-13-
The day of the Council meeting arrived too soon. It didn’t matter that I’d conferenced with my friends nearly every day, visited the Subsixer elders and listened to everything they had to say, hung out with them at the beach, and talked to some at their places of work. I was a nervous wreck.
Lady Nemea waited for me in the closet with three different outfits. She’d finally listened to me and gone for darker colors. The problem was that I wanted to go for a different look. I’d learned a lot of things about my people in the last several weeks. One of them was, when you acted contrary to what everyone expected, people paid attention.
Lady Nemea’s eyebrows shot up when I chose a simple white dress. It was similar to the one I’d worn during my party, but less formal.
“Remember? Nonthreatening,” I explained to Lady Nemea when she frowned. “I need to get dressed now.”
She nodded but didn’t move.
“I need privacy,” I said firmly in a voice she’d taught me to use when dealing with other people. “I’ll call you when I’m ready.” She grimaced, then teleported.
I slipped on the dress, studied my reflection, and smiled. Perfect. I went to the bathroom to blow-dry my hair. My curly mane was impossible to tame most of the time. Doing it while my stomach churned with nervous energy was a nightmare.
Growling in frustration, I switched off the blow-dryer and fought the urge to throw it across the room.
“What’s wrong?”
I smothered a scream and whipped around. I hadn’t seen Green Eyes since our fight in the bubble. I hadn’t met him in the library and I’d assumed he was ticked off.
“What are you doing here?” I asked warily.
“I’m worried about you,” Green Eyes said. “You’ve been in control of the situation over the last week, and now you’re panicking. Why?”
I put the brush down. I wanted to ask him why he hadn’t visited me. It was obvious he’d been around. Watching, but keeping his distance. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He moved closer. “I’m sorry I made you angry the last time we spoke.”
I stepped back. He was too bold, and if his presence was discovered, he’d be in trouble. “Forget about it.”
“One day, you’ll understand.”
“Listen, I can’t talk now, and you need to leave before Sir Malax realizes you’re in my quarters.”
“They’ll have to catch me first,” he said indifferently, still moving closer to where I stood. “So, what’s wrong? Why are you panicking?”
Lilith? Katia asked at the same time.
Just a second.
We need to talk, she said.
Damn it. I was never going to be ready for this meeting. Later, Katia. After the meeting. “Leave,” I added louder, glaring at Green Eyes.
“Your emotions are all over the place, Lil,” Green Eyes said. He was now an arm’s length away and my back was against the sink. “What’s going on?”
He was so annoyingly stubborn. “If you must know, I’m nervous.”
“About?”
“The meeting. I’m sure you know I have to attend the High Council meeting and represent the Subsixers. I don’t know if I can do it. What if I make a fool of myself? What if they shut me down? All my ideas are radical.”
“Sensible,” he corrected firmly. “They should have been implemented years ago. It needed someone with your conviction to make it happen. Your friends believe in you. The Subsixers believe in you. I believe in you.”
It was weird, but his presence and utter confidence in me steadied my nerves. “How do you know my ideas? Is someone spying for you in my little group?”
He laughed. “No. I know you, and I know that whatever plan you present to the council will be inspired and spot-on.”
Just like that, whatever doubts I had disappeared. “You know, sometimes I think you are my guardian…”
My voice trailed off when he reached out and stroked my hair, his fingers grazing my temple. A strong surge of electricity shot through my scalp and my breath caught.
“You think too much,” he said, stepping back. “You look perfect now. Go. Be their champion. If you can, come to the library at midnight and tell me about it. I’ll be waiting. Same room.” Then he was gone.
I shook my head. Weird man. I turned to finish brushing my hair and caught my reflection in the mirror. My jaw dropped. My hair flowed to my shoulders in gentle curls. I reached up and touched it. It was dry. He’d removed water from my hair, which explained the tingle I’d felt when he’d touched my hair.
What was a Prime Water doing pretending to be a minion, uh, Subsixer? I quickly applied lip gloss and mascara, then hurried to the door. Jazreel, Lottius, and Katia were outside my bathroom door, and behind them stood Ruby and Callum.
“What happened?” Katia asked.
“We couldn’t link or find you again and they”—Katia indicated the guards—“couldn’t teleport inside, either.”
Green Eyes must have done something to block our presence like he’d done while we were under water. “I, uh, just needed privacy.”
“Privacy for what?” Lady Nemea asked from behind them. She must have just arrived.
“To get ready,” I said, improvising when the guards stayed quiet.
She studied me and nodded. “You look amazing, dear.”
“Finally, I did something right,” I teased.
She chuckled. “Come along. No need to keep them waiting anymore. You must tell me how you fixed your hair so fast.”
That was never going to happen. “Can they come, too?” I pointed at Jazreel, Lottius, and Katia. “They are my assistants.”
“No,” Lady Nemea said firmly. “Only representatives.”
I smiled at my friends and my guards. “Wish me luck.”
Downstairs, Lady Nemea paused at the entrance of the conference room, forcing me to stop, too. I’d expected a few people—heads of various groups of the Hermonites or the High Council. Instead, there were about three dozen men and women in flowing black robes standing around the room, holding heated discussions and sipping drinks.
Trays of drinks floated from group to group as though balanced on invisible hands. The efficiency of Psis never failed to amaze me. I imagined them in a hidden room, waving hands like conductors, moving trays and glasses around like chess pieces. What would happen if one made a mistake and dropped a tray? Would it throw the room into chaos? I grinned at my thoughts.
Sir Malax sent a mass ping to draw everyone’s attention, then announced, Princess Lilith.
Silence fell in the room and the focus of the room shifted to me. My face grew warm, but I didn’t let the attention get to me. I was becoming good at acting confident even when my stomach churned.
Lady Nemea had told me to never apologize for being tardy except to my father. What a load of crap. The annoyance of the people in the room was thick and I was the cause.
“I apologize for my tardiness,” I told the room. “I was swimming and it takes a long time to blow-dry this.” I touched my hair.
“You look lovely, Princess Lilith,” a barrel of a man with red hair and beard said. He had reptilian eyes, and I could swear a tail was swishing on the floor under his robe. Laughter followed his comments, but I got busy reading minds.
“Thank you, Lord Pathak. I hope your family is well.”
“Oh, yes, Princess.”
“Congratulations on the birth of your first grandson,” I said.
Surprise flashed on his face. If only he knew how fast I read thoughts.
“Thank you, Princess. The Principalities have blessed us.”
“Tell Kalin and Soulas we wish them well.”
“I most certainly will, Princess,” he said with a wide grin. He was one of the lords who’d suspected me of being a Guardian spy. I intended to win them over one at a time.
I worked the room like a pro, reading thoughts and asking the right questions. I wasn’t my father’s daughter for nothing. I’d watched him work the Rocky Beach occupants, asking personal questions and showing concern without overdoing it.
“Sorry about the strikes at your factories, Lady Snow,” I told another lady.
“It was nothing my people couldn’t handle, Princess.” Then she lowered her voice and asked, “Did I hear you say you blow-dry your hair?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“You should have a Prime Air hairdresser,” she said. The woman beside her, Lady Urius, nodded.
“Not a Prime Water?” I asked.
“Oh, one of them would be perfect,” Lady Snow said, “but Prime Water Hermonites are very rare.”
“The few we have are in high demand,” her husband added. “I wouldn’t have problems on my offshore rigs if I had a permanent one in my service.”
“Our cargo ships could use a permanent one, too,” Lady Urius chimed in.
Maybe that was why Green Eyes was never around? I moved from group to group, anger disappearing from the room until I reached my father. He was already seated at the head of a long oval table with Solange on his right and Lord Gavyn on his left. Lord Gavyn offered me his chair and bowed.
“Nice of you to finally show up, sis,” Solange said.
“I’m just a few minutes late.” I rested my hand on the arm of my father’s chair, leaned down, and kissed his cheek. “Good evening, Father.”
“Daughter.” He glanced at Sir Malax. Now.
Sir Malax pinged everyone, and one by one, people took their seats. I sat with Gavyn to my right.
Lord Valafar leaned forward and pinned Lord Snow with narrowed eyes. “What’s happening in your sector, Japheth?”
For an hour, the occupants at the table talked about their successes, businesses they’d expanded, and humans they had in their pockets—politicians, celebrities, businessmen and women, presidents and prime ministers. It was a big brag-fest, but the one thing they complained about was the lack of Primes to help them fix things.
I knew we’d lost Primes when the Guardians attacked Coronis Isle and during the Great Battle, but I had had no idea how badly off we were until then.
“I’ll see if we can give our senior Primes incentives to graduate early,” Solange said. “We already encourage them to take a year off and work anywhere across the globe, but some of them prefer to stay here.”
“You are in charge of Mount Hermon Academy?” I asked.
“Education,” Solange corrected smugly. “The elementary school in the city and the secondary one your friends attend in the ravine.” And you should be attending there instead of playing grownup.
I wanted to kick her under the table, but I couldn’t in case I kicked our father instead. I did the next best thing—blasted her with psi energy.
She winced, recovered, and glared. I can’t believe you hit me.
Stop being so mean.
Brat.
Bitch.
Her jaw dropped. You have some nerve, calling me a bitch.
If you act like one—
Girls! Lord Valafar snapped.
I backed down and only half-listened to the others as they discussed ways to speed up students’ graduation rate—more hours of training, less schoolwork, less free time, morning and evening training sessions.
An idea popped into my head. Most of their suggestions made sense, but each sector head was only looking out for their own interests. Most wanted the students to intern at their companies and sweetened the deals they’d offer. Solange’s eyes gleamed. I could already see her thinking up ways to pit the prospective employers against each other.
“I have a suggestion on how to get the students ready for the outside world,” I said when the preening and the haggling stopped.
Solange’s eyebrows shot up as though to ask, You? She glanced at our father and then made a face before asking, “What do you have in mind?” There wasn’t much interest in her voice. It was as though she believed I had nothing important to add.
“Let them do projects right here on the island, so prospective employers can see their strengths and choose the best Primes for their companies. This will give them a chance to practice using their powers.” And stop my sister from playing games. I smiled at her when she frowned. The others nodded and I knew I had their attention. Now for my case. “Case in point, I need help expanding Rocky Beach and building more waterfront stores for the Subsixers.”
“Subsixers?” Solange asked.
“Our people who live on Sublevel six. We call them minions, which is derogatory. And P-zero just reinforces the fact that they don’t have any special abilities.” I didn’t give her a chance to comment. “The Earth Prime students can help fix the beach, for starters, and the others can connect ventilation, water, and sewer systems to the shops.”
Silence followed. Doubts crept in. Maybe these people would never change. Or maybe I was the wrong person to be the champion of these people.
Taking a deep breath, I continued, “Also, Subsixers barely know how to read or write. I’d like to use the Academy in the evenings to teach them.”
“You?” Solange asked again. Aloud this time.
I swear, if she said “you” one more time in that condescending tone… I stole a glance at my father. His expression didn’t give his thoughts away, but my empathic antenna said I had his support. My confidence shot up.
“I will help, of course. But the students not involved in the Rocky Beach Project can each choose a Subsixer to tutor for extra credit or a trip off the island.” I glanced at Father again. “Remember, some students were complaining about not having enough trips off the island.” I glanced around the table and smiled, ignoring the surprise on their faces.
Glances were exchanged, thoughts and feelings eloquent, but no one spoke except my sister. “You are talking about educating minions,” she said, not masking her disbelief. “They are incapable of taking care of themselves.”
Nods from the others followed.
“Please, don’t use that derogatory name when referring to them,” I said calmly, even though I wanted to smack her. Sometimes, I wondered how we could possibly be sisters. “It is not their fault they were born without powers.” I glanced at the faces around the table and added, “And lack of power doesn’t make them powerless or stupid. We make them powerless by ignoring them and not allowing them to contribute to our society. We are the ones who believe they are stupid when they are not.”
“Whoa, little sister,” Solange said. “They do contribute.”
“By doing what? Serving in our shops? Cleaning our homes? Cooking and fetching things for us? Not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with the above if they get paid for their services, and if that is all they aspire to. The problem is that they don’t have choices and opportunities to better their lives.”
Silence followed. The uneasy kind.
“We should learn from humans when it comes to this. They once treated each other the way we treat Subsixers. We call them minions; they called them slaves. Time and opportunities showed they were wrong in their thinking. I know it’s going—”
“Stop!” Solange’s voice whipped across the room and cut the air like shards of glass. “Is this what Master Rahm“—she said it like my tutor was a slug—“has been teaching you? That we ignore the needs of our people? That we are less civilized than humans?”
My tutor and I had discussed a lot of things during history—how Queen Coronis had ruled our people, how humans had changed their methods of governing over the centuries. The humans were still making strides while we were stuck in the Dark Ages, despite our abilities.
“No, he hasn’t, Solange,” I said, leaning forward, begging please listen to me with an open mind. “I listen to our people when they talk. I know that we feed and clothe them.”
She glared. “And what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing if you like to be treated like a child,” I retorted this time. “They don’t. They want to work, get paid for their services, and decide how to use their wages. If they can take care of themselves, the time spent taking care of them will be spent elsewhere.” I looked down the table, but no one met my gaze this time except one. Lord Snow. He smiled encouragingly. “Lord Snow, do you employ Subsixers?”
“Yes, Princess. I also pay them wages.” He smiled.
“Good. That is what they all need.”
Lord Snow puffed his chest.
“What positions do they hold?”
The smile disappeared from his face.
“They are low-ranked,” I said with certainty. I didn’t wait for him to verbally confirm what I’d already read from his thoughts. Once again, I studied the other members of the Council. This time, my gaze locked with Sir Malax’s. The head of security wore a weird expression as though he was constipated.
“Sir Malax, do you have any guards in the castle or on the island without powers?”
“No, Princess,” he said, speaking slowly.
“Can Subsixers be trained to protect us?”
Amusement flickered in his mismatched eyes, but I didn’t get the same emotion from him. He was smug about something. “Yes, Princess. In fact, because of your intervention, we’ve started training min…Subsixers. They are picking up skills fast.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Despite lack of special abilities, they can still be trained to use weapons.” I glanced at the women, and something in Lady Urius’s thoughts had my eyes returning to her. “Lady Urius, do you have humans ranked higher than minions in your chain of hotels?”
She hesitated before saying, “Yes. Lawyers and upper management.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “They are more educated and there are times when we need to deal with human employees or government officials. They see to such things. We don’t own all of them.” She looked around and added, “Yet.”
Laughter filled the room.
Own? Interesting way of putting it. “So, if we had our people live and learn with the humans, they could easily replace them as your lawyers and upper management, couldn’t they?”
She glanced at her husband and then leaned forward. “Yes, Princess, but after Coronis Isle was destroyed, our people tried living among humans and failed to be integrated into their society.”
“They turned to criminal activities,” Lord Urius piped in.
“And against each other,” an older lord said from the other end of the table.
“Bringing them to the island was our way of protecting them. If we send them out there, they will return to that kind of life,” Lady Urius finished.
“They weren’t prepared to live among humans,” I said. “That’s why they had to do whatever they could to survive. If you educate our people here on the island and follow the human education system, they will be prepared. Finding employment will not be a problem, because from what I’ve heard here tonight, our people are already running one-third of the world’s businesses.”
The silence that followed this time was different. I could feel them becoming less defensive and actually listening to what I was saying.
“Master Rahm reminded me in the last couple of weeks that we are naturally brilliant. Geniuses, even. We can educate most of our people in half or a third the time it takes humans to get education and have them out there working alongside you in your companies and gaining the trust of humans.”
I had everyone’s attention, and from their mood, they were finally seeing things my way, except for a couple of die-hard skeptics and Solange.
“We talk about preparing our people to take over the world. How will we do that when we don’t know how to interact with the average human? Right now, we head businesses, control politicians, and are part of the top one percent of their population. Uh, how did Lady Urius put it? We don’t own them yet. Who is going to help us control the remaining ninety-nine percent? When we take over, we shouldn’t just be running things. We should be in all levels of the human society.”
More nods. Solange was looking rather lonely out there on a limb.
“People tend to trust people they know, people they work with, people they believe are just like them or have things in common with. Subsixers would blend perfectly with humans. They don’t have to worry about using their powers and revealing their identities.”
My heart was pounding hard by the time I finished, but I felt good. I had laid out my plan and it was solid. I glanced at my father. The expression on his face made me feel invincible.
“So, as the representative of the Subsixers, I want to see them trained, educated, and contributing members of our society. They have an equal stake in this world, just like you and me.”
Everyone started talking at once, but I focused on Solange. She was studying me with a frown, not particularly pleased with my ideas. She was also super jealous. The lessons in diplomacy I’d received from Lady Nemea flashed in my head.
I can’t do this without you, sis, I said. I need your help.
Her eyes narrowed.
You’re in charge of education, I added. Without your approval, I can’t get this project off the ground.
Solange gave me a slow smile. It wasn’t the yeah-I’m-eager-to-helpyou kind. She was going to make me pay for calling her a bitch.
Okay, little sis. Leave everything to me.
Thanks, Solange. This is going to be…huge, I telepathed her excitedly.
She rolled her eyes and then glanced at our father. “Lilith and I can work together on this project, Father.”
He didn’t respond to her right away. Instead, he studied the others and then glanced at Sir Malax. The head of security telepathically demanded silence.
“When my daughter joined us after the Great Battle, most of you thought it wasn’t a good idea. You suspected her of spying for the Guardians, doubted where her loyalties were.” He paused and studied the faces around the table. He leaned forward. “No need to be embarrassed or apprehensive. I understood your misgivings. However, I didn’t doubt her for one single moment.” He glanced at me and smiled. “She’s been conscious for two months now, and within that short time, she’s figured out something we all overlooked in our hurry to solidify our hold on the world—preparing all of our people. The little things she pointed out could easily foil our grand plan if ignored.” He reached out and gripped my shoulder, his eyes on my face. “Lilith, I’m very proud of you. You have my support.” He studied the others. “We all are going to do what we can to make sure her plan works.”
“Father?” Solange asked from his other side.
He reached for her hand. “My dearest Solange, I love your suggestion. The two of you will work together. Lilith is going to need your help with the students at the Academy and your guidance.”
Oh, he was good. I had felt Solange’s jealousy from across the table, but he’d smoothly defused it by making her feel good about my problem.
The rest of the meeting passed fast. As I left the table, Lottius’s mother placed a hand on my arm. “That was well done, Princess Lilith,” she said.
“Thank you.”
The praises followed me out of the room, but Solange had the last say. She was waiting for me outside the conference room. She put an arm around my shoulder, and said, “Looks like we’re going to work together, little sis.”
“Yeah, us,” I said weakly. Solange chuckled, though there was no humor in the sound. Over her shoulder, my eyes met Father’s. He smiled.
“Listen,” Solange snapped, and I sighed. “This is how it’s going to be. You want the students to work on your beach project, go to the Academy and ask them.”
“But you said—”
“I know what I said, but I’m going to be busy jumpstarting your minion education program.”
“But I don’t know the students and they don’t know me.”
“There you go. I knew you’d get it,” she said. “They need to know you and you them. On Monday, you will start at the academy as a new student. Your tutor agrees with me.” She smirked. “I’ll notify the principal to expect you. Have fun.” She pinched my cheek playfully, then walked back into the room. I fumed, wishing I could scream at her. And why hadn’t Rahm told me himself I was starting on Monday?
“It’s okay, princess. She’s just a little miffed because you came up with a brilliant idea,” Lady Nemea said from behind me. When I faced her, I was surprised to see her eyes bright with unshed tears. “You made us proud in there,” she added, and enveloped me in a hug. “Very proud.”
This was huge, coming from her. She hadn’t approved of anything I’d done since the day of my party. “Thank you. But we still have a lot of work to do.”
She stepped back. “Just not right now. Go with them.” She indicated Ruby and Callum. “Your friends are waiting upstairs.”
They were finally my friends? She disappeared before I could say anything. Not that I wanted to antagonize her. I glanced at the guards. “Come on, guys.”
“Excuse me, Princess,” Ruby said before I could teleport. “Thank you for what you said in there. We”—she glanced at Callum—“have family members who are Subsixers. My older brother,” Ruby added.
“Oh. Does he live here?”
She shook her head. “No, Princess. He works on an oil rig off the California coast. He always wanted to be an engineer, but—” She broke off in a wobbly voice, her chin trembling.
“Then he will become one.” I closed the gap between us and hugged her. At first, she was too shocked to react. Then she hugged me back. My eyes met Callum’s.
“My parents and my little sister are all Subsixers,” he said.
“How old is she?” I asked.
“Twelve.” A sheepish expression settled on his face. “I taught her to read and write, but that’s all the education she’s ever received. She wants to be an author when she grows up.”
“And I look forward to reading her books.”