“Could things have gone better? Of course they could. But they could also have gone worse. Emily saved us all. And I think you’ll discover that the vast majority of the population will be furious if you convict her.”
“The mundane population doesn’t matter,” Master Lucknow snapped.
“There are hundreds of sorcerers who’ll support her,” Jade said. “And some of them have seats on the council.”
Markus and Melissa, Emily thought. There’s no way they’d get enough votes to convict.
“They may think twice, when they realize what she’s unleashed,” Master Lucknow pointed out. “The guns alone...”
“The guns saved us during the war,” Lady Barb said. “You were there, were you not?”
She smiled, coldly. “Killing Emily will not put the demon back in the bottle,” she said, bluntly. “It will just make the situation worse. And I believe it is quite bad enough already.”
“We are attempting to gain control,” Master Lucknow said. “And...”
“What a splendid idea,” Lady Barb said, sarcastically. “Next time, perhaps you can try to cool a boiling potion by pissing in it.”
Master Lucknow showed a flash of anger at the crudity, but Lady Barb spoke over him. “Are you actually trying to make the situation explode? Because this is a pretty good way to do it.”
Emily wondered, suddenly, if Lady Barb was right. Master Lucknow had never struck her as stupid. Stupid magicians rarely lasted long enough to become combat sorcerers. He had to know he’d staked everything on one throw of the dice, on a desperate bid to have her tried, convicted and executed - or stripped of her powers - before her allies returned. And now... he was caught between pressing on anyway or a humiliating surrender. She would have felt sorry for him, if he hadn’t done it to himself. There were better ways to deal with the post-war chaos.
“There are times when we have the luxury of being able to consider each and every possible option before we act,” Master Lucknow said. “This is not one of them.”
“And why do you believe you needed to act now?” Alassa’s voice echoed in the air. “Why did you feel matters were so desperate you acted without authority? It is not always easy to gain forgiveness, if one did not ask for permission first. And this is very much the textbook example” - her eyes lingered on Master Tor, just for a second - “of a situation where one must get the legalities in order before acting. Where is your proof, I ask you, that the situation was so desperate you resorted to arresting her in broad daylight? What was she doing at the time?”
“Having lunch with my boyfriend,” Emily said. She nodded to Master Lucknow. “His apprentice.”
A ripple of amusement ran around the chamber. Master Lucknow looked ready to kill her on the spot. Emily tensed. No one became a combat sorcerer without having very good self-control, but Master Lucknow’s plan - whatever it had been originally - had spectacularly failed. He’d made himself look like a fool as well as a failure. He might have gotten away with it if he’d caught Emily doing something illegal, or something that could be made to look illegal, but eating lunch with her boyfriend? That wasn’t going to shake the world.
“She was having lunch with your apprentice,” Alassa repeated. “Did that pose any sort of threat? Anything at all?”
She grinned, openly enjoying Master Lucknow’s discomfiture. “Let me sum up, for the record. You put together a team to arrest her without a legal warrant. You did not approach me, in my role as monarch of Emily’s lands, and you did not approach her master. You fought a pitched battle in the middle of a town, posing a serious risk to everyone in the vicinity... a battle that was ended by Emily’s master, who insisted you should hold a formal hearing. Instead of waiting, instead of giving her the time to consider the charges and respond, you rushed her into a courtroom and tried to convict her as quickly as possible.
“All this would be quite bad enough. But, between her supporters and councilors who won’t want to set any unfortunate precedents, there is no way she will be convicted. They won’t stand for it. All you have done, I’m afraid, is undermine the authority of the White Council at the worst possible time and possibly triggered the chaos you’re trying to avert. Worst of all, even a successful conviction would accomplish nothing.”
The avalanche has already started, Emily thought, wryly. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
“You have broken a whole string of written and unwritten laws, for nothing,” Alassa concluded. “Have I missed anything?”
She folded her arms under her breasts. “I believe it is time to consider alternatives,” she said, after a moment. “And that these proceedings should be placed in recess.”
Master Tor frowned. “Lady Emily, will you accept Queen Alassa as your spokeswoman?”
Emily glanced at Alassa, who nodded. “Yes.”
“Then this session is hereby brought to an end,” Master Tor said. “Queen Alassa, we will be in touch.”
“We will talk in twenty minutes,” Alassa said. “I gave orders for a room to be prepared. I’ll see your spokesman there.”
Master Lucknow looked displeased, but he said nothing. The jurymen stood and filed out of the chamber, Gordian bringing up the rear. It was hard to be sure, but he looked thoroughly unhappy. Emily guessed he was going to have a hard time explaining
