Chapter 7: Dance with the Devil

The ballroom erupted into chaos as guests surged toward the exits, their formal wear a sea of panicked color against the marble floor. Jade's enhanced hearing caught fragments of terrified conversation—another murder, the Society is cursed, we need to leave now—while her eyes tracked the movement of everyone in the room.

"Nobody leaves!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the panic with troll-enhanced volume. "This is a crime scene!"

"Jade," Drew said quietly, appearing at her elbow, "we don't have jurisdiction here. This is private property, and half these people have diplomatic immunity."

"Then we better work fast." Jade was already moving toward Cassandra's remains, her trained eye cataloging the scene. The sigil was identical to the others, but something felt different. "This wasn't planned like the others. It's too public, too messy."

Drew nodded, his gaze scanning the crowd of frightened socialites. "Which means either our killer is getting desperate, or—"

"Or they wanted an audience." Jade crouched beside the amber puddle that had been Cassandra Veil, noting how the magical residue still crackled with energy. "Drew, that vial she was holding. Did you see what was in it?"

"Liquidized moonlight, if I had to guess. Component in several high-level preservation spells." Drew's voice was grim. "She was carrying the same reagents Thorne used."

"So she was part of his research."

"Or she was investigating it herself." Drew straightened his bow tie, a gesture Jade was beginning to recognize as his tell when he was about to do something dangerous. "There's only one way to find out. I need to talk to some of these people before they scatter."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that? In case you haven't noticed, everyone's trying to leave."

Drew's smile was sharp around the edges. "Leave that to me. Just... try to look supportive."

Before Jade could ask what he meant, Drew stepped into the center of the ballroom and raised his voice. But this wasn't his normal charm—this was something else entirely, a quality that made the air itself seem to thicken with authority.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, and somehow his voice carried to every corner of the room without him shouting. "I understand you're frightened. But leaving now would be... unwise."

The crowd slowed, then stopped, turning to face him with expressions that ranged from confusion to recognition. Jade watched in fascination as Drew's posture shifted subtly, becoming more formal, more regal. The transformation was almost imperceptible, but suddenly he didn't look like Detective Drew Hemley anymore. He looked like Prince Andreth of the Winter Court.

"For those who don't know me," Drew continued, his voice carrying harmonic overtones that made Jade's teeth ache, "I am Prince Andreth, seventh son of the Winter Court, and I am invoking my right of inquiry under the Supernatural Crimes Accords."

A collective gasp ran through the crowd. Several of the Fae nobles immediately dropped into formal bows, while the human guests looked between confused and terrified.

"Your Highness," Lord Meridian said, stepping forward with obvious reluctance, "surely this is a matter for mortal authorities—"

"This is a matter involving magical murder on neutral ground," Drew replied coldly. "Which makes it very much my jurisdiction. Now, I'm going to ask some questions, and you're all going to answer them. Truthfully."

Jade had to admire the strategy, even as it made her deeply uncomfortable. In one move, Drew had transformed from a disgraced ex-noble playing detective into a legitimate authority figure with the power to compel cooperation. The fact that he'd hidden this capability from her was something they'd discuss later.

Assuming they survived the night.

"Lady Blackwood," Drew said, turning to address an elderly woman in midnight-blue silk, "you were standing near Miss Veil when the lights went out. What did you observe?"

"I... Your Highness, I saw nothing unusual. Cassandra was discussing Professor Thorne's research, as she had been all evening." Lady Blackwood's voice quavered with nerves. "She seemed agitated, but that wasn't uncommon."

"Agitated how?"

"She kept checking her timepiece. As if she were waiting for something."

Drew nodded and moved to the next witness, a young man whose expensive robes marked him as a minor Fae noble. "Lord Silverpine. You were part of the conversation circle. What was Miss Veil saying about Thorne's work?"

"She claimed his approach was fundamentally flawed," Silverpine replied, his voice carefully neutral. "Said that true immortality required transcending physical form entirely, not preserving it."

"Did she mention having access to his research?"

"She... she may have implied that she had acquired certain materials from his laboratory." Silverpine's gaze flicked toward the remains. "She was always secretive about her own projects."

Jade felt a chill that had nothing to do with the ballroom's temperature. "Drew," she said quietly, "I think we need to—"

The lights went out again.

This time, Jade was ready. Her enhanced senses tracked movement in the darkness—panicked guests stumbling into each other, the soft whisper of expensive fabric, and underneath it all, the deliberate footsteps of someone who could see perfectly in the dark.

"Nobody move!" she shouted, but it was too late.

When the emergency lighting flickered back on, Lord Meridian was clutching his throat, his face already showing the telltale signs of the dissolution process. But he was still alive, still conscious, and his eyes were wide with terror and recognition.

"You," he gasped, looking directly at someone in the crowd. "But why—"

The transformation accelerated, cutting off his words as his body began to liquefy. Within seconds, there was another amber puddle on the marble floor, another scorched sigil smoking beside it.

But this time, Jade had been watching. This time, she'd seen the killer move.

"Lady Blackwood," she said quietly, her hand moving to her concealed weapon. "Interesting choice of perfume. Very... distinctive."

The elderly woman's expression didn't change, but something shifted in her posture. The trembling nervousness was gone, replaced by a predatory stillness that made Jade's instincts scream danger.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Detective," Lady Blackwood said pleasantly.

"The scent of ozone and copper. Same metallic tang I've been smelling at every crime scene." Jade stepped closer, noting how the other guests were backing away from both of them. "Plus, you're the only one here who isn't actually scared. Everyone else is terrified, but you? You're excited."

"Jade," Drew said carefully, "what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking Lady Blackwood isn't who she appears to be." Jade's eyes never left the older woman's face. "I'm thinking she's been using some kind of glamour to hide her true appearance. And I'm thinking she just made a mistake by killing Meridian in front of witnesses."

Lady Blackwood's smile was sharp enough to cut glass. "Clever girl. Though not quite clever enough."

The glamour dissolved like morning mist, revealing the woman underneath. She was tall, angular, with silver hair and eyes like winter storms. Her formal gown had been replaced by practical dark clothing, and the pleasant elderly facade was gone entirely.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly," she said, her voice now carrying a crisp authority that made several guests flinch. "Captain Elara Frostborn, Fae Enforcement Division."

Drew went very still. "Elara. What have you done?"

"What I had to do." Elara's gaze swept the crowd, and Jade noticed how several guests were reaching for concealed weapons or protective charms. "The Celestial Society has been destabilizing convergence points for months. Their research into consciousness preservation was just the beginning—they were planning to use the collected souls to power a massive ritual."

"What kind of ritual?" Jade demanded.

"The kind that would have torn holes in reality itself. They wanted to access the primordial energies that existed before the Accords, before the barriers between worlds were established." Elara's expression was grim. "Lord Meridian was their financier, Cassandra was their researcher, and Thorne was their test subject."

"You've been murdering them," Drew said, his voice cold with anger. "Using their own methods against them."

"I've been stopping them. The only way I could, given the Society's resources and connections." Elara straightened, and Jade could see the weight of command in her posture. "The Fae Courts have known about this conspiracy for months, but we needed proof. Evidence that would stand up in both human and Fae legal systems."

"So you decided to play judge, jury, and executioner," Jade said flatly.

"I decided to prevent the end of the world." Elara's eyes blazed with cold fire. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if they'd succeeded? The barriers between dimensions would have collapsed. Every nightmare from every realm of existence would have poured into this reality."

The ballroom was completely silent now, the remaining guests frozen between terror and fascination. Jade could smell fear-sweat mixing with expensive perfumes, could hear hearts racing with supernatural speed.

"There were four core members," Elara continued. "Thorne, Blackthorne, Cassandra, and Meridian. All dead now, along with their research and their accumulated resources."

"What about the others?" Drew gestured to the crowd. "The Society had dozens of members."

"Followers, not leaders. Without the core group, they're just academics playing with theories they don't understand." Elara's smile was cold. "Though I suppose we should ask them directly."

She raised her hand, and suddenly every person in the ballroom was outlined in silver light. About a third of them—including several Jade had been chatting with earlier—began to glow more brightly.

"Society members," Elara explained. "The light reacts to exposure to their specific magical techniques."

One of the glowing figures, a middle-aged man in expensive robes, stepped forward with obvious reluctance. "Captain Frostborn, surely we can discuss this. The Society's goals were noble—the advancement of magical knowledge, the betterment of all species—"

"The destruction of dimensional stability," Elara cut him off. "I've seen your research notes, Professor Kellwood. You were planning to sacrifice half of Veridia's population to power your ritual."

"That's... that was theoretical modeling," Kellwood protested. "We would never have actually—"

"You would have. Because that's what fanatics do." Elara's voice carried the finality of winter itself. "They convince themselves that any price is acceptable for their grand vision."

Jade looked around the ballroom, taking in the scene. Dead bodies, terrified socialites, Fae authority figures dispensing justice with magical compulsion, and her partner—who was apparently also a prince—standing in the middle of it all looking like he wanted to disappear.

"Well," she said finally, "this is officially the worst undercover operation in VDPD history."

"I don't know," Drew replied, some of his normal humor returning. "At least we solved the case."

"Did we? Or did we just witness a Fae military operation disguised as a murder investigation?" Jade turned to face Elara directly. "Because I'm starting to think we were never really investigating anything. We were just being used to flush out the targets."

Elara's expression didn't change, but Jade caught the slight tightening around her eyes. "The investigation was real, Detective. The murders were real. The threat was real."

"But you knew who the killer was from the beginning."

"I suspected. I needed proof."

"You needed witnesses," Drew said quietly. "Credible witnesses from both the human police force and the Fae nobility. That's why you let me get involved, isn't it? That's why you didn't just arrest the Society members directly."

"Political necessity," Elara admitted. "The Society had connections in both governments. Any action taken by the Fae Courts alone would have been seen as overreach."

Jade felt a familiar anger building in her chest—the same rage that had driven her to join the police force in the first place, the fury at being manipulated by those with power and privilege.

"So you used us," she said flatly. "You let people die, let us walk into danger, all so you could build a case that would satisfy your political requirements."

"I did what was necessary to prevent catastrophe."

"You did what was convenient for your career."

The temperature in the ballroom dropped noticeably, frost forming on the crystal chandelier above them. Elara's eyes blazed with power, and for a moment Jade thought she might have pushed too far.

But Drew stepped between them, his own power rising to meet Elara's. "Enough. Both of you."

The two forces met in the air above them, winter meeting winter in a display that sent ice crystals spiraling through the ballroom. The remaining guests pressed against the walls, trying to get as far away as possible from the confrontation.

"Elara," Drew said quietly, "you got what you wanted. The conspiracy is broken, the threat is ended, and you have witnesses to verify everything. Let it go."

"And you, Jade," he continued without turning around, "save the righteous anger for later. We still have a crime scene to process and reports to file."

Slowly, the power faded. The frost stopped spreading, the temperature returned to normal, and the two women stepped back from each other.

"This isn't over," Jade said quietly.

"No," Elara replied, "it isn't. But it's over for tonight."

As the Fae Enforcers began to arrive to process the scene and take statements, Jade found herself standing beside Drew near the ballroom's entrance, watching the controlled chaos of a major magical crime investigation.

"So," she said finally, "Prince Andreth, huh?"

"Among other things."

"And your ex-fiancée is a Fae military officer who may or may not be a murderer."

"That's... a fair assessment."

Jade nodded thoughtfully. "You know what the worst part is?"

"What's that?"

"I'm starting to get used to this insanity." She straightened her formal gown, noting absently that it had somehow survived the evening without significant damage. "Which probably says something disturbing about my mental state."

Drew's laugh was warm and genuine. "Welcome to my world, partner."

"Yeah, well, your world is exhausting." Jade looked back at the crime scene, where Elara was directing the cleanup with military efficiency. "Think we'll ever get a normal case?"

"Probably not."

"Good," Jade said, surprising herself. "Normal cases are boring."

As they walked toward the exit, leaving the chaos behind them, Jade found herself thinking about everything that had happened. The murders, the conspiracy, the revelations about Drew's true nature—it should have been overwhelming. It should have made her want to transfer to a different department, maybe a different city.

Instead, she felt... energized. Like she'd finally found something worth doing, someone worth working with.

Even if he was a pain in the ass with a mysterious past and a tendency to attract supernatural trouble.

"Drew?" she said as they reached their car.

"Yeah?"

"Next time you decide to reveal you're secret royalty, maybe give me a heads up first."

"Deal. But only if you promise not to threaten any more Fae military officers."

"I make no such promises."

Drew's smile was bright enough to light up the night. "Fair enough, partner. Fair enough."