Something Wicked by Evelyn Vaughn

be another’s loss,” added Ben. “You see this all the time when a successful person becomes an object of ridicule or envy despite the fact that his or her success doesn’t come from us, in no way hurts us, or may even help us. That’s a dominator belief, that there’s a limited amount of power out there and one person’s advancement is by default another person’s deficit. Understand?”

    I nodded. Slowly.

    “Dominator power is power over other people. But personal power accepts that one person’s gain isn’t necessarily anybody else’s loss. If that’s what the Grail Keepers are about, more power to you.” He smiled a lopsided smile. “So to speak.”

    “So you can believe in the Grail Keepers—or at least not actively disbelieve,” Maggi clarified, “because our secrets don’t limit people. But a society of powerful men running the world…”

    “Especially a hereditary society like you described,” he agreed. “Wielding power over others, dominating. It’s not in human nature to be perpetually dominated. So, yeah. That would be one hell of a tough secret to keep.”

    Drawing a breath, he looked sternly at both me and Maggi. As stern as he could look, with those long, loopy curls. “Especially from one’s own family.”

    “But what else makes sense?” I insisted. “Why would Victor steal our Hekate Cup unless he believes it is worth killing over? And why would he believe it has power unless he’s part of this society?”

    “No.” Ben shook his head several times. “No. Because for him to be part of this group, our dad would have to have been part of this group. By blood. Right?”

    He asked Maggi that. Then again, she knew more about this group than I did.

    As soon as she nodded, Ben kept going. “Am I supposed to believe that after murdering our parents, these people sought Vic out to bring him back into the fold? Or that Vic knew about this even as a kid? That he’s kept this secret all these years?”

    “Because Victor’s big on the sharing,” I challenged.

    “I keep telling you, I’m not saying he’s a good guy! But he’s my brother. My responsibility. My twin. How could he know something this huge and keep it from me?”

    Maggi and I exchanged a quiet glance. She said, without conviction, “You may be right.”

    “This is a secret that, according to you, killed my parents and your sister. And that’s not something that can be kept quiet indefinitely.”

    So…that was that, right?

    Ben’s scowl softened. “Hey, maybe this is an indication that Victor didn’t kill your sister. If there really is a murderous secret society after goddess cups, by not being part of this society, Victor’s less of a suspect, right?”

    “Except for the him-trying-to-kill-me part,” I noted, annoyed. “And taking our cup. ”

    “You didn’t initially say he took a cup. You said he took ‘something.’ It was only later that you noticed the cup missing.” Bastard.

    “And the him-trying-to-kill-me part?”

    Ben’s gaze held mine, almost pleading. “You’re sure it was him?”

    “Yeah.” But my annoyance faded. I’d lost my sister, but at least I hadn’t lost my faith in her.

    “Because the accuracy of eyewitness recall is notoriously flawed,” Ben insisted. I was starting to notice a pattern with him. Get him upset, and he retreated into data. “It can be affected by numerous factors, including outdated police procedures.”

    “Ben,” I said.

    “In fact, recent studies show that the mood of the eyewitness alone can seriously—”

    “Ben.” I reached across the table and covered his hands—which were tearing at a napkin—with my good hand. “It was either him, or you. And it wasn’t you. ”

    He dropped his gaze, scowling. “I want it to be a mistake.”

    “I know.”

    “I knew he had problems. I was even afraid he might be dangerous. But your sister…it just doesn’t make sense.”

    Maggi said, “Especially if he’s not