Wish upon the Stars chapter 941

“So, we’re looking at twenty five hundred total?” I asked Crell as Callie checked my tie. “Twenty five B-rankers, two hundred C-rankers, and twenty three hundred D-rank, give or take. Can we fit them all in the boarding house?”

He shrugged. “Probably not, but we don’t need to. The conclave shouldn’t last more than a day or two, and the locals have their own locations to use as a base.”

“I don’t like this,” my wife said worriedly. “I trust Alanna and Fade well enough under contract, but we barely know them. You’ll be all alone there. I should be going. Or at least take Carmichael with you.” She tugged on the lapels on my suit anxiously. “You don’t even have armor on at this point.”

I caught her hands in mine gently. “I’ll be FINE, Cal. But the conclave has been called for today, and only candidates and two guards are allowed. I won’t be alone. Nadia, Charlie, Derrick, and Alys are all coming with. Each of them will have their own pair of B-rankers on standby. Given how scary Fade is we should have the edge in quality, and between all of us I’m not worried about my safety.”

“I know,” she sighed tiredly. “And I know that this meeting is important. You all need to pull together to deal with the Void incursion.”

She gave me a fierce hug, then pulled back, grabbing either side of my face, staring up into my eyes even through my mask.“If you need my heretic flame, take it,” she told me intensely. “Any time, just pull on the bond and I’ll give you everything.”

I let my mask recede, then leaned down to kiss her softly. “You always do.”

“Not the time for this,” Fade said dryly. “We have to get going if we’re going to meet up with the others before we enter.”

I cleared my throat, nodded, and then gave my wife one last squeeze before stepping away. “Wish me luck,” I said cheerfully. “Literally, if you feel up to it. Nat should have some spare scrolls around.” I shot her a wink, then turned and headed down to the street. Fade and Alanna trailed behind me like menacing shadows. The two of them had fought for hours last night, only stopping to sleep, and even that for much less time than a lesser Ascendant would have needed.

When I woke up this morning, I headed down to check on them after stockpiling my scrolls for the day, the two of them had sort of fallen into sync. They weren’t fighting anymore, just sitting around reading the paper and drinking coffee, but there was a strange sense of understanding between them. It reminded me of Callie and I at the beginning, though I didn’t know if they had actually achieved a Skill.

Still, I felt better about them guarding me than I would have otherwise, and I was perfectly comfortable sitting in silence as we drove to the meetup location outside the public park where we were supposed to be holding the conclave.

I was the last one there, and when we climbed out, I was greeted by an excited Alys and an eager Derrick. Nadia and Charlie were more sedate, but I could tell they were energized by the intensity of their gaze. Their guards stood behind them, none of them recognizable to me, which wasn’t a shock. I hadn’t met any of their B-rankers, though Fade gave one of them a nod that told me he was probably local.

“Evening friends,” I said with a grin. “Everyone ready for some good old fashioned family fun?”

Alys looked ecstatic. “Oh, definitely! This is going to be so great! We can catch up with all the family members we never see, talk, get some food. I hear cousin Aaron is going to be grilling. Plus Vince isn’t here, and he was responsible for five of the last seven stabbings at family related events, so our odds of avoiding an incident are really good!”

Derrick let out a relieved sigh. “Oh thank the gods, I lost a huge chunk of money to him at the last branch poker game, and he kept making these REALLY pointed “jokes” about repossessing one of my kidneys.”

“Don’t be silly,” Nadia said with a reassuring smile. “Vince would never stop at just one.”

I rolled my eyes. “Alright, enough joking around. I need some details on who IS going to be here. I assume you know better than I do?”

Alys nodded brightly. “Of course! Delia is in charge of this conclave. She’s B-ranked, and one of the oldest cousins here. Brandon is helping, he’s a C-ranker, but he’s really connected. His dad is a branch head, and there have been some…implications that he gets preferential treatment. Personally I don’t believe it, because cheating is harshly punished, but he’s pretty strong.”

“Roland is here,” Derrick added. “He’s a swordmaster. He’s B-ranked too, and he’s one of the toughest members of the family. He’s kind of my role model. Family legend is he only accepts payment in sword Skills and Might stats. He’s a total beast. With him around, no one will be starting trouble at this thing unless they’re looking to get ventilated.”

Charlie added. “Wesley is here. He’s my least favorite cousin. He’s a sneaky underhanded bastard who never means what he says. He’s got a fondness for poisons, so avoid letting him near your drink.”

“Catherine and Sarah are both in attendance,” Nadia chimed in. “They’re full sisters, and are kind of like brand ambassadors for their branch. They’re professional charmers, masters at making people feel special and appreciated, and they can talk anyone into anything. It’s been implied that that they accept payment in people skills, and has honed hers to the point that it’s the next best thing to mind control. I’ve been around them and it’s not QUITE that extreme, but they are VERY persuasive, so be careful when you speak to them.”

“How many people are going to be AT this thing?” I asked in annoyance. “I don’t think I can remember them all.”

Nadia shrugged. “A hundred, last I checked. Word on the street is some of the branches are benching their weaker candidates. Getting off world is impossible, but the D-rank zone is a lot safer than down here. Way more peak D-rankers there to play babysitter. Plus less Path stuff to mess with.”

“Well, glad someone mentioned THAT was an option,” I said sarcastically. “But whatever, I wouldn’t have bothered. Just as well no one wasted my time. Now how do we FIND everyone?” I pointed into the park, where the majority of the land vanished into a heavily shaded canopy of trees.

It wasn’t spatially expanded, I didn’t think. Not like that first copse of trees when we’d just arrived. Alys took the lead, gesturing us to follow, and we did, trailing behind our sunniest cousin until we reached a clearing in the center of the forest.

It looked…quaint. It wasn’t some big overwhelming glade or majestic expanse of lush greenery, it was just a big empty green meadow full of cheap wooden picnic tables. Off to the sides I saw ugly box shaped metal grills on posts sticking out of the ground, several of them lit with charcoal and merrily burning away, sizzling meat dripping aromatic juices into the banked coals that sent bursts of scented steam up onto the gentle breeze that played with the leaves on the trees.

Honestly the whole scene was kind of idyllic, with the various relaxed looking family members lounging on tables or playing sports. Of course, that was ignoring the menacing forms of the bodyguards sticking to the shadows of the trees, more than two hundred B-rank elites composing a force large enough to conquer a small star system.

Fade grimaced. “We’re expected to give you space. You want to go with it or just tell them to fuck off?”

“It’ll be seen as weakness if I need my bodyguards right next to me when no one else does,” I told him firmly. “Besides, you’re B-rankers. Does a few dozen yards really matter that much?” His shrug was answer enough, and I nodded him and Alanna off with the others. Alys, to no one’s surprise, dragged us to the nearest group of revelers with a happy squeal. “Adrianna! How are you! Oh my god your hair looks amazing where did you get that dye job?”

The tall, tanned woman with eyes that looked a lot like my own shade of Wyndham green laughed as she swept Alys into a hug. “The same place I got the last one, Aly, you need new material.” She was quite a bit bigger than Alys, so my blonde cousin was lifted up into the air as she crushed her into a hug. Alys just laughed happily, squeezing back as Adrianna set her down.

“Well it still looks great,” she looked around at the others with Adrianna. “Who are your friends?”

Adrianna laughed. “Wayne, Thomas, Adra, this is Alys. Everybody’s favorite. And these are her friends, apparently.”

“Shane,” I told her solemnly as she glanced at me. “That’s Derrick, Charlie, and Nadia.”

Her eyes sharpened. “Shane,” she said slowly. “Elijah’s kid. I’ve heard a few stories about you. You’re bigger than expected. Elijah is a normal sized person last I checked, how are you so damned tall?”

“My mother’s side of the family,” I shrugged. I was by far the biggest person here. Despite our similar features, my father was easily a half foot shorter than me, and his size was pretty typical for a Wyndham. I hadn’t ever really considered it, but my mom was almost six feet, which was pretty damned tall for a woman, so I assumed my height came from her.

The other woman, a redhead named Adra, glared at me. “You’ve got a lot of guts coming here. Nobody wants you around, you know. We should just take the chance to get rid of you.”

Adrianna grimaced. “Forgive her, she doesn’t think,” she said apologetically. “If she did, she’d know that any attempt to harm you would mean having to fight Roland, something only an idiot or a lunatic would do.” She pinned the other woman with a gimlet stare, and the redhead went pale.

“I wasn’t being like…serious,” Adra muttered sullenly. “I was just talking shit.”

“That happens when you have your head up your ass,” Derrick said spitefully. “Maybe pry it loose and brush your teeth.”

Alys physically interposed herself between them. “Whoa! No need for hostility everybody. We’re all family here. I think it’s clear from this trial that they want us working together. We’ve all got bigger fish to fry than some family squabbles. Adra, I know you’re from Shane’s uncle’s branch, but there are more important things than Wyndham politics, ok?”

Adra looked like she did NOT think that was ok, but a glare from Adrianna shut her up fast. The taller woman turned to glance at Alys questioningly. “You say that like you know what’s going on? Have you heard something? About three quarters of us are in a communication blackout, and the ones who aren’t keep getting stonewalled. Someone up there seems REALLY concerned about information security and compartmentalization right now.”

I realized what Alys was doing even as she nodded her cheerful acknowledgement. “That’s right,” she all but sang. “I know something you don’t know. Now aren’t you glad we’re all being friendly and civil?”

Adrianna stared at her unreadably for a moment or two, then sighed. “You know, you’re always so chipper and friendly I forget how sneaky you can be. You want to make a deal, right? An alliance for information?” She looked me over with a long sigh. “You know what? Fine. You provide us with some worthwhile info and I’m open to a temporary truce for the duration of this conclave. From ALL of us,” she said firmly as Adra tried to speak up. “So…what do you know?” I was so glad I’d allied with Alys. She really got things done.