'You and Heuris Brannon will sit at the head of the Council table with me until the proxy formalities are complete,' Lord Ido said. 'Take the centre chair.'
I sat, my head bowed under the heavy press of curiosity from the Dragoneye lords as they took their places around the table. I chanced a fleeting survey of the room and met the guarded stare of an apprentice standing behind his master and the belligerent face of Lord Garon, the Dog Dragoneye. As Lord Ido took the seat at my right and my master settled into the chair on my left, I focused on the glossy surface of the table, trying to avoid the searching eyes of the twenty men before me.
Finally, Lord Ido rose from his chair, silencing the few whispered comments. I politely turned towards him and saw Dillon standing in his position behind his master. For a second our eyes met, but there was no connection in his gaze, only blank misery.
'Welcome,' Lord Ido said to the assembly Tor the first time in five hundred years, we number twelve again. No longer will the Year of the Dragon be without an Ascendant leader. No longer will this Council be held back by the absence of the eastern power. Lord Eon's glorious reawakening of the Mirror Dragon has closed our circle. We are once more a Pearl of Dragons.'
Lord Dram, the Horse Dragoneye, smiled at me then slapped the table with the flat of his hands. The other lords quickly joined him in a loud tattoo of celebration. Heat rushed to my face. I bowed in my seat — once, twice — as the drumming shook the table.
Lord Tyron looked over his shoulder at Hollin, standing behind him. 'Be glad, boy This cycle it would have been your turn in the duty rotation to lead the Dragon Year. A thankless task without the doubled ascendant power.'
'Hear, hear,' a few of the other lords said.
'Quiet,' Lord Ido commanded, reclaiming the room. 'Yes, we are back at full strength. And although Lord Eon is untrained and
our knowledge of the Mirror Dragon largely lost, there is no doubt that if we are bold, the power of twelve will achieve great things for our land.'
'Our first duty should be returning abundance to the eastern plains,' Lord Silvo said quickly.
Lord Ido pinned the smaller man with his gaze. 'Our first duty, Lord Silvo, is not to the easterners. We now have our full power: our first duty should be directed to the greater glory of the empire.'
A murmur rippled around the table. Some nodded their agreement, others shifted uncomfortably.
'With such possibilities ahead,' Lord Ido continued, 'Heuris Brannon has agreed to act on this Council as Lord Proxy so that our young brother can focus on his training in the dragon arts.'
Dram started another thunderous ovation. My master nodded, acknowledging the honour.
Lord Ido motioned me to my feet.
'Lord Eon, do you agree that Heuris Brannon will, from today, be Lord Brannon and represent you on the Dragoneye Council? That his decisions and votes will be taken as your decisions and votes until you are of an age and experience to accept your position among the twelve?'
'I do agree,' I said. And I thank him for his guidance.'
I bowed to my master. Under the table, his hand tightened around the folds of his silk fan, the force bending the frail lacquer sticks. He had waited years for this return to wealth and power.
I could almost feel the triumph humming through his body as I took my seat next to him.
He did not wait for an invitation from Lord Ido to stand. Although he looked like a frail old man beside the Rat Dragoneye's youthful strength, there was something in his bearing that brought all focus to him. I saw Lord Ido frown, sensing the shift of attention.
'I leuris Brannon,' he said curtly, 'do you agree to act as Lord Eon's representative on the Dragoneye Council? Will you serve
as proxy lord until he is of an age and experience to take up his position among the twelve?'
'Yes, I agree to represent Lord Eon on the Council,' my master said.
Dram thumped the table again, eager to celebrate, but my master held up his hand for silence.
Slowly, he turned to face Lord Ido, the fan held in both hands like a fighting staff. And as the Co-Ascendant proxy, I also accept Lord Eon's duty of leading this Council alongside you, Lord Ido.'
Around the room, everyone stilled. The two men stared over my head at one another, like dogs sizing each other up. Then Lord Ido laughed a harsh dismissal.
'You may now be proxy, Brannon,' he said, 'but you are not Ascendant. Without a dragon's power you cannot claim leadership.' He stepped towards my master but my chair blocked his way 'I will not allow it.'
'It is not for you to allow, Ido,' my master said sharply 'This is a Council. We decide by vote and precedent.'
Lord Tyron stood up. 'Yes, we must vote on it,' he called.
'Vote!' Lord Dram bellowed above the eruption of voices around the table. 'Let us vote.'
I saw Lord Ido's eyes change. Not with the silver of his power, but with a madness that flared across the clear amber like dark fire.
'This is my Council,' he roared through the surging noise. Both of his fists slammed onto the table, shaking it. 'There will be no vote.'
'You cannot stop it, Ido,' my master said into the sudden silence. 'You have already lost.'
Lord Ido's lunge was so fast that all I saw was his elbow coming at my face. I flinched, the blow catching me on my chest as he grabbed for my master. He grunted as his heavy body landed against mine, crushing me against the sharp edge of the armrest. I gasped, fighting for air through the suffocating blue silk, sucking in the stink of his rage. I pulled my head free of the cloth and heard a
terrible wet rasping. Above me was my master's face, eyes wide as Ido's thumbs pressed deeper into his throat. I clawed at the air, connecting with Ido's scalp in a deep drag of nails.
Across the room someone screamed 'Pull him off, and then hands were hauling back Ido's arms and shoulders. His weight moved then slammed against me again. From behind, Tyron wrapped his arm around the taller man's throat, brutally pulling with the crook of his elbow.
Ido let go of my master to grab at the choking arm. His body lifted, arched, and was dragged back by Tyron and two other men.
I hunched over in the chair, pain stabbing through me with each panting breath. Lord Dram kneeled in front of me. A large rip in the front of his orange robe exposed his bony chest. Are you all right, boy?'
I nodded, shivering. At the other end of the room, Lord Ido was being held down in a chair by four of the largest apprentices, their combined strength barely restraining the Dragoneye's rage. He was shouting, ranting, that this was his Council. Behind him, Dillon stood with his back pressed against the wall, watching his master's struggle with a malicious smile.
Dram turned to the man standing beside him. Ts Brannon all right?'
I looked up for the answer. Lord Silvo, even paler than usual, nodded and patted my shoulder.
I twisted in the chair to check and groaned at the sharp pain in the movement. My master was sitting on the floor rubbing the red fingermarks around his throat. An apprentice handed him a bowl of wine with shaking hands. He took a careful sip.
'Under the circumstances,' he croaked, swallowing painfully, T think we will delay the vote until next meeting.'
Although my master insisted he was well, by the time we entered the private living area of the Peony apartment the hollows of his face were shadowed with grey exhaustion. He did not resist when Rilia led him to the second sleeping chamber and, as I stood uncertainly at the doorway, I heard his small sigh as he eased himself onto the bed and sagged back against the pillows. He probed the damage to his throat with careful fingers, pain twitching across his haggard face. Something dangerous had been unleashed in that meeting room, and I was no longer certain my master could check it.
He lifted his head off the pillow. 'Eon, go to your lesson.' He coughed over the words. 'There is nothing more important than you attending these classes. We will talk when you return.'