The Detective Inspectors (The Doorknob Society Saga Book 4) by MJ Fletcher Page A

was leaning up against the far wall next to the Skeleton Key Guild portal entrance waiting for me as I exited the portal.
    I glanced around the room at the five symbols baring the mark of each Society and the three empty ones for the missing Societies, relieved to have made it here without a problem.
    “I took precautions.”
     The Reliquary was ancient, how ancient we had no idea, but it had been around since at least the time of the real First Kind and may very well be as old as the Tavern at the End of Time.
    “Where is Emory?” I asked.
    “In the great room.” His eyes lowered as he spoke and I knew something was wrong.
    “What is it?” Like I needed more added to the pile of problems I was already dealing with.
    “Talk to Emory.”
     I brushed passed Gavin and made my way down the corridor to the Great Room. Emory was resting on one of the couches, his legs up and his face contorted in pain. One of his hands rested on his stomach where I imagined he’d been injured. I’d always been impressed by Emory’s size and presence, but for the first time he seemed smaller and worn out, almost deflated of strength. His face was lined with worry and his shoulders sagged.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Hello, Chloe.” He didn’t look up, instead he let out a deep sigh. “I was wondering when you would get here.”
    “Gavin said we need to talk.”
    “I imagined he would say that after what I told him.”
    “What was that?”
    “The HVO lost control of Storm Reach two months ago.”
    “What?” I said stunned by the admission.
    “The truces were down and we didn’t want anyone to know. Our own people turned against us. We don’t know if any of our men in the prison remain loyal, but we’ve sent wave after wave of DI’s to try and retake it and we’ve lost each time. Our ranks are depleted, and with how I had been set me up, my best guess is that the HVO has been completely compromised.”
    “You mean what I think you mean?”
    “The First Kind is in control of the HVO.” His head dropped in defeat and his voice trailed off.
     I paced back and forth across the room. Gavin was right to be fearful, this was a lot worse than I thought. With the First Kind in control of the prison dimension their ranks would swell with members, not to mention how many DIs were on their side.
    “Does this mean all DIs have turned to their side?”
    “No, I doubt all of them have turned, though it would be easy enough to take over from the top and place the people you want in charge. Remove loyal members like me by setting us up and the younger ones would follow orders, as they have been taught to do, and before they knew what was happening, it would be too late.”
     His softly spoken words had at least given me hope that Declan hadn’t been turned yet. This was bad and all I could think was how much worse this could make things. The First Kind already had control of the Mapmakers Artifact and now they controlled Storm Reach. The thought of the Artifacts sent a chill up my spine.
    “Does the HVO have any Artifacts?”
    “Not in our possession. The last one we had had been the Looking Glass and that has been lost for over a hundred years.”
    “At least they don’t have it then.”
    “They might not have that, but this means at least one Society has fallen. How long before another one falls?”
     Gavin entered the room and sat down across from Emory. “I’ve been getting warning signs about HVO for months now. I sent Henna and another DI Kayla Pendragon to look into it. There are still small factions of resistance like Emory. But for the most part the First Kind’s control is solid. Miranda, the head of HVO, has been in charge for years and no one would ever suspect her of being First Kind.”
    “I’ve known Miranda for a very long time. I can’t believe she would ever turn against the HVO.” Emory shook his head.
     “Regardless, it appears that she has been placing people in positions of authority for at