With the Kranjir gone, Verdan stood alone before the council, his skin prickling against the abruptly cold air in the room. Their reaction to Ciaran, or should he say Arber’s reaction, had been telling as far as Verdan was concerned. He could no longer rely on any of the goodwill he’d built with the city.

  At the very least, Verdan would have to start afresh with the new councillors. At worst, the city was no longer a safe haven for him. He could only hope that things weren’t actually that bad, but he had to be realistic.

  What exactly he’d do if the worst came to pass, he had no idea, but he’d fight to make sure things didn’t fall that far.

  “Thank you for coming to see us, Wizard Blacke,” Arber said, favouring Verdan with what seemed to be a genuine smile. “I do apologise for making you wait, but I had a feeling that our Kranjir friends would be trying to involve us in affairs outside the city once more. Best to have that dealt with first, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “I’d say that you were involved whether you want to be or not,” Verdan said, rubbing a thumb along his staff to help focus his mind and not lose his temper. “But I can understand what you are saying.”

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it.” Arber smiled again before checking some notes he’d written. “Now, what is it that I have here about a disturbance at your estate?”

  “A pair of assailants attacked my guards and broke into my estate,” Verdan said, unable to quite hide his grim satisfaction as he continued. “They have been dealt with.”

  “An arrogant response typical of what we’ve seen from you,” Hobson said, cutting in with a sneer. “If things went as you say, then you should have detained them for the Commander’s people. Unless things were less clear cut than you’ve suggested.”

  “Now, now, Edward,” Arber said, motioning for the other man to calm himself. “Let us not be throwing around allegations. I am disappointed that you didn’t capture these two intruders for us, though. There’s no way to confirm if they were simple thieves caught out or something more dangerous.”

  Verdan bit his tongue and counted to five silently before replying. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t hold them; but they were killed by my estate’s protections. By the time I arrived on the scene, they were already dead.”

  “I can confirm that from the bodies we retrieved,” Silver said with a nod to Verdan. “Both men died of a single mortal wound. They had some minor scrapes, likely from the tussle with the guards, but were otherwise in good shape before being killed.”

  “A lethal defence hardly seems appropriate for the middle of a city,” Agnese said, her nasal voice judgemental and more than a little condescending. “Is that a result of poor control over your magic, or did you knowingly create something that would kill someone who dared trespass against you?”

  It was a bad faith question, and Verdan’s eyes narrowed as he shook his head. “Neither. This was a defence that would only be involved in a violent assault, such as the one that happened.”

  “Allegedly violent,” Hobson said in a mutter just loud enough to reach Verdan’s ears.

  “I had two guards mere moments away from bleeding out, don’t you dare tell me that what happened wasn’t violent or somehow my fault!”

  “I have to agree there, Edward,” Arber said, shaking his head at the other councillor. “I understand how upsetting it is to have such events in our fair city, but we must be objective.”

  Hobson grunted something and sat back, his baleful gaze not leaving Verdan.

  “Speaking of fault,” Tobias said, speaking up for the first time in a thin voice. “Do you have any idea what they were trying to do?”

  “Not at the moment,” Verdan said, hesitating before deciding that giving some more information might well be the way to mending the rift between him and the council. Hobson was a foregone conclusion, but Arber seemed to be on the fence. If Verdan could make himself seem an asset, he hoped that some of the passive hostility would vanish as Arber realised he wasn’t a threat to his seat on the council. “They did use some interesting equipment, though.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Interesting how?” Silver asked, leaning forward as his brows furrowed into a heavy frown. “We found nothing of interest in their effects.”

  “That’s because it was broken when I countered it. The intruder used a device made with Sigils to create an area of silence so they could fight my guards without anyone hearing what was happening.”

  “I recognise that term, but I can’t place it; could you expand on what that means?” Arber asked, his brow furrowing a little as he motioned for Verdan to continue.

  “Sigils are a way to give items magical effects without enchanting it,” Verdan said carefully. He was willing to extend some trust to the council, but not much. “As far as I’m aware, the only people who could create what was used are myself and the Brotherhood of Indagnium. I certainly didn’t make it, which means that either they did, or there is a third party I’m not aware of.”

  “What are the chances of that?” Silver asked quickly, before Arber could respond. “Of the third party?”

  Verdan gave it some thought before shaking his head. “Very slim. Technically possible, but I’ve seen no sign of it. As far as I’m concerned, this was an action by the Brotherhood.”

  “The Commander has informed us of your claims regarding this organisation,” Arber said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I must admit that I don’t understand your contention with them, on the face of it, they seem a useful ally.”

  “An ally?” Verdan echoed in shock. “Are you mad?”

  Arber’s expression turned cold in an instant. “I’d ask you to keep your tone civil, Wizard Blacke. I will not tolerate disrespect to any member of this council.”

  “And yet you talk about allying with a group that unleashed a Cyth Host on countless innocents!”

  “Yes, that is the core of the matter, isn’t it?” Arber stared down at Verdan, any trace of the earlier warmth gone. “We have only your word to take for all the ills that the Brotherhood has done. Your Sorcerer allies toe the line, but when we investigated, you were the source of all the information they passed on as their own. It is the same problem again that we had before, you ask us to trust you and take your word for everything without proof.”

  “Not to mention that you are clearly not sharing everything,” Hobson said, shaking his head and gesturing at Verdan’s face. “Or would you have us think that you lost your eye searching ruins?”

  “Of course I didn’t,” Verdan snapped back, his patience well and truly gone. “I lost my eye fighting the very people you are defending and freeing the Vespa Queens they had imprisoned.”

  A heavy silence fell on the room in the wake of Verdan’s words, and a single glance at Hobson’s victorious expression told Verdan that he’d let himself get carried away and said too much.

  “Ah. So we finally come to it,” Arber said, shaking his head and rubbing at his temples. “Of course you provoked them first, I should have expected it. You are reckless and your actions endanger the city. Commander Silver, what are your recommendations for the Vespa?”

  “I have had my best people watching for signs of their activity since we first sighted them. A group seems to have settled in the mountains nearby but they have avoided contact with humans as best we can tell. There are no reports of raids, attacks or hostile encounters at all. We’ve previously been shown that the Vespa were manipulated by the people behind the attack on the city, so I would recommend we leave them be.”

  Verdan silently thanked Silver for not going along with what Arber had clearly expected. If the guard had begun to treat the Vespa as monsters, well, Verdan wasn’t sure what he’d have done. It wouldn’t have ended well though, that was for sure.

  “Hmm, I remain unconvinced, but I will leave this in your hands, Commander. All I ask if that you put our people before these Vespa.”

  “Of course.” Silver’s gaze flicked to Verdan as he continued. “I will continue to put the welfare of the city first.”

  Arber sat back in his chair and sighed. “Well, this is a mess you’ve left us with, Wizard Blacke, but we’ll do what we can to manage it. I’d hoped that we’d been wrong with our first assumption, but I see more of the same now. Spreading misinformation about your intentions before seeking out a fight and then returning to shelter in our city. Not to mention releasing potentially dangerous monsters and who knows what else. Do you have anything to say in your defence?”

  Verdan’s knuckles were white as he gripped his staff tight, bearing the slander and insults being thrown his way with a tightly controlled expression. There was nothing he could say, he knew that already. Arber had made up his mind, Hobson hated him and Agnese followed Arber’s lead.

  Tobias looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and still wouldn’t meet Verdan’s gaze. Something had happened to leave the merchant in this broken state, but Verdan had no idea what.

  Without Tobias backing him, the only person not actively against Verdan seemed to be Silver, and the Commander had been very clear that he was staying neutral.

  Taking a deep breath and letting out as much of the anger as he could, Verdan gave Arber the only answer he could. “I have nothing to say, other than stating that you’re wrong about the Brotherhood. They are a poison, and you would do well to stay clear of them. I can see that things have changed though, and I will keep my affairs separate from the city. Good day.”

  Verdan turned on his heel, ignoring Hobson’s snide comments about how he hadn’t been dismissed. A flick of his hand and a muttered Word of Power opened the doors, and another slammed them shut behind him. A little reminder of who they were dealing with.