Page 30 of Suspicions on the Stage
“Family secret, my dear. Now answer my question.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know what dreams you’re talking about. My gargoyle side isn’t prone to them, but gorgons are. I have a lot when I’m closer to her—when life has provoked the spirit of the original, I suppose.”
“She was a real piece of work,” Phaedra mutters absently. “But history has done her quite dirty, as the students would say. However, I have always been fond of both of your species,Morgana. They are survivors amongst the mythicals, despite being hunted so drastically long ago. Even though their numbers aren’t strong like dragons or unicorns, they are very formidable in our shrouded realms.”
“Ahhh,” I say as I lean back in my chair. “You’re one of the elders who believe we should have revealed ourselves to the humans—along with the other realms—long ago.”
Phaedra nods slowly. “I think keeping everything a secret rather than integrating when our tales were commonplace has made us too far from the capability to do so now. That sets everyone up for something very predictable and horrid, eventually. Which, by the way, is not me sharing knowledge I cannot, just a statistical prediction based on history. I’m an avid reader and one of my sisters is a historian, so we are well aware of patterns throughout time.”
I’ll just bet you are.
But instead of snarking, I sip my tea again. “I can’t decide, honestly. Humans are just so confounding and so easily coerced—more than any being from any realm I’ve met. Their ability to receive, process, and extrapolate things bigger than their own narrow personal focus makes them very dangerous as a large group. Human history itself proves that, so whenever I feel like I think we’ve all fucked up by staying in the shadows, I remember what happens to their own kind by their hands.”
“They are impulsive and do not cherish knowledge the way they once did,” she agrees. “And the technology they have invented may be far behind that of other realms, but the way they wield it is… concerning, to say the least. You’re not alone in the thought that they cannot handle the discovery now that too much time has passed.”
Reaching for the honey stirrer to add a bit of sweetness to the blend, I sigh. “It’s not a simple discussion for any leaders, I’m sure. Especially since even our own treaties are often broken and our own bad apples wage wars and campaigns of terror that bleed into this world and others. I fear we cannot cast stones at them when our own houses aren’t in order.”
That makes her expression shut down and I’m surprised when she stands quickly. “I apologize, Morgana, but we have ventured from theoretical to less so. I cannot explore your theories about these topics.”
That hit a nerve—and if it hit a nerve for someone I believe is half born of the deity realm., it means our theory about the confluence of events may be right.
“I’m sorry, Phaedra. I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable position, but I seem to be stuck in the middle of something very serious.”
Her eyes flash briefly, and she shakes her head. “I simply cannot address that statement.”
Huffing a little, I push to my feet as well, knowing that I tower over her and it might be menacing. I can’t worry about that, though, because I need someone to give me a fucking break. I need a clue where to look for the signs or something to blink when I get near things or—hell, I don’t know—butsomethingto help me figure out the best way to move forward with our research. “Someone I care very much about is in trouble.”
“Oh, for the love of Hermes’ worn out sandals,” she mutters as she heads back to the kitchenette, then returns with a box. “Morgana, you are as hard-headed as your gargoyle side would suggest. Take this box of the tea as a gift—I think it will helpyou in the long run. Not with the question you are asking, but in other ways.”
“But Lucas—” I start as she shoves the box at me.
“That is not why you are asking,” Phaedra replies with a stern expression. “You want to be given information that will aid other situations that I cannot give you. I don’t take offense, mind you, because you are being polite in your pushing. I think you are doing the wrong thing for the right reason and that counts for something in the world of words. But you must go now before I am forced to be rude and affect the friendship I believe we can have, eventually.”
And for the second time in less than an hour, someone from my family has made the bookseller kick them out of her store; we’re on a hell of a roll today.
suspicious
LIAM
Kaspar wasn’t thrilled about leaving me to my own devices for my Monday activities, but his skills were better put to use in gathering intel than sitting in upper level classes on supernatural law and politics. He’s just as aware of the Fae's inner workings as I am, and we both know what they share with the Society and Councils can differ vastly from reality. I assume it’s the same for most of the realms, as the leaders all distrust one another vehemently enough that it mirrors human governments.
Of course, the history of the Society’s formation and the many centuries of idiocy and subterfuge leading to wars doesn’t help.
The supes who prefer to live in the human realm full time are simply too influenced by the behavior of the species whether they realize it or not. Millennia of hiding things and being forced to ‘disappear’ and re-invent themselves or retire from the public eye, if they find fame or fortune has changed how they view their powers and the world. It’s not their fault; they’ve adapted a short-term view of the long lifespans many supernaturals have because of the atmosphere in this plane. I can’t imagine howthey wouldn’t, especially the ones who are damn near immortal like my kind.
Unfortunately, that limited view can also breed resentment towards both the realm they live in and the beings from other ones. That’s what I’m certain is fueling this rebellion we’ve been sniffing around. Groups of dissatisfied species who weren’t dangerous on their own have been gathered by someone with averyanalytical mind who is detached enough to see the entire chessboard and dispassionate enough to risk everyone who lives in each of the realms. I’m uncertain if the puppet master is someone immortal, or if they have an axe to grind and no moral compass. Either way, this isn’t something we can ignore—it’s well-planned and has been in the making for a long time.
A time-bender, perhaps? Maybe.
A shiver runs down my spine as I consider that possibility. Very few species have those with the sight and even fewer have those who can actively manipulate time or reality in such a way. Fae, mythicals, deities, demons, and their hybrids, perhaps—that’s the list of suspects unless there’s something outside of the box I haven’t considered. I leave room for that because I’ve been alive and working with my father and the courts long enough to know you are always most vulnerable when you do not plan for things you cannot fathom yet.
“And I have no idea what the hell that could even be,” I murmur to myself as I work at the computer in the law library. “There are more things in this world and all that Bard stuff.”
My lips curve up as he was a Midnight Fae and came back to our lands when he’d outlived the normal human lifespan. He didn’t think his legacy would outlast time and once he returned, the longevity of his fame made the royals of all four courtsdecide he couldn’t go back to live yet another span of time. His voice was too recognizable in literature, and old Wilmarth the Poet, nee Shakespeare, has remained in Faerie writing plays and poems ever since. He’s not the only one who was exiled to his homeland, especially as human technology had evolved, but he’s definitely the angriest about it.
Sighing, I go back to scanning the laws written at the time of the Society’s formation. They were fairly loosely constructed and much of the interpretation was left vague enough that it depends on how the current leaders and Councils choose to define the terms. That’s a shitty way to form a governing body—depending on any being to continue evolving, yet respecting conventions of the past with little to no specific enforcement is a recipe for disaster. Fae werenotinvolved in crafting this language, nor were demons. Both of us would haveinsistedon clear, specific language to ensure we aren’t trapped in a bullshit pact with people who only have their best interest at heart.
But we damn well signed it, and that’s on the egos of the long-standing leaders across every fucking realm.
