Sons (Book 2)

by Scott V. Duff

  His desk, though, dominated the room. Even through the plants it looked monolithic. More of a complex of desks, the backside was a floor-to-ceiling beige granite wall from which the two-foot base was built. The rest of the desk was a lightly stained wood with two large drawers on either side and one long, skinny one in the center. A normal-looking if overly large desk, it was hugely deceptive for the number of hidden storage cubbies and drawers that could be summoned to the surface. It was a fascinating structure that couldn’t possibly function without magic. And on the beige granite was a finely detailed map of the entire Palace Island with an exploded map of the Palace. Tiny dots of light marked every person moving within the Palace with the exception of the Family Wing.

  We were halfway through the room when I got a clear view of the map. Grinning at Ellorn’s back, I pointed at it and said, somewhat sarcastically, “You don’t need that! It’s a total vanity. What’s he been teaching you?”

  “It’s not vanity, Lord,” he said sheepishly, glancing over his shoulder and blushing. Picture it, a twenty-ish, innocent-looking, blue-haired man in a granny shirt that barely went to his knees, blushing and smiling at you with a child-like grace. “There will be times that I will need a symbol of my authority without showing true power. This is a simple act.”

  “Look!” Jimmy cried, pointing at Ellorn and grabbing my shoulder excitedly. “His ears! The tips of his ears turn blue when he’s embarrassed!” He snickered as Ellorn stepped into his desk, trying desperately to ignore Jimmy. I was able to suppress all but the slightest of grins.

  “Lay off, First,” I whispered. We couldn’t be too impatient. Ellorn had already cut out two thirds of his walkabout. Rushing him now was mean, even when I really needed to.

  There were four chairs in front of his desk, set in pairs across the aisle into the pit. His desk spanned the ten-foot distance, but as he ran his hand along the top lightly at the center, it split into two separate parts by sliding and swinging panels around. I thought he’d make quite a formidable image with his aspect ablaze, unmaking his desk to storm through it in an angry fury. The granny shirt had to go soon. We met him in front of his desk, leaving him its sanctity even though we all had the same absolute sense of the room. He led us past a utility kitchen, then a bathroom. That left one door at the front of the room tucked away in the corner.

  Ellorn pushed open the door and entered the foyer of his suite, starting immediately down the hall separating the formal dining room on the left from the den on the right. He went straight for his bedroom. The décor changed from room to room and these rooms were carpeted with runners and area rugs. He favored bright color changes and simple bold patterns except in his bedroom. Here he went for deeper, cooler colors more soothing to him. The bed with a with a cabinet headboard sat in the center of the room facing the door. It was the only furniture in the room. What made the room beautiful were the murals.

  On three walls, murals of different sizes depicted scenes from around Gilán. The left one was the valley in front of the Palace from the ledge on the mountain where I took everyone that first morning. This was several days later and showed hundreds of sprite and brownie clans playing and learning. The right wall was more intriguing, not only because I hadn’t seen it before, but because it was a sunrise over the eastern coast off a sub-tropical southern shoal. This was as close to Savannah on Gilán as he could get and he’d picked a beautiful image to commemorate. The sun just pierced the horizon over the foggy coastline. Light dappled off the water on the waves and the grasses blew lightly in the wind while insects buzzed around and hinted at life below the waterline.

  The third wall held another image I hadn’t seen, a sunset between two mountains from a distance. Two of the three moons rose on the opposite sides and provided a contrasting coloration to the descending star. Next to the mural was a locked door, one of only three doors in Ellorn’s bedroom and the only one locked.

  We followed Ellorn along the fourth wall to the entrances to his bathroom and closet. The fourth wall, though, broke the mural pattern and captured my attention. Hundreds of drawings were fixed to the walls, brownie-sized drawings in various styles and methods. The center of the wall revolved around me, and then my family and me then other brownies at work and at play around the Palace and in the valley below. There was a depiction of their arrival, the Great Claiming, Kieran singing at the Emissaries’ Meeting, me facing down the Queens, and Ilan yi Braedon’s healing. All the important acts that had occurred on Gilán. Of more interest to me though were the outskirts of the shrine where the “everyday” sketches were placed. Orlet lazing in a pool while Arwene drilled into the land for a well for their parents’ homes in the background. Ellorn and Alsooth “skating” down the promenade in their stocking feet excitedly. Children climbing through the shrub-like trees in the planters. Dinner with family, meetings about work, life in the Palace—I found it glorious.

  “Seth, he’s ready,” Jimmy said quietly, unsure if he should disturb me.

  Ellorn was no less colorfully dressed than usual with a red and yellow diagonally striped shirt, yellow slacks and red shoes. Too damn cute.

  “Well, the rest of the Palace has seen to this morning’s needs quite admirably,” I said turning to my Saun. “While we were sleeping, they managed to setup enough clothing for a day or two and breakfast for everyone, maybe even lunch, so that solves an immediate problem. The next problem is to find everyone a place to live. After that, we have to increase the amount of food we’re bringing in as well as the infrastructure on transportation, dissemination, storage…

  “You need a plan,” I decided. “After you’ve eaten, start gathering an advisory board together. Make sure you include both commanders and Lt. Brinks and at least the top five brownie representatives. Define and prioritize your needs and what you need to do to achieve them on a recurring basis. Oh, and you should have the medics give everyone a lecture on personal hygiene and sexual education. You no longer have a breeding season like you did as brownies and that will confuse everyone.”

  “What does that mean?” Jimmy asked. The consternation on his face was almost funny.

  “Well, you know how dogs and cats go into heat…?” I asked him, grinning. I couldn’t believe the farmboy didn’t know what a breeding season was.

  “Yeah,” he answered, still confused. The pieces fell together slowly, but when it dawned on him, he burst into laughter. “Ah, dude! Better put condoms on the list of ‘Needs’!”

  “Like Gilán can’t burst a rubber,” I muttered. Ellorn looked back and forth between us like we were speaking in Swahili. “First will stay with you today, but Kieran has work for me on the other side. I’ll check back as often as I am able, but if you have problems, call me. I have faith that you two can do this.”

  Jimmy and Ellorn exchanged looks.

  “Thank you, Lord Daybreak,” Ellorn said solemnly.

  “We won’t let you down, Seth,” Jimmy said, equally as solemn.

  “I know, Jimmy,” I said with a smile, then shifted to my bathroom.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Saun Huri? What language is that?” Kieran asked sitting down beside Peter with a plate full of bacon and scrambled eggs. Apparently Peter’s cooler was off-limits to last night’s scrounging.

  “The geas language,” I answered between bites of bacon. “Not the language it was written in, but the language that evolved between us. It’s a Faery-thing. You probably chose the language you use with Shrank, but I didn’t think about it ahead of time.”

  “So what does that mean, exactly?” Dad asked while buttering a biscuit. “It looked like you changed a brownie into a wizard as strong as Thomas or Gordon and you’re calling this a Saun Huri, correct?”

  “Think of it this way,” I offered. “Saun is like Sidhe. They even look extremely similar. Huri means blend or maybe hybrid. Translation is sometimes an inexact art. The Huri are a blend of human and elven characteristics. When you see Ellorn or any other Huri, the terms will make perfect sense
. And because they are a blend, they have access to both faery and human magic. Not all the Huri will be that strong in human terms.”

  “What about the Guard?” Ethan asked. “Did they change, too?”

  “Yes, but I’m not real sure how it’s going to affect them,” I admitted. “The only real differences I see in their position is that they’re closer to the Huri than any other faery and their name within the geas is Huri-ransé. That’s a more difficult word to define, too. Ransé could be ‘to be received’ or ‘wanted’ or ‘requested’.” I shook my head in confusion. “It’s a complex idea with a lot of emotional contexts.”

  “Will they be able to help today?” Kieran asked, wolfing down his food.

  “I’d prefer not, if possible,” I said, “at least as far as an active role. There’s no telling how active, violent magic will affect their senses or how they’ll react to it. Oh, interestingly enough, both First and Ellorn can see Daybreak now. Haven’t tested how far that extends yet.”

  “Just the Saun?” Kieran asked, pushing his empty plate forward.

  “Haven’t checked the Huri,” I answered, polishing off the eggs. “What have you got in mind for today, anyway? I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted lately.” Peter and Ethan snickered then burst out laughing. Kieran smiled at them behind a mug of coffee.

  “Shrank, what’s the population?” Kieran asked. The pixie popped out of a flower arrangement on a side table in a streak of green dust, his face smeared in pollen.

  “Last I heard, Lord, the count was one million four hundred thousand,” he trilled, wiping his face on his sleeve.

  Chuckling, Kieran said, “That’s not exactly a distraction, Seth. Besides, this is fascinating.” His eyes gleamed with curiosity and wonder. Shaking his head slightly, he continued, “But unfortunately we have more pressing issues to deal with. We found a correlation of names between Sondre and the European council and, possibly, Lucian.”

  I searched through the memories I had of Sondre until I hit an image that fit the first two characteristics. “Marchand?” I asked, barely believing the idea. Those memories were murky and clipped, limited mostly to her time as Dieter. Kieran had more time with her to dig deeper through those weird transfers of hers.

  “Yes,” Kieran said. “The hit you gave Dieter damaged his memory, but there was a conversation between Sondre and a lieutenant that mentions referring Marchand to a ‘Luke’ in a cul-de-sac in Faery. It might be a corrupt memory, being on the cusp of the transfer before Dieter. Regardless of that reference being correct, Marchand lives next to one of the smaller training grounds that the Russian supplied in Denmark. We’re going to pay him a visit this morning. Ask a few questions, under duress if necessary.”

  “How long ‘sit gonna take to get there?” I asked. “I need to check with the Pentagon sometime this morning, too.”

  Kieran blew a slow breath out, but Dad answered, “I can get us there through the Weirdways in about four hours from London.”

  “How about from Belgium? Grammand?” Peter asked, hopefully. “Both Seth and I can get us that far.”

  “Cut it in half if we can find a way in,” Dad said. “Faster with a smaller group.”

  “I don’t know how to do it,” Peter said, shaking his head. “Dad’s only showed me once and it was really confusing.”

  “Tell me about it,” I mumbled in amusement. “We got halfway across the forest by jumping over tree limbs and pushing through bushes.”

  Kieran chuckled. “Three’s a good number for the Weirdways, but we’ll come back to this. It’s not that hard to do.”

  “Oh, I figured it out when you showed me the long way into Faery,” I told him.

  A knock at the door startled us out of our conversation while Peter answered the door. Mike, Steve, and David followed Peter in, stifling any conversation about Lucian. Considering the reference, it was tenuous at best anyway.

  “Well, it seems we have a slew of new words to learn,” Mike said grinning.

  “’Slew’? How are three words a ‘slew’? Thank you, David,” I asked Mike, acknowledging David as he and Peter started clearing the table.

  “Three? The Garrison has about a hundred fifty so far,” Mike answered chortling. “They’re having trouble pronouncing a number of them but that isn’t stopping them from trying.”

  “A hundred and fifty?” I asked, startled. “What the hell are they naming?” Part of my attention swung around to the Garrison, or more specifically, to Byrnes and Velasquez. It only took a few seconds to see exactly what was going on. The military mindset was at work and flipping rapidly through its rulebooks, acclimatizing itself to its new Huri environment. The military has little issue with the rigid caste system and faery role definition. Its only problem was with crossing the borders, so the Ransé formed a kind of permissions that allowed individuals to plug themselves into certain jobs or rankings. As they had before, this gave them a level of ambiguity that worked within the military chain of command quite easily.

  “Well, fortunately, it doesn’t look like you’ll have to learn all of those,” I said chuckling. “Once they get everything settled down, English will work just fine. The words they’re defining are mostly job titles.”

  “That’s helpful. If they were having a hard time with them…” Mike said, scoffing. “Anyway, Byrnes said the list of international sites is ready for you and Brinks has an initial supply list ready to restock from last night and augment for a day or two.”

  “I guess that defines what I’ll be doing while y’all search for a way in,” I said to Kieran.

  “Just don’t get too bogged down,” Kieran warned. “Dad, are you ready to go, or do you need to change?”

  “No, I’m all set to go,” he answered.

  “If you find yourselves in Switzerland by mistake, see if you can find a good clock,” Peter said. “We need one around here.”

  “Why? The Palace’s alarm clock not good enough for you?” I asked with a chuckle.

  “Oh, yes, it’s quite nice, really, but knowing the time relative to everywhere else is kind of important, too,” Peter said a little defensively. And I did agree with him, so I shrugged a little.

  “Pete, you wanna get them settled in Belgium while I see about food, then?” I asked Peter.

  “That works,” he said, standing. “Shouldn’t be gone but a few minutes.”

  “Guess that leaves you guys with me schlepping produce,” I said to Mike, grinning. “Or at least, tracking the money. Guess we should have hired accountants instead.” We all stood up from the table, ready to begin our chosen tasks for the day. “Good hunting and be careful.” I shifted the four of us to the Garrison to get started. A few moments later, I felt a small rip in the veil around Gilán open as Peter opened a portal into Grammand. Time to get to work.

  Chapter 64

  The Garrison was surprisingly understaffed with barely sixty men in position at the moment. Brinks had a crew in the kitchen working on lunch for two thousand. There were brownies everywhere and Brinks definitely needed the help. The kitchen was going at full bore in preparation. Mankiewicz, Brick, and several of their top trainers were working out in the training rooms, trying to catalog changes to their abilities. They already had a considerable list of differences, mostly improvements but some were questionable and would require study. And the medics with several of the brownie and huri midwives were examining all of the pregnant women—sorry, the pregnant ransé—to preclude any problems because of the transformation. A sensible precaution, I thought.

  Moving us again, I knocked on Ted’s open door and walked in. “Good morning, Lord!” Ted called from his desk, standing.

  “Good morning, Ted,” I answered. “Everybody out helping?”

  Grinning, he said, “More like socializing, but yes, I didn’t see a reason to keep everyone cooped up in here if they could help out there.”

  “Socializing is good for everybody involved,” I said nodding. “Lt. Brinks has gotten an initial list together, th
ough, and we need to start gathering stuff.”

  “Are we still buying from stores?” he asked. Accepting my nod for a yes, he called out, “Ric, send everyone with a ‘Price Club’ card to Meeting Room One along with a buddy, please, and instruct the Paymaster that we’re going after supplies shortly and to be ready.” I heard Velasquez’s response to Byrnes through the geas, but we were the only ones.

  Turning to Mike, I handed him the list and told him to head to meeting room one and break the list down into manageable parts. Inventory control and purchasing weren’t exactly these guys forte, especially a street fighter like Ferrin, but they adapted well enough the first time. Then I called for the Saun, interrupting what they were doing. Jimmy and Ellorn shifted into Ted’s office.

  “Good morning, Commander Byrnes,” Ellorn said cheerfully.

  “Good morning, Ted,” Jimmy said at roughly the same time.

  “Good morning, Saun Gilán First, Saun Huri Ellorn,” Byrnes answered happily.

  “I know you haven’t had very long, guys, but how’s it going?” I asked.

  “Surprisingly well!” Jimmy said. “We’ve had time to eat and setup a scheme for residences. We were working on a supply list when you called.”

  “What did you base your residence scheme on?” I asked.

  “Clan affiliation was the simplest,” Ellorn answered. “There are eleven clans of Huri, the largest being my clan, the Lorash.”

  “The ‘Go-betweens,’ you’re the diplomats, then,” I said, translating the word.