Her jewelry motif was of pearls. Pearl earrings, pearl bracelet, and a pearl shawl. Fucking shawl. Not a necklace, a fucking shawl of knitted pearls hanging around her shoulders. She was so pristine and flawless that she glowed. Or maybe there’s a few hidden spectro-crystals among the pearls; however she’s doing it, makes more of a statement about her power than my rumpled geomancer coats ever have.
She entered with a smile on her face, of course.
What’s all this?
Shall we see which way it all tips once I’ve pushed it with a finger? Perhaps just a word? Where will you jump? Who will jump with you? Will you be jumping where I want you to and will you never even figure it out?
Massey stood up straighter at the sight of her. Not that his posture was bad to begin with, it probably having been whipped into him by a governess when he was five, but he did that whole male-being-big-to-fight-off-the-predators thing.
She is a predator . . . Cheshire Cat grin and all, popping up when you least expect her, or worse: popping up when you planned against her ever appearing.
Massey motioned towards where Val sat in the crowd. “Director Dale, you are of course welcome as any guest is, but you seem to have entered through the wrong door. If you would please join—”
“Not Director Dale,” Ceinwyn interrupted. She gave me a glance, raising a blond eyebrow at the extravagance of my two golem security guards. Nothing seemed fitting except to give her an I-don’t-give-a-crap shrug. Also said: nothing I can really do about it, is there? But yeah, Massey is a fucktard alright. Her smile twitched just for me.
Find myself kind of missing that infuriating Cheshire Cat bullshit, all the trouble we still have to work through or not.
Ceinwyn turned back to Massey like she was the one in charge. “Councilwoman Dale, I’m afraid. I’ve been dispatched by the Lady to provide aid in King Henry’s defense.”
Compressed lips from Massey that were most serious clashed against the apparent levity in Ceinwyn’s. “I don’t believe you have the proper degree in law, Councilwoman Dale.”
A light shrug sent the pearls of her shawl clacking. “As you’ve made clear to the many people questioning your motives, Alexander, this is merely a political and administrative matter with no need for the involvement of mancer laws. As such, my political and administrative expertise should be more than enough to allow for my presence.”
“Guild Master,” Massey corrected with heat.
“Alexander, really, I’ve known you since I was ten. Why so formal?”
“I have known you since you were ten,” Massey agreed, “when I happened across you and your vampire nanny. More, I know what you are now and even the boy has begun to see through your obfuscations and false promises.”
“I’ll admit King Henry can occasionally be quite troublesome, but he’s very much a troublesome man now, Alexander.” Again the glance just for me. “Even if it’s taken me some time to recognize it.”
“He also sees through your crass emotional manipulations, don’t you, Artificer Price?” Massey asked of me.
Mommy and Daddy are fighting again . . .
I searched out Val in the sea of faces, to get her reaction to this development. Damn it. She had one of those looks on her face. The kind where she expected me to do the right thing instead of the easy thing. Never can figure out what the right thing is, but sometimes I bumble into it. Wasn’t about to let Ceinwyn take over my defense. But I couldn’t tell her to fuck off either. Did that once. Helped me end up here. That and taunting Massey for six months. Pretty obvious that as far as the supernatural world was concerned; I’d somehow proven I wasn’t ready to be left on my own. Power rushed to fill the vacuum. Ceinwyn was back to help just like she’d promised when she cast me adrift.
They all wanted something, even Ceinwyn. She might care about me more than most among them, but she still had goals and desires that didn’t consider my wellbeing, mental or physical, only my abilities. As for the rest . . . Massey just wanted to own me as a trophy. Vega was always lurking, happy to tie me down, deal by deal. Even the fucking dragon was making proclamations on mountainsides about how he owned me. At least the Tsar only wants your money, not your soul. And hey, just like you already pointed out earlier, Paine just wants to kill you . . . so there’s that.
Strings . . . made my own strings nowadays. Maybe it was time to finally accept one from Ceinwyn again. Not mentor and apprentice, not employer and employee, but something else. Something we could figure out once this was all settled. For now . . . “If Ceinwyn wants to sit beside me during this trial and whisper advice in my ear, she’s more than welcome to,” I eventually decided. “But I’ll be the only person talking in my defense until I say otherwise.”
Up above us, Val let out a deep sigh. Hard to tell if it was relief over a hurdle leapt or if she thought I’d just face-planted into the field-turf.
Massey sure didn’t take my answer well. Face went red as he paced all the way across the circular floor to whisper furiously with MacNess.
Ceinwyn . . . just smiled, like she’s supposed to.
She also motioned for Salt to move enough so she could take a place beside me on the bench. “I would’ve arrived earlier,” she whispered an attempt at privacy, “but it seems there was a malfunction at the airport . . . and then a water main burst, stopping traffic from the airport. Very strange.”
“You must really scare the shit out of him,” I whispered back out of the corner of my mouth.
“If I didn’t arrive during the first day and get you to agree to my help, I wouldn’t have been able to give it at all,” she explained for me.
“And what kind of help are you giving, Ceinwyn? Auntie Badass in my corner or Councilwoman thinks she needs her nose clean to become the next Dean of the Institution?”
Her ageless eyes squinted at the jab, but answered without giving one of her own. “The kind of help that gets you through this hearing without you being censured, punished, and forced into the Guild structure like all other Artificers. Or am I butting in? Perhaps finally becoming a Guild member was your goal with all the Massey Baiting you’ve been doing these last few months?”
I smirked. “Nice pun. Also, glad you noticed my handiwork.”
“You and your hatred of connection . . . you did all you could to force Massey’s hand and for what? Even the Lady isn’t quite sure. I’m equally clueless. Even you can’t believe you’ll get through a hearing unscathed, can you?”
“Not unscathed. Got a few ways to attack him. Rest is up in the air. Should end this bloody, but standing. For me, that’s good enough.”
Her lips took a sour turn. “Yes, we wouldn’t want you to win without ever being touched, would we? You’re doing a splendid job being punched in the face over and over, what with the four counts being read against you unopposed and Massey handpicking the jurors.”
“If you can’t actually handle giving advice instead of telling me what to do, then you can go sit with Val,” I told her like she was the child.
“Ah . . . so you still haven’t forgiven me for the last time we were here, have you?”
“Actually . . . kind of did. Six months ago talking to Plutarch.”
“When Fines passed?”
“And when Eva lived.”
Sourness faded as her smile curled all the way up into her blue eyes. “Think they’re linked, do you?”
I only grunted. Forgiven or not, I wasn’t ready to clue her into my nightly activities yet. Maybe after a couple more nights with Val stealing that info . . . and if Ceinwyn doesn’t screw me somehow during the trial. Might be weird, but I was in the same position with her that Massey had with me. Need her to prove herself, then I’d deal. Still . . . felt good not to be sitting alone on that bench, even if Auntie Badass and me had a bit more friction than we used to.
“When he comes back, tell Massey you also want Valentine as an Advisor.”
“Another fucking ‘A’ word,” I grumbled under my breath.
C
einwyn’s cheeks twitched. “And you thought Horatio Vega was verbose. If you’d treated Guild Master Massey as you have the King of the Coyotes, perhaps you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
Said Guild Master finally pulled away from MacNess, apparently not happy that whatever bylaw he’d been trying to wrangle didn’t turn in his favor. “Though it is very late in the proceedings and most unusual, since the Accused has yet to put in his plea, you are accepted as an Advisor, Councilwoman Dale.”
Whispering throughout the rotunda on what that could mean for the outcome. Ceinwyn Dale on my side. Everyone at least knew her reputation. What magic might she work during the hearing and even more, behind the scenes?
“I’d also like Valentine Ward and Plutarch as my Advisors,” I said, taking Ceinwyn’s advice and putting a cherry on top.
Massey’s face twitched in pain and his thin lips grimaced. First punch and you’re already showing I’m hurting you, Massey. Need to get into more fights, you rookie. “Head Craftsman Nixon is a witness in this hearing and as such cannot also be an Advisor. If Assistant Director Ward, however, would like to come down and join you, she is more than welcome . . .”
Val did so, every eye on her, especially mine.
I motioned Pepper to make room on my other side for her, causing Ceinwyn to raise her eyebrow again. “What?” I growled at her.
“Nothing . . . I see an entire ocean wasn’t enough to keep you from courting her again.”
“You’re lucky I am courting or my forgiveness might be a hell of a lot harsher variety.”
“This all wasn’t just so you could try to win her back, was it? Please tell me it wasn’t or I might abandon you otherwise . . . also might strangle you a little on my way out the door . . .”
“No . . . I only let my cock do my thinking half the time now, thank you very much. Mostly this had to do with my mouth.” Curiosity, mouth, and Prince Henry, which of them gonna get me killed first? Bet even Fate don’t know.
Ceinwyn tilted her head, taking this in. “Well, at least you’re improving.”
Val sat down in the space I’d made, straightening her skirts out nervously. Attention was never something she sought; it was just something that always seemed to come upon her. “Don’t want the two of us sitting together and teaming up on you?” she immediately teased me.
“Alexander really is pushing this heavily, he must be desperate,” Ceinwyn mumbled to herself on my other side. “Has he made you any deals?”
“Yes and yes. Fight to keep me and Val together where you haven’t. Make me a Master Craftsman, Inventor badges on all my artifacts, that kind of empty bullshit.”
“Also, should we be worried that Plutarch has been confirmed as a witness against you?” Val brought up another point.
I shook my head at the very idea Pappy was against me. “Like I said days ago: he’s how they get the golem charge. Think they’ll be surprised when he starts testifying about Mini. If anything, Plutarch being a witness is the best thing I got going for me.”
“And why is that?” Ceinwyn took her turn to ask.
I only stared at her.
“If you didn’t want to have to turn your head so much, you should have sat us together.”
“You’ll see,” was all I finally said.
Massey was visibly pissed when he returned from MacNess this time. His expression told me all I needed to know about how his bullshit promises from the morning were holding up. “Plea, Accused. So we can all get a drink . . . and you can return to your cell.”
“Oh . . . Not Fucking Guilty. I really can’t wait to see the show you got ready for tomorrow. Neither can Ceinwyn. Val almost peed her pants in excitement.”
Val pinched me on the leg.
Face still twitching in pain, Massey puffed on down. “Meeting adjourned for the day, please return at 9AM tomorrow morning. We will begin with the first charge and progress through the list as much as the day allows.” After the proclamation, Massey leaned in to whisper just for my little group, “Another night in the Cleansing Sphere, Artificer Price. All alone, I should think; in fact it’s not a good idea to put you on the yard again, is it? We wouldn’t want to risk our show. I think you’ll be confined to your rooms for the rest of the hearing . . . safest that way.”
“You’re a real cocksucker, Massey,” I stated the obvious.
Massey zoomed in on Ceinwyn. “He’s mine now, Dale, as he should have been from the beginning of this all. You will never get him back. He’s the Guild’s and no other Artificer will ever listen to your false promises again.”
All she did was smile.
It also said: you’re a real cocksucker, Alexander.
So at least Ceinwyn and me agreed on that one.
[CLICK]
By the time night rolled around, I was so ready to escape those rooms I almost cheered. Out went the lights. Asleep went the golems. Up popped King Henry, ready for action. Ready for theft and geo-surfing and . . . maybe a little smooching if we had the time. Almost done, almost have enough truth to call it off and do a deal.
Being locked in my rooms didn’t help. Would’ve never thought I could start to miss one of those benches out there with all the crazy people, but I did. Even with Ceinwyn and Val visiting me for a couple hours, that wasn’t close to enough.
Maybe it comes from barely being grounded as a kid—not a favored punishment in Shithole Price since it didn’t leave emotional scars behind—but I hated every minute being locked up all alone. Being alone was fine, but only if I chose it. Not that I had free time anymore . . . always something new to experiment on or something equally new to build. If not that, then I could just sit at the workstation for SDRs and crank out one after another for either the ESLED contract or the deal with Vega.
Might even be at the point in my career where I need to start thinking about stealing Journeymen away from the Guild. Believe that? Ever think you’d see the day back when you met me? You remember, it was right before Annie B kicked my ass. Yet here we were. Talking about taking on apprentices of my own. Get them to crank out the SDRs and floro-seeders while I get to experiment.
Experiment: blow shit up on purpose and on accident.
It’s fuckin’ fun!
Yeah, yeah, last one with the In-Between didn’t go so well, get off my ballsack!
Would’ve loved to have me some experiments to do in that kingly prison cell of mine. Part where Val got to see my expansive living room with all the 1920s furniture wasn’t even fun. Being as Ceinwyn was along for the ride as my other Advisor. Fucking awkward as all hell between the two of us. Saying I forgave her or not, usual joking or not . . . still wasn’t quite there. Might get there, just not yet.
Whole situation was a lot like having your aunt babysit past the point where you need a babysitter—especially since you invited your girlfriend over for an attempted stealth hanky-panky. All I wanted to do was talk with Val about our plans for that night. The Finale, if you will. Or show her the four-poster bed in here and do a little winking until she gets the hint.
No dice.
Just the three of us sitting in a room; a room made for just that activity.
A sitting room . . . typical rich people shit.
Poor people don’t got a room for sitting, they just have rooms for eating, cleaning, or shitting.
Rich or poor, what it was . . . was awkward.
Ceinwyn Dale and King Henry Price reading each other, trying to decide on their motivations, trying to pick out their desires. Edge in the silence this time, more than ever before. Val looking on, frustrated that she was stuck between us again. Frustrated even more that she couldn’t come out and give each a secret or two, secrets that might have cleared matters in an instant.
Another adult might have been the adult with civilized pleasantries about the weather or sports or my family. Not Ceinwyn. She was fine with waiting in silence, waiting to see the move I’d make. More than fine, since a part of her craved it. Jump, King Henry, jump! Jump into the Pit!
>
As usual, it was curiosity that finally cracked my stonewall. “Did the Lady really send you?”
“She wouldn’t have had to, but yes, she did,” was Ceinwyn’s safe answer.
“When I dropped by the Asylum last, she told me she was the one who ordered you to break Val and me up,” I growled an accusation across the room. An accusation that had been eating me up for months. Be bucketfuls more of them before we find our balance.
Auntie Badass was in an old rocker, slouched backwards in it like a child. Her thin fingers walked across the rocker’s arm in a tip-tap, fingernails white to match the rest of her. No answer yet. She just stared at me, judging, perhaps even struggling to understand what I wanted or needed from her.
“Wait,” Val was the one who finally spoke, raising her hands in disbelief to ward away unwanted news. “Are you saying that stupid, sexist conspiracy theory he had . . . did the Learning Council actually break us up?”
“Only repeating what the Lady insinuated,” I made sure not to sound too pleased with myself. “Maybe next time you’ll think twice before calling me paranoid.”
Few things scarier than a pyromancer’s face locked still in fury. Especially one who works so hard at controlling her powers most of the time. Purifier, I couldn’t help but think of what a righteous rage would look like on Val. Avenging angel, I thought of her again. “Well? Did you?” she asked Ceinwyn. “Sitting back and watching wasn’t enough this time? You had to meddle too?”
Plus One for the Pit: we can’t pool anima in here, so the bookshelf didn’t just go up in flames.
“For reasons that would be illegal for me to explain to you, yes, the Lady took it upon herself to separate the two of you,” Ceinwyn tried to explain calmly. “She also separated us, Valentine. Nothing is simplistic at these levels, if you don’t hit at least three goals with one throw then you’ve failed miserably. Mating between certain types of mancers is . . . discouraged. She also accused me of holding you back by keeping you as my apprentice past the time you needed to be . . . or that some part of me was keeping you near just to keep us both close to King Henry. Reevaluating my choices and actions, I couldn’t be sure she wasn’t correct and I didn’t want to be unfair to you, so I found a place for you to flourish on your own. Away from both King Henry and from me.”
The Pit of No Return (The King Henry Tapes Book 6) Page 37