Hidden Trump (Bite Back 2) (52 page)

“Oh, so very traditional, House Altau.” She chuckled and stood up.

Bian whispered. “The old method of assessing fitness to be Athanate—she can assess the binding of kin and House.”

“What do I do?”

“Nothing, she’ll do it all.”

“Do what? Is it going to—”

“Just trust, Amber.” But Bian was nervous now as well.

Pia understood what was happening and brought David forward from the back of the room.

“There are others as well back there,” Correia said.

The ushers helped Alex wheel Jen’s gurney to the center. She was covered with a sheet to her collarbone and her golden hair was matted and flat beneath her. I was sure none of the Athanate recognized her.

Emerson came and stood in front of me. She had a bright vitality beneath her wrinkled face. Her eyes were winter sky blue, unblinking in their reading of me.

After ten years in the army, no one beats me with staring games, even as battered and tired as I was. I just stood there, trembling with the effects of the pacifics, and looked back at her.

She took my right hand, still cuffed to Bian’s. Her fingers were cold, restless in their grip. Pia gave her hand. My heart skipped a beat.

“Bound,” she said immediately, her voice both raspy and soft.

David gave his hand. “Bound,” she said again.

Jen’s gurney was pushed closer. Emerson reached for Jen’s hand. Her face swayed close to mine. I could sense Bian’s tension. Those cool eyes bored into me. It felt like a prickle of pins traveled up my arm. Her eyes widened slightly and her face creased into a smile.

“Oh! Twice bound,” she said so softly, no one else would hear.

She reached for Alex’s hand, when Correia spoke: “Were! She’s brought a Were to the Assembly. This is a security—”

“Precedent,” shouted Bian, leaping to her feet. “Several Basilikos Houses have enslaved Weres and Adepts. They have been brought to the Assembly. And this Were is here of his own free will.”

Well, that got Alex’s vote, I guessed. He ignored it all, except for a golden-eyed glance at me. His hand lay in the Adept’s.

“You can’t bind a Were,” Correia said. “Altau’s affiliates must enslave them.”

Emerson laughed. It made her seem much younger.

“And thrice,” she whispered.

What?

She returned to her colleague, not even looking at the Assembly. “All bound,” she said, waving to encompass all of us. “None compelled.”

“Well,” said Skylur. “That’s all clear then.”

Speak for yourself, Skylur.

“And House Farrell,” Skylur said, looking at me. My heart skipped another beat. “For completeness in registration, who is or was your Mentor?”

Bian squeezed my wrist and I stood again.

“Diana Ionache.” I sat down in a profound silence.

Lindberg rose and made a small formal bow. “If there were any lingering doubts, that would dispel them. My apologies, House Farrell.”

I made an awkward sitting bow back.

Skylur beckoned to David and Pia.

Oh gods, what now?

“I believe you have a presentation for us? I know this is not according to the schedule, but since you’re here…”

A controller was handed to David. He stood there in his damp combat uniform and composed himself.

What on earth was this?

“David Thaler, House Farrell,” he introduced himself, and I felt a surge of pride.

“I’ve been asked to present an analysis of the implications of Emergence—”

Matlal rose to his feet and interrupted. “What possible relevance has this to the oath of House Farrell?”

“You did request the scope to be opened,” Skylur replied reasonably. “This is House Farrell, demonstrating why they warrant being an entity. I haven’t seen this presentation, I’m eager. Aren’t you?”

Matlal sat down, fuming.

“…the implications of Emergence on the financial stability of the world,” David continued. He glanced nervously at Skylur, but composed himself again. “In parallel to this, we have a second analysis.” He indicated Pia.

“Pia Shirazi, House Farrell,” she said. “An analysis of the societal impact of Emergence.”

I hadn’t a clue where this was leading, but I loved them standing there, everyone just accepting the designation of House Farrell. Maybe we were through the worst.

I’d always known David was smart. He showed every one of them exactly how smart he was. He’d gathered information about the way large financial institutions invested, where and how they received the funds to invest and he made it all simple, even the way that the whole worldwide structure was interconnected. He had to have worked twenty-three hours a day this whole week to do it.

He demonstrated his analytical system by using the worldwide financial impact of the banking crisis, how it came about and how much weaker it left everything.

Pia took over and showed the societal effects of the banking crisis—the vilification of bankers, the crisis of confidence that led to the collapse of banks and financial institutions, and the fall of governments in the wake of the disasters. She gave the floor back to David.

He’d gotten into his stride earlier, but now, for the second time, he seemed nervous. I had an uncomfortable glimpse of where this was going, and many others did as well. There was a muted murmuring from the seats on both sides. Skylur made a gesture to carry on.

David resumed. “That data gives us a model to predict the impact of Emergence. In the time available, we looked only at two primary drivers: pharmaceuticals and insurance.”

The two supporting parts of his graphic model became highlighted.

“Investor confidence in these areas would plummet,” Pia said. A slide came up to the side showing dramatic estimates for falls in stock prices.

“This is ridiculous,” said Norgaard, ahead of the rest of them. “You’re implying that humans would expect Athanate to replace all medicine with healing? The post-retirement income investment companies would be crippled because humans live longer? Athanate are not numerous. We can’t possibly do this.”

“You are absolutely correct. But the world financial structure is built on confidence and perception, not on substance,” replied David. He held up a ten dollar bill. “This piece of paper says the government of the United States owes me money. Where do I go to collect, and what will they give me? What if everyone goes there? This bill has no value except its perceived value. The effect of Emergence would be even more profound than the banking crisis.” He gestured at the screen, where his three-dimensional model of the interconnected financial structure went through an animation of the pharmaceutical and insurance pillars collapsing. The whole worldwide structure followed.

“This would lead to an anarchic reaction against the perceived cause,” Pia said. “We’re talking worldwide riots. Lynching. Burning.”

The whole Assembly sat, appalled at the picture David and Pia had painted.

Except Skylur. I was watching him, wondering what the hell he thought he was doing. An icy smile passed like a spring frost across his face and was gone.

“Well, most instructive, House Altau, House Farrell,” Correia said, letting her breath ease out of her. “Emergence is a dead cause from this time forward. Excellent.”

“Not exactly.” Skylur reached down beside his seat and placed something in his lap. “That presentation shows the results of
unprepared
Emergence. That is what we are facing at this very moment.” He looked at me and beckoned. “House Farrell, please.”

Bian unlocked the handcuffs. I walked unsteadily, in a daze, every step sending jolts of dull pain through my shoulder. What next? At least no one challenged the removal of the handcuffs.

“We are here, at the heart of the most powerful and advanced human civilization the world has ever seen,” Skylur addressed the room, and suddenly his voice reached out like a lash. “And you think we can hide in the shadows.

“Explain this device to them.” Skylur thrust my blood test unit at me.

A bubbling glee threatened to break out in me, but I managed to control it. I turned and held the unit up for everyone to see.

“This box,” I said, “belongs to the US military. And it was made to measure the change from human to Athanate.”

Shouts of denial interrupted me, but I pointed at the Adepts.

“Truth,” they said.

“The military know about the Athanate, and our only defense against the disaster of unprepared Emergence is to prepare for it, to control Emergence. And to do that, we must prepare with governments, secretly and at the highest levels. And for that to work, our behavior as Athanate must be—”

I couldn’t proceed against the tide of protest from Basilikos. They could see where I was going, where Skylur had expertly driven us.

I returned to my chair, letting the argument rage over me like surf. The ushers had let my House reform around me, comforting me. The emotional rollercoaster, the pain and the pacifics robbed me of reaction. I sat numbly.

Eventually, a semblance of calm was restored.

One of the teleconference screens lit up with a blue bar. The unofficial representative of the Midnight Empire requested to speak and Skylur nodded.

“Tell me, House Farrell,” he said, his British voice thin through the speakers, “what your Mentor thinks of this.”

“Diana wants it,” I replied. “She would like me to start making connections through my former military contacts to talk to the government.”

I saw a raised eyebrow from the Adept, but I hadn’t lied outright.

The Midnight Empire seemed to take the news as positive.

“That is irrelevant, and the Midnight Empire has no vote here,” Correia said, gripping the armrests of her chair. “Not all your own side will support you in this, Altau. Maybe Emergence will need to be accepted in the future, at a time we all agree on. But Basilikos will oppose this proposal now. Put this to the vote.”

“The timing of votes is my responsibility, House Correia, unless you want a vote of confidence?”

Correia backed down. Earlier, she would have taken it, but Skylur had whipped Panethus back into line now, even if not on the issue of Emergence.

“And as for the precise timing, I admit to some subterfuge.” Skylur smiled. He was enjoying himself now. Matlal and Correia exchanged worried looks.

“I was truthful in saying I don’t know where Diana is, when you asked earlier. But I do know where she’s been.” He picked up a pile of papers next to his seat and worked through them till he had the one he wanted. Pure showmanship.

“In Canada.”

Bian twitched. Not what I expected at all, but at least Bian must have had an inkling of what might be coming.

“The assembled Houses of Canada,” Skylur read, “etcetera, etcetera…hereby agree to the proposed terms of inclusion in the Panethus group.” He looked up. “They’ll be here tomorrow.”

The representative of the Midnight Empire looked surprised but not shocked, on his screen. He had clearly been expecting it.

Basilikos weren’t. And the balance of the Assembly had just tilted against them.

“And further,” Skylur almost purred, “I have applications from thirty-six new Houses in the United States to table tomorrow.”

Correia stood. “That’s impossible. This is fantasy. Purely a delaying tactic to stop a vote on Emergence from being taken now.”

“Clearly not impossible,” Skylur said. “Difficult, yes. My colleagues, almost every Altau Athanate in the last ten years, have been sent out across the United States. Every major city that was without a House now has one. Earlier than planned, I choose to reveal them now.”

Basilikos sat shocked to silence.

I couldn’t remember the formula for seats in Assembly.

“At least six seats,” whispered Bian. “All right behind Altau.”

“If all your House left you, how have you increased, how have you protected yourself?” said Lindberg. His frown became concerned. “Indeed, there have been rumors about Denver which I disregarded. How are we protected now?”

“Why should we need protecting, with the Warders here?” Skylur asked, and let that sink in. “Yet, I felt we did. And I reveal another secret of House Altau. We are sealed in down here for our own safety. We are protected tonight by the Lyssae.”

Now faces throughout the room registered shock.

“It should be safe,” Skylur said helpfully. “We don’t
think
they’ll break in here. And as for protection in Denver following the Assembly…” Skylur looked around. “The failure of the Warders was the trigger for my change of plan regarding the new Houses. My affiliate Houses have now provided sufficient people to ensure safety. I assure you, my colleagues, few of you were truly safe, or would have been safe departing this meeting. Even before we were sealed in, there was an attack on this house.”

The shouting rose and died as he went on to speak directly to Bian.

“My apologies to my Diakon for keeping her and everyone else out of these decisions.”

There was another storm of protest, led by Basilikos.

“This is ridiculous. You are accusing Basilikos—” Correia shouted.

“Have I once said Basilikos?”

The screen showing the representative for the Empire of Heaven glowed. The room became quieter. The Empire of Heaven was not in the Assembly, but they were the largest cohesive group of Athanate in the world outside of the Assembly, and they spoke with this one voice.

“What is your purpose in establishing Houses throughout the United States, House Altau? We have never defined ourselves strictly by these human boundaries.”

“Right to the point,” muttered Bian.

Skylur shrugged. “It is now Altau strategy to do so. Those few Houses of whatever creed remaining in North America are now under notice to affiliate or leave.”

The Assembly’s collective breath hissed in.

“It is all to do with Emergence, then,” said the Empire of Heaven. “Very well. We give equivalent notice within our territories. And what, House Altau, of New York?”

“Altau and our affiliates will hold all Athanate North America. Including New York,” replied Skylur firmly.

“But that’s ceded to the Warders,” called out someone.