Epilogue

The pretty young woman sat at a table on the edge of the restaurant's outdoor seating area. An attentive female companion poured tea into a cup for the young woman. FBI Agents Laura Prespon and Evangeline Desent walked up to the table and sat down without invitation.

"Ladies," the young woman said with a smile.

"You're the Tenth Seat of Power?" Laura Prespon asked. Her voice was laced with a small amount of disbelief.

"I prefer Angela," the young woman replied. "Melissa, please serve the ladies some tea."

The Agents studied the female companion.

"She looks much younger than she did with Michael," Evangeline said to Angela.

"It doesn't matter," Melissa said after pouring two cups of tea and putting them in front of the Agent. "Michael won't mind the small deception. It was really for Karen's benefit anyway."

"Lying to him was for HER benefit?" Evangeline asked. "He thinks you're an old lady and so does Karen. It's bound to be an issue if someone tells them."

"Don't threaten my Mistress," Melissa said in a low voice.

"I'm sure neither of these ladies is that crass," Angela said. "Or am I overestimating your courtesy, ladies?"

Angela shook her head slowly when neither Agent replied.

"Why aren't you carrying your side arms?" Angela asked the agents.

The two women made instinctive grabs at their holsters. Missing holsters!

"You will also find that I allowed the surveillance van, but the snipers are home in bed," Angela told the agents.

The two women looked at the top of buildings on the opposite side of the street.

"I'm going to forgive it today, ladies," Angela said. "But please remember, I have power you can't begin to understand."

"You don't even know how to threaten properly," Melissa told the two women. "I already know Michael won't have an issue with what I thought was best for our first contact."

The agents stared at Melissa.

Melissa sighed. "He's had a number of opportunities to talk to me. Karen doesn't close the chat window. He could have chatted with me, believing that I would never know."

"How do you know he didn't?" Evangeline asked.

"A Maker commands," Melissa replied. "Karen talks to me as an equal."

"It doesn't mean Karen will take it well," Laura said.

Melissa laughed--a musical sound, which made passersby smile at her.

"Karen is a Vessel," Melissa said to the agents. "One very much in love with her Maker. She would do anything for Michael. Nobody in the world truly understands that except another Vessel. I understand Karen! She understands me."

"You have an answer for everything," Laura said to Angela.

"I didn't climb to the Tenth Seat by being letting details slide," Angela replied. Taking a folder from her bag, Angela put it on the table and slid it towards the two agents.

"What's this?" Evangeline asked.

"You should have offered Michael help when Cathy was injured," Angela said seriously. "They could have used a burn unit."

"He warned us to stay away," Evangeline said.

"No," Angela said. "You stayed away because your boss was hoping Cathy would die."

The women didn't reply.

"That idiot is already thinking that maybe a couple less Vessels would serve the United States of America well," Angela said.

"We have our interests to think about," Evangeline said.

Angela nodded. "The last time this government framed its interest against Makers, you got the attention of two Seats. In their spare time, they started the American Civil War. Your leaders paid a one hundred Vessel tribute to the Energy Wizard Shiun Shi. If he hadn't gotten involved, this country would be several nations instead of one."

"That's a lie!" Laura said in a hard voice.

"I could make every politician in this country speak the truth and ONLY the truth," Angela said. "Think about how much damage that would do and then consider this ... I am only the Tenth Seat on the ruling committee. The boy has the power to claim the Second Seat. Make no mistake--the difference between the First and Second Seat isn't about raw power either."

Angela took a sip of her tea before speaking again. "You have faced two Seats who didn't really care about your attack on Makers. They felt obligated because you killed a pair of their apprentices. Raise your hand against a Vessel and every Maker will turn their power on this nation until we are assured it will not rise again."

The two agents stared at Angela.

"Michael killed the girl's Vessels," Laura said.

"They were at war," Angela said. "When a Maker feels another Maker has lived long enough, we send a note or start killing their Vessels. If you want to go war with Michael, kill one of his Vessels. Unfortunately, since you're not Makers it would be taken as a declaration of war against all of us. Vessels are our kind's most precious possessions."

"I suggest you try to kill Michael instead," Melissa said. "He'll probably only kill you and your boss. If you kill Karen, he's going to get destructive."

"He's very good with shields, not so much with blasting so you might get a few shots in," Angela said. "His preference for defense is surprising."

"Why?" Laura asked.

"I would think a boy with that much power would just shoot and shoot and shoot," Angela replied.

"We didn't know Vessels could be super-charged..." Evangeline said to Angela.

"Neither did we; nor that his Vessels could achieve a higher level of physical superiority than others. Karen is a monster even by our standards." Angela said with a smile. "It explains why Energy Wizards are so good at dueling."

"You can't charge your Vessels the way he did," Laura said, sitting up quickly.

"The boy can't do much," Angela said. "But every type of Maker has things other classes can't do. Every one of us can shield and blast. It makes sense that the boy would have a few tricks the rest of us could not replicate. "

"Are you sure?" Laura looked from Angela to Melissa. "Have you tried?"

"He manipulates magical energy directly," Angela said in a patient voice. "That's what he's doing to them! He's changing the energy somehow. For me to do it, would be like trying to boil water by pouring it in a toaster."

"How could you not know about activating Vessels?" Evangeline asked Angela.

"The Maker Histories are heavily edited," Angela replied. "There are almost no details about Energy Wizards in them."