Chapter Fourteen
Nearly an hour later the doorbell rang, and Pip ran to answer it. “Right this way! Everyone is waiting. We have sandwiches and coffee and brownies,” he rambled in a bright voice.
Kiera looked up and saw Pip lead the nervous looking councilwoman into the dining room.
The men all stood. Pip walked her around the table.
“Meryn saved a seat for you next to her.” He led her over to Meryn and pulled out the seat.
When she sat, Pip sat on her other side and the men sat back down. “Did you want a sandwich?” he asked.
She shook her head, then looked at Meryn. “So, I’m here, Your Highness.” She glanced around the table, then back to Meryn, as if she was the safest one to interact with.
Meryn looked back at Ryuu. “The good stuff,” she said.
“Of course, denka,” he went to the kitchen.
Meryn slid a box of brownies over to the councilwoman like she was sliding contraband over to a drug dealer. “I believe you will be satisfied, Councilwoman Rosewyn.”
The woman smiled and opened the box. Her eyes lit up when she saw the brownies. “Call me Daia please, or this conversation will become cumbersome, Your Highness.”
“Then no Highness stuff. You can call me Meryn.”
With impeccable manners, Daia picked up a brownie and placed it on the small plate in front of her. She took a small bite and hummed happily. After she swallowed, she beamed at Meryn. “Truly decadent.”
“You ain’t tasted nothin yet,” Meryn said.
Ryuu came in from the kitchen, a white ceramic mug on his tray. He placed it in front of Daia. “A cafe mocha. The syrup is actually from a bakery in éire Danu. He created it just to spoil my denka. He called it his Dark Chocolate Truffle syrup.”
Daia took a sip and shuddered. “Gods above,” she whispered.
“Yeah. When I can have unlimited coffee and chocolate after nugget is born, I’m getting one of those beer hats that hold liters and filling it with that stuff,” Meryn said, glaring down at her stomach.
“Denka, I’m not sure supporting the weight of two liters with your neck is advisable. I’ll bring you fresh cups as you run out.”
“Oh yeah, good idea. Fresh is always better.”
Daia looked around and nodded at Caiden, Kendrick, then Aiden. “What did you find?” she asked, finally broaching the topic she was called in for.
Kiera took a deep breath. “It’s for me Councilwoman.”
Daia was just about to take another bite, then lowered the brownies back to the plate. “That’s impossible. You tested…” She looked at Meryn and remembered what she said on the phone. “I suppose a demonstration is out of the question?”
Kendrick exhaled loudly, eyes narrowing at Meryn as if daring her to suggest something.
Meryn chuckled nervously. “We accidentally created a fire tornado last time. I think Kendrick needs a break before we try something again.”
“Truly!” Daia looked at Kiera with excitement. “You carry dual elements?”
Caiden shook his head. “Not exactly. She was able to pull my air magic from me to create the tornado and fire magic from Kendrick.”
“She can also negate magic as well,” Kendrick added.
Daia blinked, then blinked again. “Extraordinary.” She then sat back. “And the Academy didn’t catch this?”
Meryn pulled the brownie box back toward her. “They got Zoe wrong too.”
Daia shook her head. “She is unstable.”
“She’s powerful. She just needed practice,” Meryn corrected.
Daia frowned. “They advised us that she would never be able to control her magic.”
Meryn shoved a brownie in her mouth, chewed, then washed the whole thing down with her coffee. “Wanna know what my empathy saw when I met you?”
“Meryn,” Kendrick started, about to stand.
Meryn held up her hand. He sat back down.
“I saw actors on a stage, with masks changing constantly. In the eaves, I saw mirrors reflecting a third truth.”
Daia’s eyes widened. “For your empathy to present itself not just in visualization but also using symbology…”
Kendrick pinched the bridge of his nose. “Daia, did you hear what she said?”
Daia’s excitement over new data faded. “We’re possibly being manipulated to the point where even we don’t know that we’re lying?”
Meryn pounded the table. “That was a way better explanation than I could have articulated.”
The councilwoman sat back. “Why did you trust me?”
“Because you wanted a coffee shop,” Meryn replied.
“Because I like coffee?”
“No, because you wanted what a coffee shop meant to you. You wanted that for everyone. Someplace warm, cozy and safe. A place with delicious drinks and soft music to meet with friends. Someone who can still enjoy small things are rarely dragged around by the big things like power and money.”
“I love magic,” Daia admitted.
Meryn shrugged. “What’s that have to do with power?”
Daia really looked at Meryn. “You’re way more dangerous than you look.”
“I know.”
Daia turned to Kendrick and Caiden. “What was your overall goal by bringing me here?”
Caiden pointed to Meryn. “She said you weren’t bad. But, recent actions had us believing otherwise. We wanted to feel you out for ourselves.”
Daia looked confused.
Meryn pushed the brownie box back toward her. “Can I make a few guesses?”
Daia nodded and took a brownie.
“Someone on the Witches’ Council is tightly interwoven with the Academy, my guess is that Karl douche.”
Daia just gave a nod. “He has been our point of contact with them for decades.”
Meryn went to spin in her chair, only to realize she was in a dining room chair.
Looking positively disgruntled, she sat back.
“Karl probably made these seemingly innocent suggestions in an offhanded manner that probably didn’t register with any of you.
For example. ‘Hey, the unit warriors are stretched thin enough watching over the city, let’s put some Academy graduates out there for experience.
’ It was probably done months ago. The graduates would walk around and talk to people.
Then the net began closing. The graduates wanting experience were now enforcers.
And the unit warriors going against them seemed ungrateful, because the enforcers were there helping warriors, right?
And wow, without most of the traffic coming in through the portals, population control has been a nightmare.
Let’s have any new matings be announced so we know who belongs here. ”
Daia pursed her lips, then spoke. “Not quite word for word, but close enough. How on earth did you know that? Most of that happened before you even got here.”
“Because it’s what I would have done.”
“But why?”
Meryn pointed to Aiden. “The Witches’ Council can order stuff all you want, unless you have men to ‘enforce’ what you say, it means nothing, right?”
“They were only supposed to connect with the citizens, see what was needed,” Daia countered.
“And what did they tell you about what happened to Genevieve?” Meryn asked.
“She was asked to go with them. They escorted her to their building so they could investigate her claim. Then they were attacked,” Daia said.
Genevieve snorted. “If by escorted you mean beaten and dragged yeah. Investigate my claim? They threatened me with a mind wipe, and threw me in a prison cell. Let me be clear, they knew exactly what they were doing. Unless the entire lot of them went rogue, they were never really reporting to the full Witches’ Council to begin with,” she said, rubbing her arms.
Caiden pulled her close. “When I asked them to release her, they refused.”
Aiden nodded. “We gave them multiple chances to turn her over.”
Daia’s hand, holding the brownie, was shaking. “That’s not what they reported.”
Caiden stared. “You honestly thought we were blowing this out of proportion? That we acted that rashly for no reason?”
Meryn looked at Pip, then nodded to Daia. Pip wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It is okay to say what you feel here. No one holds in against you.”
Daia startled, not even realizing Pip had moved until he spoke. “If that is truly the case, then you don’t know how rare a place this is.”
“Daia, who do the enforcers report to?” Meryn asked.
“Karl.”
“And who wrote that ‘announce matings’ law?”
“Also Karl,” Daia replied, starting to look a bit spooked.
“Thought so, that dude is covered in blood,” Meryn said, half retching. Ryuu rubbed her back.
“Blood?” Daia asked.
“When I saw him and Andrei, I saw rivers of blood. With him, I could smell the blood and hear screams,” Meryn said. Behind her, Ryuu hand glowed blue as he helped keep her calm.
The councilwoman looked up. “I believe you. I believe everything you’ve said. But… what do we do now?”
Caiden looked relieved. “Definitely bury the hatchet…”
“Beep! Beep! Wrong answer,” Meryn said, making loud tonal noises, her forearms coming up to form an ‘X’ over her chest. “You do that and we lose the advantage of having Daia on the inside. Someone went to a lot of trouble to get the Witches’ Council and Elder Council at each other’s throats.
That leaves one major group of players unchecked. ”
Kendrick looked exhausted. “She’s right, as usual.”
Caiden frowned. “If we could expose Karl’s machinations…” He trailed off as he took in Meryn’s expression. “He’s not the one pulling the strings, is he?”
“No, I don’t think he is,” Meryn admitted.
“Why not?” Caiden asked.
“He’s too arrogant. I think the one we’re really after has been at this a long time and would never put themselves forward the way he has. Karl’s a tool,” Meryn explained.
“What makes him arrogant?” Daia asked.
Meryn snorted. “He walked into my Auntie’s personal chambers in éire Danu and made demands. A true shadow boss would never act so openly.” Her head tilted. “Daia why did you become a councilwoman with the Witches’ Council?”
Daia smiled. “It was a way to directly help our people. When I saw how hands-on they were with projects for the city, I wanted to do my part.”
“Y’all really were just public works huh?” Meryn said, sounding surprised.