Tales Of The Sazi 02 - Moon's Web (24 page)

I wished I could have said the same. The further I got from the room— and Sue— the more tense I felt. The black glove of solitude made my throat tight. Is this what Lelya had meant? That I would be "very alone" in my task? I could feel my fingers trembling slightly, but neither Yurgi nor Denis seemed to notice. But one thing I noticed was that when I was dealing with Denis, I hadn't felt the solitude. I guess that meant I needed to stay busy— keep my mind occupied.

"Let's go find Nikoli." Yurgi nodded and Denis reached over and clutched my hand tight. I heard the sound of breaking crystal when we were halfway down the stairs. Lelya's horrified voice soon followed. "What is going on out here?"

One of the children was picking up the remains of a shattered vase that had been knocked over by a flying bundle of sheets. Another was holding a broom and dustpan.

Nikoli strutted by the staircase, looking quite pleased with the chaos surrounding him. "I have instructed that all the beds be stripped and the linens sent out for cleaning. It progresses nicely, yes?" My eyebrows raised a bit when Lelya strode out from behind the front desk. She was wearing a pair of black denim jeans and a colorful sweater that showed off her figure— interesting, but it wasn't the impressive part. Her hair was darker, the lines in her face less and her whole manner was confident and proud. She had transformed from an aging Queen Mother into the Queen.

She stood with hands on her hips, inches from Nikoli. He seemed a little taken aback. "It progresses— NO! I would like to speak to you privately, oh great and glorious pack leader!" She took his arm and pulled him, his face still in a state of shock, into a room and closed the door without completely shutting it. I got the feeling she wanted people to hear. And they were certainly listening, sidling up to the wrought iron railing and tipping eager ears toward the door crack.

"Niki, if you strip all of the beds, what will the guests who arrive tonight sleep on? The laundry told you that the sheets could not be back before late tomorrow. The sheets on the second floor, which you have already managed to strip, were only placed there three days ago. They were perfectly clean. You strut like a peacock, Niki, with no cause. There is no planning, no order! I will take care of this." The door opened so suddenly that no one had time to step away. She glanced around with fury in her gaze, ignoring the startled but annoyed look from "Niki," who remained in the room briefly before following his mother almost meekly. Her eyes lighted on the three of us. She tipped her head to me briskly, and then stared at Yurgi. She pointed at him. "You— you there. What is your name again?" Yurgi paled slightly behind his dark beard. His voice quavered a bit when he replied. "Yurgi, Duchess. Yurgi Kroutikhin."

Lelya raised her brows and pursed her lips. "Ah, yes. The husband of Pamela. Well? Come down here, young one. I won't bite."

Yurgi glanced at me fearfully, but I could only raise my eyebrows and shrug my shoulders. Neither of us was quite sure that she wouldn't bite.

He positively scampered down the stairs. He bowed his head when he reached her. Nikoli was huffing into his beard, but Lelya didn't notice— or didn't care. She put a hand on Yurgi's shoulder, who flinched visibly. "You will go to the mall, Yurgi. You know where that is? Good! You will buy sheets for king size beds. All white, all excellent quality." She turned to Nikoli. "You will give him money." She stared at him until he removed his wallet and pulled out a number of large denomination bills and held them out. She took them, and then turned back to Yurgi. "Also buy a steam iron and board so we may press the factory wrinkles from them." She handed him the bills. Yurgi stuffed them in his pocket but looked around uncertainly. She shook her head in annoyance and turned away from Yurgi. "We must make do with what we have, I suppose." Then she looked back, to see Yurgi still standing immobile. "Well? Go!" Nikoli's eyes grew dark. He was being usurped in front of his own pack. He stepped forward as if to stop Yurgi from bolting out the door to obey. "Mother, I really think you should… " She turned to him with one brow raised. She started to glow with a blinding light. He stepped back, almost involuntarily, before the storm. Once again, Yurgi flinched and tried to step away, but Lelya's hand moved to rest firmly on his shoulder. I could see Yurgi wince from pain.

"You think I should what, Niki? You have owned this hotel for years, but have never trained your pack members to properly run it. Who is in charge of housekeeping? Of reservations? Of the kitchen?" She shook her head at his blank expression.

"You have never planned a council meeting. I have, at least, attended a council meeting, long before you were born. I have hosted a gathering of kings before I left Court in Russia. I worked as a hotel maid while you were a baby. I really think you should step aside and allow me to plan this gathering so that it will honor our pack. We decided last night that we will rule together, did we not?"

Nikoli's mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. I noted that all activity had stopped in the hotel. People were standing at the railings of all four floors, staring down at the scene.

"Besides, you have no time to organize this meeting. You will be a council member, Niki. You must study the issues that affect the wolves— research how it will impact the Sazi of Chicago. And of Boulder. And of mother Russia." She waited for a reaction, but Nikoli was a little shell-shocked. "Well? Shoo!" A bit of movement caught my eye. I glanced to my left. Lucas was leaning in the doorway of the big conference room, looking amused. His arms were crossed over his chest and a small smile played on his face. I was too far away to catch any scent other than Lelya's thick boiling coffee and Nikoli's burned metal frustration.

She looked up and around, and then clapped her hands. Yurgi scampered away as soon as the restraining hand moved. People flinched as the sound echoed through the lobby. "The rest of you— come down here. We must meet."

Nikoli started to mutter under his breath and moved to step past Lelya. In a movement so sudden that it made him start abruptly, she reached out and threw her arms around him. She hugged him close for a moment. Oranges and cloves burst into my nose, along with the brief scent of deep, foggy sorrow. I could just make out the whisper in his ear. "I am so sorry about Mila, my son. I know you loved her deeply. And I am very proud, Niki. You honor us all with your standing, Councilman Nikoli Gregorovich Molotov!" She held him at arm's length briefly and moved forward to kiss each of his cheeks soundly. Nikoli's eyes glistened sadly for a moment. But then a slow smile stretched his beard and he nodded once. He pulled her close, and gave her a quick squeeze before stepping back. He was suddenly a little less angry and once again standing erect.

He waved his hand imperiously to the waiting pack members. "Well, you heard your Alpha Female! Do as she says! You will report to her until the council meeting is over." He took a deep breath and then glanced at Lelya. He winked. "I have important documents to review."

The moment he walked away and Lelya glanced up once more with a raised brow, there was a thundering of sound as people literally ran to obey. I was one of the "rest of you", so I stepped down the few remaining stairs.

Lelya nodded to me warmly. "It is good to see you again, Tony. The wheels turn, do they not?"

"Not always in the directions we planned." I shivered as another burst of black despair flowed over me. She nodded understandingly as she saw the shudder. "The trials are always more difficult for the strong." Then she squatted down next to Denis, who was still holding my hand, and fixed him with twinkling gaze and bright smile. "And who is this handsome young man?"

I was starting to get the hint that the Duchess had kept to herself so much that she didn't even know the members of her own pack. I also realized that was about to change.

Denis lowered his gaze, but smiled shyly. "I'm Denis Siska, Alpha." He flinched a bit when Lelya's power flowed over his skin. It must have hurt his bruised arm, because he rubbed it unconsciously. Lelya sniffed carefully around him, zeroing in on the sleeve over the bruise. Her eyes darkened for a moment, but then cleared. She nodded to herself and stood.

The rest of the pack had gathered in a circle around her. She looked them over carefully and noted which ones were flinching. She knocked her power down until there was barely any glow around her. Her words were quiet, but we could all hear her just fine. "This will be a difficult time for you all. The men and women who will attend this conference are the best and brightest— and the most powerful— of all the Sazi. While they all will do their best to hold their power in check, it will be a time of high emotions. The power will sting your skin. I will try to keep the lesser wolves from direct contact as much as possible. If at any time one of you hurts too much to function, come see me. I will help to dampen the power as much as I can." She noted a few disbelieving looks and looked at each of them strongly, willing them to believe. "We are Sazi—

we are pack. I will protect you."

There were a few scattered smiles and smattering of applause. She turned to me.

"Tony, you will head security with Asri. I am told by Lucas you install security systems. Wolven has a standard system that will be adapted to our hotel. Lucas has arranged for the materials to be delivered in a few minutes. Please be sure that the system is adequate for the meeting, but still keeps the warmth and flavor of our home. I am sure that based on your past history, which Lucas has also advised me of, you have arranged for meetings such as this."

I nodded without speaking. Yeah, I'd set up security for more than one meeting of family patrones.

"Asri will attend to traffic control and weather crisis management when she returns." Huh? "Weather management? Asri can control the weather?"

Lelya chuckled. "No. But the others can— and do— affect the weather. The magical energy from a single council member can cause darkening skies when clear weather was forecast. Each time a councilman arrives, the weather will worsen. During the meeting, it will be a full fledged blizzard." She rolled her eyes expressively. "Why in heaven's name they chose Chicago in mid-winter is beyond me! The winter meetings are usually in the southern latitudes. But, it is what it is. Our plan to manage the meeting is to ensure that the delegates stagger their arrivals and methods of transportation so that there is time for the streets to be cleared and the planes de-iced before the next arrives. Do you understand? Asri's duties are critical for the humans of Illinois and Indiana to survive this meeting, so you will have to bear the burden of installing the system alone."

Wow! That someone could be powerful enough to change the weather was a new concept. Was that why it was storming when Lucas arrived and got worse when he was irritated in the woods? I'd never thought to tie the two together. Maybe they need to consider teleconferencing.

Then something she said clicked. "Alone?" I crossed my arms over my chest and settled my stance. "In four days?" I shook my head. "It can't be done, Lelya. I've got to have at least one person. I can't string wire in the walls over four floors by myself."

She nodded her head, I guess pleased that I was thinking logically. A few people dropped their jaws when I called their Alpha by a familiar name— and she let me.

She swept her hand around the circle. "Fine. Choose a person to assist you from among those here."

"Actually, I'd prefer Yurgi." He follows orders well, and I would bet that he had a lot of practice doing grunt work.

She nodded once more. "When he returns with the sheets, he will assist you. As soon as we're done here, please report to Lucas." Then she turned to the rest of the people. "Which of you has experience cooking?

For a large group?"

Alena tentatively raised her hand. "I went to school to become a Sous Chef. I was nearly graduated when I became pregnant with Alek and had to drop out. Then Denis came and… "

Lelya dropped her head briskly. "Good. You are in charge of food service. You will choose two to help you. The children can help you as well." Alena looked pleased. She smiled at her boys. Then the queen wolf looked around again. "Who has worked in housekeeping?" No hands raised. Her scent grew angry and her glow increased a bit. "I said— who has cleaned before? State your name and your ability."

The little Latina, Celia, raised her hand. Boris winced just the tiniest bit. "I'm Celia Golubev, Boris's wife. I was working in housekeeping for a ski resort when I met Boris, Madam Alpha. I worked there for many years. I was a supervisor."

Lelya smiled brightly. "Excellent! Why would you be afraid to speak of it? You should be proud. You are in charge of housekeeping, Celia. Choose four to help you." Then Lelya turned and stared at the glowering man with one arm in a sling. "Sergei, you will be in charge of janitorial, and will report to Celia." The words dropped like a chunk of lead. Shock appeared on the faces of Celia and Boris. Sergei went from surprised to angry to livid in a matter of seconds. He sputtered for a moment before he could come up with a barely polite reply.

"Forgive me, Alpha, but she is human. It is beneath my station to answer to a human woman— the wife of one of the lowest pack members. I should be in charge of housekeeping and she report to me." Lelya looked at him for a moment and then glanced around at the other pack members. They were all curious to see how she would respond.

"There are no pack stations until this council meeting is over. We must all serve in the capacity we are best able. You are injured, Sergei, and cannot clean a room. I was offering some way you could serve." Her words were quiet, but I knew the tone. It's one Carmine uses a lot— offering rope for the person to hang themself.

"Are you refusing the janitorial supervisor position?"

He thought for a moment, and apparently wasn't bright enough to see the trap. He nodded, believing he'd won.

"I am. I should be housekeeping supervisor, Alpha."

She nodded for a moment, thinking. "Ah. Tony, shoot him."

I was happy to comply. He was an annoying little shit. I pulled my Taurus before he could even react and fired a silver bullet through his good arm. He shrieked and fell to the floor. Eyes went wide around the room and people backed up to avoid him. I caught Denis smiling. I glanced at Lelya to see her staring at me. I shrugged. "You didn't say kill him, and I hated to waste a perfectly good sling." I figured if she'd meant for me to kill him, she would have said so.