Texas Charm, chapter 3 (Patreon)

An older man with a goatee and wild mustache and a woman with her hair up in a stylishly messy blonde bun joined Gambaro and the other two.  William Dubach and the last female council member. Zach recognized Dubach from the newspaper. He was always donating money to local charities.  “Well, the Egyptian adept showed after all,” Durbach said.  “You thieving little Arab.  I know what you did, cutting the council off from the accounts. Spending a little money to bring in doctors won’t win over the shamans around here. I’m onto you.”

Zach figured the only thieves were the old council, but he resented these shamans putting all the blame and all the credit on Salma. “The FBI has opened an investigation of council finances. It seems that federal money earmarked for health care and community training has gone missing.”

Gambaro took a step forward, clearly commanding center stage while the other council members stood at his back. “The FBI is overreaching.  Shamanic resources are spent at the council’s discretion.”

Art spoke up. “But they aren’t just shamanic resources.  Those funds were also supposed to support adepts and magic users. The courts have consistently held that magic users have a legal right to all the resources of a Djedi center.” Clearly Art wasn’t as uninterested as he had loudly proclaimed in the past.

“I’m uninterested in what the courts have to say.”

“Well we aren’t,” Diego Corredor said.  An enormous elephant seal appeared at his feet.  It arched up off the ground, its body pointed toward the night sky as it gave a gargling grunt that made the hairs on Zach’s arm stand up. “In fact, I like Adept al-Ghamdi’s idea.”

Behind Zach’s small group stood hundreds of shamans and adepts.  Close to eleven thousand shamans and adepts lived in the city.  Some wouldn’t be trained or wouldn’t want to get involved, but hopefully they had enough for this to work.

“Shaman Gambaro, Shaman Dubach.  Shaman Sandoval, Shaman Hernandez, Shaman Greenley,” Salma said, nodding toward each.

“So this is your little coup.” Gambaro sounded smug and amused. “I suspect that either Corredor or Lammas have decided to skip the rule requiring one-on-one challenge.”

“The community has asked me to witness your removal from the council.”

Gambaro had a dismissive expression. “No offense. I know adepts are touchy about their weaker Talent, but you don’t have the ability to remove even one of us.  So, if you would like to discuss resources, the council would be happy to hear your offer. Otherwise, get the hell out of El Paso and get your fingers off our money.”

In the face of all that disdain, Salma kept calm. “I am here as an observer.”

“We’re the ones who will remove you.” Diego Corredor took a step forward. The tension started to build and the crowd shifted nervously. 

Greenley answered him. “Corredor, you already challenged, and I beat you.”

“I’m not challenging.  All of us are telling you that we want you out.”

“You can’t do that,” Dubach blurted. Zach got the feeling the man didn’t hear the word ‘no’ very often

“I think we can,” Vinson said loudly, although he stayed safely inside the crowd. 

“I think I am going to kill your guide and the guides of anyone else who stands against me.” Dubach bent his elbows and lowered his head like a bull about to charge.

“Enough!” Art’s voice boomed through the spirit plane.  “This is a fight, but there shouldn’t be any talk of killing.  I want to know if anyone here supports this council.” Art scanned the shamans and adepts. Not a single hand went up.

Salma said softly, “That is rather unambiguous.”

“Don’t you get your oar in my water, lady,” Dubach said.

Gambaro put his hand on Dubach’s arm. “William.”  The warning tone did nothing to temper Dubach’s attitude.

“The FBI came to my business and confiscated all my computers and files, and now these people think they can take my council seat.  I’ll show them all what power really looks like.”  A mist formed, flowing around Dubach until it formed a huge hippo. It opened its mouth and made an ungodly sound—a grunting, laughing roar that showed off all the yellow teeth going every which direction.

Suddenly animals stood everywhere.  Art’s black and white housecat planted itself in front of Art, his hair standing on end and his tail straight up and bushy.  Deer and foxes, dogs and pigs, small fish that swam through the air and a flock of mismatched birds all filled the spirit plane.

Dubach’s hippo charged into the crowd of animals, and guides fled, clearing a path.  Several guides jumped at the hippo from the side, including Art’s house cat and a parrot that screamed and scratched the hippo’s back. The hippo caught a fox by his thick tail, and a deer charged. When Dubach’s guide knocked the deer off its feet, a cloud of birds descended on him.

Screams and chatter filled the spirit plane as dozens or hundreds of guides all dove toward the center where the council’s guides stayed near Dubach’s hippo. The hippo brought his foot up to stomp on something so small that Zach couldn’t see it.  Some guide was about to die, and it was Zach’s fault.  He had encouraged people to take on these council members, and they were going to kill innocent guides and rip out the magic of good people who just wanted justice. Zach took a step forward, but he wasn’t sure what to do.  “Stop it,” he whispered.  The cacophony of animal cries swallowed up the sound of his words, and Zach screamed again, “Stop it! Stop them!  Stop the fight!”

Panic lodged in Zach’s throat.  Then Pochi was there, hovering in front of his face.  “Do something.  Stop this before someone gets hurt!” Pochi broadcast his confusion at Zach’s words, and Zach screamed again, “Stop them!” 

The hippo started to slide backward.  The great beast roared and shook his head.  The wolverine tore at the ground with his claws, but he was sliding backward as well. Pochi darted through the other guides, his body an occasional flash of iridescent green in the night. 

“Karen!” Gambaro bellowed.  Pochi darted toward Ken Gambaro, stopping just to the right and hovering in the air.  His tail feathers were spread wide like a fan and he had his legs stretched out in front of him like he was about to start clawing Gambaro’s eyes out. Even his chirping song sounded like hummingbird profanity.

“What the hell?” Greenley stared up into the sky, but her vulture hung there like a piñata, trapped in the middle of nothing.  

Dubach whirled around and pointed at Salma.  “You don’t have the right to do this.  You have no right.” Pochi raced over to Dubach and repeated his attack approach, although again he didn’t seem to be doing any damage.

“I do nothing,” Salma said.  Eventually the hippo and wolverine were shoved back into the middle of Dyer street.  Most of the other guides vanished, although a fair number still milled around the area.  “I believe the violence has ended.  Now we can discuss you leaving the council.” Salma sounded so cool that Zach had to wonder what sort of shamanic craziness she’s seen that this didn’t rattle her.

“I challenged for my seat, and I’ve never lost a challenge,” Gambaro said with a snarl. 

“I would not wish for any guide to die, but deaths of your guides are a possible outcome if you continue to fight.  If you do not refrain from attacking lesser guides, death may even be probable.”

“Boucher is behind this,” Dubach complained.  “He comes to town, and now the FBI is investigating us and this bitch is trying to take our council seats.”

“I have taken nothing,” Salma said with a sigh. “You are free to fight or to abdicate your positions.”

“So we give up or you destroy our guides and our magic?” Greenley demanded.

Vinson stepped forward.  “No, we will destroy your guides.”

Greenley snorted dismissively. “You aren’t strong enough.”

“Apparently, together we are.” Now that the fight was over, Vinson moved to stand next to Salma.  Zach wondered what his background was and whether he was going to end up taking one of the five open seats.  Zach’s campaign to get Art to challenge for a seat had failed miserably.

Gambaro’s voice turned friendly. “This isn’t right.  None of you are strong enough to take us on one at a time. So even if we did step down, who would take control of the council?  Are all of you going to agree on every decision you make?”

“We’ll set up a new council.  I’ll take one of the seats,” Vinson said quickly.  His words felt wrong—too sharp and almost gaudy against the starlit night. 

“The El Paso charter requires every person taking a seat on the council to challenge.  You can’t legally claim a seat without fighting,” Zach said.

Vinson whirled around to face Zach. “Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?”

“He is the advisor I chose.” Salma’s voice was rich with warning. “He is committed to Shaman Lammas, and he has a background in the American legal system.”

“I need to point out that I left law school before my final semester,” Zach quickly added.  He didn’t need someone filing a complaint because he had lied about his legal qualifications.

“We just overthrew the council, does the charter matter?” someone from the crowd shouted.

Gambaro smugly stated, “The charter is the legal authority, and no other council and no mundane authority will work with anyone else.  This accomplishes nothing.”

“Actually,” Zach said, “the charter speaks to removing a member. It has no provisions describing the removal of the entire council, which means nothing is technically forbidden.  Since the Egyptian authority has approved the need for a failsafe measure to serve the needs of the community, other councils and the mundane authorities will accept this.  As I understand it, the DC council has already given their blessing to this endeavor.”

Corredor stepped forward. “Seriously?  The DC council is the strongest in the US.  They approved of this? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because you needed to decide for yourself whether this community was worth standing up for,” Art said.  He slipped an arm around Zach’s waist.  Art normally wasn’t a big one for public displays of affection, but Zach appreciated the gesture, and he leaned into his partner.  “Zach, give them the legal mumbo jumbo.”

“Again, this is my opinion, which is based on a criminal justice BS and five semesters of law school, so feel free to get actual lawyers to review my conclusions. However, a coup is not forbidden in the charter, but it is illegal for someone to take a seat without challenging for it.  So, of those who are present, anyone can challenge.  I would suggest making a list of who would like to be on the council and then having challenges until five new council members are chosen.”

“I’ll put my name in for that,” Gambaro said quickly.

Zach gave the guy credit for chutzpah.  Luckily Salma handled the comment with her normal calm. “The community has rejected your leadership.  You will not be allowed to run.”

“I’ll run,” Corredor said.  He looked terrified, but firm.  His seal trumpeted and bobbed his head so his huge nose flopped.  His guide sounded more enthusiastic than Corredor himself.  Vinson stepped up next and then shamans from the crowd started speaking up, several wading through the crowd to reach the front.  Unless Zach was imagining things, even more people continued to arrive.

By the time thirty or forty had volunteered, all the council members had vanished except for Elaine Sandoval. She stood quietly off to the side as the first few shamans fought for council seats.  She didn’t comment or complain, but simply watched. Pochi came and settled on Zach’s shoulder, fluffing his feathers before pulling his head down so he resembled a feathered ball. 

Salma walked to Art’s side. “It goes well.”

“It feels like a circus,” Art said dryly.

She smiled.  “Yes.  I had expected more of an abattoir.”

Zach snorted, and Art tightened his arm.

“Will you challenge?” Salma asked.  She kept her gaze on the goat and capybara fighting.  Zach knew the challenge had more to do with magic than any inherent skill at combat, but it did look strange to see the capybara wrinkling his nose and clicking while the goat charged him over and over.  Despite the fact that the capybara’s attack seemed to consist entirely of enduring multiple hits from the goat, the goat was tiring, and the capy was still clicking away.

“Me?  Hell no,” Art said. Zach wouldn’t mind taking one of those seat himself.  Pochi could easily defeat any of these guides, but that didn’t mean Zach knew how to handle the authority.  He’d never been part of the shamanic community.

Since that wasn’t an option, Zach wished Art would step up and take one of the seats.  When Zach had been human and vulnerable to magical damage, Zach understood why Art avoided developing too many shamanic skills.  He’d appreciated Art’s caution, especially since shamans sometimes lost control during sex and would damage mundane partners—and the stronger the shaman, the greater the risk.

But now that Zach was a shaman, Art had the freedom to develop his Talent. He knew the community.  And Zach trusted Art’s ethics. 

“Salma’s got this under control.  Let’s go home,” Art said.  Zach was about to protest when he blinked and found himself sitting cross legged on the floor of the guest room.  Zach sighed and looked around for Pochi, but the little traitor wasn’t anywhere in sight. Sometimes being a shaman was less fun than Zach had always assumed. It involved a lot of frustration.

Chapter 1: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-6-19034447 

Chapter 2: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-2-19050307 

Chapter 3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-3-19066252 

Chapter 4: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-4-19087127 

Chapter 5: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-5-19132901 

Chapter 6: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-six-19159661 

Chapter 7: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-7-19179823 

Chapter 8: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-8-19190078 

Chapter 9: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-9-19201497 

Chapter 10: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-10-19220764 

Chapter 11, 12: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-11-19228890 

Chapter 13, 14: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-13-19244456 

Chapter 15: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-15-19264338 

Chapter 16, 17: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-16-19276375 

Chapter 18, 19: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-18-19290091 

Chapter 20: https://www.patreon.com/posts/texas-charm-20-19301548