by Petra Landon
Roman exchanged a glance with DiZeyla before directing his remarks at the Wizards. “DiZeyla and I accept the validity of this evidence. We’re satisfied with the investigation carried out by the First Wizard’s team” he interjected, attempting to break the deadlock between the Guardians and Lady Esmeralda. Neither Roman nor DiZeyla had expected the GCW to refuse to accept evidence collected by the First Wizard’s people.
“I begin to understand why you hold the Spell Casters in such dislike, moj drogi” the Mistress said languidly from where she sat resplendent on the couch in her sweeping gown. Her remarks were directed at the Alpha. “No sense of loyalty, not even to each other. And when they decide to show some loyalty, it’s to a Guardian clearly intent on bringing down the GCW.”
She turned her attention from the Alpha to the Guardians before anyone could get a word in.
“A few weeks ago, the daughter of the ranking Wizard in San Francisco was kidnapped. Did David Hamilton go to the Guardians for assistance? No. He went to Raoul, the Alpha Protector of the local Pack. It was the local Chosen Alliance in San Francisco that rescued her. This topsy-turvy world where the GCW targets Wizards it is oath-bound to protect, while a Shifter Pack guards the Wizards under its protection, even from the Guardians, fills me with elation. It should alarm all Wizards, particularly the Guardians. But instead, I find you in a tussle for power with your First Wizard, uncaring how openly your rifts are laid bare before other Chosen. All to protect a Guardian who’s gone rogue.”
The foyer was silent as everyone hung on the Vampire Mistress’ words. Her languidly dispassionate tones seemed to shock them speechless.
“We Pure Bloods understand revenge very well. Some might even say that we’ve elevated the act of exacting revenge to an art. But a Guardian who risks a civil war with the Wyrs for his own revenge is not one his comrades should protect. You should cut him loose. If one of my Pure Bloods had attempted to mount an assault on the Wyrs, I’d have his head for breakfast. But it’s clear the GCW, in its madness, is willing to risk the destruction of everything. The Clan is watching, Spell Casters. Your missteps will be our gain.” This time, there was no hiding the wicked pleasure in her, an amusement that made the Wizards boil.
Tasia watched the Mistress warily. The Alpha had warned her that the Vampire would be part of the entourage to confront the GCW. She knew that Hawk had been included in this audience primarily to stand guard over her, since Duncan’s place today was with the other Were-Alphas. But even Tasia could not help but silently laud the Mistress for her clinical stripping down of the GCW’s state of disarray. That her takedown of the Guardians had been mixed in with glee didn’t affect Tasia. Perhaps, this was the wakeup call the GCW would heed, she hoped optimistically.
The others stared at the Mistress with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. The First Wizard’s expression changed subtly to become more grim-faced than before. Roman Durovic was impassive. If he was surprised by the Mistress’ remarks or the Wizards’ public tussle, he chose to not show it. Interestingly, the Shifters’ reactions were different from the others. The Alpha, to whom the Mistress’ initial remarks had been addressed, was his usual inscrutable self, but Tasia could tell that he was amused by the turn of events. Faoladh relaxed back on the couch as if he were watching a particularly interesting play. Alpha Ramirez contemplated the Mistress as an interesting but somewhat perplexing specimen.
“You bring the Clan into Wizard Headquarters, Alpha. And then you wonder why the GCW reacts so ill to your concerns” Guardian McKinley addressed Raoul with palpable anger.
Raoul turned to face the Guardian, his expression cold and forbidding. “You should listen to the Mistress, Guardian. If you won’t control your Guardians, then there are other Chosen who will. If you’d done your job the first time around, Anderson would not be free to assault Shifters in San Francisco.”
“The Alpha is right” the First Wizard interjected, before any Guardian could respond. “Guardian Anderson should have been punished for his crimes in San Francisco. If other Chosen interfere in Wizard affairs now, it’s only because we have given them an opening.”
“There was no credible evidence against Guardian Anderson then, just like there’s none now” insisted one of the Guardians. “The muggings in San Francisco were carried out by Shifters and yet, they found it convenient to blame a Guardian for their crimes.”
“On the contrary, there was iron-clad evidence against Guardian Anderson.” David Hamilton’s voice rang out, loud and clear. “We had statements from the Shifter mercenaries he’d hired, and I had a full confession from him. Yet, against my wishes and despite my protests, he was set free. There are forty recorded accounts of assaults on some of our most vulnerable Wizards in San Francisco. Can you doubt that I, for one, don’t trust the GCW again to do the right thing by my Wizards?”
“That evidence was made available by the Shifters” pointed out the Guardian.
“No, the evidence was collected by my Wizards. I will reiterate that the Pack did everything by the book. When they caught Anderson red-handed, the Alpha handed him into my custody, respecting Chosen tradition. They gave us access to the Shifter mercenaries in Pack custody and they made sure the Shifters were punished for the muggings. I could not punish a Guardian, but I expected the GCW to do so. Instead, they let him go, despite the evidence against him. The GCW cannot be surprised if this time around, the Alpha does not trust them to deliver justice. That it’s the same Guardian they let go the first time around is even more ironic. I happen to agree with the Shifters on this. The Guardians have already demonstrated that they lack the will to punish one of their own, even when it comes to crimes against the very Wizards they are sworn to protect.”
David paused to glance around the room. The Wizards were silent, because it was hard to rebut his words.
“This time too, despite their understandable fury, the Pack is trying to do the right thing” David emphasized. “They allowed my Wizards, the First Wizard’s team and Guardian Jason LaRue, to gather evidence against Anderson. I’ll tell you this. If the Alpha had barged in here today, with a contingent of his Shifters, to take Anderson into Pack custody, few Chosen would take your side once the circumstances of the assault are made public. Instead, he’s here with two First Ones as mediators. Don’t block the attempt to mediate or lose this opportunity to sift through the evidence against Guardian Anderson. I know Raoul, and I warn you that his patience is limited. A small army of Shifters stands ready at the gates. If their Alpha gives the word, they’ll come swarming in here, baying for blood, and none of the other Chosen present will stand in their way, if you continue to stymie our efforts to present the evidence.”
“The GCW is proud to have a Guardian of the caliber of Jason LaRue” Sebastian Thorne said unexpectedly, after a short pause. “The Guardians will not question the legitimacy of this evidence.”
David Hamilton was a Wizard and an influential local leader in San Francisco. His speaking out so plainly against the GCW, especially after the Mistress’ comments, had made the situation dire for the Guardians. Thorne was attempting to find a way forward. It was clear that the Shifters would not budge and it didn’t look like Faoladh would quell any violence. That Faoladh had stayed silent when David Hamilton laid out exactly what would happen if the Shifters lost patience spoke volumes to the Guardians.
Thorne glanced at two of the Guardians flanking him. They joined the First Wizard at the table to pore over the evidence that DiZeyla took them through painstakingly. Roman vacated his chair to step away from the table.
“Willard Trent is in the custody of the First Wizard’s team. We can make him available to the GCW for questioning” Jason LaRue directed at Guardian Thorne. “And David Hamilton is willing to provide access to the Registrar of San Francisco for his part in aiding Trent.”
“The Pack has agreed to let the First Wizard punish Trent and the other Wizards for their part in the assault” he added.
This message, Jason k
new, would resonate with the Guardians. It was only Anderson the Shifters were insisting they wanted to punish themselves, since the GCW had already let him go free once. Jason knew that the Alpha was also sending the message that he trusted the First Wizard to do the right thing, unlike the Guardians, for she’d given him no cause to doubt her yet.
“What about the Registrar in San Francisco?” inquired one of the Guardians. “Will you give him up to the Pack?” he asked David Hamilton directly.
“The Registrar will not be punished for his part in this” David said slowly.
Mistress Franciszka turned to the Alpha. “You’re okay with this, Raoul?” She was surprised. He was not the forgiving kind, in her experience.
“At my request, the Alpha has agreed to allow the Registrar to go free.” It was David who responded to her.
Franciszka stared at David, clearly taken aback.
“Trent told the Registrar that he’d been sent by the GCW to gather evidence against the Alpha, and clear Anderson’s name for the muggings in San Francisco. The Registrar took Trent at his word — he knew that Trent worked for Anderson, a Guardian the GCW had cleared of all crimes. He put two and two together to come to the conclusion Trent had no doubt hoped for. So, he assisted with the arrangements for Trent’s stay in San Francisco. That was the extent of his involvement in this.”
As David Hamilton’s voice died away, some of the Wizards appeared stunned.
“David is convinced that the Registrar acted in good faith” the Alpha reiterated. “More than ever, his Wizards depend on David to safeguard their interests. He needs all the good people he has.”
Some of the Guardians bristled at what the Alpha’s words implied of their abilities to protect Wizard interests, but some looked more thoughtful. Their own Wizards, a Vampire Mistress, as well as a First One, were trying to make them see sense. The Mistress, in particular, had unexpectedly, and in her colorful way, held up a mirror to them. Some of the Wizards and a few of the Guardians were starting to realize that perhaps the Shifters had legitimate concerns that required addressing.
“You cannot hold the GCW culpable for what one Guardian is alleged to have done” protested one of the Guardians.
“The Guardians are culpable.” Surprisingly, it was Franciszka’s voice that rang out again. “You should’ve seen this coming. If you aren’t culpable for a Guardian’s misdeeds, then who is? One of your own has gone rogue while his peers squabble. This is not about mugging a few Wizards in San Francisco. That might be brushed aside. How could you allow a Wizard to mount an attack on a Wyr Alpha? Did you think he would take it lying down?” she demanded, clearly puzzled by how lax the GCW had become.
In Franciszka’s and the Clan’s world, a few Magicked Chosen were always expendable, especially if their leader was unwilling or without the influence to get them justice. But a Wyr Lord was a powerful being; one with the command of an influential Pack was an especially perilous enemy to cultivate. The Mistress was rightly puzzled by the Guardians’ seeming willingness to condone an assault on a Shifter Alpha with a fearsome reputation as a dangerous, unforgiving, and ruthless Chosen.
“I know Raoul.” She drove her point home. “He’ll burn down your Headquarters without a second thought to get his man. There’s no walking away from this. I don’t blame him — I’d do the same had it been one of my Pure Bloods that was targeted. You’ve crossed a line, Spell Casters. Your misfortune is that the line you crossed happened to be guarded by Raoul Merceau.”
“Franciszka” the Alpha called out languidly, trying to keep his amusement in check. “I can make my own threats.”
“Just trying to make them see the light, moj drogi” she said with a cheeky smile. “They only know you by reputation, not like I do.” There was innuendo and respect all tied together in her good-natured retort.
The Guardians around Sebastian Thorne glanced uneasily at him.
“The evidence looks good, Sebastian.” One of the Guardians at the table with DiZeyla spoke up after an infinitesimal pause. “We should re-interview both Willard Trent and the Registrar at San Francisco independently. But based on the evidence here, it doesn’t look good for Guardian Anderson.”
“No Guardian has ever been punished by anyone else” Sebastian Thorne declared quietly. He had accepted that the evidence was solid, but now he made the other argument.
The Alpha said nothing in response, merely gazing back at the Guardian silently. The Guardian glanced at Faoladh who shrugged, making it clear that it wasn’t his call to make.
“Let the GCW try him, Alpha” Thorne urged. “I give you my word that Guardian Anderson will be given a fair trial.”
“Unacceptable.” Raoul’s response was firm. “The GCW had their chance, Guardian. And you blew it.”
“I would love to spill some Spell Caster blood, moj drogi” the Mistress called out in her lilting voice. “Just give the word, Raoul.”
“Franciszka” the Alpha said warningly, without untangling his gaze from the Guardians who faced him.
The Vampire Mistress subsided immediately.
“You work with the First Wizard, don’t you, Alpha?” called out a voice from the back.
A youngish Wizard stepped forward to address Raoul. To her astonishment, Sienna recognized Trevor Bergdahl. She hadn’t seen Tara’s brother since high school. He’d been Jason’s best friend then, she remembered, and had been selected to join the GCW at the same time as Jason.
“Yes” Raoul acknowledged curtly.
“What if she were to guarantee that this time Guardian Anderson will be punished for his crimes?”
Before Raoul could respond, the First Wizard stood up to face the man behind her. “I cannot guarantee that, Guardian Bergdahl” she said firmly. “It’s now clear to everyone present that the GCW and I do not see eye to eye, so there’s no point in hiding it. But I cannot in good conscience give my word to the Alpha on this.”
The young Guardian looked resigned, while the Guardians facing the Alpha looked discomposed by her response. Sebastian Thorne’s expression tightened with resolve.
“We’ve accepted the evidence you presented against him, Alpha. We won’t challenge the validity of it” Thorne tried again, attempting to make the Alpha see that circumstances were different this time, that the GCW had already conceded more than it usually did. “And we’ll guarantee Guardian Anderson will be punished for his transgression.” Thorne studied the Alpha. “When the Chosen come to know that despite our guarantees, you felt the need to attack us, do you think they’ll side with you, Alpha?”
It was the wrong thing to say to the Alpha, but the Guardian wasn’t to know that. Raoul’s instincts had been to swiftly punish Anderson without a public hue and cry. This confrontation with the Guardians, with an entourage of other Chosen by his side, had merely been a sop to assuage the concerns of others — many whose opinions he respected.
“Try me” Raoul warned softly, allowing his impatience with the charade to show for the first time. “I’ve tried to go about this the right way. That doesn’t mean I’ll back down if you don’t give me what I came for. Know this, Guardian. Come what may, I’m not leaving without Anderson today.”
There was a murmur from the back as some of the Wizards whispered amongst themselves.
“We don’t believe the Pack will give Guardian Anderson a fair trial” called out a Wizard from the back, surprising Sebastian Thorne who had not expected the intervention. “Since he’s alleged to have attacked their Alpha.”
“Fair enough” Raoul admitted. “By the same token, we don’t believe that Anderson will get his just deserts from the GCW. They’re unlikely to punish him for crimes against Shifters when they let him go for targeting Wizards.”
“What if we agree to a third-party trial for the Guardian?” the Wizard persisted. “That would assuage our concerns. Perhaps, you can leave Guardian Anderson in GCW custody, until we can all agree on a third party to try him.”
“We’ve already decided who w
ill try Anderson for his crimes” Raoul announced. “The CoC. I trust you don’t have any objections to them” he inquired, as Guardian Thorne and the rest looked stunned by the suggestion. The other Wizards in the room muttered amongst themselves. This bombshell by the Alpha had thrown the Wizards for a loop.
“You’d be willing to allow the CoC to try Guardian Anderson?” Thorne asked in disbelief. For an Alpha reputed to be as old school as Raoul Merceau to willingly agree to give up a Wizard who’d attacked him to the CoC was unthinkable.
The Guardians were bemused by this turn of events. Faoladh might have been instrumental in the creation of the CoC but the Shifters, in general, were territorial and paranoid about keeping their business private from outsiders. They’d never allowed others to interfere in matters they considered Shifter business. It didn’t occur to the Guardians that they’d been guilty of the same crime when it came to allegations against their own.
“I’ve a few things to say to him” Raoul shrugged. “After that, I’ll hand him over to Faoladh’s people. Faoladh has agreed to arrange a CoC trial for Anderson.”
Thorne looked speechless, much like the rest of the Guardians who flanked him. The Alpha’s suggestion had nullified all possible Guardian objections. There was no way they could denounce the CoC as a partisan body. On paper, it was the most independent and fair of all Chosen institutions. The evidence against Anderson had been collected by the Wizards and the trial would be conducted by the Council. The only reason the Shifters had shown up at Wizard Headquarters was to take custody of Anderson to hand him over to the CoC. And that too, the Alpha had done cleverly with an entourage of independent Chosen who would vouch publicly that the Shifters had been more than reasonable at a time, when they had every right to be enraged at the Guardians. No Chosen would fault the Shifters when this entire affair was made public, Thorne knew. The Alpha had neatly boxed them in.
