Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free (36 page)

Oshun put a hand on Athena's arm, and smiled down at Silene. “Peace, child. And hold your thoughts within.” She looked to Chauvelin. “Whatever is the point of your questioning, come to it swiftly.”

“With pleasure. My point is simply this,” Chauvelin said, and waved at me. “We have here an arcana once exiled by his own kind, one with reason to resent both our kind and his own, an arcana involved in the death of two Bright Guards at the end of his last visit.”

“That was not my fault!” I said.

“Pardon me,” Chauvelin said. “An arcana present when two Bright Guards were killed with magics that left him entirely unharmed and conveniently trapped one of our own within his body as a prisoner—”

“Hey, if you think I
wanted
Alynon stuck in my head, you're crazy!”

“And yet, Alynon Infedriel, of the Silver Court,
was
‘stuck in your head,' present throughout these events you describe, no doubt telling you what to think of them, how to interpret them, for all we know making you see and hear whatever he willed—”

“It doesn't work like that.”

“Would you know if it did?” Chauvelin replied. “Clearly you believe these accusations you've leveled against us, but just as clearly they are false, and a human's capacity for self-deception and willful ignorance is famous, especially when such deceptions feed into their natural desires and prejudices.”

“I don't—” I began, but Chauvelin continued over me, turning to Athena and Oshun.

“My
point,
fellow proxenoi, is that we have a story of Shadows conspiracy against the Silver Court. And who offers this story? An arcana who has something of a reputation for causing trouble. We have a Silver Court lordling who has an even greater reputation for the same, and could not even be bothered to speak here, perhaps not wishing to further tarnish his name. And last and certainly least, we have a half-bright vassal pledged to the Silver Court who dares to think herself not only our equal, but better than both us and the system we work so hard to maintain—”

“No!” Silene shouted, frustration clear in her tone. “You're twisting—”

“Child,” Oshun said in a warning tone.

“A vassal,” Chauvelin projected over her, “who cannot do what little she was made for, so would rather see us all burn, her own cousins die, than—”

“Stop!” Silene cried out. A tangle of thorny vines each as thick as my wrist shot out from Silene's feet in a line toward Chauvelin, springing up out of the smooth floor as if molded from the marble itself and turning brown and green as quickly as the eye could follow.

“Cease!” Oshun shouted.

A wall of light sprang up in a line from Athena's aegis across the Quorum chamber. The racing thorns slammed into the wall and withered away, melting back into the floor.

Two Fey who looked like meaner cousins of Chauvelin's barbarian brute ran into the circle and grabbed Silene's arms, apparently immune to the thorns. The Quorum burst into angry and excited arguing.

“I'm sorry!” Silene said. “I didn't know I could—I didn't mean—”

“Order!” Bragi said, pounding on the banister. “
ORDER!
” The second shout echoed directly in my head, ringing loud.

The Quorum quieted.

I cleared my throat. “Your, uh, Honor, that was an accident,” I said. “Chauvelin clearly provoked—”

“Please be silent,” Bragi said, and turned to the Silver Court proxenoi. “The brightblood is your vassal. You must choose her fate.”

Athena and Oshun exchanged words, then looked down at Silene. Oshun gave a sad smile, but Athena's eyes held no compassion as she said, “Vassal, you have shown little of the dutiful devotion owed your patrons, and have violated the sacred peace of the Colloquy with your attack on a Proxenos. However, we do believe your intent in coming here was to prevent conflict, not cause it”—she looked up at Chauvelin—“and it is due to your lesser nature and poor control of will that this offense has been given.”

Chauvelin opened his mouth to protest, but Oshun raised her hand and shook her head. He raised a single eyebrow but did not speak.

Athena continued, “We therefore offer you a choice. You may forfeit your life for this offense, and word of your sacrifice to honor your patrons shall be passed to your followers as a source of inspiration to them; or you may return to your world alive, and you and all those who followed you in your foolish quest for power shall be stripped of our patronage and protection.”

Silene closed her eyes, but she barely hesitated a second before saying, “I offer my life, Bright Ladies, and beg the forgiveness of all the Bright Lords and Ladies here for my offenses.”

Chauvelin grinned.

“What?” I said. “No!”

Bragi said in a warning tone, “Ware, arcana, you have no authority here.”

“Screw authority, what about what's right?” I asked, my voice growing louder. “Silene came here to try and keep you all from killing each other, and instead you're going to punish her? How is that right? And you,” I said to Chauvelin. “You tricked her into losing control, and you know it. You want us to stop our accusations and leave? Fine, we'll leave. But Silene doesn't deserve to be punished for doing the right thing.”

Chauvelin raised his hands in an innocent shrug. “I'm afraid it is out of my hands. She is not my vassal, and her actions cannot be wished away with insulting accusations against me.”

“Finn, please,” Silene said. “You must stay, and discover the truth of Hiromi's plot. My life is not as important as the lives of all who will be lost if war comes.”

I looked up at the Quorum. “What if—I will share my memories. Finn's Brain Buffet is hereby open and it's all you can eat. You'll have all the evidence you need of Hiromi's actions, and Silene's virtues. But you have to let Silene go without punishment.”

“You do not understand,” Oshun said, sympathy in her tone. “There is an imbalance and great offense here that must be addressed. Silene represents the Silver. You do not.”

“Indeed,” Chauvelin said. “And sadly, the Pax forbids such sharing of arcana memory outside of exile.”

Yeah, he was clearly all kinds of sad about it.

“Forest of Shadows,” Athena said. “Do you accept the punishment as satisfying the offense?”

Chauvelin gave a regal nod. “We do.”

Athena stood. “To that end, and by the Law of the Quorum, a Proxenos of the offending Demesne may upon their self take the chosen punishment of any vassal. I so exercise that right now.”

That caused a wave of murmurs to pass through the gathered proxenoi, and Chauvelin stood as well, his eyebrows raised. Then a smile spread across his face like the joker spotting Batman entering a porta-potty.

Bragi shook his head, but said, “This is as the Law allows, but seems ill-advised. Your voice adds great value to this Quorum, your life has burned bright. The life of the tree-bright, as much as any vassal is a valued cousin, holds but a spark of the Aal, her function but a fraction of your service.”

“Nonetheless,” Athena said. “And as is also my right, I choose the manner of death. I shall die that Silene Treebright may share her memories with the Quorum.”

Chauvelin's smile faltered somewhat, but only for a second. He apparently did not fear Silene's memories as much as mine, and still felt he'd won whatever game he was playing.

“Very well,” Bragi said, and waved his hand. The brutes holding Silene released her, and withdrew from the circle of light. A minute later, Athena and Oshun strode out of the darkness to join us. Oshun looked like Naomi Campbell's prettier sister, and strode with a serene grace as the circle of light shimmered off of her flowing gold robes and peacock feather headdress.

Athena looked like a tall Drew Barrymore dressed in white robes, and from her focused intensity she was
definitely
more in her “goddess of courage and strategy” mode just now than goddess of wisdom and the arts. As she drew close, however, something about her looked … off. It was hard to put a finger on, but it was almost like her skin held a slight translucence, her starts and stops a little stilted.

Silene fell to her knees before Athena, bowing her head.

“Bright Lady, it is too much. I cannot let you make this sacrifice for me.”

“Peace, child,” Athena replied. “You have no power to let me nor prevent me. This choice is mine, and freely made. There is more here than you could possibly know or comprehend, but understand this: I believe your memories important for many reasons beyond your current cause, and I can think of no greater way to end my service to my Demesne than to do so protecting and aiding such a brave vassal in the cause of saving lives.”

I cleared my throat. “Excuse me, I'm sorry, but I don't understand. How is sharing Silene's memories a death sentence for Athena?”

The two Fey ladies exchanged glances, and Oshun said, “For reasons unknown, when an Aalbright feeds upon the memories of a brightblood, it … undoes our nature rather than adds to it. It is a most delicate matter, one that our brightblood vassals find shameful for fear that it means they are somehow unworthy of merging with the Aal.” Silene blushed, and Oshun continued, “But I find this reasoning unlikely.”

Silene shook her head, but before she could speak, Oshun put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Come, stand, child. Whether you will or not, the choice is made. It is now for you to ensure Athena's sacrifice be not in vain.”

Silene rose unsteadily to her feet, and looked at me. “What memories should I share?”

“I don't know,” I said. “Memories of Hiromi, of how she tried to frame you and your brightbloods?”

“That will be important,” Athena agreed. “But Chauvelin has tried to turn the Quorum against you by questioning your motives, painting you as a rebellious and ungrateful vassal. You must show them your true quality, and why you are here in truth. Make them
feel
that truth, feel your love and fear for your brightblood family, make them understand your motives, and they will more readily believe the rest.”

“I—I'll try,” Silene said.

“That is all that may be asked of anyone,” Athena replied, and placed one hand upon Silene's head as Oshun placed her hand upon Athena's shoulder.

“Are you ready?” Athena asked.

“Yes, Bright Lady,” Silene said, and a tear slid down her cheek. “I—you are all that I believed a Bright Lady to be.”

Athena smiled. “I am honored you think so.”

Oshun looked up to the gathered proxenoi. “We are ready. With your permission?”

Bragi nodded. “Proceed.”

Silene and Athena both closed their eyes. Then Oshun closed hers, and Silene's memories were projected into the air, filling the space.

 

24

Janie's Got a Gun

The projection immersed us in Silene's memory, like a hologram except that every sense was engaged, the emotion of the moment palpable as it wrapped the entire Quorum in its spell.…

*   *   *

Silene stood naked before her tree in the silver moonlight, swaying with the great cedar as if in a wind, though the trees of the surrounding forest barely stirred. A true being of beauty and sexuality, her movements were hypnotic and full of promise. She was, in that moment, to an erotic dancer what a lioness is to an alley cat.

There were few beings said to dance with the grace and allure of a dryad. That's why so many famous arcana dancers studied the moves of dryads, including Josephine Baker, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the Solid Gold Dancers. Even Michael Jackson, a mundy, was actually investigated by the ARC under suspicion of having a dryad lover, though the case was quickly dismissed.

In the field before Silene's tree, a collection of brightbloods also sang and danced, clapped their hands, and stomped their feet. Some I recognized—Frog Face, the faun, Veirai the siren alive and well, and a few others from the Elwha gang—but I did not see Dunngo, or Romey, and there were many more that I did not recognize.

Some danced with simple, wild abandon. Some moved in stepping pose-like motions that reminded me of Native American dances. And a few demonstrated the influences of their lives hidden among humans—I spotted some folk dancing, a bit of salsa, Veirai bopped back and forth in a Molly Ringwald–style 80's move, and a tall lanky sasquatch did a fair imitation of John Travolta in
Saturday Night Fever,
his long fur-fringed arms pointing and swinging.

Challa played the part of a wallflower, her sasquatch form staying in the shadowed edges of the clearing, and I realized after a minute that she watched the male sasquatch warily, moving to always be on the furthest edge from him.

Silene raised her hands, and as the singers grew quiet she said, “Soon, the great Thunderbird will sweep down the river, driving the salmon before him with his lightning. Who will join with me on the river's shore and taste the joy of life?”

Her voice took on a silky, sultry quality that made clear what she meant by “join with me.” Several fauns, nymphs, and other brightbloods broke from the dance and gathered around her, and she laughed in delight as they approached, her arms spreading in welcome.

The forested hillsides upstream flickered with light, heralding the Thunderbird's position.

A third sasquatch came roaring out of the tree line wielding what looked like a length of rusted rebar in each hand. The dancers were taken by surprise, scrambling out of his way, and Silene and her love gang spun to face him with startled expressions.

“Challa'vel'Vek!” the new sasquatch roared, looking around him. But Challa had ducked behind the ten-foot stump of a tree, and I noticed that the other male sasquatch who'd been dancing slipped away into the forest. “Challa, come here now and fast!”