Evgeni passes the file to Cameron. “Let us hear them anyway.”
The head of the Guard says, “Part of the reason the Council voted to welcome Métis citizens into its boundaries are its shields. Annar is, of all the planes, the most heavily protected.”
Ice crystalizes in my veins. Annar is not as safe as he’s insisting, despite what he thinks. While Jonah and I shared my theory about Enlilkian with the Elders Subcommittee and the Guard nearly immediately after I told him about it, everyone continued to foolishly insist Annar is still the safest of all the planes.
How can it be safe, though, when the baddest bad of all is walking around freely?
“If the Council votes on it,” Karl pipes in, “Annar’s boundaries can be expanded even further to welcome all Métis and Magical-kind alike. “
“You forget one small thing,” Evgeni says. “Many Métis want nothing to do with moving here, room or no.”
“That’s true,” Zthane admits. “But ... there are ways to ensure their desire to choose safety over prejudices.”
Erik says slowly, “You are talking about using an Emotional against us.”
The room is silent for a long moment once again.
“Not against,” Kellan says. This is the first he’s spoken the entire meeting. He’s spent the entire time sitting on the other side of his brother, carefully ensuring our eyes never met. “And certainly not for anything else other than this purpose. It isn’t like we’re going to go out there and make those Métis long resentful of Magicals their new best friends.”
That’s not enough of an assurance for Evgeni, though. “This is outrageous. You would never attempt such a stunt on one of your kind!”
“Haven’t you been listening?” Kellan fires back. “Your kind and my kind are the same, at least biologically. And if you believe we don’t work on one another, think again. What do you assume Kate does over at the hospital? Play solely with viruses? She uses her craft on other people, asshole.”
Jonah sighs. I don’t have to be in their heads to know he’s telling his brother to play it cool right now rather than lose it.
“Healing somebody is entirely different than altering their emotions,” Evgeni snaps.
Will gives me a pointed look; this is an argument he and I had months back. I shoot an equally pointed look right back. He sure wasn’t complaining about Kellan using his craft on Becca recently.
Kellan’s like a dog with a bone, though. “Are you for real? You really think that altering someone’s emotions to ensure their safety is a bad thing?” He scoffs. “Fine. Let innocent Métis continue to die then. That’s blood on your hands, not mine. Don’t go asking me for help when you can’t sleep at night.”
Veins bulge around Evgeni’s eyes.
“All we’re saying,” Zthane says smoothly, “is that our Emotionals can ensure that resistant Métis favor safety over unreasonably leaving themselves on unguarded planes.”
“Geno,” Erik says quietly, “it’s worth bringing to the rest to consider. Don’t rule it out so fast.”
“If you like,” Zthane continues, “you may have any representatives come along with the Emotionals to ensure they are doing just as we agree.”
“What is to stop them from working on us, too?”
Kellan’s perilously close to losing it. Before he rips this guy a new one, Jonah says, “Our word.”
A Métis leader from the Goblin plane leans over to Evgeni to whisper something.
“We take you at your word.” Jonah’s words are calm and measured but low enough to show he means business. “All we’re asking is that you do the same for us. Annar has done nothing but bend over backward to help you. We have expanded our plane, welcomed Métis into our homes and jobs. Magicals have risked their lives to protect and defend the Métis time and time again over the last few months. We almost lost our Creator because she chose to protect one of your colonies. Does it really bear repeating that all of our civilizations suffer when there is no Creator in existence?”
Evgeni doesn’t say a word.
“Look. I don’t want to get into a pissing match with you,” Jonah continues, “so I’m just going to say my peace and you’re going to listen to it. Your insistences that Emotionals are some kind of nefarious thugs who go out and terrorize Métis and make them mindless zombies is insulting. If you bothered to get to know us and what we do with our crafts, you would realize what we’re all about. But I’m not going to sit back and listen to you spout off your ignorance anymore. You can either sit down at the big kids’ table and work with us, or you can stand up and walk out that door. Your choice.”
I’m pretty sure I can hear the Russian’s teeth grinding together, especially as he’s a good four decades older than Jonah.
“We will present this option to the other leaders,” the woman sitting next to him says.