Chapter 15
Collective heads
Drumming his hands on the steering wheel, Zach tried not to scream as the traffic crawled along.
Why had he thought it was a good idea to take the Parkway?
An ambulance had screamed past him ten minutes ago, so there must have been an accident up ahead which was causing the jam.
He inched forward another couple of feet before stopping once more.
From the lane over, he heard a woman talking on the phone, explaining why she was running late for her shift, through his closed window. Zach winced at how loud she was being.
He briefly contemplated using a touch of magic to hurry things along, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth it.
Without knowing the situation ahead, a little magical maneuvering might make it harder for emergency services to access the collision.
As impatient as Zach was feeling, he didn’t want to risk someone’s life for the news from Kensington.
If it had been that urgent, the Grand Master would have filled him in over the phone.
Since he wanted to see Zach in person, that likely meant a discussion was needed.
Being stuck in traffic for half an hour wouldn’t affect the outcome of that too much, so he just needed to wait it out.
That didn’t stop him from fuming as traffic plodded forward slower than a snail.
The Parkway was usually the slightly faster route to get to the Nightingale Collective in Ladysmith.
Unfortunately, once he was on it, there was no way off.
If Zach had taken the Trans-Canada Highway, he could have detoured down some side streets to avoid the accident.
Hindsight was twenty-twenty, though, wasn’t it? He’d know better next time.
Flashing lights ahead identified the scene of the accident, and the line of traffic messily merged into one lane to skirt around it.
Zach wasn’t feeling generous enough to allow too many other cars to zipper in front of him, and he ignored the glares and middle fingers sent his way as he stuck like glue to the bumper in front of him.
If Drew had been with him, he’d berate Zach for being an asshole, but Drew wasn’t with him, and that was the damn problem.
If the other drivers couldn’t change lanes in advance when they could clearly see what was happening down the road, then that was their fucking problem.
Zach couldn’t care less if they yelled at him.
Once he was past the accident, Zach floored it.
He drove recklessly, weaving between lanes to get around slower-moving vehicles, his impatience getting the better of him.
At the end of the Parkway, he got back onto the highway and headed south, still doing well above the speed limit.
He’d enhanced his satnav to give him adequate warning of any RCMP in the area, so he wasn’t worried he’d be pulled over and have to talk his way out of a ticket.
He finally made it into Ladysmith, pulling up right outside the front of the Collective’s headquarters.
Rushing up the path to the front door, he raised his hand to knock, but it swung open before his knuckles made contact.
Simon Mitchell, Kensington’s second, stood in the doorway.
He was in his mid-forties, with dark skin and the pleasantly plump body of a man who had gained a lot of muscle in his youth but had long since given up maintaining the physique.
Simon was wearing his usual green robes and had a grim expression on his handsome face.
He held out a hand and clasped Zach’s arm.
“You’re later than we expected,” he said by way of greeting.
“There was an accident on the Parkway,” Zach explained.
“Come on in,” Simon said. “Kensington is waiting on you.”
He followed Simon down the long hallway towards Kensington’s workshop.
Zach was surprised to see several other people already gathered there.
Sometimes he forgot that wizards and sorcerers on Earth had the ability to teleport and they wouldn’t have needed to fly or catch a ferry to the island.
They were sitting around the large table in the centre of the room.
The surface was empty, and it was the first time Zach could recall ever seeing it so.
Usually, it was covered in books, spell ingredients, and empty coffee cups.
“Zachariel,” Kensington greeted him formally as he rose from his chair. “Thank you for coming.”
Kensington had never looked frazzled before in his life.
The Grand Master was a tall, imposing man with an immaculate goatee and a commanding presence.
He was always calm and in control, and Zach had rarely seen him lose his cool.
Yes, he’d seen him angry before, but even when his temper flared, Kensington was certain and authoritative.
Yet right now, he appeared to be almost flustered.
It had Zach on edge.
“Grand Master,” he said respectfully with a nod of his head. It was easy to read the room and ascertain that now was not the time to act too familiar with Kensington. “Apologies for being late. I came as soon as I could.”
Kensington waved off the apology. “You’re here now.
Please allow me to introduce you to my colleagues.
” He inclined his head towards an elegant Chinese-Canadian woman wearing a smart navy pantsuit.
“This is Zeng Hua, head of the Vancouver chapter. We’ve known each other since we were children, and we had the same mentor.
Hua keeps me in line and is one of the smartest people I know. ”
Zeng rose and held out her hand, which Zach shook. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said in a melodic voice.
“Likewise,” Zach said in return.
“Hasan Bhati comes to us from Washington,” Kensington said, indicating the man sitting next to Zeng Hua. “He specializes in summonings, and I believe will be of great help to us.”
Bhati clasped Zach’s hand warmly. He was a short man, but powerfully built, with a neat beard and piercing dark eyes. “I’ve heard much about you, my friend,” he said, his Pakistani accent strong.
“Good things, I hope,” Zach said, almost by rote. What else could you really say to that?
With a mischievous smile, Bhati shrugged. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Zach chuckled, along with the majority of the people in the room, but he did note that one man in particular remained stony-faced.
“Of course it’s only been good things,” Kensington assured Zach before continuing.
“This is Alistair Cavendish from Alberta.” He gestured to the man sitting at the end of the table.
He looked relatively young for the position he held, with straight blond hair that fell across his eyes, and lips that were red from chewing nervously on them.
“Alastair has one of the strongest natural talents in recent history, and I believe he and our Drew will have much to talk about once they’re introduced. ”
Cavendish didn’t offer his hand to shake but gave Zach a shy wave. Zach gave him a polite smile in return.
“Next to Alistair is his associate and mentor, Marcus Tremblay,” Kensington said, nodding at the man who hadn’t laughed earlier.
Zach wondered if he had a sense of humour at all, or if it was shoved up his ass along with the stick he clearly had inserted.
Everything about the man screamed douchebag, from his arrogant sneer, his slicked-back hair, and his pristine grey suit.
Unlike with the others, Kensington didn’t elaborate on Tremblay’s skills or provide any background information.
In fact, he didn’t even pause long enough for Zach to shake the man’s hand.
Not that he particularly wanted to, nor did he think Tremblay would offer, but it was interesting to see the Grand Master’s reaction to him.
He wondered if he was the reason Kensington was so out of sorts.
“Finally, we have Felice Van de Laar from Oregon. She is the Collective’s most powerful seer, a fount of knowledge, and also a strategic genius.”
The final person at the table, a tiny older lady with rainbow-coloured hair, chunky plastic jewellery, and a bright patchwork dress, stood up.
Instead of shaking Zach’s hand, she reached up to tug on his shirt until he bent down to her level, then she planted a kiss on each of his cheeks.
“Hello, dear,” she said. “Aren’t you a handsome fellow? ”
Tremblay snorted. “That’s how demons work. They seduce you with their looks and their charms until you’re willing to do whatever they say.”
Zach looked at him coolly. “You appear to be misinformed, Mr. Tremblay. I am no demon.”
Waving his hand in dismissal, Tremblay said, “Fallen angel, whatever. It’s all the same.”
“It really isn’t,” Zach stated, then threw Kensington a “Who the fuck is this idiot?” look.
“Please, have a seat,” Kensington told Zach, after giving a minute shake of his head, which Zach took to mean he’d explain later in private. “Hasan has only just arrived, so we haven’t yet begun our official discussions.”
“I believe you’d call the past hour quite robust discussions,” Tremblay disagreed.
“And I believe this meeting was for chapter leaders, not their lackeys,” Kensington said in a dangerous voice.
“I have been magnanimous in allowing you to remain after you arrived here uninvited, given you are Alistair’s mentor, but do not think I won’t remove you from this room if you test me, Marcus. ”