A number of Khans chuckled heartily at that, but their laughter only made Conal angrier. "This conduct would not be tolerated from one who isa warrior, much less an untested foundling." With a flick of his hand, he summoned the nearest Elemental. "Remove him."
Phelan spitted the Elemental with a harsh stare. "Ease off, Ace. I've already laid two Elementals out in my career. You don't want to be the third." Holding his head high, he set his face in a grim mask. "I may not have tested out, yet,but that does not invalidate what I have said. I am slowly coming to understand your ways, but nothing I have learned leads me to believe injustice is a trait for which you select. If it is, perhaps I should just return to being a bondsman."
He stepped from the dais and swept past the Elemental. Slipping through the side door, he let it swing shut behind him, then slumped against the wall of the corridor. Balling his right fist, he slammed it against his thigh. You moron! That's exactly the kind of thing that got you tossed out of the Nagelring. Eventually, Phelan, you have to learn that to get along you have to go along. It's a good thing Cyrilla couldn't see that performance. She'd never consider me for a Bloodname slot if she had.
Levering himself away from the wall, he rushed on past Natasha's archivist waiting in the hallway, far too distracted to notice the man or acknowledge his greeting. Further down the corridor and around a corner, Phelan stopped at a door showing the wolf's-head crest of the Wolf Clan. He knocked twice, then opened the door and entered the small office. Cutting through the door in the back corner, he came into Ulric's private office.
Natasha rose from the chair behind the large desk and applauded. "Thought we'd lost you there for a moment. You did great." Cyrilla, seated across from her, nodded her approval.
Phelan blinked. "What? The proceedings were supposed to be ..." He glanced back at the cabinet half-hidden by the open door. A monitor showed a view of the Grand Council Chamber. "You saw?"
Cyrilla nodded and pointed to the remote control at the monitor. The sound started to come up. "All the Khans have access to this closed-circuit system. Watching the charade certainly violates the spirit of the Council regulations, but not more than a handful of the Khans can keep a secret anyway, so no harm is done."
Like Khan Ulric's cabin aboard the Dire Wolf,his office contained the bare minimum of furnishings required to serve its purpose. The padded leather chairs seemed the only concession to luxury. The ample surface of the sturdy desk was spread out with campaign maps. The other steel and glass tables and shelves were clear except for a few holovid albums and some small stone carvings.
"I thought Conal was going to pitch a fit when you backed that Elemental off." Natasha shook her head. "That was brilliant."
Phelan shrugged sheepishly. "That's what happens when you think with your adrenal glands."
"If you did all that in your panic mode, I want you in any unit I form up."
Cyrilla held her hand up. "Quiet. They're voting on Ulric."
The picture focused on the Clan banners as the Khans voted. A line along the bottom of the screen kept track of the totals. An obvious pattern arose right from the start, and by the end of the ballot, the vote exonerated Ulric overwhelmingly. Cyrilla clapped and Natasha cursed happily. Phelan just smiled.
"Now down to brass tacks. What's your read, Ril?"
The white-haired woman wrinkled her brow in thought. 'The Crusaders have to push for one of their own as ilKhan. I would have bet on Kincaid Furey, but Pehlan's ripostes hit home. He does not have the sense of your average surat ,and everyone knows that."
"Speak of the devil." Phelan pointed at the monitor as the camera focused on the Smoke Jaguar Khan.
Kincaid had regained control of his temper and stood stock-still. "I stand to apologize to Khan Ulric for having suspected him of complicity in the death of Leo Showers. I know my suspicions were fueled by my anger at his success. Perhaps it does take the anonymous delivery of truth to point out one's own limitations. Perhaps the first limit is seeing how easy it is to be mistaken."
Cyrilla's jaw dropped open and she paled visibly. "Oh, freebirth!No, they can't do this!"
"What?" Phelan looked from Cyrilla to Natasha's blank stare, then back to the monitor.
"Having been so abruptly acquainted with my stupidity, I now seek to remedy it. I, Kincaid Furey, nominate for the position of ilKhan, Khan Ulric of the Wolves."
Confusion knotted Phelan's brows in a frown. "What's going on? You two are reacting as if the world had ended. Isn't it good to have Ulric as the ilKhan?"
Natasha shook her head. "No, it's not good at all. Recall that Conal told you the ilKhan is to rule in accordance with the dictates of the Grand Council? That means Ulric will have to push the Crusader agenda if it is reconfirmed. From what Ril has told me, there are enough votes in the Council to endorse a resumption of the invasion."
Cyrilla nodded in agreement. Phelan saw that the color had returned to her face, and her brown eyes had angry sparks in them. "It gets worse. Not only do they hamstring Ulric, but he has to appoint his Wolf Khan replacement from within the Wolf Clan Council."
Phelan felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Let me guess. The Loremaster has traditionally been the person elevated to the position of Khan in such cases, Quiaff?"
"Bargained well and done." Natasha gathered her long red hair back with her hands, then tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling. "They boxed us good on this one, eh, Ril?"
"They eliminate Ulric as a force and get a Crusader as a Wolf Khan."
As Cyrilla nodded with resignation and they heard no other candidate nominated as ilKhan, Phelan suddenly felt inexplicably giddy. "I think you may be selling Ulric short."
Cyrilla raised an eyebrow. "You see a way out of this trap?"
Phelan shrugged. "I do not, but that does not mean Ulric cannot find one. I saw him work through many tricky situations during the invasion. He managed to make ComStar dance to his tune and pay the piper. The Crusaders may be good, but I think Ulric might be better."
Along the bottom of the screen, the vote tallies appeared quickly. Without opposition, Ulric was elected easily. A number of Khans chose to abstain from the voting, and Phelan guessed those were Warden Khans protesting the railroading of their most successful comrade.
From the monitor came the sound of the Khans thumping their fists against their desktops to show approval. Conal Ward made a great show of vacating the ilKhan's chair. He offered Ulric his hand, then wandered up into the Council seating. All smiles, he plopped down into Ulric's old seat.
The camera shifted back to Ulric at the ilKhan's high bench. The ilKhan slowly removed his mask and set it on the bench. He smiled, stroked his goatee thoughtfully, then motioned to one of the Elementals. "Please escort Loremaster Ward from the chamber."
Kincaid Furey rose in mild protest. "Is that necessary, ilKhan? Your first act as ilKhan is to appoint your replacement as Wolf Khan. You can allow him to stay."
Ulric blinked innocently. "Why would I do that?"
"Well, because . . ." Kincaid started to answer, then abruptly fell silent.
The Elemental took Conal Ward by the elbow and started him up the center aisle. Before Conal had cleared the chamber, however, Ulric made an announcement. "As my replacement, I choose Natasha Kerensky "