by Randi Darren
“If Bringer says it’s ok, then Red will do so,” Red said.
“Hm? That’s fine, go now if you like,” Vince said, not really worried about that right now. He desperately wanted to get back to talking about weapons and gold.
“Yay!” the twins said.
Red let go of Vince and started to walk away.
“Bringer, why is there a picture of your father?” Red asked suddenly.
Vince frowned, shaken from his deep need to talk about weapons, and looked to Red.
She was pointing at a bookshelf with a picture in a frame.
“Huh?”
“Red remembers Bringer’s father. This is him,” Red said. She moved forward, grabbed the picture and brought it over to him.
“See?” she said.
Looking down at the picture, Vince was floored.
It really was his father, but significantly younger.
Except he was standing next to a teenager version of Felix.
“I don’t understand,” Vince said, looking up to the other man.
Felix looked equally shocked, gently taking the picture from Vince.
“This is my uncle. Miles, Miles Campbell,” Felix said, looking from the picture to Vince.
“This is your father?”
Vince nodded his head.
“Mother only called him Campbell. On the deed in the house, though, it says Miles Campbell,” Vince said.
Felix set the picture down on his desk and then smiled at Vince.
He suddenly looked genuinely happy.
Vince didn’t even need to use his gift to see surface thoughts to know it was real.
“Well, I suppose I have another surprise for you, then. My dad and your dad were twins,” Felix said. “Genetically, we’re probably closer to half-brothers than cousins, I guess.
“Well isn’t that a coincidence. Especially considering there’re some concerns with time if one thinks about it.
“Doesn’t quite match up,” Felix said as he looked up towards the ceiling.
“Though I’m betting it isn’t as much a coincidence as I would originally think,” Felix said. Shaking his head, he looked back to Vince with a smile. “Let’s talk about what you need, and what I need, and let’s figure out how we can help one another, little brother.”
Vince felt a strange fluttering in his stomach and nodded his head slowly.
Little brother?
“Ah, I’m afraid my lord is apt in the ways of war, but he has me and my sisters for the needs of the kingdom. I’ll be happy to work through Yosemite’s needs with whoever your representative is,” Felicity said.
“That’s me,” Lily said, her eyes still moving between Vince and Felix for a second before looking to Felicity.
***
“Name’s Steve,” said the man in strange, bulky green-and-brown-colored clothes. He had short-cropped brown hair and blue eyes. Which meant he looked like most people to Vince. “Steve Middleton.”
“Julia Crawfird,” said the lanky woman. Noting her black hair and green eyes, Vince dismissed her as well.
Few compared in his eyes to his Dryads anymore.
“Vince… Vince Campbell… apparently,” Vince said.
He watched as a group of people in black clothes and helmets worked on what looked like an old tech toaster.
“Heard you’re the boss’s little brother,” Julia said.
“Something… like that. This’ll work?” Vince said, pointing at the toaster.
“It’ll work. We haven’t seen anything it can’t fix. Sucks up power like a motherfucker though,” Julia said.
Vince nodded slowly.
“Put your trust in Mr. White. He’s our lab genius. The one who puts all our gear together and upgrades it,” Steve said. “Felicia is her own sort of genius, but more on the cutting-edge side of things.”
Glancing at Mr. White, Vince weighed him critically.
He was older. Pudgy around the middle. Bald from hairline to crown, with only the sides of his hair left.
He wore thin, circular glasses, but carried a confidence that didn’t match his outward appearance.
As if feeling eyes on him, the man looked up and saw Vince staring at him.
The older man gave him a soothing smile, then went back to the small black box he was tapping at.
“Feels like the boss really pulled the stops out,” Steve said, his gaze focused over Vince’s shoulder.
Following Steve’s gaze, Vince watched as crate after crate of weapons and ammo were brought through.
“Fat lot it does us against those fanatics,” Julia said. “Just bounces off.”
“Fanatics?” Vince asked curiously.
“Religious zealots. Their prayers are stronger than our conventional weapons and magic. Doesn’t do a thing,” Steve said.
“Oh?” Vince asked, suddenly feeling as if he weren’t a beggar without a copper to his name. “Excuse me a minute.”
Vince walked over to the corner where Mouth and Meliae were chatting.
“Excuse me, dears. Did we settle Betty in yet?” Vince asked.
“No, Sweetling, why?” Meliae asked, smiling at him. She immediately moved closer. Her hand trailed down from his shoulder to his stomach. “We’re still having problems figuring out how to get them into our hierarchy.”
“You told me why that was a problem earlier, but I can’t remember it. What was it again?”
“They’re priestesses of the earth,” Mouth said, moving in close to him as well. She put her hand on the opposite of Meliae’s and began to lightly fondle his chest the same way Meliae was.
“So, because Dryads use nature magic, and they use a religious version of it, it isn’t compatible?”
“Not so much incompatible as our own magic doesn’t mesh as well it should with theirs,” Meliae said, her hand dipping down into his waistband.
“Get Betty up and moving. I want her and all her Dryads going through the portal.
“They’re reporting to Felix for a while for Yosemite. Get it done quick and I’ll take both of you to bed tonight, and make you watch each other with me.”
Mouth and Meliae looked at each other, then went off to get it taken care of.
Vince paused before he moved on to the next part of his plan as Fes came into the room.
She was being assisted by two Dryads, and she looked incredibly weak.
Giving him a thin smile as she went by, Berenga let herself be eased into the strange pod without a word.
It’s as if she’s too weak to care anymore.
Mr. White tapped something on his screen and the lid closed over Fes, beeped once, and then went still.
“Hmph. Not too bad. Not much we can do to regrow the arm and the leg, but I’m sure I can cook up something that’ll work.
“She’ll be done in a few minutes,” Mr. White said, pushing his glasses up further on his nose.
Turning his gaze on Vince, he gave him that same soothing smile from earlier. “Now, I’m going to go work on getting that armory up and running. If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Campbell.”
Tucking the box under his arm, he strode out of the room, still full of confidence that conflicted with Vince’s personal view.
That’s… it? Alright… I guess… I wait.
Moving to the Adriana who’d been left on this side of the portal, Vince smiled at her.
“Hello brother-in-law!” she said brightly at him with a smile.
“I love all my nephews and nieces! We have many, many Others out there right now holding and cuddling them,” she said, pointing out the window. “I can’t wait to have one of my own.”
Following her finger, Vince looked through the window into his personal grove.
He saw a very large number of Andreas and Adrianas holding all his children.
“I… yes… alright,” Vince said, making a mental note to ask about that later. “Your people mentioned fanatics and spirit magic?”
“Spirit magic? Oh, oh! Yes. We have a hard time cr
acking through their spells. Normal magic doesn’t seem to work as well against it.”
Vince grinned. He finally had something to offer in return.
“I have three hundred priestesses who are martial in nature and looking for a home. Their leader is named Betty, and they’re about to go through the portal.
“Please give my regards to your husband,” Vince said with a wide grin.
Adriana cocked her head to one side, then lifted her radio to her mouth and started relaying what Vince had just said to someone else.
Leaving her to her business, Vince walked over to the pod Fes had been loaded into.
A slim and lovely arm wrapped around his middle, followed by Mouth pressing up into his side. “All done! The grove-mistress is finishing the details right now.”
“Good show,” Vince said, smiling down at Mouth.
“Do you think… this’ll work?” Mouth asked, looking at the pod.
“I hope so. If it does, I’ll be leaving tomorrow to fulfill my side of the bargain. But I can’t see how it would benefit him to have gone through with all this only for it to fail.”
“And you’re sure about the gold?”
“Of course. It’s a black Dragon. It’s what they do. Its why I’m going to take some people with me to get it done. I’m fairly confident about battling a Dragon, but I’m not going to be stupid about it,” Vince said.
For all the guns, ammo, and the pod, he’d made a deal with Felix.
Gold.
Half a Dragon’s hoard of gold. And Vince just happened to know where one was. It’d settled on top of a fort in what used to be Kentucky.
It razed and terrorized everything that came close, picked over anything it could for gold, and took it back.
It’d been there as long as the Wastes had been, as far as Vince knew.
“I don’t like it,” Mouth said.
“You just don’t like it because I’m taking Blue with me instead of you. And you know very well why, as well. You’re not… fit… for something like this. It’s likely to be a combat mission,” Vince said gently, leaning his head down to hers.
“I know… still don’t like it.”
“It’ll be fine. I’m taking Red, Blue, Caroline, and those two Felix sent over, as well as another I haven’t met yet. He said her name was Eva, and that she could act as his envoy.”
A distinct hissing noise came from the pod.
Everyone in the room from Yosemite stopped what they were doing and looked to it.
Everyone who called themselves Legionnaires seemed uninterested. As if it were an everyday occurrence.
Vince dismissed them from his mind and focused entirely on the technology Felix had said would help him.
Help his Fes.
Then the lid popped open and eased to one side. Fes lay there inside it, her eyes open and clear.
She looked around the room, then back to Vince.
“I think it worked?” she asked, almost uncertain.
Mouth released Vince and moved over to Berenga.
She gently laid a hand on the Orc’s shoulder. Then she began to trail her hands across Berenga’s front and down toward her stomach.
“You are… perfectly fine,” Mouth said, standing up with a bright smile. “Nothing remains of whatever was wrong with your blood.”
Berenga grinned at that, looking to Vince.
“We must invite your brother over for a family meal soon,” she said seriously.
The memory of Duke Berten suddenly clicked into place into Vince’s brain.
He hadn’t even told Fes about it yet, and this seemed like a good time to share good news.
“Speaking of brothers,” Vince said slowly. “Berten sends his greetings to you and your mother. He said he’d come by with your nephews and nieces once he finishes up in the east.
“He’s the duke of Texas now.”
Berenga took in a slow breath, then began to laugh. As suddenly as she’d started laughing, though, she stopped.
In fact, now that Vince was paying attention, everyone was staring back toward the room he’d moved the portal to.
What they’d dubbed the armory.
Giant walking machines carrying huge rifles and swords began moving through the portal.
They went through hunched over, pressed in tight, then stood upright after exiting.
It took Vince a moment, but he realized it was armor. Humans wearing armor.
Grinning, Vince suddenly felt like his people had more than a fighting chance.
Then actual artillery pieces started to come through with the giant armored soldiers, towed along by chains.
At the site of the weaponry, that strange fluttering feeling he’d felt earlier passed through Vince’s chest.
He had a chance not just to defend, but to return fire.
Brother, my Brother.
I’ll not forget this. Ever.
Chapter 14
Vince looked down at the map laid out in front of him.
Red, Blue, and Caroline stood around him, all looking at the map as well.
Gerard had been busy.
Slowly and inexorably, they’d been side-stepping and flanking one another all the way south.
Both armies had come to a final stopping point in New Mexico. Neither side wanted to go any further south and risk being able to forage for supplies, or their supply train.
That or the enemy realized they were just leading more of Yosemite’s forces back to the main engagement. Considering that Gerard had a third again as many as the enemy forces, someone must have figured out that wouldn’t be the best move.
Now they seemed content to keep the duke of Denver nailed down here.
“…stuck here ever since,” Gerard complained.
The old man was seated along the side of the map. He looked as ancient as ever, but he still had that strange energy and life force around him.
War really did seem to energize him.
“Yes, but we’re holding our own and whittling them down,” Berten said, flicking a negligent hand at the map. “They lose more every day, and we gain their losses as our own. I only wish they would attack so we could claim more of them.”
Gerard grinned at that with a shrug of his shoulders. “I won’t deny I do wish they’d come out and test your warriors, Duke, and your magicians, Duchess. It was rather entertaining to watch last time.”
Duchess Madeline chuckled darkly and Berten nodded.
It would seem Gerard, Berten, and Madeline have forged a battle bond.
Good.
“You’ve all done well. Impressively so. I’ve brought armaments from a new ally,” Vince said. Turning to the side, he looked to the entrance. “Julia, Steve, Eva, would you please come in and introduce yourselves?”
Julia, Steve, and a young woman Vince had only met the day of departure walked in.
Her name was Eva, and apparently she was more or less the adopted daughter of Felix. She looked fairly mundane to Vince, though she wasn’t a bad-looking young woman.
It’s the dark-brown hair and brown eyes. Looks like so many humans.
Vince had immediately sworn to protect her once he realized Felix valued her as if she were truly his daughter.
“…blade of the Legion,” Julia said, indicating herself. “This is Steve, my goodie-goodie counterpart.
“And that’s Eva Campbell. Envoy to Felix Campbell.”
“Felix Campbell?” Gerard asked curiously.
“Ah…” Vince said, then gave up as he considered what to say. They’d find out eventually.
Not to mention it felt good to say it.
“He’s my older brother. Half-brother,” Vince clarified. “Our new ally.”
Berten grinned wide and marched up to Eva, then abruptly hugged the smaller woman with a crushing embrace.
“I name you niece, then!” said the Orc, guffawing loudly and slapping her on the back.
“Yes, ah, alright,” Eva said, looking to Vince for help, her arms unable to c
lose around the big Orc.
Vince gave her a shrug.
“Berten is Fes’s brother,” he explained.
Eva blinked twice, then shook her head with a grin.
“Uncle Berten, then—stop it, you big dope. You’ll crush me,” Eva complained, balling a fist and smacking Berten on a shoulder.
Chortling, Berten released her.
“It is good to know I have more family,” said the Orc with a grin, displaying his tusks. “Do you know how to use a sword yet?”
“Yes, some of my father’s people have been training me.”
“Good! We’ll spar later. Ha, this is good,” Berten said. Standing next to Eva, he looked to Vince, clearly intending to stand next to her instead of returning to his seat.
“I’ve brought my brother’s weapons of war,” Vince said, looking back at the map. “Consider them akin to cavalry. They’re going to hit tomorrow morning at full speed. I don’t think the enemy will be able to recover.”
Vince moved several tokens from the side to indicate the positioning of the giant mechanical suits of armor Steve had called Wardens.
“They’re that strong?” Madeline asked.
“Stronger,” Vince said, shaking his head. “My brother comes from a place much further along on a technological level. They’re not as adept with magic and religious magic, but they have found their own way of doing things.”
Gerard grinned and levered himself up.
“Then I welcome the brother of my lord’s help and look forward to raising our enemy to fight our battles,” the old man said. Looking around the room, the duke had a strange look on his face. “You know. I thought I’d be content to sit in Denver and rule my duchy. I find that this has been the single most interesting experience in my years so far. I fear I might get bored going back to Denver after this.”
“Come down and visit,” Berten said immediately. “I know a few Orc women who would be interested in a Necromancer. They might turn your hips to dust, though.”
Gerard blew out a breath at that and then nodded once.
“Maybe I will at that. Those Dryads keep telling me they could fix some problems with my health so I can find a wife from my citizens.
“Apparently they’re concerned about me not having an heir.”
“To be fair, I’m concerned for it as well,” Vince said. “You’re a good duke; I’d hate for you to not pass your wisdom and title on.”
