Page 28 of The Lost Empress

“That’s an excellent point,” Gen said, watching as Paul extended his arms under the gryphowl hovering overhead. “But it definitely gives me something to think about.”

When Beatrix dropped the volumes from her clutches, Paul caught them gingerly in his outstretched hands. He then smiled and offered them to Gen. “And I suspect that reading these will give you even more to think about.”

“Absolutely,” Gen said, taking the books, glad that the errand took her to such an incredible place. “Well, thanks for your help. And good luck with catching the thief.”

“Thanks,” he said, waving his hand to open the shelf-door for Gen, allowing her an exit from the restricted section of the library. “And I look forward to more visits from you. Meeting a new Beaufont is a real treat, but meeting a Founder of the House of Fourteen is a true honor.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE OATH OF SILENCE

Chamber of the Tree, House of Fourteen, Santa Monica, California, United States

“What the hell is wrong with Los Angeles?” Freek Kolman complained loudly as Gen stepped through the Door of Reflection, into the Chamber of the Tree. Thankfully as a Rogue Rider, she didn’t have to experience the door which served up warriors’ and councilors’ worst fears, preparing them for the proceedings of each meeting. It was amazing all the ways that the House of Fourteen had evolved over the centuries though and she continued to marvel at the changes.

Liv raised her hand, waving it around wildly. “Is it traffic jams that last hours and are caused by brake-happy idiots or rubbernecks who have never seen bent up metal?”

“No,” Armando Rosario chimed, shaking his head at the disruptive warrior. “We’re referring to the current climate?—”

“Oh, I know,” Liv interrupted the councilor. “It’s that the weather of Los Angeles is so good that people complain about having to wear a light sweater.”

Hester DeVries and Raina Ludwig, as well as many of the warriors on the floor snickered with suppressed laughter, only feeding into Liv’s bad behavior.

“Oh, I know what the problem with LA is,” Liv continued, sighing loudly. “It’s that not everyone drives a solar-powered car and it’s impossible for a hippie to find a place to meditate with helicopters buzzing around.”

Haro Takahashi held up a hand, cutting through the growing laughter in the Chamber of the Tree. “Although Warrior Beaufont has insightful and humorous views on the City of Los Angeles, what Freek was referring to is the rise in crime throughout the city.”

Gen tensed, paying close attention. This was the third time she was hearing of this. Lee had stated that there was an insurgence of shady cops in the area, making her have to take matters into her own hands. Then at Spellbound Pages Bookshop, Walter was putting bars on his windows because police presence was startlingly absent. And now, there was an increase in crime. Something was definitely going on and Gen’s instinct told her it had to do with this new Commissioner business and something stemming from the change or a result of it.

“Yes, it’s very strange, indeed,” Clark Beaufont stated, reviewing a report he held in his hands. “Apparently, most of the patrols in the city have been moved to the north end of the city.”

“Where they aren’t needed,” Seraphine Galopin pointed out. “The north side is relatively safe with mostly just robbery and white-collar crimes. But downtown and East Los Angeles, as well as other unsafe areas, have a total absence of police presence.”

“I’m sure that this is just due to changes in organization of forces,” Haro offered. “We often see an increase in activity before there’s a clamp down on it. I think that we should simply keep an eye on it for now and not overreact.”

“That’s easy for us to say since we’re magicians with portal magic,” Liv cut in, never afraid to express her opinion during the proceedings, even if the matters didn’t fall under jurisdiction. “It’s the mortals of Los Angeles that are being harmed the most by this lack of law enforcement. They can’t get away from it and business owners are afraid to open their doors and mothers are worried to let their children out to play. I think this problem is bigger than you all want to admit.”

“I think that your job is to be dealing with the ogre rebellions in Greenland,” Freek stated, his nostrils flaring with annoyance. “We’ll want your full report soon, so why don’t you get together your key points for when we call on you, Warrior Beaufont.”

“I’m ready,” Liv sang. “Greenland is cold and ogres are ugly.”

“Save it,” Armando said through clenched teeth, turning his attention to Gen. His long, curly brown hair fell over his shoulder, making him look quite feminine, if it wasn’t for his masculine facial features. “Ms. Genevieve Beaufont, it is good to see that you accepted our invitation to attend a council meeting.”

“Call me Gen,” she replied, matter-of-factly.

For some reason, Gen didn’t entirely trust Armando Rosario. She didn’t think that he was a bad guy, but much like Freek Kolman, he was a self-serving politician. Actually, her instinct told her that Freek was a coward, which although it didn’t seem like a traitorous quality, it could be leveraged by a bad guy looking to gain an advantage. She simply made a point to keep an eye on those two.

Haro Takahashi was a member of a Founding family, which didn’t assure that he was purely good. However, from what Gen had heard from Liv, Clark and Sophia, Haro was mostly neutral, not being swayed by his emotions or greed. He was usually a tie vote on the council.

Seraphine was also a wild card and Gen hadn’t gotten a full read on her. She believed that she was mostly good, but maybe easily swayed or bullied depending on the issue. It was complicated business for the councilors and they were subject to outside influences.

Hester DeVries and Raina Ludwig were without a doubt, full of goodness, but that also meant that they may not use objectivity in their judgement. The council’s job, as the Founders intended it, was to make judgements that would serve the greater good. They were meant to be impartial judges, unpersuaded by anything that could cloud their reasoning in matters of magic and balance.

“The reason that the council wanted to meet with you,” Clark began, a diplomatic tone to his voice, “is to establish a series of communications about the history and undocumented records regarding the foundation of the House of Fourteen.”

Hester nodded. “You see, for as excellent a job as the Founders, meaning you and the others, did in creating this organization, much has gotten lost over the years, creating confusion for the present generation.”

“Not to mention that what you did record was in a language few can translate well,” Freek said, criticism heavy in his tone.

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