We were almost to the Supe Community Hall when we found ourselves in the traffic jam from hell. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I asked Rozurial and Vanzir—who were riding with me—to check the Seattle Traffic Flow app on my phone.
“Black as a demon’s asshole,” Vanzir said, snickering. “There’s some pretty wicked gridlock going down right now and I have no clue where it starts, but it looks like it all converges on the general vicinity of the Supe Community Council.” He frowned. “I don’t think we have a hope in hell of navigating through this. Might as well find a place to park and jog over.”
“You sure? Maybe it’s an accident or . . .” I noticed that Camille had pulled off into a parking lot on the right side of the road. I swerved to follow suit and Delilah did the same. As we all piled out of our various rides—Smoky, Morio, and Trillian were with Camille, Shade was with Delilah—the sound of horns filled the air. Apparently Seattleites weren’t all that thrilled about rush-hour traffic during late-evening hours.
“What’s going on?” Camille asked, as we gathered between our cars.
Just then, my phone jangled. I glanced at the Caller ID—Nerissa. “I have a feeling we might be about to get an answer.” I punched Answer and held the cell up to my ear. “Hey, love. What’s going on?”
“You’re trying to get to the meeting, I assume?” Her voice was muffled by the sounds of shouting around her.
“Yeah. Where the hell are you? It sounds like you’re at some sort of a party.”
“Party my ass. Chase and I are over at the Supe Community Hall. Guess what you get when you take a couple of hate groups picketing a couple hundred pissed-off Supes? We’ve got a potential riot in the works.” She sounded more exasperated than anything. “Traffic is deadlocked for blocks and not likely to clear for a while. If you’re close enough, I suggest you pick up the pace and hoof it here. Or—say, you have Smoky, Shade, and Rozurial. Tell them to bring you to the hall pronto via the Ionyc Seas. We need you guys here now.” With that, she hung up.
I turned to the others. “Picketers at the meeting. Nerissa and Chase are there. She said get over there now, through the Ionyc Seas, if possible.”
Camille glanced at the guys. “You’ve all been to the meeting hall. Think you remember it enough to gate in there?”
Smoky nodded. “There’s a place out back by the Dumpsters. We helped empty garbage after one meeting—remember, guys?” Rozurial and Shade nodded. “Then aim for that. With a little luck, we won’t have to worry about ending up in the middle of a group of Freedom’s Angels.” He frowned. “I can take Camille and Delilah. Shade—can you take Menolly and Vanzir? Roz can take Morio.”
Shade nodded. “I can still travel the Seas, so yes.”
We grabbed our gear from the cars and made sure they were locked, and then—in the shadow of the Dumpling Dugout, a local eatery, we vanished into the Ionyc Seas.
*
The trip was much shorter than the one we had taken back in Otherworld, and none of us were fazed by it. Or maybe we were all just getting used to the flowing currents of energy. Whatever the case, we were standing in the alley behind the parking lot of the Supe Community Hall. There was a throng of people near the door and spilling out into the street, all waving picket signs.
“You’d think some of these fanatics would learn how to spell.” I shook my head. “How hard is it to work a dictionary?”
“Ah, but first you have to realize that you can’t spell worth a damn.” Camille let out a snicker, then sobered. “It’s funny, yeah . . . but think about it. This kind of crap leads to hate crimes, and eventually to final solutions. And those? Well, both Earthside and Otherworld have seen the results of genocidal maniacs. No different when you’re going against someone solely because they’re female or Jewish or Muslim or gay or Fae or Were. It all adds up to a massive superiority complex that blinds the senses.”
I nodded. “Yeah. So, what next? We need to find Nerissa and Chase.” I pulled out my phone and hit Redial.
Nerissa came on the line. “You here yet?”
“We are, in the back parking lot near the Dumpsters. Where are you? There appear to be mobs at both the front and back doors.”
“There are, and more marching down the street. I didn’t realize that they had so many supporters, though I think that we’re seeing some anarchists in the group that join in every freaking protest that happens in this city. They’re just out to make trouble. And that could make things worse because they like to loot for no good reason, and the hall is smack in the middle of a residential area. We could end up with houses nearby going under fire.”