Mine to Fear (8 page)

“
And if they find anything,” he eyes
the table where I left the spell, “you can be assured they will
know who did it.”

Or not. “I'm sure they'll do an excellent
job.”

He glares me down as if that will
somehow make me stop talking. “You need to lower your face
to
me
.”

These warlocks really have no clue how to
treat a female. I laugh even though I feel more like slapping him.
“Why would I do such a thing?”

“
Because you are a woman.”

“
I most definitely am.” I make certain
to look him right in the eyes, letting all the fierceness boiling
within me shine through them. “And you sir, are a man with very
poor manners.”

I turn away, but before I'm able to escape
past him entirely, he has the gall to say, “We run a better house
than this. You will follow Chardonian rules while you're here.
Learn them and don't dawdle again. If you're faced with a task that
time-consuming, request help.”

It wouldn't have been any time at all if he
hadn't interrupted. “Whatever. I'm just doing my job.”

I brush past him, my arm tingling as it
grazes his. Chardonian warlocks! Really, what gives them any idea
they can treat people like this? I dealt with it when I was here
before, but most of the time, it was secondhand stories from the
girls. Rarely was I in a place where it happened directly to
me.

Despite his warning to me, it doesn't
make me want to change my own behavior. It only makes me want to
work harder at changing h
is
.

“
I
hope you
two ladies don't mind, but Daniel wanted to spend the evening with
me,” Annabelle says.

I halt my forward movement into her room and
instead take a step back. “We can visit some other night,
then.”

“
Don't leave on my account,”
Councilman Daniel says. “Please stay a while. I wouldn't mind
getting to know you both better. Annabelle has only good things to
say of each of you.”

Another excuse is about to spill from my
mouth so we don't intrude on their time together when Tawny says,
“If you insist, I suppose we will have to. I must admit, I've been
curious to learn more about you as well, since Annabelle speaks of
you so often and highly, Councilman.”

Often? We've only been here four days. But
there's no getting out of it now. I take a chair across from the
Councilman and his wife. Tawny pours tea for them, asking the
Councilman how he would like his but adjusting Annabelle's without
question. She then pours a cup of warm milk for us and sits beside
me.

“
Tawny talks with me often,” Annabelle
says. “But what about you, Waverly? How are you adjusting to life
here?”

I take a sip and try not to scrunch my
nose. It tastes burned but is lukewa
rm
. I'll have to see if I can spend some time in
the kitchens if I remain here and teach them the proper way to
prepare a cup of milk. Whatever this stuff is, it's not at all
soothing.

“
It's like coming home for me. A
different house than I was in before, but still home.”

“
You don't find our ways backwards,
then?” the Councilman asks.

Time to tread carefully. He may be on our
side, but he's still on the council. “They are definitely different
than where I'm from. I find many of your people endearing and some
others who…” I'd like to punch in the nose. “…aren't as much.”

He laughs. “A good political answer. Don't
worry, I don't like a lot of the people here either, but it's home
for us too. We're doing what we can to help with that. When we can
get around the Grand Chancellor, that is.”

I don't think any of us realized just how
good of allies Annabelle and Daniel are. We should have. I'm
excited just thinking of adding their help. “How has that been
going for you?”

“
Lately, people have been more open to
speaking with me about changing things. It's been wonderful to see.
Unfortunately, the Grand Chancellor knows it and continues clamping
down on as many laws
as
he
can.”

“
Isn't there more you can do?” Tawny
asks. I'm sure this is harder for her to hear than it is to me. I'm
used to this, as much as I don't want to be. She's used to how
Envado rules.

“
I wish there was, but I'm just a
voice in a large crowd. One the Grand Chancellor doesn't have to
listen to.”

“
You do a good job, my dear,”
Annabelle says.

He takes a hold of her hand as he continues.
“It wasn't always this way, you know. There was a time when the
council was actually a council that worked together with the Grand
Chancellor. Too many years with too many men grabbing for as much
power as they can, has left the position of Grand Chancellor with
too much weight.”

“
Do you think anything can be done
about it?” I ask. Because there has to be. If not, all of this will
be for not.

“
As things are, I don't know. The
Grand Chancellor keeps making things stricter and
strict
er
. At this rate, the
entire country will be on lock down unless you're Chancellor Ryan
or Councilman Stephen.”

“
What? I though Chancellor Ryan was
kicked off the council after the tournament when he forced
Nathaniel to take the magic from those women. And Stephen hasn't
been on since Serena's ball when he tried to have Zade
murdered.”

“
I'm afraid the Grand Chancellor has
reinstated them both.”

“
But he got rid of Chancellor Ryan
because of the effect he was going to have on relationships with
other countries. Doesn't he care about that still?”

Daniel sighs. “Apparently, not any
longer.”

“
How are we going to hold any leverage
against him if he doesn't care what other countries think?” Tawny
says.

“
We'll just have to keep trying
different things,” he replies.

Annabelle yawns. “Excuse me. I'm not used to
staying up to this hour.”

“
It's getting late,” I say with a yawn
of my own.

“
I'm afraid time got away from us,”
Annabelle says as we all stand. “Thank you for joining us this
evening, Waverly.”

“
I was happy to. It was great getting
to know you both better. I really appreciate your
candidness.”

“
Anytime,” Daniel says.

As I pull the door shut behind me, I
catch a last glimpse of Annabelle and Daniel, still sitting side by
side holding hands, but now gazing at each other, perfectly content
just to be in one another's presence. If only we could get this
country to be so content with everyone else in i
t
. There has to be a way to rid the country of
the Grand Chancellor's poison.

T
he council
meeting should have started by now. I pace the short length of my
room, wishing there was more space to really stretch my legs. What
if they somehow figured out how to catch my spell before it
activated? They are council members after all. They're supposed to
be some of the best warlocks in Chardonia, even if the Grand
Chancellors, throughout the ages, have taken away their power.
Though I'm not sure if the “best” means the ones with the most
power or the ones with the most influence. Either way, it's
daunting to think about.

What's more, it's not just the
councilmen I need to worry about. There's Chancellor Ryan and Zade
who are a bigger thre
at
. Zade
would be even more livid than Chancellor Ryan at my scheme. Though
Chancellor Ryan would probably torture or kill me, while Zade would
just yell. Brothers.

And then there's the Grand Chancellor. He's
not a warlock I want discovering I'm trying to spy on him. What if
he decides to make me his next sacrifice?

I shake my head. Stupid, useless
thoughts. I'm not a tarnished, th
e
council
won't sacrifice me. Of course, that doesn't
mean they won't find some other form of punishment. Or that they
won't tarnish me and then sacrifice me. It won't matter. I'm still
an Envadi while I'm in their lands; that much has been made very
clear.

Gah. All this time in Chardonia is wearing
on me. Making me worry over things I shouldn't. Next thing I know,
I'll be lowering my head to Jack.

My pacing grows more frantic. I need more
useful thoughts. Something that isn't driven by fear. What is
useful to think about? The spell hasn't been activated, so it's
like it's not even there. And how could they discover it if it's
not working? Would they even know it's from me? Or would they think
it's from Councilman Daniel? Maybe he's getting in trouble for it
right now. I can't bring that on him. Not before, but especially
not after, chatting with him last night. He and his wife are much
too good to deserve something like that to befall them.

I direct my pacing toward the door to break
the rule of going out there to see what's happened when my fingers
finally tingle. The spell is working. They didn't find it after
all.

I sag with relief onto the chair. Unless of
course they found the spell and purposefully made Zade activate it
to try and discover who cast it. I sit ramrod straight.

No sense waiting to see if they come
after me. I cast the second half of the spe
ll
that allows me to hear what's being said by
thinking of the first half of the spell and Zade's voice. Zade must
have spoken already because my finger is now tingling. I hold my
colored finger up to my ear.

“…
has been brought to my attention.”
The Grand Chancellor is speaking, I think. “More Envadi have
entered our country. Without clearance.”

Though this discussion does sound like it's
my fault, at least it's not related to the spell.

“
This is a serious problem, indeed,”
someone replies but I don't know who. Not having sight is more
frustrating than I suspected.

“
Indeed.” The Grand Chancellor again.
“Not only have they entered, but they have received aid from at
least two members of this council.”

Zade and Councilman Daniel! Oh lands, what
have I done? They're the ones who helped Tawny and I. Now they're
going to get in trouble because of my insistence on coming back
here, even when Zade said it was unsafe. I just never thought he
meant unsafe for them.

“
New measures have to be taken. I will
no longer try to appease the community as a whole, or other
countries. It's time to do what's best for Chardonia no matter the
consequences that befall because of it.” The Grand Chancellor makes
it sound as if he's a martyr in all this. Jerk. “Hence forth, the
following will apply, and I will not hear anyone utter a word until
it's settled.”

I begin pacing again, all the while holding
my spelled finger up to my ear. My gut churns.

“
First, no woman shall be allowed the
status of a warlock, no matter what. No law shall impede this one.
Nothing shall allow them this status unfitting of simple
property.”

My heart clenches as someone tries to speak,
but I can't make out the muffled words.

“
Silence!” The Grand Chancellor's yell
is so firm, it makes my ear ache. “There is not room for arguments,
Chancellor, as I previously stated. Furthermore, your arguments
will be moot shortly.”

That does not sound good. Not at all. A
chill runs through me as I grab my pack, throwing things into it
the best I can with one hand while he continues.

“
In accordance with this first rule,
no woman will be allowed to practice magic. Ever. Anyone caught
aiding them with this in
any
way will immediately be put to death. There will be no more
erasing memori
es spell
.
Punishment shall be swift, harsh, and unfailingly
public.”

My stomach churns as I grab a pack for Tawny
as well. Whatever happens, whether or not they catch my spell, we
need to leave. We pushed the Grand Chancellor too far to not have
further repercussions, and he knows we're here. All the work we've
done working with the people, will it be enough to counter this new
law or will it scare those already frightened souls? What will
happen to everyone who supports us now? Who was thinking of
supporting us?

“
Not only that, but because of the
nature of these crimes taking place and the unprecedented amount of
trouble and change happening recently, all Council members will be
held to these laws as well. Any of you who break them in the future
will suffer the same punishment.”

I fall into a chair, packs tumbling to the
ground. A stunned sort of stupor comes over me.

There's a murmur from several warlocks, but
I can't tell what they're saying, if it's good or bad. How much
worse could it possibly get? How will Zade survive this change? The
Grand Chancellor doesn't say a word against the murmurs, just
continues on with his mad plan.

“
From this moment, the council is
banned. Chancellor Ryan will remain along with the new Chancellor
Stephen.”

Curse those scum.

“
Those of you who have served me
faithfully will, of course, be rewarded and will be given positions
elsewhere as new laws go into effect. We will need your skills and
loyalty to help with any…disturbances resulting from the changes so
things can settle as soon as possible. Furthermore, anyone on this
council who has broken these new laws at any previous moment will
be arrested, imprisoned, and tortured until the next tournament
when they will be put to death in front of not just our own
citizens, but those of other countries.”