There was a loud, collective rustle of clothing as the mages who were still standing obeyed, and then silence fell across the room. The silver-haired mage tapped his throat, then leaned in and conferred with the other mages at his table in hushed tones.
“That is Federation Secretary Yaris Brung,” Iannis told me. “He mostly deals with foreign affairs, but he is also known to be the current Minister’s right-hand man.”
“Gotcha,” I replied, keeping my eyes trained on the conferring mages.
“There is other business to attend, but we will start with the vote for the next Federation Minister,” Secretary Brung announced. He picked up a black, rectangular box with a small slit in the top and spoke a Word, and the box began to levitate. “Before you, you will find pen and paper. Please write down your candidate of choice, and place your vote in the box when it comes your way.”
Before the procedure could start, a tall, elderly mage I had not noticed before asked for the floor.
“You may speak, Lord Ortho.”
“The Chief Mage of Suluris,” Cirin whispered for my benefit.
“Secretary Brung, has the ailing Minister not made some recommendation about his successor, as is the custom?”
Brung looked uncomfortable for a moment, but replied quickly enough, “No, Lord Ortho, most regrettably. Perhaps Lord Zavian felt too weak to do so. In any case, he deemed it best to leave the decision up to the Convention itself.”
Iannis and the disguised Minister exchanged a quick glance. I could sense the Minister’s shock at what had to be a brazen lie from a trusted subordinate, and imagined that he would be planning swift retribution against the traitor very shortly.
The box floated toward the delegate sitting at the end of the first row, and I watched as it hovered there, waiting while she carefully wrote out her choice on the piece of paper, then folded it neatly before placing it in the box. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Minister sit up straight, and I could only imagine how he must feel at having to sit here and watch the other delegates vote on his replacement as though he were already dead. His eyes narrowed as he watched the progress of the box across the room, and I half-wondered if he was somehow using magic to see how the delegates were voting. But there was no trace of the strong, burnt-sugar scent of a recently cast spell, so I figured he was just speculating.
I waited with bated breath as the box circulated around the room, going up row by row to allow each delegate to cast their vote. When it arrived at Lord Cedris’s section, he took his time slipping the piece of paper into the box, and there was a distinct smirk on his handsome face. Pompous ass. He was probably voting for himself anyway.
Eventually the box sailed up from the fourth row and straight to Iannis, hovering in front of him while it awaited his vote. I glanced over just as Iannis was folding his piece of paper in half, and nearly laughed out loud when I saw what he’d written on it.
“Do you really think I’d be a good choice as the next Federation Minister?” I asked, allowing laughter to creep into my mental voice.
“Considering that this vote hardly matters, I thought I’d have a little fun.” The humor in Iannis’s words made my lips twitch. “I’m sure you would revolutionize the Northia Federation if you were in office.”
“Oh, you have no idea.”
The box went to the Finance Secretary next, and then to me. I poised my pen over my piece of paper, and I could feel the Minister’s eyes on me, practically burning a hole through my cheek. With a straight face, I quickly wrote Minister Zavian Graning on the slip of paper, then tucked it into the box.
The Minister smiled faintly, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t incline his head ever so slightly at me in approval.
When the box came to the Minister next, he picked up his folded piece of paper, then held it over the box for a moment as if he were about to drop it in. But after a few seconds, he put the piece of paper back down, then plucked the box out of thin air.
“Secretary Bosal, what is the meaning of this?” Secretary Brung demanded as the Minister stood up.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot vote for a new Federation Minister,” he said in Secretary Bosal’s voice, and just like that the illusion dropped away, revealing his true form. “Because you see, Secretary Brung, I am the Minister.”
There was a beat of silence as everyone stared slack-jawed at the Minister, and then the entire room erupted. As the delegates shouted and argued amongst themselves, I watched the blood drain from Lord Cedris’s face. His dark eyes glittered with rage, and I could practically taste his bloodlust from across the room.