Page 6

POINTS OF VIEW

“ W e must infiltrate the Faith,” Marban said as he paced from one end of Valerius’ main room to the other. “That is the best way to tackle this! The Faithful have no single nation, no standing army, nothing but a belief.”

Valerius sat at the head of his table and watched as Marban paced, paced, paced. The Swarm Shifter, once more, reminded the Black Dragon King of a monk in his robes, especially with the facade of the kindly, wise and religious grandfather persona securely in place. That was until he heard the cold and calculating tone in Marban’s voice, which blew that illusion away.

From where she stood, warming her hands over the fire pit, Esme lifted her eyebrows at Marban’s directness, but Valerius saw approval in her expression as well. This was the first time that his “new” Councillor had met with others officially.

“But not all of the Faithful are contaminated with this desire to kill others in order to bring more Shifters into the world,” Chione pointed out. She was perched on one of the sofas, tablet in hand, faint frown on her lips. Her stunning yellow-gold wrap dress sparkled in the firelight. “How will we find the right ones? Those captured today indicated that not all involved in this plot… belief… cause, whatever it is, even wear white robes or profess to be of the Faith. I am guessing that those people will be the ones in charge.”

“But some of the Faithful are infected and that is the best place to start. The only place really.” Mei sipped her wine on the opposite couch. “At least we will have a haystack to look for our needles.”

“Yet what kind of beliefs would our mole have to espouse exactly?” Chione asked.

“We have those two from the bombings today,” Marban said, his voice dipping into the arctic zone, before smiling brightly and adding, “If the Claw are having any difficulty getting them to talk, my people are always available, Valerius.”

“Getting them to talk is not the problem,” Chione answered, that frown deepening. “They wax poetic about their ideals, but I just can’t believe… It is so bizarre that they are willing to kill for this belief. It cannot have been around longer than 30 years, probably far less than that. And they have no proof it will work--”

“ Had no proof, you mean, dear. Caden is that proof,” Esme corrected her.

“Iolaire and Caden would have joined no matter what. We all know this.” Chione put a hand to her chest. “Our Spirits are meant for us. That Iolaire chose that moment was only because it was needed.”

“That almost proves their point more.” Esme pinched the top of her nose.

“Indeed! And can we really blame them for valuing the Spirits over humans?” Mei scoffed and shook her head. “Hardly surprising. I’m shocked at your innocent heart in this, Chione. I would have thought that would have been burned out of you long ago.”

Valerius knew she was upset over not discovering how her mechanical men were hacked. Caden had intimated to him that it was Illarion and not the Faith behind that. But he had not yet passed that information onto Mei. He did not need to see yet more of his castle turned to slag as the Red and Green Dragons squared off. But her mood was poor as she still could not figure out how it was done, let alone who had done it.

“I am aware of the power of belief. But it still shocks me even to this day,” Chione said and adjusted the shoulders of her dress.

“But you have used religion to control populaces before, haven’t you? Back in the day of the pharaohs and beyond?” Mei shook her head more violently. “Perhaps serving Valerius has made you soft.”

Chione’s delicate eyebrows rose. “Really? Do you think so? Simply expressing doubts and sadness over blind belief is softness ?”

“Prove to me otherwise.” Mei narrowed her eyes. “Do what Marban says. Send in people to infiltrate the Faith and then ruthlessly destroy anyone who espouses those poisonous beliefs that destabilize our world. If not, I say you are soft!”

“Chione is my Councillor, Mei,” Valerius said. His voice calm and cool, but it still had the Red Dragon Queen’s gaze flickering over to him to see how angry her words had made him. “She does what I want. So if you are doubting Chione’s ruthlessness then you are doubting mine . Are you doubting me, Mei?”

Mei quickly looked away. “No, of course not, Valerius. I’m just–”

“Speaking without thought,” Esme remarked icily.

“Not everyone is as perceptive as you, Esme. So perceptive that you did not know that you had one of the traitors underneath your own roof.” Mei smiled sweetly.

Esme did not wince, even if Valerius was certain there was no one in the world who felt worse than she did about missing Serai’s other allegiances. And though he wanted to point that out to Mei, he knew that the Blue Dragon would not appreciate him “protecting” her. It would look like weakness. Where he could speak out for his own people, Esme was a Dragon, equal to Mei. She had to stand on her own in this.

“You’re quite right, Mei. You would, of course, never have that problem,” Esme replied in a voice just as sweetly poisonous, “because you no longer actually have any real people around you any longer.”

“Machines are much more reliable,” Mei answered.

“Like today? When they filled Valerius’ dungeon with inches of slag? Very reliable indeed!” Esme let out a trill of laughter.

“I will find out who did that!” Mei hissed.

“No doubt, but even if you do, there will be another attack and another and another. Machines are dumb things, Mei. They do not love you. They can be reprogrammed,” Esme said. “What happened that made you withdraw from everyone and everything? Did you find a snake in your home?”

Mei pressed her lips together.

Illarion let out a bark of laughter. “She’s right! Someone betrayed you! Was it a lover? One of these Faithful freaks? Maybe both! You came down on Esme without mercy for her failure with Serai, so I am betting it was exactly like that with you!”

Mei flushed and went back to angrily drinking her wine, ignoring everyone.

“Marban, do you have people you would suggest for such an operation to infiltrate the Faith?” Esme asked.

“Of course.” Marban smiled avuncularly. “They would not be associated with the Claw or any of you. They would not even be associated with me .”

“Marban has someone for every situation,” Chione said with a faint smile.

Marban bowed. “I am happy to be of service. These members of the Faith threaten the very stability of the world. They are worse than Humans First.”

“Why any of you allow this religion to exist at all is insane! There is no Faith in my territory!” Illarion’s right hand flew into the air and he nearly sent his vodka with it.

“You think there is none in your territory!” Mei scoffed. “You would have no idea. You imprison everyone.”

“Better that than having them run in the streets blowing up innocents!” Illarion retorted and grabbed the bottle of vodka and refilled his glass.

“You do not consider anyone innocent, Illarion,” Esme stated. Her eyes narrowed. “But if you were to have bombs going off in your territory that would show weakness . It would give succor to those who loathe you. And that accounts for almost everyone.”

Illarion’s lizard green eyes narrowed. “But I do not have bombs–”

“Yes, you do,” Mei interrupted. “Why are you lying? You’ve had more unrest in your territory than in any other. That is why you are locking everyone up, because you don’t know who the enemy is.”

“Is that true, Illarion?” Valerius’ voice was soft. He had thought the bombings in his territory the first, but they clearly had not been.

If I had known earlier maybe I could have put a stop to this sooner.

Except that would have meant he wouldn’t have met Caden now. And he would not change that for the world. But Illarion should have come to him. The Green Dragon King’s silence had allowed this cancer to spread.

“What concern is it of yours what happens in my territory, Valerius?” Illarion spat. “You are not the boss of me!”

Illarion’s face purpled with suppressed rage. His head jerked towards Valerius and he let out a low hiss.

I can almost see his poison breath , Raziel muttered.

Oh, yes, he would love to gas us, Valerius agreed. But we need to deal with them. All of them.

You wish to rule them? Raziel’s red eyes widened a fraction.

We cannot do this on our own, Valerius finally admitted. This threat is not contained in one territory. It cannot be addressed by one Dragon. Not even one as mighty as you, Raziel. We will need to use that might in a different way.

Flames and smoke billowed from Raziel’s nose and through the cracked open jaws. What do you mean?

Valerius let his eyes sweep over the Dragons. We must rule them.

I would rather burn them to ashes, Raziel muttered, but despite its words there was no heat in his Spirit’s words.

You just do not like change or responsibility. And I feel the same , Valerius admitted. But we must protect Caden and Iolaire.

Bombs cannot harm them!

No, but a world where innocents die like leaves in the Fall will, Valerius countered.

More smoke obscured his Spirit. Only red eyes could be seen glowing through the smoke like clouds scrubbing across the moon. His Spirit was considering it. Valerius turned his full attention back to the others. He felt Marban’s eyes upon him, as well as Chione’s. Both of his Councillors were aware that he and Raziel were communicating.

“How long have the Faith been operating in your territory, Illarion?” Valerius pressed.

“I have no Faith in my territory!” Illarion growled. “While it might be amusing to have humans worship us, I would rather them simply fear us and keep their heads down!”

“Religion is the opiate of the masses?” Esme asked with a lifted eyebrow.

“It breeds trouble! In that, I think you must agree with me. Do you not recall all of the discord in all the world’s religions when our existence was revealed?” Illarion pointed out. “How many died? Suicides? Murders? Worse?

“Not all religions, but in many, yes, there was discord,” Esme said, “but here we are only 30 years later and things are, mostly, in control on that front.”

“Except for the new religion we allowed to be made and now threatens to upend our rules? Yes, things are well in hand.” Mei pursed her lips and took another large swallow of wine.

“You are avoiding my questions, Illarion!” Valerius slammed a hand down onto the table. That had everyone on alert. “We cannot hide these things from one another!”

Illarion bared his teeth, but then shrugged. “I thought it was a local matter. I did not realize it was some worldwide conspiracy. Satisfied? Otherwise, I would have run to you, Valerius, and hid behind your skirts!”

“I believe he’s telling the truth, Valerius,” Esme said after regarding Illarion for long moments. “He truly just thought that his territory was slipping through his greedy, grasping fingers. And that’s not to say that the Faith did not find fertile ground there with his repression.”

“These Faithful worship the Spirits. A Dragon Spirit such as Mephous would be one of the most sacred,” Chione pointed out.

“For all we know, dear, these Faithful could have different versions of the same belief,” Esme suggested. “Maybe in places such as Illarion’s territory, they believe bringing more Spirits--more Dragon Spirits, perhaps--that Illarion’s power would be neutralized or lessened in some way. They would likely call it a balance or some such nonsense. What’s interesting is Caden and Iolaire’s ability to stop the shift… well, in a way that also would curb certain Spirits’ power.”

Valerius had to repress a smile at the memory of Illarion falling from the sky. He could see that happen countless times and not stop being amused by it.

Kaila let out an audible sigh and rested her head on the balcony railing. She had been silent up until now, which Valerius wasn’t surprised by. Planning and plotting was not Kaila’s strength. Ask her to deck someone and things went just swimmingly.

Kaila sighed again and said, “We should not be talking without Jahara.”

Tez, who had also been silent as he was a lover and not a fighter, looked speculatively into his wine glass from his position beside Kaila on the balcony.

“It is not as if we won’t repeat the same things over and over again,” Tez mused. “So, in truth, she will miss nothing. And, in the end, Valerius will make whatever decision that he wishes to regardless of what we say.”

Valerius lifted an eyebrow. “I listen to what you say.”

“But not all of it is sound?” Esme’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Yes, yes, we all talk, but you are a man of action, Valerius, after hearing every side. What are your thoughts?”

“He should not be making any decisions without Caden and Anwar either,” Kaila remarked with another put upon sigh.

"Caden is with his parents, telling them certain news, and Jahara is settling in. They will hear what we have said," Valerius assured her.

“I’m sure many people, such as my Rose and Wally, may have things to offer on this plan as well,” Marban said. “Hearing different viewpoints will be wise. And discussing it many times will offer new options.”

“You are a criminal. So, I suppose, we have the underworld’s view on things!” Illarion said and drained his glass before refilling it again. Despite not truly being able to get drunk, Illarion did get belligerent when drinking vodka.

“Marban is my advisor and head of the Shifter Council,” Valerius corrected.

Marban’s eyes widened a fraction at his defense. Valerius was surprised he had made it so now he had to deal with the consequences.

“If you want to consort with criminals, Valerius, what do I care?” Illarion’s eyes gleamed with dark amusement believing he had found a soft spot in Valerius’ armor.

“Sometimes you need a criminal’s point of view,” Marban said easily, not ruffled at all.

Perhaps he might have been offended on some level, but Valerius guessed since he had spoken up for him that Marban was not one to care about Illarion’s regard.

“Marban and I have had our differences, but I can assure you that he is one of the smartest people in the world and eminently suited to helping find a solution,” Valerius stated. “And we need his viewpoint as well as most of yours.”

Marban beamed grandfatherly at them all. He was practically preening. But what Valerius had said was true. He would likely never hear the end of it either.

“But his plan will take too long!” Kaila slapped a palm against the stone railing. “Many will die before we find out anything through these spies! We must do something now!”

Esme looked at Kaila with compassion. “What would you have us do, Kaila? Our gifts are far more suited to attacking enemies we can see and sense. These Faithful are invisible to us until they strike.”

Kaila crossed her arms over her chest. “I do not understand these people! The Spirits are all about life. Not death!”

“But like with Caden, the Spirits will try to save all those they can if that death comes.” Tez patted her arm and shook his head sadly. “It will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“So we send out these spies and wait? We do nothing else?” Kaila nearly wailed, but Valerius couldn’t blame her for it. He felt like wailing too.

And then all of them were looking at him. Raziel snorted in surprise--and maybe alarm--that they were seeking guidance so nakedly from them. Even Illarion was staring at Valerius with a sort of beseeching gaze. He had clearly found no solution--no long term one anyways--in his concentration camps. Packing people like that together in misery and despair would be like stacking dry tinder near an open flame.

“No, we cannot just go with one plan of attack,” Valerius agreed. “But what those other plans are… we need more input. It is not just our fellow Dragons that we need to speak to, or our closest advisors, but the humans in power need to be told of this too.”

“But how can we trust any of them?” Illarion burst out.

“He’s right,” Marban said with a grimace. “How many more Serais are there out there?”

Esme looked down at her clasped hands. “I’ve gone over and over in my mind her behavior for the past year. I cannot say that I detected any perfidy.”

“Because she loved you. She loved the Spirits. She thought she was protecting us all,” Chione answered sadly. “So it would not have come across as betrayal in her actions and words because to her it wasn’t.”

“Can we really keep the leaders of the humans unaware of what is going on though?” Valerius asked them. “How many of these Faithful could there be in the higher echelons of government?”

Illarion took a swig from the vodka bottle. “I found those traitorous scum at the highest levels of mine!”

“You did?” Esme stared sternly at Illarion. “It sounds like you had a full on civil war on your hands. Why did you not speak to us? Why did you keep this to yourself?”

Valerius thought of how he had dismissed the rumors of the camps from the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada as just Illarion being cruel. His biggest concern had been fighting one Dragon. Now that seemed almost quaint. He would have loved to just fight Illarion and have all the problems in the world cease. But now things were so much more complicated.

Illarion gritted his teeth and ground out, “It was an internal matter! Do you tell Valerius when your people shit the bed, Esme? You are not as open with him as you are asking me to be!”

“If my territory were on the verge of collapse, you better bet I would have let Valerius know!” Esme snapped, high color in her cheeks.

“If one territory falls then the rest of ours are in danger too. The whole world could drop into chaos,” Tez said with a death stare at the Green Dragon King.

“I was not going to fall!” Illarion was purpling again.

“Civil war is on the horizon in your territory and you thought that would have no nevermind for the rest of us?” Esme stood up very straight.

“Do not worry, I have a plan for when he falls,” Mei said. “If he cannot handle his people, I can.”

Illarion whirled around on Mei. “I destroyed your mechanical men! ME! I will destroy them all!”

“You bastard!” Mei was on her feet.

The two of them were about to shift. Valerius was about to grab them both by the scruffs of the neck and throw them outside. But the doors to his rooms burst open and Caden, followed by Jahara, swept into the room. Caden’s eyes held that strange white color that entered them when he was accessing his gifts.

“STOP!” Caden shouted. “EVERYONE, STOP!”

Valerius felt that pressurized wave of Caden’s magic as the White Dragon Shifter stopped Illarion and Mei from shifting. The Red and Green Dragon Shifters staggered and nearly collapsed. Esme caught Mei around the waist and helped her back onto the sofa. Kaila and Tez managed to keep Illarion on his feet, but he quickly waved them off and drank more vodka to fortify himself.

Caden met the gazes of everyone in the room. “What the Hell is going on?” Before anyone could answer him, Caden continued, “You know what? I don’t care! Because nothing justifies whatever was going on here considering what is going on out there!” Caden thrust a finger towards the balcony and the darkness beyond. Caden then gave out a soft laugh and looked at Jahara. “Seeing this, do you really think having all the Dragons in one territory is a good idea?”

“What?” That was echoed out of every throat.

Jahara smiled faintly. “I still think it is a good idea. I never said it would be an easy one.”

Valerius rose to his feet. He needed fortification before he heard what Jahara had to say. So he ordered, “All of you, except Caden, leave. I wish for time alone before we meet again for dinner.” And with a suspicious twitch of his lips, he added, “Do not give the White Dragon Shifter reason to impose his rule over you. It seems he has a temper equal to mine.”

Caden blushed.