Vesik 04 - This Broken World (16 page)

Cara just smiled. “It worked out surprisingly well. The Utukku is already speaking of how different you are. Something else you might like to know—Edgar has taken a stand squarely against the other Watchers.”

I raised my eyebrows in question.

“In support of you, Damian. Glenn invited you here, and half the water witches would support you just to stay on Nixie’s good side. The word of the
Sanatio
isn’t half bad either, so I hear.”

I smiled at Cara as she mentioned her own title in the courts.

“Calling the Demon Sword a friend may have even more pull in the coming days.”

“I got the impression Foster is getting a little stir crazy.”

“Oh,” she said with a slight stutter as she laughed. “That may be considered an understatement.”

“He’s doing alright, though?”

“Yes, yes,” Cara said, waving her hands. “Leave your weapons here. The Concilium Belli convenes in minutes.”

“I thought it didn’t start until tomorrow,” I said.

“It
is
tomorrow. Time does not move evenly in the Warded Ways. You’re also in Europe now.”

“Oh, right.” I unfastened the holster for my pepperbox. I didn’t like leaving the gun behind, but I did. I laid the focus beside it. I left the Splendorum Mortem concealed in its slim sheath.

“Good.” She ushered me to the door before looking back at me and frowning. “What are you wearing?”

I glanced down at my shirt and smiled. “It’s the shirt Vicky got me for Christmas. Nice touch, right?”

“It’s a vampire skull.”

“I thought it might make a statement.”

I half expected her to tell me to change it, but her expression turned thoughtful. “It is a good day for statements.”

“Vicky will love this story,” I said as I followed Cara into the hall.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“H
ave you seen Nixie?” I asked Cara while I walked briskly behind her.

“Yes, she’s already in the hall. Please, for the love of Nudd, don’t blow her kisses or anything childish like that? We don’t need an incident.”

“Me?” I asked. “Cause an incident? I’m not the one who set a reaper to guarding my sister, now, am I?”

“Shush,” Cara whispered and the look on her face was fierce. “That is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. Glenn knows. If his opposition knew that was here, it would be an
incident.”

“So Sam really doesn’t know?”

Cara shook her head. “I doubt Jasper will reveal himself here unless your sister is in grave danger.”

“Grave,” I said with a laugh. “You’re funny.”

Cara blew out a breath and glared at me. “Sometimes I wonder why Glenn invited you to this.”

“Damian!” a voice screeched from down the hall. “Oh my God Damian it’s you I can’t believe it’s you they said—”

Sam continued to babble for several seconds, but I tuned her out and smiled.

“Shut up,” I said.

She blinked and I grinned at her before I hugged her like I thought I’d never see her again.

“Damian, thank God you’re alright. Did you hear about Ezekiel?”

“The bridge?” I asked.

She nodded and squeezed me until I thought my ribs would crack. And then she squeezed a little harder.

“Ribs!” I squeaked.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said with a laugh.

“Did you know Jasper is here?” I asked.

“Dammit, Damian,” Cara said.

I pouted at her and she couldn’t stop a small chuckle.

“What?” Sam asked. “No, where?” She looked around the hall, eyeing the figures far above our heads and the stone rafters above those. “I want to see him.”

I lowered my voice. “Cara doesn’t think he’ll reveal himself while we’re here. He’s too busy guarding your ass. Ninja-like.”

Sam’s smile fell a little. “I’d really like to see him again.”

“Maybe later,” I said, putting my arm around her.

“Did you know he’s not the only one watching over me?” she asked, her voice darkening as we turned the corner.
“Vik
is here. Like I need his protection? Please. Oh, you know who else?”

“No, who else is—” The wind rushed out of my lungs as a bristly green missile knocked me to the floor. The panting bark felt like it shook the stone floor beneath me a moment before my world vanished behind an enormous pink tongue.

“Bub– Ack! Bubbles!” I finally managed to spit out.

“Oh dear,” Cara said. “Did I forget to mention Bubbles?”

Cara and Sam both burst into laughter.

The cu-sith pulled her head back and cocked it to one side, ears flopping over on top of her head. Her tongue rolled out and hit the ground with a wet smack.

I looked up at Sam.

“See?” she said.

“Barely,” I said without emotion. “Bubbles was so subtle I almost didn’t realize she was here.”

Sam smiled and offered me a hand up. She easily pulled me to my feet.

“Come, children,” Cara said, her voice growing serious. “We’re only two halls from the Royal Court.”

“Yes Mom,” Sam and I echoed together.

***

We turned down a plain hall. It was entirely void of the stone monoliths that stretched to the ceiling in all the other halls. Through the open door I could see a massive, curved table on the far side of the room. Elevated seats stood to our left and right, each a comfortable distance from its neighbor.

The voices echoing around the chamber were incredibly loud. I paused in the doorway and took it all in. The explosion of sound was deafening. There were arguments and laughter and death threats spewing from a thousand different faces. Some of the Fae wore glamour, and they were almost too beautiful to look at. Others sat in bulky, roughly hewn armor. A row of women were clad in intricate gowns that captured any light that dared come too close, only to release it again in orbiting spheres of color.

The central throne—a mighty throne I would have sworn was iron—stood empty. A helmet rested on the curved bench before it. Enormous horns rose from the sides of the helmet, gray, and silver, and menacing.

“Come, Damian. You and Sam will be sitting by the King’s Guard.”

I followed Cara through my peripheral vision alone. I couldn’t stop staring at the ranks of creatures and mortals and gods. Sam’s hand was cool when it grabbed mine and squeezed. I squeezed back and gave her a small smile.

We cleared the entryway and stepped onto the main floor. It was a wide-open space between the seats beside us up to the throne. I turned my head to catch a glimpse of what was behind us.

My heart rate increased when I found Nixie staring down at me, her hair pulled back into an intricate design that looked something like a fleur-de-lis. She was surrounded by her sisters. Some of them I recognized—our allies at Stones River, and Euphemia from Boonville—but others were strange to my eyes.

Behind Nixie, an older undine sat upon a larger seat, a throne in its own right. It had to have been Nixie’s queen, and I could barely keep a snarl from my lips. The woman was glaring at me. She gave me a smile fit for a gravemaker.

I blocked it out and turned my gaze back to Nixie. A sincere smile lit her pale features. She gave me only a tiny nod. I grinned like an idiot and then tripped over my own feet.

The resulting stomping stumble brought the entire room into silence.

Cara just sighed.

Sam giggled.

The whispers started up anew. Only this time they were filled with venom.

Necromancer.

Destroyer.

Murderer.

“Silence!” A voice boomed from nowhere and everywhere. “Do not demean my guests.”

Gwynn Ap Nudd. He wasn’t in the room, and yet he was. As we made it to the other side of the auditorium, I realized there were dozens, if not hundreds, of small seats lining the wall behind Glenn’s throne. Foster sat in the small central seat, and more fairies filled the rest. Another small seat sat on the bench beside Glenn’s helmet.

My eyes followed the bench around to the other end. Twenty Watchers were there. Edgar was looking right at me. He nodded once and then returned to his conversation with the bulky-looking man beside him.

“Take your seats,” Cara said as she gestured to the empty chairs just below the far left side of the bench.

I looked at who we’d be sitting next to and smiled. Zola was on one side and Dominic started the ranks of vampires on the other. I wondered if Zola had received the same warm welcome I had. I reached out, traded grips with Dominic, and nodded to Vassili, the lord of Sam’s Pit.

The old, white-haired vampire returned the gesture. Vik was sitting on the opposite side of him, looking reserved until his eyes trailed down to my shirt. He sucked in his lips and it looked like he was fighting not to laugh.

I politely took my seat. Zola patted my knee as Sam sat down beside me.

“Ah think this should prove interesting,” she said.

“As long as it’s the kind of interesting we can live through,” I said.

“Mmm,” was her only reply.

I watched Cara glide to the elaborately carved bench. She took a few steps and sat down in the small throne beside Glenn’s. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised.

Movement above her caught my eye. It was an elderly Fae standing up behind an ancient podium. His voice was smooth and loud, though it did not contain the authority of a king.

“We now call to order the Concilium Belli.”

The room fell silent.

I blinked my eyes a few times, thinking I had a floater in my vision, before the spot expanded into a black, swirling maelstrom. There was a sound like a crack of thunder and Glenn was suddenly standing before his throne.

He wore a black robe, but it was more than black. It didn’t reflect any light. It was more like he wore a void that curled around him in rising and falling wisps of power. An enormous golden mantle hung from his shoulders, made from a hundred Celtic knots, all intersecting at the edges, that came down to meet in the center of his chest. I knew what was mounted on his chest, I just didn’t understand why it was there. A soulstone the size of a baseball gleamed from its setting.

I stared across the chamber at Nixie. She was focused on Glenn, but I eventually caught her eye. She smiled slightly. I didn’t miss the glare from the Queen behind her. I could tell she was going to be one of my biggest fans.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“T
he Watchers will speak first,” Glenn said, drawing my attention back to the bench. His voice was just as unnerving as I remembered. It was closer to Aeros’s basso rumble than any human’s. “They are the latest to suffer a loss in this conflict.”

The older man to Edgar’s right stood up and removed his bowler. He had a thin, white beard that trailed along his chin. His gaze was piercing, even from across the chamber. It took me a moment to realize he was glaring at
me.

“You invite
him?”
The Watcher's hand shook as he pointed at me, and then it began to glow.

I started to move, but Zola’s hand snapped out and stopped me.

Glenn moved faster than I could see. One moment he was seated on his throne. The next, he was on top of the Watcher. The punch would have removed the head of a mortal. The Watcher stared up at Glenn. I couldn’t see the King’s face, but judging by the absolute terror on the Watcher’s face, I didn’t need to.

Edgar wore a smug half-smile beside the two. I wondered why.

“He is here at my request, Geb. If you take issue with that, I will remove you.”

Somehow I didn't think he just meant remove him from the council.

Glenn leaned in closer to the Watcher, but his voice was still clear. “I invited Leviticus to this council, Geb.” Whispers and protests rose throughout the hall. “He thought it unwise to attend, due to the inclusion of certain council members. He is a wise man.” Glenn let go of Geb’s suit and Geb flopped into his seat. “War is upon us, Watcher. You should rejoice in the knowledge we avoided it so long.”

Glenn walked slowly back to his seat. His eyes scanned the chamber as he spoke. “We’ve witnessed the madness of Anubis unleashed on this world before. And now? Now he raises a Leviathan in the middle of a Nexus. Do not lose sight of your true enemies. Vesik is an ally, and a weapon.

“Have we forgotten The Wandering War and all its darkness?” Glenn asked as he spread his arms. “How many lives did that conflict cost?” He let his arms relax, curling his hands into fists. “How many centuries did it take to clean up the aftermath? Yes, Falias is lost, but we will rebuild it. For now, we must prevent a disaster like Falias from engulfing all of Faerie. We will need many allies.”

The chamber grew restless as a hundred voices muttered support and objection to the King’s words.

“So many dissenters,” Glenn said as his eyes swept the room. “Have you forgotten what will happen when Ezekiel falls?”

“No,” a bulky Fae said from the edge of the bench. “That is why we stand against you.”

Glenn nodded, acknowledging him. “I understand your concern, Hern, and you are right to be afraid.”

“I am not afraid of a deathspeaker.”

Glenn’s calm façade cracked slightly as he glared at Hern. The brief exchange lingered, and then Glenn’s focus returned. “The Seals have been fragile for almost a millennium. Ezekiel was able to summon a Leviathan barely three hundred miles from the Storm Seal.”

My ears perked up. I’d never heard of a Storm Seal.

“Lies,” Hern said. “Nothing can be summoned so close to the Seal.”

“And yet it is done,” Glenn said.

“Lies upon lies, my
King.”
Hern leaned forward in his seat. “You weave insane tales of this
unavoidable
conflict. The return of the Piasa Bird. The Old God, Aeros, working with a pathetic, powerless, necromancer. You’re a fool, Nudd.” He raised his arm and pointed directly at me. “And you will damn us all with that deathspeaker.”

“Still your tongue,” a man said, rising from a seat far to Hern’s right. Despite his shaved head and creased forehead, he didn’t look much older than I was. Celtic knots, tattooed into his flesh, vanished into the sleeves of his cloak and reappeared on his neck. Each pattern bore a cache of runes. His nose was steep above full lips and a prominent jaw.