Oh, right. I wracked my brain but couldn’t remember any precedent for this. But there were three Elders who served on the Interspecies Council—Lennox, Sato, and Zrakovi, who was the First Elder. What else did they need?
Don’t guess you have any of that apple stuff, do you? My heart was jumping around like Gruff waiting for a liver treat, except not in a good way.
He reached over and took my right hand and squeezed it.
I looked at Rene. Had it been Alex, he’d have grabbed my other hand, or put his mark on me in some way, or pouted. Rene smiled. “It’ll be okay,” he said softly. “This needs to happen. Zrakovi ain’t helping in this Florian situation because he won’t work with anybody but the shifters. You might be the only one who can get him out fast.”
“He’s right.” Rand had his own eavesdropping skills. “I could work with St. Simon or Sato. I can’t and won’t work with Zrakovi.”
Sato had been talking on his phone but held a hand over it. “Mr. Delachaise, what was your transport name again?”
Rene grinned. “Happy Jack.”
Sato looked confused but said into the phone. “Transport to Happy Jack immediately, please. Yes, now.”
“Reset the transport with a new name after we leave,” I whispered.
The transport had been drawn in the middle of Rene’s living room, which meant the first person Zrakovi saw when he materialized was me, flanked by the elf and the merman. I realized, with enough amusement to cut through my nerves, that all three of us wore olive-green sweaters and light-washed blue jeans. We could be an advertisement for Tulane, my alma mater.
Willem Zrakovi didn’t bother trying to hide his distaste, at least not until he turned around to see his fellow Elders standing behind him. Then I couldn’t see his face, but I’d bet all Rand’s gold he wore a simpering smile. “Good evening, gentlemen. We have quite an unusual gathering here.”
He walked toward them like a man with chronic back pain, but even turned away from me I could tell when he spotted Carl McCord. His step faltered slightly, and his right hand—the one on which he wore an emerald signet ring to mark himself as a Green Congress wizard—curled into a fist. And to think I’d once been proud of his Elder status because it was so hard for anyone other than powerful Red Congress wizards to be named to the Congress of Elders.
He wasn’t an exceptionally talented wizard, I had learned. He was an exceptional politician, or he had been before things got difficult, the pretes wouldn’t cooperate, and his own New Orleans sentinel had humiliated him in front of his peers. His ambitions had gotten him elected to a job he was unfit to hold, and now, in over his head, he had found someone on whom to blame all his woes: big, scary me. Daughter of the man who represented everything he hated—the rogue, passion-driven man who wasn’t afraid to do what he thought was right.
And, though I’d fought it hard for the past few years, I was a bigger rogue than my father had ever dreamt of being. He’d be proud of me, and that brought me a glimmer of pleasure, however this turned out.
Asahi Sato did not waste time. Within ten minutes, he had Rene round up eight chairs and place them around his oval table that would only seat four comfortably. Elder Sato faced Zrakovi, with Lennox and Rand on either side of Sato, and Alex next to Zrakovi on one side, with Dr. Ginger on his other side.
There was a pecking order here, and Rene, Carl McCord, and I were the stray kernels of corn left on the henhouse floor.
“I assume Ms. Jaco—or is it Mrs. Randolph?—has created some sort of incident, but could this really not wait until morning?” It was almost seven on a Sunday night, and Zrakovi was dressed in business casual. Hope he didn’t have any place urgent to be.
I did an aura inventory using my empathic abilities. Elder Sato sat very still, with his hands resting on the table. If the man was tense, I couldn’t tell. Neither was Dr. Ginger. Rand and Rene and Zrakovi were angry; Carl was scared; Alex was tense; I was ready to run out the back door. I could hide in Marinello’s Pizza across the street until everyone left.
“Willem, we are here because Ms. Jaco has leveled a serious accusation against you, and its merits are such that they need to be addressed immediately,” Sato said.
I felt Zrakovi’s gaze land on me like a branding iron, but I refused to look at him.
“Ms. Jaco, could you begin by telling us the events of this afternoon pertinent to this hearing?”
I nodded and stuck to the facts. “I took my dog to the Barkus parade, primarily to keep my eyes open for any fae presence but also to socialize the dog among other animals. Gruff, the dog, alerted me that a werewolf was nearby, possibly on the roof. I looked up, ducked, and the woman beside me was struck in the head.”
Zrakovi burst into laughter. “Your dog told you there was a werewolf in the area? Please, Ms. Jaco. That’s a bit much, even for you.”
“The dog was trained as part of the Elven Royal Canine Corps,” Rand said, his voice crisp. “He is adept at sensing any number of other species, including wizards.”
Zrakovi didn’t dare challenge Rand, not yet.
“Go on,” Elder Sato said.
“Rene Delachaise had accompanied us to the parade, and I knew he was nearby. So I stayed low and went to find him. He should probably pick up the story at this point.”
Elder Sato nodded. “One final thing. Do you believe Mr. McCord was acting alone?”
I tried to keep my voice steady. “I believe he was the only shooter, but I believed at the time he was either hired by Elder Willem Zrakovi or bribed by him.”
“Oh, good God, Asahi.” Zrakovi threw his hands in the air. “Ms. Jaco highly exaggerates her own sense of importance.”
“Somebody sure does,” I muttered. We had the crazed, self-proclaimed King of Faerie trying to expose or kill all of us, and the First Elder was wasting resources and money trying to kill me. His actions were absurd and said much for his narcissism and the declining state of his mental health.
“Thank you, Ms. Jaco. Willem, you will of course have the opportunity to respond to the charges. Mr. Delachaise, will you begin your story where Ms. Jaco’s left off?”
“Sure,” Rene said. “I heard the shot and saw the shooter on the roof of the Café Bourbon, so I ran to the alley near the café, figuring that’s where he’d come down. He was already climbing down one of those ladder-style fire escapes, so I grabbed him at the bottom. He dropped the rifle and I was chasing him down the alley toward Bourbon Street when I heard DJ behind me, telling me to move aside.”
Rene looked back at me, and I shrugged and picked up the story. “I used my elven staff to shoot him in the knee. Rene restrained him, and I made a transport to come here, along with his rifle and my dog.”
Elder Sato looked at the rifle, which lay on the table pointed, ironically, toward Zrakovi. “Mr. McCord, is this your rifle?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
“And then, Ms. Jaco?”
“And then I called Alex Warin since he is the shifter representative, and then Lennox St. Simon as the sentinel of this region.”
“Willem,” Elder Sato said. “I should let you know that Mr. St. Simon contacted me as head of the judiciary council of the Elders, so proper protocol was followed. I questioned Mr. McCord, and then gave permission, as is my prerogative, to have a neutral party question him, in this case the healer of Elfheim. As you know, the elves are quite skilled at reaching the truth, and I did not feel that, as Ms. Jaco’s mate, Mr. Randolph would be unbiased.”
“And you think she would be unbiased? Another elf?” He turned a malevolent eye toward Dr. Ginger, who met his gaze with inscrutable calm.
“Yes.” Elder Sato’s grim expression said he was growing tired of the whole ordeal. “Mr. McCord, would you tell us why you were on the café rooftop, at whom you were aiming, and why?”
Poor guy. He looked at Alex in desperation, and Alex nodded. His dark-brown eyes met mine with no expression whatsoever.
“The shifters have been monitori
ng the parade routes since Mardi Gras season began,” he said. “But Elder Zrakovi had contacted several of us after our meeting with Alex, called us individually, and offered a million bucks to whoever could kill DJ Jaco.”
“Did Alex Warin know about this?” Sato asked.
“No, ’course not,” Carl said. “We thought she was still his girlfriend until recently, even though…there was the elf thing.”
Rene coughed to cover a laugh, and I kicked him under the table. Alex flushed a splotchy shade of red.
“And do you know how many of the shifters Elder Zrakovi contacted with this offer?”
Carl frowned, and I got the impression he’d be counting on his fingers if his hands weren’t still cuffed. “Eleven, I think. We started comparing notes, you know, and figured out he’d called those of us who got paid the least. Guess he figured we’d need the money. And that’s the only reason I did it, really.” He was pleading now. “We just finished the holidays, and I had all these bills…”
“This is absurd. I refuse to listen to any more of this tripe. Asahi, you and I have known each other for forty years, at least.”
“Sit down, Willem, or I will have Mr. Warin restrain you.”
I had to give Zrakovi credit. He wouldn’t admit defeat. “You will what? I don’t think so.”
He sped toward the transport. Damn it, I should have broken that thing as soon as he arrived.
“Elder Sato?” Alex was on his feet, handcuffs dangling from his right hand.
“Restrain him,” Sato said. Rene and I were closer, so we almost overturned the sofa to race toward the transport. But we were too late. Zrakovi was gone.
“Damn it.” I turned toward Sato. “I can do a charm to see where he went or send Alex to the same place, but it’ll take me a few minutes to get my supplies.”
Elder Sato shook his head. “Resume your seats, please. There is business to conduct.
“First, Mr. McCord, I remand you to our holding center in Edinburgh until this matter is settled. You may take your family with you, if you wish, and will all be able to live in a monitored apartment there. Mr. Warin, you will accompany him after our business is concluded here, and then will let me know when he is re-settled.”
Alex nodded. I didn’t know for sure, but I thought it bode well for Carl that his family was being allowed to go with him. He’d probably be reassigned to a new territory for his punishment, as Gerry was when he was sent to New Orleans.
I was fine with that. I bore him no grudge. He was another victim.
“Lennox, I hereby use my judicial powers to remove Willem Zrakovi as First Elder, effective immediately. His formal removal as an Elder will require a full meeting of our governing body, which I suggest we do within the next twenty-four hours since all seven Elders are arriving in the city for carnival. At that time, I will recommend his removal, and we will discuss criminal charges. May I count on your support?”
“Of course,” Lennox said. “And what of my niece’s safety while Willem Zrakovi is still at large? He will be less stable than ever.”
Great. A bigger target on my back.
Chapter 33
Safe at Rand’s house, I slept through most of the days on Monday and Tuesday since there were no parades and I needed to let my foot absorb as much healing potion as it could. I got up for a quick phone call to Jean on Monday night about buying Eugenie’s house and had Rene’s realtor cousin make an all-cash offer for me on Tuesday. If the sale went through, I’d owe Jean Lafitte enough favors to keep him happy for at least the next decade, but unemployed wizards weren’t good risks for mortgage loans.
Rene had offered to pay for it, but I couldn’t borrow money from a man I’d kissed. Well, okay, I had kissed the pirate before, but there hadn’t been serious intent. Jean flirted with me; I fell for it.
With Rene…I didn’t know where we were headed, except keeping our friendship was paramount. Plus, he’d already paid above-value for my land across the street. Owing Jean meant engaging in a scheme to find a long-lost sunken ship’s treasure or something equally hare-brained or humiliating. Taking money from Rene felt wrong now, which probably told me more than I wanted to examine too closely.
We let the Hunters do all the security for Wednesday night’s uneventful Krewe of Druids parade, and I set up another meeting between Rand and baby Michael on Thursday morning. Michael was more beautiful than ever, and gurgled happily in my arms, but Edmee said he had a temper and would turn a frightening shade of red when upset or angry.
Bad sign. “He definitely gets that from his father,” I said. When I told Rand, he puffed up with pride as if he’d accomplished something special. I think his greatest fear was that Michael would be more human than elf. My greatest fear was just the opposite.
Edmee also had told me Kirian was getting antsy. “Are there unattached mermen around St. Bernard you could introduce her to?” I’d asked. “If so, introduce her to one at a time. Sex will keep her occupied. Just make sure she doesn’t tell them who she is.” I thought about it a moment longer. “And make sure she stays away from Rene.”
That earned a raised eyebrow and an “uh-huh, I thought so” from Rene’s sister, so I didn’t pursue that conversation further.
On Thursday, Rand and I got ready for a lunchtime security meeting. I had a local sandwich shop deliver piles of seafood and roast beef po-boys, salads, tea, soda, beer, and desserts. I was too paranoid to shop for lunch while Zrakovi was lurking around. No one had seen him since the showdown on Sunday night—or nobody admitted to it. Florian also hadn’t reappeared since being sent to Greenland with his own burns.
Elder Sato and Uncle Lennox arrived with Alex, and I showed them into the dragon barn and dining hall. Sebastian greeted Alex like his long-lost love, and he walked around holding the ungrateful beast while examining the dragons. There were six of them now, all under strict orders to grow no larger than Sebastian, and the Elders and Alex studied them with open-mouthed fascination.
“What do they eat?” Elder Sato asked, fast-stepping backward when the newly returned Pentewyn snorted steam at him.
“Six rats a day, three for breakfast and three for lunch,” I said. “I learned that the hard way when I let one of them eat an entire box of frozen lab rats for lunch one day. I had to create fumigation potions for the whole house.”
They laughed, so I let them think it was a joke.
Jean and Rene finally arrived, trailed by Faulk, Romany, and Lia. For the first time, everyone was working together.
We gathered around the long table and started eating.
Uncle Lennox sat next to me, so I asked if he’d heard from Audrey. I missed my cousin. We hadn’t known each other long, but I enjoyed spending time with her.
“I talk to her almost every day, and she’s quite anxious to return,” he said. “The remaining Elders met earlier this week, and Elder Sato was elected the new First Elder. He has already dropped the charges against both you and Audrey and, posthumously, Jacob Warin.”
I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. “So it’s really over.”
“It is, or it will be once we catch Willem Zrakovi. He’s been stripped of his Green Congress badge, and a warrant has been issued by the Congress of Elders for his arrest. He’s off our aura detectors, however, so we suspect he’s hiding in Old Orleans. Until he’s caught, however, neither you nor Audrey are safe.”
I nodded.
“Do you have plans for the future, assuming we get all this sorted out?” Lennox asked.
“I’m buying a new house,” I said, not going into which house or how I was paying for it. He probably would have loaned me the money too, but I was more comfortable owing Jean, as warped as that probably was.
“I thought I might open a bookstore. I like being around books,” I said, although I knew it would be hard to support myself and it would require more pirate favors to cover the startup costs. “Or maybe not. I don’t know.”
“Well, Elder Sato will offer you the job of sentin
el back, should you want it. Don’t answer now; you have time to think about it. I need to return to my real work in London. It would mean working with Alex Warin, and perhaps you can find a role for Audrey, should you decide to take it.”
“I’ll think about it.” Did I want my old job back? Could I work with Alex? Would he work with me? There was a lot to consider. Audrey was a given. We’d be downright dangerous working together. “I like Elder Sato, but I was hoping you’d become First Elder.”
Lennox had wanted the job. I knew that, thanks to my empathic reads on him, but now he seemed at peace. “Asahi deserves it; he’s served the Congress of Elders much longer than I. Mostly, I wanted Willem gone. He let personal grudges and ambition get in the way of making sound decisions, and he just didn’t have the temperament to hold the Interspecies Council together when things went arse over teakettle.”
“You think? Will he be sent to Ittoqqortoormiit?”
Lennox gave me a sly smile. “Perhaps. There has been an alarming influx of vampires and faeries there in the last few days, however. We have had to hire local fishermen to rescue them off a narrow ice floe. None seem to know how they got there. It’s quite a mystery.”
“Don’t send them back,” I said. “I know Florian has gotten stuck there at least once.”
Lennox opened his mouth to say more, but Elder Sato stood up and pinged his plastic fork on the side of his red plastic Solo cup. It made no noise, but still got everyone’s attention. “Who has been in charge of the non-shifter security?”
It should have been an easy question to answer, but it wasn’t. “The Fae Hunters supporting Christof have provided most of the live on-site security,” Faulk said. “Lord Randolph has handled technical oversight through scrying and monitoring the cameras on the dragons. Ms. Jaco and Mr. Delachaise have been the rogue agents moving from location to location. Mr. Lafitte has been our liaison with the mayor’s office, providing valuable intelligence on parade plans as they have changed or developed.”
I caught glances with Alex and mentally dared him to smirk, either at the reference to Lord Randolph or to me being a rogue agent or to Jean providing intelligence. The edges of his mouth had begun to lift when Elder Sato asked him for a summary of the shifter security, at least the ones not busy trying to take shots at me.
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