Wish upon the Stars chapter 932

I considered what I needed to do for a while after we arrived in Veltheim. Crell had secured us an entire boarding house…somehow. He refused to elaborate on how, and every time I tried to push he made up a different story. Based on the commonalities, I was PRETTY sure it had something to do with a pie eating contest, or possibly a bear. Then again, trying to weasel the truth out of someone with his skillset was probably a lost cause.

Once we were settled in though (Callie and I claimed the penthouse first thing), I started considering next steps. Firstly, I needed backup. Not just my people, everyone would have those, I needed WYNDHAM backup. Belsara and Nat were a good start, but I could do better. With the Void Incursion looming, I had a real chance to put together something that would have been impossible before now. A legitimate power bloc. 

In fact, I suspected half the POINT of the last trial before we reached the city was to pave the way for this exact scenario, forcing us to meet each other in non lethal conditions to feel out possible allies. 

Alys was one, obviously. My sunny cousin was probably the most reasonable of the Wyndhams I’d met. I got a good feeling from her, and I always trusted my instincts.

There were others. A dour looking dark haired Wyndham named Charlie, with a keen eye and a mind for details. He’d almost caught us when we’d ambushed him, and had effectively negotiated a peaceful surrender with the warning. An intense cousin named Nadia, who was probably the steeliest family member I’d ever met, willing to throw down with us without flinching rather than be rolled over.

A surprisingly bloodthirsty family member named Derrick who might have been the most openly chaotic and battle crazy person I’d ever met after Abel, but who had backed down when my mentor beat him in a straight fight.

Each of them were uniquely suited to joining our little clique for one reason or another, even if for some that reason was just “because I said so”. Contacting them with some on Nat’s scrolls was child’s play though, so after reaching out to arrange a meeting when they arrived (since we’d waylaid them in the labyrinth they were obviously running behind, though a few of them had arrived) and I contacted Crell to set them up.

“You want to rent out a tavern?” He asked me over my scan ring. “That’ll be expensive, but it’s not a terrible idea. I’ve arranged a few meetings, like I said, but if we can get some of them to come to you there’s a better chance of getting them onboard. Politics is about prestige. About leaving an impression. Home turf advantage is always a plus when dealing with potential allies or even enemies. Word gets out that you’re holding court, especially with other Wyndhams attending, people start to get a certain impression of you.”

Callie, who was sitting on the couch next to me in our room, nodded along. “He’s right, we all know how important renown is to Ascendants. And that usefulness applies at a micro as well as a macro level. I trust you have some useful contacts who can spread the word, make sure it reaches the right people at the right moment. Timing is the most important part of any story.”

He rolled his eyes. “Girl, I was building empires when you were scraping your knee on the playground. I know how to do my job. I ran an INFORMATION broker service. I’ll put the word out so people lay eyes on the place at exactly the right time. That’s the big trick. A proper rumor can’t be spread as a reaction. You need to start the whispers in advance, so the witnesses all arrive JUST in time to see the big event. That’s how you get the most impact.”

“I’ll leave it to you then,” I told him cheerfully. “Just don’t fuck it up, of Ellie might have some things to say about your effectiveness as my subordinate.”

I hung up without waiting for him to respond, though I saw he was amused and somewhat intrigued. Callie snorted at his expression as it faded. “Should we be worried about that? Your mom won’t kill him for trying to flirt with her disciple will she? I think Ellie is a future saintess or something.”

“My mom has two kids,” I pointed out mildly. “I don’t think the church requires people give up romance. Past that, it’s not our business. And I don’t really want it to be. We have an army of over a thousand supernaturally fit supernaturally youthful people with big flashy personalities working for us now. I’m pretty sure we should draw the line about our interest in their personal lives REAL close to our inner circle, otherwise our lives will turn into a soap opera.”

She snorted at that. “Yeah, because our lives definitely don’t already resemble one of those. Now, if we’re holding court I think we should be in top form. Let’s take a nap while we have a few hours to kill.”

“If I ever forgot how much I loved you, which I assure you is impossible, making suggestions like that would remind me instantly,” I told her soulfully. Then I tossed her over my shoulder and trekked over to the bed, flopping down beside her as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. There was really nothing like a good nap.

We were awakened an indeterminate amount of time later by another call. I grumbled, but forced my brain to sputter to life as I pawed at my hand with my other hand. When the screen popped up, it was Crell again, and a quick check of the time told me that he was probably calling about the completed arrangements. It had been hours. I’d given him the timeframe of our meetup and once he told me the location I’d contact the others. I wanted to trust them, but since I had to wait anyway, only telling them the meetup spot last minute would serve as an extra layer of insurance.

The tavern we rented out wasn’t far, and I slipped back into my armor before readying to leave. Tracing my fingers over it, I felt the edges of the gouges that Drewnokk had left. My C-rank plate was quickly becoming outdated. When my grandmother gave it to me all those months ago, it had basically been a guarantee of safety. Now that I was almost C-rank myself, it was clearly not enough. Unfortunately, full plate was EXPENSIVE, and it got more expensive the further up you went. For the same reason there were very few S-rank ships and the ones that did exist were small vessels like the Acheron, making a full suit of body armor out of high grade materials was difficult to justify.

Callie stepped behind me, tucking herself under my arm and laying her head against my chest. “Credit for your thoughts?”

“Just worrying about my armor, might need an upgrade,” I glanced down at her, admiring her costume. “I’d be a lot more comfortable if you upgraded to something a bit more hard shelled. The dress is lovely, but I worry about you.”

She snorted. “I’m a heretic angel now, love. I’m more durable than you are. Worry about yourself.” Her own fingers found the marks. “But you’re not wrong. I was pretty worried when those claws laid into you.” Her eyes flashed, pulsing blue black. “If I get my hands on that harpy, I’ll tear the wings off him like a fly for what he tried to do to you, not to mention how upset he made Bethy.”

“I have a feeling we might need to wait on that,” I grimaced. “I won’t be the only one making alliances. With the Void incoming, we can’t jeopardize our potential power bloc by pitting them against another group. The twins are too effective with that asshole onboard. Anyone who can hang with Bethy is someone we can’t afford to ignore. Not just as an enemy, but as a potential ally for others.”

She beamed at me, despite the sour wrinkle in her brow. “Was that POLITICAL savvy from my sneaky brute of a husband? I’m so proud. I can’t wait to tell your mother, she’s going to be SO impressed.”

“Shhh,” I said solemnly, raising a finger to my mask. “Don’t tell anyone. If they figure out I can do it everyone will expect me to handle all the politics. I’ve made sure to cultivate a reputation as a political incompetent. Of course, I cultivated that reputation by BEING politically incompetent, but that’s the genius of it. It’s foolproof.”

She reached up to cup either side of my face behind my mask with a sly smile. “Oh, honey, if being married to you has taught me anything its that nothing is foolproof.

“Impudence!” I boomed in a faux arrogant tone. “I demand satisfaction!”

She winked at me. “Later, we have a meeting to go to.” She chucked me under the chin with her finger and turned to sashay away, and I just laughed, following her with a smile. It never ceased to amaze me. She always knew just how to turn any fear or worry in my guy into surety and confidence. I would never have gotten to where I was without my wife, and I made sure to let that bleed through the bond so she could feel it. The love and devotion that fed back over the connection equalled mine in intensity and passion, and my heart warmed as I felt the concrete evidence of how much she adored me.

Crell was waiting for us outside, chatting animatedly at Ellie, who looked suspicious and tense. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw us. “What took you two so long? We’re going to be late.”

“Took a nap,” I said with a shrug. “And he JUST woke us up, so blame him if the timetable is off.”

“Gladly,” she said, shooting Crell an irritated glance. He returned it with a winning smile, and she rolled her eyes as she hustled us out of the building. I hadn’t known she was coming with us, not specifically, but it didn’t surprise me. Ellie was our personal guard, and I wasn’t at all shocked to see Felicity fall into step on the other side of us, nor to spot Argaunt following from a distance.

They were C-rankers, true, but Carmichael was here as well, and Alanna was following closely behind. Both of them were not only B-rank, but had Mythical skills on top of it making them truly dangerous enemies even in a B-rank city.

Aside from them though, I was surprised to see Tilda with us, the dark haired green eyed member of the high society who had infiltrated the orphanage and whom Callie had decided to take into her service. She’d been outfitted in a dress that looked just like my wife’s along with a mask and cloak that made them look like sisters, and I cocked my head at Callie when I saw her. “You have a sidekick now?”

Sidekicks weren’t unheard of back home, though they were unusual. As I’d become an Ascendant I’d figured out that while a sidekick could be boosted alongside their mentor by fame, they ALSO detracted from the renown that an Ascendant could gather for themselves, so it was certainly a choice.

She shrugged. “I like Bella, and she made me want a disciple of my own. Speaking of, where is she? You should bring her along for this, show her how it’s done.”

“I’m not sure I KNOW how it’s done,” I said wryly. “But you’re not wrong.” I whistled loudly, and a green streak shot down from above to perch on my wrist. “Hey bud, take this to Bella,” I scrawled a quick note and passed it to Archie, who trilled and then took off to find my apprentice. I could have just called, but I had a rep to maintain. No. Not maintain. Expand. I needed to grow my reputation as quickly as possible. Hopefully that was just around the corner.