Authors: Scott V. Duff
“But there seems to be very little information available about Seth McClure,” Davis said, leaning back and crossing his legs. “Some information about Peter Borland. From what was available, for instance the names of their parents, I don’t understand how they could be brothers, or what relationship you bear to either of them.”
“Yes, I can understand that,” Kieran said. “It’s a common difficulty. Seth and I share a father and the only actual blood tie among us. Our brotherhood is based on an uncommon bond and a trait we share.”
“Would this have something to do with why you hide your auras?” Davis asked.
“Another misconception, but yes,” Kieran said. “We don’t hide our auras. You just don’t see them.”
“I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Davis said, confused.
“Your little gadget above your door is working perfectly,” Ethan said without looking at it. “There is no magic at work in this room beyond yours.”
“Steadman said you were all quite perceptive,” Davis said quietly, staring at Ethan. “But even within the magical community, you are not well known. Your apparent youth belies the power of your arrival, for instance, yet there is no mention of either of you in any of the major schools.”
“Our family is very private,” Kieran said. “It would surprise me if you found any mention of Seth’s parents outside of their corporate connections and a few charities they operate. We eschew the public eye as much as possible.”
“And I don’t recall your names on the guest lists for tomorrow,” Davis said.
“We haven’t actually agreed to attend,” Kieran said.
“Did Darius Fuller confirm?” I asked him.
“I believe he did, yes,” Davis said.
“Then we’ll have to, or least I will,” I said. “I talked him into coming.”
“You associate with the US Council of Wizards? Are you on the Council, then?” Davis asked.
“No, I think Señor Peraza might have issues with that,” Kieran said.
“So would Bishop, Felix, and Gordon,” I said, almost giggling.
“Not to mention the Asian, Slavic, and African Councils,” Peter said. “The South Americans are too fragmented to mount a complaint right now, though.”
“You are too young to be Council-class wizards,” Davis scoffed.
“Is there an age limit on that?” I asked casually. Remembering the check and contracts in my pocket, I pulled them from my jacket and slid them across the table to Davis. “Oh, before I forget, your retainer and accountability contract with the account information for the house purchase.” Davis looked at the check first and started slightly.
“That’s a hefty retainer,” he said as he opened the contract to read it.
“We didn’t discuss an amount yesterday so I decided to err on the side of grace,” I said. “If we decide we like each other, you can keep it against future billings, otherwise you can return what you feel is overpaid.”
“Acceptable,” he said as he scanned the contract at an amazing rate. “This is a perfectly mundane contract.”
“What did you expect?” Kieran asked.
“Most wizards attach the Accords in some manner,” he answered.
“To a land purchase agreement?” Kieran asked, laughing. “Whatever for? No, Mr. Davis, we don’t require magical aid of a legal type and certainly not with the Accords.”
“I admire your certainty, sir,” Davis said, pulling a fountain pen from his jacket and signing the accountability form. He pushed it to Kieran, who pushed it to me. I drew it into my cavern, replicated it, and pushed it back out again, then pushed the copy back down the table to Davis. Then I pulled out the written bid for the house and land, along with the reasoning behind them, and slid that down the table to Davis. He read through the three-page document, chuckling lightly as he went.
“You don’t pull any punches, do you?” he asked, his voice even higher when he laughed. The telephone on his desk buzzed suddenly, interrupting any response.
“Mr. Davis, Lord Bishop is on his way up to see you, sir,” Daphne from reception announced. “He is quite determined.”
“Please excuse me, gentlemen,” Davis said as he stood from the table immediately. “Apparently I have a problem to attend to.” His round, friendly face didn’t look so friendly anymore as he headed for the door.
“Davis, what are you playing at?” Bishop bellowed from the top of the stairs, coming into the room like a thunderstorm. Davis swung the door shut as he left, but the Stone’s fields were able to manipulate the handle, leaving it ajar for us to hear. And those fields were just as invisible as our auras, more so since we couldn’t see them either.
“Lord Bishop, I am with prospective clients,” Davis said coldly. “You are embarrassing yourself and me.” Whatever free standing magic that was available sank slowly into the floor, but Bishop’s aura was undaunted by the dampening effect.
“Cut the crap, Davis,” Bishop yelled as he moved closer, stomping melodramatically on the floor. As I watched the force on the floor, I realized he was doing it on purpose, amplifying the background noise. “You’re claiming a breach of contract on me. I worked too hard putting this together, meeting all of your exacting standards. Changing the location at the last minute will scare everyone off and there is nothing in breach. What the hell are you playing at?”
“I’m not ‘playing at’ anything, Bishop,” snapped Davis. “You know the rules against the faery. You added Lord Daybreak and family to the guest list. Whatever
your
beliefs to their heredity, that makes them faery and that puts you in breach of contract. Now go away until you can be civil.”
“They’re fighting over me? This should be fun,” I whispered, following Kieran to the door. We’d started as quietly as possible as soon as he said my name, all of us nearly giggling. Kieran pushed the door open silently and slipped out, then Ethan, Peter, Jimmy with me last. I wanted to follow Kieran. Well, I wanted to be first out, but Kieran was in the lead now.
Bishop and Davis stood ten feet apart in the main aisle. Bishop wore the same black suit I met him in and he was angry. He was a strong and calculating battle mage, too. And he was ready for a fight. The increase in the background noise created problems in Davis’ antennae downstairs. His secretaries and paralegals had difficulties pinpointing exactly where Bishop stood to direct the controllers of the sinks below them.
“Hello, Thomas,” Kieran called after he stepped out of the door. Inevitably, there was some sort of bending or squeezing move involved for him. Bishop’s head turned sharply.
“Kieran?” Bishop asked in shock. “Hel-lo, this is quite a surprise.” His anger ebbed away suddenly. “Your prospective clients?”
Davis looked between Kieran and Bishop suspiciously. “Yes, as if that’s your concern. Mr. McClure, please return to my office and let me attend to Lord Bishop’s problem on my own. This matter doesn’t concern you or your brothers.”
“On the contrary, Davis, this matter concerns them directly,” Bishop said smiling. “And their presence here makes this all the simpler. You want to claim that I am in breach of the Accords, fine. I call for immediate adjudication.”
“Of course, Lord Bishop,” Davis said, changing to a more amicable manner. “Arthur will be brought from Camelot immediately. He should be here by sometime tomorrow evening.”
“No, I don’t think so, not this time,” Bishop said, smiling evilly at Davis. “Recent events have caused me to re-read the Accords and I learned a thing or two in doing that. As the challenged party, the choice of adjudicator is mine and that ornamental sot of a lap dog of yours is unacceptable. Since there are two of sufficient authority under the Accords present now to judge, I ask for one of them to adjudicate.”
Kieran looked back at me in question as Davis said in confusion, “Who? Ah, so well hidden from view, I suppose there are many secrets you can hold. Who are you that you can judge the Unseelie Accords?”
“I believe you’re higher in the hierarchy, little brother,” Kieran said smiling at me mischievously.
“But you’re more senior,” I countered. “We’re merely men, Mr. Davis, and men too young to be Council-class wizards.”
Bishop barked out a laugh and said, “I suppose that’s true.”
“I don’t believe seniority is an issue in matters of the Accords,” Kieran said brightly. “And there is the added issue of being landed that adds weight to your side.”
“Oh, picky, picky,” I said petulantly. “All right, Thomas, let me see the contract.”
“I protest!” Davis said hotly and very squeaky. “What guarantees do I have that you’re even qualified to judge?”
“Well, brother, at least you made a good decision on that score,” I said, turning slightly as I passed to stand between Davis and Bishop.
“Have you ever dealt with a breach of the Accords, Mr. Davis?” Kieran asked.
Davis paused in mid word. “No, not personally,” he said, finally.
“The Accords will judge whether Seth is adequate to the task,” Kieran said mildly. “And as you didn’t know that, I would suggest that you re-acquaint yourself with that document if you’re going to use it for precedence. It’s damnably tricky in places.”
Bishop handed me his copy of his contract with Davis. I read it as fast as I could flip the pages. Thomas had indeed paid handsomely to have the conference here, both monetarily and in favors to the Hilliards. A breach would cost him triple what he’d already paid out. I could understand his anger.
“And what exactly is the contested issue here?” I asked Bishop while Davis huffed and tried to decide what was happening in his carefully controlled domain.
“Mr. Davis of the Hilliard Brothers is claiming that Lord Daybreak of Gilán and his family break their prohibition on faery within their realm,” Bishop said, the amusement in his eyes unmistakable.
“I see,” I said, chuckling. “That does present a problem.” The constant probing downstairs got irritating. Drawing in a slow breath, I tapped the floor with my foot in an arrhythmic pattern then pushed that disruptive sound into the stone and wood on the plane of the entire second floor. Bishop’s idea to muddle the antennae from attuning to him was sound. Mine blocked them completely. “I assume this has something to do with the druids’ infamous quarrel with the Fae?” Davis looked at me in shock.
“Druids, eh? I really should have seen that,” Bishop said, peering at Davis carefully.
“Guess you didn’t see the tree for the forest,” Peter said, dragging a chair ringside.
I groaned loudly. “Peter!” I groaned at his bad pun. He just snickered at me. “I’ll need the original contract. This is a copy and lacks the Oath.”
“The original is in a vault,” Davis said testily. “I will have to retrieve it.”
“What? You called a breach on an Accorded document and you’re unprepared to defend it?” I asked, shaking my head in disappointment. “That doesn’t bode well for you as an attorney, Mr. Davis.”
“I attest that the copy is a duplicate,” Davis snapped.
“Then you wish to proceed from the base of the Accords?” I asked slowly. “The only advice I can offer is to choose carefully, sir.”
“Yes,” Davis said. He didn’t trust me. It was high in his mind and easily seen, but that was his choice.
“Then I will need a copy of the Accords to continue. Do you have one available, or shall I call for mine?” I asked Davis, surprising him more that I had one of my own, but again, he didn’t trust me.
“I have one in my office,” he said, moving toward his door.
“Stop!” I called, pulling on my mantle. None of the faery magic detectors in the room so much as twitched. I stepped closer to him as I spoke to impress on him the importance of what I was saying. “Mr. Davis, I realize that you’ve never actually contested a breach before, and this is my first as well. If this should come to light with the signers of the Accords, my actions here will be closely analyzed and inspected with the utmost care. With that in mind, I must act with great concern to the protocols of the situation and enforce those on the contestants as well. Any further attempts to circumvent those protocols will result in a summary judgment against you, but you are permitted to ask questions regarding those protocols at any time. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir, Mr. McClure,” Davis said, rolling the R of my name beautifully. “May I retrieve my copy from my office?”
“Mr. Bishop? Any objections?” I asked him, turning to look at the man in black.
“No, sir, as long as it’s quick,” Bishop said, still amused over my treatment of Davis and knowing what was still coming.
Looking over at my brothers, I picked Ethan since he was closer to the door anyway. “Ethan, would you accompany Mr. Davis? Make sure that he only retrieves the Accords and speaks with no one else between here and there, please. Mr. Davis, you have three minutes.”
Kieran took a step sideways as Davis darted past him and into his office with Ethan fast behind him. The six secretaries sat in their chairs, stock-still and petrified with fear, not understanding the battle happening before them. I considered offering to let them leave but decided it wasn’t my place.
“First, would you get me a glass of water, please?” I asked Jimmy as Davis rushed out of his office with a large tome, highly decorated and bound in leather. I stared at the book in horror. “What language is that in?”