Balancer (Advent Mage Cycle) (34 page)

Saroya smirked a little. “I will tell him.”

It was probably about time I left. I had learned through experience that if you stayed for more than a few minutes around busy people, they’d start thinking of things you could help them with. I had other things I needed to attend to. “I need to get back to Hain. If you have any further questions about Legends and the like, either ask Raile or Wizard Kartal at the Sojavel Ra Institute. They’ll both be able to help you.”

Saroya looked relieved that he had experts he could ask questions of. “I will. Thank you, Garth.”

With a nod, I retreated back into the earth and went home to work some more.

Chapter
Twenty-Four: Plans that Go Awry

“Garth!”

I knew that tone. Chatta only sounded like that when someone was in serious trouble and she was about one second from flaying them alive. I just hoped it wasn’t me. I put down the plans I had been looking at, coming
around my desk and out of my study with quick steps. I rounded the corner and came into the living room with all the caution of a man stepping into a pit of agitated snakes.

Chatta stomped towards me, braid swinging like a pendulum. Her teeth were bared in a feral snarl.

Crap.

“Um…Chatta, sweetheart? What’s—”

“I’d like it very much if you would help me plan the murder of En-Nelle of Tain.”

I froze in my tracks, not sure whether I should be conciliatory or angry on her behalf.

“What happened?”

“We knew there would be opposition to doing things our own way, but she barged in this morning demanding to know all of our plans for the wedding and started going on a rampage when she learned what we are planning. Saying, how dare we disregard and not consult the council, that that’s not the way things are done. That all of our plans are inappropriate.” Chatta paced the length of the floor, hands flying through the air. “To top it off she said, no
insisted
, that everything be redone properly according to how they think it should go. That we have no choice in the matter.”

Chatta whirled around to face me. “So, hence the murdering. Will you help? Because I’ve had it up to here with the lot of them.”

Anger it was. I was tired of being yanked around, and this was obviously the time to put a stop to it as they were overstepping their bounds in a large way. But first, to keep my fiancé out of prison.

“I agree. How would you like me to do it? Drop her into the earth path and leave her there? Pitch her off a cliff?” Chatta eyeballed me hostilely for a moment to see if I was serious, before her whole body just slumped in, anger draining. She scrubbed a hand over her face.

“You’d do it for me, too. Alright, fine. Maybe not murder, but certainly a good thrashing wouldn’t hurt.”

Hmmm, now that I could do easily….I took my weary bride into my arms. “I’ll take care of it. One thrashing coming right up.” Chatta’s laugh was garbled against my chest. “You just keep planning the wedding like how we decided, and I’ll take care of En-Nelle. And on the bright side, in comparison Guin will only pout and act like we’re taking away his cookies.”

I felt the rest of Chatta’s anger drain away with her laughter. I gave her a lingering kiss before shooing her out the door. My own anger surfaced as I watched her walk out of the room.

Enough was enough.

In quick jerks I put my boots on and headed for the door. It was about time I had a little chat with the Trasdee Evondit Orra, starting with a certain annoying woman that served on that council.

The old adage that juicy news will grow wings, and outpace any man running, proved to be true. As I headed down the halls of the Academy, more and more people fell into step with me. News of En-Nelle’s demands had flown indeed, and now everyone was interested in the blowout sure to come. It seemed it wasn’t only my toes she had been stepping on.

I was most gratified to find that the Council was actually in session. Perfect! I was pleased that I didn’t have to waste time looking for them and corralling them together into one room, so I wouldn’t have to say this more than once.

With no regard for protocol, or waiting to be announced, I threw the doors of the Council Room open with a deafening bang that almost blew those carved twin doors off of their hinges. Everyone started, jerking around to stare at the door, looking like startled peacocks. I ignored all of them but one. I headed straight for En-Nelle, sitting in frozen amazement, at the head of the large U shaped table. I slammed both of my hands down against its gleaming surface, and leaned forward to stare eye to eye with the Head of the Trasdee Evondit Orra.

“Let me clarify something, so there is no room for error or misunderstanding.” My voice rang throughout the dead silent room with all the threat and promise of a sword being withdrawn. “This wedding is
my
wedding, mine and Chatta’s, and you
will not
interfere.”

She bristled like a stepped on cat, eyes wide in outrage. “Your status is such that—”

“My
status
, Madame, is such that I can have you removed from this Council in a heartbeat, if it suits my purposes,” I interrupted harshly. “I invite you to look around the Council Hall. I have enough members of the Magical Community at my back, right here and now, to bring that very matter to an immediate vote. Imagine how many I could have had if I had actually
asked
for any of them to come here with me?” Almost as if on cue, several more Magicians squeezed their way past the doors and into the Council Chambers so they could get a better view of what was going down. “My
status
is such that if you push me any further, I will do that very thing.”

That shook her. For a moment, she looked like a petrified rabbit in front a ravening wolf. Then her spine snapped ramrod straight, shoulders squaring back into her ceremonial robes. “You are beholden to obey us—”

“Guin released all of the Chahiran magicians who wanted to go back to Chahir, remember?” I reminded her sweetly. “I am the Dean of the new Chahiran Academy for All Magic, and will most likely serve on our own Magical Council.” The blood visibly drained from her face with every word that left my mouth. “I continue to help him out of the strong bond of friendship that exists between us, not because I am beholden to him. I will say this again. You have no business interfering with my wedding. You will not do it again.”

O’danne was the only one that dared clear his throat and speak up. “Garth, I’m sure you realize how important your wedding is, on various levels. We are a little concerned about the precedent you are setting. Other magicians are likely to use your wedding, whatever you do, as a standard from now on.”

“Yes, we realize that,” I answered, gaze never leaving En-Nelle’s. “And a poor example it would be if I let all of you interfere in mine, giving you tacit permission to meddle in
theirs
as well. No. We will do it our way and set that new precedent. This power game ends now. You
will
stop.

“I will not take it lightly if you cross me again.”

I held her gaze a moment longer before I turned and strode back out again, the spectators drifting apart to form a pathway. There were smiles and nods of approval from my friends and fellow magicians as I stalked back through the ranks. The silence behind me was oppressive and all encompassing. The Chamber felt more like a wake than a council meeting. I could feel En-Nelle’s gaze burning into my back, but I ignored her. There wasn’t one thing that she could do to me and if she tried to retaliate through one of my friends or family I’d retaliate with all the force of an earthquake.

~*~

When I entered the War Room I was met by three beaming women. I resolved right then and there that no matter what plans were made, I’d smile and say that it was fine. It would be suicide to say otherwise with them in this jovial mood.

“So what have you come up with?”

Chatta waved me closer, gesturing to a large piece of paper that had a rough sketch penciled on it. “Here’s what we’re thinking. We’ll have the guests sit here,” she gestured to a huge blocked off area near the bottom, “and both of us will come in from either side, you coming from the direction of Chahir, and me from Hain. We’ll both be escorted by our parents.”

So far, I liked it. “Alright.”

“And behind us will be both monarchs, who will be leading the other twelve.”

Now she was starting to lose me. “The monarchs I understand—that’s clever to bring them in together like that—but the twelve people?”

“The twelve are going to be a mixture of our closest friends and family.” Chatta gained momentum and enthusiasm as she explained, nearly bouncing on her toes. “When they get to the center, everyone will spread out into a circle around us, and some from each side will exchange places, symbolizing how we are blending both of our heritages.”

Now, that I really liked. My friends and family were so much a part of my life that I couldn’t imagine not having them as part of the ceremony. “Which twelve?” I asked curiously.

“Well, for my side I have Shad, Aletha, Kartal, Roha of Del, my parents, Small Rider, Trev’s parents, Asla, Jenna and Hayel D’Auch.”

That seemed like a pretty interesting mix. “Only about half of those people are from Hain.”

“I know,” she sighed, expression a bit vexed. “But for them to exchange places and stand with the right partner, it has to be this way.”

Right partner? But there were at least two couples that would be mixed up in her list…it took a moment for the light to dawn, but when it did, I gave her a suspicious look. “Are you playing matchmaker?”

“I have to give Xiaolang a boost
somehow
,” she defended herself primly. “Besides, most spouses meet their future wife or husband at a wedding. Maybe Asla will get in the right mood this way.”

I tried not to gawk at her, but it took a second to scoop my jaw off the ground and reattach it. “And how did you know about those two?”

She gave me quite the look for that. “I have two eyes, Garth. They both work quite well. I’m a little surprised that
you
noticed, though.”

“Yes, well, I had some rather interesting conversations with both of them,” I admitted a tad ruefully. Did nothing escape her notice?

“And you didn’t tell me?” Chatta demanded, flinging both hands up in the air.

“Or me?” my mother added mildly.

I spread both hands in front of me in a gesture of surrender. “Not my business.”

My mother and Chatta exchanged a long suffering look. “He’s hopeless,” my mother observed to my future wife with a groan.

“I know. Don’t worry, I’ll take him anyway,” Chatta soothed her.

Great. Now they were comfortable enough with each other to tag-team me. When did that happen? I cleared my throat and gave them both a sour look. “Moving on…so have you decided who’s on
my
side?”

Chatta picked up a list and read them off quickly, “Your parents of course, Xiaolang—I assumed you still wanted him as your best man? Good—Kaydan, Cora, Raile Blackover, Sallah with her husband Aral, Don, Helen, Krys and Jarod.”

Some of those people were closer to Chatta than me, but then she had people on her side that were closer to me than her. I assumed that the right people would exchange places and make that more evenly balanced.

“I like your choices. Judging from your sketch, though, do we have a big enough building to host the wedding in?”

“Well…there’s a bit of a problem with that,” she admitted. “Nothing in Del’Hain is going to be large enough.”

I’d been afraid of that. We’d run into that problem earlier, before En-Nelle of Tain had stuck her nose in, and they’d been searching for a solution for the past few days without any good results.

“But I’ve thought of the
perfect
building,” she continued, giving me a set of puppy eyes.

I had a bad feeling. “And where is it?”

“Coven Ordan.”

I blinked at her several times, just sure she was pulling my leg. “You mean that amphitheater they have?”

“That one,” she agreed readily, not losing her pleading look.

“Chatta, it’s
not
wise to take the whole wedding party to Coven Ordan by earth path,” I protested in growing alarm.

“No, I mean, can’t you borrow the amphitheater and bring it
here
?” Hastily she added, “Sallah can take it home with her after we’re done with it.”

As absurd as the idea initially seemed, I had to admit that dragging a building to Del’Hain was a lot easier than taking the guests to Coven Ordan. After all, buildings don’t panic. “I think I’d better talk to Raile first before we start planning that part.”

“Oh, that’s fine, I already asked him,” Chatta answered airily.

Of course she had. Why wasn’t I surprised. “Alright, since you’ve clearly worked out the details already, when am I supposed to go pick it up and where do you want it?”

She grabbed the front of my shirt in both hands and gave me a quick kiss. “You’re wonderful.”

“You always tell me that when you get your way,” I responded dryly, trying to suppress an idiotic grin. I liked it when she kissed me.

She laughed and didn’t refute it.

L-Nolita was shaking her head, more in wonderment than anything else. “I can’t believe you’re willing to do it.
My
husband would have told me that I had to think of another solution.”

I just shrugged. Buildings were better than people in my book. Besides, it would probably be another weird story that got blown out of proportion to add to my already ridiculous reputation. “I don’t mind, really. When do I need to go get it?”

“Tomorrow?” Chatta gave me hopeful smile. “I need to start decorating. If you get it to me by tomorrow, I’ll leave you alone for three days so you can actually plan the Academy.”

“Deal.” One building, coming up.

~*~

The next morning, I went to Coven Ordan to pick up the amphitheater. I tried to time it so that I wasn’t
too
early but early enough to talk to a few people, check up on a few things, and still get the building back in plenty of time for Chatta to start decorating.