“That’s a wonderful idea,” Harlin said with a sigh of relief. “All in favor of assigning the spokesperson’s residence as a drop-off point for essentials, please make it known by a show of hands.”
Ferrin raised his hand. He certainly didn’t want people showing up at his home. A glance around the room showed the vote was unanimous.
“Excellent. Now on to our last topic of note.” Harlin took a moment to dab his forehead before continuing. “As most of you know by now, Rhowynn is playing host to another squad of our beloved men in white . . . the Black Watch.”
Ferrin leaned forward in his seat. This was the first he’d heard about it. Drat! How was he going to meet his deadlines now?
“We will need to take extra precautions not to stand out during—”
“We aren’t the ones who need reminding,” Garreth said, turning to glare down the table at Ferrin. The others turned as well, all except old Mother Luka, of course. She was too busy trying to hold a conversation with her spoon to take notice.
“There’s only one person here stupid enough to use his magic in public,” Garreth said. He pointed at Ferrin with his spoon. “I’ve said you were trouble from the beginning.”
Now, even Mother Luka turned to look at Ferrin.
Harlin cleared his throat. “Garreth, let’s not get—”
“No.” Ferrin raised his hand. “Let Garreth speak. He’s been holding this in long enough for his face to contort into a permanent pucker. Best to let him get it off his chest before he does himself harm.”
Elson belted out a hard laugh.
Myriah kicked Ferrin’s leg from under the table.
“This is about to get interesting,” Elson said as he reached for his glass. “And here I almost decided to stay home this evening.”
Ferrin gestured for Garreth to continue. “Please, don’t let me stop you. You were saying?”
Garreth’s face reddened. “I say you’re a self-centered son of a faerie who cares more about gold than the safety of this council! Your lust for prestige is going to get us all killed!”
“So, tell us what you really think,” Elson said under his breath.
The problem was, Garreth wasn’t saying anything his sister hadn’t already excoriated him over but with a little more decorum.
Ferrin smiled. “You finished?”
“Not even close. If it were up to me, you’d have been thrown out of here months ago.”
“Gentlemen, please.” Harlin’s voice was on the verge of squeaking. He raised both hands, trying to calm the situation. “This is a peaceful gathering; let’s not turn this—”
Garreth stood from his seat and drew his cudgel from his waist and pointed it at Ferrin. “You’re not going to threaten my life for your own selfish wants. I don’t care if I have to break both your arms to stop you.”
Garreth was proud of his bludgeon, its thickness enhanced by magic. He had a gift with the manipulation of wood. It wasn’t nearly as extensive as Ferrin’s gift with ore, but the strength of his weapon was a testament to his ability. The bludgeon widened outward toward the end, where Garreth had added a few wooden spikes.
Ferrin dropped his napkin on the table and the others quickly vacated, already seeing where this was heading. Myriah grabbed old Mother Luka and dragged her off to the side.
“Don’t hurt him too badly,” Elson said with a smirk as he grabbed his goblet and joined the others.
Ferrin could feel the heat of his magic building inside him. The transferal crystal beneath his shirt was calling it forth. He could sense every piece of metal in the room, from the buckles on Harlin’s shoes to the nails in the wood framing.
He stood and grabbed the candelabra on the table in front of him and released his magic into it. The candelabra twisted in his hand and re-formed. The base rounded and thickened as the arms holding the wax melted and reshaped into a simple cross guard. He grabbed the next candelabra down on his way around to the table and held it against the hilt. The metal merged with the other and stretched into a short double-edged blade. By the time he reached the other side, his gold candelabra sword was complete.
Garreth had fire in his eyes as he lifted his bludgeon and pointed it at Ferrin. “This has been a long time coming.”
Ferrin raised his sword. “You really want to do this here?”
“Someone needs to put you in your place. Might as well be me.”
Ferrin followed the carpenter away from the table as they faced off. He held his sword at the ready, Garreth doing the same with his club. Ferrin ran through the training he’d been given by Pinon as he moved his strong leg back to brace himself for Garreth’s attack. Pinon had at one time been a former captain in the Keldoran Lancers, and he’d taught Ferrin everything he knew.
Ferrin raised the blade and waited for Garreth to make the first move.
Off to their left, someone chuckled.
The sound was so unexpected, both men turned to see who it was. The chuckle quickly turned into laughter. It was old Mother Luka. What was she laughing at? Not that anyone had much of an idea of what she did most of the time.
Suddenly, there was another small outburst on their right, and then one directly behind. Ferrin lowered his arms slowly as the strange phenomenon took over the entire room. Men and women were laughing so hard that some were doubled over, while others gasped for breath. And then the unthinkable happened. Garreth smiled. His smile soon turned into what looked like a fit of coughing as he, too, started to laugh.
Ferrin was speechless, but not for long. A tickling sensation began to crawl up the back of his throat as an overwhelming urge to chuckle had him biting down on his tongue. He fought as hard as he could to hold it in, but it was no use. Not able to hold it back any longer, he felt a croak of amusement leap from his mouth, followed closely by an uncontrollable urge to simply let go with a long, hard roar of laughter. What was happening to him? He placed his hands on his knees as he doubled over under the emotion of it all. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what was so funny.
Just as soon as the strange epidemic started, the chorus quickly faded.
“You see how something as harmless as a laugh can be more powerful than the deadliest of intentions?” Ella said on Ferrin’s right as she took a step away from the wall. Ella was generally a very quiet person, so when she spoke, it was wise to listen. “This is not the way to solve arguments,” she said, both hands resting calmly at her sides. And with that, she stepped back into place alongside the others.
No one spoke. What could you possible say after something like that? Even Garreth seemed to have lost his fire as he hooked his cudgel back at his waist.
Ferrin laid the gold sword on the table and cleared his throat. “I apologize.” He looked at Ella and nodded. He turned and looked at the others. “I know we’ve had this argument before, and as much as can be said for using something we were born with, it has never been my intention to put any of you at risk. I promise to refrain from the use of magic within my work from here on.” He turned back to Garreth. “Is that satisfactory?”
Garreth started to say something, but seeing all the eyes leveled his way, he shut his mouth and simply acknowledged with a nod.
“Excellent,” Lord Harlin declared, his voice noticeably shaking. “It seems we have reached a favorable outcome, and since I don’t believe my home could handle any more festivities this evening, I suggest we adjourn.” He stared at Ferrin for a moment as if weighing something, then turned and left.