The chief blinked, reflecting the confusion felt, I expected, by the whole room. “What?”
“You said you wished to hear from me.” Daziel examined his talons. “I thought you’d appreciate my opinions on the latest operettas.”
“We want them to work with us, remember?” I murmured.
Hesighed. “Very well, yonati. If you insist.”
“We are supposed to believe this?” the chief said to Daziel. “The Ziz exists? And needs to be healed?”
Daziel nodded.
“This is ridiculous,” a man I didn’t recognize said. “Why are we entertaining this?”
“Because if you don’t, the winds will keep misbehaving,” I said. Weren’t any of them paying attention? “Don’t you understand? If the Ziz dies, natural magic will be changed forever. It’s not only the air being affected—which is bad enough; what if the Maestril never comes?—it’s also the land and sea. What if the maelstroms disappear? We’re not going to have a livable world if we don’t save the Ziz.” I paused, looking at the professor and the president. This was going all wrong. “I’m sorry. You should tell them.”
“She’s right.” The Lyceum president spoke in a calmer voice than my own. “If the scrolls contain a spell for fixing the winds, this should be the highest priority of the Lyceum, the Sanhedrin, and the country. Especially if, as Miss Bat Yardena suggests, the other Great Beasts are unbalanced, and all of natural magic along with them. As such, the university is requesting extra funds for the decipherment project.”
“We have no evidence other than the demon’s—excuse me, young lady,shayd’s—word, though, is that not correct?” the chief asked. “Are there any other shedim we can ask? Someone who can affirm this boy?”
Everyone looked uncomfortable. “We haven’t had any shedim visitors in eight months,” a Danite councilor I remembered from last time said. “Our usual contacts have not responded to our initial queries about Lord Daziel.”
“Are you serious?” I remembered this speaker, too—Melanie, the one who didn’t like Aunt Tirtzah. “They’re ignoring us?”
Once more, the chamber erupted. I was beginning to think allthe Sanhedrin did was argue. No wonder it took so long to get any policy enacted, if seventy-two people wanted to have their voices heard and the majority had to agree to get anything done.
“What if he wants the scrolls deciphered for other purposes?” someone said. “What if the scrolls really reveal a demonic spell?”
A Naphtali councilor came to my aid. “You can’t assume everyone is always lying.”
“Nor can we assume everyone always tells the truth!”
“Let us consider,” President Meissner projected in her loud, calm voice. I wondered why she was at the Lyceum rather than a councilor. Well, maybe she was more powerful in her own way. “If it is the truth, it cannot be ignored.”
“You ask for a very large sum for an ‘if,’ ” Melanie said.
“If the Lyceum is to devote its time and effort to solving the problem of the winds, and of magic, it’s reasonable for us to expect the government’s support,” the president said coolly. “This concerns all of us.”
“Yes, yes.” The Chief Judge sounded exceedingly grumpy. “Very well. We’ll vote on your funds in the next budget session.”
“Sir, this is giving far too much credence to the idea that this spell genuinely is tied to oddities with natural magic,” an older man said.
“We should be giving credence toanyleads on natural magic’s imbalance,” Aunt Tirtzah said sharply. “It’s worth the cost of investigating.”
“We’ll have that conversation when we discuss whether to fund this,” the Chief Judge said.
“One other thing,” Daziel said lightly. I winced, though I’dknown it was coming. “We need help finding the Ziz, so when the spell is ready, we know where to cast it.”
“What?” the Chief Judge said.
“How are we supposed to do that?” another said.
“Iknow where the Ziz lives,” the one who’d suggested the scrolls were a demonic spell said sourly. “Wherever the demon needs his materials delivered. Maybe he wants to raise a castle! Or bring down a mountain! We’re not taking thisseriously, are we?”
“He’s a high-ranking shayd,” Aunt Tirtzah snapped. “Yes, we’re taking this seriously.”
“He’s your niece’s betrothed,” Melanie said. “Honestly, Tirtzah, you should recuse yourself.”
“How the hell are we supposed to find a mythological creature?” someone else asked.
