by Marie Mistry
Rutia had the right idea, addressing the Assembly's love of power and individual pride. My own emotional rebuttal of Hannibal's words wouldn't have the same effect. No, to get through to these ruthless people I would have to appeal to them in a language they understood.
Ajax stood next. “And how will you fund this great army?” he asked. “You wouldn't be thinking of raising taxes again, would you?”
If that wasn't the finishing blow, Vendra's was.
“I, for one, will not be using technology.” She sneered at the word. “To keep track of my unshown. I can keep them under control myself, as I have done for centuries. Those who have been unable to, well…” She let the sentence trail off, pointedly.
The debate raged on, with several demons coming forth to support Hannibal's claims. Even with others' help, it was still clear he wasn't going to be able to push these stupid reforms through.
Just before lunch, some of the unshown began to return, looking pale and drawn. I gestured Leonie forward. “What happened to them?”
“Mnemokinetics,” she whispered. “They can see and manipulate your memories. If they'd read me, they would instantly know about the Resistance.”
We'd dodged a bullet there but a nagging idea brewed in my mind. “Can they wipe memories entirely?”
“No, just block them. As I understand it, it's easier for them if it is a recent memory.”
An image of Fintan flashed in my mind. Bane had no recollection of him, yet I did. Was he a mnemokinetic? Why would he wipe Bane's memory and not mine?
My train of thought was interrupted as I watched Hannibal leave the Prime Throne and disappear behind the door, which led to his private dining room. I would have turned back, except Ajax limped in after him, leaving his unshown and guards behind as the door slammed behind them.
What was Ajax going to talk to Hannibal about?
I debated going over there to listen in on them but the burly guard at the door made me pause. If I'd had my imps, I would have been able to listen in, but the rules forbade them from coming inside the Assembly.
Rutia was advancing on me, her long strides eating up the distance between our thrones as though it didn't exist. I struggled to pull my thoughts away from what was going on behind that door as I readied myself to face her.
“Lady Rutia,” I acknowledged, standing.
Rutia put her hands on her hips as she stared down at me. Not for the first time, I realised what a tall woman she was.
“I shall be blunt,” she began. “Are you for or against Prime Delaroza's reforms?”
I refrained from mirroring her aggressive posture. “Against.”
“Then you will support my amendment?”
“That depends on what it is…”
“I wish to protect the independence of our houses. My amendment would permit the Heads of Houses to choose whether to allow Prime Delaroza's regulations on their unshown.”
I saw her point: there was too much fear of the Resistance to block the regulation completely, but an amendment that protected the sovereignty of the houses would appeal to many of the demons there.
“I would support it.”
“Good, I need you to convince the rest. Hannibal has already given you a good stage to work from.”
I would have spluttered with indignation, but as it was, I could only smile at her forwardness. “Forgive me, Lady Rutia, but I don't follow…”
“I am aware that I lack the … affability of many of our peers. My ideas, while sound, are held back by my distaste for this political playground. Hannibal gave you the perfect first impression, making you seem nonthreatening and approachable. As you also have the wiles of your caste at your disposal, it makes you an ideal candidate to promote my amendments. Even if you only persuade your grandmother, her opinion carries enough weight to sway a good chunk of the Assembly.”
I snorted. “Persuading Lady Braxion of anything is impossible.”
“I only ask that you try.”
I sighed, then nodded. “Fine. But I won't be responsible for her refusal.”
But Vendra didn't refuse. Not entirely, at least. She tweaked the idea and sold it as her own. Rutia and I were so surprised at her approval that we didn't even object.
By the end of the day, Hannibal's reforms with our amendments had passed by a narrow margin of just three votes.
In short, the Heads of Houses were responsible for keeping a register of their unshown and submitting yearly updates to a newly-formed 'Department for Unshown Welfare.' Hannibal's tracking implants were optional, but those who weren't enforcing them were required to take responsibility for the actions of their unshown. As for the 'army' that he'd wanted, Vendra had extracted promises that there would be no conscription or raising of taxes to pay for it, which seemed to pacify everyone else.
By the time I emerged from under the fountain, I was tired and my head was pounding. But, for the first time, I felt I'd made a positive difference in the Assembly. Or, at least, made the awful regulations more bearable for the unshown.
Chapter 18
I was about halfway to the car, following the slow stream of black-hooded figures toward the gates, when I saw two people break away from the rest. Even with their faces hidden, one of them was clearly Ajax, his gold gleaming against his black robe with every limping step he took. The other had a purposeful stride and was a few inches taller.
Why on earth would Ajax and Hannibal be headed toward the open-air theatre? After a full day of being trapped in the Assembly, surely anyone sane would want to just go home and collapse.
Without thinking, my feet started to follow them. It wasn't until Blaze coughed from behind me that I remembered he was there.
“I'm going to follow them,” I said. “I think Ajax is up to something.”
“Send the imps,” he objected. “It's too risky otherwise.”
“Okay.”
There was no use in arguing with him when I saw his point. An imp was far less obvious than I was.
I reached along my bonds to my two imps, but only Ivory flew out of the shadow realm to greet me. Today, he was wearing a sweet little Victorian suit, his horns poking through a miniature bowler hat that made me smile. I held out my hand for him to land on as I stepped aside toward one of the benches. Several others looked at me strangely, and I had the odd realisation that I must look like I was doing a mute rendition of 'I'm a Little Teapot.' I quickly lowered my hand, almost causing the imp to fall off in my haste to appear normal.
“I need you to follow them,” I whispered. “Can you do that and share what you see like you did last time?”
Ivory gave me an eye roll and launched into the air again.
It wasn't long until my vision began to swim and I closed my eyes to focus better.
“… Hannibal, surely this course of action is ludicrous.” Ajax said, as they walked along one of the rows of the abandoned theatre, illuminated by a small, floating ball of pyrokinesis. Their shoulders brushed as they walked, the two of them clearly better acquainted than they let on in the Assembly.
Hannibal couldn't look more nonchalant. “How so?”
“You're risking the stability of the Assembly. You were put in this position to further our aims; now, you've defied the Grand Master twice. First when you lied to me, telling me it was his wish to nominate the Carazor girl for Prime and again, with this ridiculous desire to regulate the unshown with tracking devices.”
Ivory was getting closer but the image was becoming blurrier, making my head throb as I struggled to focus.
“You're so eager to kowtow to his whims.” Hannibal paused, looking sharply in another direction as though he'd heard something. It was a few seconds before he continued. “The Grand Master is getting his army, which will rout the Resistance. I'm just putting in place a system to take care of things after he's through with Aoife's shadow realm mumbo jumbo. There will be a lot more unshown in the world, and someone needs to control them all.”
“You presume too much.�
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“My dear, dear Reece. I'm surprised at you. With all your planning, your heirs and your investments, you've not thought about how to ensure that he still has a use for you when he's got his perfect three-caste world. If I control the unshown, I'm suddenly irreplaceable in the new order. I may have been forced to concede on a few points, but that won't last long. Once the Heads of Houses see how effective my methods are, they'll fall in line.”
“Someone has to oversee the financial absorption of the other four castes,” Ajax objected. “The Grand Master needs me, and I remain loyal to our cause. As should you. And you need to stop drawing attention to the Carazor girl. She was supposed to be quietly removed. If you make a martyr of her, it undermines everything we're working for.”
“She's supposed to be dead already,” Hannibal grumbled. “I had an ambush ready for her when she left the Assembly. If the Resistance hadn't blown out the tyres on her car before she reached it, she wouldn't be an issue anymore. At least they did us the favour of blowing up the car to cover their tracks afterwards...”
The pain in my temples spiked suddenly. The distraction almost made me miss Ajax's next words. “You know that the Grand Master has already seen to it. One way or another, she won't live long.”
“But while she still lives, it's more convenient to use her for our own aims. Aoife can use her; she has the Grand Master's blessing to, in fact. So, why not I?”
“Careful that you do not let your own ambition blind you to the fact that our future is at stake here. Do not forget the prophecy states—”
I dropped out of the vision with a gasp, my head so heavy and painful that I had no choice but to cradle it in my hands for a moment as I adjusted.
My vision remained blurry, but the pain in my head subsided slightly as I looked up into Blaze's worried eyes. I did a quick sweep of the area before deciding to speak. The other members of the Assembly had already left and the park was completely deserted, except for the guards at the gate who were too far away to hear anything.
“Hannibal and Ajax are members of the Syndicate,” I gasped. “They set a trap for me after the last Assembly, but the Resistance blew up my car before I reached it.”
Blaze looked at Leonie. “Why did they attack her?”
Leonie shook her head, mutely. “I didn't know they had. I don't believe they would, either.”
“The tyres were blown before the car exploded,” I remembered. “Could they have meant to prevent me from reaching the trap?”
Blaze shrugged. “It's not important right now. What else did you learn?”
“Their end goal is a three-caste world. That's why Professor Saxon is studying the shadow realm. That's why Hannibal wants the unshown under control. He wants to make sure that, when they somehow get rid of the other castes, he has a system to manage all the extra unshown … But he's deviating from the plan. I think he's going against what he's supposed to do.”
“And what does Lord Ajax have to do with this?”
“He's trying to make Hannibal obey orders but it seems like Hannibal manipulated him into nominating me for Prime and is going completely rogue over wanting to track the unshown. Ajax thinks he's going to be overseeing the money after the three-caste system is implemented.”
“The man's a Pecunious, like my father. The more money he collects, the stronger he becomes.”
“His gift is aurumkinesis,” I remembered. “Shit, he's got to be pretty powerful.”
“Exactly…” Blaze was grim as he helped me up from the bench.
“There's something else. When I was at the fort, Lucinda referred to the Grand Master as a woman but Hannibal and Ajax seemed to think the Master is a man…”
“It could be that the Grand Master is as paranoid as Ajax,” Leonie suggested. “Perhaps they've never actually met the others and adopt different identities to speak to the different Syndicate members…”
I was already shaking my head, the motion making my headache turn into a full-blown migraine that had me gritting my teeth. “No. In my visions from the Strange God, they were all in a room together. Surely, they would have seen the same person…”
“Then perhaps the Grand Master uses unshown to communicate,” she said. “Some older demons send their unshown in their place. If no one in the Syndicate has met the real Grand Master, it's possible that they would ascribe their own gender onto the unknown person—”
“Their gender doesn't matter,” Blaze huffed. “They've been a dead man—or woman—walking from the second they set their sights on my mate. Right now, all I care about is that you're bleeding again, Sweetness.”
I reached up to touch the skin beneath my ears and felt the wetness there. “Shit.”
“My Lady.” Leonie approached with a dainty white handkerchief outstretched. “Please, allow me.”
I nodded, standing silently while she dabbed gently at my face. I tried to keep my eyes on Blaze, but my vision kept blurring in and out of focus.
“Can I take some of your power?” I asked him, when Leonie had finished.
Blaze smiled, pulling me against him. “Take all you need. I hate to say it, but today's events gave me a significant boost.”
I grimaced but tilted my head backwards in anticipation.
Blaze didn't hesitate. His hand rose to my jaw, holding my face in place as he bent to take my lips.
Blaze's kiss felt like he was consuming me. He stole my breath and my brainpower with every sweep of his tongue on mine. I felt my power reach out, but it was a sluggish draw. The energy I was getting from Blaze was flowing less like the river it usually was and more like a dribble. I could sense the vast pool of power waiting within him but I just couldn't reach out and grab it.
I drew away, frustrated. “What is wrong with me?” I growled.
Blaze looked puzzled. “Why aren't you drawing from me?”
“I want to. It's just not working.”
"Try again, Sweetness. You've had a stressful day. Maybe you're just overthinking it.”
“I know my power,” I argued. “Something's off.”
“Trying again can't do any harm,” he insisted, closing in on me. “Let me help you, Sweetness.”
“Blaze, I—”
His mouth lowered back to mine.
The second our lips touched, my power rushed out of me in full force. Like a homing missile, it beamed straight for what Blaze was offering and clamped on. I drew from him faster than I ever had before, and it scared me so much that I drew back from him.
But my power didn't stop with distance. It kept taking everything it could from him. Blaze's face contorted into a grimace as the draw became rougher.
I was hurting my mate.
Stop. Stop! Stop! I pleaded with my power.
Horror flooded me as I wrestled with myself. I could see Blaze's energy fading before my eyes.
With an iron will I wasn't sure I possessed, I wrenched myself further away. My power snapped back like an elastic band, stinging me with the recoil as I staggered back.
“Lilith.” Blaze was bent over, panting. “What the hell happened? Are you…?”
He reached for me and I felt my power tug at the reins in answer. I dodged under his arm, putting more space between us and raising my hands to ward him off. “Just give me a minute.”
He stilled, then took a reluctant step back to give me more room. “Are you alright?”
“I don't know what happened.” I lowered my hands but didn't approach him. “I didn't even try…”
“You're stressed,” Blaze began. “Do you feel more in control now?”
I shook my head and took a deep, shuddering breath. “I don't know. Just give me a minute and we can get in the car and go back to Vice.”
Neither Blaze nor Leonie spoke as I wrapped the rogue power within me in chains. I didn't stop until I was certain I had every wisp of energy in my body on lockdown. As soon as I was certain I was safe, I reached for my Wrath mate.
Blaze completely enveloped me as he embraced me
.
“I'm sorry, I don't know what happened,” I mumbled, against his chest.
“It's okay.” Blaze stroked a soothing hand down my back.
“I hurt you…”
“It was nothing. I've had much worse.”
That didn't make it better, but I let him lead me back to the car anyway. Aeron was waiting by the door, but he must have seen something in my face because he took half a step toward me before remembering that the guards were watching and freezing in place.
“Professor Saxon,” I said, slipping past him and into the limo. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
The moment I was safely behind the tinted glass and the door closed behind me, Aeron reached for me. I allowed myself to be drawn into his arms, but I didn't dare kiss him in greeting after what had just happened with Blaze.
Blaze climbed in beside us and I ended up scooting over into the middle seat so that he could kiss my neck while Aeron held my hand. They kept me close in silence as Leonie drove us away from Regent's Park, keeping to the back roads, rather than the motorway.
The great, bright noise of London was disappearing behind us when Aeron spoke. “What the hell happened in there?”
“Too much,” Blaze grumbled. “The Prime's new 'reforms' sent the unshown into a frenzy. All those who took part in the chaos were taken away and interrogated by mnemokinetics.”
“Which I think is what Fintan was,” I insisted. “It makes perfect sense. The reason Bane can't remember him is because his memory was wiped.”
Blaze shrugged. “If you say so. But that doesn't explain why you remember him.”
“I was unconscious.”
“That doesn't make any difference to a mnemokinetic,” he objected. “Besides, he's not important right now.”
Blaze proceeded to fill Aeron in on what I'd seen.
By the end of it, he was staring at us both, open-mouthed. “My mother is working on using the shadow realm to create a three-caste world.” Aeron seemed completely despondent at the idea, and so did Leonie. The two of them shared a long, sad look which made my heart ache.
