‘Because they were punching above their weight,’ Druss said. ‘I’d lay bets that every one of those Dark mages was weighed down with imbued items. I’ve been warning you for months that most of the really combat-effective imbued items from the raid on the Vault haven’t been showing up. I think we just learned what Drakh was saving them for.’
‘It wasn’t most of those Dark mages that were the problem,’ Sal Sarque said. ‘Just one.’
‘Yes, I was just coming to that,’ Alma said. ‘A mage cloaked in a black shroud strongly suspected to be Vihaela. According to these reports she not only singlehandedly disabled Nimbus and Ares and held off all attempts at a counterattack, but also managed to intercept the flanking team intended to prevent Drakh’s escape.’ Alma laid down the reports and looked from Druss to Bahamus. ‘You describe this as Drakh’s cabal “punching above their weight”, but frankly, it seems as though you barely engaged the cabal. You couldn’t even get past this one mage.’
‘We were already aware that Vihaela was one of the most dangerous members of Drakh’s cabal,’ Bahamus said. ‘It seems that whatever she’s acquired from the Vault, it’s given her a significant power boost.’
‘She wasn’t using it when Verus’s team ran into her later,’ Druss said. ‘Could be it’s got limitations on how long it can be used.’
Alma shook her head. ‘I’m not interested in tactics, Druss. I want to know why you’re unwilling to move against Onyx.’
‘This is about tactics,’ Druss said. ‘Because if we go charging off against Onyx the way we did last night, and Drakh and Vihaela do a repeat performance, there’s a really good chance we’re going to lose.’
‘We’ll be ready for them next time,’ Sal Sarque said.
‘How?’ Druss said. ‘We don’t even know what they were using.’
The argument went on for some minutes. Bahamus and Sal Sarque wanted to go after Onyx; Druss and Undaaris were against. I was pretty sure that for Bahamus, it was personaclass="underline" Onyx had double-crossed him and he wanted to teach him a lesson. Sal Sarque just seemed to want to take revenge and Onyx was an obvious target. Undaaris didn’t care about the principles of the thing but was obviously nervous about another confrontation. With neither side willing to compromise, the debate dragged on.
‘Enough,’ Levistus said at last. ‘This is pointless.’
‘You were the one arguing for a response,’ Bahamus said.
‘Which is why this is pointless,’ Levistus said. ‘Disposing of Onyx will accomplish nothing.’
‘He attacked the Council,’ Bahamus said.
‘And in due course, he will be dealt with,’ Levistus said. ‘But as regards our larger position, it will accomplish nothing at all. Onyx is not even part of Drakh’s cabal. Focusing our strength against him would send the message that we are afraid to move against Drakh directly.’
‘He’s got a point,’ Druss said. ‘If we go after Onyx and Drakh steps in, we’re in trouble. If he doesn’t, it’ll just look like we’re chasing the easy target.’
‘Then what do you suggest?’ Alma asked Levistus.
‘If we are going to make an example of someone in Drakh’s cabal, it should be someone significant,’ Levistus said. ‘Ideally, we should move against Drakh or Vihaela. Given the circumstances, neither appears to be a practical target. This leaves one obvious candidate.’
Oh, I thought. Right. I’d been expecting Levistus to try to pin the blame on me. He’d considered it – I’d seen futures in which he’d tried exactly that – but in the end he’d held back. Probably because he’d decided that this was a more inviting target.
‘You’re talking about Morden?’ Undaaris said questioningly.
‘Who pointed us towards Onyx?’ Levistus asked.
‘You’re suggesting he planned this from the start,’ Alma said.
‘I doubt we’ll be able to prove it,’ Levistus said. ‘Morden will have covered his tracks. But I don’t see how anyone could look at the facts and seriously consider any alternative.’
‘Morden hasn’t gained anything from this,’ Druss said. ‘In fact, he’s worse off than he was at the start.’
‘I disagree,’ Levistus said. ‘Morden is a member of Drakh’s cabal. What helps Drakh, helps him.’
‘And you seriously think he’s done all this as part of some elaborate plan to sacrifice himself?’
‘Who can predict the actions of a Dark mage?’ Levistus said. ‘I doubt we’ll ever know one way or the other. However, one fact is clear. Morden was to deliver Drakh to us. He has failed quite comprehensively. I see no reason to prolong his stay of execution.’
Druss started to argue, but I only listened with half an ear. I’d been scanning the faces of the other Senior Council members, and I could see which way the wind was blowing. Alma’s expression was neutral, but Bahamus’s face was hard and he was nodding at Levistus’s words. Druss might still vote against the proposal that Levistus was building up to, but if he did, he’d be the only one. Morden’s membership on the Light Council was about to be removed, and mine with it.
* * *
‘So what happens now?’ Luna asked.
It was later that day, and Luna and I were on the second floor of the Arcana Emporium. The room we were in had been my bedroom once, though it was arguable whether you could really call it the same room: the fire had gutted it so thoroughly that it had been rebuilt pretty much from the ground up. Luna had chosen to restore it to something fairly similar to its original design, though she had left out the dividing wall, turning the room into something more like a studio flat. A bed sat by the window, a sofa in the middle of the floor, and there were French windows leading out onto a small balcony. It had been painted white and green and was quite clean and pleasant-looking, but an observant viewer might have noticed that the place had a slightly unused feeling, more like a spare room. The truth was that while there was a bed here, Luna never used it. By the time the Arcana Emporium passed into her hands, Luna had been given several sharp lessons in the things that can happen when you have enemies who know where you sleep, and her solution had been to set up a dummy bedroom above the shop. So far it hadn’t proved necessary, but as I’ve had occasion to learn, the time to set up these kinds of things is before you need them.
‘Well, they didn’t pass an execution order,’ I said. ‘But they came pretty close. The resolution they finally hashed out is basically an emergency powers bill. It lets the Council suspend a bunch of legal restrictions “for the duration of the current crisis”. And since I doubt Richard’s going away any time soon, that’s going to be a pretty long time.’
‘Does that mean they can just pass another death sentence for you?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘I think that was what Levistus was angling for, but Bahamus wouldn’t go along with it so he backed down. I still have the protections from being on the Council.’
‘Um,’ Luna said. ‘If they kill Morden, doesn’t that mean you stop being on the Council?’
‘Yeah, you’ve kind of put your finger on the problem.’
I was sitting on the sofa while Luna was cross-legged in an armchair. Normally a Saturday afternoon like this one would be prime season for the shop, but after yesterday’s excitement Luna had decided to take the day off. ‘So what are they going to do?’ Luna asked. ‘Just go over to that prison and cut his head off?’
‘From what I could gather, they’re going to try to see what they can squeeze out of him first,’ I said. ‘I know Undaaris and Levistus still want to get their hands on all those files Morden inherited from White Rose. But once he doesn’t turn them over, or even if he does, then yeah. Head-choppy time.’