The Timekeeper (10 page)

“Princess Azriella, we’re the proud owners of some serious problems with the Fey in the mortal world, specifically in Europe. The legal residents are smuggling in unlicensed Fey and are causing mass flooding in England. London is getting hit hard, half the damn city is underwater or washed out. The renegade Fey seem to be looking for something, but the Council refuses to share with us what they’ve stored in the vicinity until we clear everything with you. Even if you agree, I doubt those bastards will tell us anything.” I motioned for her to sit.

Typical
,
we’d have to be bureaucratic, because proper channels would ensure nothing got done about the problem. A Council tactic to keeping their dirty laundry from being aired in public, a strategy that always worked. Unfortunately for them, I had a plan of my own. Those jackasses had tried this before. I discovered a way around them. This time, I would gain the upper hand.

“I don’t doubt that’s the case, they aren’t likely to tell me anything either. Is it just the Fey? If we’re going to deal with this predicament then we’d better lay everything out on the table girls, I want to take this to those assholes once. I heard London wasn’t the only place with flooding problems. The Middle East seems to be experiencing quite the unusual weather as well. Is this just natural caused bizarreness, or do we have a Djinn problem?” I gazed at Kahina, who covered the Middle Eastern territories. She stood and studied the room.

She was also strikingly beautiful, but darker skinned. Kahina’s long black hair hung in waves framing her face
.
Her large onyx eyes were sharp and alert. She wore the forest green robes of the Moors
,
a land rich in both forests and deserts alike. The Moorian wasn’t much taller than me, well muscled and stern. She’d been one of my favorite ladies. Her attitude
:
always stellar.

“
Evet, Prenses
. The Djinn have been running amok. Flooding the coastal areas and ports, I’m not sure if they’re looking for something or not
.
They may just be providing a distraction. They are operating in the same manner, legal bringing in illegal.” I waved her to sit down and thought for a moment.

I had a suspicion this was more political in nature. Azazel wouldn’t allow the Djinn to start crossing over without a good reason. Everyone had a breaking point, and my father’s tended to come out when he’d been backed into a corner.

“Right now, Fey Queen Ariannona Mourne, Azazel the Demon King and the High Council are fighting over territorial rights, so they say
.
I’m sure this territory equates to property, as neither lay claim to Council occupied lands and I haven’t heard anything about an invasion. This is the fall out. No doubt those idiots hid something the Queen is after, an artifact the King is entitled to
.
I don’t think this is the cause of our problems, ladies. Anything else I need to take to the simpletons? If I’m going to speak to those arrogant twits I would like to only put myself through the torture once.” I appraised the women and Sybil, the correspondent for South America stood up.

Sybil was an older, wiser woman who didn’t bother making herself young and beautiful like the rest us. Ancient as dirt, and as unyielding as time, Sybil made sure everyone knew. Her plain brown robes from the Amazonian Colony cloaked her hunched back and her gnarled hands held a cane to support her almost crippled body.

Sybil’s long grey hair was pulled up in a bun and cataracts covered her pale blue eyes. I’d never been sure whether to be scared of her
,
or feel sorry for her. I had urged her to retire, to spend of the remainder of her life doing what she wanted to do, but she turned me down.

“Princess, we seem to be having an influx of all creatures without visas. We, in Brazil, are suffering a huge problem with Weres coming in and out. Farther south the Vampires are complaining their territories are being encroached on by Weres. I don’t know what to tell them, but we need the Veil Guards to stop them from moving around as they choose. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep the Vamps from an all out war.” She sat back down without needing instruction.

The old woman wasn’t interested in standing beyond what she needed to
,
and I certainly didn’t plan on lecturing her on proper protocol.

“Is anyone else having this problem? I haven’t heard from the Clans in North America, but I’ll get a hold of my contacts before I go to the Council. The last thing we need is a Vamp uprising. We have no way to contain them in the mortal world, and we can’t sustain a huge influx of criminal Vampires into Aliis
.
” I looked around the room, and everyone nodded.

I was starting to wonder if the Vampire problem had become widely spread, but didn’t think to mention my pondering in lieu of the other issues at hand. Awena stood to speak again.

“The Fey started to encroach the Vamp territories in London and North Wales, among several other places. The Dublin, Zurich, Paris, Berlin and Madrid Clans contacted me. The embassies are prepared to take care of the situation if we are not. War with the Vampires is on the horizon in Europe, and I venture to guess everywhere else
.
It seemed minor in comparison to the semi-natural disasters that are wreaking havoc.” She sat, I agreed.

It made sense that she would overlook the larger picture. The stability of the Clans had always been volatile, ever changing and a complete mess. Takeovers, power changes, murder and old age seemed to cause upheaval in their communities, and the elusive Council of Kambuis picked and chose their battles as it suited them.

This needed to be taken care of immediately. The problem was the Vampire hierarchy was spread out and difficult to get a hold of. Once you got in contact with the leader of the Clan trying to deal with them tended to be even more challenging. I didn’t have enough people to prevent a war from happening. The dickheads on the High Council may or may not care to allow me additional resources. I’d need to pull favors from whoever owed me.

“I hate to say this, but we’re all going to have to get in touch with every Vampire Clan in our territories. Please take your Guards with you
.
The Clans are already riled up and the hordes aren’t a safe place for us to be. Lets keep injuries to a minimum. If you get bitten, for the love of the Fates, clean the bite with the appropriate antiseptic and make sure no blood is exchanged. I’d rather not find myself being forced to deal with Vampire Oracles
.

“The Council would have a fit and I’m running out of excuses. The hierarchies need to understand we’re trying to take care of the problem and warring with the Weres isn’t going to help. I’ll work on getting support for this impossible task as quickly as I can. I have a couple of favors I will call in, but we need to be proactive about the situation.” I glanced around, making sure everyone was on board with the plan. Each woman nodded
.

“Since no one has anything else to add, I’ll adjourn this meeting. Ladies, I hope you will all remain safe and keep your Guards with you at all times. I would be heartbroken if I lost any of you.” The women rose and filed out of the exit.

I was left standing alone in the room looking at the banners of each territory the Seers represented. Ours weren’t up, only the Order’s. We didn’t need to be acknowledged here. I was well known, but no one had a clue I had an actual staff underneath me. I wasn’t interested in staying longer than I needed to, so I summoned Azul.

I started making my way toward the door. He wasn’t going to be happy if he popped up inside the building
.
It would take him several minutes to show up.

He might be in human form as Darius in the mortal world, but here, in Aliis, he was one large
,
blue Celestial Dragon. He could assume a humanoid form when he chose. He was more comfortable in his natural state. I didn’t blame him, I was contented in mine as well, but smoke wasn’t tangible and I‘d spent years ensuring I stayed in a structure people could see unless I found reason not to. I’d been blessed with a Demon manifestation that proved to be quite attractive. Life was all about appearances.

I ghosted out of the building
.
I needed to be outside the instant Azul popped into existence. I’d take solid form again as soon as he arrived. I’m a protected person, a Princess and an Official
.
Titles put my life in danger on a grand scale. I wore the colors and robes of the Council, rather than the designation of my native colony.

Here, I was an Official of the High Council of Portlandia, not the Princess of the Deep Desert. My dark wine cloaks were plush velvet trimmed in black satin, two colors I looked particularly good in, so I couldn’t complain about the wardrobe. Except, they made me stick out like a sore thumb when I wasn’t in the governmental campus
.

I was used to this life, knowing the Assassins my mother had trained could one day come for me. Good luck catching me, I knew all of their tricks, and only a new and stupid recruit would bother with me. I acquired extra skills than any Assassin had ever dreamed of. Between my mother’s training and the skills of a Demon-Djinn, I’d become untouchable.

Few of my mixed-race ever trained for combat of any type, sticking to the royal side of life. Demons possessed a bizarre need to be pampered and be considered important
.
Pride seemed to be built into their genetic makeup. I had chose to do both. I don’t believe in limiting myself.

I drifted down the street toward the High Council’s office. I wasn’t moving quickly, dragging ass for a multitude of reasons. I hadn’t gone far before Azul appeared next to me and I solidified my body again. He chose not to speak in this form, it was possible, he just didn’t care for it, but telepathy was an option. Mental communication was uncomfortable if he started screaming at me, so I made sure to watch my mouth and not agitate him.

My love, I assume you need me to escort you to the Council of Cabbage Heads. I’m grateful you finally found a use for me, rather than just wandering off by yourself. What did the ladies tell you that would justify reporting to those buzzards?

I frequently didn’t bother reporting anything to the Council. I hated them, and so did he, and making a report meant I’d be required to speak to them. However, this situation would spiral out of control if I couldn’t get additional patrols out. The only way to do that was to beg and plead with the assholes that currently held title to my life.

“Sweetheart, we’ve a very serious problem. I’m not explaining this twice so you’re stuck waiting until we get there. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be wasting my breath for most of this meeting anyway, but I’m sure you will find it informative.” I smiled at him and patted him on his scaly
,
iridescent blue snout. He nuzzled against my cheek and I snuggle back.

His presence comforted me as we strolled toward the main administration building in the government complex. We’d been catching stares filled with fear and confusion. The employees knew what it meant when the small Demon-Djinn Princess and her Dragon Lord were seen lurking around the compound. Something fucked up was in the works. They weren’t wrong.

He escorted me through the large doors of the structure that housed the thirteen members of the High Council. The architects of designed the building, they made sure to account for the varying sizes of the creatures who might find their way through it’s doors.

The ceilings were vaulted to a ridiculous height, the entryways stood wide, and the hallways equally as spacious, but still just barely large enough for the Dragon beside me. Azul followed me into the main hallway leading to the boardroom in the rear of the first level
,
and I requested audience.

The chamber Guard, also dressed in wine colored velvet and black satin, nodded and signaled one of the Guards near the side door that led into the board’s offices. They wouldn’t keep me waiting for long
.
I would leave and deal with things myself if I wasn’t granted audience quickly. No one wanted that. It never turned out well for them when I decided to handle a situation on my own.

We walked past the velvety uniformed Guard and positioned ourselves in the middle of the room, directly in front of the large, dark wood crescent desk where the Councilmen and women would sit. As we waited I turned to my husband.

“We are going to have to send Zipporah and Sargon to speak to the Vampire Clans in our territory. We have problems and I there’s no way I can get to all of the Clan leaders as quickly as needed. The pair are well known by the Clans and will accept them as my representatives.” Azul nodded his large blue head, scales scraping against each other as he moved
.

I suppose I could spare Sargon for a while, and this is a much better plan than you doing everything yourself. I don’t trust the Vampires to keep their cold
,
dead hands off you. Even with the dynamic duo’s help, it’s impossible to reach every Clan without additional resources.  There are too many and they are too spread out. Djinn blood will always be a delicacy. We’ll need to send Guards with them to ensure their safety.

I chuckled, “Sweetie, you hate them, but really, the last thing you need to worry about is Vamp hands on me. I’m sure if they wanted to, they would’ve already tried. It’s difficult for anyone to get his or her paws on me when you’re around
.
I’ve got a way to get word to all of the Clans we cannot reach so it’s a non-issue. I just want to appear we are taking this matter seriously.” I listen to the low rumble of Azul’s laugh echo around the large chamber.