The Veiled Diplomat

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  As his classmates shuffled towards the door, Zayn pushed through the crowd towards the instructor, who was gathering his notes from the floor.

  "Hello, Mr. Carter, what can I do for you?"

  Zayn checked to make sure most of the class was almost gone.

  "I have a question, theoretical of course, about some obfuscation strategies," said Zayn.

  "You know I love a good spitball session, whatcha got for me?" asked Instructor Konig, his bushy mustache waggling.

  "I've been thinking a lot about the Sleeper Agent class," said Zayn.

  The instructor's lips flattened. "Hmm...yes, go ahead."

  Zayn hesitated, and not because he didn't want to ask the question, but because there'd always been a nagging doubt in his head about Priyanka's loyalties. Was she truly a friend to the Lady of Varna, or was she being blackmailed or held by an irrevocable curse? He wanted to believe the latter, that Priyanka hated the Lady as much as he did, and was quietly helping him in his quest by providing the knowledge and magic to defeat her.

  But another part of him thought that he might be projecting. That because he liked her, he believed her good intentions. But that might not be the case. In fact, Priyanka might be testing him for the Lady by providing knowledge—delivered by an unwitting or witting Instructor Konig—that would only lead to his failure.

  These two images of his patron warred in his head. Was she a friend or foe? Was she helping him against the Lady? Or was she setting him up to fail?

  "What if rather than memory deletion, new memories were added that contradicted the first, suggested that someone's mind had been made up in a different way at one point. Then later, that false memory could be removed and the original intention would take over. Would that work?"

  Instructor Konig tapped on his chin as his eyes roved back and forth. "I suppose I understand what you're asking. It's a little different twist to the Sleeper Agent gambit. You're not deleting anything, but I still think the issue of unintended consequences would be in effect. You never know how the subconscious mind will react to forced changes, creating built-up forces that could eventually break the mind."

  "What if those unintended consequences are palatable? Within the allowable risk profile?" asked Zayn.

  "That's always the question. How much are you willing to risk?" asked Konig, with a throwaway shrug. "But these are all theoretical questions. It's impossible to create an ethical experiment to test the hypothesis, so we'll never truly know."

  "Hmm...I see," said Zayn. "I have one more theory, you know, for fun."

  Instructor Konig smiled, but his eyes were gravely serious.

  "Yes, go ahead."

  "You talked about conflicting intentions. What if there are multiple, competing intentions, not a few, or even a dozen, but lots. Could that obfuscate a prediction?" asked Zayn.

  Instructor Konig nodded as if he'd heard this question before. "Yes, yes. But then you run into the issue of the Archibald Paradox, which basically states that once you get past even two or three competing intentions, that having more intentions, regardless of the variety, makes it easier to see the eventual future."

  "That doesn't make any sense," said Zayn.

  "It does if you recall that a seer is seeing the future based on what's in people's minds. If there are more people thinking about something, then it's easier to get a better picture of it, no matter how good they're hiding it. It's like taking multiple versions of a fuzzy picture and comparing the common points to get a better view." He snapped his fingers. "Which is why conspiracies are more difficult the more people you get involved, for the same reason. The more people you have thinking about a goal, the easier it is to see it. Which is why there are no large-scale wars between the realms, because it would be easy to predict."

  "But what about the Diamond Court Embassy? It arrived and no one knew what it was for until they announced it," said Zayn.

  "That's because it's a benign intrusion into this world. If Queen Zaire had bad intentions for the city of sorcery, the seers in Oculus would have seen it." He wrinkled his forehead. "Is this what this is about? The embassy? Are you worried about it, because there's nothing to be worried about."

  "No, not at all," said Zayn, looking at his shoes. "Like I said, I'm just curious. You teach a really good class and it makes me think."

  Instructor Konig patted him on the shoulder. "Wonderful to hear. I'm quite pleased. Anyway, if there was going to be an issue at The Diamond Eternal Ball, I wouldn't be going."

  Zayn's head snapped up. "You're going to be there?"

  "Yes indeed. I received an invite last week. The queen invited a number of dignitaries from the city, including representatives from every major Hall and a few of the lesser ones. It's my good fortune that Priyanka was busy, so I could attend."

  "Someone from nearly every Hall..." repeated Zayn.

  He wasn't sure why this seemed significant, but it bothered him.

  "Did I answer your questions to your satisfaction?" asked Instructor Konig with a cheery smile.

  "Yes, I think you did. Thank you. You've given me a lot to think about," said Zayn.

  Instructor Konig's smile wrinkled with a passing thought. "Before you go, may I ask a question of you?"

  The sudden hesitancy in the instructor made Zayn pay attention.

  Instructor Konig swallowed heavily. "Has this year...how have I...what do you...what did you think of my class this year?" Before Zayn could answer, he held his hand out, stopping him. "I'm sorry, this seems rather silly, I know I should have more self-confidence than this, but I never felt like I fit in during my time in the Academy, and with my government job, I felt like I was mostly in the way. This year has been a terrific experience for me, and I feel like I might have found something that I could do, a way that I could contribute. Have I, you know, done a good job?"

  The way Konig looked at him with hopeful concern made Zayn reply right away.

  "This has been a great class, Instructor Konig. I've learned a ton, and so has the rest of the class. I know my team in particular has talked about how valuable this class is. You've done a great job, and I'd be happy to tell Priyanka that."

  Instructor Konig blushed, looking away. "Why thank you, Mr. Carter, I do appreciate it. Though please don't actually say anything to Priyanka. She'll think I put you up to it."

  "It would be the truth," said Zayn.

  "No, no. It's enough for me to hear it. She has her ways of figuring these things out. If I truly did a good job, she'll know, and if she doesn't, well, it was enough for me to hear it from your mouth. You're been one of our best and brightest, Mr. Carter. It's been an honor to teach you, and maybe someday I'll get a chance to make a difference like you have."

  "Thank you, Instructor Konig," said Zayn, moving towards the door so it didn't get any more awkward.

  "Have a great day, Mr. Carter."

  "You too, Instructor Konig, and have a good time at the ball."

  As Zayn left, he wondered if the instructor's attendance was going to be a complication when he saw them. But there was nothing to do about it now. Zayn had to hope that despite spending his career as a behind-the-scenes logistics planner, the instructor was professional enough not to make a big deal of it.

  Besides, Zayn was distracted thinking about his answer to the Lady's question. He couldn't give up his quest to stop her, but he wasn't sure which method was the best way to get past her seers. He wished he had more time for research, but between The Diamond Eternal Ball and the end of the year, he had to make a decision.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Diamond Court Embassy, May 2016

  No worse than the TSA

  Early the next morning, Zayn and the rest of the "theater company" stood outside the Diamond Court Embassy, in a long line of entertainers that had been booked for the event. He held a black duffle bag of costumes on his shoulder while yawning away his lack of sleep.

  "Stop that, Zayn," said Skylar, fighting back her own yawn. "I actually got
to bed at a reasonable time last night."

  He was momentarily distracted by the amber light of morning hitting the top of the Spire, sending up a flash like a lit beacon.

  "Last-minute prep," said Zayn as he eyed Petri in the back of the group. He wasn't at all excited about bringing the Sleeper into the Diamond Court Embassy, but he couldn't turn her away now. He and Skylar had barely pulled her back from the edge a few months ago.

  Skylar caught his glance towards Petri and made a knowing nod. They'd talked about the risks of bringing her, but decided it was a bigger problem not to bring her, especially when their invite had specifically referenced that their play should have no changes. Not taking Petri would have been disastrous on both fronts.

  Petri looked up at the imposing architecture—the gilded scrolling, the massive columns—with her forehead furrowed as she munched on a sesame seed bagel. Zayn interpreted her expression as apprehension, so he approached her.

  "Nervous?"

  She swallowed her bite of bagel. "A little."

  "No need to be," said Zayn. "It's like you've been acting your whole life."

  She flinched slightly at his phrasing. "It's not that." Her gaze flickered to the team as her lips flattened. "The year is almost over, and I feel like nothing's different than when it started. After this is over, you guys won't have any reason to hang out with me."

  Zayn didn't say anything at first, mostly because he didn't want to expose them as students of the Academy, but he realized he couldn't ignore her concerns.

  "I can't deny that our schedules after this are going to be very challenging," said Zayn. "But working with you on the play has been amazing. I don't know how it would work, I don't know how your situation is going to change, but we'd be happy to have you around."

  The others nodded their agreement, but Petri appeared unmoved. Her face was pinched, her eyes dark with worry.

  "It's not that..." she said, her voice trailing off.

  Zayn followed Petri's gaze to find a tall maetrie wearing a brilliant umber robe approaching. The image of molten glass being pulled from an oven appeared in Zayn's head, not only based on what the maetrie was wearing, but the general sense of his personality.

  "The marionette play?"

  Zayn nodded. The maetrie held out his hand, keeping it there until Zayn put the glowing glass ball in it.

  "Follow me."

  They'd been standing in the middle of the line, so he was a little surprised and worried about being pulled ahead of the others in front of them. They received scathing looks from those already waiting. Getting an invite to The Diamond Eternal Ball had become the highest status symbol in the city, especially for entertainers who planned to use it in their marketing, and now they seemed to be getting special treatment, or so he hoped.

  "It's nice we're getting pulled ahead, but the others have been waiting longer," said Zayn, hoping to get an explanation, but the maetrie said nothing.

  The main entrance to the embassy was in the front, but that's not where the maetrie took them. As they circled around to a side entrance, Zayn began to get worried that they'd been spotted as Academy mages and that it'd been foolish for them to think they could just waltz in without extensive disguises.

  The others shared his worry, especially Vin, who made faces at Zayn behind the maetrie's back. When they reached the side entrance, the door opened without anyone touching it, and the maetrie swept his arm towards the revealed darkness.

  "Why the separate entrance?" asked Zayn, nodding back towards the front.

  The maetrie stared back. "If you would like to renounce your invite, I can offer it to another company."

  A spike of worry went right through him. He felt like the maetrie knew who they were and that they'd be walking into a trap if they went in, but he worried more if they didn't go. The others seemed equally concerned, but they gave him nods to show their support.

  "Is there a problem?"

  "No, I, uhm, sorry. Yes, we're ready. It does a lot more for our reputation if we go in the front. I wanted to see the looks on their faces," said Zayn, hoping to cover his initial reluctance.

  "Very well."

  The entrance brought them to a small room with two Diamond Court guardians standing ready, holding wands made of a strange material. It didn't look like wood, but like magnetic filings on an iron rod. Thousands of tiny spikes on the wands shifted in a hypnotic sway.

  When the maetrie in the umber robes saw him eyeing the wands, he said, "To ensure you're not bringing dangerous weapons into the embassy."

  The two guardians waved the wands over Zayn and his black duffle bag. The little spikes moved randomly as the wands were waved over him. When they were finished, they nodded him through. Skylar and Portia went next, quickly getting the approval to pass.

  When it got to Vin, who was carrying a heavy trunk full of their marionette gear and all their magical contraband, the little spikes on the wands pointed directly at the trunk.

  "What's in here?" asked the umber-robed maetrie in a haughty tone.

  "We're a marionette show," said Vin. "It's the ropes and boards we use to create the illusion of being puppets."

  "Show me."

  Zayn's stomach tightened, but he kept his face calm as Vin pulled out a key that was around his neck, placed it in the lock, and turned it to the right until there was a satisfying click.

  The lid wheezed open, revealing a pile of enchanted ropes on top of a stack of black rune-covered boards. As the umber-robed maetrie poked his hand into the ropes his lips curled further towards the floor.

  "Dump it out."

  Grunting for effect, Vin lifted the trunk and tipped it over, spewing metal-ended ropes onto the floor. The maetrie stepped away as if they were snakes.

  The lead maetrie grabbed one of the wands and pointed it back at the trunk. The filings pointed into the box.

  "What is in there?" he asked.

  "Those are the enchanted boards we'll attach to the ceiling," said Zayn.

  "Bring them out," said the maetrie.

  "Here?" asked Zayn.

  The umber-robed maetrie nodded while his nostrils flared. He seemed to be staring intently at the trunk as if he knew contraband was hidden inside.

  Zayn nodded towards Vin. "You heard him."

  The big man flipped the trunk over and the boards crashed out, spilling towards the three maetrie, forcing them to leap out of the way or get their ankles smashed. Then Vin handed the trunk to Keelan and Skylar while the others crouched down to collect the boards.

  "You imbeciles," said the lead maetrie, scowling.

  "You asked us to dump it out," said Zayn, stepping close to block the view of Keelan and Skylar, who were quickly removing the box of magical trinkets from a secret compartment in the back of the trunk and stashing it in Skylar's backpack.

  "I said to take them out, not injure my person with your ineptitude," said the lead maetrie, who seemed to sense that something was wrong and tried to look around Zayn.

  "My apologies," said Zayn, reaching out if he were going to shake his hand. "We mistook your command."

  The maetrie looked at the extended hand with unvarnished disgust.

  "Bring me the trunk now," he said, holding up the wand.

  Zayn hadn't heard the signal from Keelan that told him the items were safely away, so he tried to stay in front of the maetrie, but he shoved Zayn to the side.

  "Now," said the maetrie to Keelan, pointing the wand like a rapier.

  Keelan waddled it over, and the wand was stuck into the empty space and moved around. The filings remained their chaotic selves, pointing in all directions, which brought a sense of relief to Zayn, though he did not sigh.

  Crossing his arms, the umber-robed maetrie stared at them as they returned the gear to the trunk. When they were finished, they were led through a series of corridors until they were brought to a small theater. While the marble floors and exquisite scrolling on the bas-reliefs were opulent, the size of the theater confused Zayn. The
chairs in the theater seemed made for a child and there were only about twenty.

  "Your quarters are in back," said the maetrie. "The play will begin at one o'clock your time. Do not disappoint me."

  The others seemed equally confused, so Zayn cleared his throat.

  "Is this the correct theater? I thought we would be playing to the prince, his retinue, and the invited," said Zayn.

  The umber-robed maetrie stared down at Zayn, until his lips wriggled with ugly amusement. "The prince, yes, you will be performing for. But not Prince Aethalstar, he will be meeting with his treasured guests. You will be performing for the younger, Prince Orráine. He has heard of your liebereisen play and wishes to be amused by a human's take on it. And after the play is finished, you will be escorted out of the building."

  Giving Zayn no chance to argue, the maetrie swept from the room in his voluminous robes, a high-reedy laughter trailing behind. Zayn's stomach sank with the realization they would be given no chance to stay in the embassy after they were done.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Diamond Court Embassy, May 2016

  A portent of sound and fury

  "What are we going to do?" Vin asked Zayn as they were attaching the black rune-covered boards to the ceiling of the theater scaffolding using a drill.

  Vin was standing on a ladder that Zayn was holding. He could have installed the boards using his imbuements, but they had to keep the illusion that they were just a regular theater company.

  Zayn didn't answer right away even though he knew exactly what Vin meant. It was the main thing on their minds. He could see it on their faces, the tight lips, the worry lines around their eyes. They'd successfully gotten into the embassy, but weren't going to be allowed to stay for the important events.

  "I'll think of something," said Zayn.

  Earlier, he'd tried to explore beyond the theater, but guards had been posted at the exits, and the back area had everything they needed to prepare, which left him no plausible reason to leave.