The Seven (Fist of Light Series) (39 page)

“I think it’s important to decide whether or not the blame will ultimately fall on the boy for the origination and purpose of the attack,” a Hawk brought up. “He is, as Noah wished, able to speak for himself at this time. Are we not agreeable?”

The representatives all motioned that they were agreeable. “Right, then. Shall we hold a discussion or go directly to the vote? We have had much time to mull over the happenings of the night, and I doubt many will be swayed by extravagant language. What say you?” The Hawk steepled his hands in front of him, calculating.

“Are we not missing a vital piece of the puzzle, here?” Noah slapped the wood table. “The boy has yet to speak his peace.”

“What is there to know that has not already been brought up in this court?” A Tiger snorted.

All eyes settled on me, waiting. I cleared my throat, turning down water that was offered by an attendant. “Well, there are a
few
details that have been omitted thus far,” I began.

From start to finish, I relayed the unexpected adventure into the Realm of the Fae that Jas and I had been unwittingly dragged into. I had to stop in some places because of my uncooperative vocal cords, as well as the disbelieving comments that invariably arose. By the time I had relayed the entire misadventure to those before me, I could hardly hear, for the commotion that was being made by the Clan leaders arrayed before me. It was quite undignified, if you ask me, but it seemed the Were had a different way of going about operating their debates. Most likely, it involved plenty of infighting and abuse from those of differing views. Wincing, I realized that my words had just brought a war to their attention. These members were from all avenues of life and their homes ranged all across the globe.

The arguing died down as the scene depicted on one of many sleek televisions unfolded. Clouds, pitch black and menacing, sat low in the streets, and people could be seen running and screaming in each direction the camera panned. Cars stopped in the street were in various states of disrepair; some were even on fire. Stores had been extensively pilfered in the chaos, so there was hardly anything sufficient enough inside many of the buildings for them to be deemed a shop anymore. I blanched at a man being taken down by a woman with a tire iron. The news then cut to a static-filled image of Union Square, where a reporter held a microphone as he surveyed the scene apprehensively.

“It hasn’t been ascertained at this time whether this is the beginnings of another riot or a protest, Cheryl, but it’s possible this group is some form of an animal rights movement, because they seem to have brought their dogs along. Besides that, they have only begun to assemble, although their numbers have visibly begun to swell in the past few hours. With the riots still raging here in San Francisco, I think we’re in for a rough couple of days. It’s important for people to stay indoors, and call 9-1-1 the first sign of any trouble. These thunderstorms are causing a lot of mischief, but I fervently hope that they’ll be blowing over soon. If not, there’s potential for chaos on a mass scale.”

The camera panned to who I expected to be Cheryl in the newsroom. She shuffled around some papers on her desk before opening her mouth to speak. “There you have it—”

The enormous flat screen TV went black and the entire counsel was deathly silent. My mind, however, was not. I rolled through the new information that had been gleaned from the newscast and my conclusions were dark indeed. It seemed events had progressed faster than my most pessimistic thoughts. Riots had been raging throughout the city and it appeared that it was the start of a much bigger problem. I had assumed that many of my problems had been localized in one general place. Of course, my assumption was wrong, as the important ones usually are. All my enemies had banded together and decided to take a whack at consuming the world. They had coordinated, caused widespread panic, and had started amassing to knock over the first colossal domino that would get the whole shebang rolling.

See, there had been some people in the crowd that I had recognized. They stood out from the others, as they were the ones that the collection of supernatural beings was formed around. Martin Drake was in the epicenter wearing a black trench coat and sporting a wicked looking double-edged blade. Emily stood there as well, with three others that all appeared to be teenagers. On top of the entirety of The Chosen showing up for an extravaganza of blood and gore, there were also the shadowhounds, which had been lurking around the dark corners of the block. Horrified, I realized that it would be a simple matter to pick off those looters who caused any trouble, the police that no doubt were stretched thin, and the people secreted away in their homes.

The
Big Question
persisted, and that pertained to their purpose: why in the world would San Francisco be the initial target? How had they all come together? Weren’t there other, more politically and demographically powerful places that would better further their plans? The answer eluded me, though it hardly mattered concerning my decision to act. Whether or not they had a specific target, I thought it best to get there and stop them from completing said quest. I refrained from feeling overwhelmed over their combined efforts. Some villains couldn’t follow the implicit rule that they were supposed to work alone when conquering the world.

“Caleb,” Jas whispered.

“Yes?” I bit off his head then listened.

“We all find, then, that we are not averse to losing the city of San Francisco to these upstarts? That there is no threat to our safety, and no incentive for our involvement at this time?” Hayden queried.

A chorus of conflicting responses filled the room with noise, each echoing off the walls. “Now’s your last chance, kid,” Jeeves flashed in beside me. “Otherwise, you’ll be on your lonesome.”

A working of Earth filtered through to my senses and I felt the ground around me shake violently. The double doors slammed inwards, a direction in which they were not accustomed to moving. An external force had applied excessive pressure to them, enough so that they could no longer remain standing. In a picturesque, comedic display, the two doors crashed to the ground, sending the entire room reeling from the concussive impact. Many of the occupants had actually shifted into their animal forms, preparing for the worst. It seemed Jas, Jeeves, and I were the only ones who weren’t alarmed. A cloud of dust and debris rose up from the ground, and I expected tampering on their part for a dramatic entrance. Why I hadn’t ever thought of such a thing eluded me; it could be very useful when utilized properly, and so the musing was filed away for future reference.

Two figures made their way through the dust, their forms made unrecognizable by that which they strode through. One set of heavy footsteps continued to make sharp impacts with the ground, and the urge to cover my ears was suppressed. Hailey and Razor entered my field of vision, and a malicious grin plastered itself onto my face at the sight of them. It seemed I wasn’t going to be alone in this endeavor after all.

“I hear there was a party, and we weren’t even invited!” Razor smiled viciously, enough to make any of the predators arrayed before us wet their diapers.

Although I wasn’t that well acquainted with the other two Empowered, I had the feeling that they would be an invaluable asset. Peace and Healing— those sounded like two things that worked within the confines of the Light. Razor brought his Earth-crafted arm up before his face and grinned stupidly at it. Obviously, it had been his method of entrance into this fine abode. His affinity must have been for Earth.

“Get these miscreants out of here!” Hayden barked in the general direction of those who would likely be clustered outside the Hall.

I went to stand next to them, followed by Jas and Jeeves. “No, you won’t have any trouble with them,” my voice drowned out those who were shouting to be heard. “We were just leaving, anyways.”

By this time, we had been joined by dozens of those who had been waiting outside for news of a decision.

“Before I go, I would impart to everyone some vital knowledge. Heed it at your own discretion. The roiling Darkness will not be content with engulfing San Francisco, I am certain of this. It will subsume all those who think to usurp its intended rule, and disseminate chaos to every corner of the world and beyond. If I am the Fist of Light, then I am certain that the Fist of Darkness will have a similar, if opposing drive to my own. The problem is, I believe he has much more brainpower and is prone to bouts of insanity. This can only be the first in a series of maneuvers to bring the world to its knees before him. If you think you are sheltered by inaction, your decision will be proved erroneous when he comes for you. By then, I will be dead, and I doubt you will have much of a chance without me and the others,” I motioned at Hailey and Razor, “to counter the remaining Chosen, as well as four more gifted Empowered, with abilities similar to our own, and yet they maintain a very different perspective, which aren’t influenced in the slightest by a conscience.”

“We will not allow you to walk out of here!” Hayden bellowed.

“I believe you will. Do you not owe me some form of debt, for saving the lives of your people?”

“You cannot leave!” Hayden spluttered.

“Watch me.” I winked as lightning played around my fingertips.

As the Hall erupted into chaos behind me, I took the opportunity to survey the room for the first, and likely the last, time. Noah was giving me a thumbs-up from his position amid the chaos, and a few grins were held across the podiums. I wasn’t sure whether it was a majority, but at least I had some of the Were on my side. I had no doubt that they were one enemy that I did not want to acquire; I had enough as it was.

W
e passed what I thought to be the entirety of the Were clan, although they had divided into two groups of thought. One obviously harbored resentment for my actions and presence, and they seemed ready to tear my throat out. The other side appeared ambivalent, non-opposed to my cause, or ready to remove the bodily fluids from their former comrades. I realized that I had just put the Were Clan at each other’s throats, and likely done the Fist of Darkness’ job for him. My gut told me that the attack lay with Kasper, and its wisdom was heeded, in this instance.

“So, where are we going?” Razor asked. He was still grinning from ear to ear.

I nodded to myself. “SF. Kasper the not so friendly ghost has amassed the Chosen and shadowhounds to his banner. They looked as though they were still assembling, which means they could be on the move by now. I think his plan is simple. He’s already put the people in a position where they fear for their lives. I believe he’s going to continue to do that, through force of arms. Heck, if I didn’t know what I do now, I’d be scared shitless, to be shocked out of my ignorance and then have certain death arranged for me.”

“How do you know its Kasper?” Hailey probed tentatively.

“Because I saw four teenagers standing in the center of the crowd, with Martin Drake at their side. He’s the leader of The Chosen, if you haven’t had the pleasure.”

Razor shook his head in disbelief, and anger. “We have been introduced. He’s the one who took my arm, when Hailey and I made a run for it.” He paused to rub at the Earth-fashioned replica.

“That’s quite an impressive feat.” Jeeves admired the handiwork.

Razor actually appeared to blush, but I must have been imagining it. “Thanks.”

“So how do you suppose we get there?” Jas asked, making his presence and decision known.

I gazed at him soberly but didn’t insult him by asking if he was sure. “That one’s easy. We can get there in four hours if we push it, and I know
exactly
how we’re going to do it.”

We stood in the mansion’s garage, surrounded by the cars that people sold their souls to get. Or at least, they took out enough loans that it evened out to the same unit of measure.

“Dibs on the Ferrari!” Razor called out.

“My dad is so going to kill us,” Jas repeated for the thousandth time.

“Come on, he’ll come around eventually. Plus, they say it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. What kind of teenager are you, anyways? You need to rebel more from the institution that is your father. Live a little.” I punched him on the shoulder.