“I have Quazar,” Orion said.
Victor and Nicholai brought in the chained gargoyle. They secured him to the iron rings and stood by just in case he managed to use his natural abilities to escape.
“Well, Quazar, it appears you have gotten yourself in another jam,” Ameen said.
“It’s just business, nothing personal,” Quazar said.
“Killing my son is personal,” Orion said.
“I just handled the contract,” Quazar said. “I leave politics to others.”
“Quazar is well known to this council. He has many outstanding warrants. Our bounty hunters have been looking for him for generations. We appreciate your bringing him in.”
“I brought him in to testify to the other names on the contract of death,” Orion explained. “I felt that my word may not have been enough because one of the people on the list is well known to me in an earlier life.”
“Looking through Mia Cooper’s lineage, your name does come up,” Ameen said. “But you’re not speaking of Mia Cooper, are you?”
“No, Fredericka Cooper signed the death contract, as did Quazar and two others.”
“I was only acting as an agent,” Quazar protested. “I have no ill will against Orion or his family.”
Ameen glared at the gargoyle. “Who are the other two names?”
“Piers Savatier and…”
“Me,” the eldest member of the governing council stood up.
“Tung-Mei, I don’t understand. Maybe you’re confused,” Ameen said gently.
“I am not confused. I’m enraged. You’re treating this halfling birdman abomination with the respect due a prince. Fredericka must have vomited every time she mated with him. Piers, Fredericka, and I worked hard on developing Mia. She disappointed us. But this is the first that I heard of the contract taken out on her. I thought dropping her back in time would have done the job. A twofer. Make Orion’s child disappear and bring back the demon inside her.”
“Wait, are you telling me you also bred Mia?”
“Oh yes, I and a few other wise women. We took such pains to steer her course. But the chit had her own ideas.”
“I caution you to hold your tongue,” Ameen said. “There will be an investigation.”
“I’m too old to care.”
“Why did you want to eliminate my son Luke?” Orion asked.
“I didn’t per se, but our partners, the ones Quazar hides, insisted. They plan on culling the human population. And as long as it’s the poor, I don’t see any reason to object. There was a big problem with their plan though. The angels love the poor. They lift them up, guide them, watch over their children. And when I heard a you-know-what was born, I couldn’t have it. We had to act before we are overrun with them again.”
“You risked our charter with the universe for a twisted group of power hungry men…”
“And women. Who’s to say a woman couldn’t rise in their ranks and rule the world?” Tung-Mei challenged.
“I want to be clear,” Orion said. “You are talking about the Cynosura?”
“Most definitely. They are the future. I have seen their rise and have helped charter their course. Little did I know that one of our own inventions would find them out before they could take hold.”
“So you weren’t acting to bring about the rise of good?” Orion asked. “You didn’t create and groom Mia to kill Abigor, thus weakening Lucifer’s kingdom?”
“Abigor is the one general that we can’t influence. He is very clever and loyal to Lucifer who, like Michael, believes in the balance of good and evil.”
“But the Cynosura are evil,” Orion protested.
“In your perspective. Just think of their vision: a few families ruling the Earth, keeping the riffraff under their thumbs economically, mining the planet off all it has, and then leaving it to fester while they move on to a new world. We wouldn’t have to deal with conflicts between countries under their rule.”
“Mother Nature will not let this happen,” Ameen said.
“But hasn’t she? She looks upon the Cynosura as a minor infestation. She’s misjudged them,” Tung-Mei said with a smirk and added, “She’s misjudged me.”
“Apparently, we all have,” Ameen said. “Tonya, call the celestial guard to come and take these prisoners. Orion, we are sorry that our eyes and ears have been occupied elsewhere. We will purge our council of the infected and then meet with the others to see what we can do to rid the Earth of this virus. The last thing we need is for it to spread to the new worlds. When I was a young woman in Nepal, I thought the enemy was the English. I thought their empire was going to be the end of this planet. But they fell, as did the empires before them. We have to educate our children to look with two eyes. One eye remembering the past, the other on the present. Only then can we secure a future for the human race.”
Altair turned to Mia. “Aren’t you glad you came?”
“I’m sorry to be part of opening this wound, but now maybe it can heal. We really do need their help. How do I get home?”
“I’ll take you home,” Altair offered.
“Don’t you have to report all of this immediately to Michael?”
“Mia, if I don’t have time to take care of a friend, then why do I exist? He’ll get his report. Prepare to be summoned. He’ll want your perspective.”
“Oh joy,” Mia said.
“What are you going to do about them?” Altair asked as Victor and Nicholai passed their box heading for Angelo.
“Nothing.”
“He’s still in your head, isn’t he?” Altair asked.
“Which one?” Mia asked.
“Very well played.”
“Was it?” Mia asked. “Can we leave now? I want to go home, hug my babies, mend a few wobbly bridges, and sleep for a week.”
Altair stood up and took her hand. There was a flash of light, and Mia found herself
