by Jasmine Walt
Fuck this, I thought angrily, shoving one of the couches against the wall. I wasn’t going to languish in this stupid hotel suite feeling sorry for myself. If I had to stay here and wait for Iannis, the least I could do was make good use of the space. So I pushed all the living room furniture up against the walls, changed into a tank top and pants, and I did something I hadn’t had a chance to do in a long time.
I trained.
Training wasn’t so much about keeping in shape – my job as an Enforcer, not to mention the grueling trip over the past week, did a good enough job at that – but about honing my skills and sharpening my focus. Nevertheless, I worked through the usual strength and flexibility exercises before moving on to basic punches, kicks, rolls, and stances.
By the time I started on my first form, my bare arms were covered with a light sheen of sweat and most of the stress had drained from my body. As I glided through the motions, striving for grace rather than power, my troubled thoughts drifted away, and Roanas filled my mind instead. I could almost picture his tawny lion’s gaze watching me, and the sensation made me ache with sadness and happiness all at once. I missed him more than words could convey, and there were many times I wished I could hop on my bike and ride over to his house so I could talk my cases over with him.
But even though I couldn’t visit Roanas at his home anymore, I could still draw comfort from my memories of him, and wrap them around myself in times of trouble. Training was the perfect way to do that – with every kick and punch, every pivot and crouch, I could feel my mentor’s presence and encouragement almost as if he really were here with me.
By the time the door swung open, I was in the middle of my fourth form, so deeply focused that I didn’t even stop. I ducked an imaginary opponent from one end, then spun out of my crouch to crescent kick the one behind me, my foot whipping through the air at inhuman speed.
The sound of my flesh slapping against Iannis’s palm as he caught my foot jarred me from my trance-like state, and I jumped, then lost my balance. Thankfully Iannis let go of my leg and caught me around the waist before I toppled to the floor.
“I see you’ve done some redecorating,” he murmured, his violet eyes sparkling with amusement as he drew me closer.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice a little breathless – and not from the exertion. His chest was nearly touching mine, and the heat from his body felt good against my sweat-slicked skin. “I thought you’d appreciate it if I refrained from adding smashed furniture to your hotel bill.”
“Indeed,” Iannis agreed. He reached up and brushed a damp curl from my forehead. “I apologize for sending you back to the hotel, but I am glad you found an outlet for your frustration.”
“It’s alright.” I licked my lips as his fingers trailed fire across my skin. “I know that despite your ‘I’m all-powerful’ attitude, you can’t control everything.”
Iannis scoffed lightly. “I never said that I was all-powerful.”
“No, but you sure act like it most of the time.” Grinning, I danced out of his reach, not because I didn’t like him touching me but because I liked it a little too much. Despite the fact that I’d thoroughly enjoyed the kiss he’d given me, I didn’t think it was a good idea to let him do it again after I’d given him an ultimatum. If he wanted me, he was going to have to make a decision before I’d let him take any more liberties.
I just hoped he decided before I ran out of time.
“So, are you going to tell me about this interrogation?” I asked as I plopped down on one of the couches that I’d shoved against the wall. “I hope it’s not all bad news.”
“As a matter of fact, it’s not.” Iannis sat down on the opposite end of the couch, twisting his body sideways to face me and leaning an arm on top of the white upholstery. “Lord Cedris doesn’t know who the Benefactor is.”
I turned my head to scowl at him. “I thought you had good news.”
“He doesn’t know who the Benefactor is, but he admitted that someone did contact him about a month before the Convention with blackmail photographs of a rather sordid nature,” Iannis continued blithely. “Professionally taken, too. This person would only communicate to him via post and parcel, but they basically promised him the position of Minister if he followed their instructions, and threatened to expose his indiscretions if he balked. If those photos had been published, Cedris would have had to resign from office and face trial by the Convention.”
“Huh.” I pressed my lips together as I absorbed that information. “Does that mean we’re supposed to forgive him or something?”
“Certainly not. He should have come to the Minister immediately with a full confession, and would have gotten off with a much lighter penalty. Instead he’s guilty of treason for his dealings with the Benefactor, since it’s clear his actions were benefitting the Resistance. He knew about the planned attack on my dirigible, which is why he was so displeased when I arrived at the Convention after all. The Benefactor must have reckoned that my presence would make it harder for Cedris to swing the vote, so they tried to eliminate me to ensure he would get the position. Secretary Brung was being blackmailed for different reasons, and was told that the Minister would fall ill several days before any symptoms appeared. It was between the two of them that they were able to isolate the Minister so effectively.”
“By Magorah.” I shook my head at that. “If one of the Secretaries is capable of being blackmailed, then the Benefactor probably blackmailed or bribed additional delegates to help swing the vote.”
“I agree.” Iannis nodded. “Those who strongly campaigned on Cedris’s behalf are being rounded up and interrogated as well, since unsurprisingly none of them are coming forward. The Minister is putting together a special task force to track down the Benefactor and eradicate the Resistance, and he’s asked me to be part of it.”
I jerked. “And are you?”
“Of course.” Iannis frowned at my reaction. “How could I not? The Federation will never be safe until this madness is stopped.”
“I know, I know, it’s just that…” I scraped my hands through my hair and tried to figure out how to say this.
“What is it?” Iannis’s tone softened.
I lifted my gaze to his again. “It’s just that I know the Minister isn’t going to want me anywhere near this task force, and you’re going to be so busy there’s no way you’re going to have time to train me.” A lump formed in my throat.
“Ah, but that’s where you are wrong.” Iannis smiled. “I told the Minister in no uncertain terms that you’ve been invaluable in uncovering all these conspiracies, and that if he wanted me on the task force you would be working with me.” The smile turned into a smirk. “He said that since you’re my apprentice I can do whatever I want, but of course that was just his way of saving face while agreeing.”
I laughed a little at the twinkle in his eye. “How clever of you.”
“Indeed.” His face grew serious again. “But whether or not he agreed, I already made a promise to you that I wouldn’t neglect your training again, Sunaya. I will reduce your apprenticeship duties at the Mages Guild so that you have more time to focus on spellcasting and other lessons. I suspect we will need the extra time as members of this new task force in any case.”
“No kidding.” I bit my lip as another thought occurred to me. “Did Cedris or Brung say how the Minister caught the disease in the first place?”
“The Benefactor was in charge of the arrangements, so I assume he somehow made it happen. I just don’t understand how such a thing is possible without magic.” Iannis frowned.
“Perhaps that is why nobody else caught it from the Minister, if it’s supposed to be so contagious.” My mind was spinning with the implications. If the Benefactor could target specific enemies with common ailments, what prevented him from spreading some plague that killed only mages, or worse, only shifters?
“If I asked Noria or Elnos, I’m pretty sure they’d say it’s the power of human science and give me som
e fancy term or something that I can’t pronounce.” I smiled a little, but my heart sank as I remembered the turmoil I’d left behind in Solantha. Would Noria still be there, or had she run off to join the fight by now? I hated the thought of us becoming enemies. Was there any way I could warn her about the task force, without at the same time being disloyal to Iannis or helping the Resistance? I needed to convince Rylan to get out as well, although I doubted he’d want to talk to me after learning I’d used his name to infiltrate a Resistance camp.
“You should pack your things,” Iannis said as he rose. “We’ll be leaving for Solantha in the evening.”
“Alright,” I said dully. I hopped off the couch and headed back to my own room, my heart heavy. Even though I’d accomplished what I’d set out to do here in Dara, I was dreading the idea of going home.
29
Considering what had happened the last time Iannis had travelled on a dirigible, plus the fact that the Resistance was probably even more focused on eliminating us, I should have been a bundle of nerves during the flight home. But I was so tired from this long-ass ordeal that not long after we left Dara I conked out, sleeping like the dead for most of the flight.
“Miss Baine.” Iannis gently shook me awake. “We’re here.”
I cracked open my eyelids and looked out the window just as we passed over Solantha Bay. Despite the fact that I was dreading what I’d find on the ground, I couldn’t help but grin as I watched the morning sun crest over the horizon, pink and gold flames rippling across the water and making the Firegate Bridge glow. I couldn’t even explain how relieved I was to see the bridge still standing there in all its fiery glory – the Resistance had already tried to destroy it once, and I’d half expected to find it blown to smithereens. If it was standing strong, I hoped that meant Solantha was too.
But as we drew closer to the Palace, I saw groups of humans crowded outside the property just beyond the protective wards, and my sharp eyes picked out picket signs that many of them waved. I couldn’t make out what they said, but I imagined the words were angry, if the number of guards trying to corral the protesters were any indication.
“By Magorah,” I whispered as horror creeped up my chest. “Just what is going on down there?”
Rather than landing at the airport, which would force us to brave the angry mob to gain entrance to the Palace, Iannis ordered the pilot to land us in the middle of the palace gardens, well within the protective wards and away from the angry protesters. A light breeze tugged at my hair as I disembarked from the dirigible, bringing the kiss of the ocean with it, and for a moment I forgot about the protestors on the ground. But then I caught sight of Director Chen and Fenris waiting for us, and their grim faces reminded me all over again.
“Welcome back, everyone,” Director Chen said, her voice solemn. “I am glad to see you have all arrived safely.”
“You sure don’t look glad,” I pointed out. “Is there something going on we should know about? Such as why there’s an angry mob trying to storm the Palace downstairs?”
“Many things, and none of them good,” Fenris confirmed. He forced a smile, no doubt noticing the worried look on my face. “But we’re hoping that now that you are back, Iannis, things can be settled.”
“What things?” Iannis demanded, looking between Chen and Fenris. “What more has happened in my absence?”
Director Chen sucked in a deep breath before she spoke. “Because my appointment was never formally ratified, the Council decided to rule in your stead and completely shut me out while I was leading the search. They called for the arrest of anyone who has known or suspected ties to the Resistance, which in their very broad definition is half the city.”
“What?” Iannis’s voice sizzled with fury.
“It’s true, Iannis.” Fenris’s voice was heavy with sorrow. “Not only that, but they’ve arrested the families of all these ‘suspects’ as well. Prominent business owners, Enforcers, media employees, and many, many others have been taken, including Inspector Lakin and most of the Baine Clan. If not for the fact that I returned aboard Director Chen’s dirigible with Resistance prisoners in tow, I suspect I would be sharing their fate.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted, furious at the idea that Lakin, who when last I’d talked to him had been working hard to protect shifters from the fallout, had been swept up by the Mages Guild’s misguided attempts at seeking justice. “Iannis, we have to fix this.” I nearly grabbed his sleeve before I caught myself.
“Set up a meeting with the Council in thirty minutes,” Iannis said between gritted teeth. “I want to get to the bottom of this, and I mean to do it now.”
The meeting was a bloody affair, and I got to watch from the sidelines as Iannis ripped each and every one of the Council members a new hole. Omonas tried to fight back, pointing out that it was Iannis’s fault that he hadn’t made sure to ratify Chen’s appointment, and in response Iannis set his robes aflame. It would have been gratifying to watch the fat bastard shriek and scream if he hadn’t also decided to rip off his robes, but apparently the fire Iannis had used couldn’t be put out by normal means, and it consumed the robe to ashes before winking itself out.
After that, none of the other councilmen dared to raise a voice against Iannis, and he told them in no uncertain terms that they were never to pull a stunt like that again, and that as of today he would be ratifying Chen’s appointment. He also told them that they needed to immediately release any citizens they’d imprisoned that they didn’t have hard evidence against, and that if it wasn’t done by the end of today he would see them all removed from their positions and new Council members appointed.
Seeing that he had matters well in hand, I slipped out of the Palace in disguise, briefly integrating myself into the mob outside as a human so I could get into the city itself. Now that I was on the ground, I could read the picket fences clearly, and they said things like “FREE MY FAMILY” and “DEATH TO ALL MAGES” and “GIVE THE POWER TO THE PEOPLE.” A huge part of me wanted to tell these people to stand down, that it was okay now, that Iannis was back and their loved ones would be returned to them, but there was no reason they would believe me, and in any case I needed to check on my friends.
Wishing for my steambike, I considered changing into beast form and running down to the Port. But running around as a jaguar after my entire clan had been arrested was probably a bad idea, so I decided against it and hoofed it down to Witches’ End instead. The five-mile walk was even more depressing than the mob outside the Palace – the once-clean streets were now strewn with refuse from the piles of uncollected garbage bags rotting on the sidewalks, storefronts were smashed in or boarded up, and the few people out on the streets walked quickly, eyes darting around nervously as though expecting someone to jump at them from the shadows or through a broken window. The streets stank of garbage, grief, and fear, and it made my heart hurt.
Worse, though, was the fact that Comenius’s glass storefront was now covered in plywood, battened down and closed to the public. For a heart-stopping moment I feared that he’d skipped town, but when I ran up the side entrance and pounded on the second level door, he answered.
“Oh, Naya.” He threw his arms around me, and we both squeezed each other so tightly I wondered which of us would bust a rib first. “I am so glad to see you’ve come back safely.”
“I thought you’d left,” I told him as he let me into the apartment, my legs shaky with relief. Elania was just inside, and I embraced her too, soaking in her exotic scent. “So many shops are closed, and when I saw yours was boarded up, I feared the worst.”
“We’re still here, and we’re alive and well,” Comenius said gently. “Elania and I decided it would be best to close up our shops until this disaster blows over.”
The sound of a toilet flushing caught my attention, and I turned to see Annia walk out of the bathroom. Her eyes were unusually dull, her shoulders slumped, and she barely managed a smile when she saw me.
“Hey
.” I rushed over to her, my heart sinking faster than a downed ship as I embraced her. “What’s going on?”
“Noria’s gone,” Annia muttered as she hugged me back. “When I came home, Mom was crying in the living room and clutching an old photograph of her. She told me that Noria had left the day before to join the Resistance.”
“No.” I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach, and I pulled back to stare at Annia. She only gazed back at me woodenly, no sign in her face that this was a joke or prank. “Fuck,” I exhaled.
“Yeah, fuck.” Annia let out a bitter laugh as she threw herself onto Comenius’s sofa. “Here I was, rushing off with you to save the Chief Mage so I could cash in on that huge bounty, when what I really should have been doing was sticking to my sister’s ass like glue and making sure she didn’t do anything stupid.”
I let out a sigh as I sat down next to Annia on the couch. “It’s not your fault,” I told her. “She was going to do it anyway –”
“No.” Annia sat up straight, tears thickening her voice as she glared at me. “Don’t you fucking dare say that. That’s like saying it was inevitable, that there was no fucking choice, no fucking chance for me to change her mind.” Her voice shook as she balled her hand into a fist. “That’s like saying it’s fate, and I don’t believe in that shit.” Her dark eyes burned, as if daring me to challenge her so she could plow her fist into my face.