CHP18

Thousands of miles away, on another continent, the hackle feathers of black wings rustled, and blue eyes lit with a strange fire. A tongue flicked over large canines, and Briel found it hard to concentrate.

As long as he could remember, he had taken classes in language, diction, reading, writing, magic, combat, and histories. He was groomed for greatness at the hands of a fierce master with high expectations and a vicious short temper. It had made Briel reactionary, quick, attentive, and meek. Though, Acryan slowly dissolved any meekness he held.

Confidence, overconfidence, arrogance, and boldness defined the warlord.

Zaien elbowed Briel in the side.

“Pay attention,” Zaien said to him, and he cast lazy blue eyes back to the group before him, negotiating trade offerings between them for the Enai, their mostly-human servants.

A few council members looked over budgets, leasing their healing, magics, and education in exchange for supplies to keep their country going.

Each of the three tribes governed a population of the Enai, taking from them annual tithes and taxes as owed to them for their continued access to magic. The Anael received from Canadian and US providences. The Phoenix received their tithes from most of non-eastern Europe. The Acerrai drew from Russia and the Eurasian areas.

Money held only trade value from one Cerraien, winged kind, to the other. The essential things were food, luxury, and technology.

The Enai and Anael worked together to create new magic technology to advance their lifestyles, but the Anael were slow to adopt new technologies. Though, the Enai embraced the new.

Only recently had the Anael started to use mana powered ‘phones’ to communicate. Unfortunately, though, this had less to do with their stubbornness and more to do with their power being too much for their mana batteries.

Briel brayed a long droning sigh. “None of this would be a problem if you’d just accept a few more Enai and taught them the language.”

A long silence passed, and Zaien dropped his head to the table with an audible groan as bickering broke out between some of their elder council members.

“Briii-ellllll,” Zaien groaned.

“No, you think I’m joking. Think about it. We’re guarding non-existent resources. They can do anything we can on a smaller scale. We’ve got them beat on old knowledge and power, but we’re hoarding in in favor of vague secrets. We don’t need to hold ‘secrets’ over them. We can literally nullify their power at any time we want. We are owed their tithes. Educating them more is the obvious step, as our negotiations could go much further,” Briel said, speaking in that strange boisterous voice again.

Zaien knew it for what it was, Acryan, and the council could tell as well. Briel gave them weary looks.

“And you’re not interested.” He threw his hands up.

“Come on, Zaien. Let’s go,” Briel announced as he stood and started from the room. He looked back at the elders, all watching him with harried glances, all save for the acting elder, seating the throne for Briel until he became of age. The elder glared daggers at him, and Briel made a mental note of that.

“I don’t trust Whitewind,” Briel said when he got far enough down the hallway.

“You don’t trust anyone that bores you.”

“He bores me too much. When have I been wrong? My instincts are right on.” Briel’s look went cold and calculative.

“Takes a fiend to know one.” Zaien cut his eyes.

“Exactly! You know how I said I could feel her?” Briel said, changing the subject quickly. This caught Zaien’s attention.

“Yes?”

“Felt her again; she’s woken. She’s too young yet, and something’s off… I can’t find where she is. I’ll have to exercise patience.” Briel didn’t seem put off by this.

“Too young? You two are never more than a few months apart.” Zaien looked worried.

“Too young here.” Briel tapped the side of his temple.

“Permanently?”

Briel shook his head. Something strange flashed about him, and Zaien noticed a flash where both spoke at once—Acryan’s swagger and Briel’s words.

“Briel?” Zaien reached for his shoulder and steadied him.

“Yes.” Though he didn’t look entirely sure of that, as if he had to think about it for a moment. “She’ll be fine. We’ll find her, and she’ll be fine.”