Councillor Clements. My mother.
This meeting is with my mother, who I haven’t spoken to in over a decade. Not since she organized my detention and sent me off to be executed.
We aren’t exactly close.
My stomach swirls and I think I might actually throw up all over the horrible carpet. I wonder exactly what the woman hiding behind her laptop would say if I did, whether she’d react at all or just sigh and add it to her to-do list. She certainly looks like someone who always has one. And if she works for my mother, she’ll have her work cut out for her. Nothing is ever organized enough. Nothing ever good enough to meet Cecilia Clements’ exacting standards.
I know I never was.
But now’s not the time to boohoo about how much my mommy never loved me. I pull my head out of my ass and glance at the door. Maybe it’s not too late for me to make a run for it. I could distract the two guys with a fireball and just leg it out of here.
Although... part of me is curious about what she has to say to me. It seems a lot of effort to track me down like this and to bring me to this deserted building.
“Anna, are we connected?” My mother’s voice echoes through the laptop speakers and I grip the cushion of the chairI’m sitting in. My heart pounds in my ears and I have to focus on breathing so I don’t pass the fuck out.
“We’re connected, Councillor. I’m turning the screen on now.” Anna, AKA laptop girl, taps a remote and a screen appears on the wall behind her, revealing the stern features of the woman that birthed me.
Cecilia Clements, Archarcan council member and all around ice queen. Her pale eyes scan the room, landing on me for just a moment before she focuses her attention on Anna.
There’s not a hint of emotion on her face. No twitch. No frown. Nothing.
“Silver, is it?” she says, her crisp accent and haughty tone assaulting my ears.
“That’s my name,” I reply glibly, pretending like I’m not sitting here sweating, with my heart beating far too quickly.
“We wanted to meet with you face to face to discuss the events of last night. The council appreciates you clearing the time in your schedule.”
I fight a snort. I’m fairly sure that’s one of her scripted meeting introductions which she hasn’t bothered to modify in years.
“That’s quite all right,” I reply, as though I wasn’t essentially dragged off the street against my will. Also like I have a ‘schedule’ for her to interrupt.
“Your current address is in The Spire, Nexus District, correct?” Anna asks. “Just for our records.”
I try not to let my surprise show. How the hell do they know that? I only moved back last night.
Turns out I don’t need to respond as my mother clears her throat and Anna immediately apologizes, like she’s been trained that way.
“The discussion relates to the events on the evening of December 21st, Ms... Silver, can you tell us in your own words what transpired in the reception hall of City Hall?”
Deflect. Deflect. Deflect. No way am I admitting I used illegal magic.
“Uh, I’m in a meeting room at some crappy office building right near the Luminary District, with... my mother on the screen,”I tell my guys. “Anyone got any suggestions of how I can get out of this without getting arrested?”
I open up my mental walls and send out a wave of my telepathy magic so that I can hear their responses.
“Can’t you just knock them out, Little Witch? Or maybe make her bleed from her eyes. That should be distracting enough, right?”Zeph growls in my ear. “And what the hell are you doing wandering around the city by yourself? We’re going to be having serious words when you get home.”
Huh, that’s an unsettling suggestion. Icouldmake her bleed if I thought my magic could stretch that far.
“Hang tight, Silver. I’m making some calls to try and work out exactly where you are and we’ll get you out of there,”Fabian adds.
“I’ll head down now, angel. I’m coming right now and I’ll find you. They won’t be able to take you if they decide to detain you,”Dante says.
“Why the fuck is the vamp in my head? Is this like a fucked up mental conference call?”Zeph grumbles and I have to reapply my walls quickly. I can’t afford to be distracted right now.
“Is this something you’re doing with everyone that was in the room last night?” I ask. When in doubt and you don’t want to respond, ask another question. That’s my current strategy until I work out something better.
“The situation on the solstice was unprecedented. We’re simply trying to gain an understanding of what transpired,” Councillor Clements says.
