“Look, guys. Anyone who wants to play in Belle’s neighborhood should do so,” I shake my head as bitterness fills my heart. “We will not keep tossing this potato back and forth. Belle made her choice, and residents can do as they wish regarding it. Lily and I aren’t trying to control what any of you do unless it violates community guidelines. If it doesn’t affect us, I don’t care.”
Sari opens her mouth and I continue, “I agree that a new suburb affects some of us, but its existence is not something the Council wishes to have power over. Safe Haven is a moot point. Can we move on to topics that involve our entire community instead of re-hashing a grudge now?”
As they stare at me, I stand up and stretch my legs. I watch them as I walk to the table, rubbing my stomach pointedly. Maeve is fine, but I want to underline that they are attacking a pregnant woman over a zip code change. They need perspective, and Sari needs something to shut her foul mouth.
“You okay, love?” Talia asks, tilting her head.
I smile, looking like the picture of angelic motherhood. Maeve’s magick flares inside me, and I have to cover my smile when I realize she’s making my skin glow in the twilight. I must appear unearthly now. What a smart cookie my girl is. “I needed to stretch—no need for concern. I also want some of these pickle and salami things Leo makes for me.”
“Is Safe Haven the only issue? I thought it was.” Michaela asks. Her guilty expression means that she’s reconsidering her part in the attack.
My gambit is working; if I’m careful, I’ll have Sari’s acolytes eating out of my hand before the end of the meeting.
“We haven’t addressed the questions we asked at the beginning,” Talia says, picking up the stick I abandoned. “What is the problem and how do we fix it? All we’ve discussed is what I consider a private issue tossed into a public ring.”
Lily takes the stick from Talia, trying to set an expectation without scolding anyone. “I don’t feel comfortable analyzing every rumor that’s been half-mentioned to me. It’s irresponsible, and it involves people in things they shouldn’t be part of. People are allowed to keep concerns private, even if it’s about the community.”
Fuck them. I’m not helping them rebel by responding to unspoken rumors.
“There is a lack of communication throughout the community, and it’s not solely on the Council’s side. I get the impression from people I question that ‘if you don’t know, I’m not telling you’. It pisses me off as a person and Council member. If people want to assume we are clairvoyant, it relieves us of the responsibility to fix the problem. Things would get resolved far more amicably if the questions were asked rather than whispering behind each other’s backs.” Lily holds up the stick, offering it to the next person.
“I am not comfortable playing ‘he said, she said’. I appreciate you guys need to know if something is going on, but it strikes meas too ‘schoolyard gossip’ to report stuff to you.” Tamara leans back in her chair, looking directly at me.
Whatever she’s gunning for, it has to do with me, obviously.
I don’t have the foggiest what the hell she’s talking about. She told everyone I dumped Shea—when I did nothing of the sort. I accepted it because I wasn’t willing to play games with either of them. Is she still mad about it? Is he? They seem pretty cozy in their new life with Rita’s family, so I thought that drama was over.
Talia takes the stick, looking at each person in the circle before she speaks. “I have a hard time getting invested in people’s problems if they won’t tell me what they are. It might sound rude, but I don’t see the point in caring if they aren’t willing to discuss it like adults.”
Lily tilts her head when Talia hands the stick back, her gaze sharp for a moment, and she turns to the petulant redhead. “Tamara, my answer is going to sound childishly simple: you shouldn’t think like we need you to ‘tattle’ to us. Residents should come to us with their issues if they want help. Gossipping and whining in the background will solve nothing.”
“Agreed,” I say, taking a bite of my tasty treat.
My pause is on purpose; I want them to wait.
“As one of the ‘mayors,’ I don’t want to hear from X that Y told them Z has a problem with me. Unfortunately, that is the situation that led to this meeting. Someone planted a false rumor and fanned the flames until we had community outrage. That kind of behavior isn’t about resolving an issue—it’s about causing a problem to get attention.”
Prowling towards the circle like the predator I am, I hold their gazes. They need to realize that I know they’re all guilty, and they have orchestrated this charade to use them as cannon fodder.
“For example, gossiping that person Z, A, B, and Q have issues they aren’t telling us will make it to my ear. The implication is that I should learn about it so I can address it. However, how fair is it to put the onus of resolution on someone who doesn’t even think there is a problem to solve?”
The women I didn’t name shrink into their seats as I approach the center of the arc of chairs. Some glance at one another, guilt written on their faces. This is what I want.
“Currently, the whispers I hear follow veiled threats that people I consider friends will leave the home we worked so hard to create if I don’t resolve this mystery issue to their satisfaction.” I take a breath, holding the moment to give my follow up statement the most impact. “I don’t respond well to emotional blackmail, so I’ve been struggling with how to respond as a leader of our community. I asked Lily to address that portion because I am personally involved and my bias could color the council’s decisions. So if someone takes issue with how the council handled that situation—I wasn’t part of it.”
Aradia appears, and I know my husband sensed my growing rage. I’m concealing it with a glamour on my face, but it will not be long before the emotions swirling inside of me affect my magickal control. I drop into my seat, reaching down to stroke my familiar and regain emotional balance.
“We said no families!” Sari growls, her yellow eyes flashing at the big cat.
My tiger rises from her haunches, starting towards the aggressive bitch. I feel the hatred flowing between us, and if I let her continue, she will take an eye at the very least. Reluctantly, I whistle and she returns to my side like a guardian statue.
I’m petty, though, so I kick up a little wind to knock the beer Sari was drinking into her lap. She doesn’t realize what I can do, so she can’t blame me. The canine bint howls, standing to wipe herself off. Her shriek makes my ears ring like church bells, and Aradia looks up at me as if asking if I’m sure she can’t eat her.
Tamara hands Sari some napkins, her brow arched. Michaela mutters something about a party foul, and it relieves some of the building tension. Once the commotion calms down, she glares again at my familiar and turns to Lily.
“I think it’s nit-picky to say her pet tiger can’t walk outside, Sari,” Rita murmurs.
Well, I’ll be damned. That was unexpected.
