Chapter 2
A DESPERATE PLAN
Kato’s magic extended far beyond fireballs and swordplay.
He somehow managed to convince the General to send his Watchers out to pick up donuts for us.
And now here we were sitting in the General’s SUV, munching on donuts, moving closer and closer to the Conference Center, where the members of the Many Realms Court were waiting.
They’d interrogate me, and it wouldn’t be fun.
That much was clear. The Court was a conglomeration of devious, self-serving supernatural aristocrats, the richest and most powerful people in all the Many Realms. Dealing with them, even on a good day, was a horribly unpleasant affair.
Today was not a good day. One of their own was dead, and her son had told the Court it was all my fault.
“What Fenris is saying is ridiculous,” I said. “The Court must know that.”
“Prince Fenris is powerful and well-connected,” Kato replied.
Conner nodded. “And he’s known these people for years. We’re the new guys on the magic block.”
“If it comes down to his word against ours, I am afraid we’ll lose.”
I looked at the donut in my hand. Suddenly, it didn’t look nearly as appetizing. “And then they will let Fenris go free?”
“They already let him go.”
I looked at the General. He wasn’t smiling, which, to be fair, wasn’t anything new. What was new was the angry—dare I say murderous—gleam in his eyes. The General was never pleasant, but he was always in control. Except for now. Fenris had really gotten under his skin.
“They let him go?” I repeated. The words didn’t come easily. I didn’t like the taste of them in my mouth.
“Yes.”
“But that’s crazy! He’s a monster!”
And then the big, bad, unflappable General sighed. “This is far more serious than you realize, Miss Winters. This isn’t a trial over whether Fenris is guilty. It’s a trial over whether Gaia is.”
“How could this situation get so turned around?” I said, my voice breaking under the strain of this insanity.
This was all just too much. “I was there. I heard Fenris admit to kidnapping the Apprentices. He admitted that he’d captured spirits, imprisoned them, sucked out their magic, and shoved that magic into the Apprentices. ”
“Yes, but you’re forgetting one very important thing, Miss Winters,” the General said. “Fenris was there too. And he’s telling a very different story.”
“But there were other people there too. All the Apprentices we rescued.”
“All of whom are from Gaia and, according to Fenris, are soldiers in our army. If only Queen Seriana had survived to back up your testimony.”
“Fenris made sure she didn’t survive. He planned this. That’s why he looked so smug, even after he lost. Because he didn’t lose.”
I squeezed my arms to my chest, frowning, the events of the last two days playing inside my mind. How had everything spiraled so far out of control? What could I have done differently to prevent the mess we now found ourselves in?
“He knew he’d be able to place the blame for everything he did on us.”
“It does appear that we’ve been outplayed,” the General agreed.
“The Court can’t actually believe Fenris’s story.
It doesn’t make any sense. If we are behind the kidnappings, why would we work so hard to stop them?
And what about the battle at the Spirit Tree when we fought to save the Apprentices from the three Techno Knights?
That all got caught on camera. That’s proof of our innocence, isn’t it? ”
“Fenris says the battle at the Spirit Tree was nothing more than a show we put on, carefully-constructed misdirection designed to make it look like we were the victims.”
“I bet the Court will eat that explanation right up.” Conner shoved his donut aside in disgust. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t hungry anymore. “The members of the Court are all about misdirections and machinations.”
“There must be a way to expose Fenris’s lies.” I looked at the General. I got the feeling he was the sort of person who excelled at tearing people down.
But he just shook his head. “We need someone to back up your story. Without that, we won’t be able to convince the Court of anything.”
“What about Senator Gaines?” I said. “He could testify that he worked with Fenris, that he spied for him and helped him abduct Apprentices these past two years.”
“And why would he admit his own guilt?”
I aimed a tentative smile at the General. “Because he’s seen the error of his ways and wants to atone for selling people to Fenris?”
The General grunted. “I’ve already spoken to Senator Gaines, and he firmly denies doing anything of the sort.
He continues to profess his innocence. He will not help us.
And even if he agreed to do so, he’s still Gaian.
We will, of course, bring our Gaian witnesses, but the Court will likely reject them as biased. ”
“There has to be someone—some witness—that the Court will listen to.” I looked at Conner. “Hey, how about Harlyn? He had a falling out with the Order of Kings, so he might be willing to testify. And he’s not from Gaia.”
The General’s gaze turned sharp. “Who is Harlyn?”
“A Metamorph. He was one of the Techno Knights tasked with abducting the Apprentices a few weeks ago, so he has insider knowledge of what’s going on in Fenris’s shady organization.”
“Which I’m sure he’s eager to admit to the Court,” Conner said.
“Well, it’s worth a shot, right? I think we can convince Harlyn to testify against Fenris. He was pretty mad about being abandoned.”
Conner and Kato both frowned. It was a desperate plan, and we all knew it. Unfortunately, Fenris had made such a mess of things that desperation was all we had left at this point.
“Hey, be positive,” I said. “Harlyn will help us. We just need to find him. He’s probably still hiding outside the Fortress, waiting for an opportunity to escape.”
“Where exactly is this Harlyn?” the General asked me.
“If I tell you, do you promise not to arrest him? We need his testimony or the Many Realms Court will condemn Gaia.”
“Yes, I am well aware of the situation, Miss Winters.”
I exchanged looks with Conner. He’d been right there beside me the day I’d found Harlyn.
Conner shrugged. “Tell him. You’re right, Red. Harlyn might be the only chance we have of fixing this mess.”
I glanced at the General. His scowl wasn’t encouraging. Then again, it’s not like I had any better ideas.
“The Dark Woods,” I said. “When last I saw him, Harlyn was hiding out in the Dark Woods.”
The General’s phone was suddenly in his hand, like magic. But it wasn’t magic. It was the General’s quick reflexes and his burning desire to get Fenris back into chains ASAP. He barked off a few brusque orders to the Watcher who answered, then hung up.
The SUV came to a stop. Show time. We’d reached the Conference Center.
“Are you ready, Miss Winters?”
The General gave me a wary look, like I was some wild, uncontrolled variable that he unfortunately had to put up with because I was his only chance of pulling Gaia through this catastrophe unscathed.
The dearth of confidence in his eyes was not exactly inspiring.
Not that I was going to let his gloomy attitude pull me down.
Right here and now, I buried any and all thoughts that this was a hopeless situation.
I clenched my fists and put on my game face. “Ok, let’s do this.”