"Well, as to that, Alec has a plan," Cora said, giving him a worried look. "I won't say it's not crazy as a coonhound, but it's the only thing we can think of to fix the situation."
"A plan?" Ulfur asked, looking slightly worried.
"What plan?" Kristoff demanded to know.
"Crazy as a coonhound? Oh, it sounds completely up our alley," Pia added, patting Kristoff's arm. "Dish!"
"It's quite simple, really," Cora said as she leaned into him, her scent teasing him, as it always did. "Alec is going to destroy Bael."
The silence that met that statement wasn't particularly flattering to his ego, nor was the "He what? 'Crazy as a coonhound' is the understatement of the year" comment as issued by Kristoff. But Alec was a man driven, and he knew that if he wanted to have any sort of future with Cora, he'd have to do the impossible.
It was just a matter of organization, and if there was one thing he was good at, it was making plans. "Cora . . . this isn't going to hurt, is it?"
I gave Ulfur a reassuring smile. "Of course not. It just makes you kind of tingle, like you're almost touching an electric fence wire. Why would you think it hurts?"
His lips twisted. "Everything else does. Why should being the Tool of Bael be any different?"
I stared at him for a few seconds as Pia cooed over him. Another one who is in pain. What is with you guys?
Alec was startled for a moment. Another one? You can feel my pain?
I did before we Joined, yes. Shouldn't I have?
No. Once I realized we had a sympathetic link, I made sure to keep those emotions from you.
I thought of the anguish, the endless well of torment, that bound him so tightly it would have driven anyone else stark raving mad, and said nothing.
"Are we all here? Excellent. I've taken rooms for the summoning," Terrin said as he bustled out of the elevator of the hotel at which we'd arranged to meet. He shooed us toward it, glancing at his watch to add, "We have slightly less than twenty minutes, so we really should get started."
"What exactly does a summoning consist of?" Pia asked as we all squished together in the elevator. "I've never seen a Tool being used before. Is there something we should do? Do I have to order Ulfur to do anything now that I'm officially his lich . . . er . . . mistress?"
"Yes. You should be running far, far away," Kristoff muttered under his breath, shooting Alec a crabby look. Kristoff hadn't taken very well to Alec's plan to overthrow Bael. None of them had, really, although in the end, they all agreed that if Ulfur, Diamond, and I wanted to live any sort of normal lives, Bael had to go.
That didn't mean that Kristoff hadn't pulled Alec aside as soon as we got to the hotel, and had what appeared to be a heated discussion in German.
"Do you speak German?" I had asked Pia, watching the two of them as they stood in a corner of the hotel's lobby, Alec standing with an implacable expression, while Kristoff, gesturing wildly, evidently vented his spleen.
"No. Which, I have to say, right now I'm really happy about, because I have a feeling Kristoff isn't being very nice to Alec, and I really would hate to have to yell at him for that, since he was so sweet about paying for Ulfur."
We watched for another minute, Ulfur joining us. "Are they angry at me?" he asked.
"No. Kristoff doesn't seem to like Alec's plan, and I don't think Alec likes being yelled at.... Oh, now that was just uncalled for." Kristoff had, with an angry word, turned away from Alec, who put out a hand to stop him. Kristoff shoved Alec back.
"Ouch," Pia winced as Alec returned the favor, shoving Kristoff, who stumbled backward over an ottoman, smacking his head on a table. She sighed. "I suppose we should intervene. On the other hand, maybe they just need to work things out between themselves."
"Probably." Are you all right?
Yes.
His answer was as terse as his mood, so I didn't push him, simply waited for Kristoff, who had leaped to his feet and was now yelling in Italian at Alec, to get done so we could continue on. By the time they had done so, and Ulfur inquired worriedly about the level of pain involved with being one of Bael's little playthings, the two men had worked out most of their animosity without, thankfully, any blood having been drawn.
Terrin eyed Alec as we rode up in the elevator. "I spoke to the Sovereign on your behalf."
"And?" Alec asked, one eyebrow rising in question.
Terrin sighed. "The Sovereign wishes it to be known that it does not involve itself in situations not of its making, or which lack a direct impact on its purview, which, despite your threat, this does not fall under."
Alec swore under his breath. My stomach clenched with worry, causing Alec to pull me up next to him, his arm around me.