"Can you promise we're not going to end up in his basement again?" Nicholas pressed.
Rose heaved a sigh and looked at him and Kyle in the rearview mirror. "Are you going to get over that? They're our allies now; our friends."
"I'm all for allies and friends," Kyle assured Rose quickly, "but …"
"…Well, you can't tell me that you've gotten over it – being his girlfriend and being kept hostage in his basement."
"Kinky!" Kyle quirked his eyebrows up and down.
"You two!" Rose exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "We are here on official Clan business and it would bode well for you both to remember that."
"Are we going to get any information before going into this?" Kyle asked.
"I don't know much myself, this is an informational meeting. What I can say is that the three of us have been summoned to the Dragon Council occurring next weekend."
"Dragon Council?" Nicholas blurted. "That exists?"
"Yes, why wouldn't it?"
"It's just weird," Nicholas explained. "We were taught that they were unintelligent, uncivilized creatures. Obviously, it was wrong, but it's still mind blowing to discover things like that; things that go against our learning and training."
"I understand," Rose said softly, though she could only partially sympathize for several reasons. The two most prominent of these reasons were: she hadn't received the same training as the other Huntsclan members and she had never underestimated the dragons. Even from a young age, Rose had understood that if they were fighting something, they had to be smart enough to fight back.
She parked the car in the alley next to the shop.
"Remember," she hissed as the trio approached the front door, "be respectful."
"Yes, Huntsmistress," they chorused swiftly.
Rose opened the front door without knocking, leading Kyle and Nicholas through the shop. They seemed skittish on this level, eyes locked on the entrance to the basement, but she felt them calm down once they were heading up the stairs that lead to the apartment.
"Hello!" Rose shouted up the stairwell, "We're here!"
"Kitchen!" a gruff voice answered.
Rose headed into the kitchen, Kyle and Nicholas sticking close to her.
"Hi, Fu," Rose chirped, taking a seat at the table and gesturing for the boys to do the same. "What are you making?"
"Tacos," Fu exclaimed. "I've been craving them lately."
"You pregnant woman, you," Rose joked.
Nicholas broke in, "I knew he could talk –"
"But the dog can cook?" Kyle ended.
"The dog," Fu snarled, "can do a lot more than cook. Remember that!"
Kyle and Nicholas exchanged alarmed glances.
"Don't scare them," Rose laughed. "That's my job."
Jake stumbled into the kitchen, finger brushing his hair. "Hey, I thought I heard you." He bent down to Rose, giving her a kiss, before he sat down in the chair next to her, taking her hand in his own.
"Gag," Kyle rolled his eyes.
"They're kissing, it's cute." Nicholas swatted at his best friend.
"And that is the difference between you and me." Kyle rolled his eyes again.
"That's enough," Rose said, but not sternly. When they were within the Huntsclan, it was easy to keep her authority because of the obvious hierarchy, but outside of the Huntsclan, especially in a relaxed situation like this, she and the boys tended to fall into a sibling relationship.
"Okay," Kyle and Nicholas said, but Rose didn't know if she believed them. They were teenaged boys, after all. They were good at settling down when serious business came about but they did like to joke around and have fun when the opportunity presented itself and it was hard for her to deny them their jokes, even when they were at Rose's expense.
"Where's Lao Shi?" Rose changed the subject.
"I have just arrived." Lao Shi's voice boomed into the kitchen as his dragon form slithered through the open window. He transformed, dropping neatly to his feet and pausing there – the picture of dignity. "I am so glad you could all come."
"We're glad to be invited," Rose said, "We need all the information we can get."
"Indeed you do," Lao Shi sighed, acknowledging the Huntsclan's ignorance. "Let's delve into the issue right away; there is much for us to learn."
He headed into the living room and picked up a few papers that he'd had stacked there. They were the recent summons from the Dragon Council. He returned to the kitchen, taking his seat at the head of the table.
"There are four Councilors on the Dragon Council," he began the lesson, "Councilor Andam, the African Dragon; Councilor Kulde, the European Dragon; Councilor Omina, the Dragon of Atlantis; and Councilor Kukulkan, the Central American Dragon. Once there was a fifth Councilor, Councilor Chang, but she betrayed the dragons and is no longer spoken of."
"What did she do?" Kyle asked, instantly intrigued.
"She was in league with the Dark Dragon. He was one of us once, but he was consumed by dark magic and turned against his kin. Few dragons have survived encounters with the Dark Dragon; in fact, only two have and we are both sitting in this room," Lao Shi answered. "I faced him in my youth and Jake did as well, a few years ago. He has not been seen since and the Council believes him dead. I have a different opinion, but the Council does not defer to me."
"I see," Rose murmured. "What else do I need to know about the Council?"
"Not much else about the Council itself. They work together to decide upon important matters. In theory, the Dragon Council only has say in what happens to the dragons but as dragons are seen as protectors in the magical world, the Council often finds itself deciding upon other matters as well.
"And you, Rose, are seen as a matter of the utmost importance."
"Why do they want to meet with me, exactly? I understand that they're questioning my motives, which I understand based on the Huntsclan's previous reputation. But they've read Mercer's diary, they know about Jake and I, they know that this isn't coming out of nowhere."
Lao Shi reached for the papers. "This is the original summons – the one from months ago."
"And we replied with Mercer's diary," Nicholas supplied.
"Right," Lao Shi nodded. "The Council reviewed it and said that they still wanted to speak to Rose directly, thus the second summons. In the second summons it states: the next Council meeting requires the presence of Jacob Long, the American Dragon, Lao Shi, the Chinese Dragon, and Rose, Huntsmistress; for the purpose of unity."
"That doesn't sound bad," Rose admitted. "It's what I've wanted – to finally have an official network in place between my Clan and your world."
"Yes," Lao Shi nodded. "This summons was a step in the right direction."
"But not the next one?" Kyle asked.
Lao Shi drew in a breath. "The third summons, the latest one, is not only more vague, but more intricate."
"Things can be vague and intricate?" Fu snorted, bringing plates piled with food to the table. "Welcome to the world of dragons, kids."
Rose offered Fu a wane smile, but she couldn't keep it on her face. From what Lao Shi had said, the second summons had been the key to realizing all that she had been working for since she had taken over the Huntsclan; the second summons would have given her the peaceful world she spent her nights envisioning. Had it gone wrong? Had the Council changed their minds about helping with that dream? She couldn't see why they would. Unity wouldn't benefit the Huntsclan alone, it would be extremely beneficial to the magical community as well.
Jake seemed to sense her inner turmoil. He tightened his grip on her hand, rubbing his thumb in circles along the base of her wrist. Rose took and breath and held him in return. There was no use in getting worked up over anything, especially when she had nothing concrete to get worked up over.
"So what does the third summons say?" Rose demanded. "And, especially, why do they want Nicholas and Kyle to come? They are my most trusted advisors but there are plenty in the Clan who share the same base responsibilities that they do."
Lao Shi picked up the third summons. "The next Council meeting requires the presence of Jacob Long, American Dragon, Lao Shi, Chinese Dragon, Rose, Huntsmistress, Kyle, Huntsboy 88, and Nicholas, Huntsboy 89; for the purpose of defence, character witnesses, and discussion of unity."
"They mentioned unity though," Rose exclaimed. "That has to be good, right? That's our goal."
"They list the reasons in order of importance," Jake informed her quietly. "The most important reason comes first, the least important is last."
Rose's eyes flashed. She felt angry. She had been working for magical unity, working to end the chaos and pain that her Clan had inflicted on upon them. Shouldn't the magical community be more appreciative of everything that she was doing, rather than pushing it to the bottom of the list? What could possibly be more important?
Anger still burning in the pit of her stomach, she looked up at Lao Shi, the questions balancing on her lips, but Nicholas beat her to the punch.
"So if unity is at the bottom of the list, what are the first two?"
"Yeah," Kyle pitched in. "What is 'purpose of defence'? What are we supposed to be defending?"
"And 'character witnesses'?" Nicholas continued. "I'm assuming that's us, because we were added to the summons along with that, but what are we being character witnesses to?"
"I can only tell you theories," Lao Shi warned. "I cannot speak to the Council's mind, as this is all have they have offered, but I have known the Council for many years, so I think I can safely assume some things."
Rose nodded, gripping Jake's hand, glad that he was as strong, if not stronger, than her and that she could hold tight without the fear of hurting him. His fingers were digging into her just as tightly; he was as nervous as she was. This was their future, potentially their lives, hanging in the balance here.
"I am assuming that they have discovered something in the Huntsclan's past – something concerning Rose – thus the need for Nicholas and Kyle to be character witnesses. By your own omission, they are the two within the Clan that know you best."
"I…yes," Rose breathed, not realizing that she had hesitated. Her mind had instantly flashed backward, to the pain of losing Andrew. He'd been very close to her; she had trusted him, even above Nicholas and Kyle, because he had been like her. He had been out undercover; he had gotten a name from the Clan. He had understood the pain of double lives.
"Is there someone else?" Lao Shi caught her pause. "If there is, we may want to bring them along. It may bode well for you."
"He was murdered by the old Master, just before I took over," Rose revealed. "I didn't mean to bring him up."
"I'm sorry for your friend," Lao Shi said quickly. "Now, the question is, what have they discovered about you that you need character witnesses for? If we can prepare a defence in advance, then it will be better than if we are blindsided in front of the Council."
"I don't know what to say. Master said that I was different from the rest of the Clan, but only because I was raised differently. I was raised to be harsher, crueller, and more heartless. I asked him if he had altered me in any way, beyond the whole nature vs. nurture experiment, and he said that he hadn't."
"Are you absolutely sure that he did no alterations? Is it possible that he lied to you?"
"Of course it's possible. But I don't have any records of it. I went through all of the files in the New York Huntsquarters has before I left on my trip around the world and there was nothing on me. Either Master had them somewhere else or they were destroyed long ago."
"I see." Lao Shi studied his lined hands. "Do you have any reason to believe that you weren't genetically altered?"
"I … I have no idea," Rose admitted, suddenly feeling terrified.
There will be no new chapter next week! I will be away without any internet connection. Sorry for the delay, but chapters will resume on the 14th!
I don't own anything recognizable. Thanks to my beta: Gift Of The Dragons.
~TLL~