Summoned Chaos Read Online Free PDF Page A

expected, in the hospital. That order went against the sole purpose of our team’s mission. You ask me, you share as much of the blame for their injuries as any of us. More, in fact.”
    Rancin turned a shade of red I’d only ever seen in a box of crayons.
    “Careful Marcus,” Pell warned, but I ignored him. I’d gathered too much steam to stop now.
    “None of you were there,” I said, my voice rising, “but I was. More importantly, Arbent was. As our leader, he made a tough call. You can play this Monday-morning-quarterback crap all you want, but you know that he did the right thing. And if you’re going to rake us over the coals for supporting him, then each and every one of you can go straight to Hell!”
    The board stared in stunned silence as I stood and marched down the center aisle of the chambers.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” Elder Rancin demanded, finally finding her voice. “This panel is not finished with you!”
    I paused at the double doors. “Well, I’m finished with you. Obviously you all have made up your minds, so this is just a waste of time. And to answer your question,” I added, kicking the meeting room doors open, then stepping into the hallway, “I’m going to get a drink.”
    * * *
     
    “Marcus Shifter, are you an idiot?” Quinn asked.
    Sitting on the hard, wooden bench, I rubbed my temples with one hand, trying to soothe the headache that thumped behind my eyes. A side effect from using too much Skill, it had been bearing down on me with a vengeance and hit its full stride when I stormed out of my inquiry board. It was doubly painful when coupled with the ache in my left hand. I stopped rubbing my temples and stared at the small scars on my palm.
    “Probably,” I said into the phone.
    Man, I wished she was there. Or my folks. Someone I could lean on.
    “You finally start making headway with the Council and then you tell them to go to Hell? You don’t say that to Elders, Marcus, and you certainly don’t storm out on them.”
    I flexed my palm. The dull ache slowly faded.
    “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
    Quinn sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”
    “I can think of a few things.” I wanted it to sound flirtatious, but I was so tired that it simply came out half-hearted.
    She tisked in annoyance. “Seriously, Marcus, going against orders is one thing, but verbally attacking the Elders is another.”
    “Sometimes a nobody like me needs to stand up to their autocratic sense of leadership.”
    “Or it might be a quick end to a short career.”
    That stung. “My father is better at this political garbage than I am.”
    “That excuse may have worked when you were a freelancer,” she countered, “but you’re working for the Delwinn Council now. You need to learn how to maneuver within those walls.”
    I glanced through the window on the far side of the hall, watching as the moonlight danced on the rosebush outside. Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., the “new” headquarters of the Delwinn Council was more industrial and less aesthetic than our previous location. Granted, burying ourselves deep in the old woods of England had been an act of self-preservation, but the reformation of the Skilled and Normal societies two decades earlier removed the need for us to operate in secret. The majority of the Elders felt that setting up shop in D.C. would benefit our people in the long run—we could help shape future policies hand-in-hand with some of the most powerful Normal leaders. So despite the complaints of many, the Council left its ancestral home in order to plant roots in the heart of the most bureaucratic city in the world.
    Having lived my whole life in the States, I’d only seen pictures of the old headquarters building, but the images were stunning. Large trees towered over the modest, brick castle while rows of wildflowers and vegetables lined the walk to the enormous front doors.
    Staring at the stark, white light bleeding into