James, The Crown Prince

by Daniel B. Harris

  The room started filling with my aunts and siblings and I pulled Seth to the side. I told him about Father’s idea and he was anxious to help. He didn’t get out much because his mother was very protective of her first-born. I knew that he was really going to have problems meeting a young lady. Being his big brother, I’d assist him any way I could, when the time came.

  I told him about the idea of using our remote viewing skills to locate the attacker. He thought that it was a great idea and he was anxious to lend a helpful hand. I told him that we should start tomorrow morning and that I’d appreciate it if he could get the word out that we’d want Davie to help. He agreed that the more ‘eyes’ out for the culprit, the faster we could find him, or it.

  Mother and Lynna joined me and Mother said that Lynna had agreed to let Ivy and the baby share her room. That way I could take care of Rose, who seemed to need comforting. My mother also informed me that she would insure there would be someone here to look after Star and Kemma overnight. I thanked them both and moved to stand by Lia and Seth. I expressed that we could start on our hunting project first thing in the morning and if Davie was sent over, all the better. I let them know that there were empty rooms on the other side of the stairway and they could take their pick, if they wanted to stay over. Then I excused myself and left to join Rose, who was busy making herself scarce in the corner.

  “Rose, are you feeling any better? I noticed that my mom was doing what she could to make you feel safer.”

  “The Queen is a wonderful woman and was very helpful. She said that if I wanted you, she would have you sent to my room tonight.”

  “My mother believes that the best thing that can happen to a wife or consort is to have their man visit them in their room. There are a dozen rooms that I can retire to if you aren’t ready for me to join you.”

  She spoke so softly that I could barely hear. “I’m not sure I would want to make love, if that would be all right. I’ve heard that you were different, but maybe you could hold me tonight? Seeing Star and Kemma like that frightened me horribly! I’d prefer not to be alone.”

  I put my hand gently on her shoulder. “I’d be happy to hold you and I’ll keep my hands, and anything else that you don’t want touching you, to myself.”

  “If it’s all right to retire to my room while there is still company, I’ll go get into my gown and my bed. Thank you for being so understanding, James.

  “You’re very welcome, Rose. You’ll learn that what I want from my girls is understanding and love. That goes both ways. I’ll be in when the rest of my family is situated.”

  She gazed into my eyes and nodding, left for bed. From the look, I could tell that some of her feelings towards me had changed and she was realizing that I really was as kind as Lia had told her.

  I made my rounds, kissing Ivy and my daughter, then Lynna and Lisa. The anger flamed within me as I kissed Kemma and Star. My eyes burned and I stood up, blinking hard, staring at a bunch of sympathetic faces. I bade everyone goodnight and exited quickly to Rose’s room. I stopped just outside the room, still in the closet, and fought back the tears and anger. I calmed myself with a few deep breaths and went inside.

  Rose had put out the candles, but was lying under the covers with the lamps still shining brightly. I smiled. “I could have found my way, if you’d dimmed the lamps.”

  “I didn’t want to be in the dark alone. I know that I’m safe in here, but seeing those monsters brought back nasty childhood fears. I’m sure I’ll be over it soon, but tonight it just felt better.”

  “I’m here now, and I hope you’ll feel safer. I’ll just take off my shoes and either crawl in with you or grab a blanket and lay on top of the quilt. I’ll leave that up to you.”

  “James, I’ve seen naked men before, so you don’t have to sleep in your clothes. And you’ve told me, and I believe you, you’re here to comfort me and not have sex with me. You can hold and comfort me better under the covers than on top of them.”

  I nodded and undressed, laying my clothes on the night stand where I could find them quickly, if needed. I crawled into bed and Rose put her head on my shoulder.

  “So when do you think that Star and Kemma will be better?”

  “It all depends on the person. My father was out for three days once when he drained himself. I was out for ten hours once, from the same thing. I just know that we have to keep the noise to a minimum when they come to, because they will have horrendous headaches.”

  She sighed, “I’m sorry this happened to them, but I’m glad we’re getting the chance to spend time together. It’s nice to lie next to a man and not have to take orders and do the things they want. I don’t miss the pub at all, even with all that’s happened.”

  “I’m very glad that you’re here, too. You seemed out of place in the pub and much too pretty to be there. I owe Lia for bringing you to me, and I don’t mind the debt at all.”

  She indicated that she was going to dim the lamps, so I smiled and dimmed them for her with a wave. She leaned over to kiss me, then stopped as if waiting for permission; I pulled her to me and kissed her gently. She rolled facing away from me and kept my arm under her neck. She glanced back at me and asked me to put my other arm around her so I could hold her. I rolled to my side and cuddled up next to her. She felt very good in my arms and I made sure that my lower body was away from her. I feared that putting myself against her would cause an argument between my organ and my word.

  She sighed and whispered, “Thank you for caring for me, James. I’ve never laid with a man who really cared for me and not what I could do for him.”

  “I hope to love you as I love the other ladies in our family, and the best way for me to do that is to respect you. What you can do for me while lying in bed will hopefully be shared by both of us, when the time comes. I always try to make sure my partner experiences as much pleasure as I do.”

  She snuggled back into her pillow and slid back against me. I was wedged into a very comfortable position and my word started taking a beating. I lay there, smelling her hair and looking at the curve of her neck. An erection will give away a man’s thoughts quickly and she wasn’t slow. I refused to do anything about it and l laid there trying to get it to go away. Rose could feel my fight and decided that she would help by wiggling more firmly against me. She looked back over her shoulder. “Is it all right if I change my mind?” she asked, and she moved my hand to her breast.

  “If this is what you want and not just because my body betrayed how sexy I think you are, then you most certainly may change your mind!” She let me know that I was released from my nasty promise that had taken a beating. I kissed her on the neck and gently brushed her nipples through the soft, smooth fabric of her nightgown. I remembered that this was our first time and would call for some magic. I spun up the sexual magic and listened for the effect. She sat up abruptly and pulled her gown over her head, pulled me to her and kissed me breathless. I slid my hand down between her thighs and went to work with my fingers while I nibbled and tongued her breasts. She was panting and pulled me on top of her, spreading her legs and wrapping them behind my thighs. I looked her in the eyes, memorizing her beautiful spirit, and slid into her. She wiggled and squirmed beneath me and I held on tightly. I felt a powerful orgasm take her and I held her though the shudders, and then began thrusting. She began gripping and spasming around me and with pillow-muffled cries, we climaxed together.

  I laid across her and expressed, “Thank you for a very enjoyable experience. She divulged, “I’d said that I had engaged in carnal pleasures as a job. I never made love before tonight. When I was working, I never had my body do anything like what I experienced tonight and I should thank you. Thank you for taking me away from there and showing me what sex with someone you care about is like. I’m very quickly falling in love with you, James. I’ll work hard on my magic so I can catch up with the other girls. That way, I can fly with you when you leave. I know that times will come when I can’t be with you, but I already
want to keep you close.”

  “Work and practice, but the good news is that the flying spell is a lower level spell. Depending on how Alba decides to train, with all that has happened you should learn it in about a week. Now I suppose I have to get off of you so we can go to sleep. I hope you can sleep well, now.”

  She sighed. “I’m so relaxed that I’ll fall asleep whether you move or not. Goodnight, James; I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight, Rose. Sweet dreams.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The next morning, I woke with the sun and went to check on Star and Kemma. They were being tended to by my fourteen year old sisters, Helen and Mallory. They were Aunt Nineve’s and Aunt Constance’s daughters and we’d never been terribly close. When I entered, they informed me that there had been no change, and the concern they seemed to feel for both the injured girls and their big brother touched me. Perhaps because of this adversity, I could become closer to some of my family members I had neglected.

  I knew that all of my siblings who had worked on the remote viewing skill would be asked to help out, so I went to the spare suite and set it up so we would have a place to sit and work without bothering Ivy, Star or Kemma. I knew the tools I’d be working with if the sibs that I expected showed up. I could drift along and spot landmarks; with some focus, I could zoom in to make sure the area was clear.

  Alec was called the wanderer, because he never liked being in one place for very long at all. He could get an idea of the kind of place he’d like to find, and the magic would show him areas that might fit the bill. When he found one that he liked, he could zoom in and examine it in detail. Little Davie was only ten, but he handled himself like a young man. He could see where he wanted to go and had been working on a way to have the magic locate specific images. I didn’t know if that would help a lot, since we didn’t know exactly what we were looking for. He was surprisingly powerful for a ten year old, and that alone would make him an asset to our circle.

  And then there was Lia. She had been using her viewing skill as a means of perfecting her pranking skills and to help her locate general mischief in the kingdom. She could be walking, talking, and scouring the countryside all at the same time. That would be immensely helpful, because I knew that she loved the injured girls and would continue the hunt even after the rest of us had stopped for the day.

  The wild card that I didn’t know that much about, and I felt guilty for not knowing as well as I should, was Seth. He was Della the Naiad’s son and his mother was a bit over-protective. He was fifteen, less than a year younger than I, and looked Davie’s age. I’d been told that because of his Naiad heritage, he was quite powerful. Father had suggested this group, and he knew his business when it came to his children. He’d always made it a point to spend as much one-on-one time with them as was possible.

  After the room was set, up I went back to mine. I sat and visited with Helen and Mallory, learning which boys I should check out. They didn’t put it that way, but when they would mention a boy they thought was cute, my brain translated ‘cute’ into ‘someone who had better have a spotless reputation’! I’m the big brother and that comes with certain responsibilities; namely, making sure any young man my sisters might be attracted to is absolutely perfect. It’s a hard job, because they must never know that I’m involved. That makes it more fun!

  Finally the locater team, who must have gathered at Wizard’s to come over, quietly filed into the room. I advised Helen and Mallory where I would be taking the group, and asked that they pass the information on to whoever came to relieve them. I also let them know that if they had to leave before someone showed up, they could come get me. I hugged and thanked them for helping out and showed my four other sibs to the room I’d set up.

  We discussed what we knew and it was very little. We knew that all the attacks seemed to come from the north and came straight down into my province from the country of Itus. We knew that all the attacks had come from creatures that Aunt Della had called ‘revenants’, undead creatures which fed on magic. The creatures were created by either necromancers or a creature called a ‘lich’. None of us had any idea what either of those were or what they looked like. If we had, then Davie could have led us right to them. I seemed to be the primary target of these attacks and that had been determined by one of the creatures calling me by name. We decided to focus our search on the fifty miles north of Eredwynn into Itus. We’d start at the coast and work our way west. We joined hands and everyone, with the exception of Lia, left the castle, for all intents and purposes. We sat there staring off into space like the zombies we were looking for.

  We sat there for hours, oblivious to our surroundings, using our mind-to-mind skill to check locations and ideas. Lia finally broke in and thought, I suggest we mark our spots. The maid just brought in lunch for us and when she saw you men, wondered if you were okay. I told her that you were just daydreaming about women you’d never have and she left. Anyway, food’s here. We marked the spots that we’d worked our way to and broke contact.

  We ate and then wandered around the castle for a while to work out the kinks. I checked on the girls and the consorts were caring for Star and Kemma. I kissed Ivy and Jilcey, then went back and joined the searchers. We linked up again and continued until dinner. We finally called it quits for the day and they promised to return in the morning. Seth, Davie and Alec ported out, leaving Lia and me to go to my room and have dinner with the girls.

  Shortly after lunch on our third day, Seth broke in on the mind-to-mind link: Mark your places and join me. I have no idea what I’m seeing. We focused on Seth through the link and were all instantly jealous! While we were examining an area and looking from five hundred feet, the view that Seth was getting was closer to five thousand and was as clear as ours. When we were all in his mind, so to speak, he pointed out a black area. There was no reason for the area to be black, no cave, trees or anything else that might throw a shadow. The area was completely impenetrable and we’d never seen anything like it. As we moved closer, Lia got nervous, which caused us to be anxious. Before we could move into the blackness, she broke the link and pushed her chair away from the table.

  “I’m not going in there, and that’s final. I don’t know why, but that place scares the starlight out of me!” she cried.

  I shook my head at the suddenness in the break of the link. “Are you okay, Sis? I sensed that it was unfriendly, too, but didn’t feel as strongly as you did. Can you describe it?”

  She sighed, relaxing now that the link was broken. “It felt like death, James. Like it was a hundred revenants all piled into one. I almost felt like it could tell that we were looking for it and it didn’t want to be found.”

  Seth nodded. “I felt that, too. It felt like it could see us through the remote viewing. It was disturbing because it just looked like a blob of black.”

  Davie asked, “Do you think that we were seeing some kind of anti-magic shield? Could it be something meant to confuse our viewing?”

  I shrugged. “Dad says the only thing impossible in magic is believing that something is impossible. Now, how are were going to find out what is there without running the risk of getting turned into revenant material?”

  Alec volunteered, “I’ll go. Seems like my kind of thing, anyway. I could port in a few miles out, shielded and invisible. Then I could walk in from there. If I saw anything dangerous that might threaten me, I could port out and be home in a blink. I travel to new places all the time like that and don’t think it would be a problem.”

  We mulled it over, and although we didn’t think it was the best idea in the world, it was the best one that we could devise. There was also the fact that once Alec decided that he was going to do something, he’d usually do it. With that in mind, we all linked up again, minus Alec. That way, we could monitor his approach until he got to the blackness. We were all uneasy about the plan, but Alec was quite sure that he wouldn’t have any problems, so we watched.

  Alec appear
ed, visible through our psi ability, in the swampy land and Seth zoomed us in, so we could see detail for a hundred yards around him. He made his way through the soggy landscape like the expert adventurer he was. He scared up a few alligators and a beaver or two when he splashed through a soggy spot. He was quite jumpy, but didn’t blast any of the wildlife, like I might have. The closer he got to blackness, the more uneasy we all became. A mile from the fringe, the swamp around him started bubbling and boiling! He boosted his shield strength and watched. Revenants exploded out of the water, blocking his way, some attacking as soon as they cleared the surface. From our point of view, he was suddenly gone. Through the link, Lia cried, “He’s here!”

  We released the link and he was standing by the bed in the room. He appeared a bit stunned and his magic had been drained about halfway. Any longer in that crowd and he would have been dinner! He pronounced, “Well, we can be pretty sure that whatever is creating those things and sending them south is coming from there. The problem is going to be getting past all of those monsters to do something about it!”

  I agreed. “Yeah, and Father has given me strict orders that I’m not to go chasing after it by myself. I’m sure that would go for you guys, too.”

  Lia added, “You don’t have to worry about me going! That place gives me the creeps and I’m a couple hundred miles away!”

  Davie just shook his head and shivered, and Alec declared, “They slapped me pretty good and I was shielded and invisible. They must have some way to see, similar to the way you guys were watching me. If they can see magic, and through magical invisibility they must have some sort of psi ability, too, I don’t exactly like the idea of a fair fight when it comes to these guys.”

  I added, “I guess the only thing we can do is gather the family and the instructors. We will have to attack this thing with a force unlike any other in Eredwynn’s history.”

  They agreed and said that they would take the report to Father. He wasn’t one to rush into things and would take our information under advisement. That usually meant he’d talk to all our moms. We called it a day, and they headed back home to relay what we’d seen. I went to my room and let the girls know what was going on. I told Rose and Lynna that if and when we went to fight this battle, I wanted them to stay home. Rose, because as someone who didn’t use magic, she really couldn’t do a whole lot; and Lynna, because she was pregnant and fairly new to magic herself. I got no argument after I revealed to them Lia’s reaction. They had no desire to be around that place, either.