Sons (Book 2)

by Scott V. Duff

  “Oy, suh, I can only get twenty-eight,” the butcher grunted at us when we were close enough. “Will that be ‘nuff?”

  “Yes, just less room for error,” I said. “Kieran, would you mind loading this while I get the cheese?”

  We had another pleasant twenty minutes in the market in England shopping for bits and pieces of necessities for my building menu. Talking about nothing in particular, we touched on a large number of topics that interested both of us and we learned and bonded a little more. He paid the astoundingly large bill—they didn’t card him for the alcohol, either.

  “You said we were cooking dinner…” he said once I shifted us to my crowded kitchen.

  “What? We can’t have sous chefs?” I said, grinning. “Lt. Brinks, how’s the stock for the dumpling soup coming?” He was stirring a large stockpot on a nearby stove, steam rising into his face.

  “Quite nicely, sir,” Brinks called loudly. “Another twenty minutes or so of reduction and it’ll be ready.”

  We moved around the kitchen checking on everything, then started on the main course together. Peter and Ethan came in early and I put them to work with Ellorn, opening wine in the dining room while Kieran and I went to wash up. Jimmy escorted my parents from their apartment, but I met them at the door.

  The pleasantries of greeting belied the tensions I felt from everybody. This needed to be done, though, because I needed the back half of the story soon and my parents were the people who knew that side. So I did what people have been doing in tense situations for centuries. I plied everyone with alcohol and salty snacks to get them to drink faster. It had only a faint affect by the time dinner was served, but it was better than nothing.

  I started talking during the salad course about what we found out what happened from January until Kieran found me in the forest and Kieran and I were having difficulties explaining Ethan’s nature with the dumpling soup. But they were both amazed that he “ate” the elven version of mage-fire to save me and still existed to talk about it. Shrank appeared and flitted about the room, verifying his parts of the story. The destruction of Colbert’s offices and Kieran and Ethan’s abduction and rescue with Peter took up most of the main course. They weren’t too happy with Jimmy, though, but I didn’t stress his story yet.

  Dinner was excellent, even if the conversation spoiled it somewhat. The wine flowed freely and even with emotions high, it served to cut some of the tension. I suggested a short break in the re-telling to let everyone move around and re-oxygenate their blood and limbs. Everyone pretty much headed for a bathroom.

  I was waiting for Mother to come out, idly playing with the plants leaves, when Dad came up beside me with a fresh bottle of beer. He sighed slightly and quietly said, “I don’t quite understand why you’ve chosen to put so much trust into two people who did you so much harm in the beginning.”

  “Ethan never meant to hurt me, Dad,” I answered just as quietly. “When he first came into this universe, he was barely cognizant and massively hurt, but he still had enough reason to know he would burn me out, too, if he just latched onto me like he did the animals. I know it seems like he violated me—it felt like that to me, too, in the beginning—but it was all he knew to do. And frankly, he’s paid a heavy price for it, so I really don’t see how you can hold it against him.”

  That shocked him. “What price, Seth?”

  “When his master sent him after Ehran, his world was dying,” I said softly. “He and his kin were formed to protect his world from intruders and they stood for thousands upon thousands of years. But they all died on that day. His only thoughts were then to protect the ‘Way of the Word’ as his master commanded him just before he died. He lost an entire world. Then he comes here, works desperately hard to help me get the two of you back, but still loses you and Mom in the bargain. And he feels the same as I do about you. He’s lost two families in as many months. So, yeah, Dad, he’s paid a heavy price.” I was quiet but emotional, verging on angry.

  “It broke my heart when he walked into the Cahill’s infirmary and called you ‘Dad’,” I told him. “He feels pretty much the same emotions that I do, and I gotta tell ya, I don’t know how I’d take it. Seeing the two of you basically come back from the dead and get treated like a stranger by you? In so many ways, he’s me, Dad. Can you imagine what that’s like for him?”

  My father stared hard at me for a moment with a look I hadn’t seen from him before. “No, I really can’t,” he said. “But he is a stranger to us. You can’t expect us to just accept him as a son, Seth.”

  “Yes, I understand that,” I said, trying to return to relative calm. “But you could stop treating him like a red-headed stepchild. Try being a little friendlier to him. He’s forming his own personality and you might find you actually like him.”

  “All right, Seth, I can do that,” Dad said gently. “Just don’t expect miracles.”

  “Good. Jimmy will make more sense a little later,” I said. “Then you can be disappointed in me.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible, son,” Dad said, putting his arm on my shoulders and pulling me close. Mom came out of the bathroom then and smiled when she saw Dad hugging me. She glided across the floor to us, sliding in beside me with her arm around my waist.

  “Dinner was excellent, dear,” she said. “Truly exciting dinner conversation, I just wish you weren’t in the middle of the harrowing adventure. You are planning on continuing a little further, aren’t you? It’s still early here, isn’t it?”

  I smiled down at her and realized I how much I had grown in a very short time. “Yes, ma’am,” I said. “I believe I’ve arm-twisted an hour or two out of them. Ellorn has some drinks setup before the dome. Would you like to walk?” Steering gently to the Road before she could answer, I kept going, “The moons will be rising in a few minutes. It will give us a beautiful view of the valley.”

  Adjusting the Road’s speed as we walked, we chatted aimlessly about several things. We all disengaged somewhat to make walking and talking easier. I paced us to ten minutes before we got to the apex of the curve. Ellorn stood beside the way to the glass dome pouring a mug of coffee from a glass press.

  “Coffee, Lord Daybreak?” Ellorn asked, holding the mug out to me. “Coffee, Mr. and Mrs. McClure? Or if you prefer, there are brandies, port, sherry, as well as tea and water available.”

  “Ellorn makes out of this world coffee!” I said, accepting the mug. Mom asked for a cup of tea and Dad asked for brandy, a name he didn’t expected me to have on hand, so he was little surprised when Ellorn reached under his cart and produced a bottle while the tea was steeping. We entered the glade before the dome just as the lavender moon crested the mountains to the southeast, passing behind its nearly giant bigger, bluish-gray sister at breakneck speed. Our perspective made it appear to be a close brush of astronomical bodies, but they were separated by more distance than it appeared from here. The larger moon lit the valley with a beautiful blue glaze.

  My brothers popped out of the woodwork and took up seats around us while Ellorn delivered drinks to everyone. We settled in, admiring the view for a few more minutes, then Kieran took up the story again with me pitching a snit-fit in the warehouse after shooting the bat-thing. How he used “snit-fit” and made it sound righteous confused more than just me, but Peter and Ethan both tried to take up for me and couldn’t figure out how. I caught the irony of his name, though, and started snickering.

  “Di metta tovoic, eh, Ehran?” I asked quietly in the Common Tongue, still snickering. I was calling him a master of doublespeak, a snake-oil salesman. Dad burst out laughing at the slur, with Ethan and Peter a few beats behind him and much more quietly. Dad thrust out an accusing finger at Kieran.

  “That’s what you were trying to say!” he nearly shouted, laughing. “You were only nine and just learning the Common Tongue. I could barely hear you in the forest and your pronunciation was horrible. Remember? I bet you don’t!”

  “When wasn’t I accusing you of tha
t?” Kieran asked, grinning. “I believe I actually called you a metta’s valet or something. You talked me into coming to New York on the premise of going to the Met then backed out. I remember and I’m surprised you do!”

  Mother giggled softly. “Like father, like sons.”

  “I pretty much set myself up for that one,” I said quickly to beat them to the jibes, smiling at Mother.

  “By definition, my Lord,” Jimmy said in a low rumble, chuckling. “You’ve been both a valet and a diplomat.”

  “At least I’ve done one of those well,” I said, smiling slyly. “We’ll find out tomorrow about the second.”

  “It’s going to work, little brother,” Peter said, sipping on something made with coffee and chocolate and coffee liquers with a hint of cherry. “Now, Kieran, I believe you were making Seth look like a petulant child at the gates to the Games…”

  “Ah, yes,” Kieran said taking the hint to carry on. “Shrank played a big part as advance guard.” The pixie darted through the planter and lit on his shoulder in a small puff of golden sparkles. He nestled into Kieran’s shirt collar and listened with the rest of us. Kieran talked all the way through to the dinner and St. Croix’s challenge. Ethan took the next part, surprising us. We hadn’t expected him to take part at all really. And his perspective on events was interesting to hear. His attention span was fairy-like at times, flitting from one thing to another quickly and randomly, and at others, amazingly fixed and orderly. His description of the argument between Kieran and me about fighting in the Arena was told as an amusing character study for both of us. He even pointed out that particular interest in how we looked to outsiders. He carried through all the way to the field and stopped, turning it over to me, skipping over Peter.

  I spoke clearly and quickly about the battle, describing how Kieran and Ethan were immediately pinned down with destroying the mass of regenerating Loa creatures. Time had made the fight easier to talk about for us, but Mother was still very uncomfortable hearing of her father’s death. She knew she was the center of attention, even as everyone watched me as I spoke. The relief as I passed that point was obvious and moved on to Peter’s near-death experience. Mother transferred her worry for me killing St. Croix to Pete. Ethan and I entered a rapid fire retelling about the Loa and healing Peter, then finding a way into his psyche to rebuild his linkages to mind and magic. Ethan and Kieran interjected softly with the faery interference, intentionally talking over me and giving a feeling of the way it was.

  Dad laughed at the thought of the High Princesses flying o’er the ramparts. Mother didn’t understand why that didn’t kill them or why the other elves didn’t attack. I waited for Dad and Kieran to stop laughing to explain to Mom, then continued talking about Peter. As I talked about my decision to rewrite everything I could in sequence instead of the handier rewrite Peter’s psyche presented to me, I also talked about how scared it made me. Peter got up from his chair and ruffled my hair as he passed behind me.

  “I think he did well enough,” he said cheerfully. He stepped further down the aisle and met with Ellorn, asking for a cup of coffee and handing off a half-empty bottle of beer. Jimmy stood up and walked around the circle of chairs, asking quietly if anyone needed anything, then followed Ellorn out. Peter passed him on the way in, carrying two brandy snifters. He handed me one and curled a leg under him as he sat on the arm of my chair. “Ellorn is making more coffee,” he said in a whisper.

  Ethan picked the story up with getting us off the field and into the locker room. He talked about seeing the expansion of Peter’s magic as being a door opening into another room. Like it was there already, he just had to open the door. Peter woke to us standing in the room, still groggy and lying on a table. I’d been watching the Queens and MacNamara and sparring verbally with Kieran, which Ethan mentioned in due course. Dad had another laugh at Kieran’s threat to the Queens. He sobered a little, then asked Kieran if he had been bluffing. Kieran burst out into fits, but nodded in answer and suddenly Dad was laughing again. Mom was wondering if she married into insanity, I could see it on her face.

  Ethan kept on through the second battle, even describing Harris’ defeat by Ferrin in humiliating detail. Peter picked up on the trip to Dublin and subsequently to Dunstan’s. He kept it short, but still insinuated the number of men I killed there and why, sobering everyone again for a short while. Until I killed Marchand’s car, then Dad was laughing again. We got another outburst when I dropped the school on Bishop and disappeared on him. Kieran stole the lead here to tell the Cahill side through my three-day disappearance and return, disturbing everyone again with my lack of memory of the event. I faked mine and had to believe Ethan’s was real. He spoke briefly of our argument, my rewiring his ward, and his decision to confront MacNamara, admitting it was a foolish move. Then he talked about getting Ethan and himself sucked into the folded universe and trying to fight their way out unsuccessfully.

  Peter spoke up again and talked about following me to London to the mall where I was shopping. I had to take over when he got to the point of being sent back to Ireland, though, and discussing the fight on the roof didn’t take long. We were riffing back and forth about Grammand in short order. I probably spent more time on Felix than the actual battles or the earthquake. Pete grinned at the mention of his threatening note crushing my determination to leave the Cahill’s immediately after waking up. I talked about the change in timbre of everybody’s attitude in the castle. The heavy toll the war struck the Cahills twice already, even in victory, had made everyone eager for a more decisive role when Gordon stepped up and forced his way into the raiding party while Mike just eased his way in.

  When we started on the battle for the Arena, Dad started getting tense and listened carefully to us, searching for some unknown detail. Peter told how they watched over me when I couldn’t, distracting the elven king with repeated attacks on his elves and his person. And how I watched over the three of them, creating huge swathes of destruction in the elven lines when I helped Mike and Gordon. Words started failing us when it came to the abomination of the geas the Rat Bastard committed in his rage.

  With that moment past, Ellorn came in with fresh coffee, Jimmy behind him with more tea for Mom and several glasses of water and other refills on a tray. They moved in quickly and quietly, making the trades without interrupting me as I sent Gordon and Peter back to the Cahills in preparation for dying at the Rat Bastard’s hand. Dad got a chuckle, as tense as the situation was, when he found I’d renamed the Rat Bastard somehow and it wasn’t just a euphemism.

  “You pretty much know the story from that point,” I said, “Except for a few not so minor issues. Whoever is fighting against us is using forms of magic that we aren’t generally familiar with. So far, we’ve encountered the Loa, blood magic, and now Druidic magic that most of the world had thought long past or far below its real power base, not to mention an elven liege that no one knew existed. The blood mages we found because of Jimmy Morgan.” I had to steel myself for this part of the conversation, where I steal Jimmy’s soul.

  “My turn!” Jimmy said excitedly. He took us back a few weeks to the day they left me in the forest, filling in a few gaps I’d left about the Black Hand’s presence there, as well as his father’s and his complicity. Then he told of their downfall because of the failure to deliver me, and how he camped outside my house to ask for my help. He talked about how eerie it was watching the three of us turn all together and face the watcher’s apartment at Richard’s, then shred the building into a giant fireball while invisible. When he talked about the Walker’s house, his enthusiasm died a little. He effected an odd lonely quality as he talked about his family farm by being dispassionate about it.

  I took over on entering his parent’s bedroom, the feeling of nothingness, the heavy dust everywhere, the darkness. Until Jimmy turned the lights on in the house and the desiccated bodies of his family were suddenly visible on the bed and nailed to the wall. “Our first real experience with a blood spell was the
attack on Jimmy,” I told them, “and none of us felt it until it triggered on him. It happened incredibly fast and fed on the terror on the scene, but the spell was eating him from the inside out, literally. The spell took his identity first, then his family next, and was working on his body by the time I halted it by breaking the relationship it depended on. I called a previous marker to the spell and took him. My compulsion sat at the base of his body and soul were the blood spell hadn’t gotten to yet, so I pour myself in until that detestable magic was gone. When I pulled back, the First of Gilán was born and he was whole again as he fell to the ground from the memory of the torture they put him through.”

  “He thinks he’s done me a disservice in saving my life,” Jimmy said, smiling. “While I miss my family, my mom and sister especially, look at what I’ve gained!” He spread his arms over his head as his aspect overtook him, but if he realized the valley and the moon loomed behind him so eloquently, I wasn’t aware of it. It was masterful serendipity and quite beautiful at the same time.

  Dad understood now why I trusted Jimmy so completely. He heard the proclamation of sidhe but had not understood it. He thought Jimmy was something like Ethan and sort of hanging around me, not bound to me. And now he was making the connections with the Guard, finally realizing the faery part of the story affected the human side, too.

  “That’s… never happened—” Dad started to say.

  “He’s never happened, either,” Kieran muttered, gesturing at me. “And he’s not done yet. We went looking for the magician that did this to the Morgans and we found him in the first place we looked, along with a few hundred other surprises.” He talked about finding Yaeger’s farm and shutting down the military and the blood mages. Dad saw me cast a much more difficult magic a million times over so the idea of a complicated compulsion on four hundred didn’t bother him in the slightest, but our offensive against the va-du-seet was hard to describe. Mom and Dad couldn’t differentiate the energy plane from the astral plane. Neither Kieran nor Peter knew of it before I showed them. My parents’ depth of perception wasn’t acute enough to see the difference. We’d have to figure something else out, then.