Bite Back 05 - Angel Stakes (35 page)

“Excellent. Thank you, Alexander.”

Skylur’s first words confirmed my suspicions that this had been stage-managed.

“Haseya. Billie.” Skylur did an old-fashioned bow over their hands, one after the other. It worked better with Billie.

“Sorry,” Alex murmured to me while Billie was eyeing Skylur. “No time to brief you.”

I snorted. He’d have to work harder than that to get my forgiveness, and he knew it.

We were in Tarez’s office.

The door opened and Altau security ushered House Prowser in.

I was surprised at her joining us, but I took it as one more sign that Skylur was working on alliances behind the scenes.

“Tell me Huang didn’t just make a play for control of the Assembly,” I said as the introductions ended.

“If control of the Assembly had been his main aim,” Tarez said, “Diakon Huang would not have delayed his appearance so long. And no, before you ask it, he didn’t decide to do this because you refused to answer his questions, whatever he might have implied to you.”

“It was a clever speech he made,” Skylur said. “The closest thing to a compulsion without using telergy. He spoke to their hearts and not their heads. A speech full of emotion, but empty of detail.”

“Why did he make that speech, then?” I asked.

Skylur didn’t answer directly. “Did you notice his choice of words? He spoke of his
kin
, but the Empire has no creed like Panethus. There is no rule on how each House treats their human companions. He chose the word kin to engage more deeply with Panethus Houses.”

“He’s attacking your position as leader of Panethus,” Prowser said.

Skylur shook his head. “I don’t believe that’s his aim. I agree he’s weakened my support and he’s attacked my role as president. He’s sending us a message, but we’ve yet to understand it.”

Give me Kaothos or I’ll bring you down?

No. It couldn’t be that blunt. And however important Kaothos was, how could one dragon be weighed against the stability of the Athanate community?

If she was that important, how far would Huang go to find her?

I didn’t want to talk about Kaothos with Prowser present. I had no idea how much Skylur trusted her.

Instead, I said: “He can’t want Basilikos to become the ruling party.”

“Correia’s Hidden Path is, of course, not Basilikos.” Prowser’s mouth twisted. “As she has told us, so many times.”

Alex tapped his watch. “Meeting with the rest of the LA alphas and the first delegations from San Francisco and San Diego. We have to go.”

“Go, friends. My House is in debt to all of you.” Skylur used one of the old Athanate phrases I recognized.

“Association,” Haz said quietly, raking across us with her eyes. “There are no debts.”

Wow.

They left.

“Don’t get carried away by that,” I said to Skylur. “It’s not all plain sailing with the Were now. They don’t like the idea of Emergence any more than the Athanate.”

“I know. This association with them may actually weaken my position in the Assembly, but like Emergence, it simply has to be done.”

Once again, I realized what a knife edge he was walking. And again, I wondered how many centuries he’d been doing this.
To toil and toil, and never be done.

“Playing for angel stakes,” I said.

Skylur raised an eyebrow.

“In Ops 4-10, we played card games. Low stakes to high stakes, everything between. That was fine, you knew the stakes, you knew the people at the table, you knew your chances. If you were sensible, you could afford what you were betting. But every now and then you went crazy; you found yourself at a table where you didn’t know the game, you didn’t know the players, you couldn’t calculate the risk
and
you couldn’t afford it.” I snorted. “You could only win if there was an angel on your side, watching from above. Angel stakes.”

Prowser laughed.

They didn’t know the stakes, whatever they thought, not even Skylur. Emergence was moving forward with Ingram and I couldn’t tell him. I really needed to talk to Diana. If not her, then I’d have to talk to Naryn, and see what we should do.

The ‘game’ had gotten away from everyone. The addition of the Empire of Heaven, Were and Adepts to the new Assembly meant no one knew what would happen.

“The Emperor is no fool,” Skylur said, half to himself. “Neither is his Diakon.”

Of course, there was still one sizeable group of Athanate who were not directly involved in the Assembly.

“And what about the Carpathians?” Prowser turned suddenly on Yelena.

“A long time since I was there, House Prowser. And way above my pay grade.”

“You’re a chameleon, aren’t you, Carpathian?” Prowser walked over and stood in front of Yelena. “You begin to echo even the speech pattern of your adopted House. Is this part of the way you were taught? To become invisible in the fabric, until everyone forgets the time you weren’t there?”

I raised my hand to stop Yelena from answering.

“Yelena is my House. I am responsible for her. If you want to know more, you come through me.”

“How…Hidden Path,” Prowser said, in Athanate.

I wasn’t sure if she was making a joke about the Hidden Path party. The Hidden Path rules were clear. I, as leader of the House, was responsible for everything my House did. I bore that responsibility to whatever group I was part of, and the Athanate community as a whole. In return, as far as the Athanate were concerned, I had absolute power over the members of my House.

“What about the Midnight Empire?” I countered. The old Athanate group had approximated to the old British Empire. They’d lost the Indian subcontinent, Australasia, and more recently Canada, all to Panethus. Did that mean there was a bias toward Panethus in the remainder? “Why are they not declaring a side?”

Tarez pursed his mouth.

“They’re in a difficult position. We suspect that they’re about to lose another slice of their old empire.”

“Ireland?” Prowser guessed, and Tarez nodded.

“Once they’re done with that,” he said, “they’ll join Panethus. But it isn’t enough, not against the weight of the Empire of Heaven. If Huang were to remain neutral, however…”

But no one knew what Huang might do. Angel stakes.

Skylur brought the speculation to an end. “Enough of intractable politics for now. Elizabetta, I believe you have a report for me.”

Elizabetta glanced at Prowser, but Skylur waved her hesitation away. They might have differences of opinion on some matters, but it was becoming clear that Skylur trusted Prowser.

With that as clearance, Elizabetta didn’t delay the worst part of the news. “I may not be able to continue operating effectively in gathering information from the Major Crime department.”

Tarez raised his brows. “We’re aware that this task is distasteful…”

“It’s not that,” she said.

“It’s partly my fault,” I put in. “I asked Elizabetta to find some additional information. I put pressure on her.”

She flashed a grateful smile at me before turning back to Skylur. “That contributed to the problem, but it’s not the main issue.”

“What then?” Skylur said.

“A combination of things. The turning point was a couple of days ago. I was briefing Amber and Yelena just before I was due to meet Jefferson. He came early, caught them just about to leave, and he was curious about them. Curious enough to access government data files—”

“And the files are suspiciously empty on Amber and Yelena, and sketchy on you,” Tarez finished. “Clumsy, kin-Sherman, very clumsy.”

Elizabetta nodded. “On the other hand, as far as I can tell, he and his department still have no suspicions at present about the Athanate or the meetings we’re holding here.”

“This information Amber was requesting,” Tarez went on, “it was to do with that animal Forsythe?”

Naturally, Skylur and Tarez knew all the details from my treatment with Diana.

We all went through what we’d found so far, while the rest of them looked increasingly grim.

Elizabetta also added something that she hadn’t mentioned in the van. Forsythe’s new show,
Tomorrow’s Faces
, was in production, and Elizabetta had unearthed a rumor that the front runner was a girl called Tamanny Harper. She and her mother were doing promotions and negotiating modeling contracts.

Elizabetta had a hunch there’d be something to find by talking to them.

During our report, Prowser had looked shocked, and then frowned thoughtfully. She bowed her head over her tablet and typed rapidly, but I could see she’d kept listening.

As Elizabetta finished, Prowser looked up.

“You realize where this case falls in this morning’s discussion on legal structures?” she said to me.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Skylur stirred, but didn’t interrupt.

“House Altau proposes we amend some of our laws to resemble human laws, to assist Emergence. House Correia maintains that we need to change nothing, because if humanity ever discovers us, it will be too late for them and we’ll be in control. I’m in the strange position of supporting Emergence, but keeping our laws intact. I agree with Huang’s speech this morning, full of emotion or not.”

She stood and stepped toward me like a stalking cat.

“Now, I don’t know the background to this, or why you’re investigating it. But it seems it has to be that this animal, Forsythe, has touched on your House in some way.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Or you, yourself.”

I blanked my mind and nodded.

“Skylur’s official view would be that your investigation should find evidence and hand it to the human authorities.”

No
. I understood the point, but I couldn’t stop my gut-level reaction against it.

“My view would be that you should have the choice and be able to deal with him whichever way you chose.” She stopped right in front of me. “What do you say?”

“My…situation shouldn’t influence a decision that might affect Emergence.” I tasted bile as I said it. I wanted to kill Forsythe, kill him slowly.
Not
just for me, I said silently. For everyone whose lives he’d ruined. I swallowed and went on as calmly as I could. “However evil he is, Forsythe isn’t as important as the future of all paranormals in human society.”

“Not even to you personally?”

Prowser wasn’t fooled. She could sense the anger inside me, the conflict. Because whatever lies I told myself, killing him slowly was pure revenge. Enjoying the thought of his death was nothing to do with saving others, or punishment for other injury.

“I can see this is personal,” she said. “This is something to do with the therapy that had you locked away from us for a month? And yet, you say you choose human law. With its statute of limitations? Believability of witnesses? You
want
that? Appeals, technicalities, doubt cast on evidence? Psychiatric evaluations? Early release?
That?
”

Her eyes glittered like a snake’s.

My whole body felt as if it were humming. I could feel Yelena’s eukori desperately trying to soothe me, but Prowser was older, stronger. She didn’t attack; she merely deflected Yelena.

“
That
, instead of Athanate law,” she hissed. “Where, if eukori can’t tell us, we can get Adepts who can. Humans have to have legal safeguards because they can never truly
know
. But
we
can. And if we know the absolute truth, the punishment can fit the crime. Or prevent it. The one death that could save dozens. Total, unquestionable justice. Yet you would still choose human law?”

My tongue and lips were heavy, my jaw trembling.

Kill him. Kill him. Kill him.

“I. Support. Skylur. Leadership.” Every word was an effort.

Skylur put a hand on her shoulder. The barrier around my mind lifted and Yelena’s eukori rushed in.

“I commend you on the steadfast loyalty of your House,” Prowser said to Skylur as she returned to her seat and her tablet. “I warn you, if you make this issue of laws a pillar of Emergence, you will lose the support of the party. And you’ve now got to think even harder about how to wrap this up before Christmas.”

Skylur returned to his seat as well.

“Yes, it would be suspicious for us to be here through the holidays. Do you think we have enough time?”

“We’ll have to wait and see what response comes back to the representatives,” Tarez said.

Prowser began tapping out messages on her tablet again.

Skylur was steepling his fingers again. “Well, as I have you here, Amber, what of your progress with filling your House with kin rather than a collection of humans?”

I took a deep breath. “We’ve made progress. Your specific concern with Dominé, for instance. That involved her assistant from the club, Dante, as well.”

Yes, Dante, my House. In danger.

Along with that, I was avoiding thinking of the full list of those I hadn’t bitten yet.

No time!

It was important. I couldn’t set up a conveyor belt.
Julie, Keith, Colonel Laine, just for starters.

Tarez raised an eyebrow, sensing some of my turmoil, but mistaking its source. “Whose kin are Dominé and Dante?” he asked.

“Katikia,” Yelena said.

That caught Prowser’s attention. She looked up from her tablet. “House kin. How very Carpathian of you. Fascinating.”

“The Midnight Empire has similar arrangements,” Yelena said.

Prowser pinned her with a look of steel. “I am very well aware of how British Houses are structured, Diakon Vylkove. I believe you’re stretching a point.”

Her attention returned to her tablet.

“There are more, of course,” I said, digging for information. “Tullah, for one. But she’s not available.”

Skylur didn’t want to discuss her. “Adepts.” He shook his head. “Entirely separate conversation.”

He glanced at Prowser. “I believe, Amelie, that if you want to indicate emphasis, you use capital letters. I don’t think tapping the screen harder has any effect on electronic communications.”

Prowser swiped the screen clear and took a slow breath.

“This information on trafficking gave me an idea,” she said. “There’s been a legal case in the courts recently about this that has involved my mantle.”

The wording threw me for a second. Her domain was Michigan. Mantle was generally used for the part of the domain where she lived and the immediate area, but I’d heard her mansion was as far away from everybody as possible, somewhere up where the Keweenaw Peninsula stuck out into Lake Superior. I doubted there were any relevant court cases there. But mantle sometimes meant her House in the broader sense, all the Athanate and kin and Aspirants and sub-Houses and where they lived too.

She confirmed it. “A sub-House has been involved in a case in Detroit. A criminal has been jailed. However, I find that my Diakon has not dealt with this to my satisfaction.” She shrugged. “Nevertheless, it may be I will receive some information today that may be of use to you.”

She looked thoughtful. “Meanwhile, these girls they traffic
into
the country…there are a lot that come in from the Far East. This is all unacceptable, to the Empire as well. I’ll talk to Huang.”

That might distract him for a while.

I guessed this effort from Prowser was her apology for being conned into taking part in Ibarre’s sucker punch at the nomicane. Whatever, I’d be grateful for any scrap of information that would help.

Skylur waved us away. “Go. Talk to your young TV star, and report back tomorrow.”

We emerged into the cold, bright morning. The same city sounds surrounded us, louder and more insistent. Cars, people, horns and sirens.

“This is going to take forever,” one of the security team said. “Traffic is hell. Christmas shopping.”

I looked up into the sky. Another helicopter passed not far away. We had to be on some kind of route here.

“Maybe I can persuade Jen to post Victor down here with the Kingslund Group helicopter,” I said. My own angel to look out for me while we all played for stakes we didn’t understand.

“Good idea. Who knows when we might need it,” Yelena agreed. She took out her cell and started typing.

“Yeah. Anyway, you, get a cab. Home, sleep.” I gave her a shove. “You were flying us back last night and I need you alert. I think Altau security can just about manage to escort us downtown and back to interview a teenager.”