I’m careful to keep the igni well out of Adair’s reach, however. I’m a theatrical leader, not a total dumbass.
I snap my fingers; all the igni disappear. Leaning forward, I speak into the microphone. “Hello, I’m Myla Lewis, and I’m the Great Scala. For the record, the Ghost Towers are secure. No one in Purgatory is at risk.” An idea appears in my mind. Well, it’s Cissy’s idea actually, but its time has come. “Tomorrow, my team will locate Lucifer’s Orb and move it out of Purgatory. Within a few days, I’ll hold my first iconigration. No more sending innocents to Hell. Come to the warehouse for a Grand Unveiling of the Orb tomorrow at 6:17AM. See it happen, live, with your own eyes.”
Adair steps forward. You have to hand it to the girl; she does not give up. “What about the Bloodstone Curse? Isn’t it true that you’re stalling on moving souls because you no longer have enough power for an iconigration?” She wheels around to face the audience. “Myla’s been lying to you for months! About her powers. About the Bloodstone Curse. This Grand Unveiling will be yet another lie, you’ll see!”
I keep talking into the microphone as if Adair isn’t behind me. “I know you’ve all heard rumors. About ghosts breaking free. About me having some kind of curse. The Diplomat’s speech might lead some to think you’d be better off with another Scala.”
I grip either side of the podium tightly. “I say this to you with all my heart. It would be easy for me to move those spirits. Too easy. And easy answers are not what Purgatory is about. We exist to give souls an even chance at the right afterlife. Trial by Jury. Trial by Combat. It’s hard work. And it is only by your fair verdicts that souls should be judged and moved. No Orb should take that away from you.”
Every eye is locked on me. The sensation reminds me of when I’m fighting a demon for ages without one of us getting any advantage. Then, at last, a killing blow becomes obvious. Only here, my Arena is this auditorium. The demon that I’m fighting is fear mongering from Adair. Now that I have the audience’s focus, I know the exact verbal moves that will kill my people’s terror.
I raise my fist to shoulder-height. “Right here, right now, this moment. We have a chance to change things. To take back what was stolen from us when Armageddon invaded twenty years ago. I need you to be strong with me. I need you to support these souls and have patience. And if you’re in this room, I need you to have something more. Restraint. As members of the press, you have the ability to incite riots that could tear Purgatory apart.”
I point towards the door. “You’ve all seen the angry mobs on the way here. I urge you to be responsible. Wait until tomorrow morning. I assure you, we will find that Orb. And finding it, we will fully return to the Purgatory that we once were.” My eyes glow a bright shade of angelic blue. “I am the Great Scala, and that is my promise.”
I quickly hustle over to Mom, and speak in a low voice. “What should I do next?” Now that I’m away from the microphone, I’m starting to question my choice of holding a major press event in seven hours. “Do you think it was a good idea to have a Grand Unveiling? Should we cancel it or something?”
“Not at all. Opening up tomorrow’s Unveiling to the press is a brilliant idea, Myla. You quieted the crowd and stopped any rioting tonight. Next, we need to get to the warehouse and plan the event at double-speed.” She gestures towards the stairs leading off the stage. “You and Lincoln should leave now. I’ll close things out here.” Mom steps up to the podium and begins to speak, but I don’t hear her words. Instead, I focus on grabbing Lincoln’s hand and finding our way back to the limo. Once we’re safely inside, he wraps me in a big hug.
“Excellent work. Octavia couldn’t have done any better.”
A happy blush crawls up my cheeks. Getting compared to Octavia? That’s high praise, indeed. “Thanks.”
He cups my face in his hands. “What a Queen you’ll make one day.”
For a few blissful seconds, all I can think about are Lincoln’s gentle hands and kind words. After that, the adrenaline in my system goes haywire, focusing on all the things that could go wrong tomorrow. “I’m not so sure about that. We’ve only got seven hours left to plan this Grand Unveiling. And we must allow Adair to attend since she’s our Thrax Diplomat. But what if she tries more sabotage? I hope I didn’t trade one fiasco tonight for something worse in the morning.”
“Hey, you made the perfect call tonight.” He gestures to the tinted windows. Although an angry crowd still covers the sidewalk, the streets are now clear. “No riots, right?”
I nod slowly, forcing myself to take calming breaths. “True.”
“The way I see it, we have seven whole hours left to plan. We’ll miss some things, sure. But we’ll get more right than we do wrong. I believe in you, Myla.”