Nulso looked down his nose at the younger ordercrafter. "You cannot beat me. I am an experienced true believer and you are neophytes afraid of your own power."
Kimberly stared stoically in response. "You cannot beat us. You are a rogue element and we are duly designated enforcers of this land's law and stability. You are within our jurisdiction. We will take you into custody and you will stand trial for your crimes."
Kimberly signaled to Taylor. She released her part in the suppression field and stepped forward to claim Annala. Try as he might, Nulso could not escape and so could do nothing to stop the girl from taking his prize away from him.
“Request sent and permission granted,” Kimberly said. “By the Power and Authority of Order, your status has been revoked. Internal Affairs Interdict commencing.”
“What!? NO!”
Ethereal chains surrounded Nulso. They wrapped around his neck, waist, and wrists and linked together over his chest in the shape of an X. The chain end plunged into him and sank his ordercraft deep within his soul. Then it faded from sight. Nulso yelled and spasmed as his soul contracted. Prostrate and in tremendous pain, he whispered, "My god, my god, why have you forsaken me?"
The five replied as one, "Woe to hypocrites."
Taylor and Daniela secured him with physical cuffs and Thuy explained his future options to him. Jasmine examined the Subjugation Collar. Annala’s fidgeting made it difficult, so she assured the elf that she meant her no harm. Kimberly engaged her in small talk to hold her attention, but this only increased her anxiety.
“I’m sorry. I was raised to think you’re evil.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Taylor said. “We understand.”
Taylor and Daniela escorted Nulso onto their high-speed craft, Kimberly scried in their report and Thuy joined Jasmine in examining the collar. Now that Nulso was gone, Annala watched them work with scholarly interest. It wasn’t often one got to see professional ordercrafters at work and these were not her enemies, so there was nothing to fear.
“Miss Enaz, my analysis is complete,” Jasmine said. “I regret to announce that I cannot remove this collar at this time.”
“What? Why!? This thing is evil and sacrilege and get it off!”
“It is custom made for you specifically and therefore is not in my training or my handbook. Personalized control is peculiar because Order does not like to recognize individuality."
“Indeed,” Thuy continued, “this collar does not bear the mark of either King Epideus or the Grand Obelisk. This means Nulso constructed it from start to finish on his own. It has no greater sanction and so no one else can remove it except him and he is now powerless.”
Kimberly stepped forward and said, “I recognize the irony that we ourselves are responsible for this paradox. If we had known in advance, we would have acted otherwise.” She bowed her head and her two subordinates followed suit. “Please forgive us.”
Annala waved her hands. “Oh no, don’t worry about it. I didn’t know either and you’re the professionals and my mom is a genius and this thing hurts!”
She desperately tugged at it, but it didn’t budge.
“I swear as an ordercrafter that we will do everything we can to remove that collar without endangering or defying our queen and country,” Kimberly said. “In the meantime, please come with us. We will escort you back to the Summit.”
Annala curtsied. “Thank you, officer. Thank you very much for rescuing me.”
“No thanks necessary, ma’am. This is our job.”
When Annala returned to the castle, she witnessed the results of the attack. Royal Guards were tending to their injured and dead. Servants collected debris and laborers tended to the castle itself. She saw her father talking with the Knight of Justice and she overheard the word ‘regicide.’ Hiking up her skirt, she ran to hug him. Immediately, he forgot about the Knight of Justice and hugged her back. Then he noticed her new collar.
“WHAT THE INFERNAL ABYSS IS THAT?!”
“A problem that we are working on, sir,” Kimberly said. “As soon as Eric is released, we can implement a temporary solution.”
Annala spun back to them with new fear in her eyes. “Released!? He’s imprisoned!?”
“He killed two people in the last hour,” the Knight of Justice explained. “Both of them are still alive, in a matter of speaking, but he has been detained for the time being. Her Majesty will speak with him once she has recovered from fighting an enforcer.”
Annala smiled weakly up at her father. “I missed a lot, huh?”
“Yes, indeed, my dear. Yes indeed.”
One hour passed for a preliminary security check and sweep of the castle and grounds. More would follow and each one would be more thorough than the last until Kasile was satisfied. During this time, the delegates were found, gathered together, and assured of their safety. At the first sweep’s conclusion, Fairtheora reported to Kasile in her room as ordered. At that point, she was still asleep and he got into a shouting match with Siron, who insisted that she remain undisturbed. In the end, she shuffled to the door while using her IV stand as a support. She praised Siron for his defense of her but told him to better prioritize next time. She rewarded Fairtheora with two more hours of Royal Authority and commanded him to continue the Summit.
Thus, one hour and ten minutes after the crisis passed, Annala was again standing in the Hall of Avatars. Her sash had been retied at her waist and her Death Killer bow returned to its hiding place, but she had never felt more exposed or vulnerable. All of the delegates were staring at her, either suspiciously or expectantly. Some were outright hostile. It made her wish Eric were present so she could hide behind him.
“Your terrorism isn’t going to work, elf,” said Liclis’ administrator. “Humans are too smart for your trickster-style intimidation.”
“Don’t flin' thet wo'd about like yo' knows whut it means,” said Mahican’s head of state. "Yo' make me ashamed t'be hoomin.”
Fairtheora pounded Kasile’s gavel. “This meeting will be conducted with the decorum required of our station. If anyone has a point of discussion, now is the time to share it. Otherwise, we will conduct the vote.”
One by one, the delegates stood to give their opinions.
Some demanded that obelisks be built for the security they provided while others said they were too dangerous and/or too unethical. This led into discussions of “oversight” and “supervision” and terminated in a question of “who guards the guards” when both would have access to mind control. It became so heated and unruly that Fairtheora issued an ultimatum: they could discuss with each other in a calm and polite fashion or they could fight him in a dignified and honorable fashion. They wisely cooled their tempers, even Najica’s dragon.
A third group refused to back Annala’s suggestion out of paranoia; she erected the Order Obelisk to frighten them all into accepting her idea. A fourth group claimed that was it Kasile’s idea or the ICDMM or the KUAKI protestors (both sides of it). A fifth group abstained from the discussion until the incident could be properly investigated. A sixth group was simply suspicious of elves and The Trickster in general and therefore refused to consider Annala’s proposal but didn’t want to back Lunas either; they suggested continuing the status quo of funding mortal research. A seventh group wanted to shut all three options down and simply condemn to death anyone that mana mutated. This, they argued, was the cheapest, easiest, and most reliable means of dealing with the problem.
The ICDMM and its advocates in the sapient/monster pairs looked to Annala for support, but the idea of talking in front of this group scared her more than it did an hour earlier. She would have felt better clinging to Eric’s arm, but he wasn’t here. Quickly composing her speech, she cleared her throat and began.
“Member nations, allow me to reassure you that neither myself nor my hometown had anything to do with the Order Obelisk. Such magic is considered ‘evil’ by my people because it is the anti-thesis of what we are.”
“
Granddaughter of lies!” shouted East Azure Republic’s Senator.
Fairtheora pounded Kasile’s gavel. “Decorum, please.”
“What do you have to prove your good intentions?” asked Accemo’s dwarf duke.
“Umm…I…Uh…” She tugged on her ear and looked to her father. “Home! Yes, um, this council may reconvene in the elven city state of Dnnac Ledo for a demonstration of our medical mana mutation technology.”
“Objection!” Mithra’s Support Branch said. “This girl cannot promise that. No creature of any species has been allowed into any elf village since the start of the Conversion War.”
“I am,” Kallen said. “I can go whenever I want.”
“You’re a chimera,” Liclis’ administrator said. “You don’t count.”
Fairtheora pounded Kasile’s gavel. “The next person to break decorum will be charged with slander and calumny. I will follow you back to your country, where your diplomatic immunity expires, and press the charges myself.”
“I will make it happen,” Annala insisted. “If it is for their enslaved brethren, I’m positive that I can convince the Supreme Council to allow a small group of humans inside temporarily.”
She racked her brain for a candidate and her gaze fell upon Nolien. Knowing what she was thinking, he desperately wanted to shake his head. Order refused him such an action and so he stood still. Because she didn’t receive a negative sign, Annala assumed her idea was possible.
“I will ask the Noble House of Heleti to receive my village’s hospitality. They are the premier healers in this country and are respected in the world at large and so they are qualified to evaluate our technology. The current peace between Ataidar and Kyraa was forged by their reputation for fairness and they have no special affection for elves. Therefore, they can be trusted to be impartial. I’m confident that they can convince the Supreme Council and the people in general to invite the honorable delegates to reconvene within our borders.”
Her words froze the marrow in Nolien’s bones and he felt sick to his stomach.
“Ambassador Enaz, is this action possible?” Fairtheora asked.
“Yes, it is possible,” Ponix said. “With Lady Chaos, all things are possible.”
Again, Annala internally winced. While a positive statement among the elves and foxes, the saying was received differently by races that did not belong to the Chaotic Faith. To them, he basically said it was impossible. Indeed, many faces around the table fell in disappointment.
“What my father meant to say is that he can couch the idea to the Supreme Council as favored in Lady Chaos’ eyes because it will free her chosen children, progress scientific understanding and mortal rooted improvement, and also move the state of the world and that of elf-mortal relations forward beyond the truce that has existed since the end of the Conversion War at the Treaty of Lios in 1587 AA.”
She received blank stares and felt a surge of scholarly indignation. How could they not know about such an important event in the history of their world?
“Are you finished, Miss Enaz?” Fairtheora asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“Are there any more points of discussion?” He waited a beat. “Then cast your vote.”
The many rulers gathered discussed their thoughts in hushed tones with their advisors, lobbyists, and the miscellaneous hangers-on present to make themselves look important. Then, one by one, they cast their vote. Annala waited with bated breath as the votes were tallied and at last, the results were posted on-screen. Seventy-five percent voted in favor of Annala’s proposal.
"YES!" Annala fist-pumped and blew a raspberry at her detractors. Then she remembered herself and blushed. "Um… I mean…eumph..." She curtsied. "Thank you very much for your confidence in me, honorable delegates."
“The 2000 AA Mana Mutation Summit will reconvene in Dnnac Ledo pending approval of the city. Until then, no decision will be made and the stop-gap measures will go into effect.”
Fairtheora pounded Kasile’s gavel.
In the skies over Northern Latrot, Lunas sat in his personal suite on his personal airship, the commander cruiser Berkley. He watched the news report of the summit on CV and within a sidebar were chat boxes of his minions.
“Report, starting with Sequitor.”
The former royal mage swished shimmering red liquid within a vial.
“I have Bladi Blood in the quantities your father requested, Your Highness. As we agreed, I’m keeping some for myself.”
“Thank you, Sage Sequitor. My father’s men will be along to collect them and deliver your payment. Now, Fiona and Rodrick, how did your mission go?”
“We lethally wounded the Heleti kid, but you didn’t tell us that he wouldn’t die.” Fiona touched the red line where he nicked her. “I might have a scar on my neck…”
Rodrick gave her waist a gentle squeeze and said, “You can cover it with the maid collar. You look hot in that.”
She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Oh, you….”
Lunas cleared his throat. “I couldn’t have ‘the Heleti kid’ knowing that you expected him to survive or he would’ve been suspicious. You will receive your payment in Façade, as we agreed, along with a little extra for worker’s comp.”
“Thanks!” both exclaimed.
“I hope to make use of your talents in the future.”
“Lunas!” Dosh shouted. “I died because of you! I owe Order a favor for saving me! Why didn’t the field stay open long enough for me to capture the alley cat!?”
“Relax, Lord Dosh. The alley cat’s capture was not your end goal. Or did I misread your intentions? She’s rather pretty in that blue dress.”
Dosh’s face scrunched up, as if he smelled skunk urine. “No. The only reason I’d touch that thing is to hurt my brother.”
“Exactly, and your brother has been hurt.”
“He’s perfectly fine and he’s going to be honored above me! There’s no way those primogeniture parents would let anyone but the fabulous firstborn.”
Lunas face-palmed. “Your anger and your ego cloud your judgment. This is why you fail. If you could clear your mind and settle your spirit, then you would realize that you have deeply hurt him. Think; it’s not hard.”
“I targeted her specifically and I almost captured her. Even if that failure of a noble succeeded in rescuing his tramp himself, he would become over-protective of her, which would cause friction in their relationship. However, he didn’t save her. He will torment himself over what-ifs in addition to smothering her.”
“See, was that so hard?”
Dosh glowered and Lunas simpered.
“I have other news that will cheer you up; you hurt him more than you think.”
“Did I miss something?”
“Yes, but it’s not your fault. You didn’t know, but Nolien was lethally injured before this conversation. He healed himself with the aid of Order. I trust you know what this means.”
Selfish glee lit up his eyes and thrilled his voice. “…Indebted to Order. He’s going to an elf village to review Medical Mana Mutation technology and he’s indebted to Order! He’ll be at the center of the explosion!”
“Indeed. The idea of his precious partner in your clutches scares him more than causing an international incident. You put terror in his soul. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Dosh puffed out his chest. “Of course you couldn’t. I’m the brightest rising star in this country.”
“You will certainly be the focus of royal attention.”
Lunas closed the window to his minions and opened the one to his pet. It revealed a girl with long green hair streaked with silver-grey. A pink bow was tied in the back. Her green eyes were bright and her skin was flawless. She wore a dress that rivaled Kasile’s for its elegance.
“Didja win, Lunas!?” She blushed and coughed. “I mean, Your Highness, was your operation successful?”
“Yes, my dear Ariel, my plan worked perfectly. We have our mole, pl
enty of damaging footage, Bladi samples, a collared elf girl, and this.”
He pulled out a vial shining with white flames.
Ariel’s jaw dropped. “Sacred Fire! Lunas, you’re amazing!”
“I know. With this, I can grant a soul divinity.”
Ariel blinked and tilted her head in adorable confusion. “You haven’t used it yet?”
“I need to find a way to convert it into something else. Queen Kasile can control it in this form and so absorbing it may grant her control of me.”
As he expected, Ariel’s face darkened at the thought of any other girl having any piece of him, especially his soul. She was delightfully vicious that way. Immediately after it brightened into the happy moe stare she knew he preferred.
“I could do that for you.”
“Really? You understand Mana Conversion enough to perform it on the divine level?”
Suddenly, she averted her eyes and wrung her gloved hands. “I’ve been studying really hard and…and my parents talked about it a lot during their forbidden research…I don’t know if I can do it, but if it’s for you, I’ll do my best!”
Lunas nodded. “I’m sure you can do it. Oh, and by the way, are you going somewhere special or did you dress up just for me?”
She stood up, backed away from the camera, and twirled for him. She ended it by dipping into a deep curtsy. His pet was well trained.
Chapter 8 Chaotic Control
Kasile sighed and slouched in her desk chair. It was leather and cushioned, practically a lounge chair and much more comfortable than her throne. At the push of a button, it provided refreshments or vibrated. After a day like today, she needed it.
First, there was Eric Watley. The Trickster’s Choice, the Modern Demon, and her own confidant killed two people outside her castle and injured many others. She had to convince the mob that he was not a monster, would answer for his crimes, and that he would be watched by the Royal Sentinel so they would feel comfortable going about their daily lives. She knew her enemies in the Noble and Common Councils would pay close attention to his trial, and regardless of how she handled it, they weren’t going to let her forget it.
Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) Page 31
