Chapter Twenty-Three

Needing data onscreen as banners or overlays, there was more tech set-up than usual, and I wound up in the kitchen with Caroline and Penny while cables and hard drives were wrangled. They were being complimentary about Olympia, having wondered how I'd do with a less impromptu speech, and reassured me Coyote's joke had been appreciated.

"My heart was in my mouth when he appeared out of nowhere, Mercy, but I had to laugh. What she said was perfect, because as soon as he said it I knew it was exactly what I was feeling too." Penny gave me a look that was more than amused. "You did all the logic, and had people's heads, but then you tied it back to the Accords and 1855 and grabbed hearts too. He just added a screamer."

"I'll say." Caroline shook her head. "I've never seen anyone expropriate seven miles of interstate before, and you got cheered for it."

"Sacred Spaces get bypasses, Caroline. And while I was, um, finessing cause and effect, Elder Spirits really are claiming the Falls. I can get you both in for the re-emergence, but you won't be able to film the Falls themselves, only the guests."

"For real?"

"Very real. It's a tightrope for me, because I am of course using your cameras, but if not so many Yakama still think photography steals the soul, lots feel very strongly that some things should be permanently off-limits to Anglos, and the Falls are top of the list."

"Huh. Who are the guests?"

"Full preternatural house, governors, Sawyer, and the Man, with who knows how many First People. Yakama Council's inviting chiefs from all over, but only those four Anglos."

"Sounds fun. The President's accepted?"

"Yup."

Penny sat up. "Was that what you were talking about at The Dalles?"

"Among other things. He's been helpful greasing wheels for yesterday."

"Good to know. I have to say I've liked what I've seen from him in the last year more than I ever did before."

"Me too, Penny. He dropped the ball with Cantrip, and I can't say I rate his record in oil, but yeah, he rose to a challenge. Sawyer too."

We talked about progress in curbing industrial pollution and pushing hybrids, and the harder problem of fertiliser run-off which was blocked by the aggressive technocracy of Big Agribusiness. Al came to tell me data-slides were ready to roll, and we were good to go on the hour. I re-acquired cloak, feather, and Manannán's Bane, let Caroline and Penny do minimal make-up, and we arranged chairs so light fell right. Time slowed on me as I held the data remote and thought about the irreversibility of the step I was about to take, but if I regretted the loss of privacy I had no doubts left, and the clock kept ticking in any case.

Caroline and Penny split an introductory spiel about my request to make it a joint broadcast, and kicked off by asking me why I'd done that.

"You could call it a symbolic gesture, Ms Taylor, Ms Ligatt, because I'm turning things around some today. It's both simple and complicated. You know I've answered a lot of questions in the last eighteen months, from you and many people, but now I need to ask every citizen who is or will be of voting age in November a question in return, which is Are you serious?"

Eyes widened when I mentioned November, and Penny blinked.

"Are we serious?"

"Yes. Since my stepdaughter Jesse started that #MercyForPresident hashtag there have been tens of millions of likes, retweets, and whatever, and people keep saying not only nice things about me, but strong things. But how does, or doesn't, all that translate into real support? On the face of it I am a wildly improbable and way underqualified presidential candidate — only of legal age in November, never elected to public office, unwilling to join either main party, a coyote-girl married and mated to a werewolf who had film of her killing her rapist leaked planetwide."

Both women were staring.

"It's not the usual CV, and by most logic ought to rule me right out. But that is not what so many people seem to be saying, and there is a counter-argument that being a rank outsider is a point in favour. There are other truths as well, because I am the only living Elf-friend and Troll-friend, strongly dominant among wolves as well as my own kind, the person who most recently cut out the River Devil's heart, current wielder of Carnwennan, which really did belong to King Arthur and now acknowledges me, and a primary cause of Cantrip's abolition and ex-senator Heuter finding himself on Wyoming's Death Row, where he belongs. If elected I would be the first female, Amerindian, and coyote, and second non-Anglo president. And what really matters is that I would be rock-solid guaranteed as president to uphold the Medicine Wolf Accords in full, accepting as an unbreakable bond the oath sworn last year on all our behalves by the President. It is essential whoever is elected does that, in spirit and letter, so much so that presidential and congressional oaths of office should be emended to say so. Continuing to get greener is also safety-critical. And I can't say I'm impressed by anyone who has already declared candidacy — they seem to think pollution's just dandy, and not one has formally addressed the Accords. So, I ask again, are you serious?"

I hit the button and a banner came up: www . MercyForPresident . org.

"I aim to kill several birds with one stone, because a lot of what goes wrong in our politics, and parties, is to do with finance. If you're running it costs, so you have to fundraise, and hey, Mr Billionaire, Mr Corporation, Mr PAC, would I do what for how many million? More or less every federal representative has been financially compromised before they're elected. So I'll do it by crowdfunding or not at all. I'm going to lay out major policies I'd propose, and who else would be on my ticket, and if, if, when you've heard all that you think you'd vote for me in November, and for other independents on the same slate, then I ask each of you to donate ten bucks. No more, no less. Ten bucks per pledged vote — not a problem for you, and enough that if I do have a majority out there I'll have the funding to go for it without taking a cent from any corporation, or more than ten bucks from anyone."

I took a deep breath.

"That's the simple bit. Are you serious? If so, please put ten bucks where your mouth is. To work this needs everyone to big up, or small up anyway." I grinned. "But now I need to do the complicated bit, which has a bunch of stuff. First up, I am not dancing on my own. I've mentioned a slate, and if it happens that will include citizens who are full-blood and half-fae, wolves, avatars, and preterophile or just tolerant humans, in many different races, local, state, and federal. Electing me while filling Congress with mainstream party members owned by Business as Usual makes no sense. And while it all remains contingent, there would be some really interesting candidates in major federal races, beings who would be very good for the standards and intensity of political debate, and get things done properly. I won't go into detail now, with one exception, but if it turns out you are serious, and I do run, I'll give you plenty next week."

I tapped, and a slide filled the screen, leaving me on voiceover.

"The exception is my putative running-mate for Veep, Frank Lafferty. Most of you will never have heard of him, though you might recognise his daughter Andrea, a lawyer here, from the memorable time she served Ms Bostock and Fox News on air. But he's a good man — a history teacher and debate coach who is wise, kind, tough, and very smart indeed. He's also, you'll notice, male, Anglo, older, and an Easterner, and yes, I'm offering as much balance as I can. We agree about a lot of things, and complement one another. If we're a go, he'll be here next week, and in the meantime his full CV and a video interview are on the website." I restored the URL. "Ms Ligatt?"

"The two-broadcast structure is because you're giving us a week to make up our minds?"

"Yes. If it's only a million or two people who like a good hashtag, any money donated will be returned, and I can get on with my life. But if it's anything that looks like a real shot, I'll be off and running. Do people want me in charge for four years? Time to make up your minds, everyone."

"Honest, smart, and a kick in the pants. Way to go, Ms Hauptman. So what else is complicated?"

"All sorts, Ms Ligatt. But next up is what everyone on my slate will agree to support, and a rider about fundraising, because we won't only be crowdsourcing, we'll be doing it strictly locally. Just as I won't accept corporate money or large donations, nor will anyone on my slate. If someone's running in Kentucky, say, they will accept donations only from Kentuckians, and if they're running for mayor or DA in city x, only from residents. Local control for local races, state for state, federal for federal. And at every level what we'll want to do is set the Medicine Wolf Accords in stone, promote the Paths of Assertion and Mercy, get greener fast, and get better acquainted with the truth about ourselves, our histories and nation. This is all on the website, with more detail, but I can bullet three constitutional amendments — one to change presidential and congressional oaths of office to include upholding the Medicine Wolf Accords; one to protect rights of preternatural citizens; and another go at an Equal Rights Amendment for women. Each will have corollaries in educational practice, to ensure everyone hitting eighteen knows they do not have to fear the preternatural if they respect it, nor fear being a woman or non-Anglo in this country. I can't make I do not need enemies to know who I am a policy, but I mean it, and it will be the spirit of other policies. Cantrip made us take a look at ourselves, and do things about what we saw. I think we need to go right on doing that, and that Congress and the Beltway could do with a good shake-up and fresh faces."

"Now that rings bells, Ms Hauptman, including mine." I could see Caroline thinking. "But fresh faces will face the same problems that have always proven intractable. Anything to say about those?"

"Two at least, Ms Taylor, and the first is a doozy. Gun control. I am a gun owner and user, for self-defence." I grinned. "I don't need a gun to go hunting — coyote teeth work fine on rabbits — but more or less everyone on planet has seen me kill a man, and knows I killed the River Devil. I can also confirm that when he kidnapped and tried to kill me, I killed Manannán mac Lír, with serious help, using magic, iron, and silver, and while bullets would have been no more use against him than the River Devil, no-one is taking away my guns. But I am not an idiot, I do not and never will belong to the NRA, and I am sick to death of their rigid stupidity costing us thousands of innocent lives every year. Yes, you bet citizens have the right to bear arms, in self-defence and for hunting, and if someone is truly threatening you and yours, you take them out any which way you can. But one, if you hunt an animal that is not threatening you, you'd better be intending to eat it, and two, civilians do not need military-grade weapons. We accept that the right to bear arms does not cover nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, nor missiles or explosives, and no citizen needs weapons designed purely to inflict mass casualties on the battlefield. So I want a gun lobby I can trust to protect my gun-owning rights, and trust not to do things as stupid as demanding abolition of the ATF and opposing background checks for mental illness and criminal records. And there is no such lobby."

I slid another banner onscreen.

"Until now. Sane American Gun Enthusiasts will continue regardless of whether Frank and I wind up running, and will work for a clear border between handguns and rifles that are legitimate for citizens, and things that are for the military only. The NRA and other extremists talk, forgive me, complete bull about this. I go armed, always, with one or more of cold iron, lead, silver, and magic, and I have had rogue humans, rogue wolves, one River Devil, and rogue fae up to and including a Gray Lord, come at me with deadly intent." And way too many vamps. "They are all dead, and I did not need any kind of machine-gun to ensure that, nor any mechanism for boosting my rate of fire. Adam has a video on the SAGE website about this, because unlike every last member of the NRA council he has been in all-out military combat, and defended himself from attack as a private citizen, and he knows when you truly need an M-16, or an F-16, and when it's just boys waving egos around. So, distinctly from asking you if you're serious about me as president, if you are a gun-owner, or even if you're not, and you think what I'm saying makes solid and common sense, which to me is a no-brainer, then please join SAGE. Membership is five bucks a year, just to cover basic website and staffing costs. And if you're presently a member of the NRA, and willing to switch because their rigid idiocy has annoyed and disappointed you as much as me, please send SAGE and the NRA an email telling us why you're switching, and any good ideas for sane gun laws you have. Frankly, I regard the NRA as having betrayed every American who believes in the right to bear arms, because they've been so dumb about it that millions of kids who very reasonably resent and fear school shootings have been driven to call for constitutional bans and all sorts, when there are perfectly workable answers we could have implemented years ago. So if you agree, note the SAGE URL, and once I'm done, get online and vote with your feet and five bucks. We've made the website as robust as we can, but I suspect there may be a lot of you trying, so be patient with any delays, hey?"

I held up one finger, then a second.

"So there's a gun-control policy. The second example I'll give is drugs, because while I'm not at all sure what exactly we need to do, I am crystal clear the War on Drugs President Nixon launched has been lost, and the legislation we have is not working. The Onion said it in a headline once — DRUGS WIN DRUG WAR — and that's spot-on. The only real effects of criminalisation are to keep up the street price of illegal drugs and skew imprisonment by ethnicity, while more than half the problem is with prescription stuff, like Oxycontin. More than one state already knows that perfectly well, and one big step we need is federal decriminalisation, at minimum, probably legalisation. States need to decide for themselves, and I'm not prepared to second-guess what they'll do, given the chance, but I am clear this debate is not only about the usual suspects. It's also about alcohol. Facts are that one bottle of cheap liquor, chugalugged, can kill you very dead, nastily, while to kill himself with marijuana an adult man would need about four pounds, and after the first eighth of an ounce he'd fall asleep. Having booze legal and grass illegal, to quote Mr Spock, does not compute, captain, and while I can't say what I'd bring forward as bills, I can say what we have right now has to change, because it is unfit for purpose and counter-productive."

I gave Caroline a wider grin than I quite felt.

"So I trust that answers your question, Ms Taylor, but while there are other old problems, there are also new issues everyone needs to be clear on. I need to say for the record that I have the permission of the Marrok and Elder Spirits to reveal what I'm about to. And the reason I'm doing this is because honesty and honour demands it. I am asking citizens if they are willing to vote for me, so they need to know what they'd be voting for. Yet this is not easy for me, nor others, so there's a preamble. Ms Taylor, Ms Ligatt, you know a lot of questions have been asked about the increasing discrepancy between Adam's known age and physical appearance, and that I duck them. Not any more."

"Right." Penny was looking quite shocked, but professionalism carried her through. "On paper your husband is 68, but he looks maybe 30."

"Adam is 68. He was born in 1951, conscripted in 1969, and forcibly Changed with David Christiansen, surviving that wolf warlord's attack, in 1971, when he was just 20. The speculation that werewolves do not age is correct, but there are way more complications than the speculators have ever bothered to think about."

My stomach muscles were clenched.

"In theory werewolves can live for ever. In practice the average life span of a newbie wolf has been hovering around nine years for a while, because despite the strength and healing there are massively heightened risks, not only from humans, although God knows very many American werewolves have been murdered by humans since 1776. Newbies are vulnerable to other wolves, other preternaturals, and some prey species — a bunch of timber wolves are killed each year hunting elk and moose, and with that kind of weight werewolves can go down — as well as to silver poisoning and drowning. You already know from Living Free and Moonbound that female werewolves cannot carry to term, and here's another thought to ponder — yay, you don't die, or age much, you just go on getting older … while your husband or wife, and children, and all your kin and friends, do age, and wither, and die. What do you do? Try to Change them too, to share your longevity? That means savaging them almost to death, and more than half the time killing them in the attempt. Old wolves are seriously vulnerable to suicide, for compelling reasons." I thought of Asil. "Tolkien readers might think of Elrond. He chose to be immortal while his brother chose a mortal life, and Elrond saw his brother die, happy and content, followed by sixty-two generations of nephews before Aragorn. To be undying unless killed is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, nor anything like, but it is part of the curse and reality of being a werewolf. And of being an avatar of an Elder Spirit."

Jaws dropped.

"You are undying?"

"Unless killed. I am today 34, but if I avoid assassination, which I have so far, um, seven times, not counting Cantrip, I could make it to 340 or even 3400, though that would be a new avatar mark by a long way. We have heightened risk factors too. So if I run and am elected, we might have to revisit lifetime payment and security for former presidents, because I could be one of those for a very long time."

"And term limits."

Caroline's voice was a bit breathy, and I grinned edgily.

"No more than two consecutive terms is just fine, Ms Taylor, for all sorts of reasons, but I suppose we could say that after a century out of office someone would be eligible for two more. Can't say I'm keen, though. In any case, the point people need to take on board is that I felt I could not offer to run without being honest about my life expectancy and Adam's, and the Marrok accepted that obligation. Yes, it was a shoe waiting to drop, but I have, with full permission from the Marrok and Elder Spirits, and unanimous support from US Alphas, just outed wolves and avatars as undying. If you weren't born an avatar, that's out, but foolish humans seeking to be Changed is going to be a burden for wolves we need to minimise. Think about all this, people, and hard. Wannabe a werewolf? Wanna strip before a large crowd, and invite a wolf in wolf form to rip your body apart to a point, if the wolf gets it right and you're very lucky, that you just, maybe, almost, don't die, by the shredded skin of your changing teeth? Wanna be moonbound for ever, meaning on average nine years? As I think you realised long ago, Ms Ligatt, there are hard reasons the Marrok has allowed so much data to come out on Living Free and Moonbound, and everyone needs to look at the stats for the Wyoming murders too — 26 alive, barely, and over 300 very dead indeed."

I held up both hands.

"But of course there is an upside to longevity, and more so on the Paths of Assertion, Mercy, and the Manitou. Medicine Wolf's millions of years make even Elder Spirits and Gray Lords look like pikers when it comes to immortality, but one thing real age means is a vast amount of practical experience. Negotiating with beings like the Marrok and Prince Gwyn ap Lugh requires extreme care, and there are stringent limits to what anyone sane will even fantasise about attempting, but they do not deny that their kinds' long experience is a resource they might offer on the Path of Mercy. So to be practical, one thing is that if I run and win, my advisors will include citizens who have collective millennia of hard experience."

Individual millennia too, but I wasn't going there, yet.

"And a second thing is, yes, there are in the US living preternaturals whose age is in three figures and who witnessed large chunks of history, on this continent and elsewhere. If you recall, my degree from Wazzu is in history, I've never stopped reading it for fun and what I think of as a citizen's duty, and among the brilliant work there are errors and systematic biases. As an obvious example, the history of First People, Amerindians, has been skewed sideways and plain ignored, and the historians are going to have to confront wolves, avatars, and fae who will as eyewitnesses tell them that what they say about Custer or Crazy Horse, and mostly don't say about Buffalo Road Calf Woman and Black Coyote, is plain wrong, or however wide of the mark. Bluntly, humans tend to think anything more than five- or six-decades back is ancient history, and irrelevant. Preternaturals don't, because if we didn't see it ourselves we've talked to someone who did. And those who survive to lead preternatural kinds, as the Marrok and Prince Gwyn ap Lugh have done, in their particular ways, can do so because they live and learn a great deal over a long time. The long-lived must, inevitably, suffer loss, and there is much they don't care to remember, but they become great resources for those with shorter spans who face similar and perennial problems."

I went on looking straight at Al's camera.

"If you tell me you are serious, and the massed run of independents happens, I am not the only being who will make such disclosures. With the Medicine Wolf Accords a bunch of secrets became obsolete and spilled. Now, more will do so, not because we could not go on concealing them, but because we are honest. You have all heard Prince Gwyn ap Lugh and know the fae cannot be forsworn. Equally, you have heard me say that lying to werewolves is neither easy nor wise — they hear lies, as I do, and tend to despise liars. Avatars are also, like almost all First People, less than impressed by fast talk, sharp practice, and habitual dishonesties. And all that is why most preternaturals, including me, do one of two things — stay shtum, or tell truth. There are, and if you are serious will be, things I am not telling you, period, but I do not and will not lie, to you or to myself."

I picked up Manannán's Bane, hoping Andrea was right about this one.

"A few more facts, so they are on record. Most of you have seen me travel by archway, which I can do only because of the rose cloak Underhill gifted me after I appealed to her justice over Manannán mac Lír. When I use it, I go Underhill, to the Garden of Manannán's Death, and from there to wherever I'm bound. As the US recognises Underhill as sovereign unto itself and the Fae, I technically leave US territory, very briefly, and have wondered about the wisdom of that in a president, but I do not think any law or principle is broken, and as the cloak has a vastly lower carbon footprint than Air Force One I have no intention of stopping. What I can do is give you my word that while the cloak is a fae artefact, like Manannán's Bane, their magic heeds and amplifies mine, not anyone else's. By Underhill's word, the cloak is mine for life, and by Prince Gwyn ap Lugh's none other can use its magic. Manannán's Bane chooses to stay with me, as does Carnwennan, and I will never refuse their friendship."

It might provoke a legal challenge, but if I did run, and win, no-one would have a leg to stand on.

"Finally, so far as disclosures go, I will remain, whatever happens, de facto co-Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack, and as the pack would stay in the Tri-Cities I would be back here frequently. Normally, even weekly commuting here to DC would be insane, but, rose cloak, so no problem. Adam and I would have to do a bunch of juggling, but we do that anyway, as do all presidents. Moreover, know that because I am coyote, and no less dominant than Adam, he cannot use werewolf magic to give me orders. Neither can the Marrok. I am and will remain my own woman, as well as a wife, mate, and mother." One more deep breath. "Which leaves one more thing before I wrap up. Al and Dwayne, the screen will give you a silhouette, but no peeking."

I laid cloak, feather, and remote aside, rose, and went behind the screen I'd set up to one side. I kept my back to it while I stripped, went coyote, and trotted out to hop onto the chair, cloak rustling welcome, and tap with a claw to slide lettering onscreen sentence by sentence, while I gazed at the camera, coyote eyes glittering mischief as well as truth.

I know you all know, but be reminded.

As I once told Underhill, in fear of my life, I am not human.

I am half-human, half-coyote.

I have two forms, I use magic, I see ghosts.

I also hunt rabbits on four legs, catch them, and eat them raw,

though on two legs I am a superior cook.

And my Amerindian name is

She Doesn't Only Fix Cars, She Drops People Right In It.

(Including myself, right now, but it works.)

I have been named Elf-friend and Troll-friend,

by Underhill, Prince Gwyn ap Lugh, and Vorðr,

and I am very happy to be so.

Yes, I hold and keep any number of secrets, rightly.

Don't ever tell me you didn't know all this.

And if you are serious, get set, because as soon as I'm back on two legs and clothed I'll be giving you chapter and verse.

Enough was enough, and I scooted back behind the screen, shifted, and dressed, ignoring hunger pangs. Sitting again before a silent and slightly dazed Caroline and Penny, I redonned the cloak, set the feather back in my hair with the little twist that made it stay put, and gazed at the camera, tapping to bring the first banner up again.

"So you have all seen. Are you still serious? I would be a gamble, and I am coyote — there will be chaos and upset, however it's good chaos and needed upset. If you are serious, haul out your plastic and head to the website. We've made it really robust, so it shouldn't crash, but again, bear with any delays, please." I brought up an image that reduced me to a top-corner box. "When you get there, there's a front screen, with a list of who's on board and a counter, plus a big REGISTER AND DONATE button, then a personal data screen — who are you, how old are you, and where are you registered to vote — and a standard secure donation form for CC data with one extra dialogue box, which I've highlighted, asking what you want me to do if there aren't enough of you who are serious, so I scrap all this. Do you want your ten bucks recredited to your CC or to go to Clean Up the Basin? And after that there's a screen asking for suggestions about who might stand on my slate in local, state, or federal races that matter to you. If we're going to have a political clear-out, we need to crowdsource new candidates. Please keep suggestions serious. If it's someone you know personally, ask before you submit their name. If it's someone you don't know personally, give reasons for making the suggestion clearly and sharply. And think as far outside the box as you like — it's SOP and business as usual that got us into this mess, and thinking sideways as well as forwards is good. So is mass participation. Cantrip was abolished because we marched in numbers, and to get back to being the land of the free and home of the brave will take serious activism."

Caroline had pulled her head together. "Do the Federal Electoral Commission know about all this, Ms Hauptman?"

"Yup. I ran it by them, and took legal advice. There's no precedent, but it's lawful. And while I have no intention of standing back from Clean Up the Basin, I have put firewalls in place so there is no confusion about money raised charitably, and political funding by donation. There will be ongoing scrutiny by the FEC so everyone can see it's above board."

So had Penny. "I imagine the Freed Pack are big supporters, but I'm not sure Living Free and Moonbound can deal with overt politics."

"I don't want to cause the show problems. I'm sure Ramona and others will have things to say, but so will all citizens, and multiple legal opinion is that if you're covering them, consistently, as you are, and they spend time doing security for my campaign, which they will if it happens, saying and showing so is not over the line. You'll have plenty of other things to cover, Ms Ligatt, as well as yesterday in Olympia. Then again, there's a clear connection between that busy week last year, the Freed, and my decision, but what you do about that is for you to decide."

"And the producers." Penny gave a weak grin. "But I'd say you're going to get so much free airtime anything I do would be a drop in the bucket."

"Maybe. In any case, everyone, the points are Are you Serious? and if I'm right and we're lucky, SAGE over the NRA. Oh, and the person who really pushed me into doing this is Jesse, who thinks a lot of kiddos have strong feelings about how their parents should be assessing who to vote for, so if you find children asking hard questions, bear with them, please. They'll probably be good questions that deserve thought, and the young are rightly angry about the ecological mess we've made."

"Tell me." Caroline cocked her head. "You know, Ms Hauptman, I had a hatful of ideas about what you might be saying today, none even close. Hello again, left field, and then some."

I laughed. "You could say, Ms Taylor, but it's just being coyote and changing rules on people. There'll be more as and when, if it happens."

"Do you really doubt it will?"

"Not so much, given the numbers, but I do not take anyone's vote for granted. It is a right, a privilege, and a duty to vote, and I need to know people are serious about me before I disrupt my life, and Adam's and Jesse's, as badly as this will if it happens."

"Un huh. You never have been one to make assumptions, but I think we'll be back here next week to hear you announce, and the office pool on just how strong your support will prove is going to be fun."

"Glad to amuse. And I can promise any campaign would be entertaining as well as serious, if only because my ever-so father is dreaming up posters and hashtags that make left field seem mainstream."

"Ooh. Now that's to look forward to."

"You bet, and this is all about looking forward. Once again, bottom line, the main reason I'm doing this is because I do not trust anyone who has announced, or is tipped to do so, stringently to maintain the Medicine Wolf Accords or go on pushing greener policies as strongly as we need to. And that's only the headlines. Do you trust them honestly to walk the Path of Mercy, seeking mutual cooperation between humans and preternaturals? To help the FBPA — or Farouts, we've decided it's pronounced — be what we need it to be? To build on what we all gain with the Columbia Restoration and Cascadia evacuation? Genuinely to fight bigotry tooth and nail? Not to be in anyone's partisan or corporate pocket?" I shrugged. "I don't, and while there are bound to be things on which, if this happens, I have to compromise, none of those will ever be among them. No doubt a bunch of politicians and talking heads will say I'd be a very unsafe pair of hands, but on things that really matter, because they can kill us, I'll be a very safe pair indeed. And that's it for today, unless you have questions."

"One maybe, Ms Hauptman." Caroline looked thoughtful. "I gather there's been a sharp rise in Yakama registrations to vote, across the Basin, in the last few days. Did they know about this?"

"No. But Elder Spirits and Yakama elders did, so they kept pushing voter registration, which they've been doing anyway on account of yesterday. And lots of people will be pushing registration nationwide. Jesse was involved in school pre-registration programmes long before this came up, and it's a clear benefit of any outsider candidacy to stir up people who aren't registered because there's no-one they've ever liked or trusted enough to want to vote for. Getting turnout way up would be a victory in itself, and I'll be watching registration numbers as well as the website."

"I bet."

"Un huh. It's not just about me — if we want better representation of First People, more First People need to stand up to be counted, as candidates and voters. Historically we've had good reasons not to trust the system, but the Columbia Restoration and Elder Spirits being out is shifting minds everywhere, and I hope to see a lot of First People coming forward, politically, economically, and ecologically. Other minorities too. The system is not in good shape, but the wind is changing and we really do have a chance to fix some things. Let's go for it, people."

"Right." Penny grinned. "Will you use your Indian name campaigning?"

"Oh yes, Ms Ligatt. It's true, and I'll go on fixing things and dropping people right in it whether or not I run. It's what coyotes do, and I am my father's daughter, however not-exactly. It's worked pretty well so far."

"You could say. And that you're doing it again right now, to all of us. Are we serious? We'll soon find out."

Caroline and Penny did the wrap, reminding people to tune in next week, and with a final slide showing both URLs Al and Dwayne ended transmission, putting down cameras. Al blew out a long breath.

"Damn, but you really don't do things by halves, do you, Mercy?"

"What would be the point, Al? I can't apologise for not warning you all, because it was necessary for all sorts of reasons, but I regret any strain."

"Not a problem, Mercy." Caroline had slumped in her chair. "With you I've come to appreciate being dropped right in it, and you have just put both of us on the very top of the national news cycle. I doubt the main parties will be so cheerful, though."

"Me either." Penny rolled her neck. "Serious panic will be setting in, I'd think."

Her phone and Caroline's beeped simultaneously, and they grabbed, peered, and stared accusingly.

"What?" Though I had a good guess.

"The first names showing on the website are the President plus the governors of Washington and Oregon. Ten bucks apiece."

"Un huh. They'll all announce endorsements today. They're all joining SAGE as well, as is Sawyer, who's quitting the NRA."

"Forget serious panic. Try screaming hysteria." Penny shook her head admiringly. "This election just went ballistic."

And we hadn't even gotten to vamps. Yet.