Druss and Alma looked at me. Their eyes gave away nothing, but the silence was an answer.
I leant back in the chair. ‘So why you two instead of Bahamus? With Sarque gone, I would have thought he was the obvious choice.’
‘We aren’t here to make small talk,’ Alma said.
‘Because he doesn’t want to get close to you,’ Druss said.
Alma shot a lightning-quick glare at Druss. ‘Oh, no one gives a shit, Alma,’ Druss told her. The big mage stifled a yawn before looking back at me. ‘Bahamus was your ally. After what you did, he’s keeping his distance.’
‘Apparently not that committed an ally.’
Druss shrugged. ‘You get caught breaking the law, that’s what happens. Who’s the girl?’
Alma’s eyes moved to Ji-yeong, her flash of temper already gone. The mages behind her followed her lead. I saw Sonder frowning slightly, as if trying to remember who she was. ‘This is Yun Ji-yeong,’ I said. ‘Up until forty-five minutes ago, she was a senior apprentice under the Dark mage Sagash.’
‘So?’
‘You want to know what happened forty-five minutes ago?’
‘I don’t give a shit about some Dark apprentice,’ Druss said. ‘What’s she doing here?’
‘She’s here,’ I said, ‘because Anne Walker just went into Sagash’s shadow realm with an army of jann and either killed or took control over every human being inside it.’ I nodded at Ji-yeong. ‘Except for her. Given what Richard told you about Anne’s plans, I think you can see the relevance.’
‘And why should we believe the word of a Dark mage?’ Alma asked.
‘Yun Ji-yeong has agreed to give evidence as to today’s events in exchange for safe conduct,’ I said. I waited just long enough for Alma to open her mouth before going on. ‘She’s under my protection, so if you’d like to question her, I would request that you do so politely.’
Alma gave me a hard, flat look before switching her gaze to Ji-yeong. ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘Apprentice Yun Ji-yeong. At your convenience, perhaps you could see fit to inform us as to Anne Walker’s activities.’
‘I wasn’t aware that Anne Walker was targeting our shadow realm,’ Ji-yeong said. Her voice was calm; she’d obviously taken the time to steady herself. ‘The first I knew of what was happening was when the perimeter alarms sounded. I travelled to the bridge and . . .’
Ji-yeong told the story simply and clearly. I sat quietly, studying the futures as Alma and Druss kept interrupting. They wanted to know tactical details: how many jann had Anne summoned, how many other mages had been supporting her, how much combat power she’d displayed. Ji-yeong answered honestly, but her answers didn’t seem to make them happy.
Once Ji-yeong began to repeat herself, Druss cut her off with a gesture. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘Well, Verus, you’re the diviner, so here’s a question. What happens if we gate to that shadow realm and go after Walker right now?’
‘That . . . would depend on a lot of things.’
‘Are you one of those things?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘What Druss is asking,’ Alma said, ‘is this. If we were to follow your old master’s plan and attack Anne Walker, whose side would you be on?’
I hesitated. Suddenly I was very aware that everyone in the room was watching me. ‘Anne is in the process of being possessed by the marid jinn from Suleiman’s ring,’ I said carefully. ‘I consider that jinn to be an enemy.’
‘You do understand what “possession” means, right?’ Druss said. ‘If the jinn’s an enemy, so’s she.’
‘I would prefer to find some way to separate them.’
‘And what if you do not find one?’ Alma said. She clasped her hands in front of her, leaning toward me. ‘What if there is no way to separate them? What if the choice is between eliminating Anne Walker, and allowing the jinn to achieve its goals?’
I met Alma’s gaze. There was a clear path behind me, yet suddenly I felt trapped. Seconds ticked by.
Then the boom of an opening door echoed through the chamber. Richard had arrived.
Most of the Council group turned towards the sound. The Council security adjusted their formation, shifting to face the new threat. I saw Nimbus take a battle stance, and Druss’s hand twitched as though he’d like to do the same.
Richard entered with two people flanking him. On his left was Vihaela, a tall, predatory woman with dark skin. Her gaze swept the room like a raptor scanning for prey, and she noted and dismissed me before focusing on the Council group. On Richard’s right was what looked like a swirling mass of grey-black darkness, vaguely humanoid with a faceless blur for a head. I knew that it was a man, even if it didn’t look like one: his name was Tenebrous, a radiation mage. He wore that shroud everywhere, and as far as I knew, no one on the Council had ever seen his face. He’d been one of Richard’s cabal for a while. Apparently with Rachel and Morden gone, he’d been raised to the inner circle.
But it was Richard who drew my attention. Shorter than both Vihaela and Tenebrous, he was (after Sonder) probably the least physically imposing person in the room. But it was he who’d summoned the Council, not the other way around. The Council forces outnumbered Richard’s group eight to one, but given a choice between the Council group and Richard’s three, I knew which I’d rather have as an enemy.
‘Alma,’ Richard said as he walked closer. His voice rang through the chamber, commanding as always. ‘Druss. And Verus.’ He gave me a nod. ‘I’m glad you were able to make the journey.’
‘And we’re glad you deigned to show up,’ Alma said sharply. ‘I was starting to wonder if you were intending to win this war by waiting for us to die of old age.’
‘I can’t imagine you dying of old age, Alma,’ Richard said with a smile. He pulled out a chair and sat. Vihaela dropped into the chair at his side and put her feet up on the table. Tenebrous stayed upright, silent and brooding.
‘Let me first say,’ Richard began, ‘that I appreciate you all coming on such short notice.’
‘Piss off,’ said Druss.
Richard raised his eyebrows. ‘Excuse me?’
‘We know what you are, Drakh,’ Druss said. ‘We don’t like you, we don’t trust you, and you’re only here ’cause you want something. Get to the point.’
‘I’m afraid I have to agree,’ Alma said. ‘We have waited more than long enough.’
‘I see,’ Richard said. He turned to me. ‘Verus? Do you feel the same?’
I’d been watching the back and forth. ‘You know why I’m here,’ I said simply.
‘Yes,’ Richard said, and turned back to the Council. ‘Well, then. I have brought you here today because we have a problem.’
‘We have a lot of problems,’ Druss said. ‘But I’m guessing you mean Anne Walker.’
‘Correct.’
‘I am more interested,’ Alma said, ‘in your use of the word “we”.’
‘How so?’
‘Because,’ Alma said, ‘I would consider it more accurate to say that you have a problem. You arranged, at significant time and expense, to free that jinn from the Vault and to have it possess Anne Walker. You then proceeded to use it as a weapon until the jinn, quite predictably, broke free and attacked you instead. At which point you came to us. So no, Drakh. I don’t think we have a problem. I think that you are attempting to make your problem into our problem.’
‘As I recall, Anne Walker killed one of your companions on the Senior Council just last month,’ Richard said.