The Veiled Diplomat

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  "Last I checked, my aunt Snow Owl said you were supposed to show me the town, but you've done nothing but go to class, study, and let that weird-ass professor trash your place on a regular basis."

  Zayn groaned internally. He'd been meaning to take her out, show her the city, but there was always one more thing to study, one more spell to prepare, and they hadn't even gotten anywhere with their thespian espionage plan.

  "How about tonight?" he asked.

  "Let me check my schedule," said Petri.

  A little anger rose to his face until he realized she was baiting him.

  "Uhm, yeah," she said. "I guess I'm free, if you're buying."

  "Then let me get the team going, and then we can go out," said Zayn.

  "So you're going to bail on us while we clean up this mess?" asked Skylar, eyes practically bugging out of her head.

  He was going to try calming her down, but realized that would only make things worse. She'd been tense lately, quick to anger, and lashed out at everyone at odd times. He'd thought it was just the additional load with everyone working on their specializations, but it hadn't diminished and seemed to be getting worse.

  "Actually, you're coming with me," said Zayn. "Assuming that's cool with everyone else?"

  The others rapidly nodded their heads. Everyone knew she needed a break before she snapped on one of them.

  Skylar opened her mouth as if she were going to sling a new insult, but then she looked around the room at the additional destruction she'd caused by throwing pieces of the furniture into the walls.

  "Yeah, I guess I'll go out," said Skylar, moving up the stairs like a zombie.

  "Do you need to change or anything?" asked Zayn.

  "What? Are you saying you don't like my cutoff Garbage Kings T-shirt and sweatpants?" said Petri with faux huffy breath as she went upstairs.

  "Just be ready in fifteen!" he called.

  Keelan approached next, his mouth twisting with thought. "What am I going to do about Instructor Minoan? You put me in charge of Security, but nothing I've done has worked. I'm really sucking at this. I'm sorry I let you down."

  Zayn opened his mouth, ready to give Keelan a few ideas he'd been mulling over, but realized that if he did that, then he'd continue to think he was a failure. Plus, he could tell it was more than the house defenses at stake. Since summer and their argument when Keelan moved into the Garden, things had been awkward between them.

  Zayn patted his cousin on the shoulder. "You didn't let me down. The house defense is on all of us, and it's not like any of the other groups have figured out how to stop him. You'll think of something. See what you can work up with Vin and Portia. I bet by the time we get back tonight, you'll have the answers we need."

  Keelan nodded absently, not in disagreement, but clearly he was working through the problem. Vin and Portia had gone into the kitchen, so he went through the swinging door. The murmurs of conversation started up immediately. Zayn didn't bother listening in, because he had his own plans to make.

  Skylar and Petri met Zayn downstairs when they were ready. He wore his usual black jeans and shirt.

  "Do I need to go change?" he asked upon seeing them.

  Skylar had on a shimmery dress the color of sapphires that hung comfortably on her slight frame. With her short hair and dangling earrings, she looked like she was ready to sing at an upscale late-night cabana.

  While not as elegant as Skylar, Petri looked equally stunning. Her black dress had a girlish quality that contrasted with her ruby red lipstick. He almost didn't recognize her lingering by the front door.

  "You look great, Zayn," said Skylar with a kiss on his cheek. "I lent her one of my dresses. How does it look?"

  Despite the smoky eye makeup, Petri looked a little overwhelmed in her outfit. With her constant sarcastic comments, Zayn had forgotten she was a girl their age who'd never been to the city.

  He searched for the right word, not wanting to confuse her, and settled on "Perfect."

  They took the Blue Line to the Green Line into the second ward. There was a bar called the Levitating Mage that he'd heard about when he worked at the fish market last year. It was a kitschy tourist trap, but he thought she might enjoy it.

  The décor was fluorescent, and every drink came with a glow stick. Club music played at ear-splitting levels, so Zayn put on a charm that allowed him to hear through the music, applying the spell to Petri as well. He grabbed them drinks and they stood at the end of the bar people watching.

  "So what's your Aunt Amber like outside of the shop?" asked Zayn, trying to work up some small talk.

  "Snow Owl," said Petri, a flatness returning to her lips. "Her name is Snow Owl."

  "Sorry, she told me to call her Amber the first time I went into her shop," said Zayn, trying to remind himself that he didn't need to shout over the music.

  "Her name is actually Snow Owl on an Old Grave, but I guess she doesn't want her name dirtied on your lips," said Petri.

  Zayn looked to Skylar for help. She'd downed her drink already and was waving at the bartender for a second.

  "So the Levitating Mage is more than a stupid name for a bar," said Zayn. "There's a room in back, well, multiple rooms, where you can drink a potion and float around the room. It sounds pretty cool. I got us some tickets for it, if you want to try it out."

  Without another word, Petri grabbed the tickets and marched into the crowd.

  When she was gone, Zayn said, "Isn't she a ball of sunshine."

  "It's not like you've done her any favors since she got to the city. The year is half over and you're finally taking her out," said Skylar.

  "Wait? You're on her side now? I thought you were mad at her back at the house?" asked Zayn.

  "Girls stick together," said Skylar with a wink. "And I lent her one of my dresses, which practically makes us sisters now."

  "It's nice to see you wearing some fashionable clothes again," said Zayn.

  As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he'd said the wrong thing as her nostrils flared like a bull ready to charge. He shook his head.

  "I'm an idiot. What I meant is that you really enjoy fashion, or you did, and it's good to see you getting out," said Zayn.

  Her lips curled. "You're not improving anything."

  Zayn slapped his palm on his forehead. "I guess I'm saying when you came back from the summer, you seemed really mad about those people that came into your store. Look, if you're past that, whatever you're doing, I support you."

  Skylar arched a delicate eyebrow. "I'll give you a four out of ten. But you're trying."

  "Thanks, I guess."

  After a slight shake of the head, she puffed up her cheeks, then blew them out. "I shouldn't bust your balls like that. I'm not being completely honest about what happened last summer."

  He nodded to indicate she should go on.

  "I was having the time of my life at the boutique. Sales were good, my designs were bringing in new customers. Everything was great until that stupid Giovanni Portellenne walked past my store."

  "This is the point where you explain who Giovanni Portabella Mushroom is," said Zayn.

  Her eyes widened with horror. "You don't know who he is? He's only the most famous designer in the world."

  Zayn shrugged. "I'm just a small-town kid from Varna."

  "Anyway," she continued. "As soon as I saw him walk by my store, I ran out and asked him if he wanted to look at my designs. He was annoyed by my interruption, but I knew he loved finding new talent, so he allowed me to bring out one piece that represented my style. Ecstatic, I brought him a silken floral petticoat that I thought was my best piece. He took one look at it and said in his haughty voice, 'That is nothing but derivative trash, my dear. I would rather put a trash bag on one of my models than allow them to wear that.'"

  Skylar's eyes rounded with sadness with a touch of anger flaring her nostrils. The fact that she'd memorized not only his words but the tone told Zayn how deeply his feedback had been ingrained.
<
br />   "What a jerk. He's totally wrong," said Zayn.

  "No," said Skylar. "He's totally right. Once I took a look at the stuff from his catalog, I found similar pieces from a couple of years ago, and they'd been trashed by the trendsetters then. Why did I think it would work now?"

  "Can't you make some new pieces? Like that shadow cloak you saved us with in the Eternal City?" asked Zayn.

  Skylar stared into her drink with her lips squeezed to one side. "After Giovanni I just didn't have it in me to work on anything else. I guess I'm not as good at fashion as I thought I was."

  "I think you're amazing," said Zayn. "And didn't you say that Giovanni made the same petticoat years ago? If he can make mistakes, why can't you?"

  A light twinkled in her eyes before turning dark again. "He's got decades of experience, while I'm a newb."

  "My dad says that experience is only when you've made all the mistakes you can make in a narrow field. He's an amazing artist, but I've seen his fair share of mistakes too," said Zayn.

  Skylar raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you throw yourself into things without thinking? Trying to make all the mistakes you can?"

  "Yeah, sort of, though I think it's a little different with the Academy. I need to survive my stupidity to learn. I've been lucky so far." He looked back to Skylar. "Or more appropriately, I've had great support from my teammates."

  "You've got that right," said Skylar, who was trying to smile, even if it didn't reach her eyes.

  Zayn clinked his glass against hers. "I hope you don't give up. I think you can do amazing things."

  They drank to his toast and had settled into a quiet moment of reflection when Skylar said, "Do you hear screaming?"

  "It's not Petri...but I think we'd better check that out," said Zayn.

  Together they pushed their way into the levitation rooms. Petri was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, glowering at the ceiling. A small pile of electronics was scattered around her shoes as if a cell phone had been torn apart.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Fine," she said even though it was clear she was not.

  The screaming was coming from the ceiling about fifty feet up. A guy in a mauve company shirt was upside down with his shoes stuck on the ceiling.

  "Help, please, I'm sorry, get me down."

  "What happened?" asked Skylar.

  "I drank the potion and was flying around, when I looked down to find him taking pictures up my skirt," said Petri, face flushed with anger.

  "Oh really?" asked Skylar, joining Petri in scowling at the ceiling.

  "How did you stick him up there?" asked Zayn.

  "When I pulled his phone out of his pocket, I found a bottle of Universal Temporary Glue he used to stick his Bluetooth camera on the wall," said Petri.

  Skylar picked up the bottle, which was on the floor, and read: "Glue works perfectly for thirty minutes."

  "Well then, I guess he only has another twenty-five to live," said Petri, nostrils flaring.

  "Skylar, can you take her back to the other room while I deal with this guy?" asked Zayn.

  "He's lucky I didn't pull his entrails out through his mouth," said Petri as Skylar led her towards the pulsing music.

  Zayn found the levitation potions on a table outside the room. He shoved one in his pocket, drank another, and immediately got a head rush that made him dizzy. He floated a few inches above the ground.

  Using a swimming motion, Zayn propelled himself towards the ceiling.

  "Oh, thank you, thank you," said the attendant. "I thought she was going to let me fall."

  With his hand holding him in place against the ceiling, Zayn said, "You're lucky I don't drop you on your head. You're disgusting."

  "It was only a joke," said the guy.

  "No, it wasn't," said Zayn, thinking about leaving him up here and getting the manager, but he decided he didn't want the complications.

  After releasing him from his shoes, Zayn floated him back down. As he sat him down, Zayn realized the guy was a decent size and probably lifted weights.

  "She broke my phone," said the attendant, dejected.

  "You're lucky that's all she broke," said Zayn. "How'd a girl her size do that to you?"

  His eyes widened to whites. "I don't know, man. What is she? I thought she was going to break me in half for a moment. I felt like a child when she grabbed me."

  "You are a child," said Zayn, opening the guy's wallet that he'd taken on the way down and pulling out his driver's license. "And here's what you're going to do, Chad Slyman. You're going to quit your job here right now, and go home immediately. Then you're going to go get help, therapy, whatever. You decide. If I find out you haven't been following my directions, I will make a visit to your house and show you the error of your ways and it will involve your entrails. So go, now."

  Zayn produced a ball of flame in his hand to remind him of the consequences.

  "What about my shoes?" asked Chad, pointing to the ceiling.

  "Go," said Zayn, making the flame burn brighter. "Now."

  Chad hesitantly grabbed his license and wallet, before fleeing through the party. Zayn hoped there was broken glass on the way out.

  He found the girls at the bar doing shots that glowed like radioactive liquid. Petri seemed to have recovered from the pervert, and as he grabbed a new drink, they ran onto the dance floor, lost to the crowd, leaving him alone.

  Zayn leaned against the bar and thought about what Chad had said about her supernatural strength. He should have suspected that Petri wasn't just a normal girl based on her aunt Snow Owl on an Old Grave, but he didn't know what to make of it. His best guess about Amber was that she was a powerful witch, and maybe Petri was a young witch. But witches tended to join the Hundred Halls, unless they had another way to protect themselves from faez madness. He didn't think it was going to be a problem, as Petri had been pretty low-key so far, but he would keep an eye on her just in case.

  When he was finished with his drink, Zayn joined them on the dance floor. One of the benefits of being an Academy mage was the imbuements let him experience the music deeper than normal people, and allowed him to dance for hours, though his muscles would pay for it later.

  The three of them danced until the club closed, and they stumbled back to the train station arm in arm. Almost as soon as they sat on the benches, Petri slumped over, laying her head on Zayn's lap, and fell asleep.

  Skylar, who had her head leaned against the opposite wall, eyes half-lidded from the long night, raised an interested eyebrow, but Zayn shook her off. He was definitely not getting involved with Amber's niece.

  Zayn carried Petri back to the house. She was light as a feather, and kept her arms curled around his neck, making mewling noises the whole way back. Despite the night of dancing and sweating, she smelled sweet.

  When they returned, the lights were still on. Keelan greeted them at the door, eyes wide with excitement.

  Zayn carried Petri to her room and tucked her into her bed before returning downstairs. Keelan grabbed his arm right away, holding his finger over his mouth for silence, and dragged him to the kitchen.

  Then Keelan crouched before the cabinets, hooked his fingers under a wooden door, and tugged the whole thing forward. Rather than the door opening, the whole cabinet slid into the center of the room. Keelan indicated Zayn should peek over the edge, and when he did, he was rewarded with the sight of a tunnel going into the earth. The lip of the tunnel had runes around the edges that kept it hidden from magical detection.

  Once Zayn had seen the tunnel, Keelan pushed the cabinet back and led him outside to the patio.

  After activating a privacy charm, Keelan said, "It's safe to talk out here."

  "No wonder we couldn't stop him from getting into the house, he had a secret way built in," said Zayn.

  "I should have realized it before," said Keelan, shaking his head. "The best grifts are a setup. The instructors tricked us by giving us this house with a tunnel already built in."

  "T
hat's pretty crappy," said Zayn.

  "No, it's not," said Keelan, eyes alit. "It's quite brilliant, actually. Because we can be told something time and time again, but learning it this way, wow, I'll never trust another place again."

  "What are we going to do about Instructor Minoan?" asked Zayn.

  Keelan put his hand to his chin. "Nothing, yet. I went into the tunnel a ways. It leads to the sewer system, which branches out in so many directions that he could be coming from anywhere. But next time he breaks into the house, we'll follow him back to wherever he's coming from and deal with him."

  "Sounds like a plan," said Zayn, breaking into a stretch and a yawn. "I'm ready to sleep a few hours before sparring class with Allgood."

  On the way inside, Keelan said, "I'm really sorry about this summer. I should have told you we were moving into the Gardens before we did."

  "I understand," said Zayn, thinking about telling his cousin about the Lady's offer, but deciding it was too late for more serious talk. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I said some terrible things. I'm sorry."

  They shared a fist bump and went into their separate rooms. As tired as he was, the instant his head hit the pillow, he was wide awake again with thoughts about Varna. Half the year had passed and he was no closer to deciding what his answer was to the Lady's question.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Honeycomb, January 2016

  Waking the Sleeper

  "Can anyone tell me what a sleeper agent is?" asked Instructor Konig, smoothing his mustache as he paced around the center of the room.

  "Zayn, when he missed class last semester," said Sofia, bringing laughter from the others.

  Zayn stuck his tongue out at Sofia, who winked back. She'd given up actively trying to sleep with him, but kept up her playful flirting.

  "A human asset," said Portia, who had raised her hand, "that is placed within an organization to be activated at a later date."

  "Excellent," said Instructor Konig. "In this day and age, with ubiquitous magic invading every facet of life, and giving anyone with ample money or power the ability to foresee attempts on their life, wouldn't a sleeper agent be a wonderful way to get past that problem?"