The Gala

I hated being sent to events as security. It meant a lot of standing around, watching members of the Order flaunt their status among the other leaders. The music was louder than I thought it should be. At least the band was good. The other event I’d been pulled to, I felt like I would lose my mind listening to them play. Groups of people were standing around talking while others were dancing. A few of the dancers were very drunk. I was more interested in watching their antics than anything else. At least it was entertaining.

I had to suppress a sigh as Corazana Vietta laughed that high-pitched fake laugh for the hundredth time. I was ready to get back to regular assignments. Tracking people down and bringing them in to be held accountable for their recklessness was where my talent was best used. I didn’t have to wear a stiff suit for that either. All the fancy dresses and suits blurred together. I could barely tell anyone apart.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. The Blade member assigned there shifted again. It was an awkward movement, a shift of his shoulders. Not the kind of thing expected of someone trained for this. Before the event, I hadn’t known many people called to work it. That was how it always worked. We were rotated in and out of personal security.

I watched him more closely. The uniform wasn’t quite right. Every member of the Blade was issued an identical suit, tailored perfectly, for these occasions. It sat too loose on his frame, and the coloring was off. His posture wasn’t quite right. It was too tense and not at all controlled. The way his eyes moved over the crowd wasn’t quite right. I hadn’t been in Blade long, but the little things made all the difference in this job.

I weighed the risks of leaving my post. I wasn’t supposed to, it would leave a hole, but I was looking at a possible security threat. I cursed under my breath. Walking away would leave me open to losing this job. I’d have to take care of it myself. If I was wrong, I’d be in trouble no matter what. At least this way, I could mostly avoid making a scene.

“These events are a huge waste of money,” I said as I ambled up to him.

“Yep,” he said, shifting again.

“Can’t wait until I earn my place in the field again,” I said, crossing my arms as I looked over the crowd. “That’ll teach me to defy an order.”

“Getting back out there would be nice,” he said. “Lesson learned.”

I nodded at him. Agreeing with the lie was all the confirmation I needed. I wasn’t sure how I could remove him from the room yet. I didn’t want any more attention on me than I had to have. The more in shadows I lived, the better I could be at my real job. I would make it work. Even if he was almost twice my size.

I sidled closer to him, and he looked me over carefully. One of my biggest assets was not looking threatening. Short, petite, and blonde. The accent helped, too. I slid my hand into my pocket and closed it around one of the syringes I always kept on me. He let me get close before he started to shift more of his attention to me. I flashed him a brilliant smile. He started to say something, but I didn’t give him the chance.

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer. I jammed the needle into his forearm. It would’ve been better to hit him in the neck, but I wasn’t sure I’d have landed that blow. He stumbled back from me. A few heads turned our way, but I gave them a half smile as I shifted to help the man next to me. Most everyone went back to what they were doing. Someone being a little too drunk wasn’t worthy of their attention.

The man I jabbed was still stumbling. I slid under his arm and tried to guide him, but he shoved me back. I was able to stay on my feet, but only just. If I didn’t get him under control soon, he would make a bigger scene than he would have if I’d just tackled him out of the room. One of the other Blades saw us and came over. Luckily, I knew this one.

“Problem,” Alex said softly.

“This guy isn’t one of us. Stabbed him with a sedative but had to settle for his forearm,” I said.

“I’ll get him out,” he said. “You grab the boss man for this event,” he said.

He plastered a smile on his face as he stepped up to the still stumbling man. He loosened his body, adding a little swagger to his step. Nothing but a good friend helping another.

“Whoa, you’ve had one too many,” he said a little louder than necessary.

I left him to it as I moved off to find Jones, or whatever his name was. He was harder to find than I thought he would be. You’d think overseeing security would mean you were easily accessible to the security team. Getting his attention was even harder. When I finally did get him to look my way, he scowled at me.

“Why are you away from your post,” he growled as he took me by the elbow.

“We had a problem,” I said. “It’s being kept quiet, but your attention is needed.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. Things rarely happen at these events. The Blade was there as more of a symbol than anything else. Infiltrating one of the buildings in the Order’s complex was almost impossible. Almost.

As I led him out to the hallways, the imposter was restrained. He was still struggling, but it was sloppy. Alex had his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, watching him.

“Where was he?”

“Posing as one of us,” I said. “I sedated him. Alex brought him out here.”

“I’ll send someone to take him to the cells,” he said. “How did you know?”

“Something wasn’t right,” I said with a shrug. “So, I lied to him, and he didn’t contradict me.”

“You’ll be rewarded for this,” he said. “What’s your name again?”

“Annabell,” I said. “And if I could just avoid these events in the future… that would be more than enough.”

“Very well,” he said as he reached for his phone. “Consider it done.”