Debra Dunbar - 15 Exodus by Debra Dunbar

Author:Debra Dunbar [Debra Dunbar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

I hated Aaru with all the fury of a dragon whose treasure had been stolen. The bland landscape—actually the nonexistent landscape—the feel of a hundred thousand or so angelic eyes upon me, the way my skin itched like a wool sweater on an August day in the rainforest. It sucked. And being the only attendee in corporeal form at a Ruling Council meeting sucked too. At least at the Marriott conference room they’d all needed to manifest a physical appearance. And there the hotel staff had provided bacon, Danishes and coffee. Here there was nothing. And I mean nothing.

I was late to the meeting, and I was sure I saw disappointment on the faces of several angels when I arrived. This time it wasn’t my fault I was late. I’d returned from Hel to find my neighbors banging on my door, angrily demanding to know why I was now running a campground in my back field. The zoning was Ag, not Commercial Rec, and they’d not seen any postings for zoning change. I was pretty sure come Monday I’d have the county inquiring as to why I was hosting a renaissance fair in my pasture. I’d need to see if there was a capacity limit or time limit for personal parties so I could assert that forty-four elves were my friends and we were all having one big Tolkien-themed celebration. I doubted that required a permit or a zoning change. People had parties all the time, this one just included camping and stretched on for a few days. A week tops. Stupid neighbors. I should have let Little Red fly over and burn their house down.

The dragon was another pain in my ass. He hadn’t set anything else on fire aside from the elven cook stoves. The elves were oddly enchanted with him, treating him like a cross between an honored guest and an exotic pet. When I left I’d caught them playing “fetch” with the dragon by shooting arrows into the air and having him fly up to catch them.

And then I arrive here in Aaru, where the air was decidedly chilly when it came to my presence. Fuck them. If they were going to hold the Ruling Council meetings at Aaru, then I was going to be there, like it or not. And I wasn’t going to give in and float around without a body like the rest of these assholes.

I felt Gregory notice my stubborn resistance to the incorporeal existence. There was a flash of light, then he manifested his usual polo-shirted form.

“In light of the events at the end of the last meeting, I agreed that we should hold this session here, in Aaru. A change with such short notice is unusual, but in keeping with millions of years of Council meetings all held in Aaru. That said, with the obvious discomfort the Iblis’s presence causes, I recommend we alternate meeting locations.”

“She won’t be on the council for long,” New Guy snapped. “We’re voting on that during this session.

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