“Well, that completely killed the mood,” Salem grumbled in the silence that had come over us.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Rei quickly concurred before turning to me to ask, “So, what do we do about this, Babe? I’m sure the media would love to find out that someone in the government is planning to assassinate you and a world-famous pop star.”

I considered that for a moment before shaking my head. “We can’t play our hand too early. Besides, we don’t have any names yet, or even proof that anyone in the government is involved except maybe for Jones. We have suspicions about who is involved, but nothing that could be confirmed with that recording. Right now, it just sounds like a murder conspiracy, not a government murder conspiracy. We need to bring Robyn and the others in on this. Daenyss, can you go see if the others are still awake while I call Robyn?”

“Of course, Mistress,” my Attendant and lover replied immediately. Then, after a quick kiss for each of us, she covered herself with a clothing glamour and slipped out of the room to do as I’d asked.

After sharing that brief, loving kiss, I reached for my cell phone as Daenyss left the room. It wasn’t too late, barely eleven o’clock, so I was hoping that Robyn, Rob, and Venika would still be awake. On the third ring, Robyn picked up. Her voice was cheerful as she inquired, “Hey, Taelya, are you all ready for the big day tomorrow?”

A soft sigh slipped past my lips as I tried to figure out how to tell her that the government was sending assassins after us. Finally, I decided to just come right out with it and said, “That’s actually what I’m calling about, Robyn. We need to prepare for tomorrow. Rei just took another call posing as Agent Jones and whoever is calling the shots knows about the press conference tomorrow and suspects that I might be the special guest you talked about. There’s going to be an assassination attempt.”

“That’s news? They’ve been trying to kill you since you first came on the scene, Taelya. I just assumed you would be keeping your usual magical protections in place. You’re a Demigoddess, can mortal weapons even kill you now?” she asked, seeming completely unfazed.

“That depends. It’s unlikely, but if I was away from all my aspects and they dealt an immediately fatal wound, it’s possible,” I admitted. “I’m not worried about me though, Robyn. I’m not the only target; you’re in the crosshairs now too. Whoever is calling the shots has decided that you and your Changed Rights movement are as big a threat to their agenda as I am.”

There was a sharp intake of breath and then the line was quiet for a moment before Robyn spoke again. This time, her voice was breathy and tremulous, barely more than a whisper. “I… damn… okay, yeah.”

“Are you okay, Robyn?” Yeah, I know, that was a stupid question. Of course, she wasn’t okay. She might be very mature for her age, but I just told a seventeen-year-old girl that somebody was going to try to kill her.

“This… this is not what I was expecting,” her voice replied shakily before she gave a nervous laugh. “I should probably… take that as a compliment, huh? I mean, I must be doing something right if they want to…”

I tried to soothe her, speaking to her in a calm and relaxing tone. “Robyn, it’s going to be okay. You’re my friend, I’m not going to let anyone kill you. I promise you that I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe if I even suspect your life is in danger. Please, get Venika to teleport all three of you here to the safe house so we can figure out our plan for tomorrow.”

A long, deep exhale came from Robyn’s end of the line. “Yeah… okay, you’re right, Taelya. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Okay, see you soon, Robyn,” I said before disconnecting the call. Then, since Salem had already cast a clothing glamour on herself and Rei was hurriedly getting dressed, I followed their example and quickly cast a clothing glamour over myself before we left the bedroom for the open living and dining area.

The first thing I noticed was that Kinara was back and snuggling with Lissany on the couch. That brought a smile to my face since the pair hadn’t been able to spend much time together recently with most of us being in Toronto and Kinara remaining in Vancouver to train Caitlinn Summers in the basics of magick. Now that Caitlinn was in Varüus’kiel getting her business set up and our business in Toronto was concluded, it seemed that Kinara had decided that her place was once again with her girlfriend and as a part of my entourage.

It felt good seeing my apprentice back with us, even if the current circumstances weren’t great. Harley was on the couch with the pair, but she was trying to give them some space, while Nishalle sat on Pete’s lap in one of the large armchairs and Lillith sat in the other, leaving only my recliner open. Daenyss was bringing some chairs over from the dining table though, and I certainly didn’t mind the idea of snuggling on the recliner with one or two of the girls I loved.

A few minutes after we were all settled and there were a couple of empty chairs waiting, Venika, Robyn, and Rob appeared. Robyn looked visibly shaken, and Rob was holding her hand in a firm grip as if to silently remind her that he would always be by her side. As soon as they were all settled, I had Rei go get Jonesy’s phone and play the recorded call so that everyone knew what we were dealing with. When the recording ended, Kinara was the first to speak. “So, what do we do then? Cancel the press conference?”

“No.” It was Robyn who answered, her voice now filled with a steely determination. She still looked scared, but she also looked like she wasn’t about to back down for anyone or anything.

“Are you sure, mi amour?” Rob asked as he held his girlfriend close. “I’m fast, but I’m not sure if I can protect you from bullets.

“People need to know what’s really going on since the Veil fell, and if we can use this to also expose a government conspiracy against us, then we should. We’ve faced off way scarier things than government stooges,” the pop star insisted. “Besides, if they’re getting desperate enough that they see what I’m doing as a problem for them, it means we have them on the ropes, not the other way around.”

Nishalle nodded grimly as she said, “Cancelling the press conference or changing the location at the last minute could be seen as a show of weakness and fear. If they’re going to try to kill you there, they basically have three options. Snipers, someone in the crowd, or magick.”

“What about a bomb?” Rei asked with a frown.

“They could do that and try to pin it on terrorists or something, but it’s unlikely,” my sister countered. “For assassinations you generally want a scalpel and not a hammer to make sure you get the right target, and explosives are messy and indiscriminate. Besides, he said ‘specialists’, plural. That probably means snipers or snipers and someone in the crowd for good measure.”

“I think we can rule out magick too,” Venika contributed. “Given their biases, their operatives are all going to be human, so they won’t be able to use magick. Even if they did have a Witch or someone with a God’s blessing working for them who could use magick, they wouldn’t have had the time since the Veil fell to develop an offensive spell that could get Taelya’s attention, much less hurt her. Not everyone had a couple of months to develop their skills in AD like we did.”

“So, that gives us a general idea of what to expect,” Nishalle agreed. “They’ll be using snipers, and/or someone in the crowd. Timing is going to be everything for them though, so it’ll likely be snipers. They can’t risk trying to take Robyn down before Taelya takes the stage, it would alert us, and they’d miss their chance at their highest priority target. Their best chance is when Taelya takes the stage and you’re both up there together, so two shooters, maybe more for redundancy.”

“Well, if there is someone in the crowd, they would have to get through all of us first,” Lissany said, gesturing to herself, Harley, Pete, Nishalle, and Lillith. “I think it’s safe to say that we aren’t going to let that happen.”

“You bet your ass we aren’t,” Harley agreed as she crossed her arms defiantly.

“He doesn’t have to get close,” Pete pointed out. “He could just conceal a gun, take a shot, and then try to slip away in the resulting panic.”

I nodded in agreement. He had a point, and I would rather be properly prepared for all eventualities. “I’ll be casting my most powerful protection spells for physical attacks on both me and Robyn before the press conference begins, and if anyone but us tries to use magick, I’ll feel that before they can get the spell fully formed. I’m more concerned about catching these guys and getting a confession out of them, though it would be nice if we could prevent them from taking their shots in the first place. We’ll need people watching the crowd and possible sniper positions, and it might be a good idea to check for explosives beforehand as well, just in case. I have a spell I can use for that.”

“I will have some of my girls with invisibility spells on them monitor the crowd from above and any possible sniper positions, though I am not as familiar with the work of assassins as Nishalle is, especially in this modern world. I prefer a more direct fight,” Lillith muttered.

“I’ll go quietly check out the area around Robyn’s house tonight to scout things out while it’s dark. If you or one of your girls wants to come with me, Lillith, I’ll point out any spots that I would shoot from if it were me.”

“That would be much appreciated, Nishalle,” the Succubus matriarch replied gratefully.

“Me, Kinara, and Rei can blend in with the crowd easily enough through glamour and shapeshifting,” Salem offered, adding to the plan we were developing. “Daenyss could too, but people will probably be expecting her to be by your side by now for your big introduction.”

“True,” my chosen consort agreed. “And my nose is sensitive enough that I’ll be able to pick up whether anyone is concealing a gun.”

We discussed things for a while after that, nailing down the details of the plan. When we were done, my sister and my High Priestess went to scout out the area around Robyn’s home for any possible sniper perches. Lillith also offered to place a half dozen Succubae around Robyn’s home to act as guards and protectors until after the press conference, something that helped both Robyn and her protective boyfriend to relax somewhat when Venika took them home. The rest of us went to bed so we would be well rested for what would come tomorrow.

Lissany, Nishalle, Lillith and I returned to the safehouse early from our lessons with Thor, Sif, and Loki after going through our usual lessons and training sessions with the three Norse Gods. Lissany trained with Thor on combat training and learning the finer points of being a protector God while Loki trained Nishalle in things like sensing treachery and deception, using those skills herself, and generally fighting dirty where the Gods are involved. As for me and Lillith, we were back with Sif, who was trying to help us create larger holes in our auras for when we wanted intelligent conversations with people.

Part of the reason that we returned so early was so Daenyss had some time before the press conference to ensure that I was looking my best for such an important public appearance. Aside from the threat of attempted assassination, this was probably going to be a historic press conference. What I had to tell the people of the world about the current state of things since the Veil fell probably wasn’t going to go over well.

Even with the evidence of monsters appearing, the Changed, and the otherwise inexplicable events of late, many people were going to be resistant to what I had to say and would want to keep their heads buried in the sand regarding the existence (and return) of Gods and magick. Robyn’s movement might be gaining traction, but it was also gaining opposition in the form of religious extremists and people who would rather keep to the status quo. The fact that my people were still finding and raiding black sites and internment camps worldwide wasn’t exactly reassuring either.

The other reason that we returned early was because Loki, Thor, and Sif wanted to be there to observe the press conference incognito, and they wanted to get a feel for the area before it got too crowded. Loki was concerned that this might be a good opportunity for Zeus or one of his toadies to try and kill me while I was distracted with the press conference and the assassination attempt on me and Robyn. It was unlikely to happen with all the people and cameras that would be there, but I had some very desirable aspects, and Loki felt some Gods might risk it if they were desperate enough and thought it was low risk.

With that in mind, the three Norse Gods planned on being there to back me up, remaining unseen to mortal eyes, but any Gods would definitely notice their presence. They were hoping that would keep any other Gods from making a move if the crowds and cameras didn’t. The trio were all among the more powerful of the Gods since those Marvel movies, certainly more powerful than Zeus and other gods that had no worshipers. Their numbers of worshipers weren’t really anything to write home about these days either, but the name recognition and fact that people connected the movie characters to them had given each of them a significant boost in belief.

Once Daenyss had me all prettied up and wearing the sexiest and most eye-catching dress in my somewhat limited collection of clothing, I called Robyn. Then I had her and Rob ensure that the drapes in whatever room they were in were closed to avoid giving away my arrival and presence to anyone who might currently be watching her home. We still had a good hour before the press conference was due to begin, but that would give us plenty of time to go over our plans, and talking points, and to get our people in a position to watch for anyone suspicious and try to spot the snipers before they could do their thing.

That being said, Nishalle had some concerns about the latter. Last night she had spotted five different buildings that would put the snipers in range of the front gate of Robyn’s home and give them a firing angle on the proceedings. It wasn’t so much the fact that there were five buildings that was the problem though, it was that one of those buildings was a high-rise hotel with far too many balconies that could put a sniper in a good firing position.

Robyn phoned the Vancouver PD that morning to tell them she was concerned there might be a threat to her life at the press conference, but even though she had evidence (in the form of a copy of a certain recording provided by a concerned citizen), they had only sent a token force. The city police department said that they had their hands full with monsters and shit and couldn’t spare a protection detail, so they only sent a couple of cops for crowd control. So, unfortunately, it seemed that we were on our own for protection, not that I expected otherwise.

The best solution we could come up with at the moment was to have one Succubus each watch the rooftops of the four other buildings while wearing invisibility spells, and a few others scanning the balconies of the hotel in search of suspicious movements or any telltale glints for light on metal. Other than that, our best bet was to work on our defense. With that in mind, a few minutes before Robyn and Rob were set to go outside so she could address the media, I cast both my Magick Armor and Aegis spells on her, myself, and our respective bodyguards for good measure. Since Daenyss would be at my side too, I cast the spells on her as well, just to be safe.

Lillith had her daughters in their positions to keep an eye out for snipers and watch over the possible sniper nests and Kinara, Salem, and Rei were in disguise and outside wandering the growing crowd. I could also sense the presence of the three Norse Gods out there as I asked Robyn, “Are you ready for this?”

The pop star took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and a moment later she looked confident and like she didn’t have a care in the world. It wasn’t the first time that I saw her slip on her performance mask like that, I had seen it a couple of times while we were playing Apocalypse Dawn after all, though her true face had been behind a glamour for much of that time. Still, it was a little shocking to see the mask and the act slip into place in front of my eyes, and I wondered how much practice she had at that. Was it something she had developed when she became famous, or was this false confidence and ‘everything is fine’ act something that she developed while still living with the abusive addicts who had the nerve to call themselves her parents?

“I should be asking you that, I’m used to this kind of thing after all,” she replied with a laugh. Though her acting was good, I could sense the nervousness in that laugh. She was used to public appearances, not assassination attempts.

“Robyn, I’ll have your back out there and protective spells are already in place on both of us. We’re both going to be fine,” I assured her.

Yeah, I know,” Robyn confirmed, taking another steadying breath as quickly turned on the television in the room and changed the channel to one of the local channels that would be covering the press conference live. “Okay, Taelya, so when you see me announce you, feel free to make your appearance like we planned.”

Rob and Robyn left together and, a little over a moment later, I saw Rob opening the gates to Robyn’s property in the fading early evening light so they could address the waiting press. Robyn wasted no time. “Good evening, I have called this press conference this evening to bring awareness to a cause that has become important to me during recent weeks, the rights of the people that the media have been calling the Changed.

“Miss Reyes! Why Changed rights? Are you or someone close to you Changed?” one of the journalists called out.

Robyn laughed at the question and quickly dismissed it by responding, “I assure you, I am still one hundred percent human.” That was technically true, she was still human. Her abilities as a Bard were because she had a blessing from her patron Goddess, Cerridwen.

“As for people close to me, I have made some interesting friends since I started to push for Changed rights, but I took on the cause because somebody had to,” Robyn continued passionately. “Changed people don’t have a choice in what they become. They’re usually scared and confused about what’s happening to them and on top of going through an irrevocable change in their bodies and their lives, they are often met with distrust, fear, and mindless hate. Worldwide they are being dragged off the streets, imprisoned without due process for the crime of being different, and in some cases tortured and killed.”

“Why don’t they go home then!” somebody shouted.

“They are home,” the pop star stated calmly. “As I have said, the Changed were Human, and they still are on the inside. They did not choose to become what they now are. It is my understanding, however, that the Empress of Varüus’kiel is offering sanctuary to those Changed in need of a safe haven. I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Her Imperial Majesty recently and I am happy to call her a friend.” Robyn should be a Fae with her ability to twist words. She specifically said that ‘the Changed’ were human but Fae don’t count ourselves as Changed.

A pushing at my mind had me open my thoughts, and the voice of a familiar Succubae announced, ~There is a growing crowd of religious protesters, my Goddess. Rei sniffed a weapon on one of them. I am sending you what I see. I will keep an eye on him and if I think he is going to reach for that weapon or he so much as twitches, I will render him unconscious with a sleep spell until you are ready to interrogate him.~

The image she sent me was of an older, heavy-set man with oily dark brown hair and a messy beard who was wearing a bulky black and yellow bomber jacket. He was holding a sign that said, Exodus 22:18: Suffer not a witch to live. Rude. Some of my best friends were Witches. I didn’t see how it applied to either Robyn or me though.

“Thank you, Chalise, good work,” I sent back to her as I breathed a sigh of relief. That was one down. Well, not down, but spotted at least, and Chalise would be watching him. I wasn’t sure whether he was one of the protestors or just using them as camouflage, but it didn’t matter. Nobody was killing anyone today if I could help it.

I turned my attention back to what was happening on the television as Robyn was saying, “… and that is why it is my great pleasure to introduce my good friend, Her Imperial Majesty, Taelya nír Keshwaindyr: Chosen daughter of the Goddess Danu; Demigoddess of magick, the moon, the sea, nature, justice, love, sex, and doves; Empress of Varüus’kiel; ruler of all Fae; slayer of Tiamat the Dragon Queen; and Queen of the Heavens.”

That was our cue, so I ordered, “Form up everyone.” Lissany and Nishalle positioned themselves just to my right with Venika riding on my sister’s shoulder, Harley and Pete to my left, Daenyss just behind me and to the right, and Lillith behind and to the left. I quickly mentally tagged all of them and then spoke and drew the sigils of my teleport spell to place us at the gates of the property near Robyn and Rob. “Kaida liantuir tala siashe Robyn!”

There was a cacophony of surprised gasps when we appeared seemingly from nothing, and a few dropped microphones as well. Robyn cheekily asked my Attendant, “Did I get all of the titles, Daenyss?” as she stepped back toward us and handed me the wireless microphone she had been using. That was good because it meant I could give my address and answer questions without having to be close enough that my aura might turn men into drooling idiots.

Neither I nor my Attendant got the chance to reply to her cheeky comment because that was when a bullet smacked into my outer shield spell with a small and brief flash of light and a muffled *fwump* sound. It was right on course for my head before the spell stopped it and it fell harmlessly to the ground. Mere seconds later, another bullet struck the outer shield spell I had placed on Robyn with the same result.

“H-holy shit,” Robyn mumbled shakily as people started ducking and hitting the ground as if that would do any good against bullets from above. Honestly, I couldn’t blame Robyn for her reaction since I had to very carefully control my expression to look like I was calm and in control despite my suddenly racing heart.

~Apologies, my Goddess! He wasn’t firing from the roof like we expected but cut a hole in one of the windows a few floors down. I spotted his movement and flash of light on metal just before he fired, but I was not close enough to subdue him before he pulled the trigger,~ a Succubus sent apologetically as I opened my mind to her push. She sounded like one of the younger ones with her fervor.

Keeping track of thousands of Succubae was not easy, so I had been trying to start by getting to know those who were on duty when I could, and she was watching one of the office buildings. “Is he down now, Kismet?” I thought back at her once her name clicked in my mind.

~Yes, Goddess, though he may have a few broken bones and cuts from shattered glass.~ She did not sound at all apologetic about that part. ~I shall put him to sleep until you can interrogate him.~

~I took down the other shooter as well, my Goddess,~ another voice supplied. I thought it might be Pella. ~My apologies, it took a moment to spot which balcony he was on. He is unconscious now.~

“No need to apologize, these guys are probably professionals but we’re both still alive and you took them down as soon as you spotted them. Thank you, both of you,” I replied as warmly as I could with my thoughts as I continued to try to keep my breathing under control and slow my heart rate. In the deathly silence, I stooped down to pick up the pair of bullets from the ground. One was much bigger than the other. “Hey, Robyn, my bullet was bigger than yours, I think they like me more.”

“I think that means the opposite, Your Majesty,” Harley helpfully pointed out.

“Everyone, calm down, the excitement is over. Some of my priestesses have already found the shooters and taken them into custody,” I called out in my most commanding tone. Then I handed the larger round to my sister and asked, “Hmmm… What do you think, sister dear?”

Nishalle looked it over for a minute before rolling her eyes. “Looks like they tried armor-piercing anti-tank rounds this time. What, were they out of RPGs? Do they really think that more stopping power is going to take you down? It’s insulting.”

“It really is,” I agreed before turning to Robyn, who looked a bit shaken, to ask, “Are you okay?”

“I… yeah, thanks to you,” she said, taking a deep breath as she looked at the crowd who were starting to get to their feet, though some still looked around warily. I smiled at her and nodded since I had promised to keep her safe after all. Still, she took facing a bullet a lot better than some of those people in front of us who hadn’t been the target and I imagined that our time in Apocalypse Dawn had something to do with that. Like she said last night, we had faced more frightening things together.

I took the smooshed anti-tank round back from my sister and casually tossed it to one of the reporters in the front, the first one to get to her feet and at least look like she was ready to get back to business. “A little souvenir,” I offered. Then, once everyone was back on their feet and realized that the shooting had indeed stopped, I turned my attention directly to the cameras and microphones and smiled. “Does anyone else want to try to kill me today? If so, you should probably get it out of the way because I have a lot to address here today.”

Near the back of the crowd, where the protesters were gathered, a large man in a black and yellow bomber jacket collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap. ~He twitched, my Goddess,~ Chalise reported.