“…And so I am pleased to announce that my grandson, Zackary Gabriel Jones, has accepted the appointment to the Master’s Chair,” Bancroft said.
There was an enthusiastic round of applause. The ten men and women seated at the table turned to Zack. They were all powerful sensitives of one sort or another. He also knew that each was endowed with a very broad streak of personal ambition and a remarkable non-paranormal talent for the sort of political maneuvering that had gotten them onto the Council in the first place. Dealing with them in the years ahead would be a challenge.
The middle-aged man across from Zack rose and cleared his throat.
“I know I speak for all of us when I say that we are delighted you have decided to accept the appointment,” Hector Guerrero said. “We feel it is important that you know that you were not asked to take this position merely because of your family’s long and respected association with the Society.”
At the far end of the table Marilyn Houston chuckled. “If all we cared about was having a Jones at the head of the Society, we had a great many of your relatives to choose from. You come from a very prolific family, sir.”
There was a round of laughter. Zack acknowledged the humor with a smile.
Guerrero cleared his throat a second time and continued. “We all sense that in the next few decades the Society will face a variety of serious challenges. There are difficult, possibly even dangerous, times ahead. In addition to trying to move into the mainstream, the threat presented by Nightshade appears to be growing stronger. The organization must be defeated. If it flourishes it has the potential to not just destroy the Society but to infiltrate and manipulate our nation’s leading corporations and our government.”
It had been Bancroft’s idea to let Guerrero, one of the most powerful and influential members of the Council, act as the closer.
“The thought of psychically enhanced Nightshade operatives becoming powerful figures in the highest circles of our land is intolerable,” Guerrero warned. “The damage that could be done is inestimable. We must fight this grave threat and, for the foreseeable future at least, we must fight it largely alone.”
There were a series of unhappy murmurs of agreement around the table.
“We all know that we can expect little overt assistance from the government, the establishment media or the mainstream law enforcement community,” Guerrero added. “Officially, at least, most people in this country still hold the view that the paranormal is the province of science fiction, fantasy, quacks, gurus, talk-show guests and frauds. Convincing them that a secret, dangerous conspiracy comprised of psychically enhanced individuals exists and must be taken seriously is probably beyond our ability, at least for now.”
Without exception, those around the oval table sat tight-lipped and grim-faced.
“And so we welcome to this Council chamber a new Master who is uniquely qualified to lead us through these perilous times.” Guerrero fixed Zack with piercing eyes. “We ask you to take the oath of office and assume the Master’s Chair, Zackary Gabriel Jones.”
Zack rose but made no move to go to the head of the table. Instead, he looked at each of the ten members in turn. Then, very deliberately, he set a folder down on the polished stone table.
“Before I take the oath,” he said, “I am going to introduce you to my fiancée, Miss Raine Tallentyre, daughter of Judson and Miranda Tallentyre.”
The name hit the room with the impact of a meteor. Jaws dropped and eyes widened. Zack knew that some of those present had served on the Council when Tallentyre was kicked out of the Society. The rest were well aware of the name.
Before anyone could say a word, Bancroft opened the door to the chamber and ushered Raine into the room.
She stopped just inside the doorway and gave everyone a cool, self-possessed nod. She was at her most austere and untouchable today in a sculpted black Armani jacket, trousers and high heels. Her dark hair was pulled straight back into an elegant knot at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were pools of mystery behind the lenses of her black-framed glasses.
How in hell did I get so lucky? Zack thought. I will love her for the rest of my life and beyond.
He walked around the table and took her arm, making no attempt to conceal his pride.
“Welcome, my dear. Allow me to present the members of the Governing Council of the Arcane Society, USA.”
He went through the names quickly. Heads nodded stiffly. There were a few mumbled greetings. Most of the members were still speechless.
Raine gave them all her dazzling screw you smile.
“What a pleasure to meet all of you,” she said in a perfectly neutral tone.
Zack managed, just barely, to suppress a grin. Fortunately, none of the Council members seemed to grasp the fact that they had just been dissed.
“As many of you will have guessed,” he said, “my fiancée is the daughter of the Judson Tallentyre who, many years ago, was investigated by J&J for unauthorized research. That investigation led to Tallentyre being thrown out of the Society. All records of his work were destroyed.”
No one moved. They all knew the story.
“What neither the Council nor J&J was aware of at the time was that the focus of Tallentyre’s research was not on the founder’s formula but on an antidote for it.”
That garnered another round of startled murmurs.
“The only reason Tallentyre created a version of the formula was so that he could run experiments on it with his antidote,” Zack said.
The faces around the table assumed various expressions ranging from confusion to dawning comprehension. At least three of the people in the room were high-level intuitives who were no doubt starting to sense where this was going.
“I’m sure all of you realize what a great strategic advantage an antidote would provide us in our battle against Nightshade,” he continued. “Among other things, it would weaken the organization’s hold over its operatives.”
“An antidote would be a huge asset,” Paul Akashida observed. “Currently, the penalty for failure or betrayal within Nightshade brings an automatic sentence of death or insanity. The existence of an antidote would make it possible to attract defectors.”
Janice Forster brightened. “It might also allow us to plant a spy within the organization.”
At the far end of the table Conner Price spoke up. “Hell, just the rumor of an antidote would damage the Nightshade power structure.”
More excited conversation erupted around the table. Bancroft stood quietly, hands clasped behind his back, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. He winked at Zack. The strategy was working precisely as they had planned.