The Church of Sleep (Central Series Book 5)

by Zachary Rawlins

  “What? No! Of course not,” Emily said, laughing her off. “I’ll do everything within my power to convince you to work for me. I intend to make it very difficult for you to leave, Chandi, and if it is within my ability to do so, I’ll make it impossible. I’m not offering to release you into Anastasia’s service, dear, I’m simply pointing out that your only chance to do so is to join me and hope that the future provides you with such an opportunity.”

  “A rock and a hard place, huh?” Leigh smirked. “Tough luck.”

  “A rock and a comfortable, supportive work environment,” Emily corrected, taking the top half of a poppy seed bagel from the basket. “With excellent compensation and a progressive attitude toward management.”

  “That’s what I said,” Leigh replied. “More or less.”

  “I suppose I must at least consider your offer,” Chandi said reluctantly. “What choice do I have?”

  “I take issue with that,” Emily said, spreading cream cheese across her bagel. “There is always a choice, to my way of thinking. That none of the choices may be ideal, or even good, is an entirely different proposition. There are choices available to you, Chandi. If you side with me, and enjoy my protection today, then it is because you chose to do so of your own volition. No one here has any interest in forcing or compelling you.”

  Chandi desperately wanted to argue, but her fearful and depleted brain refused to provide an argument.

  “I understand,” Chandi said. “I will think it over.”

  “Take your time,” Emily said, layering lox on top of the cream cheese. “You should have an hour or two.”

  ***

  Anastasia paced the room with uncharacteristic impatience while Mai, Renton, and Lord Gao sat at a table near the door, trying not to watch the Mistress of the Black Sun wear furrows in the carpet. Renton was busy finishing Anastasia’s uneaten vegetable stir-fry, while Mai worked with thread and needle to repair one of Anastasia’s torn skirts. The well-dressed vampire sat on the other side of the table, smiling and offering no comments.

  “Ana, come sit down,” Renton said, swallowing the last of the noodles. “You won’t make the station warm up any faster by walking in circles.”

  “Renton Hall!” Mai’s tone was sharp. “You should not speak to Lady Martynova in such a fashion.”

  “Let him be,” Anastasia said. “He is not wrong.”

  “Perhaps he is not wrong, milady,” Mai said. “He is certainly rude.”

  “We are going into battle with presumably the entire Thule Cartel as soon as the station is ready,” Renton said mildly. “The fight of her life is just around the corner. Is it so rude to suggest that she conserve her strength?”

  “It is not your suggestion that I am criticizing,” Mai said. “It is your tone.”

  “That is quite enough,” Anastasia said, taking a seat at the table. “Let us discuss something more practical.”

  “Of course, Mistress,” Mai said. “What do you wish to discuss?”

  “Communications, at least, are starting to return to normal, after the disruption resulting from the destruction of the World Tree. I have received notable messages from Director Levy, Lord North, and Emily Muir. All are interested in some degree of collaboration or alliance.”

  “What can they offer us?” Renton asked. “There’s no point in having an ally that is weaker than we are.”

  “I must agree,” Mai said. “Would such arrangements not be a liability?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. Matters of control are very unsettled at present. Lord North appears to have sealed an agreement to force Ms. Levy to resign the title of Director. He has already been nominated for an executive role in the Administration. The vote is planned for later today, assuming they can assemble a quorum of Assembly members.”

  “That is outrageous, Mistress!” Mai looked appalled. “How can they hold a vote in the absence of any Black Sun representation, and then expect us to accept the outcome?”

  “They will simply do so, and then hope that we will be forced to accede to the new reality. Lord North is an opportunist, and an intelligent one. He knows that we are no position to invade Central, or offer meaningful opposition to his ascension, particularly not while we are in open conflict with the Thule Cartel.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Renton said. “Why not send Katya to take care of him first?”

  “Katya is busy elsewhere,” Anastasia snapped. “Regardless, we do not need a war with the North Cartel, particularly when we have unfinished business with Thule.”

  “We have to do something to counter him,” Renton insisted. “If he takes over the Administration while we eliminate his primary rival within the Hegemony, we’ll be forced to deal with a unified Hegemony with the Auditors at its beck and call. Not to mention Emily at the Far Shores. She was born into the Hegemony, after all. If he takes power, he can just have the Assembly rescind her status as Anathema, and restore her family’s titles and estate.”

  “You’ve spent time with Miss Muir recently,” Mai said. “Do you believe her sympathies still lie with the Hegemony?”

  “I think Emily likes winners,” Renton said. “If the Hegemony looks to be holding the winning hand, she’ll probably go that way.”

  “Which conversely means she could be swayed to our side, under the right circumstances,” Anastasia said. “There is much that is still unsettled.”

  “Looks like war either way to me,” Renton said. “We will have to fight. It’s just a matter of when it happens. I think our chances of winning are pretty good, right now.”

  “Apparently Lord North has considered the same possibility, which is why I found his offer worthy of mention,” Anastasia said. “As I said, Levy is to resign, but it is not North that will take her place, it is Mr. Lacroix. The mandate of the Director will be limited to the Academy, its students, and its grounds. A new office is to be created for Lord North to assume, Chief Administrator, which will encompass control of the Administration, as well as Central, excepting the Academy, the Far Shores, and the cartel estates.”

  “He’s exempting the Far Shores?” Renton looked surprised. “He must have already cut a deal with Emily.”

  “Or he is supremely confident of doing so. Sofia Morales-North is a gifted precognitive. One of the few remaining, I might add.” Anastasia pursed her lips. “Lord North anticipated our objections and is as wary of a fight now as you are confident, Renton. He offered a number of concessions and reassurances in return for peaceful acceptance of the new status quo.”

  “What did he offer, Mistress?”

  “A full restoration of all interests, lands, and offices that were lost in the Thule purge, as well as the Thule title and a substantial amount of their holdings. More importantly,” Anastasia added, “the Thule seat on the Board is included. Which will give the Black Sun a comfortable majority on the Board as well as the Assembly.”

  “That’s…not bad,” Renton said, rubbing his chin. “Depends on which parts of the Thule empire we end up with, but…”

  “The Auditors would be removed from the chain of command of both the Director and the Chief Administrator, and the role of Chief Auditor would be elevated to hold independent authority to oppose either role, should it be necessary. He also suggested that the office of Chief Administrator would have term limits,” Anastasia said. “He suggested ten-year terms, with a vote for reauthorization in the Assembly required, but I am confident that we could negotiate to six.”

  “The Assembly hasn’t had any real control in decades,” Renton said. “That is a lot of change that he is proposing.”

  “The change and the extent are already foregone conclusions,” Anastasia said. “The question is simply how we will react to that.”

  “So much will depend on who he has in mind for Chief Auditor,” Renton said. “If he were to choose a close ally, for example…”

  “He did not propose an ally for the role,” Anastasia said. “He proposed Rebecca Levy.”

  “Oh
. Well, that’s fucking complicated,” Renton said. “Isn’t it?”

  “Mr. Hall! Would you please curb your usage of crude language in the presence of Lady Martynova?” Mai scolded. “At least try to observe the decorum!”

  Anastasia surprised them all by smiling, just a little.

  “Crudeness aside,” she said, “Renton is hardly mistaken.”

  ***

  “Knock, knock!” Emily smiled brightly as she poked her head around the door, leading with a wooden tray. “I hope I’m not bothering you, but I wanted to follow up on our discussion this morning. I brought tea and sweets. Do you have a moment to chat?”

  Chandi Tuesday looked up sadly, not a trace of surprise on her face.

  “I’m a member of the Black Sun Cartel, Emily,” Chandi said. “I can’t help you.”

  “You don’t have to,” Emily assured her, clearing space at the desk to set down the tray. “We can just have tea. Honestly, I feel bad for you. You were always decent to me at the Academy, despite the difference in our standing.”

  “You can’t fool me,” Chandi said, shaking her head. “I already know what you want.”

  Emily smiled and sat down on the bed on the opposite side of the room, the confined dimensions of the dorm putting their knees nearly close enough to touch.

  “Do you really?” Emily smiled and reached for the kettle. “You’ve seen what I intend to do in your visions of the future, then?”

  “It doesn’t work like that, and it has nothing to do with prescience in any case,” Chandi said, watching Emily pour Darjeeling tea into a pair of coffee mugs. “The only reason I’m of interest is my protocol. Any precognitive would tell you as much. Those Thule boys kidnapped me because they wanted to know the future, Lady Martynova recruited me for the same reason, and you are no different.”

  “I like to think that I’m at least a little different,” Emily said, giggling. “Do you take sugar? Milk? Never mind, I already know.”

  She dropped a brown lump of raw sugar in the tea, and then passed the mug over to Chandi.

  “You can tell that sort of thing?” Chandi wrapped her fingers around the warm mug. “If I recall your evaluation when you were Activated, you were not always so capable.”

  “Things change,” Emily said, adding a squeeze of lemon to her own tea. “You should try the cookies. This is my first attempt at an almond crisp, and I am quite pleased with the results.”

  Chandi dutifully selected a cookie from the tray, brightening as she bit into it.

  “These are good,” Chandi said, chewing. “I’m amazed you found the time to bake.”

  “It helps me to think,” Emily said. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, just lately.”

  “Yes, I would imagine so,” Chandi replied. “That vampire girl. The one from breakfast. What was her name?”

  “Leigh. Leigh Feld.”

  “She said she worked for you. Is that true?”

  “Leigh helps me out a great deal,” Emily said, sipping her tea. “I’m very fortunate to count her as my friend.”

  “She said she worked for you. That’s a different thing.”

  “Does it need to be? I like to think that everyone here at the Far Shores is my friend, and that we all help each other out of mutual affection.”

  “You are in charge, though,” Chandi insisted doggedly. “That’s right, isn’t it?”

  “I suppose,” Emily said, smiling modestly. “Please, have another cookie. I know you want one, and you probably haven’t eaten enough for quite a while. Shall I make you a sandwich, instead? I have some roast beef leftovers that would make excellent cold cuts.”

  “Not right now,” Chandi said, taking a second cookie. “Thank you, though.”

  “I’m glad we have a chance to chat,” Emily said, putting her mug back on the tray. “Vivik tells me that you insisted that your interrogators be left alive. Compassionate again, as you were with me at the Academy. I appreciate that.”

  “I always wished that I could have done something for you,” Chandi said, with a pained expression. “Your situation was so unfair.”

  “Don’t look so sad!” Emily smiled. “We all have to start somewhere. I’m pleased with how things have turned out so far.”

  “How did all of this happen, Emily?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The Far Shores, for example.” Chandi gestured at the campus outside the window. “It used to be a science colony under the administration of Central. The Auditors were stationed here after the attack on the Academy, for heaven’s sake! How did you of all people end up in control of it? I thought you had joined the Anathema!”

  “That was a relationship of convenience,” Emily said. “I prefer to consider it as an informal internship.”

  “Then, you didn’t…” Chandi hesitated. “They…they didn’t…”

  “I’m afraid they did. They drowned me in a hole. Everyone’s body is mostly water, of course, but mine is only that. I have to concentrate to look like myself, rather than just a human-shaped puddle.” Emily gestured, water dripping from her fingertips and spattering across the tea tray. “I’m not aligned with the Anathema, or anyone else. I’m my own independent entity.”

  Chandi watched the water drip endlessly from Emily’s fingers, and then shook her head, wordlessly amazed, or horrified.

  “As for how I came to look after the Far Shores,” Emily continued, nibbling at one of the cookies, “that was an accident. We needed a place, obviously, but it didn’t need to be here. There were other options. The Far Shores just worked out well, and the Sea of Ether is undeniably beautiful.”

  “What will you do when the Auditors come back?” Chandi asked. “They won’t be gone forever, and they will be angry to find you here, don’t you think?”

  “I’m sure they’ll be cross, but there won’t be much they can do,” Emily said, brushing her lips with a napkin. “I doubt they’ll want to fight, after what we’ve done to protect the refugees, not to mention the medical assistance we’ve provided them.”

  “I’m not sure about that. I think that Ms. Gallow might want the Far Shores back.”

  “She would need to be in a position to make me give it back, and I don’t like her chances,” Emily explained cheerfully. “Enough politics. Shall we talk about you?”

  “Excuse me?” Chandi was taken aback. “What about me?”

  “We could discuss some of the ways that we are similar,” Emily suggested. “I thought that we might share a certain unique perspective.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Chandi said uncertainly. “What perspective?”

  “We both turned our backs on what we were born into, didn’t we?” Emily asked brightly. “We left for greener pastures, you and I. In my case, those pastures turned out to be very similarly drab to those I had left, forcing me to set out on my own. How about you?”

  “No. I have not…that is to say, I never officially joined the Hegemony, so I didn’t need to leave,” Chandi explained, the words coming with difficulty. “Most of my family declared for the Black Sun, if only recently. My loyalties are not in question.”

  “That’s how you see it,” Emily countered. “Do you think that the Black Sun or the Hegemony see it the same way? I’m afraid there is no going back, dear. The Hegemony will always think of you as a traitor, and the Black Sun will never truly trust you, no matter what they say. More tea?”

  “No, thank you,” Chandi said, fighting down a panic attack. “Emily, where did you say Lady Martynova was?”

  “I believe she is investigating a Thule compound outside of Central, though I doubt she found much of interest there,” Emily said. “I’d imagine she has a few things more pressing, but I’m sure she means to come and collect you eventually.”

  “I need to talk to her,” Chandi said, taking off her glasses so she could rub the bridge of her nose. “It is quite important.”

  “I can’t risk it. The Thule cartel still controls the main road, and I don’t have any
people to spare to escort you there. It is taking everything I have just to contain the refugee situation.”

  “I don’t need any favors from you, and I don’t need you to provide an escort,” Chandi said. “I’m sure that I can ask Simeon or one of his friends to…”

  “You mean those boys from the Black Sun that Leigh brought back when she retrieved you? One is still in ICU, waiting on his third knee surgery…”

  “That’s Maxim, I think,” Chandi said. “I don’t really know him.”

  “…and the rest are already back with their Mistress.”

  “You returned them?”

  “This morning.”

  “I note that you did not offer me the same courtesy,” Chandi said, glaring. “How convenient.”

  “Not for you,” Emily said. “But for my purposes, yes. Quite.”

  Leigh Feld came bounding through the door, knocking it open and breaking one of the hinges in her eagerness.

  “Emily, you need to get out here,” the vampire said, her ponytail bouncing as she trotted along, grinning despite the litany of cuts and bruises written across her skin. “Vivik says we’ve only got a minute.”

  “A minute till what, Leigh dear?”

  “Egill Johannsson is on his way the Far Shores, according to Vivik,” Leigh explained excitedly. “This is the fucking best day! I knew I was right to sign on with you.”

  “Of course you were,” Emily said fondly. “I promised you excitement, and I like to over-deliver.”

  “Egill Johannsson?” Chandi asked. “I see. That was faster than I expected.”

  “How long did you think they were going to leave you alone?” Leigh gave Chandi an amused look. “Egill notified the telepath on duty that he was looking for someone, and if we gave them up, he’d leave the rest of the refugees alone.” Leigh smirked at Chandi. “Come to think of it, I guess that Thule kid is looking for you.”

  “That is interesting,” Emily said. “Particularly because I have an appointment with Alistair for which I am at least fifteen minutes late, to discuss the very same thing.”