‘How is this even possible?’ Variam said. ‘The Council can’t just pass death sentences like that. There has to be a trial or something.’
‘I think we just had it,’ I said.
‘This is bullshit,’ Variam said. ‘I was there for Cerulean’s trial in the spring. It took them two months to even schedule it, and he wasn’t even there!’
‘Cerulean was a Keeper,’ Sonder said. ‘Well, is a Keeper … I mean, they haven’t actually formally expelled him, and … anyway. They can’t pass sentence on a Light mage without a trial, but…’
‘But I’m not a Light mage,’ I finished. ‘What’s the exact definition of a Light mage as far as this goes?’
‘You have to either be recognised by the Council, or you have to have an official Council position,’ Sonder said. ‘Like being a Keeper.’
‘You’re kind of a Keeper,’ Luna said.
‘I’m a Keeper auxiliary,’ I said. ‘I’m guessing that doesn’t count.’
‘I’m afraid it doesn’t,’ Talisid said.
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘So that’s me. What about Luna, Variam and Anne? Why are they caught in this?’
‘The resolution applies to you and to your dependents,’ Talisid said. ‘That has a very specific meaning in Council law. A dependent is anyone for whom you’ve taken sole responsibility. Luna falls into that category due to being your apprentice. Anne and Variam also, since you sponsored them for the apprentice programme.’
‘But I didn’t sponsor them for the apprentice programme! I just—’
‘I know,’ Talisid said. ‘Unfortunately, it seems you did so well enough that the Council was convinced.’
I felt an ugly sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. When I’d first met Anne and Variam, they’d been in the Light apprentice programme, sponsored by the rakshasa Jagadev. After Jagadev kicked them out, I’d invited Anne and Variam to live with me, and generally tried to give the impression to the mages who ran the apprentice programme that I’d taken over their sponsorship. It had worked – even though they technically weren’t allowed to be there any more, no one had challenged me over it. I’d kept them in the apprentice programme.
And by doing so, I might just have killed them.
‘Can’t we challenge that?’ Sonder said. ‘If they were never officially sponsored…’
‘It would be difficult,’ Talisid said. ‘They were de facto sponsorship members for long enough to be officially recognised.’
‘But they were never actually signed in, right?’ Sonder said. ‘If we made the Council admit that they never officially went through the ceremony—’
‘Then it would just be me and Alex getting executed instead?’ Luna asked.
‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ Sonder said hurriedly. ‘I just, um…’
‘Really?’ Luna said. Her voice was icy. ‘Then what did you mean?’
‘I’m afraid it’s a moot point,’ Talisid said before Sonder could reply. ‘Any legal challenge would take far too long. Much more than a week.’
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Important question. You said Anne, Luna and Vari’s names are on this resolution. Are they listed as being my dependents, or are they listed independently of whether they’re my dependents?’
Talisid’s image reached for a piece of paper. ‘The first,’ Talisid said after a moment’s pause. ‘The exact wording is “and his dependents, to whit.”’
‘Then if they weren’t my dependents, they wouldn’t be covered by the resolution. Yes?’
Talisid looked troubled. ‘Yes. However, I’d feel happier if you were working against the resolution itself.’
‘What are you getting at?’ Variam asked me.
‘Contingency plans. Okay, Talisid. How do we get out of this?’
‘The resolution was passed by the Senior Council,’ Talisid said. ‘It can be overturned by the Senior Council.’
‘How?’
‘The purpose of the week’s delay is to allow for opposing votes,’ Talisid said. ‘If an absent Council member sends in his vote during that time, the vote is treated as if it had been made at the meeting itself.’
‘And the vote was three to one,’ I said. ‘So if the three Senior Council who weren’t there vote against it …?’
‘It would only take two. Council resolutions require a majority vote.’
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘What are the options?’
‘The four members of the Senior Council present were Levistus, Alma, Sal Sarque and Bahamus,’ Talisid said. ‘That leaves three yet to vote: Spire, Druss the Red and Undaaris. Druss should be the easiest to convince: if Levistus wants to destroy you, Druss will probably vote the other way for no other reason than to oppose him.’
‘And the other two?’
‘Unclear. Both are swing voters not aligned with either Levistus or Druss.’
‘So we’ll have to convince them?’
‘Most likely.’
‘Can you arrange a meeting?’
‘Wait,’ Sonder said. ‘They’re Senior Council. You can’t just walk up and—’
‘No guarantees, but yes, probably,’ Talisid said. ‘In this context, a refusal will simply be a fast way of saying no.’
Sonder turned to stare. ‘How soon?’ I asked.
‘Both are out of the country, but they’re scheduled to return before Monday. I should have something for you by tomorrow.’
‘Is there anything else we can do?’
‘At present, no,’ Talisid said. ‘Ah, one other thing. While we are pursuing the political angle, I would counsel against taking any … extreme … measures in an attempt to resolve the problem independently. It would complicate any potential solution.’
‘We’ll keep that in mind.’
‘Until tomorrow, then.’ Talisid paused, looking around the circle. ‘For now, just hold on. I promise I’ll do everything I can.’
I nodded. Talisid’s image winked out and the communicator went dark.
‘Everything he can,’ Variam muttered. ‘Believe that when I see it.’
‘He’s not going to screw us, is he?’ Luna asked.
‘Wait, what?’ Sonder said. ‘Why would he screw you?’
‘I know we’ve had our disagreements with Talisid,’ I said. ‘But he’s never actually betrayed us or lied to us.’
‘That we know about,’ Luna pointed out.
‘If he really wanted to screw us over, he wouldn’t have made this call at all,’ I said. ‘He could have just waited. It’s not like I have many other friends on the Council to give me the news.’
‘Getting the news early doesn’t help much if we can’t do anything about it,’ Variam said.
‘He’s given us time.’
‘Yeah, but is it actually going to help?’ Luna asked. ‘This whole getting votes thing – is it going to work?’
‘Sonder?’ I said. ‘You’re the expert on Council politics.’
‘I’m not really an expert. I wasn’t even back in the country until…’
‘You know more than the rest of us,’ I said. ‘Does what he said match up with what you know?’
‘I guess,’ Sonder said reluctantly. Sonder is on the political track for the Light mages, and he’s become one of the Council’s rising stars. He’d spent last autumn and winter in Washington, making contacts with the North American Council, and now he had some sort of position with the Keeper bureaucracy. ‘I mean, yes, Druss and Levistus are enemies, everyone knows that. It’s the whole Isolationist-Director thing. Spire’s supposed to mostly represent independents. Undaaris kind of goes all over the place.’
‘So they’re swing votes, like he said.’
‘Pretty much.’
‘But we only need one of them?’ Luna said.
‘Not exactly,’ I said. ‘You heard what Talisid said. Any of those three can send in their votes after the meeting. He didn’t say which way. If one of them votes for Levistus’s proposal…’