by Jamie Hawke
She shook her head. “I have sisters to find, my own battle to fight. But I’m sure the two will come together at some point.”
With that, she vanished, leaving the rosy robes to flutter to the floor.
Everyone watched, eyes lingering on those robes for a moment before turning to me.
“Why are you wearing a skirt?” Steph asked, stifling a laugh.
“I think it’s cute,” Kordelia offered. “Now, tell us where you’ve been.”
134
Everyone stared at me as I moved back to the bed, found my clothes, and dressed. The rosy skirt vanished as soon as it hit the floor. Not that I’d miss it.
Aerona looked uncharacteristically vulnerable as she said, “I’ve never had that happen to me while…”
The odd way I had been spirited out of the bedroom and into that strange dream-world where three of the remaining Nine Witches of Ystawingun awaited was starting to come back to me. Even worse, when it hit me how Aerona had opened herself up to me while dealing with grieving for her lost love.
“You have to realize I had no control over it,” I said.
“Still.” Aerona shrugged.
“Talk about… letdowns,” Kordelia added.
I held up my hands in surrender. “First, not my fault. Second, you won’t believe what happened.”
Filling them in as I dressed, I couldn’t help feeling a little pissed off. “Will I ever be able to simply sleep normally? First it was the time travel stuff, then to that Dark Land location, now… this?”
“And this time you weren’t asleep, anyway,” Steph pointed out. “I mean, did you really go mid-thrust?”
“I was about to pull out, I think.” Even I had to laugh at the idea. “Yeah, fucking ridiculous.”
“And we’re sure it’s real?” Kordelia asked. “We saw Mizoa, sure, but… maybe one of her spells?”
“It was real all the other times,” Megha noted.
I nodded. “It was as real as this moment, right here. Which is to say…” I looked around the room at the group, half of them nude, three of the five ladies being gargoyles. “Not a lot, admittedly.”
Ebrill grinned. “Want me to come over there and show you how real I am?”
“Not sure if that’s sexual or pain talk, or some combination, but now’s not the time,” Aerona cut in. “What Jericho’s saying is that, in addition to our previous interaction with Glitonea and what became Thitis, he’s now had contact with three members of the Nine.”
“A lot of damn contact,” Megha noted, scrunching her nose at me. I hadn’t gone into all the details—such as the healing of my scrotum—but they got the idea.
“That means only four of the Nine are completely unaccounted for,” Steph pointed out. “Morgen being one of them, and we don’t know which side she’s on.”
“Sides might be complicated when discussing the Nine,” Aerona argued. “I’d say it’s safe to assume they’re always on their own side.”
I shook my head. “Mizoa seems to be on our side.”
“For now.”
“If Rianne trusts her—” I started, but saw the look of defiance in Aerona’s eyes. “What? Something you’re not telling me?”
“I’ve seen things,” Aerona said. “When I was frozen in stone all those years. An awareness, you could say. When you’ve lived as long as the Nine, it’s hard not to have done horrible things. And once you’ve crossed a line, it’s hard to ever fully turn back.”
“Bullshit,” I countered.
Megha went to the door, hand up as she appeared to sense something. “Regardless, best to proceed with caution. For now, we have a visitor.”
“A visitor?” I stood, reaching out to Shisa to see if there was trouble.
Instead, I got a mental communiqué from Riland. Galahad is outside. It seems he isn’t able to see the house, but knows it’s here.
At least the magic is mostly working, I replied, and we all dressed, heading out to meet him. He was waiting at the corner of the street, where I created a new hiding spot out of the shrubs, and he told me it was time to do my duty as the replacement for Senator Funai.
“Be careful,” Ebrill said, glancing up at the first faint hints of dawn. “We won’t be there to have your back.”
“No, but we will,” Galahad said. “Me and mine.”
“And if they pull me into their world again?” I asked, referring mostly to Moronoe.
“Do what you did last time,” Aerona replied. “Get out of there.”
“Only this time, faster,” Megha added.
I chuckled. “Right, sure. Simple enough.”
Giving them a nod, I turned to Galahad and followed him to his car, anxious to see if my trip to the Senate would be any less frightening than going up against three of the Nine. To my surprise, nobody attacked us on the way, this time. The only feasible explanation I could think of was that they were distracted, or, for some reason of their own, they wanted me to make this trip. To lure me away, or to get me into a trap, I wasn’t sure which.
“This car’s almost as nice as Gertrude’s SUV was,” I commented, nervous to not have Shisa or my ladies with me. They would be fine, and Steph and Megha were sticking around to watch over the house.
“She will be greatly missed,” Galahad said, sitting across from me. The driver was a woman with black, shoulder-length hair, who glanced back at us at the mention of Gertrude.
“Oh, you knew her?” I asked.
“She was well-known in our circles,” he replied. “But me, personally? You could definitely say that. We actually dated for a little, about a hundred years ago.”
I laughed, then realized he was serious. “Oh, right. Time for you must be… complicated?”
“Frustrating.”
“Are you immortal, or how would you describe it?”
He considered the question. “Able to be killed, but old age would never take me.”
“It’s an odd world I find myself in.”
“You still have no idea.” He leaned back, staring at the window.
“And that’s how you’re going to leave that statement? Hanging out there?”
“I can’t tell you everything at once, or you might have a meltdown.” He winked.
“Are you fucking with me?”
“Ah, senator etiquette lesson one—let’s watch the language. Also, might want to get into senator mode now.”
I scrunched my nose. Shrugged. “How?”
He chuckled, then saw that I was serious. “Well, you need to try again. You’re able to do transmutation, right? Transmute yourself. No mental blocks this time.”
“Right. Sure. Only, I don’t exactly know how to do it every time.”
He stared at me, then rolled down his window. The D.C. heat penetrated the comfort of our car as ahead of us the image of the square building that I assumed to be the Senate came into view.
“The Russell Senate Office Building,” Galahad confirmed. “We’re here, and it’s time. We can’t exactly walk in there with you looking like… you.”
I glanced around, taking the place in, some of my rune-enforced studies hitting me. “Three Senate buildings. That over there must be the Dirksen building, and that one Hart.” Leaning back to appreciate the architecture, I found my breathing clear, my eyes wide—two of my telltale signs that I was excited.
And when I got excited, confidence soared.
“Jericho, we really need to—” Galahad started.
I held up my hand, grinned, and focused my transmutation power on the image of the senator I had burned into the digital display. A moment later, I was an elderly man, what little hair I still had now white and gray. Not what I was used to, but it was the senator, no doubt about it. The transmutation even included the glasses.
“Well, I’ll be…” Galahad stared for a minute, then smiled wide. “Good to see you again, Senator.”
“You know it’s still me, Jericho, right?”
He nodded, as he opened the door for me. “Of course
. But right now, that’s not true. Shall we, Mr. Senator?”
I caught on, nodding, ready for whatever the hell this was going to be. As we approached the building, Galahad handed me a folder. Runes were etched into it, and he gave me a knowing nod.
“That gives you everything you need to know about the other senators, at least on a shallow level. If we’re going all the way with this, which is necessary, I believe, you will need a whole lot more than is in there. But for now, this will do.”
I flipped through the folder, absorbing what I could while my thoughts were largely distracted by the situation with the Nine and Mizoa. Was she out there finding us allies? She had been cool, and having bonded with Rianne, I imagined that she would stick to our side. Then there was my team to worry about. Steph and Megha were holding down the fort, but they needed rest. With a yawn, I realized that so did I. And what if Megha left? She had made a couple comments about doing so, but I wasn’t sure how seriously I should take that.
Steph was being surprisingly open-minded about the whole situation, and part of me wondered if I was supposed to feel guilty about the romance with the others. She had assured me that I shouldn’t, and was involved, too… so I guessed I was safe. As long as nobody got jealous, and as long as everyone was basically making love with each other, it was legit. An odd situation, maybe not smiled upon by any churches or legislation if we wanted to take it to the next level. But we were also using magic and fighting evil forces, so I didn’t think the regular rules and ethics exactly applied to us.
“You with me?” Galahad asked, sliding me identification slyly, and I realized we had entered the building and were at the security checkpoint—me not even realizing, I’d been so out of it as I had walked in.
“Good morning, Senator,” a young guard said. I returned his greeting and moved through the rest of the steps in a daze.
“Pull yourself together,” Galahad hissed, guiding me aside at a set of wide doors. “In this room, you’re going to be at a hearing for what is ostensibly some horse shit about security, but really is our chance for you to find out what Senator Ohlo is up to.”
Senator Ohlo, A.K.A. Fatiha. She had to have a reason to impersonate a senator, or why bother? Looking forward to finding out, we made our way in.
Was I able to pull it off? Sure. What followed was the dullest, most insanely stupid and boring two hours of my life—and without a sign of Senator Ohlo. One suit after another wasted precious minutes from our lives with their bullshit, and then it was my turn and I had to spout off the lines Galahad had given me, using my digital screen that only I could see as a teleprompter of sorts.
To my surprise and relief, they bought it.
However, as I was about to start in on a second speech, I noticed one of the senators brush a hand over her neck, revealing the golden diamond there, just like Lex had previously told me about. He told me that when I saw this sign I would know I could trust this person to be one of the good guys. No action yet, but I was beginning to see where my allies were. People were drawing lines, picking sides. Or at least declaring their interest.
More of them revealed their marks, so I moved my finger along my desk, pretending to simply be doodling while actually making a digital marking of the room and map of where each person with the Order—and on our side—was seated.
“What is it?” Galahad said, leaning over. “You’re ignoring the speech.”
I leaned closer to him, nodding toward one of the Order members with the mark. “I can see the ones with the mark. The loyal ones.”
“Mark?” He stared at me in confusion. He didn’t see them! Which meant, there was something about my power that let me see the marks, or maybe it was the fact that I was the owner of the Liahona.
But, if they were brushing their necks, revealing the marks… what did that say about him? I glanced over, wondering if there was any chance he could be a traitor. It didn’t make sense, but then again, would it if he were?
As soon as we were let out, I led Galahad out of there before the others could come up to me. “They saw my face, that’s enough.”
“We’re hardly done, here,” he countered. “That was only one session.”
I directed him to the hallway where the restrooms where. “You’re with the Order, yeah?”
“Right.”
“And Senator Funai trusted you?”
“Is this about the marks you’re seeing?” he asked. “Did you ever stop to think that, maybe, the marks are showing the other side?”
“Meaning…” It hit me. “You’re suggesting that they’re not showing me, they’re showing each other.”
“Precisely. Indicating to each other where they are, and if they’re doing that, I’d say they’re getting ready to make a move sooner than later.”
“Which makes sense,” I admitted, “considering Fatiha and where she is in this whole game.”
I turned to make it look like I was drinking from the water fountain, but instead pulled up the screen of the image I’d made to show who was using the diamond marker. If Galahad was right, there were too many of them for me to feel comfortable standing there, exposed. That was the kicker, though. Was he right? Or was he covering ulterior motives? I needed to find out, and fast.
“Gotta piss,” I said, motioning him along.
He followed me into the bathroom, going to the next urinal over. After I ducked down to ensure all stalls were empty, I said, “Honestly, a fight doesn’t sound as bad as sitting through more of this Senate shit.”
“Sir…”
“I’m just saying—”
He turned to me, stern. “What you’re saying might be true, but even if this fight ends quickly and we’re the victorious party, we still need you in this role. It’s going to lead you to high places, and those on the side of good and right need you to be there.”
“Well, fuckity-fuck.” I undid myself, letting my dick fall out so I could piss. “Can you face forward when at the urinals? Isn’t that senate etiquette like everywhere else?”
He frowned, then turned forward. “Right.”
“And listen…” My mind spun as I tried not to imagine myself taking a piss in the White House. One way to keep my mind off thoughts like that had always been to settle on more simple topics, such as, “How do you make it not splatter?”
“What?”
“In all your years, with all the urinals, how?” I aimed to the right, trying that out, then at the honeycomb thing at the base of the urinal. “It’s like some asshole designed these things to purposefully splatter, you know?”
Galahad glanced my way, then chuckled. “Wish I could tell you, but…”
“You have the same problem?”
He shook his head. “I’m one step between Steph’s knights and you. One ‘benefit,’ you could say, is that I never have to piss.”
“Number two, also?”
“Correct.”
“Damn.” I finished, shook, and tucked it away. “Well, the top of these toilets and most out there says, ‘Sloan.’ Remind me to find this Sloan guy and punch him in the dick. Yeah?”
“I’m not going to do that.”
I chuckled and went over to wash my hands, when the door opened. Three men entered, all looking like Secret Service agents, and brushed their necks to show the marks.
“Shit, not in here,” I said, then indicated the sinks. “Mind if I wash, first?”
They seemed caught off-guard by that question, so I went ahead and washed my hands, but at the same time pressed my hand to the sink, using the connection to the building to seal off the door and not let anyone else in.
Turning to them, I smiled. “Now, let’s get an answer. Whose side are you on?”
“Not like this,” Galahad said.
“I want to know.”
“And if we cause a scene, it’s all—”
“Speak,” I told the three.
The shortest one, an African-American man with wild eyes, took a step toward me. I was ready for an attack, but
he simply held out a hand.
“You have it all wrong,” he said. “It’s not about sides.”
I considered, looking back at Galahad who shook his head, then I stepped forward and accepted the handshake. As I should have expected, it wasn’t only a handshake, but a glimpse into their world. Because suddenly, standing before me weren’t three men, but three fantasy creatures. The one whose hand I was shaking suddenly had tusks, green skin, and yellow eyes. Behind him stood a Drow, white hair pulled back into a ponytail, with the third being what looked like a half-stone troll.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“We’re here to tell you that it’s not what you think. The Order—”
“Is infiltrated by the likes of you!” Galahad interrupted, lunging forward and breaking the grip. As soon as my hand wasn’t touching the man’s, the three looked like human agents again.
“Enough,” I said, hand held out to Galahad. His eyes narrowed, but I turned back to the three strangers. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“We’re not all gone. The Order was set up to find and protect the Liahona, but… more than that. Many of its members were there for a larger reason—to avoid the loss of our people. Of all people not human. If any of our side supports the enemy, it’s only for survival.”
“Fuck. I… Galahad, is this true?”
Galahad was still glaring at me. “They are the enemy.”
“Shit.” I ran my hand through my hair. “We need to talk to someone, figure this out, and—”
“You can’t, there’s nothing to figure out.”
“If I may,” the closest agent said, only there was no time, because in that moment Galahad lashed out at them and the nearby wall exploded inward.
Not having expected either of those things to happen, I was thrown to the floor by the explosion, ears ringing and totally discombobulated. A group of what looked like senators, interns, and agents were shooting at another group, a shimmering bubble between us and others in the halls beyond.
I pushed myself up, wondering what the hell was happening as I spun and muttered defensive spells. As far as I was concerned, this other group had come to me for help. They hadn’t attacked, and had in fact revealed information that, for some reason, Galahad seemed to be holding back.
