Chapter 82: Council Chaos

Azandra POV

This was the longest straight nonstop council debate Azandra could remember that started late at night and continued into the next afternoon. 

Valentina Vermello, whose family had been targeted by Hades, whose sister had risked her life as a double agent in Hades' cult, snarled, "Why don't we let the humans deal with Hades? We've had enough trouble with him for ten lifetimes!"

Azandra smoothed back her red hair, which had knots in it from her daughters trying to "fix" her long flowing red locks. Amateur infant hairdressers Fairmont and Primrose had had a fine time earlier that day, fixing her hair. At times during the long hours of arguing in the council chamber, Azandra had to excuse herself. The children gave her an ironclad reason to leave before she blurted out the shocking truth about Hades, and the struggle she saw ahead.

She couldn't tell everyone all that she foresaw and sensed as a wise woman in training. Tulaska and Roslynn, joined by Silverpaw Wise Woman Eirika Argad, gave no hint of what they glimpsed in their visions, but she knew from the way they looked at her that they were on the same page as she was.

Hades would come back to the shifter lands, somehow. She'd seen him shrouded in mist, but glimpsed his ruby-red wolf eyes. She didn't see devastation or enslavement or death. Just a lot of upheaval.

Kyon stood strong and tough, more so than she'd ever seen him. Her heart swelled with pride as he calmed the council with his booming voice. "Humans aren't equipped to deal with something on this scale."

"And we are?" Councilwoman Sinapu questioned, rubbing the scar on her face.

"Hades is one of our own," Councilman Scipio said logically. "We know him better than humans ever could. Better than anyone. And we're being ungrateful. Weren't we all terrified that we'd lose our Alphas and our Lunas?"

Barrett Malone nodded, his face full of relief. He smelled relieved. "We can all be thankful for the successful rescue mission, and for the humans' help."

"They COULD help us more," Councilwoman Valentina growled.

For such a stalwart, reasonable woman, Councilwoman Valentina was letting her feral side run wild. But then, Azandra couldn't blame her. Hades had caused so much pain and suffering to the shifters, and their two packs in general. The idea of housing him in shifter lands, even as a prisoner, rubbed everyone's fur the wrong way.

"Hades is our problem," Cyran asserted, his eyes flashing golden. "He may even be the key to defeating the Dark Goddess' plans. It's better to contain him than to let him get killed and reincarnated again. We don't know how to break the Dark Goddess' hold on him, even after three years. I've been researching, talking to everyone from the Mystics of Merkur to the Sages of the Forgotten Temple to a clan of drow elves that dabble in dark magic. I'll continue to research … WAIT."

Everyone stared at him, questions in their eyes.

He took a deep breath, and quoted the words Hades had spoken. "Only when the twenty-four belong to the dark will the darkness slide across the world. Only when orcs lose their minds and shifters put leashes on humans will the darkness claim the realm. Unless the crystal heart of the world beneath the tree of fire is filled, the darkness will always seek to conquer."

The silence in the council chamber was as thick as the blue kyanite, sapphire, and lapis lazuli sculpture covering the back wall. 

"What in Fenrir's name does that mean?" Kyon growled. "This is no time to start talking like a wise woman. No offense." His coffee-brown eyes flicked guiltily to the three Wise Women. "Who would have thought our biggest argument wouldn't be over what was going to happen when humans knew about us?"

Tulaska smiled enigmatically. "Ah, such interesting times we live in."

* * * * *

Cyran POV

He'd forgotten Hades' prophecy in all the confusion. What in the name of the Moon Goddess did it mean? Nothing good, except possibly the ending, which offered a small candle flame of hope. But the crystal heart of the world? What was that and where was that? The tree of fire? Did that refer to the phoenix casuarina guarded by Thessi's old friend Calyx? He made a mental note to ask Thessi. He knew she and Dirge had their hands full babysitting all the Cresta pups.

To think Ravyn's simple quest to help her former mate had set this chain of events in motion! 

Naomi frowned, smacking her fist against the polished wood table. "It sounds like the Dark Goddess and Hades won't give up their prey. This is more than a hunt. They're obsessed with capturing and enslaving the twenty-four Alphas. And shifters putting leashes on humans? Never!" She gagged.

"I'd prefer to stay as far away from humans as possible, thank you," Councilwoman Sinapu sniffed. "I don't know how Alpha Dane and Luna Lilia can deal with them."

Councilwoman Valentina stood up as tall as she could, her expression arrogant. "OUR Alpha and OUR Luna charmed them. Maybe they're not as dangerous as you Evenhiders think."

"The Silverpaws might claim that they opened the door to this majestic development," Kyon noted dryly. "After all, it was Alpha Jude's and Luna Ravyn's quest that started all of this."

Smirking, Cyran appreciated Kyon's understated wit. The second oldest Cresta wasn't fiery and lordly like Dane, or young and eager like Dirge. He didn't possess Patch's bigger-than-life personality, or Jiro's quiet, intellectual appeal combined with his Alpha chops. But as an artist and a mellow beta, Kyon was a steady, sensitive presence that kept all his brothers and sisters-in-law grounded. And now, in Dane's absence, he was running the pack, and doing it as well as Dane, honoring Dane's vision and values like a true beta. 

"There's plenty of praise to go around, especially if the humans behave," he replied. "And I don't mean putting them on a leash …"

Azandra was thoughtful. "But an agreement, a treaty, is a leash of sorts, isn't it?"

Valentina snorted. "I wouldn't mention THAT to the humans!"

Kyon agreed. "A leash is about control. It's one way. This is more like a bond."

"A BOND?" everyone exclaimed.

"Bonded with the humans?" one of the council members squawked.

Kyon recovered with ease. "Poor choice of words. Think of it as a tether, a mutual one."

"Or a web," Naomi volunteered, and Cyran smiled at her enthusiasm for nature metaphors. "In a web, we're all connected and part of something greater. The web of life is powerful. Even if you don't see all of it, it touches you."

Barrett was pensive. "Yes, and many humans are unaware of the web of life anyway. The invisible threads that connect everything." His mate, Zillah, nodded and smiled.

Cyran raised his eyebrows. "Barrett, have you become a poet since you were my beta?"

Blushing, Barrett muttered, "I did like to write poetry when I was a pup. I've taken it up again."

Zillah beamed. "He's as good with words as Kyon is with paints and music."

To think Cyran had chased Zillah while involved in Hades' cult. It seemed obvious now that she and Barrett fit together. 

Kyon held up his hands. "We can have a beta salon later." Ignoring the ripple of laughter in the room, he continued. "Cyran is right. There'll be lots of celebration if everything goes smoothly with King Odo and Queen Giselberthe … but if not, blame will be as thick as feathers on the ground after a bird hunt."

Cyran lifted his chin. "The human king and queen agreed to carry out a dangerous mission on a cursed island without spilling the tea to their people or telling the court."

"But that was in the heat of the moment when their people had just been attacked," Roslynn objected, giving her wise woman insight. "After the heat of battle fades, the king and queen might decide to expose our secret. Especially with Hades as a wild card."

Eirika Argad spoke up, her gaze piercing, sharper than Tulaska's or Roslynn's. "If I were advising Alpha Jude and Luna Ravyn, I'd get them to make a trade with the humans. Alpha Jude comes from a long line of merchants, and Luna Ravyn does, too. There must be something they can offer the humans to buy their silence."

"We can offer them my assurance that I'll personally keep Hades from ever harming anyone in their kingdom again," Cyran declared. 

"And I will, too," Naomi said. "As Regent Alpha and Luna, we get to decide this matter in Alpha Jiro's and Luna Garnet's absence. We have their full support."

The council members argued, snapping and growling. Kyon glared at all of them, and to quiet the Evenhide side, Councilwoman Sinapu used her bronze sphere that made a wolf howl when she pressed it. "We back Regent Alpha Cyran," she said decisively. "If he and Regent Luna Naomi are willing to take the risk."

"They have our support in Evenhide," Kyon said, flexing his big, powerful muscles. "And I hear my brother Jiro has bulked up in his wolf form, so he matches Dane and me now. You don't want to cross him anyway, but especially now."

Both councils quieted down. "If you're sure, Regent Alpha," Councilwoman Valentina said.

Tulaska beamed her approval, and so did Roslynn.

Cyran's hand slipped into Naomi's, and he howled in response, affirming his decision.

"So be it," the council members all declared.