They scrambled out of the Refuge area and into the hallway.

"Do we run?" Jacob asked. He was getting better at sensing those magical signatures, but he hadn't been able to pinpoint where it was coming from within the building. Man, he really needed to get Camilla to teach him how to use magic. He'd been so useless in that car chase.

Camilla looked around wildly. "Run for the car!"

Jacob didn't need to be told twice.

The modern decor flew by in a blur of white paint, metal and glass. Camilla was quick. Jacob could have outpaced her, but not by much.

"Where did it come from?" He hissed.

"Near the entrance." She threw back.

"Then why are we-"

"Because, as much as I hate to admit it, escape is our only option!" She barked.

They ran through a sitting area by a window. His mind was racing back to that fight with the Dream Tiger, and how useless he'd been there too. Just ahead of them sat a little coffee table with a lamp on it. Only half aware of what he was doing he reached out and snatched the lamp off the table and yanked the cord out of the wall.

Camilla glanced back at him. "What are you doing?"

"Weapon." He said dumbly.

They kept running. The lamp's cord hissed along the floor behind him. They rounded a corner into the lobby.

A tall man in a full-body black coat Jacob associated with cowboys in old Western movies stood in the centre of the lobby, directly blocking their path to the elevator. By the way his gaze locked to them the moment they entered the room, Jacob knew he'd been waiting for them. They ground to a halt. Jacob brandished the lamp.

The tall man had angular features and dark hair that fell back from his face in waves. His gaze was intense, weighing the two of them, radiating danger. Jacob's hands unconsciously squeezed on the lamp.

"Ms D'Angelo." The man said. There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

He flicked his hand. A wash of powerful magic emanated from him.

The air behind the man distorted, swirled in on itself. The wall behind it brightened until it shone with light. Two women and two men stepped out. All of them but one wore the same long black cloak as the first man.

"Sheriff Hueller." Camilla said. "I wondered where you were."

Jacob glanced at Camilla. Her face was open, as if she were talking to someone she knew personally. Sheriff Hueller? That was the guy she'd mentioned earlier, right? But Sheriff Hueller himself looked cold and hard as stone. What was going on?

"Breaking and entering a Sanctuary without permission." Sheriff Hueller's gaze fell on Jacob, specifically on the lamp. "And vandalism. Punishable offences. I knew you had a rebellious streak in you, Ms D'Angelo, but I wouldn't have expected you to fall to juvenile delinquency so quickly."

His companions, who must have been his deputies, arrayed themselves around him. One of the women was tall, blonde, severe looking with a long nose. The other was dark skinned and broad shouldered, her hair shaved down to her skull. She didn't look much older than Jacob and Camilla, and Jacob thought she was fighting to hold in a smile. The two men were short. One of them wore the same long coat as the others and had long, greasy hair that fell across his shoulders. He looked like he hadn't seen the sun in a while. The other man was squat, powerfully built, and dressed like a gang member. He was the only one of the group not in the long black coat. Instead he wore a backwards black baseball cap and a black leather motorcycle jacket. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he had a nonchalant air about him as if he were at a family cookout.

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In fact, they all seemed more amused than dangerous.

Camilla made a noise in her throat. "Wh- Juvenile delinquency? We were in need of the Refuge, but there was no one here when we got here. You were the one who left the Sanctuary unguarded. Accusing me of juvenile delinquency!"

Sheriff Hueller's stony mask vanished. He laughed loud and hard, crow's feet crinkling at the corners of his eyes. His companions all burst out laughing too. Jacob realized it was good natured laughing, like a group of friends at a bad joke, not bullies at a victim. The Sheriff's companions began to mill about the room, making themselves comfortable as if they were at home alone, plopping themselves down in chairs with long sighs. They looked exhausted.

The squat younger man with the black baseball hat twisted on backwards and the motorcycle jacket clapped the Sheriff on the shoulder. "You're an ass for that one, Hueller. Look at them. They're scared shitless."

"A joke?" Camilla cried. "That was a joke?"

Camilla's face was beet red. She sounded angry, angrier than Jacob had ever seen her, even when she'd pinned him up against the wall after they'd fought the Dream Tiger and threatened to kill him.

"You left the Sanctuary unguarded and you have the nerve to make a joke? I swear, when my father hears of this, I-"

"You would do well to invoke the name of your father and family less, Camilla." Sheriff Hueller's stony mask returned. "That is no joke."

The room fell dead silent.

Camilla suddenly looked scared, like she was about to cry.

"You're upset." Sheriff Hueller's face softened. "I'm sorry, little Bella, it was in poor taste."

"Don't call me that." Camilla hissed half-heartedly. She sniffed.

Sheriff Hueller came over to her and opened his arms. Camilla hesitated, then embraced him tightly.

"When I saw the- the empty Sanctuary, I-" She sniffed. "I thought something had happened."

Sheriff Hueller hugged her tightly. "It's alright. We were dealing with a near-crossover that required all of us, that's all. I'm sorry. Things have been very busy lately." He looked over the top of her head at Jacob, eyes narrowing slightly, then pulled back from Camilla. "Now, what are you doing here, and who is your friend?"

Camilla wiped her eyes. "This is Jacob Caibo, he's a friend from school."

"A boyfriend?" Sheriff Hueller asked. He eyed Jacob dangerously. In that moment Jacob was glad he wasn't Camilla's boyfriend.

"No!" Camilla scrunched up her face, then folded her arms. "And if he was, what difference would it make?"

"No difference." Hueller said slowly, eyes locked on Jacob. "No difference at all."

Gulp.

Camilla sniffed. "We were chased here by a rogue mage that attacked my house."

Sheriff Hueller blinked. "A rogue mage attacked your house? What about your father?"

"He left on Council business earlier this afternoon. He won't be back for a few days."

"What of his golem?"

"The rogue mage destroyed them."

"All of them?"

Camilla nodded.

Sheriff Hueller's eyes widened, and then the stony mask covered his face again. "All of them..." He repeated.

The room had fallen silent again. The other deputies had gathered around and were listening intently.

"And this rogue mage chased you here?"

"He appeared on Burrard Bridge and attacked us, but we got away and came here."

Sheriff Hueller looked at his deputies and flicked his hand. "Millicent, Xavier, check the wards, cover the perimeter, quickly." The intense blonde and the pale man with the greasy hair ran deeper into the Sanctuary. "Ola, check the security footage." The dark skinned woman went over to the reception desk.

"I thought he was after Jacob but if he attacked my house maybe he's after me." Camilla said.

"If a mage attacked your house it means either they don't know who your father is, or they aren't afraid of him."

Camilla shook her head. "No. No way he wasn't afraid of him."

"Do you think the other option is any better? That a mage that strong and capable doesn't know who your father is?"

Camilla said nothing. There was an uneasy silence.

Jacob looked from one to the other, then burst. "I'm so confused."

"Ignorance is bliss." Sheriff Hueller chuckled. "Antonio D'Angelo is one of the most powerful and brilliant Producers in history. He's also one of the most influential mages in the Regulation Order."

Oh.

Jacob glanced at Camilla but she was looking down at her hands.

"So..." Sheriff Hueller coaxed.

"So, for a trained mage to not know him is very odd, very unlikely. But for a trained mage to not be afraid of him is," Camilla examined the backs of her fingers, "terrifying."

Sheriff Hueller turned to the remaining Deputy, the squat man in the biker outfit. "Jimmy, check the armoury, then get in touch with Raj at the Vancouver Police Department. I want to know if they've turned up anything odd."

"Aight, chief." Jimmy ran off.

Sheriff Hueller turned to them. "Did you get a look at this man?"

"Yes."

"Both of you?"

Jacob nodded.

"Enough to identify him out of a lineup?"

"Probably." Jacob blurted.

"Good. Come to my office. Tell me everything from the start. We'll get a description and get it over to the VPD, get them to put out an APB."