Free Burned by Benedict Jacka Page B

my time with Richard, but while Lyle had been entertaining, he’d never been particularly trustworthy. When I’d really needed him, he’d hung me out to dry.
    All of this flashed through my head in less than a second. ‘So you’re working for Undaaris now?’ I asked. I tried to make my voice pleasant. ‘Or is this a one-time thing?’
    ‘No, I’ve been acting as Undaaris’s secretary. Though it’s more like being his second, really. Scheduling and appointments and all that sort of stuff.’
    ‘To a Senior Councillor, huh? Going up in the world.’
    Lyle laughed. ‘Well, I’ll go tell Undaaris you’ve arrived. If you could just wait here.’ He disappeared through the door, leaving me alone in the room. I wondered if that conversation had sounded as forced to him as it had to me.
    Thinking about that made me remember the last member of the Light Council that Lyle had been working for, namely Levistus. Lyle had been the one to introduce me to Levistus, thus indirectly starting off the whole chain of events leading to the death sentence I was fighting right now. I wondered whether Lyle remembered it the same way.
    Traditionally Council members like to keep applicants hanging around for a while, the better to emphasise how valuable their time is. I suspected that this would be an exception to the rule and that Undaaris would want me in and out as quickly as possible. I was right: Lyle reappeared in only a few minutes and ushered me out into a hallway, up a set of stairs and through a door. It led into a comfortable-looking study, and standing behind the desk, waiting to greet me, was Undaaris.
    Undaaris was white-haired and slim. From my research I knew that he was over sixty, but he didn’t look it: he was straight-backed and handsome, and but for his hair could have passed for forty at the most. Life magic treatments; probably the only reason he hadn’t had his hair recoloured too had been to make an impression. He was a water mage, though, like most Council politicians, there were rumours that he had some mind abilities as well. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen Undaaris, but it was the first time I’d been up close.
    ‘Ah, Mage Verus!’ Undaaris came bustling around the desk to shake my hand. ‘Glad you could make it.’
    ‘Councillor,’ I said. I’m not very good at acting respectful, but I did my best. ‘Thank you for agreeing to see me.’
    ‘Not at all, not at all. Can I offer you something to drink? Tea, coffee?’
    ‘I appreciate the offer, but I’m a little preoccupied at the moment.’
    ‘Of course, of course.’ Undaaris glanced at Lyle, who murmured something and disappeared out the door, closing it behind him and leaving the two of us alone.
    The last time I’d been alone in a room with a Council member it hadn’t gone well. I fought off the impulse to check Undaaris’s defences by looking into the futures in which I attacked him – I needed to focus. ‘Well then,’ Undaaris said. He sat down behind his desk. ‘I understand there was something you wanted to discuss?’
    ‘Yes.’ I sat in one of the armchairs. ‘It’s to do with last Saturday’s resolution.’
    ‘Yes, well,’ Undaaris said. ‘You do understand that any information pertaining to closed Council meetings is strictly confidential.’
    ‘I’m aware of that,’ I said. ‘However, given the subject of this particular resolution, it doesn’t seem like a very good idea for me to wait until it’s made official.’
    ‘It’s still a little irregular…’
    I looked at Undaaris with raised eyebrows.
    Undaaris coughed. ‘But given the circumstances, I suppose it’s understandable.’
    ‘I’m under a death sentence.’ I kept my voice level. ‘Regularity isn’t my foremost concern.’
    Undaaris looked uncomfortable. ‘I can’t confirm or deny anything along those lines.’
    ‘And I assume you can’t confirm or deny that the current state of the votes is three to two, either.’
    ‘I thought it was