of the desk. It looked as if he'd been completely eviscerated. There was also a broken window, and we discovered another Vailoid body in the parking lot below. He'd been pushed out the window."

"Or he jumped," Marcus said. "You can't know for sure, right?"

I stared at him. "Why would he jump?"

"I don't know, Tess. Why would two Vailoid demons attack a middle-aged woman in her office? None of this really makes sense."

"You must know by now that Cassandra wasn't an ordinary woman."

"Tasha is still performing the autopsy on her, as well as the Vailoids. We don't have detailed information about her physiology or genetic heritage yet, but we're working on it."

"So you saw the two Vailoid demons," Selena pressed. "Then what?"

"Then I noticed Cassandra's body behind the desk. She had what looked like a large chest wound, and her face was heavily bruised and bloodied. I checked for a pulse, but she was dead. The ME confirmed this when she arrived, about twenty minutes later. I told Derrick to take Mia into the lobby and call in the crime scene. Then I tried my best to make sure that nothing was contaminated."

"We found some fibers on one of the demons," Selena said.

I looked at her sharply. "What sort of fibers?"

"We haven't identified them yet. Tasha found them during the gross exam, and she sent them up to Trace. We'll know more soon-but in the meantime, we'll need the clothes that you were wearing that night."

"I'm still wearing them," I said wearily.

"Okay. We'll give you some new clothes, then. We've done the same thing with Derrick and Mia-just to eliminate any chance that the fibers might have come from any of you."

"That's fine. This outfit is getting pretty ripe anyway."

Selena smiled sympathetically. "You can have a shower, too."

"God, you have no idea how much I'd like that."

"Don't get too comfortable yet," Marcus warned. "I don't think you deliberately tried to interfere with this investigation, but you did violate several protocols. I'm going to have to place you in abeyance for the next week or so."

I glared at him. "Are you kidding? You want me to go on extended vacation?"

"It's for your own good, Tess. You've already got two strikes against you, and I don't want you screwing yourself over." That was almost charitable. He might just as easily have said "screwing us over." "So as of this afternoon, you're officially on leave. Once you've passed your review, you can resume active duty."

"This is bullshit, Marcus, and you know it."

"Tess-" Selena warned.

"No, she's got a point. I get why you're frustrated." Marcus suddenly looked as tired as I felt. I could see the shadows beneath his eyes, the lines on his face. He was exhausted-probably not sleeping, like me. "But you understand this as well as I do. These are the rules. If I break them for you, then I have to break them for everybody else. And we've already allowed you to get away with too much. From now on, we have to follow procedure to the absolute letter."

"I guess I don't have a choice."

"That's right. You don't." He rose, collecting a manila file folder-my CORE record, complete with all sorts of interesting notes and blemishes-from the table. "You understand, of course, that you won't be permitted to see Mia, or to talk to her. Not on the phone or via e-mail. Any contact with Mia Polanski will violate the terms of your 'leave of absence,' and we'll have to take disciplinary action. Do you understand?"

"I do," I said coldly, "but at least tell me what's going to happen to her."

"Mia will be placed under surveillance. Don't worry- she'll be comfortable, and agents will be monitoring her around the clock. Nothing will get past them."

"Come on, Marcus. That's going to be terrifying for her."

"More terrifying than seeing her aunt's body? Don't you think this poor girl has been through enough, Tess? All we want to do is protect her from further harm."

I gritted my teeth. "At least let me take her home so that she can get some clothes-a few familiar items. Anything to make her feel more comfortable."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Give me a break, Marcus. I'm not going to spirit her away to some tropical island. I'll sign out a vehicle and document the mileage. If we're not back in a few hours, you can send the helicopters out looking for us."

"Tess-"

"Just listen to me, okay? This girl is scared. She's just lost everything, and she may be a very powerful latent mage."

He looked skeptical. "Our tests haven't confirmed anything yet."

"It doesn't matter. The potential is there, in any case. The last thing you want to do is put her in a car with a couple of strange investigators that she's never met before. Think about it. She's going to freak. She could bolt."

"We'd find her."

"But would you find her before the next Vailoid assassin? Or before she got herself into a whole new whack of trouble? " I tried to look sincere, although I was resisting the urge to strangle him. "This girl is one step away from a total psychotic break. She needs stability. Derrick and I are the only people that she trusts. I promise you-if you just let us take her home and get a few familiar things, the process will go a hell of a lot more smoothly. And we'll be back before you know it!"

Selena raised an eyebrow. "She's got a good point."

Marcus let out a breath. "Fine. We'll do it your way. But you'd better sign out that vehicle properly. And if you drive even one kilometer out of the way, you'll answer to me."

"Thank you, Marcus," I said sweetly. "I promise not to let you down."

He walked out of the interrogation room without another word. I briefly imagined him as a secret smoker, sucking back unfiltered Marlboros in the men's bathroom. I wondered how high his blood pressure was.

"Great day," was all Selena said.

I couldn't keep the shame from creeping into my eyes. I knew that I should have told her everything from the start, but now I was too far past the point of feeling accountable. "I'm sorry," I said simply. "I should have come to you."

Her expression was wry-almost subtly pleased. "You did what you had to," she said. "You made your choice. We'll just have to see if it was the right one."

She got up smoothly and left the room.

I was alone again.

18.