Sons (Book 2)

by Scott V. Duff

  “But it puts me in a big predicament,” I said, admitting a small frailty. “In a terribly complicated political way, I still have considerable protection under the Accords as Lord Daybreak. Any overt act of war out of Faery and I get to call foul, activating the Oath on whichever of them I trace it to. I retaliate and take her land and mantle—something that is not supposed to be possible but I’ve done it once already. Then I just roll over the other one.

  “And the best part is, being unaccorded means I get to use much more relaxed rules in defining acts of war than they do,” I said, grinning. And more slowly, “That makes them very, very paranoid and very, very worried. So at the moment they are leaving me alone, but that was just a few days ago. Here, we are protected behind a very strong veil that seems to be impervious to just about anything. Over there, I have some protections in place in several places.”

  “You’re rambling,” Kieran interjected.

  “Low blood sugar, I’ll bet. Feed monkey body,” Ethan said and acted like a rabid comic chimpanzee behind us. A deep roll of laughter rumbled through the gym in two crescendos. The second one could have been because I was blushing.

  “All right, all right, I’ll finish up,” I said, looking back at Kieran, grinning at me. “This gives you an idea of where we are. As much as Gilán needs me now at the early stages of its development and I need to be here for it, I do have other responsibilities. So when you’re over there, try to speak of Gilán as little as possible. Be as discreet as possible. Avoid any possible references to planet. Commanders Byrnes and Velasquez will be training on some techniques that will allow you to more effectively handle communicating through the geas. If you see something you don’t understand, ask questions. From there, we’ll figure things out. Now, I believe your Commander has a few words then maybe a little something for putting up with the speech-making.”

  That got them riled up, in a good way, yelling and clapping and stomping. They were still riding kind of high on ambient magic now. It made a lot of them look very boyish to me. Stopping the projections and giving the Guard a broad wave, I turned and was the last to shake hands with Byrnes and Velasquez as we left.

  “They’re officially all yours, gentlemen,” I said as shook hands, speaking through the geas as well to be heard through the noise. “As soon as I can, we’ll meet to discuss your candidates for Armor Master. Have a good evening, guys.”

  Ethan shoved videos in the air above me of Presidents walking quickly to cars, planes, and helicopters while waving to crowds. After a few seconds, he started interspersing images of impossibly perfect food. Smells played an overriding factor in his dreams of supper as he let that sense drift past the food and into the waving and now running Presidents. When he threw in the prat-falling comedians, he almost tripped me up.

  “Where are we going?” I managed to ask once I stopped Ethan’s barrage.

  “Sean invited us for a late dinner,” Mike said from the front of the line. “I got the feeling he needed a break from Darius, so I said we’d at least stop by depending how late it got.” He stopped at the pool entrance so everyone gathered around him.

  “Sounds fine to me,” I answered. “Why don’t y’all go on up? That’ll give me a moment to talk with Kieran and Jimmy. Shouldn’t take but five minutes or so, promise.”

  “You? Only talk for five minutes?” Peter exclaimed. “Since when?”

  “Shut up!” I cried defensively, causing a small laugh.

  “In his defense,” Jimmy said, thoughtfully, “he didn’t talk this much until he came back with you.” He smiled innocently at Peter’s shocked face as the laughter doubled. The hall went abruptly quiet when Peter acted in a fake huff and shifted the five of them to Darius’ front door. My little energy anomaly sat up and took notice, but stayed lodged in the walls a few yards away where it had followed me.

  My rowdy crowd down the hall got rowdier. “Ted and Ric are selecting their officers to talk with tonight,” Jimmy said, looking back down the hall. “They’ll be breaking up in a few minutes.”

  “I’m outta here!” Kieran said abruptly and almost sprinted for the front door. When we caught up with him, he leaned against the wall just outside the Garrison doors. My little anomalous follower settled into the wall about four feet to the left of his elbow. “So, little brother, how are you?” he asked, concerned. “You’ve been pushing yourself hard for a while now.”

  “Me? I’m fine!” I answered, disconcerted. “Just busy. Why? Am I asking too much of y’all? Do you think we need to change directions?”

  “Slow down, Seth,” Kieran said, taking my shoulders and staring me down. “I concerned that you are working too hard, that’s all. You told them to take time to get used to their magic, but you’ve hardly taken any time for yourself. So I am doing what you would do and asking how you are.”

  “Really, I’m fine,” I said honestly. “If what you’re asking is how I’m dealing with the Faery magic, the answer is the same way I’ve dealt with any magic—I’m figuring it out as I go along. The two are very different and blending them is… odd. And the awareness it gives me is astounding, but I’m learning how to temper buffers to keep it from being overwhelming. For the most part, Gilán takes care of itself.”

  “Okay, that is an acceptable answer,” he said, sliding an arm over my shoulders, smiling. “But really, slow down and more than just dinner once in a while. It’ll do you some good. Now what did you want to ask about?”

  “Oh, I discovered a very faint energy signature following Jimmy and me around,” I said. I was going to explain more, but that excited Kieran. He threw arcane senses out in a great sphere forty yards out, reaching into depths I didn’t know existed. There was a reason he was teaching me.

  “Is it still here? I’m not seeing anything suspicious,” he said, eyebrows tightly knitted and squinting in concentration.

  “Yes, it’s in the wall about five feet to the left of the door, three feet up and an inch in,” I answered calmly. “It looks like a very pale congealing of Faery magic and it seems to interact with the Palace easily. But I have no idea what it is.”

  “I understand Ethan’s dismay,” he muttered, staring at the wall now. “What do you mean it interacts with the Palace?”

  “It triggered the gate mechanism when I opened the Armory door,” I said. “When Jimmy was pushing on a force field that held an aversion spell, it exerted a good amount of power, doubling that spell around him to make him back off.”

  “That’s what that was!” Jimmy exclaimed. “I knew there was something wrong with that wall.”

  “And two very good examples of interaction,” agreed Kieran. “It is made of your magic… Is it intelligent?”

  “Depends on your definitions, I guess,” I said, shrugging. “But the only thing that makes it appear that way is the fact that it’s following us, so I’d say no.”

  “I have no idea,” he said slowly, sighing heavily and scratching along the day’s growth on his jaw. “And that worries me. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it. Have Ethan watch it, too. Maybe he even knows what it is. He’s seen much more than either of us ever could.”

  “True,” I said, remembering the bits and pieces of Ethan’s life I actually witnessed in his memory, incomprehensibly small when viewed over the whole of his “lifetime.”

  “So what are your plans for tomorrow?” he asked, moving for the Road but not dropping his attention from our tail.

  “Nothing much, really. A day of visiting and spending time with people,” I said, moving to walk beside him. Jimmy stayed back a few paces to give us the air of privacy. “See Mom and Dad, the Cahills. That sort of thing. Monday’s going to be busy enough without loading Sunday up.”

  “Good,” Kieran said, obviously pleased. “Find some time in there to relax and have some fun—play, stretch that monkey brain of yours some.”

  “Oh, he’s been doing that,” Jimmy said behind us, chortling. He pulsed the Road to speed us up.

  Grinning back at h
im, I waved him up beside us and said, “By the way, Jimmy, I want to say how proud of you I am for the way you’re handling all of this. You’re managing the changes in your perspective beautifully and dealing with the changes that the magic is making quite well. And all without losing your mind and personality. That’s quite a feat.”

  “Thank you, Seth. That means a lot to me,” Jimmy said smiling sheepishly.

  We walked quietly for a moment, just enjoying the company. Kieran reached out gently and touched my elbow and quietly said, “You’re it.” Then he tore off running as fast as he could, leaving me wondering what that meant. When Jimmy passed me laughing, I took off after them. I don’t know what Kieran was worried about. If there was one thing that we knew how to do, it was play!

  ~ ~ ~

  “Good morning, Gordon,” I said, stepping in the door to his office. “Do you have time to talk?”

  “Seth! Yes, good morning,” Gordon said, rising from his desk covered with piles of paper. When he came out from behind his desk, he was wearing white tennis shorts with burnt orange, short-sleeved polo shirt. Gordon never dressed that casually.

  “It’s good to see you. Did I actually introduce my First on Thursday?” I asked as we shook hands.

  “No, but we talked a bit later that night,” Gordon said, reaching out for Jimmy’s hand. “First, good morning. What are you two up to today?”

  “Nothun’, much,” I said. “Kieran’s worried I’m working too hard, so I’m just going around visiting people and seeing if I need to do anything later in the week. You on the other hand look incredibly busy.” I pointed to the piles on his desk.

  Gordon glanced back reflexively, chuckling. “Oh, that. It’s not as bad as it seems. I was just going over household accounts. The three larger stacks on the right are yours anyway.”

  “Wait, what? For me? From whom?” I asked confused.

  “In my estimation,” Gordon said, the humor evident in his eyes, “mostly crackpots wanting wishes granted or offers of marriage to daughters—plural—but there are a number that are normal, diplomatic letters of introduction and invitation. We just collected them; we didn’t cull them out.”

  “At least we hired assistants in time,” I said, staring blankly at the three stacks on Gordon’s desk, thick and compressed by their own weight.

  “Gordon, I can’t find any inform—S-Seth,” Bishop stammered on seeing me, eyes darting to Gordon furtively. “Good morning, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I didn’t realize you were here.” Flashes of Darius Fuller ran quickly through the top of his consciousness, even as he fought to bring up stronger barriers into place.

  “A few hours, actually,” I admitted as I stood and shook his hand. “I’ve been visiting my parents for a while now. Purely a social call, so please don’t let me keep you from anything important.”

  “No, not at all,” Bishop said, avoiding his original topic. “Just following a rumor, nothing important.”

  Jimmy snorted. “You’ll have to do better than that, Mr. Bishop. Even I saw through that one.”

  “First,” I warned, admonishing him mildly. “There is such a thing as personal space. Let Bishop have his misconceptions.”

  “True, sir,” Jimmy argued politely. “But a man at his level of politics should know when he’s not convincing to even a boy of eighteen. I was doing him a favor!”

  “He has a point, Thomas,” I said, grinning. “If you can’t convince two redneck kids from the woods of the Deep South, what hopes do you hold for the savvy of Europe and Asia?”

  Gordon erupted in deep, booming laughter at Bishop’s expense. Flushed and embarrassed, Bishop shook his head in mild frustration. Bishop offered us a nearby couch as Gordon controlled himself, glowering at him when he stumbled into a chair, joining us.

  “What? It was funny,” Gordon whined in his defense, shrugging at Bishop’s glower. “Those two as ‘redneck kids’? It’s absurd.”

  “Yeah, Seth, you’re more of a ‘cracker’,” Jimmy said, snickering. “Getcher ethnic slurs right.” Gordon boomed again, though I was pretty sure he had as little idea of what a ‘cracker’ was as I did. Bishop thought it was funny, too, but refused to show it, opting to show a vague disdain.

  He waited a moment while Gordon regained composure, then said, “There was another attack.”

  Apparently, I was supposed to react more than I did. Bishop and Gordon exchanged odd glances when my only response was, “And?”

  Suddenly suspicious, Bishop drew in a breath and said, “On Thursday morning, while the rest of the US Council Members traveled here, just in case you changed your mind and allowed them in, Darius Fuller’s home was attacked by a large, extra-military force. Reports are saying that he and his son were there at the time. Fuller was unavailable to his corporate assistants for the day, but spoke with two of the three the next morning, briefly. Then at about ten thirty, Mark Phillips, his director of security, called and informed them both that Fuller would be away for the weekend at an undisclosed location. Darius, his son, Sean, and Phillips have been missing since then.”

  “I’m sorry, Thomas, but I’m not sure I’m seeing the problem here,” I said with a light laugh. “How exactly are they missing when they said they were leaving?”

  “Darius Fuller travels with an entourage of security and assistants,” Bishop said. “And there is no evidence that he went anywhere. His Council is quite concerned that something has happened to him.”

  “I assume the attack was unsuccessful,” I asked coyly.

  “By accounts, yes, for the first time, it was completely unsuccessful,” Bishop answered, impressed. “What little we’ve been able to ascertain indicates that Fuller’s wards were able to stop the invasion along his outside boundaries.”

  “Not surprising,” I said, shrugging some. “They’re nearly on par with the castle’s when the right people are in charge. Not quite as pretty though.” Gordon grinned with pride.

  “And just how do you know that?” Bishop asked, intensely curious now.

  “A minor breach of Hospitality by his security before our dinner last week,” I answered. “I didn’t want to make a big deal about it so I just spanked them and set them in the corner instead.”

  Bishop thought for a moment. “How long did you keep their wards before they figured it out?”

  “I gave them back!” I cried, acting distressed and put out. “And it was only about an hour and a half.”

  “I hadn’t heard that part,” Bishop mumbled from behind his hands, trying to wipe the smile off his face.

  “Have to do better,” Jimmy taunted in high falsetto. Gordon and I both snickered.

  “Do you know where Darius is?” Bishop asked me.

  I couldn’t lead him on any more. “Yes, Thomas, I know precisely where the Fullers are and they’re quite safe,” I said gently, smiling.

  “You have them, then?” he asked pointedly.

  “I didn’t say that,” I objected, holding up a hand. “And that makes them sound like prisoners, Mr. Bishop. You did hear me agree to hold to the principles of the Accords.”

  Bishop quickly changed his demeanor at my change in his name, holding up his hands in supplication. “I mean no offense, Seth. I wasn’t saying you kidnapped them…”

  “I really didn’t think you did,” I admitted, “but I have to be careful about what I let be said. The Accorded are going to be very touchy about what I do for a long time and right now, I can’t afford to let them test me.”

  “How are you achieving that little miracle, by the way?” Bishop asked. “I thought that they would force all that refused to sign from access to this and all nearby planes.”

  “He didn’t refuse to sign, Tom,” Gordon said patiently. “You watched him do it.”

  “Signed twice, even,” I agreed with Gordon, nodding. “Their Oath wouldn’t hold me. But to answer your question, on a technicality and a very big bluff.”

  “A technicality? That’s what’s holding the Queens of Faery
at arms’ length?” Bishop asked in disbelief. “What could they possibly fear so strongly on a technicality?”

  “The first law?” Gordon said in a guffaw. “And possibly the second, as well.”

  “The first,” I agreed. “I’d have to be sidhe for the second to apply.”

  “What laws? The Accords are rules, not laws,” Bishop argued. “Even in the strictest sense, it doesn’t contain laws. The Fae will tell you that.”

  “No, the Accords have about nine hundred laws,” I returned. “What do you think was taking me so long in reading them?”

  “I did wonder… but I’ve read them and they were fairly direct,” Bishop continued to argue. “I still don’t recall laws.”

  “Sounds to me like you only studied the part that affected you,” I said, grinning. “Not that I blame you. Damnably boring reading. I almost fell asleep twice.”

  “Pfah, I fell asleep twice an hour when Da made me read them,” Gordon said, smiling at me. “If it weren’t for John, he might have strangled Marty over it last summer.”

  “Where did you find a copy?” I asked. “Those are jealously guarded, I thought.”

  “Legend has it, in a dragon’s horde,” Gordon bragged, beaming. “Saint Peter or Bernard or one of the snake-killing ones supposedly snatched it after killing a furious beast. A Gaelic translation of the parts that remained came under my family’s control years ago and we’ve kept it under lock and key since. If you say nine hundred laws, then it’s not as complete as we thought it was. Care to see it?”

  “No!” I answered, too strongly then laughing lightly. “Twice was enough for a while.”

  “Why twice?” Gordon asked.

  “The Queens changed the documents I was signing,” I said. “I had to be sure I wasn’t signing something else entirely.”