The Veiled Diplomat

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  "This offer interests you," said Lady Arcadia.

  "Priyanka has taught us to always consider all offers," he said.

  It was tempting to give up the hard path and take the easy one. But would that mean he was benefiting from a system that oppressed so many? How could he work for her, by Priyanka's hand, while so many like Ms. Gardenia, or Buford Ash, suffered under her system?

  A twitch of amusement formed on the Lady's lips. "I see the conflict in your face. Let me sweeten the deal. If you agree, then I will let your family have their privacy in the Stack."

  That she mentioned privacy meant she'd been observing them somehow. Maybe Keelan was right about the spiders? He felt dizzy with the weight of the decision. If she could observe them, she could do more than that. The threat was unspoken, but laid bare like a blade revealed.

  He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

  "Don't worry. I don't expect you to make this decision today. I want you to make the right one because I see a great future for you. Just as you could be a thorn in my side, albeit a dead one, you could also go on to do great things in my service. In those visions, I've seen you winning great battles against the foes of the Halls. So I want you to make the right decision, but I see that will take some time to work out. You might even want to talk with your family. After all, it's their lives in the balance too."

  The threat was clearly delivered, not that he had any illusions as to the dangers of his path.

  "By the end of your third year, when you return to Varna, you must make your decision. If you agree to work for me, then I will let Priyanka know you can continue as her protégé, and in turn, your family will live long and healthy lives. If you cannot, then I suggest you say your goodbyes and take a long, and final, trip around the world, because if I see even one vision that involves your face sneaking into my home, I will make you and everyone you love pay with their lives."

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Eternal City, December 2015

  No one ever likes the mist

  The truth was that Zayn had already instinctively known Keelan had joined the Watchers. The house in the Gardens for Aunt Lydia, the silver Supra, and other benefits—these weren't earned with empty promises.

  But Keelan didn't know that.

  He didn't even know about the Lady's offer, and threat, mostly because Zayn hadn't wanted to entangle Keelan with his decision either way. So he'd carried his guilt all summer and semester long, and Zayn had done nothing to ease it, because as much as he understood the cold calculation of his cousin's decision, he didn't like it.

  And there was also the fact that if Zayn accepted the Lady's offer, then he wasn't sure if he could handle the rebounding guilt that his cousin would saddle him with, even if it was unintentional. Though with the stakes as they were, guilt was the least of their problems.

  Zayn gave his cousin the carry on signal, which brought a flicker of confusion to Keelan's face before it was squelched behind a mask of duty.

  "We're not here about that, Kavano," said Keelan, glancing around. "Is there a quieter place to talk?"

  Kavano's visible eye roved across them as his head tilted, letting his cascade of dark hair shift further across his face. He jerked his head towards a side room.

  They jammed around the table with no one sitting too near Kavano. With the threat of violence reduced, the growling speech of the dolgants resumed.

  "Speak," said Kavano, fingers drumming on the table, his visible eye staring back defiantly. He seemed twitchy as if every movement around him might be a threat.

  "Why is the Diamond Court in the city of sorcery?" asked Zayn.

  Keelan made a gesture which meant assassin.

  Kavano's lips curled as if he'd eaten something rotten. "I do not deal in information." He gave them a second appraisal. "Fledgling hall mages out of their depths. I am done."

  He started to get up. Zayn didn't want to come all this way for nothing, so he tried something different.

  "Then I want to hire you to kill someone."

  Kavano, who had half-risen, arched an eyebrow before sitting back down. Though only one eye stared back, the other hidden behind his cascading hair, he was imposing.

  Zayn hadn't thought out what he was going to say next, so he said the first name that came to mind.

  "Captia, head of the Diamond Court's guard."

  Kavano hissed as if they had some previous history.

  "I do not take foolish requests." He shook his head and started to rise again.

  "Then tell me who you can kill. I want to send a message to the Diamond Court."

  "Why? Those preening, gilded birds aren't worth my time and they shouldn't be worth yours either. They spend their days with their plays and marionette shows. I would kill Prince Aethalstar if I could, if only to see his pretty face beneath my boot, but I do not deal in fantasies," said Kavano.

  Keelan widened his eyes at Zayn as he put his hand on Zayn's arm. "We don't want to kill the prince. My cousin is messing around."

  Kavano's gaze roved across Zayn's arm. "So this is more than stupid Hall mages."

  "We're on an errand," said Keelan. "You know the Lady is a good friend to have."

  Kavano sucked on his teeth loudly and made a gesture with his eye that intimated a shrug.

  "Speak."

  "Why did the Diamond Court go to Invictus?" asked Keelan.

  "The Lady does not care about this," said Kavano.

  "Of course she does. Where do you think all her Watchers come from?" said Keelan.

  The strange maetrie looked perturbed about being questioned by them, but also seemed to respect the power of the Lady. His nostrils flared as he answered.

  "The young Prince, Orráine, is coming of age. Queen Zaire wishes to have a party for him," said Kavano as he stroked the table with his fingertips. He said it as if it was a private joke, sneering when he said the young prince's name.

  "That can't really be the reason," said Zayn hastily. "That's a huge expense."

  "Queen Zaire spares no expense when it comes to her sons, each in their own way. Why, she has been cornering the gemstone market in the Eternal City just because the elder prince thinks it's a good investment, even though everyone knows this is a foolish bet. The market is flooded," said Kavano.

  "Why open an embassy in Invictus if it's just for a coming of age party? Surely there's another reason you've heard about?" asked Zayn.

  "Maybe the queen is using it as a way to introduce herself to your feeble city. I don't know. I don't care. As long as she's not here, all the better," said Kavano, getting up from the table.

  He left the bar. Zayn sat in quiet with his teammates, until Vin spoke up.

  "I think we should be leaving. Now that Kavano's gone, our tenuous welcome has been retracted."

  "I feel like I'm wearing a tutu in a biker bar," said Skylar.

  "You go to the wrong biker bars," said Vin.

  A couple of the biggest dolgants looked like they were working up the nerve to come over, so Zayn motioned for his team to leave. Collectively, they got up and moved to the exit, and a few dolgants followed them until they were outside.

  Away from the Stone Cypher, Zayn said, "Take us back to the portal point."

  Portia stared intently into an alleyway. Zayn, who was ready for it this time, saw the darkness shimmer, as if it were realigning with a new reality. As they headed into the new area, he heard the nightmare-pulled carriage that they'd avoided before turning onto the street.

  When they reached the new area, it was different from the previous visit. Most of the magelights were burned out, and those working were pale eyes in a thin mist rising from the glistening stone street.

  "Where are we, Portia?" asked Zayn.

  "I...I don't know," she replied, looking confused about their surroundings.

  "Why is the fog thickening?" asked Vin.

  Sure enough, the air was swirling, condensing around them, the watery mist like a caress against his skin. Distant magelig
hts, already dim, were swallowed by the growing whiteness, until they were mere glimmers.

  The hairs on the back of Zayn's neck rose in anticipation. Every nerve told him to run, yet he worried he would be running into danger if he did. But every moment he delayed he felt like his chances for escape were being closed off.

  "I think we're in trouble," said Skylar. "This is a smoke-eater, isn't it?"

  "Yes," said Portia.

  "Should we run or fight?" asked Zayn.

  "I...I don't know," said Portia, clearly distressed. "There was nothing about how to deal with smoke-eaters, only warnings to avoid them."

  "Too late for that," said Keelan, edging forward. "I say we run through the fog and try to get to our portal before it can get us."

  "No," said Skylar defiantly. "That's what it wants us to do. We need to stay put."

  The fog seemed to catch their voices and reflect them as if they were in a small chamber. His vision grew fuzzy at the edges. Zayn blinked hard to clear his eyes.

  "Wait, think. Something's going on," said Zayn.

  "It's the fog," said Vin, who sounded very far away. "It's doing something to us."

  Zayn could only see a dozen paces around him. The world, even the sky, was one big white cloud. He felt like a tuning fork struck cleanly.

  "The fog...it's messing with us, trying to confuse us," said Zayn.

  It was like his own words echoed in his head. Zayn stared at the whorls in his fingerprints, holding his hand close to his face. The world dialed down to a tiny pinhole of existence.

  "Where's Keelan?" asked Vin.

  Mention of his cousin brought Zayn out of his fog. He wasn't with them anymore. Somehow he'd wandered off while they were talking, or standing and doing nothing—Zayn wasn't even sure how long they'd been there. Fear that had been suppressed by the smoke-eater rose up, waking Zayn from his immobility. The others seemed to be coming to as well.

  Vin cupped his hands around his mouth. "Keelan!"

  "Hush," said Skylar, eyes wide, still caught by the creature’s spell. "It'll hear us."

  Portia slapped Skylar, who shook her head.

  "Thank you. I don’t know what came over me."

  "Use your imbuements to locate him," said Zayn.

  Closing his eyes for a moment, Zayn opened up his hearing as if he were a satellite dish for the world. Behind him, he heard the clack-clack of hooves on cobblestones, coming from the Stone Cypher street. The way was still open.

  But then further ahead, he heard crying. He didn't recognize Keelan until the sob broke.

  "That way!"

  Zayn gestured into the fog. His teammates moved with him. As they approached, Zayn sensed something fleeing ahead of them. They found Keelan curled into a ball on the cobblestones. He was unresponsive to their inquiries. Vin and Skylar hoisted Keelan between them on their shoulders.

  "Back through to the other area," said Zayn, holding Portia's hand and keeping his other on Vin's shoulder so they didn't lose each other in the thick fog.

  As they pulled Keelan away, Zayn sensed a rage from somewhere in the mist, anger that its meal was being taken from it.

  "Run! Quickly!"

  Portia led them back onto the other street, but the smoke-eater followed them, funneling through the alleyway like a sideways tornado. They ran into the middle of the street, right into the path of the nightmare-pulled carriage.

  "Follow me!" yelled Portia, continuing through to another alleyway, which shimmered with dislocation as they approached.

  The smoke-eater ran directly into the carriage, and the nightmares screamed, a soul-tearing screech that nearly knocked Zayn and his teammates from their feet. As the door to the carriage opened, Zayn felt a tugging, an encouragement to turn back, but the runed bracelet on his wrist burned as the countercharm worked to protect them.

  "Go! Go! Go!" urged Zayn.

  Portia led them through to the place that contained their portal. By this time, Keelan was more himself, aware and somewhat embarrassed about the smoke-eater tricking him. Zayn activated the portal at first chance, dragging them back to their world.

  When they landed, slightly disoriented and still huffing from the mad run through the streets of the Eternal City, Keelan marched over to one of the rusty generators and kicked the steel with his boot.

  "What a wasted trip," said Keelan. "We didn't learn anything useful and I nearly got us all killed."

  Zayn watched the flat expressions of the team. The empty-handed escape had demoralized them.

  "That's not true at all," said Zayn. "First of all, we survived, unharmed in all the important ways. Second, we learned a lot about the Eternal City. We know the dangers of faeila, dolgants, smoke-eaters. We know how to travel the city now. If we should return, we'll be more prepared."

  They nodded, a little unsure at first, but then he saw how they seemed to brighten with the knowledge.

  "And that's not all. Every one of us showed off new skills. Portia was an excellent scout. Skylar shielded us with her shadowy cloak of deception. Vin charmed us into the Stone Cypher. And Keelan's trinket kept away the maetrie's beguiling enchantment when we were trying to escape."

  Smiles broke on their faces. Their eyes were lit from within.

  "In fact, during that trip, I realized that while we're a good team, we're not anywhere near where we need to be. We need to start specializing in our skills. Portia, you're in charge of Scouting and Surveillance. Skylar is our Deceiver. Vin is the Face Man. Keelan is in charge of Security and Gadgets. I want each of you to give yourself homework, develop your specialties until you're better than our instructors."

  He said every title with a capital letter, and he could see by their eyes that they heard it that way too. Whatever aches and pains they had in the Eternal City were washed away by this new challenge.

  "Hey cuz, you told us what everyone learned except you. What did you learn?" asked Keelan.

  "I learned what we're going to do to get into the Embassy of the Diamond Court," said Zayn.

  Wrinkles of confusion passed across their faces. "You did?"

  "Yes. Kavano told us how to get into the embassy."

  There were a lot of shared glances that suggested they didn't believe him.

  "I don't recall him saying anything about how to get in," said Keelan. "Unless you had a secret conversation that we weren't aware of."

  "Sure he did." Zayn shifted, mimicking the maetrie assassin's awkward body position. "Those preening, gilded birds aren't worth my time. They spend their days with their plays and marionette shows."

  Portia was the first one to get it, and she gave him a slow, understanding nod.

  "We're going to put on a play and get invited into the embassy?" asked Skylar.

  "You got it," said Zayn, a grin rising to his lips. "The queen is hosting a coming of age party for Prince Orráine. Surely they will be hosting their favorite forms of entertainment."

  "But we don't know anything about putting on a play," said Keelan.

  "I was a drama kid," said Vin, raising his hand.

  "Well, there we are," said Zayn. "I see we have our play director."

  Vin's face lit up like a night of fireworks. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

  They would soon find out how wrong they were.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Seventh Ward, December 2015

  Fizzy lifting drinks

  A few weeks after the trip to the Eternal City, Zayn was in his room memorizing a spell for breaking into complex electronic locks when he heard a commotion on the lower floor. He threw on a shirt and went downstairs, finding the living room in disarray.

  Except for the couch, which contained a lounging Petri busy on her phone, every piece of furniture in the room—love seat, tables, wall hangings—had been broken into pieces no longer than a foot and stacked into a tower.

  Skylar stood before the pile that formerly was their living room furniture with her hands on her head. She launched a piece of what looked like a table leg acro
ss the room, where it imbedded into the wall, vibrating upon impact.

  "Instructor Minoan?" asked Zayn as he crossed his arms.

  "Yep," said Keelan, sitting on the staircase with a frown. "What is this, the fifth or sixth time?"

  Portia, who came downstairs in her workout clothes with a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, said, "Fifth. First was the food, then the box of mice, then the room full of packing peanuts, those awful pigeons which took forever to clean up, and now this."

  "Don't forget the butterflies," said Vin.

  "Oh, yeah, those were nice though," said Portia. "So I guess sixth."

  "Until they all died at midnight. They were everywhere," said Vin, sticking his tongue out.

  Skylar was still raging, throwing pieces into the wall.

  "He walks through our defenses as if they're not even there," said Keelan with his palms on his temples. "I thought the rebounding charm might keep him from spelling his way in, but I checked it and it's still completely intact. I don't know how he's doing it. I'm terrible at this."

  "At least it wasn't snakes like Eddie's group had to deal with. They got into everything. Supposedly Eddie was opening a box of cornflakes and found a copperhead," said Portia.

  Zayn rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe we're approaching it all wrong."

  Skylar spun around and extended her arm towards Petri. "Maybe it would help if our guest would warn us when Instructor Minoan showed up to trash the place."

  Still tapping on her cell phone, Petri glanced up long enough to say, "You told me not to get involved. I was not involved." She shrugged. "Anyway, I was asleep when it happened."

  "Can't she be involved?" asked Skylar. "She's been lying around on our couch, doing nothing, not even helping out in the kitchen. She ate my whole jar of surprise berries last week."

  Surprise berries had been bred by an Alchemy mage to taste like random berries with each bite. There were nods from the rest of the team. Away from the house there had been increased grousing about her role in the house.

  For unity's sake, he asked, "Do you think you could help out more, Petri?"