34. Chapter 34
34
T he sound of waves crashing surrounded her. Kelly stood with her eyes shut tight, still holding her breath, waiting for the water to take her. It never did, though.
At first, she thought she’d stopped time again, but the water wouldn’t have been moving around her.
Chancing a look around, she opened one of her eyes and saw a wall of water in front of her.
She forgot her fear and opened the other, looking around to see what was going on.
The warlock was in deep concentration, and she knew it was because he held the water from them.
The dark and murky water began to recede and then dispersed almost completely. When there were only a few inches on the ground, the warlock let his wall down, and water splashed at their feet.
“How did you do that?”
“I just changed my method of control. We didn’t need control of the larger body, so I let it go and switched to keeping water away from us instead of bringing it in.”
“Nice! Thanks for that.”
He nodded.
Kelly looked at the destruction they’d caused. As far as she could see, the neighborhood was soaking wet and still slightly flooded as if it had just rained an inch or so.
A car sat in their lawn, somehow bringing just the right amount of character to the yard.
A bright-orange body ran down the street, having escaped the water. A guard ran it down and dismembered it, then steam rose as the water on the ground extinguished the fire.
Kade and Fabian stood on the porch next to them, both sopping wet.
One by one, the guards began making their way back to the house. From what Kelly could see, they were all pretty beat up, but it was nothing that wouldn’t heal in a day.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
“We need to get inside. Ye dinnae need to be seen on camera. Asta can handle the police and media.”
As expected, representatives from the Council showed up bright and early the next morning. This time, the entire group was ordered to appear in two days’ time, guards and all.
Apparently, lighting hundreds of dead bodies on fire in your front yard, then using water to put out said fire was frowned upon.
Well, that and the fact that they knew she’d used her powers outside the house again when they’d expressly forbidden it.
If she was being honest, Kelly was happy to go back to London for a bit. The water had broken the windows on the bottom floor and flooded the house. The smell was atrocious. Asta already had the cleaning crew fast at work, but they were loud, and it would take time to get everything taken care of. No doubt the smell would be there for a while too.
News of their hearing had traveled through the Arcane community like mad.
The Council issued a statement that any interference with their arrival in London would be punishable by death. It seemed a little harsh to Kelly, but she was also grateful that they could travel without any crazy schemes or plans.
The morning of the hearing, everyone piled into SUVs and made it safely to the Council building.
Kelly fought hard to keep herself in check as they all stood, waiting to be called, but it was tough. There were almost forty Arcane packed in the hall outside their court, all of them at the top of their fields.
She couldn’t help but wonder if they could overpower the Council.
Dinnae go there, lass. We are not powerful enough yet, and an action like that would be frowned upon, to say the least.
She gave him her most enticing smile.
It could be fun.
Kade didn’t answer, and he clouded his thoughts to her.
You agree, you just don’t want to admit it.
More silence. Party pooper.
The double doors opened and the same thin man in a tux called her name and motioned for them to enter the room.
The same sixteen people sat in the comfortable seats watching them as they filed into the room.
Fabian stopped in the center of the room again, Kelly followed suit, and Kade stood beside her. The rest of their group formed two lines behind them.
For reasons Kelly couldn’t explain, she wasn’t nervous this time. Instead, she found the Council and their outdated views somewhat humorous. She knew they could ruin her life in an instant, but something inside her said everything would be okay eventually.
The Grand Master stared at her for at least a minute, pouring judgment in her direction.
“Miss Hart.” It was a statement, not a greeting.
Fabian hadn’t given her the signal to speak, and Kade sent her a message to keep quiet.
The woman raised her eyebrows and continued staring at Kelly, somehow questioning her entire existence.
This was going to be so much more difficult than the last time.
“I seem to remember ordering you not to use your powers outside of your own home less than two weeks ago.”
Silence followed, Kade warned against even a sound.
The Grand Master’s voice raised a few levels in volume. “Yet, here you are, having purposely violated that order, along with almost forty of your closest friends. It seems as though you do not take this matter, or the Arcane government, seriously.”
Kelly wanted to tap her foot on the ground while the woman paused for dramatic effect.
“Please, do explain what made you think it was okay to toss our order aside and bring a minor tsunami to the neighborhood of Highland Park?”
“Grand Master,” Fabian began.
The Grand Master held up her hand to him.
“You will not speak for her today, fae. Today, she will speak for herself. I’m genuinely interested in what she has to say.”
Fucking fuckity fuck. Could she say that out loud, she wondered.
Take it easy, lass. Keep emotions out of it.
Right, easy-peasy, lemon-squeezey.
Kelly stood up tall and squared her shoulders. “Grand Master, my defiance of your order was not planned, nor was it done simply to spite you or the Council. In the moment, I acted to save those who fought for me against an unknown enemy. I do not believe in letting others fight for me if I cannot fight with them.”
The Grand Master’s mouth drew a tight, thin line. “Mm, I see. Your acts were noble then, is that it?”
“I do not consider my acts noble, Grand Master. I simply believe in fighting alongside those who fight for you.”
“Mm, yes, it appears you do. You do realize I could have you beheaded for your actions?”
“Yes, Grand Master, I do realize that.”
“Of course you do. And I’d venture to guess you don’t fear it at all.”
That seemed like a statement more than a question, so Kelly didn’t answer.
“Unfortunately for you, you’re too valuable to the Arcane to simply behead you. I would much prefer it, but my colleagues have recommended otherwise.”
Another long pause for dramatic effect.
“I will offer you two choices, Miss Hart. The first is for you to join the Council for the remainder of your days. We will provide a mentor to help you through your bonding, and, of course, you would be paid a generous salary.”
She paused yet again, gauging Kelly’s reaction.
Kelly did her best not to give one as her blood boiled at the thought. She would find a way to end her own life before signing on to help the Council.
“The second is that you remain in your current position without our assistance. You will be given one year from this date to successfully complete your bonding. Should you fail, your power and your memory will be stripped from you. We would, of course, return you to your vehicle and reinstate your gym membership so you could go about your typical human life.”
Boy, did they know how to make things enticing. Not enticing enough, though.
“While I appreciate your first offer, I respectfully decline. I’ll take my chances.”
The Grand Master seemed surprised. “You do realize a mage has never bonded at your age? The current record stands at six years, four months, thirteen days from the onset of their training.”
“I guess I better get started then. Is that all?”
Oops, there was that emotion Kade warned against. He begged her to rein it in.
“No, Miss Hart, not in the least. I caution you to watch your tone.”
Swallowing her pride, Kelly responded, “Yes, Grand Master.” She purposely skipped the apology.
The Grand Master ignored her attitude. “I recommend you make better choices in the future. You could have simply left. We are all aware that Keegan MacCabe can fly. He could have taken you from the premises. I have no doubt the dead were there only for you and would have left when you did.”
The fact that she knew all of this was unsettling. “With the ward on the house, I thought I had a better chance against the dead than the living Arcane who were hunting me. I felt it best to help my people and maintain my ground.”
“Yes, of course you did. Yet you still failed to protect one of your people, and you defied a direct order by maintaining your ground and using your powers.”
Of course the bitch would bring that up.
Kade had let her know hours after the fight that one of their guards had been killed. Kelly hadn’t even known his name, but the loss hit her hard. She’d vowed from that point on to know every single person who fought for them.
Kelly was less than a second away from telling the Grand Master exactly what she thought of the Council when Kade sent her a very loud message.
Hold yer tongue! She can still have ye, or all of us, beheaded.
She can also go to hell.
Someday, lass.
“Yes, Grand Master, and I am here to face the consequences of my mistakes. I deeply regret the fact that Jason lost his life in the fight.” She couldn’t stop herself from the next part. “I am curious to know if the necromancer will be called to a hearing regarding their use of power in the presence of humans.”
Gaelic curses flew through Kade’s mind so fast Kelly could barely separate the syllables.
A dagger flew through the air from in front of the Grand Master and stopped just in front of Kelly’s neck.
Looking down, Kelly saw that Fabian held the hilt tightly. His knuckles were white and he was shaking to hold it, keeping it from cutting her throat.
The Grand Master stood and made her way down from her seat. She crossed the room in a slow, purposeful pace, her heels echoing throughout the room with each step. She didn’t stop until her face was inches from Kelly’s, which was slightly awkward because the Grand Master was at least five inches shorter.
“You stupid girl! You seem to think life is fair. Our laws are in place for the safety of both Arcane and humans, and they have maintained balance for thousands of years. How dare you question the actions of the Council! You’re lucky to have such a capable Guardian, or you’d be dead for your arrogance.” The Grand Master shook with rage and spat as she spoke. “You have one year from today’s date to successfully complete your bonding. Should you fail, your memories and powers will be stripped from you. And since you seem to think you’re so smart, a representative of my choosing will be dispatched to accompany you until that date to ensure you follow the entire Arcane law each and every day.”
Well, fuck.
Aye, see what ye did there?
Afraid she’d make it worse, Kelly kept her mouth shut.
The knife at her throat stopped shaking, and Fabian threw it to the ground.
“Miss Hart, get out of my sight. You may wait outside for the remainder of the hearing.”
As much as she wanted to argue, Kelly left the room with her back straight and her head held high.
Kade opened his mind to her completely so she could see what was going on.
Over the next three hours, the Grand Master and other officials questioned every single person in the room. Kade shared all of it, and it bored her to death for the most part.
Every once in a while, though, she wanted to run in and give her thoughts on a subject, even though she knew the person in question was perfectly capable.
The Grand Master issued fines to everyone, one million US dollars to the hired guards and two million to everyone else.
She heard the last words through Kade’s mind and saw the look of disgust on the Grand Master’s face.
“One last thing, I will order the attacks to stop for the next year while Miss Hart is training. Frankly, I am sick and tired of seeing you all here, so we’ll keep incidents to a minimum. Should she break the law, her punishment will be death.”
Seconds later, everyone filed out through the double doors, and they all left the building in silence.
None of them even spoke on the way back to the apartment, but Kelly could feel Kade’s frustration. He’d resisted their link after the hearing, so she didn’t push. She didn’t need their link to feel his frustration, though.
When they got back, Kade continued the silent treatment.
The additional guards were dismissed after Kade promised to pay each of their fines.
Tension built in the house as everyone walked around in silence.
After a couple of hours, Kelly went to the kitchen to get a snack. Call it stress eating, but nothing else had helped to clear her mind.
She felt like she’d failed them all with her big mouth, but at the same time she wished she’d said more to the Grand Master. At the end of the day, she’d managed to be a smart-ass, but she hadn’t really managed to stand up for herself or her friends.
How many times could one person swallow their pride and address someone by their holier-than-thou title in a matter of minutes? She felt so small just thinking about it.
Ginna came into the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge.
“Hey there, Rookie. How’s it goin’?”
“You tell me. How bad did I fuck up?”
“Ohh, on a scale of one to ten, maybe a fifteen? Could be worse, really.”
“What now, then?”
“We do what we have to, nothing changes other than the fact that things will become exponentially more difficult when we have a Council spy breathing down our necks.”
Leaning on the counter, Kelly hung her head. “I’m so sorry.”
Ginna placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t be sorry, Rookie. You were true to yourself tonight. You were unapologetically you. You tried to follow their outdated customs and rules, and when that didn’t work, you showed them a bit of who they’re messing with. Do you realize, no one has talked to them like that, ever? No one has ever had the balls to stand up to them and question their antics.”
“I’m not even Arcane, yet. I’m sure they think I’m a joke.”
Ginna walked to stand in front of her, crossing her arms. “No, they don’t think you’re a joke, Rookie. They’re scared of you.”
Kelly couldn’t help a half smile. “Someday, I want to end them. I want to end the Council.”
“You’ve got a lot of work to do before that happens. We’re all here to help you, though.”
“Thanks, Ginna.”