Manas laughed in spite of himself, a small chuckle that at least sounded genuine. “That does sound like the perfect job for me.”
Nolan looked around at the others. “Now what?”
Alan helped Manas to his feet. “Now we go upstairs to the Council table for something that’s long overdue.”
Chapter Seventy-Two
Noel was jerked awake by the sounds of cheering and shouting. She stumbled from her bed, hair completely askew, and shoved her glasses on her face as a small group of people rounded the corner, leading a crowd of numen.
Nolan Aeron led the way, Sword of the Nine firmly in hand. As he passed, more and more people followed, until almost all of Caer Anglia was walking behind him. He entered the Council room and gestured in Gia, Manas, and Cherrie. He turned to Pyrrhus.
“Will you tell Lord Azar, Lady Aqua, Lady Medica, and Lady Terra to attend us, please? Oh, and leave the door open.”
With the crowd still watching and those who had been with him through the end lined up around the perimeter of the room, he gestured Cherrie forward. “Place your hands flat on the table here,” he said, pointing to a particular seat.
“Shouldn’t you be first?”
“Oh, I’ve been registered with the table for a while now,” Nolan said blithely, smiling at Manas’ shocked face and Gia’s smirk. “Please.”
Cherrie spread her hands wide and placed them down where he showed her. A blaze of bright orange met her hands, and when she removed them, the imprint remained, pulsing gently in the wood.
“Welcome, Lady Gravia.”
“Thank you, Lord Fulmen.” She took a seat with a sweep of her skirt, no less graceful for the blood and dirt caked on it.
“Manas?”
“And how would you like me to do that, Aeron?” Manas asked, gesturing with his stumps. “No hands, thanks to you.”
“The table should recognize your numina all the same,” Gia suggested. “Do you have enough control of your numina to give yourself something approximating a hand?”
Manas scoffed. “Of course I do.” He gestured with his right arm and waited. A stream of soil came in through the window, sealing to his arm and growing to form the shape of a hand.
“Not bad,” Nolan said, squashing the guilt he felt with difficulty. Manas repeated the process with his left arm, and then pressed his new hands to the surface. The table hesitated for a moment before catching, bathing them in an amber light.
“Welcome, Lord Artifex.”
“Lord Fulmen.” He took his seat and began to examine his work, testing the hands and putting them through their paces.
“Lady Zephyra,” Nolan began, turning to Gia.
“I meant to ask about that,” Manas interjected. “How can she be? Arias is still alive, unless you took a detour on your way to my father.” He paused, a conversation from months before surfacing in his mind. “Unless…”
“Yes, please tell me how you plan to remove me from my seat,” Arias asked, pushing through the crowd to stand before them. The other Council members were behind him, looking at turns both relieved and horrified.
“That’s a trick question, Mr. Disanza,” he said, relishing the common address as Arias flushed with rage. “You were never Lord Zephyrus. The seat has always belonged to my wife.”
A low rumbling began in the crowd as word was passed back through the ranks. Arias sputtered. “That can’t be true.”
“There’s an easy way to know,” Azar said. Arias glared at him. “Just trying to help. If you are a Lord, Arias, the table won’t accept Lady Fulmina—congratulations, by the way,” he said to Nolan and Gia, who accepted with good grace.
“As I was saying,” Nolan started again. “Lady Zephyra.”
Gia placed her hands on the table, and the resulting pink glow almost blinded them.
“Lady Zephyra, Lady Fulmina, welcome home.”
“Thank you, Lord Fulmen… and Lord Zephyrus,” she said with a wink, ignoring the choking sounds coming from her brother.
“Now.” Nolan turned back to the other four Council members still standing in the doorway. “If you will take your seats, we can begin.”
For a moment, it looked as though no one would move.
Azar took three strides forward, Keopelani’s arm clamped in his elbow. “Lord Fulmen,” he said with a bow, taking her with him. She muttered the same, and they took their seats with little issue. The other two women quickly followed, activating their seats.
Nolan finally stood at his chair, surveying the seated Council and the numen beyond. With a smile, he placed his own hands flat, filling the room with blue light that was echoed by the Sword lying in the middle of the table.
“This meeting of the Council of the Nine will now come to order.”
THE END
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