Lola nodded. “You know your stuff.
Agreeing to the deal that Suleiman Bin Daoud had set up between humanity and Others. Binding myself, with certain terms contingent in the binding. One of the first things I’d read up on, way back when.
“That opens me up to a lot of forms of attack,” I said. “Being properly bound, being targeted by certain vectors…”
“It protects you too,” Lola said. “Gives you a power source. You become a part of the greater scheme of things.”
“Damn it,” I said. “No. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. That’s why I’m trying to talk to you guys here. It’s… damn it. Would you accept the deal, as-”
“If it’s the reason for the meeting,” Gavin said, “We should wait for Mags. She’s close.”
I sighed.
“I did the seal thing, I think,” Evan said.
“I can explain later,” I said.
“Right!”
A moment of silence passed. The Behaims, understandably, weren’t very happy with me. The two Duchamp girls were murmuring to one another, while shooting periodic looks my way.
“Hey, chickadee! Fellow bird!” Evan called out to Penelope’s familiar. “Come perch with me while we wait. We can trade stories about all of the places to avoid when you’re out for a flight. Like Sandra’s weasel thing, except you’re a Duchamp so you’re safe, but stuff like that! Bird tips! Wait, wing tips!”
The chickadee looked at him. It spoke with a voice that was so high it might have sounded artificial, if the articulation wasn’t so perfect. “Do not presume that we’re equal, child.”
Evan was suddenly as mute as he’d been vocal. He pulled his head back closer to his body, until it looked like he had no neck at all, his feathers fluffing out in general.
Penelope looked at me and cupped her hand so Evan couldn’t see. It hurt my ability to see too, but I was pretty sure she mouthed the word ‘sorry’.
Mags arrived, a goblin in a snowsuit waddling behind her. It looked fat, and its eyes didn’t match, where they peered beneath the hood.
“Hi Blake.”
“Hi Mags,” I said.
“I hear you almost killed Alister.”
“I only wanted to cut him a little. He told me he could undo the damage.”
“Then why cut him?”
“Because he said he didn’t want me to, and I needed to do something.”
“You’re aware that Sandra, Alister, and Johannes know where you are, right? They know this meeting is happening?”
“Sure,” I said. “But right now, they’re also trying to stay out of my way. While we’ve been making small talk here- and not-so-small talk, I guess, my friends have been under attack. They know I’m looking for them. So the question is, do they come here to stop me from talking to you, exposing themselves, or do they stand back, and let me say what I have to say?”
“I suppose it depends on what you have to say,” Gavin told me.
“You want to know why I’m not so keen on the seal of Solomon business?”
“Because you don’t want to lose the ability to lie,” Craig said. He looked the most unfriendly out of all of the Behaims, and none of the Behaims seemed friendly at all. “Or you’re afraid of being bound.”
“Not quite,” I said. “My big concern is that we all share a common enemy, and somehow, a lot of us are missing it. It’s getting us one by one, and I can’t just give it more power.”
Lola Duchamp tilted her head a little. “Now you’re being intentionally cryptic.”
“History,” I said. “Your families, the Duchamps especially, are bound to it. Everyone’s doing things the way they’ve been done for ages, because they’ve been done that way for ages. It’s… it’s this corrupt, stupid force in all of our lives.”
“You’re gathering up a bunch of us Behaims and telling us that the big bad enemy is time?” Craig asked.
“History, not time. The past. I don’t think I can really convince Sandra or Alister or Johannes or any of the others to turn from their paths. They’re too secure in their power, comfortable in what tradition and history and expectations have given each of them. I’m really, honestly hoping I can convince you guys. Convince all of you guys, who are less in History’s grip. I’m banking on that, while the knowledge that my friends might be hurt or dying is slowly tearing me apart.”
“What makes you think we can be convinced?” Gavin asked.
“The knowledge that the Behaim family power is all being funneled into one point, one person. The first person was your dad, and… whatever my issues with him, he at least used it properly. Duncan used it too, less properly. Everything I’ve seen of Alister suggests he intends to squander it.”
“Assuming Alister is going to wind up in charge.”
“I spied on your family’s discussion while you were in school,” I said. “All signs suggest it’s in the works. A lot of voices in Alister’s support. Talk of a weapon being put in his hands.”
I saw the Behaims exchange glances.
“I shouldn’t comment either way,” Gavin told me. “Shouldn’t validate what you’re saying or fill in the blanks around your best guesses.”
“As far as I’ve been able to tell, you were misled,” I told him. “Just like your fathers and your fathers’ fathers were. You’re the equivalent of cows producing the milk, and it’s the Lairds and Alisters that get to decide what they do with that milk. The best you can do is hope they make good use of the power they milk from you.”
“You’re calling me a cow?” Ainsley asked, glaring at me.
“Yeah,” I said. “I guess I am. If you insist on sticking with the herd, instead of thinking for yourself.”
“Cute,” Gavin said. “Do you really think it’s smart to antagonize us, when you’re asking for our help?”
“I’m not trying to be your friend. I don’t think that’s about to happen given our history,” I answered.
“What, then?”
“I’m hoping that we can at least stand here, and agree that the status quo sucks, and it’s going to suck more for all of us if things continue down this course.”
“Speak for yourself,” Lola said. Her breath fogged in the air. She jammed gloved hands in her pockets. “You were going to say that the Duchamp tradition has hurt us too, right?”
“Something like that,” I said.
“Arranged marriages, being used as a currency of sorts, to buy more power for the family?”
“That was the impression I had,” I said. “Is it wrong?”
“It’s right. Right now,” Lola said. “I did everything I could to make myself unpresentable. Fought it every step of the way. Put metal in my face and ears, not just because I thought it was cool, but because I wanted to scare off the stodgy old mages and whatnots that paid visits and leered at us. It didn’t work. They found me someone who wanted someone distinctive. Guy ten years older than me I’ve met once, for an interview. Like I was applying for a job. Wedding’s set for a year from now. If it weren’t for the chaos here, the wedding day would’ve been the second day I saw him.”