To Kill a God by C.S. Wilde
Chapter 11
Bast stared at the large,emerald structure ahead of them.
The capitol building.
Thick pillars supported a veranda that lined the grand construction, and a triangular roof made of jade stone glinted when the sun touched it. The entire thing reminded him of mighty temples from ancient times, the ones he’d only seen in books.
The capitol building was located in the center of Tagrad, inside a neutral zone that bordered all five states. Though the boroughs of Hollowcliff didn’t border one another—they were the capitals of each state—the states themselves shared frontiers around the neutral zone.
Access to the capitol was restricted, which explained why the magic barrier around it had been tough to pierce. Nothing Bast and Corvus weren’t able to tackle together, of course. And now, there they stood.
Green staircases led to the entrance of the building, almost like a tongue sticking out. Bast and his brother followed the councilor as he went up the steps, soon reaching the roofed porch.
Two bulky wolfmen stood guard at the gates, each in their furry, beastly form. They moved to protect the councilor, but Adams raised his palm, stopping them in their tracks.
“They’re with me.” That was all he said before walking inside the building.
Bast followed after him, ignoring the wolfmen’s suspicious glares, but Corvus turned to the tallest of them and bit the air mockingly. The wolf growled, showing sharp teeth ready to bite.
Rolling his eyes, Bast pulled the baku along before he could get them in trouble. “Halle, Corvus. We’re walking on thin ice. Try to behave.”
“I can’t do that.” His chin rose with a certain pride. “It’s not in my nature.”
They went on, crossing jade-colored halls with high, arched ceilings that felt out of this world. Bast had never seen a construction like it, though he’d seen plenty in his lifetime.
Their steps clacked against the polished floor and the sound crawled up the walls, breaking the deep silence that filled the space.
“Faster, will you?” Adams called out from ahead, and Bast promptly rushed closer with Corvus.
A big, wooden door with golden carvings that depicted a map of the five boroughs stood in their path. However, the councilor never slowed down. He might have slammed head-first against the surface, if the door hadn’t suddenly opened with a loud, lazy creak.
“Danu in the prairies, this place is strange,” Corvus muttered. “Was that magic or technology?”
“I don’t have the slightest clue.”
The buzzing hum of magic didn’t tumble in the air, but Bast couldn’t tell how technology could have sensed their approach. Then again, he hadn’t thought flying machines were possible until that day.
Humans had many cards under their sleeves, it seemed.
The heavy door opened to a vast, round room with a domed glass ceiling. Daylight beamed atop a round, white table at the center, the only piece of furniture inside the space.
The werewolf councilor—a bulky male with caramel skin, and thick, bushy eyebrows that matched his night-black hair—talked to the witch councilor seated to his right. Bast caught mutters of the words “war” and then “Atlantea” as they got closer.
“Sirens clearly have technology far more developed than ours,” the wolfman stated, paying them no mind. “Either we strike first, or we’ll be defeated.”
The witch, a petite thing with curly blond hair, seemed to be warming up to the idea. Yet, the female with red hair and yellow eyes on his other side, the vampire councilor, not so much.
“Going to war would hinder the nation’s finances,” she argued. “It’s not smart.”
“Yet, necessary,” the wolf countered.
A screen blinked into thin air, coming from a small device on the right side of the table. If Bast recalled correctly, Mera had once called it a projector.
The screen showed Colin on the other side, his image wavering as if stricken by interference. He seemed to be rushing somewhere, and a curl of red hair slipped to the center of his forehead.
“Is this thing working? Can you see me?” His voice came out chopped and uneven. The fae councilor turned to his left and told one of his people to assess the damage on the east side of Tir Na Nog. He then shook the device he was using, and his image shook with it. “Kura! Damned this stupid technology. Can. You. Hear. Me?”
“We hear you fine, Colin,” the bulky werewolf replied, only then turning to Adams, who’d moved next to Colin’s empty seat. He nodded to the human councilor in a silent greeting. “We’re discussing going to war with Atlantea. Peter has just arrived and he brought company.”
Colin grumbled as his screen turned to Bast and Corvus. “Honestly, Peter? Of course you brought these two shigs to the assembly. Need I remind you that’s against the rules?” He gave out random orders to someone on his right. “This meeting has to be quick. I must attend to my people.”
“Quick it shall be, then,” Adams said as he lowered onto his seat. “Councilors, going to war would be unwise. Sirens are no longer our enemy. Poseidon is the real threat.”
“Is there a difference?” the witch councilor asked mockingly, fixing a blond lock behind her ear. “He’s a siren, therefore, he represents Atlantea.”
“Are you saying your worst criminals should represent Evanora, Mia? That all witches and warlocks should be judged based on the crimes of a few?” Adams argued, and Bast couldn’t help but grin as the witch shifted uncomfortably on her seat. “Sirens can’t cross the protection zone. Poseidon can. He’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”
“Poseidon and Mera Maurea,” the werewolf councilor corrected, a low, beastly growl in his tone. “Both of them broke into the protection zone, which begs the question: How did they do it?” At that, he turned to Bast.
“Why the fuck should I know?” he lied.
The wolf’s eyes shone a bright gold. “Language, Detective!”
“Order, please.” Adams raised his hand. “Sebastian, I’ll remind you that you’re a Hollowcliff detective, and that you must address Tagradian authority with respect.”
“You all seem to forget that my borough has been struck by an ekrunami,” Colin cried out from the screen while he watched something beyond the display. “Tir Na Nog can’t go to war right now. We must recover first, but once we are back on our feet… I agree that Poseidon’s actions call for retaliation.”
The werewolf councilor slammed his hand on the table with glee, as if he’d won a battle that had barely started. “It’s decided, then. Sirens have infiltrated our country, and we must go to war as soon as Tir Na Nog recovers. Who knows how much information Mera Maurea has already passed on to the other side? If she ever enters the country again, she must be killed on the spot. That is the law.”
“You can’t be serious!” Bast stepped forward, losing his last bit of restraint. “Mera saved Tir Na Nog twice! In the best-case scenario, she’s been kidnapped, and in the worst…” He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. He pointed at Colin’s screen, a knot settling in his throat. “You should be thanking her for helping your borough, you ungrateful shig!”
“Peter, your guest forgets himself,” the witch councilor snapped. “He has no seat at this table. If he does not respect this assembly, then the guards will have to remove him.”
Bast growled at the witch, his nostrils flared. A flash of fear passed by her semblance.
“Sebastian…” Councilor Adams called out, a silent plea for cooperation in his hazel eyes.
With a grunt, Bast stepped back, standing closer to Corvus. His nightblood boiled in his veins, ready to take over, and that could only end in disaster.
“These are Detective Sebastian Dhay and the Night King, as you all know,” Councilor Adams said. “They don’t have a seat at this table, but their voices should be heard. After all, Lunor Insul was attacked, yet it sustained no damage because the Night Court had better measures in place. I say that earns Corvus Dhay a seat in this council, and why not a borough of his own?”
“That’s preposterous,” Colin argued from the screen. “Lunor Insul is under Tir Na Nog’s jurisdiction.”
“Now is not the time for a vote on the matter.” The vampire councilor curled her red lips. “I do agree that this issue must be addressed later on, especially considering Lunor Insul has an advantage. For the time being, we must decide on the next steps regarding Atlantea and Mera Maurea. Unanimously.”
“Fine.” Councilor Adams motioned to Bast. “Tell Detective Dhay, then. Tell a national hero that you’ll declare war on his partner’s people. Tell him you’ll put a bullet in Mera’s head because she’s a siren, even though she saved thousands of Tagradian lives today.”
“Mera Maurea spent years on land illegally,” the vampire argued, her fangs on display. “You must admit such a deed must be punished.”
“Fuck you,” Bast spat, stepping forward. “After everything she did for this country, this is how you repay her?”
The werewolf’s chair slid back harshly when he stood. Only then did Bast notice how big he was; like a mountain rising from the ground. The shig fixed his yellow tie, which clashed against his light gray suit.
“Detective Dhay, I appreciate what you’ve done for my borough. Bruce is a good friend, and you saved his life. Lycannia is indebted to you, but your partner is a traitor who needs to answer for her crimes.”
Heat rushed to Bast’s head. He wanted to cut the shig’s tongue right there and then, but it was the thought of Mera what calmed him down; the certainty he would see her smile again that appeased his wrath.
“Mera stopped the ekrunami on her own, and prepared to give her life in doing so. If not for her, thousands more would have died.” He turned to Colin’s screen, waiting for him to jump in, but the malachai was too busy reading a report. Huffing, Bast turned to the other councilors. “She and I have dedicated our lives to this country. If you banish her, then I say you are the traitors.”
The councilors’ outraged voices rose in a flurry of sentences he couldn’t understand.
“Enough!” Corvus yelled, an aura of darkness rising from his skin. “Detective Maurea is the reason why Lunor Insul still stands. We will not stand against her, or her people.”
“That’s sedition!” The vampire councilor declared. “And a reason for war!”
Corvus’ dubious brow arched at her. “But you can’t focus on two wars at once, can you? You don’t have the mo-ney.”
Right then, Bast couldn’t be prouder of his brother.
“A lot hangs on the balance, ladies and gentlemen,” Councilor Adams interjected, lowering his hands in a request for silence. “Let’s also remember that Detective Maurea is powerful, as we’ve seen in the leaked footage. She might be our only chance of defeating Poseidon.”
“She might also be our doom,” the werewolf added.
Adams ignored his remark, then turned to the floating projection. “Colin, you’ve been awfully quiet.”
“Kind of busy here, Peter.”
Oh, the shig…
“A first vote then!” The werewolf councilor clapped his hands. “All in favor of banishing Mera Maurea?”
Banishment.A “nicer term” for execution-upon-sight if she ever returned to Tagrad.
The suket raised his hand, and so did the witch councilor. However, the vamp representative didn’t move, neither did Adams, or Colin.
A fucking relief.
“As much as I hate it, I am indebted to Detective Maurea,” Colin stated. “If not for her, many more of my people would have perished. So, I say yes to a preparation of war until further attacks, and yes to granting her a fair trial once she steps on land.”
“A fair trial?” Bast laughed. “Are you joking? She doesn’t need a trial, she needs to be exonerated and rescued!”
“Kazania agrees with the councilor’s suggestion,” the vampire declared. “Mera Maurea shouldn’t be executed if she returns to Tagrad, not without a trial first. In the meantime, we must prepare for war.”
Shock and disbelief burned through Bast, and he blinked, unable to believe what was happening.
The witch councilor shrugged. “Evanora agrees to raising our defenses and preparing for war with Atlantea. We agree to a trial for Mera Maurea, should she step on land again.” She gave Bast a mocking grin. “We certainly do not support a rescue mission for a siren who lied about her nature and infiltrated our country.”
Bast’s hands fisted, but only Danu could explain how he didn’t lunge at her.
“Lycannie also agrees to a preparation for war, and a trial for Mera Maurea,” the wolf councilor added, seeming rather disappointed.
Adams let out a weary sigh, then gave Bast an apologetic glance. “We can’t go against the council. Preparation for war it is, but let it be noted that I stand against any option that’s not an immediate pardon for Detective Maurea.”
“Noted,” the councilors replied in unison.
Fucking shigs, all of them.
“You should all be ashamed.” Bast turned to his brother. “Let’s go. This was a waste of time.”
With that, they blinked out of the chambers, and back into the halls of the Night Court’s palace.
A man stood in the center of the throne room. He had ginger hair, an eye-patch over his eye, and a few missing teeth. The strange man wore a black doublet with silver inscriptions, which matched his black pants and boots. His sleeves were drawn up to his elbows, showing runes tattooed on his forearms, and the black hat with a plump, red feather on the side seemed awfully big for his face.
“I hope ye don’t mind,” he offered, approaching them. “Yer assistant told me to wait for ye here.”
“Yes, I asked her to fetch you before I went to my brother.” Corvus nudged his chin toward the man. “Bast, this is Captain Flint. You can guess why I summoned him here.”
Bast grinned. Not all was lost, not yet.
The captain flicked his hand, and the tattoos on his right forearm beamed a bright golden color until magical sparks rose from his fingers. “Pleasure to make yer acquaintance. Name’s Flint, warlock of the seven seas, at your disposal. For a fair price, that is.”
“Oh, really?” Bast raised one eyebrow. “I thought my brother had already paid your fees in advance.”
“That was before a tsunami swallowed half of Tir Na Nog, mate.”
“What’s the price now, Captain?” Corvus asked mindlessly as he headed to the wine cabinet and pulled out three glasses.
“Double. Also, I wouldn’t mind having one of yer ships, since mine is gone. That magic dome of yours shielded yer fleet nicely, aye?”
Corvus watched him for a moment before laughing. “You’re my kind of baku, Flint. I’ll give you half of the new rate before you leave, the other half when you return the ship to safety. Agreed?”
He shrugged. “Aye. Seems fair.”
Opening a bottle of wine, Corvus filled the three glasses he’d set up on the top of the cabinet. “You may choose the ship you want and it will be yours, as long as you follow through with the original plan.”
Flint frowned at him, then at Bast. “Yer still going to the isles?”
Bast nodded. “We sail as soon as possible. Corvus, will you join us?”
“I wish I could,” his brother handed him and Flint their glasses with a certain dismay. “Unfortunately, I have an island to take care of. Plus, I doubt the council will leave me alone after that disaster of a meeting. They need Lunor Insul, especially if they intend on going to war with Atlantea.”
Bast shot him a pleading glance, a silent message that his brother quickly understood.
“Yes, yes.” Corvus nodded, raising his glass. “I’ll stall them as much as I can.”
“All right.” Flint tapped his chin twice. “With the right crew and some wind magic, I could get ye to the isles in three days, give or take.”
“Let’s get started.” Bast raised his glass in a silent cheer, then took a long gulp. “We have a siren to rescue.”