Power Play

Chapter 10: Lily

Chapter 10: Lily

    Lily and the others sat and talked to Simon for a bit more after the discussion of group business had ended, but it was clear most of their minds were still stuck on the earlier topic and conversation was a little forced, so soon enough he said a graceful goodbye and departed, promising again to let them know his decision soon.

    "So, do you think he'll join us?" Silver asked only after they'd all sensed Simon's aura fade beyond range.

    "Oh, he'll join us. It might take him a little, but he'll definitely join us," Evan answered confidently.

    "So, besides Simon, who else are we going after to join the group?" Lily prompted.

    "I already spoke to Vex this morning because I felt I needed to talk to him alone, and he's in, but doesn't want to potentially be seen around the group until just before we're ready to act. Kyra Sagrand we'll be talking to at the same time tomorrow, so I'll need all of you to show up here again. Assuming Kyra joins as well, and I think she will, seven of us should be enough. I don't want to risk approaching anyone else," Evan stated evenly.

    "But what about Vryce Colvin? He's never liked Vanning, and he's pretty strong," Lily offered.

    "I considered him. But, while I think he'd agree with our cause, I don't think there's any real chance that he'd be willing to risk himself in fighting Vanning. Any aid he offered would stop short of him actually having to go into combat. And what we need right now is freaks willing to fight," Evan told her.

    "Alright, what about the new freak that's been hanging around Vryce lately? Ryan Lydon, the one who killed Blaze after Blaze killed his fiancee? From what I heard Vanning said some pretty harsh things about Lydon's dead fiancee when the two first met, and given that Vanning nearly had him killed after Blaze's death, there's certainly no love lost between those two," Lily pressed.

    "Hrmmm... I didn't think of him. And while from what I've heard it's true that he might be willing to join us and fight, and he probably wouldn't be willing to betray us by exposing our plan to Vanning... Even if he did join us, what kind of use would he be in such a fight? After all, given how short a time he's been a freak, he probably hasn't even learned the full extent of his own powers yet, much less how best to use them in combat. Sure, he killed Blaze, but Blaze was weak, and wouldn't have required much fighting experience. Vanning is on a completely different level. Without a real understanding of how to fight someone that powerful, this Ryan might wind up being more of a hindrance than an aid. But I don't know, I'll have to think about it and look into him a bit more. Maybe, just maybe, there's an outside chance he could be an eighth, or even take the place of Kyra as the seventh if she decides she doesn't want to get involved, but I doubt it. Still, it's worth at least looking into," Evan admitted.

    Lily just nodded, hesitating a second before speaking again. "I think I should mention... I spoke to Lord Talen, last night."

    That got some raised eyebrows. "Did he tell you anything important?" Alaine asked.

    "I told him what you thought, Evan, that he meant for us to take down Vanning ourselves, asked him if you were right. His reply was that things were proceeding precisely as they should, his exact wording," Lily replied.