Sons (Book 2)

by Scott V. Duff

  “The technicality?” Bishop urged impatiently.

  “If either attacks me in any way,” I said slyly, “I get to call it an act of war.”

  “’Any way’?” Gordon asked, surprised by the generalization.

  “Being unaccorded, the rules are far less strict for me than even you,” I said. “A slap in the face or even a poison dart aimed in my direction is enough.” Gordon laughed heartily again, Bishop with him this time. “It’s not fool-proof. I have to catch them and make a charge through the Oath, but it’s a huge deterrent. Until I’m faced with that problem, though, I gave them a honkin’ big present and I’m playing very nicely with them.”

  “It didn’t look that way Thursday night,” Bishop said, winding down. “That looked threatening to us.”

  “You don’t stand between two dragons like a doe-eyed deer and survive,” I said chuckling. “You at least have to pretend to be a bigger dragon.”

  “You are a little doe-eyed most of the time,” Jimmy said. He earned a solid slap in the gut from me for it, too. He inched down the couch, grinning at me.

  “So are you living here, now, Thomas?” I asked Bishop, changing the subject.

  “No, but it has seemed like it lately,” Bishop answered. “You and this war have taken up quite a lot of time and all of it has been centered here for the last week and a half. Except for your trouble in Alabama, how’s that going, anyway? Still mad at Harris and Darius, I take it?”

  “Darius and I still haven’t talked about that,” I responded, “but we will, and we’ll come to an understanding, whether we agree with each other or not. Harris and the Marshals, though, have had their last chance with me. ‘Mad’ does not do my feelings for them justice in the least. Harris has continued his vendetta even though I’ve saved his life and done him considerable favors. He won’t be able to regret the next time our paths cross.”

  “And your prisoners? Where did you take them?” Bishop asked.

  “To Gilán,” I said, knowing where he was going. “The government and I came to an agreement on Friday about that. They don’t know what to think about us, I’m afraid.”

  “Like any of us do,” Bishop muttered. “For instance, why were you willing to take them, but not ours when we asked?”

  “You weren’t about to shoot them just for breathing,” I said. “The Army was, and while I can think of a few different actions I could have taken now, removing them from danger was my only concern then.”

  Gordon and Bishop exchanged disturbed looks. “Shoot them?” Gordon asked.

  “Yep, covert actions was in charge of the ‘rescue’,” I said with air quotes around the last word. “Rather than risk public outrage and embarrassment, they felt they could massacre everyone, including us I think, and clean up the mess later. Why do you think I’m so mad at Harris? Wittingly or not, he was at the root of it.”

  “That’s appalling,” Bishop said.

  “Yes, well, I can’t speak to his motives, of course,” I said, growing tired of the subject again, feeling that Bishop had led me long enough. “Gordon, I’ll send Mike and the guys over to grab all of that out of your way. And hopefully, we’ll be able to get an office setup this week and keep it out of your way.”

  “Take your time, Seth. It’s no bother, really,” Gordon asserted. “Stop worrying about the little things. They’ll drive you crazy.”

  “You’ve seen my faery, Gordon,” I said standing up to leave. “All I have to worry about are little things.”

  “Any chance that you and your brothers can join us at a meeting on Wednesday in London?” Bishop asked standing with us. “Our analysts should be finished by then and we’ll be discussing tactical defenses with a number of different Councils. And since Darius has been so successful, we’ll see if we can’t pull him away for the US.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem,” I said. “I’ll have Mike or David call about the details. Till then, we still have a few people to see before Kieran raises curfew. See y’all later.” I shifted us to my room in the castle and tapped the ward to let the current bearer know I was leaving. Then I had to figure out what to do next.

  Jimmy fell back on the bed and asked, “Curfew? It’s one o’clock here and Kieran doesn’t care when you get in as long as you’re not working, which you were.”

  “Not really. We were just talking and I kept it short,” I said, opening the closet and inspecting the few remains. Looking at what Jimmy was wearing, I realized we needed more “earthly” clothing. “I guess we should go shopping. Let’s go see if anybody else wants to go to London.”

  “London?” Jimmy asked, sitting up excitedly. “Cool!”

  Chapter 43

  It was a beautiful telescope, eyepieces and lenses shining in the store’s display case. High-definition camera attachments with motorized mounts were displayed next to them behind the counter.

  “How have you not been descended on by salesmen?” Peter asked as he walked up behind me, rustling of paper and plastic bags.

  “Because they’re all in back packing up what he’s already bought,” Jimmy said from the head of the next aisle. “They were betting his card wouldn’t go through.”

  “That one’s too big for me, anyway,” I said, turning away. “It’ll be years before I’ll get to that point and who knows what they’ll have available by then.”

  “Okay, that’s a good way to look at it,” Peter said smiling. “As long as you’re getting a few toys for yourself along the way. Kieran’s right, ya know. You’ve got to slow down, too.”

  “Mr. McClure?” said a slightly paunchy man as he came along the counter toward us. “Sir, are you certain you don’t want us to hold this for you until you can arrange for a truck? It’s quite a lot…” Four salesmen pushed handcarts loaded with boxes from the back room behind him.

  “No, thank you, really. We have people for that,” I said mildly. “Jimmy?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jimmy answered, putting the field glasses down and going to the first cart. “I’ll take that.” Then he said quietly to the man holding the cart, “But can you imagine what the bill would have been if you hadn’t ignored me?”

  “We’ll leave your carts at the front of the store once we’ve unloaded,” I told the department manager, taking hold of the next one as he tried to follow Jimmy. “Pete, would you mind?”

  Peter tossed his bags on top of the middle cart and moved in between the second and third, forming a train between us. Mentally pushing their interests towards their commissions, I started us after Jimmy and shifted the boxes over to my office slowly as we moved, intending to ditch the carts as we went. Jimmy took the last cart from Peter before we got three aisles down and shifted the contents en masse, so I did the same thing.

  “So where are Kieran and Ethan?” I asked, heading for the exit.

  “They were heading for the sporting goods store,” Peter said. “Darius suggested golf to Kieran as an avenue into corporate America. I warned him that it’s terribly boring.”

  “Of course, it is,” I agreed. “It’s hitting a ball with a stick. He’ll want to make it bounce through all eighteen holes on one swing.”

  “And do it, too, I’m sure,” Jimmy muttered.

  “Ethan’s considering hang-gliding,” Peter said, grinning.

  “Great, jumping off the side of the mountain on a kite. Like no one’s gonna imitate that one!”

  “Hey, Seth? What’s that?” Jimmy asked, pushing his perspective through our link. He showed me three men near an access hallway, two taller men with their backs to us talking to the third. Both the taller men were blurry around the edges.

  “A glamour,” I answered. “Haven’t seen one of those for a while. Jimmy, pull your power over slowly, until you can see the elves underneath it. It shouldn’t take much.”

  “Elves?” Peter said, shivering and turning to look, too. “Damn, they still give me the creeps.”

  “I know what you mean, brother,” I agreed.

  “Oohh,” Jimmy drawled
. “I see them now. They look different from the other ones.”

  “Those were High Elves, royalty in most cases. These are ordinary elves,” I explained, trusting the background chatter and music to muffle our conversation. “Whatever’s happening really isn’t any of our business. We have no reason to interfere.”

  “Why can’t we watch?” he asked, following again.

  “You mean ‘spy’ on them?” Peter asked.

  “Well, yeah,” Jimmy said. I scowled at him over my shoulder, remembering feeling the invasion of privacy when I found him perched in that tree, staring into my bedroom window. He may have been desperate, not perverted, but it was still damned creepy. “Yes, sir,” he said, humbly, understanding my look.

  “Did you find anything worth buying?” I asked Peter as we rode the escalator down.

  “We all bought a few suits off the rack to be altered at home,” Peter said cheerfully. “Most of us have been on our own so long that we’re taking care of ourselves. The house brownies are racing us to get minor chores done. Maybe we can give them something to do…”

  I shrugged as we turned the corner. “If they want to do it…”

  Peter pointed at the door to the open storefront of a bookstore. “Anything you want while we’re in here?”

  “Some hot chicks?” Jimmy offered. “Everyone we’ve seen was either way too old or way too young or way too… much.”

  “Don’t be so shallow, Jimmy,” Peter said, chuckling, as we wound our way through the aisles looking for Kieran and Ethan.

  “Mm-hmm,” Jimmy leveled his attention at Peter. “Says the man whose been drooling after Lt. Dixon for the past week.”

  “I have not!” Peter protested, flushing immediately.

  “And Daybreak’s brother, no less,” Jimmy continued, his grin growing more sly by the second. “I bet he’d be willing to do anything you wanted. An—y—thin—ggg.” Jimmy started laughing when I snickered and turned away.

  “You’re dog meat, Morgan,” Peter threatened. Jimmy darted sideways in search of my brothers, laughing at Peter’s threat. I wandered idly over to some picture books of foreign lands on display.

  “So why don’t you?” I asked Peter casually when he came over with a cart, so I started piling books in.

  “Why don’t I what?” he asked innocently.

  “Go after Dixon,” I said, picking up a short stack and dropping it in the cart. “He’s one of about thirty who’re interested, ya’know, and a little casual sex would do you some good. Not that I’m saying to make him do anything for you.”

  “Blows that average,” Peter muttered.

  “Not really,” I laughed. “There’s just Kieran and Ethan to compete with, all the perceived ‘Untouchables.’ Now answer the question.”

  “Ewww! It would be like you watching, or worse, being there! No! Too strange,” Peter said squeamishly.

  “Uh-huh, that’s the reason,” Jimmy said from between some displays across the aisle from us.

  “Shouldn’t you be pushing this for him?” Peter asked, shoving the cart hard into his gut, doubling him over.

  Laughing at Jimmy, I said, “You asked for it. Did you find them?”

  “Yeah,” he grunted, still grinning but pained now. “Ethan’s in Games and Kieran’s in Romance.”

  “Romance?” Peter and I exclaimed together, exchanging disgusted looks.

  “I have to get you guys laid,” Peter muttered. Jimmy applauded the sentiment openly behind him, drawing looks around us.

  “All right, let’s get your minds out of the gutter,” I said, blushing. “Where’s Science? I need some history on solar system mapping.”

  “Light bedtime reading then,” Jimmy said sarcastically, following us through the aisles. “You sure you don’t want to join Kieran in Romance? Kick up a little interest in bodice-ripping?”

  “Settle down, Jimmy,” I said quietly but sternly as I turned down the aisle marked with the signs I wanted. Astronomy was obvious by the overly large star charts and picture books, but I needed observational history on recognizing planetary movements and such. “It’s not that I don’t want to desperately find more than my right hand, especially since Daybreak, but…” I exhaled sharply, exasperated. I didn’t know how to explain this.

  “Sex scares him, Jimmy,” Peter said quietly, rubbing my back gently, comfortingly. “It’s a very animalistic act and often it can be consuming and overpowering. You have a benefit that Seth doesn’t. You get to dump your strength and power on him—you get to become a man again. Seth has to remain in control at all times. Think about that for a moment. Greater physical strength than a normal man, his original magic, already extremely powerful, then add in Daybreak and Gilán, all held back by the will of one man. Give him time to get used to it.”

  “Ah, jeez, Seth, I’m sorry, man,” Jimmy said softly. “I’ll back off.”

  Lord Daybreak, may I have a word? Byrnes asked through the geas-link in his office in the Garrison.

  “Yes, please, Ted. Anything to change this subject,” I answered uncomfortably.

  The familiar pinprick of a shift came and Byrnes appeared beside me in blue Guard uniform. “Sir, Ric and I have pared the list of candidates for Armory Master down to five whenever you and First are ready,” he said without concern to his surroundings. “And training in the first two sets of geas communications and control have gone phenomenally well. Almost everyone has noticed a difference in speed and coordination physically and over half the men have noted an increase in strength as well… Is something wrong, sir?”

  “Um, I’m not sure, Ted,” I said, still gawking at him. “How did you get here?”

  He paused, quirking his head to the right slightly. “I thought you brought me over.”

  “Wasn’t me,” I answered. “Or the First. Had to be you. When you called me, how clearly did you see me?”

  “Pretty much as I’m seeing you now,” he said after searching his memory.

  “Can you see where you just left as clearly?” I asked. He nodded numbly. “Try moving there then back again.” Double pinpricks announced his success as equally as his presence. “Well done, Commander, we’ll make an elf of you yet. Is there anywhere else on Earth that you can picture that strongly?”

  He thought for a moment while Peter and Jimmy tried to control their snickering over the elf comment behind his back. Thankfully, he didn’t notice.

  “No, sir, oddly, I would think I’d remember quite a few places this well,” he said. “My old office and house, for instance. I lived in that house for three years.”

  “Not really,” I responded. “Gilán’s veil works differently than Faery’s. It’s more similar to the way portals work. You have to have a very clear three-dimensional connection to each position for the translation to take place whereas with Faery, it’s more of a continuum. They actually move through a dimensional membrane. We moved quite a few men through my house in Alabama yesterday while we were getting groceries. Can you see that?”

  “But I wasn’t one—” he stopped, remembering his men’s presence there. “Yes, yes, sir, I can! But I wasn’t there!”

  “Welcome to the world of Faery,” Jimmy said, throwing his arm across Byrnes’ shoulders. “Confusing, ain’t it?”

  “Seth,” Peter said to get my attention. “If the Guards can get the sense of a place that you can read, if you send them out to several innocuous places, say, around the country or even Europe, that could resolve some travel issues.”

  “True,” I said, intrigued by the idea. “And if we get enough points along the globe, we may even be able to extrapolate enough data to fill in the holes.”

  “That has always been disastrous,” Peter warned. “Local topographies don’t always match in expected ways.”

  “Also true,” I agreed. “But we have two things that no one else has had before that may give us a much greater degree of confidence in those predictions.”

  Peter snorted in disbelief and asked, “Those being?”


  “Ethan and me,” I answered. “Remember exactly what sits on the other side of the anchor.”

  “What anchor?” Jimmy asked.

  “Something you don’t get to know about,” I said mildly.

  “Maybe,” Peter agreed begrudgingly, thinking. “Maps, we need maps.”

  We were on a mission now. Splitting into pairs, Peter and I headed for maps and atlases while Jimmy and Byrnes went to the Travel section. I quickly began to understand my father’s fascination with maps. I had to remember to ask him if the brownies could copy some of the rare and beautiful examples he has. Being in London, we pretty much covered the world with maps, including the individual States.

  “What else might be helpful?” Peter asked thoughtfully.

  “Helpful to what?” Kieran asked, walking up the aisle pulling a cart behind him with Ethan beside him. Peter explained the premise we worked under and I talked to Ethan privately, postulating extra-dimensional models directly through the anchor. As he thought about what I proposed to him, he froze his body but kept tilting his head back and forth like a giant, slow motion bobble-head doll.

  Kieran jumped when he noticed. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked Ethan.

  “Seth has asked a very interesting and complex question,” Ethan said slowly. “I think it would be advisable in such situations to approach from a height in the smallest aspect possible, to inspect the possible entry point first. There is far too much chance of buildings, power lines, and such.”

  “That’s one way around the problem,” I said. “I think there might be others, but so far it’s just a thought anyway.”

  “And worth investigating, I think,” Ethan said. “Just realize it might take a few years to capture enough data to get the world.”

  “Again, just an idea,” I said, laughing and holding up both hands in defeat.

  “Which of you do I run over with this cart to find out what you’re talking about?” Kieran asked. Without planning it, we both looked up at him, innocent as puppies, and pointed at each other. He smiled then looked expectantly between us. “Well?”