Glancing at Jail and then at Neph, she raised an eyebrow. “All of that about Delvay tempers was a lie?” she asked hesitantly.
“Oh no, that was truthful, it’s just Neph wasn’t truly that pissed off. He was just trying to spook them. With a gentle nudge of Mind magic it worked fairly well,” Jail explained.
Neph looked over at him sharply and let out a disgusted snort. “Naturally you would assume it was your magic, you arrogant ass. That was all natural intimidation,” he said, rolling his eyes and looking back at Jala. “Listen, Jala, they are going to try to make you fray as much as possible. Everyone in the city knew Finn was dueling today and they are using your worry for him against you. They want you scared and upset when you see the council. You can’t be, though,”
“Neph is right. If you look like a scared little girl the council will run over the top of you, even the ones you might consider allies. They won’t support a child,” Jail said as he stepped from his cell once more and righted the chair Neph had kicked at the Justicar. With a smile at her he dropped lightly into the chair and shrugged. “As Sovann says, nine tenths of power is the appearance of power. Walk into that room looking powerful. At the very least, if you show you aren’t intimidated or scared, you will give them pause. They will wonder what you are hiding, since any person of sound mind would be terrified in your position.”
“I’m not terrified for myself. I can survive this. I’m worried about Finn,” Jala said miserably and dropped back onto the floor once more. “I should be there. I didn’t realize this would take days.”
“It won’t,” Neph said, his tone confident. Shaking his head he waved his hand lightly toward her. “By now, every high lord has heard of this and they will be here soon. Your Bloodline is the first to return from the grave and they will all want to know if it’s true and you really are Merrodin. With the exception of Nerathane and Seravae of course. I doubt they will care.”
“Tomorrow at the latest,” Jail agreed with a slight nod. “Arjuna will likely be here tonight and my father won’t be long after that. He was impressed with you at the meeting in Firym and he will support you,” Jail assured her.
“I can’t say what Kadan will do, honestly, but if he isn’t here by the time the rest of the lords are I will take his place on the council and you know you have my full support,” Neph said, his expression thoughtful. “I wonder if I can keep him from showing up …,” he began and trailed off, quietly looking deeper in thought.
“Sabotage your brother? That’s sweet of you Neph,” Jail said dryly.
Shaking his head absently, Neph frowned. “No, Kadan hates councils and I’m sure he would let me field this one if I can convince my father, who happens to hate me, so that makes it a bit tricky,” he said quietly.
“Family politics. Aren’t they great?” Jail said with a sigh and smiled at Jala. “Lucky you, your birth family is dead and your new family is much easier to deal with.” He chuckled at her confusion and grinned wider. “Do you not realize you have a new family, Jala? Did you not just witness a big brother storming in to rescue you?” he asked quietly.
Jala looked over to Neph thoughtfully, who was in turn glaring at Jail. “No I hadn’t realized it,” she replied softly. “I like the idea of it though,” she added, drawing a mild glare from Neph.
A commotion from below drew their attention and all eyes shifted to the door. Neph raised an eyebrow calmly and looked to Jail. Standing slowly, Jail paced closer to the door and listened closer. A loud whoosh sounded from below followed by a concussive blast.
“Arjuna,” Jail said with a nod and stepped back away from the door.
“What was that noise?” Jala asked as she stood once more and paced closer to the bars.
“A fire blast hitting something,” Neph explained calmly, his attention still focused on the doors. “Possibly a Justicar, if we are lucky,” he mumbled and glanced back at Jala. “Welcome to basic high lord politics. In this course you will learn how to bully, threaten and kill if needed, as it suits your mood,”
“Normal laws do not apply to ruling high lords,” Jail explained with a smirk and moved closer to her cell as another whoosh resounded closer, the resulting blast rattling the door. “Damn, I hope he doesn’t roast us by mistake,” he grumbled, eyeing the door cautiously.
“He won’t. High Lord Arjuna is quite precise,” Neph assured them. “Well, if he is already in the city your father shouldn’t be too far behind. The only ones lagging will be Seravae and Nerathane if they even choose to send a representative.”
“I really would prefer if they don’t. We won’t need a full council to get this done. Just over half would work and it’s doubtful that we would have votes from either of those countries. We need Han’shy, Firym, and Glis. I wonder if Sebastian is still in the city?” Jail paused and looked to Neph in question.
“If he isn’t, Chastity will take his place. I’m sure and we can count on her vote from Valor’s influence alone. I don’t know if Micah is still here either, but his vote would be assured. Let’s see, that gives us four so far. Throw in Faydwer and that’s five,” Neph said, tapping a finger on his chin lightly. He glanced at the door and then back to Jail. “He really should have been up here by now. How long until Finn’s duel?”
“Less than an hour,” Jala answered quietly and paced her cell once more. “Why do we need votes to prove I’m who I say I am? I’m telling the truth so why do they have to vote?”
“Because there is no definite proof to your claim. You don’t even look like a Merrodin. The last Merrodin high lord was swarthy with black hair and dark eyes. The council will have to determine if you are lying or not,” Jail explained.