Chapter 1
The fallout from the French Affair is still ongoing, and no one knows how to treat the Avalari ambassador nor what charges she might face. At this time, investigations are expected to take months as all measures endorsed or proposed by former Ambassador French are being reviewed by both human and AI methods to ensure no persuasion magic is applied. ~ CNN News
* * *
Even though there were still things hanging over my head regarding the incident at the French mansion, I almost had hope for the future. Carelian was still acting weird to the point I was about to drag him to a therapist, but who in the world would understand a Cath point of view? A flicker of an idea went through my head, and I made a quick note. I’d been dreaming of Tirsane a lot lately, and I wished she were around to talk to. Part of me wanted to tell the council to hire a relic thief because I wasn’t suited. But then, I always ended up in roles I wasn’t ready for, yet I made them work. I knew I couldn’t pay back a debt to the dead, but I wasn’t ready to walk away from the emotional debt in my heart.
But if I wanted to make the embassy thrive, the Avalari a solid factor in Earth’s global economy, I still had a lot of work to do. While the issue with French caused Carelian and me a massive amount of stress, it didn’t lessen the amount of work I had to do. Namely, a council meeting in an hour and then prepping for Thanksgiving, which was in two days. Time moved faster than I could react, leaving me blindsided by life around me. The twins had started second grade in September, and they were in different classes, which was causing both of them angst. I tried not to laugh, but the school district had done the same thing with Stevie and me. We hated it for two months, then we found our own footing without the other. They would be fine.
Kris would be here for Thanksgiving. To celebrate, Sable and I were doubling down on throwing a blowout, as we had convinced most of the Guzmans to come here as well. It would be a lot of food and family. Plus, there would be Charles, Stenia, Andyn, Esmere, and Jeorgaz. I smiled at the chaos that would ensue. I couldn’t wait.
But until then, I had a council meeting.
“Carelian, you ready to go?” I turned to check on him. He had dragged his bed over, setting it across the door, blocking anyone from getting in without hitting him first. Even with Hamiada reassuring him, he was still upset and worried.
~I would prefer we didn’t go. You were attacked last time,~ he said, his ears back and tail whipping back and forth so sharply I was surprised it wasn’t cracking.
“That was due to French. But we are also going to vary our entry, and Jeorgaz will go with us. It is a normal council meeting, and you know we will have backup there in the form of Shay, Stephen, and Citlali.” I tried to reassure him, but my anxiety nipped at me.
~You might be attacked again.~ His voice cut through me because I heard what he didn’t say.
“I might,” I admitted. “And you will be there to protect me, and Jeorgaz will drop a veil over me.” Trying not to worry too much, I pulled on my leather jacket with the extra padding on the shoulder for Jeorgaz.
~I might let them hurt you.~ He wouldn’t meet my eyes. We had spent the last two weeks all but inseparable. He was even with me in the bathroom or at the door. This wasn’t good. Cath lived in the now, shrugged off mistakes, and only barely worried about the future.
“No. You won’t. But we can talk and see if there is a way to protect you from Persuasion?” It was what the stone had amplified, letting French convince everyone he was right. In theory, it was possible for any Spirit mage, but few had that much power. Even I couldn’t have done it. To convince someone to go against what lay in their heart was difficult. And I couldn’t blame Carelian for his fear. My own fears were nibbling at me nonstop about what that could have done and how close we came to something horrible.
~Esmere will meet us,~ he said.
“That sounds great.” Extra backup in the form of another Cath was never a bad thing.
He heaved a sigh, but rose, letting me help him with his harness. This he demanded, as it gave me a better handhold if he needed to pull me. He also ordered me to wear my pistol, making it available if I needed protection. While I was okay with my GP100, I still had to swallow the idea of using it. But then I’d killed people with magic. Meaning I was being ridiculous. Besides, the point was that if I used it, the person would not be getting back up.
“It will be okay,” I said, rubbing his ears. He gave me a sidelong glance.
~Don’t jinx it,~ he muttered, and I laughed.
“Andyn, we are headed to the council meeting. Text me if you need me.”
“Yes, Ambassador—I mean, Cori,” she said from her desk, leaning back, allowing her to watch me.
“And don’t forget: Thursday you are coming over. Bring something to share and show up about one. Will you remember to bring Stenia?” Those two were fast becoming best friends, and I enjoyed watching the friendship develop. Though I still worried about Stenia in the area of Albany where Andyn lived. Not everyone was accepting of the Avalari.
“Of course. We are not cooking, though; she talked the owner of the Greek restaurant into making something for us to bring.”
I snickered. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow if I’m not back tonight. But tomorrow is a half-day to finish up things here.”
She nodded and went back to work.
“Jeorgaz? You ready?” I was never sure if the phoenix hung around invisible or if he had a way to listen to me call for him. Either way, he always appeared within about thirty seconds of my calling him.
The poof of flames popped into the side, and he backbeat his wings to land on my shoulder.
~Always. To Atlantis?~
“Yep, council meeting.” I took hold of Carelian’s harness handle as he opened a path to Atlantis.
~Boring things. Why you waste your time there, I will never understand. Sleeping is a much better use of your time.~ A cool breeze washed over me, and I knew he had cloaked me. It was another reason for me to hold on to the handle of Carelian’s harness.
~Agreed,~ Carelian said as he pulled me through the opening from my office in Albany, New York, to Atlantis, a large island off the Strait of Gibraltar. The weather here wasn’t much better than it had been in New York—gray and blustery. The cutting wind made me glad I’d slipped on the leather coat.
~Carelian? Cori?~ Esmere’s words cut through my thoughts, and I scanned the area for her. Carelian had chosen a small grove to the side of the council hall, and Esmere stood there, her vivid green stark against the fall foliage.
~Is there anyone else around?~ Carelian asked, his head up, whiskers twitching as he sniffed the wind.
~Not that I have seen. Is Cori not with you?~ Esmere stepped forward, ears twitching as she came toward us. It was the weirdest thing to have her eyes slide over me as if I were not there.
“I’m here,” I said, and Esmere jumped in the most catlike reaction I’d ever seen from her. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing.
~Where are you?~ she snarled out, spinning in a circle.
“Jeorgaz, you can drop the veil,” I said, and the coolness disappeared from around me. Esmere jumped back as I appeared, then moved forward to sniff me.
~That is odd. It even prevents your scent from getting out. I could smell you on Carelian, but I couldn’t smell you.~ Her amber eyes narrowed as she inspected me. ~Good. It is excellent protection for you. But we should get into the chambers before the rest arrive. This might be an interesting session.~
“And what does that mean?” I asked as we walked toward the hole made long ago, allowing the dragons to participate when they wished.
~Just a suspicion I have. We will see. It is always possible beings will act smarter than I expect.~
Esmere had a tone and a whisker twitch that made me suspicious, but I trusted she would want nothing to happen to me. Not only was I her son’s quean, but we were friends. And I refused to let fear affect my ability to trust others.
It only took a minute of walking to be in the council chambers, and I relaxed, as did Carelian, as we walked in. In the Earth Lord’s area, I could see Citlali and Stephen talking.
“Let’s head over there first. I wanted to talk to them,” I said, angling in that direction.
Carelian went willingly over there, and I saw the tension bleed off as he entered the circle that designated Earth territory. My concern about his behavior grew. As annoying as Cath psychology could be, it was my norm, and having him act like a human, all worried and stressed, was not normal.
“Cori. Did they decide what the final fallout was going to be?” Stephen said as we got close.
“Oh, no charges from the UN security. The French family might still sue, but my lawyers are dealing with that. I don’t mind paying a fine, as I did destroy their possessions, but considering the option was possible world domination, I’m not all that upset by it.” I shrugged. Talking about Carelian’s stress was not something I would talk about in public.
“Good. The aftershocks are still going through Washington as people realize what they almost agreed to. It was one of the reasons a mage couldn’t be president, you know. It was specifically a Spirit mage and used Persuade the same way. Right now, there is a massive uproar trying to figure out how to deal with it. I think of all the magic we know of, Persuade might be the most dangerous.”
I was in no position to argue that, but I was also royally tired of talking about it. “On another note. Do you want to come to Thanksgiving, Stephen?”
He smiled. “If you can arrange transportation, sure.”
Shay and Scott walked up, and I nodded to them. “What about the rest of you? Shay, you know Sloane is welcome too. Scott? Citlali?”
Scott shook his head. “No, I’m going to spend some time with my niece and her family.”
“And we are going to Sloane’s. A bit stiff for my preferred holiday, but they aren’t too bad,” Shay said as he dropped into a chair.
I turned to check on Citlali as she lifted an eyebrow. “Come over for a celebration of the invasion of our land? I think I’ll skip.”
Heat washed up my face, and if the floor had opened up beneath me, I would not have made a sound. “You know that isn’t what we are celebrating,” I stammered out, and she laughed.
“Yes, I know you use it as a chance to have family near you, but that is an odd thing for me to celebrate. But I might invite you to the Walls’ celebration sometime. That way you can see the other side of the celebration.”
I gave her a smile, still cringing internally. “That sounds fascinating. I had another question, though. Charles is working with an AI program named Kirby. He said someone in the AIN designed it. He’s super excited and wondered if you had a way for him to contact the programmer.”
Citlali shrugged. “I don’t know who did it off the top of my head. My knowledge of the hard sciences is weak. But I’ll ask around.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile, trying to push down the flush still ravaging my face.
The clang of a dropped hammer on the council floor rang out. “Take your places; the council is beginning,” Freya called out.
With a sigh, I moved back over to my little desk, giving Jabari a smile. I was friendly with the man, but didn’t know him well enough to pull him into Thanksgiving yet. Maybe I could meet up with him for lunch? But until the hunter thing was dealt with, it wasn’t a wise idea to go anywhere.
We settled down, and I inspected the Spirit lords. Roxzara sat there, elegant as always. I had no idea how she got her pelt to shine like liquid silver. Rocgi sat on the opposite side of Roxzara while Kiron stood there, his face a mask, but I could sense the fury in him.
“I open the floor to new business,” Freya said with a tone of weariness that made my eyes narrow.
To my vague surprise, Urisa, in her bowl of water as always, moved into the center of the floor. “I move to have Cori Munroe removed as ambassador,” she said in a shrill voice, and I sighed.
I’m starting to agree with Esmere about mermaid for dinner.
“On what grounds?” Freya asked, but I noted she didn’t sound surprised.
“Obviously, she is such a poor representative that even her focus was willing to see her die to get rid of her,” she said in a voice that sounded coated with oil.
I reeled back as if slapped.
How did they find out?
Carelian was on his feet, a buzz-saw snarl going, and I had about enough.
“I second,” called Kiron, his smug face all but glowing with satisfaction.
Oh, that is it. They can have this blasted job.
I rose to my feet, anger making me shake, and opened my mouth. But Esmere spoke first.
