Woman King (20 page)

The demon smiled, revealing a set of very
brown teeth. “He wants you to know that there will be another
candidate in the race for Seat 15.”

I’m not sure why, but his involvement didn’t
surprise me. Stoner Halbert was after my life, mostly because he
thought it was easy to take. But he didn’t know what I’d been up to
these last few weeks. He didn’t know about the Council. The fact
that I was even able to hold this conversation was proof that Elsa
had saved my life.

“You tracked me to the park on my run to tell
me this?” I asked. “Why not hold a press conference and make an
announcement like other candidates?”

It was a little childish of me to spar
verbally with a demon—essentially a bag of bones with bad
intentions. After my quip, the demon became angry and I felt the
full force of him against my skull. I knew I could hold him off for
a while, but not indefinitely, and I began to wonder what would
happen if I tried to run past him. In the end, I decided to take a
different approach, in the hope that I could cut our visit
short.

“Listen,” I said cordially. “You can tell
Stoner that I have received his message and that I said may the
best candidate win.”

This seemed to take his temperature back down
to normal.

“OK then,” I said, “if you don’t mind, I am
going to go now.”

Once again I was treated to a smile and the
demon pivoted his body so that I could pass on the sidewalk. I
slipped by the big red one gingerly, thankful that I noticed a path
leading up a hill back in the direction of my house. Curtailing my
run and heading directly home to avoid any more trouble seemed like
the best idea. I ran at a brisk pace toward my house, glad that I
had slipped a key in my pocket.

Now that I had managed to put some distance
between Halbert’s messenger and myself, my adrenaline kicked in,
causing my hands to tremble as I put the key in the lock to my
front door. I closed the door behind me and leaned against the wood
to catch my breath. Elsa was not home. She had been staying away
for longer periods of time, and I was beginning to wonder whether
my roommate would be moving on shortly.

Staring down a demon is tiring business.
Feeling depleted, I went upstairs and took a warm shower to calm my
nerves and heat up my bones, which felt hollow and chilled from the
encounter.

Once I was dressed, I returned to the kitchen
to make myself a cappuccino and plopped some bread into the
toaster. While I waited for the toast, I checked my phone for
messages. I had several texts from William, reminding me that we
were supposed to go out tomorrow night. I smiled and texted him
back that he could pick me up at 5 pm I had a second set of texts
from JP asking me to call him. I clicked through on the number he’d
sent, which looked to be his cell and within a few seconds he
picked up the call.

“JP, it’s Olivia,” I said.

“You got my texts?” he asked.

“That’s how I knew to call this number,” I
said. “So what’s up? Are you calling to tell me that Levi has an
opponent?” I could feel his disbelief over the telephone. He
thought he was going to be the one to surprise me. I liked being
able to surprise him; it almost made the visit from the demon
cowboy worth it.

“How did you know?” he asked.

“I ran into someone who knows Stoner
Halbert,” I said. “He let me know there was going to be a opposing
candidate. But I don’t know who it is.”

“Her name is Lacy Smith,” JP said. “She’s an
attorney and a member of the local Tea Party.” I was listening to
JP and formulating my statement. I knew he wanted a comment, an
official one from the campaign.

“I assume you are looking for a quote from
the campaign?”

“Yes,” he said.

“OK. Here it is,” I said. “We welcome Ms.
Smith’s entrance into the race, and look forward to a spirited
debate about the issues as the campaign progresses.”

JP snorted into the phone. “That’s it? You
don’t want to comment on her credentials?”

“I’m really not familiar enough to make any
further statements,” I said, knowing I sounded very much the
reticent campaign manager. “So...is that it?”

“Actually I have one more question,” he said.
I knew before he asked that whatever he was about to say, he felt
nervous. “Do you want to have dinner sometime soon?”

His request surprised me. Setting aside
William and my already head-over-heels feelings for him, it was a
plain old bad idea to date the reporter covering your campaign. It
was unprofessional and downright dangerous, since the line between
lovers and adversaries can get blurred in a hurry. And let’s face
it; the press is often a campaign’s adversary. I decided a
work-related brush-off was my best tactic.

“You know, these days my schedule is pretty
jam-packed with work,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Why
don’t you ask me again in a few weeks?”

This elicited an “OK, will do,” and we said
our goodbyes. I turned the ringer volume up on my phone, expecting
similar calls from reporters during the next several hours. I
decided to make another espresso and work from home until it was
time to meet with Gabriel.

After I hung up with JP, I left a voicemail
for Gabriel telling him about Lacy. Then I called Levi and briefed
him on both Lacy and the quote I’d given to JP. Levi asked if he
should make a statement. I discouraged him. “You can comment when
she says or does something that deserves your attention,” I said.
“In the meantime, let me be the one who speaks.”

When I’d finished with Levi, I called Paul
Levant, the head of the Democratic Party, to let him know his
prediction had come true.

“Shit, that was fast…Love the name though.
Doonesbury
has a character named Lacey, except she is a
tough old Democrat; nothing like what you’re facing.”

“And what am I facing?” I asked, knowing I
would enjoy his answer.

“It’s like I told you before,” he said. “To
me, a Bible is something you put your hand on to make a point. With
her, it’s a manual for living.”

“I’m not sure if you know, but Stoner Halbert
is running her election,” I said, changing the subject.

“Interesting,” he said. “That guy seems to
pop up everywhere. It should make for a great race; the two of you
will both give as good as you get.”

****

A large picture of Lacy Smith was staring
down at me from a screen on the wall when I walked into the
conference room to start my meeting with Gabriel and other members
of the Council. Joining us were Elsa, Aidan Burke and an older
woman in her fifties with beautiful, long grey hair, who was
introduced to me as Madeline Klein, the Canadian Ambassador to the
U.S., as well as a witch and longtime member of the Council.

The meeting began with a briefing about some
of the other campaigns the Council was working on in the United
States. Political issues in Europe and beyond were not going to be
a part of my agenda for the time being.

Aidan opened up his laptop and began
reporting on a number of political races—some in California, some
in other states. There was a congressional race in Alabama, several
contests to retain the seats of incumbent superior court judges in
Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio. All told, the Council seemed to be
involved in, or monitoring, more than two dozen races.

“Why do these particular fights interest
you?” I asked Aidan, as I was getting ready to give my report.

“We’re looking for situations where we can
make a difference,” Aidan said. “But, as you may recall, we have to
be careful not to be too obvious.”

“Yes,” I said. “You scoffed at my request
that we just cast a spell on an entire town.”

“Exactly,” Aidan said, laughing. “But
occasionally you do read about candidates that have an amazing
comeback from behind. There are moments, you see, when voters can
be persuaded to have a change of heart.”

“Don’t you wish you could win every race?” I
asked.

“We’re not a political party,” Gabriel said,
joining the conversation. “We don’t want to control the balance of
power absolutely.”

“Why not? It seems like things would be much
easier.”

“Be careful. Those words or some facsimile
have been spoken by many a dictator,” Gabriel said grimly. “We’re
here to help maintain a balance, not dominate the fate of mankind.
There must be some room for humans to make bad decisions and live
with the consequences. There must be some opportunity for them to
fight for their own causes.”

“So you don’t care if I win the
campaign?”

“
Bien sûr
. I do care.” Gabriel said.
“I want you to win, but that is not what we were discussing. You
asked why we don’t just bewitch entire towns and states. We choose
races where we know we can make a difference. We identify
individuals who we know will go on to play a major role in the
advancement of human society. So yes, when we send you in to work,
we want you to win. But using magic is not like painting a house.
You can’t just cover everything up and hope it will endure through
the years.”

“I understand,” I said, feeling slightly
humbled by his remarks. “Shall I start my report?”

“Please,” Aidan said, offering me a
reassuring smile.

I started the discussion by describing my
encounter with Halbert’s demon in the park earlier in the day. “I
really credit Elsa,” I said, four pairs of eyes fixed on me as I
described the creature’s red attire and cowboy hat. “Without my
training, I don’t know if I would be here now describing all of
this to you.”

Elsa grimaced. “You were wise to limit your
time around him,” she said.

“Why do you think he came to find me in the
first place?”

“It’s a good question,” said Aidan. “One we
will look into. We expected Halbert’s demon to move on to easier
targets, not to go looking for you.”

“Maybe someone sent him,” Madeline offered,
speaking for the first time.

“I would have thought Halbert did,” I
said.

“As I said,” Aidan said. “I will look into
it.”

“Olivia, “ Gabriel said smiling at me.
“Perhaps until we get this sorted out you will refrain from running
alone in the park? We can’t afford to have something happen to you
in the middle of the campaign. I would be happy to pay for you to
join a fitness club.”

“Wow,” I said. “Do you treat all of your
campaign consultants so well?”

The emotional response was quick, and I felt
the communal apprehension at my words immediately. Then, very
quickly, it disappeared and everyone in the room was all
smiles.

“Olivia, you’re helping elect a candidate who
is destined for great things,” said Madeline. “I come from a long
line of witches who predict the future. Levi Barnes could be a
great leader for your country; his contributions to peace will be
immense, but he must be elected first.”

“OK, I will stay out of the park, unless Elsa
is with me.” With my own security issues out of the way, I circled
back to the woman staring down at me from the screen on the
wall.

“Lacy Smith is a svelte, forty-something
conservative woman who believes that God should control everything,
right down to how the government establishes the tax code,” I
explained. “She’s generally regarded as a decent public speaker,
but she does have a few on-the-record incidents of making
outrageous statements. I’m hoping we’ll see some of that during the
campaign.”

After providing a few more personal details
about Lacy, I moved on to give the group an overview of what had
been accomplished so far, touching on everything from the need to
develop a poll, to the final design of the campaign’s logo. I told
them about the campaign office in Palo Alto and the success of the
kick-off party.

“Good briefing,” Aidan said. “We’ll expect
you to provide another update in a few weeks.”

After the meeting ended, Gabriel asked me if
I would have dinner with him. I agreed easily, glad for an
opportunity to spend a little time alone with the man who had
changed my life so greatly. I walked into the main area of the
Council’s offices chatting with Aidan about the full moon arriving
the next evening.

“Will you be going out?” I asked.

“Oh, yes,” he said, his delight obvious. “I
shall go for a long run in the park.”

Suddenly I had an image of myself galloping
across the forest the night Elsa had given me peyote. “I highly
recommend it,” I said giggling. “A good run in the middle of the
night can be very satisfying.”

After saying goodnight to Aidan, I waited
while Gabriel walked away to fetch his coat. As is my habit, I
started to scan the area, watching what other people were up to.
One corner of the room caught my attention. It was at the far end
of the main hall, where Nikola Pajović kept his office. The door to
his private quarters was closed, but outside, seated next to the
door, was an olive complexioned man vibrating with anxiety. Broadly
built, he had the body of a soldier or a bouncer at a nightclub.
His hair had been shaved, so only dark black stubble remained. It
matched his beard, which was also closely shorn.

A prominent red outline hovered around him.
His energy was all wrong: dark and full of anger. He wasn’t human,
either. Knowing the company Nikola kept, I suspected he was a
werewolf. It would certainly explain the dark hair and skin.
Whatever he was, whatever his intentions, he didn’t like being left
outside in the hallway. The minute Nikola opened the door the man
jumped up and disappeared inside.

Nikola’s door slammed shut at the same moment
Gabriel arrived and escorted me out of the building.

“An odd man just walked into Nikola’s
office,” I said. “His aura was dark, very damaged.”

“Nikola often keeps grim company,” Gabriel
said. “It’s a function of his time in the Balkan Wars. A lot of his
associates are veterans. Serbs, I think. As a rule, they’re very
reticent people.”