Page 91 of Cheating Fate

This time, Cicarus stepped forward, looking offended.

“You haven’t even seen the room I have—”

“I don’t need to see it,” Gavin said, his tone growing slightly menacing. “I said not this room.”

“You do not command this delegation,” Cicarus hissed.

“My First Officer has spoken,” Vahl intervened, taking a step forward with a stern expression. “Please provide a different room as we will not enter that one.”

“This is outrageous and utterly offensive!” Cicarus exclaimed, glancing at Coron for support.

The Primus looked at a complete loss as to how to respond. One glance at our body language made it clear we wouldn’t budge.

“May I ask the source of your discomfort? My assistant went through great pains to prepare this room,” Coron said carefully. “So he’s naturally hurt that you would not even just have a look.”

“We mean no offence, Primus,” I said in a reasonable tone. “My mate is an Augur, as stated by your very own Divine but moments ago. If Gavin says we must not go in that room, then we don’t.”

“The question is, what exactly have you set up in that room?” Gavin suddenly asked in a dangerously low voice, his eyes narrowing at Cicarus.

“Just what would be expected for a meeting, obviously!” Cicarus replied in a self-evident manner.

“Is that so?” Gavin insisted, his voice dripping with suspicion and a hint of threat. “Who’s in there?”

“No one, clearly! We would be, had you not stopped us from entering!” Cicarus retorted with a hefty dose of self-righteous indignation.

A quick peek at the scanner on my bracer didn’t detect anyone in the room beyond. But that didn’t mean anything. For security reasons, official meeting rooms and gathering halls were often designed specifically to prevent this type of scanning. It made it harder for potential assassins to target high-ranking political figures or dignitaries.

“Then I’m sure you won’t mind if I go check first. And you won’t object to me obliterating anyone I may find inside since there shouldn’t be anybody, correct?” Gavin asked before pulling out his sword.

Scandalized gasps resounded around the room as he detached the inconspicuous handle from his belt. The nanites immediately deployed, looking almost like an oil slick dripping as it shaped one of the strongest blades in the known world.

“Mr. Aldriss!” Coron exclaimed, horrified.

“Psychic shields up!” Vahl ordered everyone through mind-speak. “Do not pull out your weapons yet but be ready to do so. Reyes, tell Kamala we might need backup.”

“There’s no need for any of this! I am sorry you feel so strongly about our conference room. But we can certainly hold the meeting somewhere else,” the Primus said, visibly baffled and distraught by the situation.

“Coron is clueless,” I said telepathically to our group. “But Cicarus has bad intentions. Maybe we should all insist on going in.”

“But Primus—?!” Cicarus tried to argue.

“No, Cicarus,” Coron interrupted sternly, showing the spine I was beginning to wonder if he possessed. “This meeting is too important.”

“You’re a traitor…” Gavin whispered, his eyes going slightly out of focus before locking on Cicarus.

“Mr. Aldriss!” Coron exclaimed.

“We’re surrounded,” Gavin continued as he glanced at invisible enemies around us. “An attack is imminent.”

“What?! Mr. Aldriss, you’re among allies here!” Coron said, his voice laced with a mix of panic and uncertainty.

“Your assistant is a traitor,” Gavin growled, taking a menacing step towards him.

“He can’t possibly…”

Coron’s words died on his tongue when he glanced at Cicarus, who was staring at Gavin with an evil grin and slowly backing away. Then everything happened all at once.

Just as Cicarus was lifting his right hand and opening his mouth to speak a word of power, Gavin grabbed a sphere from his belt and threw it on the floor in front of Coron. Vahl waved his hand backward, and his kinetic powers yanked all of us back a few meters. Dhaxius flicked his wrist, and a wall of ice appeared before us.