Chapter 31
FLINT
I’m not sure what’s going on with Gerry and Xavier but their behavior is a bit odd of late, to say the least. I would have thought that either of them would have jumped at the chance of joining the Shifter Council. Apart from the prestige of being a Council member, they could have brought so much to the table, especially Gerry.
They would have benefitted in so many ways. Food is provided as groceries or as cooked meals in the Council's dining area, which is easily as good as any restaurant. A house and all utilities are standard, and I have to say again that some of our houses are very special. The gardens alone are a great space and maintenance is provided.
The problem is not with Gerry or Xavier. The problem lies closer to home. You should take a step back and examine self before questioning others.
‘And what is that supposed to mean, Bruno?’
It means what I say. The problem is not with others.
I don’t have time for your cryptic games. Talk to me when you don’t want to use riddles.
There is nothing cryptic in my words, only in your mind at this time.
Bruno does a few turns and then settles into the back of my mind, hunkering down to sleep in no time. I only wish I could sleep so easily and deeply as he does.
Making my way to see what is available for lunch, I notice a group of Council Warriors heading the same way. As I am about to greet them and maybe join them, one of them speaks first. “Good day, Councilman Flint.” I’m not certain, but he seems to emphasize my name somewhat. The group turn and, as one, greets me too.
One of the females then speaks up. “I’ve just remembered. We all agreed to extra training. We’d better do that before we eat, don’t you think?” There’s that emphasis again on the ‘don’t you think.’
Just like a flock of birds, they all turn away from the dining area and head off outside. Well, that’s dedication for you. Carrying on my way into the dining area, there’s quite a buzz of chatter going on. I’ve always enjoyed meal times so much more when it’s pleasantly loud with chatter and laughter. There’s nothing worse than a morose and dismal atmosphere when you want to sit and enjoy your food.
Filling my tray with a selection of salad and cold meats, I find a table that is empty but close to the busier part of the area. Halfway through my food I notice how quiet it’s gone. Glancing around, I see that half the tables are now empty, and there is a queue of those waiting to empty trays. They must have been early to dine as the areas only been open a short time.
Carrying on with my meal, I take a discreet scan of the remaining diners. I see several looking my way, and then talking quietly among themselves. What the..? Have I suddenly grown two heads or something?
Without finishing my meal, I join the queue to empty my tray. Those in front of me stand aside and let me deal with my waste, plate, and cutlery. Leaving, I walk towards the room I’m allocated while at the Council Hall, but then look to see who else follows me out. Strangely, no-one leaves the dining area. On the pretense of going outside, I walk past the dining area entrance and see that those that were queueing are now back in their seats.
I told you to look closer to home!
‘Oh, be quiet with your nonsense.’
Going back to the room I have while here on Council business, I decide to phone Xavier for his decision on becoming a Council member. It has to be better than the life he has now, I’m sure.
Sitting at the desk provided for me, I take up the phone. Before calling Xavier I decide to speak to Gerry and Aurora. I suppose I’d better congratulate them and find out when they want me to perform their Alpha and Luna ceremonies.
It takes only a single ring, and I hear Aurora’s voice. “Hello, Councilman Flint. What can I do for you today?”
“Well, I haven’t heard you sound this cheerful in a long time, Aurora. What’s got you in such a good mood?”
“Well, I’ve just taken a chosen mate. How’s that, for starters?”
“Oh, of course.”
“So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your call, Flint?”
“You mean Councilman Flint, and I was calling to congratulate yourself and Gerry on your recent bonding.”
“I thought we’d agreed to do away with formalities on calls and in private? If that’s not the case then you will refer to me as ALPHA Aurora, until such times as I take the Luna position. And our ‘bonding’ does not need your congratulations. If you mean our having taken chosen mates, then thank you. I think I’ll let you speak to Gerry. I have somewhere to be. Goodbye, Councilman Flint.”
Hearing Aurora speak briefly with Gerry, I’m not able to pick out any words, but her tone is very sharp.
“Flint, what can I do for you?” Gerry’s tone is equally sharp.
“I was just calling to say congratulations to you both and to see when you’d like me to perform the ceremonies.”
“Your congratulations are gratefully received. As for the Alpha and Luna ceremonies, we haven’t discussed who we’d like to perform them as yet.”
“Who? I don’t remember any of the other Council members ever performing the ceremonies in many years. Why would you need to discuss such a thing?” I’m completely blind-sided by this turn-up. I’ve done all the formal ceremonies almost since I became a council member.
“In case you haven’t noticed lately, Flint, you are not your usual self. You are curt to the point of being rude. You have no patience whatsoever and your mind wanders from the task at hand. Furthermore, and to broach an old topic, the Flint I knew and respected would not have allowed the Council to bulldoze him into accepting a decision that he knew was so far off the moral high ground as to be at sea level!”
Without attempting to answer, I shut the call off and sit here, seething. I will preside over their ceremonies. That is my duty and I will not be told otherwise!
Now, let’s see if Xavier has made his damn mind up yet. Once again the call is picked up after only two rings.
“Xavier! Have you made your decision on the Council position yet? I’m getting tired of asking.”
“Then let’s save us both a lot of time, Flint. I’m not interested in taking a position that turns me into an impatient ass who has lost his manners. Have a nice day!”
Listening to the dial tone, I wonder what just happened. My day has gotten stranger the longer it has gone on. Everyone is acting so weird and short-tempered. They want to bite my head off every time I open my mouth.
The phone rings and I pick it up without thinking.
“Flint here,” I state.
“Well, that’s a bit more like it. Keep that tone of voice and we might get somewhere,” Xavier
“And what’s that supposed to mean, may I ask?”
“Flint, you’re like a bear with a sore head and have been for a while now. I don’t know what’s got under your skin, but you need to find it and have it removed.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Let me put it in as simple terms as I know, then. You are downright rude. You are obnoxious and downright rude. You have absolutely no patience, and you are downright rude. Your head is up your ass, and you are downright rude. Your moral compass couldn’t guide you across a floodlit roadway at noon on a scorching summer's day, and you are downright rude. I can go on if none of this is hitting home?”
“So, you’re saying I’m rude?” I don’t know how else to respond to this shredding of my character.
“Just the tip of the iceberg, my friend. You are an insufferable, pompous ass. I don’t know what’s got your head so messed up, but you need to think on it before you lose the respect of every friend you have.”
“Bruno has been trying to tell me something for a while now, but I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. Couldn’t or wouldn’t! How long have I been acting like this, Xavier?”
“I’m not sure, but definitely since you said something to Gerry that made him quit the Council Warrior's. Whatever caused that rift certainly sent you spiraling out of control. I’ve known you some years now and never known you to be…”
“Rude! I get it. I’ve been rude.”
“That is so out of character for you, Flint. I’ve seen you in a raging temper and still have your manners about you. Lately, I don’t know where you left them, but they are certainly absent.”
“ I can only apologize, Xavier. I will take some time out and evaluate my recent behaviors. Try to get a handle on what has caused this.”
“I’m sorry to have been so blunt, Flint. I knew of no other way of making you see what you had become.”
“Yes, rude, eh? I imagine that was hard to bring yourself to say to a friend?”
“Nah, not so much. That’s what friends are for, after all!” Hearing the laughter in his voice does not fool me one bit.
“I’m going to hang up on you now. You’re enjoying this a little too much. I’ll talk soon.” As soon as the call ends, Bruno awakens.
I told you. Not all of those shifters could be wrong.
‘I didn’t realize there were so many angry with me.’
Now you need to find out what it was that triggered your self-destructive mood. That is definitely where you were heading.
‘Xavier said he thought it was around Gerry quitting. I did not expect him to quit.’
There’s your first problem. You, or the Council, dishonored him by trying to silence him. He would not have willingly discussed Eve Planter’s death, and you know that. Would you also expect him to remain silent if ‘you’ asked ‘him’ anything? You would expect him to share any information for the good of the Council. He has put his life on the line many times and that was the respect he was shown?
‘Your words shame me, Bruno. I do know all these things.’
And yet it all slipped your mind. What could have caused you to disrespect him in this way?
‘I don’t know, yet. I will find myself again, though. And the reason for this.’
Before I can begin my self-evaluation, I receive a mind link summoning me to the Council chamber. On arrival, all the members are present. Ulmer’s face is so red I’m not sure if he needs medical aid.
“What kept you?” Ulmer demands.
“Nothing kept me. I came as soon as I received the Council's request. What has happened?” I look around the room, searching each face for a clue.
“Why did you not inform the Council that Council Warrior Gerry had resigned?” Ulmer’s red face gets darker with each word he utters.
“The Council Warriors do not come under my umbrella of responsibilities. After the death of Holah, Lykos took on that duty.”
Lykos looks questioningly at myself and then Ulmer. “I have had other warriors resign and some have been dismissed. You have not called a meeting for any of those. Why would the Council need to know of Gerry’s resignation?”
Ulmer takes a deep breath and regains some of his composure. “He was a long-standing member of our warriors. One of the best. We should have been informed. We may have been able to persuade him to stay.”
His words make no sense. He knew Gerry’s feelings toward the order to be silent. It wouldn’t come as a shock for him to resign.
“You knew of Gerry’s refusal to accept the order to silence him. I made you aware of how strongly he disagreed with both the Council’s decision to not tell the Alpha’s and the order.”
“Just a minute there, Flint. Decision not to tell the Alpha’s what? And who agreed to an order of silence for Gerry? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Can it even be done?” Roman looks around the room and everyone's eyes fall to Ulmer. “And silence Gerry for what purpose? What might he say that needs to be kept unsaid?”
“You all signed the order at our last meeting. We all signed for Gerry to be kept silenced.” Ulmer looks around the room, but I feel something has been slipped by the Council as no-one seems to be aware of any order.
“This is why when you gave me the instruction to speak to Gerry there was just the two of us. You got the order signed by the Council without them realizing. Oh, my Goddess, Ulmer. What have you done?”
“I was protecting the Council. Upholding our integrity in the eyes of the packs.”
“What is he talking about, Flint? I don’t understand.” Roman's words are echoed around the room.
“When Gerry went to apprehend Eve from her home, she admitted everything to him. She had thought she was safe from discovery, but had planned for any eventuality. When Gerry was talking to her and she knew she would be found guilty, she drank from a jug that appeared to be a fruit tea or some such beverage. It was poison. She committed suicide rather than face us, the Council. I reported to Ulmer, as he was the one closest to Eve. I thought I was doing the decent thing by telling him privately. He told me he would inform you all of the tragic event.”
“I couldn’t let her suicide be known. It would be her final shame. She was my friend for more than forty years. She would have brought dishonor to the Council. I only wanted what was best all round. I’m so sorry.”
“Your actions have put us in the worst possible position. You have withheld information from the council and the packs, fraudulently had an order signed by the Council. Caused the resignation of one of our greatest warriors. When this is revealed you may have done irreparable damage to the future of this Council.” I don’t understand what he could possibly have hoped to achieve by this nonsense.
“Ulmer, you have done exactly what you hoped to avoid with your actions. We have to notify all the Alpha’s of Eve’s death and your misguided attempts to save her from shame. The Goddess only knows how we do that.” Roman stares at Ulmer, hoping, I assume, for some inspiration.
“I will resign immediately and exile myself from the Council lands and our pack areas. I will move into the Northern Parklands.” Ulmer isn’t able to look any of us in the eye as he tells us this.
“Oh no, you won’t.” Merry declares angrily. “There’s too much of this escaping accountability. You will call an Alpha meeting of all our pack Alpha’s. You will chair the meeting and tell them everything. After answering any and all questions, you will call on them for their ‘opinion’ on what your punishment should be. We, as the Council, will then make the final decision on that matter. Porter. You are now the longest standing member of this Council. What say you?”
“I have seen the Council deal with many things over the years, each seemingly worse than the previous. I believe we have dealt with worse situations than this, however, this could have far-reaching repercussions. This shows the Council in such deceit that the Alpha’s could simply vote no confidence in those that sit here today and call for a completely new set of members. Could anyone blame them?” Porter looks sad and drawn by these proceedings.
“I think Merry’s suggestion has merit and that we should vote on it. All those in favor, aye. All those against, nay.” It is a unanimous vote in favor.
Ulmer stands in front of us and speaks softly. “I would ask that Merry makes the necessary arrangements of date, time and location. I will hold myself at the Council’s bidding in my home until such time as they require me. My apologies to you all.”
Watching Ulmer leave the chamber. I cannot help the feeling of sorrow that overcomes me. Eve’s behavior of late and then her suicide has affected Ulmer deeply. Perhaps my own feelings of sorrow toward him prevented me from seeing the web of lies he spun around me. Maybe that was where my own mental confusion lay. My subconscious recognized I was being deceived, but my conscious refused to accept it.
Leaving the chamber, I need to retire to my room and get some perspective on all this.