Malee nudged her, and she finally noticed the deafening silence that had fallen over the gym. Her gaze frantically searched for Freya, but she was safely tucked beside Bast. She followed the direction of everyone’s gaze and realized that Killian and Jack, the mythical Green Man, were standing in the door. Malee's mouth was hanging open as she took in the formidable figure Jack made. He was in a grey suit today, and it made the ethereal green glow of his skin even more pronounced.
She lifted a hand and waved, and Jack smiled, striding across the gym with Killian in tow, as if he hadn't just stepped into a room of Adel on high alert. He climbed the stairs easily and sat down next to her. Killian squeezed Malee's shoulder and sat on her other side.
“Azar.” He said her name like it was a lifeline. “You are possibly the only Djinn that has anything resembling common sense in this Danu-forsaken city." Jack's tone was downright huffy. Azar noticed they still had an audience, and cleared her throat. Killian turned to the crowd.
"Everyone out!" he boomed in his most authoritative voice and the room instantly cleared. Azar stood to move, her Anadari bracelets making her obey the obvious command. “Sorry, Azar, not you,” he ordered apologetically. Bast stood at the base of the bleachers, Freya's little hand in his own. Killian sighed. "Nor you Bast. Come on up, and you may as well bring the child too." Bast picked up Freya and swung her onto his back, piggy backing her up the stairs three at time.
Azar decided to get all the introductions out of the way in one go.
"Jack, this is Malee, my half-sister, Bast my, uh, boyfriend.” She cleared her throat. She didn't know why it still seemed so strange to say that. "And the short one is Freya. Guys, this is Jack, also known as the Green Man, the Heart of the World.” Apparently that last part was his official title. Talk about a high pressure position.
Jack shook Bast's hand, and then bowed deeply before kissing the back of Malee's hand. Malee blushed so red, Azar was slightly worried she'd stopped breathing. But she eventually coughed a little and murmured a polite response.
When he got to Freya, who had climbed off of Bast's back for a better look at the Fae man, Jack got down on one knee and kissed her hand, much the same as he did with Malee. Freya giggled and Jack cocked his head to the side.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Freya the Short. You are someone very special. You will be a beautiful butterfly that has emerged from an ancient chrysalis. Never forget." His tone was solemn, and the others looked on in bemusement. They thought Jack was talking about her small stature, but Azar knew better. Freya nodded once, equally as solemn. She seemed to know better too.
Azar tried to contort her face from shock into bemusement like everyone else. She hadn’t told anyone of Freya’s benevolent abilities; her ability to project love and happiness. She hadn't even told Bast. She didn't know how Jack knew, but she was certain he did. As if he sensed her shock, Jack gave her a considering look as he stood.
The moment over, Freya asked to go and climb the ropes in the now empty gym. Malee offered to watch her, and when she saw Azar's hesitation, she too got down on one knee in front of Freya and held both of the little girl’s hands in her own and recited something in the old tongue. Killian responded also in the old tongue.
When Azar and Freya just looked on in confusion, Malee translated for the group.
"It was the pledge of fealty in the old language. I said 'I pledge my honor to Freya of the Shaitan, never to raise a hand in malice nor to allow any malice to land on her shoulders whilst she is in my shadow. If harm befalls her, my life shall be forfeit as her own, so that I may follow her into the earth and protect her from the Devil’.” She shrugged. “Well, that’s the rough translation. Killian responded that he had heard my pledge and will fulfil my forfeit if the time comes." Apparently, it was an afternoon for shocking revelations and Azar just sat there gaping like a fish.
Freya's tiny singsong voice piped up. "So you pinky swear?"
Malee laughed, and took the little girl’s upheld pinky. "I pinky swear."
Freya turned to Azar and nodded, running down the stairs.
Killian's booming laugh echoed around the room. "She got a pledge of fealty, and all she needed was a pinky swear. The wisdom of youth is under-appreciated in my opinion. Let’s just hope she doesn’t fall off the ropes and break her neck, because I really don't want to honor kill my sister today."
Azar grimaced. “Maybe not the ropes? How about you play on the swiss ball instead?” She yelled down at the pair racing across the shiny gymnasium floor. Malee just waved her away and helped the little girl up the first rope.
Azar shook her head. "So Jack, you look nice. Going to church or something?" she joked and Jack scoffed.
"I wish. No, I just had a meeting with your Council of Wise Elders, though there wasn't much wisdom in that room." He glanced at Killian. "Present company excluded, of course. I offered to find all the Great Weapons for them, and just hand them back to the Djinn for safe keeping. They turned me down." He muttered something in some dead language. "I gave them a dire warning and an easy solution without cost, and they say thanks but no thanks.”
Killian looked pained. Azar wasn't sure if it was because Jack was spilling classified secrets to a slave, or if the Council decision was really as stupid as Jack made it out to be.
"The Council sometimes cannot see past their own history and traditions," Bast said solemnly, and Killian nodded sadly in agreement. Up until that point, Bast had sat quietly, taking Jack’s measure.
Jack sighed heavily, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Which it was, in a very literal way. "It is often the way in the governing of supernaturals. It is easy to get so bogged down in the quagmire of convention, that they lose the ability to evolve and just become another dead race. Look at the Airathis." When everyone looked at him blankly, he shrugged. "Maybe that was a bit before the Djinn started to write down histories. Long story short, they were so caught up in superstition and tradition, their numbers dwindled until the last were killed out in a volcanic eruption in what is now Italy. But that is beside the point. My job is to keep the balance, but how am I meant to do so when those I am meant to be protecting fight me with short sighted obstinacy?” Yep, he was definitely huffy. "But you are important Azar, so you need to know. You need to help me. You are the balance." His eyes were fervent.
She was the what? But before she could ask he recited what he told the Council.
According to Jack, strong magic was reverberating around the world, echoing in the depths of the largest rainforests to the highest peak of Kilimanjaro. It was old magic, magic that could only be created by one of the ruling families of the Seelie or Unseelie court. As in the entire ruling family. That was like the atomic bomb of magic. And the purpose of this all-pervading magic?
To raise the Great Weapons from their earthly tombs. Literally raising them to the surface of the ground. One day soon, the remaining Great Weapons could be just lying on top of the sidewalk for anyone to find, be they human, paranormal or Fae. The thought made Azar feel sick. Their greatest weaknesses in the hands of a potential enemies, or a complete innocent’s, like the guy from Hearnes Creek.
But that wasn't the worst part of it. The part that truly filled her with dread, was the why? Why would one of the Fae ruling families expend that much energy to raise the Great Weapons? Somehow, Azar didn’t think it was to give the weapons back, like Jack had offered to do. Jack said that now that the magic had brought the weapons closer to the surface, he could feel the reverberations of the weapons if he was in close enough proximity. Kind of like a homing beacon.
"So you’re telling me that the Council refused your offer, knowing that there was a potential threat out there, and that you could find the weapons faster than anyone within the Djinn?" Bast snorted with disgust. "I'd like to say I am surprised. Pride and suspicion over the protection of our people every time."
Azar's gaze darted around the room, as if one of the Council members would appear and try
Bast for treason. Killian was giving Bast a hard look, but he seemed sympathetic to Bast's viewpoint.
Azar chewed her lip thoughtfully. "So, just to clarify, you think that one of the Fae courts means to obtain the Great Weapons and what? Start a war? Hang them on the wall as decoration?" Jack shrugged his massive shoulders.
"I do not know for sure. Maybe their reasons are purely innocent, but as you Americans say, I wouldn't bet the farm on it." Silence settled over the group as the news sunk in. A possible war with the Fae did not bode well for the Djinn. Their numbers were too small, and they were already under attack by a militant subgroup of Weres.
Jack’s words about her being ‘the balance’ worried at the back of her mind like a thorn. It didn’t seem like a throwaway comment, and Azar wanted to understand exactly what he meant. Something in the words rang true.
"Can we just backtrack for a minute? What do you mean I'm the balance?" Jack cocked his head to the side, a considering look on his face.
A door slammed shut, interrupting the moment. Azar let out the breath she didn’t realize she'd been holding and turned towards the gym doors. A Shaitan that she knew by face, but not by name, was standing there in a slick black suit that told her he was one of the Shaitan Councilor’s personal guard.
"The Council want to see the girl."
Azar stood, and Malee held tightly onto Freya’s hand down on the gym mats. She realized both Bast and Killian had stood behind her when the guard turned towards them. "The Council stated you would not be required, Director. In fact, the girl is to come alone."
"Over my dead body," Azar said, her adrenaline leaping, prepared for a fight. "I stand as her temporary guardian; she doesn’t go anywhere without me. Nowhere." She growled the last bit, but the Shaitan guard seemed unimpressed.
"The Council requested only the girl."
"The Council can kiss my ass. You can take the both of us, or I can kick your ass right now. But between you and me, that suit won't look so pretty when I burn a two foot hole in it." The guard stared at her, then at Bast and Killian behind her, and sighed.
"Whatever, you crazy bitch. If the Council wants you out, they can kick you out themselves." He smoothed the jacket of his suit. "Besides, I just bought this suit."
Azar flew down the stairs, taking them five at a time. It was a miracle she didn’t fall and break her neck.
Malee still had hold of Freya’s hand, and she led her towards the doors. The guard finally noticed her and visibly grimaced.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Malee just stared him in the eye. The Guard swore. "I guess you are coming too? Christos is not going to be happy."
He turned and marched out of the room, and Azar grabbed Freya’s hand, throwing a quick look over her shoulder at the three men remaining in the gym. The look of concern on Bast's normally neutral face had her worried. Jack was still looking at her quizzically, as if staring at a puzzle piece that didn't quite fit.
Chapter 15
The further they walked down the hallways toward the conference rooms, the tighter Freya's death grip on her hand became. Azar squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and murmured something she hoped was comforting. The Adel they passed in the halls on the way to the elevators threw them worried looks, although no one knew the real reason Freya was in the compound.
The elevator doors slid closed behind them and she couldn't help but draw comparisons between herself and Freya. Less than four months ago, it was Azar in this elevator surrounded by Adel, her future equally as uncertain. She had been the one standing there, shaking like a leaf, praying the lift would break and she'd be stuck in there forever. Azar bent forward and picked the girl up, wrapping her in her arms. Freya clung to her neck, her little body trembling. She hushed her, whispering vaguely reassuring promises and trying to calm the girl’s racing heart.
When the silver doors slid open again, she carried Freya to the conference room. The guard ushered them in, and she recognized the faces around the table. Every Councilor was here, including her father, who gave her a small smile.
The Councilor for the Shaitan had a mean sneer on his face. "You seem to have brought too many people, Peter. Do I need to send you back to Kindergarten with the infants of our race?"
The guard, Peter, bowed his head low. "At this point, your Honor, that would be a pleasure. They refused to allow the girl to come alone. This is a new season Armani suit." He shrugged as if that explained everything, and by the understanding way the Shaitan Councilor was nodding, apparently it did.
"You are dismissed. Shut the door behind you." Peter bowed again to the room of Councilors, and left. The Shaitan Councilor, Christos, turned back to their little group. "So the weak-blooded Shaitan gets two half-blood Ifrit protectors. It sounds almost like the punchline to a joke I once heard." He was staring at Malee with amused malice, like a cat that enjoyed torturing a mouse to death with inane banter. Malee just rolled her eyes.
"I wasn't aware you knew any jokes, Christos. I just assumed that the only thing you found funny was pulling the wings off bugs and watching them flail around." Her face was pleasant, regardless of the acid in her words. There was a twitch in Christos' face. It could have been an angry tick in his jaw, or a smothered smile, who knew? But from the familiarity between the two of them, Azar assumed this wasn't the first time they had matched wits.
"You are quite correct. I do find that amusing," he replied, completely deadpan.
"If you two have finished flirting, can we get this underway? We all have places to be." The Sila Councilor's voice didn't seem even remotely amused, and Christos threw her an irritated look. Hmm, Azar thought, perhaps he was amused. If there was ever an infatuation doomed to end in disaster, it was this one.
Azar looked around the room. Everyone looked far less formal in the close surroundings, without the peanut gallery that came with a public hearing. It was not nearly as intimidating.
"Azar, you can put the child down, no harm can come to her in this room," her father said in a calm voice. She shot one more look at the faces around them and lowered the girl down, sitting her in one of the office chairs that surround a large hardwood table. Its top gleamed without interruption, and the workmanship was some of the most beautiful she had ever seen. It looked like it had been made from a single slice of an ancient tree, the massive rings gleaming through the polished top. The edges had been smoothed, and expertly chiseled into a beautiful flowing curve. The office chairs around it almost seemed sacrilegious. It deserved equally beautiful high backed chairs, not executive swivel chairs from Ikea.
There was one glaring absence from the room. No Donovan.
"I assume you are looking for Mr. Rixton? I'm afraid he got a little tied up in Hoboken." The cruel twist to Christos' smile marred his otherwise handsome face. Well, his face would be handsome if you didn't look at his eyes. The cruelty in them negated any outward beauty. Azar had no doubt that the Shaitan Councilor had ensured that Donovan couldn't be here to defend his child, or himself. A lead balloon of dread settled in her stomach.
She forced herself to look Christos in the eye, which was no easy feat. His expression made her skin crawl and her heart hammer with fear. But she held herself steady, and stared. "Then I guess it is fortunate I am here to advocate on their behalf, isn't it?" She sat down next to Freya.
Malee sat on the girl’s other side. "Me too."
She noticed her father’s eyes shining with contained mirth. She didn't think the Shaitan Councilor got a lot of lip regularly.
Christos stared at Malee. "Indeed. Well, let’s get this ridiculousness under way, shall we? I move that the child represents a danger to the stability of our system, and should be summarily disposed of, and a precedent set that any other ‘Djinn'," he snorted derisively, "of less than half purity be disposed of in a similar manner, as seen fit by their race."
There was an uproar around the room, voices booming over the top of one another, including hers and Malee's, yelling the loudest.
“Suc
h wholesale slaughter could not be approved by the Council, especially when the subject at hand is a child,” someone shouted, she thought it might have been the Marid Councilor.
The Ghul yelled as well. “You are being short-sighted. In five hundred years we will no longer exist, as our bloodlines would be bred out until we’re basically human."
It went back and forth like this until the Jann Councilor stood up and banged the conference table once, the noise reverberating around the room.
"If we could show some decorum! From what I recall, we do not murder the innocent, it is one of our key covenants. So unless someone suggests we rewrite a millennium old document to include the summary execution of children, can we stop being juvenile and come to a conclusion like educated adults." He sat back down. "Besides, you are making the child cry."
Every eye swiveled to Freya, and she was indeed sobbing. A wave of guilt swept through Azar. In her indignation, she hadn't given thought to how scary all that yelling would have been for the child. She pulled the girl onto her lap and stroked her hair, hugging her tight.
"The Councilor for the Jann is correct. We cannot approve the Shaitan's drastic solution," Saraf said considerately. "But the members for the Ghul and Sila are also correct. The child poses quite a predicament. Child, do you even possess the slave mark? A little birthmark on your body that looks like this?" He drew the six pointed emblem of the Djinn on a piece of paper and slid it over to Freya. The little girl bravely dragged her face away from where she'd tucked it in Azar's neck and looked at the drawing. She shook her head.
"I did not think so. She cannot be controlled by the Anadari bracelets without the slave mark, and therefore cannot be compelled to fulfil the one hundred years of servitude required by our laws. Indeed, it is unknown if she will even live to be a hundred, or how much of her human nature prevails over that of her Djinn heritage. Therefore, I regret to say that she has no place in Djinn society and cannot be protected under our laws."
The Azar Omnibus: The Complete Azar Trilogy (The Azar Trilogy Book 0) Page 37