I sucked in my breath. Now would have been a really good time to have employed a little stealth.
No thanks to the Dryad who had opened the doors to the chambers without giving us a chance to assess the situation. Dryads have no tact and no sense of battle strategy.
From the corner of my eye I saw that Angel wasn’t there any longer. It was no surprise to see a blond squirrel’s bushy tail disappearing beneath the council’s draped semicircular table.
The strong odor of alyssum emanated from the room, which could only mean Metamorphs. How could the Dryads have missed it, even if they aren’t known for their keen scent of smell?
Light flickered from wall sconces throughout the room. The torchlight cast shadows across the dim room, giving an almost eerie feel to the place. It smelled faintly of smoke and crushed rose petals.
I gripped Angel’s dagger, and in a quick scan I saw two guards at the back of the room, and I saw that the Metamorphs had done well in replacing five of the six council members. If I hadn’t known they were replacements. I wouldn’t have known the difference.
Chief Council Member Leticia—the real Chief, not a Metamorph—looked both perplexed and upset at first glance, as if something wasn’t going right. Leticia, a Doppler, perched on a throne at the center of the crescent-shaped table, and she also represented all others of her race; the Drow and Light Elves had one delegate who served on the council for both of our races; a Siren had been voted in by the Fae to represent all fifteen-plus races of Fae; a Shifter was in attendance for all Shifters; a Werewolf was the envoy for all Weres; and a Vampire represented his kind.
In the mere moment it took me to process all of this, I saw that to the side of the council table, in a chair beside a witness stand, was a black-haired Witch dressed in a white sparkling beaded dress. The sophisticated-looking Witch had a pensive, almost confused expression. No doubt she was the real deal and had been appointed to represent all Witches in their appeal to be on the council … and this council meeting was not going according to normal standards.
And on the witness stand—
Smith.
The head Metamorph flashed me a look of complete shock; blood drained from his face. So this was how the Metamorphs were planning to get Smith on the council. He represented his entire race to gain admittance, while all of the council members had been replaced by Metamorphs with the exception of Leticia. He couldn’t lose.
But I was going to shut him down.
My rapid appraisal ended with my gaze meeting Chief Councillor Leticia’s.
“Tracker.” Leticia frowned from her center perch. “Leave at once. This session is not public.”
“These aren’t the real council members.” My voice rang through the hall as I spoke. “They’re all Metamorphs. They’ve kidnapped the real members.”
A prickle raced up my spine. I caught a flash of silver in the corner of my eye. I ducked into a crouch. A Dryad screamed from inside a wooden pillar as a dagger buried itself in her midsection. Damn. I had moved instinctively and hadn’t realized a Dryad was behind me.
I turned to see two guards coming at me from the great hall. A low growl rolled from inside me along with my fury. The dangerous white light flashed in my eyes as the poor young Dryad sobbed and sap bled from her belly. I would kill the guards just for what they’d done to the Dryad.
One of the guards had a bow, a gold-feathered shaft nocked in it. The arrowhead glinted in the light cast from the chambers as the guard let it loose. I reached up and caught the arrow, then flung it back at the guard, my air element pushing it even faster than my own power.
I pierced the guard through the heart all the way up to the golden feathers.
“What in the name of—,” Leticia shouted from her seat.