Brothers: Legacy of the Twice-Dead God

by Scott Duff

  “Gossip? From the elves? Never!” said Kieran, a facetious look of strained disbelief on his face.

  “Rumor has it he went to visit the Queens at the Crossroads, just as you will,” he said, as he stretched out his long legs in front of him and arching one eyebrow in question at Kieran. “Dangerous place, apparently. Both Queens say they never met him there, of course. Never been there personally.”

  “I will ask them when we see them there,” Kieran said.

  “So you are planning on keeping that appointment?” MacNamara asked.

  “It would be inadvisable not to,” answered Kieran, shrugging off the implications. “And they may have information we need. Seth and I are well-protected and that protection can be stretched to include others, and as you’ve seen, we aren’t without abilities.”

  That was far more diplomatic than I would have come up with. The more I thought about what Kieran just said, the more empty I realized his words were. But then, so were MacNamara’s. There was no new information there and the elf knew it.

  “Besides,” Kieran continued, “we’ve learned little of consequence about father’s disappearance here. Finding Olivia is a success and as long as she continues to recover, we will be happy. But I find it difficult to believe that the two events are unrelated being so close together. And the Queens were… exceptionally well-behaved.”

  “I did notice that, of course,” MacNamara said, nodding politely to Kieran. “I have so enjoyed the day’s freedom.”

  Ah, their absence explained his ability to talk so freely, I suppose. Maybe some sort of binding on him.

  “We’ll have to shake a few more bushes in our world first,” said Kieran. “This still doesn’t explain why Harris is after Seth or why he covered up in the police investigation in New Orleans. It doesn’t explain the deaths of all of father’s associates. There’s a lot to look into.”

  “Harris covered up in a police investigation?” asked MacNamara. “And one of you four caught it? Oh, sloppy, sloppy. What gave it away?” His voice raised half a register, to the “little-girl-giggle” range.

  Ethan answered first, “The first thing was that he interviewed personally two different people who couldn’t have seen what they claimed from where they claimed to be standing physically.”

  Then Peter said, “While at the same time he was having dinner with a prominent judge in New York, where his picture was taken and put into a magazine.”

  He must’ve gone outside of our range of hearing for a second. My ears hurt suddenly and I swear I saw two brownies cringing in terror near the doorway behind the elf. He came down to somewhere near his regular high pitch fairly quickly.

  “Delicious!” he exclaimed. “Yes. Yes, I see it now. Oh, this will be fun. Would you care to come with me when I congratulate the winners, Ehran? I think taking your complete retinue would be threatening, but one other would be acceptable.”

  “Yes, I believe I would,” said Kieran with an almost vicious smile. “I’ve only met both most briefly, after all, and I’m sure Seth would like to renew both associations.”

  I could see the anxiety pushing up through Ethan’s aura at the thought of separating from Kieran and me again, but he didn’t say anything. He knew he could be at our sides in less than a second if anything went wrong on our end and he could contact us if anything happened on his.

  “Let us depart then,” said the elf, standing tall in his silken sunshine and sky suit. Turning to Ethan, he said, “Worry not, little man, I will return your charges within an hour and unharmed.”

  Kieran and Ethan exchanged quick glances at the odd comment, then followed MacNamara out through the gate, disappearing instantly into the tunnel on the far side of the Arena. Gotta love the way elves travel.

  Chapter 26

  The elf was taking faster shortcuts this time. From our gate on the balcony, directly into the tunnel on the far side of the field, Kieran and I walked side by side behind MacNamara. The tunnel was empty except for one runner who deferred to us by flattening himself against the wall. We stopped at the fourth doorway, where an elf dressed as one of MacNamara’s wardens stood waiting. He knocked on the door as we walked up.

  The door opened to what I would have called the start of a bar brawl. The room was much like the locker room we’d been in with twelve large men in different states of dress, and frankly, different states of inebriation. And while the language sounded vaguely English, I was having the damnedest time following any of it.

  “May we come in?” asked MacNamara melodiously.

  “Surely, Mr. MacNamara,” said the large man in black leather who answered the door. He wasn’t as tall as Kieran but he outmassed him and his arm was thicker than my head. I’d hate to have to feed this man. His grocery bill had to be enormous. His odor was.

  “Oy, mates, it’s ‘s Lordship! Quiet’n down!” he yelled over his shoulder as he backed away from the door and let us in. The room did quiet some and a path was cleared somewhat to the back of the room where a few men were huddled together near the showers. MacNamara followed the path back and we followed MacNamara.

  “Then ‘e yank’m up ‘ard, like,” one of the huddled men said, yanking his arm back by way of example. Suddenly the huddle glowed from the center, illuminating the faces. From where I stood, I could make out Ferrin intently watching the display in the huddle facing us, but no one else.

  “But what was it?” Ferrin asked. “What did ‘e crack ‘is shield with?”

  “Don’t know. Never seen ‘em before,” said the man. Grunts of affirmation from the rest of them.

  “Four donyeal spheres tied together and expanding,” answered Kieran over the shoulders of the huddlers. Startled, the huddle broke up into a semicircle around Ferrin hurriedly with all five facing off at Kieran defensively. “You asked,” said Kieran, smiling, crossing his arms on his chest.

  “MacNamara, an honor,” said Ferrin, silkily, his eyes never leaving Kieran.

  “We’ve just come to congratulate you on your spectacular victory, Ferrin,” said MacNamara to the blond man. If the elf noticed the split attention, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Your timing was beautiful.”

  Ferrin smiled at the elf appreciatively, saying, “Thank you, MacNamara. That means a lot coming from you.”

  “Actually, it was young Seth who began singing your praises,” said MacNamara, turning slightly to glance back at me. “During your first match he predicted your victory, so I followed your progression throughout. Most enlightening and unpredictable, I must say. I look forward to your bout with Mr. Harris eagerly. Your styles are quite opposite and will be most interesting to witness.”

  “McClure praised me?” Ferrin said with mild surprise. “Last time I saw him he was threatening me with a rather large shiny sword.” His accent had changed. He was speaking more distinctly now than when he was talking with his friends.

  “I believe you were about to kick an unconscious friend of mine in the head at the time,” I said calmly. “And I still have that Sword.” So what if it was an implicit threat?

  Ferrin merely smiled and nodded once to me. That had me wondering if he was accepting that as a challenge. I hoped not, because I’d already killed and I wasn’t exactly sure where my conscience was on that subject just yet. So far, I’d just buried it under the heading of Monster and that it had needed doing.

  “Sorry, mate, not familiar with what a donyeal sphere is or what it does,” Ferrin said to Kieran. “Care to clue us in?”

  Kieran shook his head. “Don’t have the time to take on another apprentice, sorry.” The room broke out in raucous laughter while Ferrin’s face shined brightly red for a moment, fading slowly back to its normal paleness.

  “Be fair, now, Ehran,” cooed MacNamara. “Even Masters of the craft can learn new tricks and a donyeal sphere is hardly a secret.”

  “True,” Kieran admitted, “but building the spell will take longer than he has right now and since he has already attacked us once, I fail to see why I should
give him any further advantage for the future.”

  “I see your point,” agreed MacNamara. Turning to Ferrin, he said, “He did provide you with the name. Perhaps that will be enough for you to find information in the future.”

  “More than I had, true,” agreed Ferrin politely, twisting an earring in his right ear. He was extremely nervous, hiding behind bravado he didn’t feel. His fellows seemed to be drawing theirs from him though. They definitely had confidence in him. It glowed out of their auras in rosy warmth but it never seemed to touch him. He just wouldn’t seem to let it. I… guess I understood that. Or at least I was guilty of it.

  “We were wondering, sir,” I asked him, “If you would be willing to answer a few questions for us since you seem to be away from Summer’s influence?”

  Ferrin chuckled and asked, “Whot’s in it for me?”

  I shrugged my shoulders back, calling the Crossbow up from my cave for a show of force. Ferrin knew the Day already. The distance and precision inherent in the Crossbow should impress him a little more effectively now.

  “While I would never even consider breaking MacNamara’s peace-bond,” I said calmly, “I would be willing to rescind my promise to kill you the next time I see you.” I bounced the Crossbow against my leg nervously. Certainly some of these fellows had seen our fight and knew what Kieran was capable of doing. What this Bow was capable of doing. He took a moment to consider, the time for him to swallow hard.

  “What do ya wanna know, mate?” he asked hoarsely.

  “Seth,” said Kieran, cuffing me behind the ear, “Put that away.”

  I thanked the Crossbow as I pulled it back inside, tucking it back into its safe place. “Primarily, why did you attack us in the first place?”

  “The First Princess was suppose to pay me a lot of money to find you,” Ferrin said. “She wanted you before the Yanks got to ya.”

  “’Suppose to pay’? What do you mean by that?” Kieran asked.

  “Meaning I haven’t seen her since that night,” Ferrin said. “’Cept for when she went flyin’ overhead yesterday. Did enjoy that, mate.” He leered at me for a second, though I think it was meant to be complimentary and not creepy. “Wouldn’t be here riskin’ me life if I didn’t owe money out to some mean buggers on that run, f’r true.”

  “Simone stiffed you? How… like Simone,” Kieran said.

  “Who else is after us?” I asked Ferrin.

  “If by ‘us’ you mean ‘you,’ pick a corner of the world,” scoffed the man. “Course, you may have taken care a that already now.”

  I studied him for a moment, watching as the flow of his internal energies worked with his emotions. He was hiding something, several somethings, but only one that mattered here. It was obvious that he’d been around elves long enough to pick up a few of their tricks, like burying truths in half-truths and hiding facts and emotions under others hidden for other, unrelated reasons.

  I turned to Kieran and said, “He’s stonewalling us. It’s not worth our time to be here.”

  Kieran nodded agreement, turned to MacNamara and said, “At your leisure, your Grace. We’ll be waiting at the door.” He turned and headed for the door with me on his heels. We were both expecting what happened next.

  “Whot’sat mean?” yelled Ferrin. He grabbed me by the right shoulder and tried to spin me back around to face him. Really, does it take a bridge to fall on some people?

  The Stone flared out first, expanding my shield out three inches from my body and then sending a strong electrical charge through Ferrin’s hand on my shoulder, causing him to fly back several feet to land on the floor in shock. The Day Sword shot down my arm continuing the momentum of my turn and making it look like it extended straight out of my arm as I aimed it at him as he lay on the ground smoldering. The light doubled as it shone like the sun in the small room, reflecting off of MacNamara’s silks and glinted off the widening smile on his face. The four of us were the only people still in the center of the room. Everyone else had pushed back against the walls.

  “You really shouldn’t break the peace,” I said calmly as Ferrin regained his senses, shifting up onto his elbows. I relaxed my stance and called for the scabbard. As I sheathed the Day, I said, “What it means is that I know you’re lying to me. I don’t have the time for that right now. You want to play games, do it on your own time. I have more pressing matters to attend to.” The Stone obligingly created the belt to attach Day to my side for me and I clicked it into place. Kieran was trying hard not to laugh at me when I looked up at him.

  “You’re enjoying this too much,” I said.

  “So’s he,” Kieran said, pointing to MacNamara and laughing finally. The elf giggled along with him when I looked over. An elf as old as the hills, literally, giggling. The mind boggles. I turned for the door. Kieran threw his arm over my shoulder and walked with me on my left, leaving Day free to move and jangle on my right hip.

  MacNamara said to Ferrin, “We wish you good fortunes in your final bout, Ferrin. Do not underestimate Clifford Harris. He is a wily opponent and quite capable, as is young McClure as you’ve seen.”

  The door opened from the outside by MacNamara’s repeater as we approached. We exited and waited for MacNamara to take the lead. Harris’ locker room was two doors down on the right. Another repeater knocked on the door as we approached. I’d find it uncanny except these guys talked for him most of the time so I guess them knowing he was coming wasn’t that big a deal.

  A short oriental-looking man with a shaved head wearing a light orange robe answered the door. He bowed almost continuously as he ushered us into the room. It was completely different from Ferrin’s locker room and ours, at least in the furnishings. There were panels of cloth suspended from the ceiling somehow, separating the room into parts for privacy. The panels sported intricate pastoral scenes of Persian and Indian manufacture. Incense burned in several small plates around the room, malodorous incense at that. Smelled like a mix of old socks and polecat to me.

  The cloth panels started shifting lazily to the side, revealing Harris in the center of the room, flanked on either side by three other men of various ages. He stood in his black gi-like clothing, beaming at MacNamara graciously. The other men were arrayed in canted lines so that no one obscured the other’s view of us. The men wore robes of matching colors across the rows, making a short rainbow of light to dark across the ranks.

  “MacNamara, your Lordship, what a pleasure,” said Harris, stepping forward and bowing slightly. “What can I do for you today?”

  “I merely wished to congratulate you on your victory, Clifford,” said MacNamara, stepping forward into the ranks of Harris’ guards. Kieran stayed out of those ranks and I stayed a half step behind him on his right. The elf went on, “It was an impressive display of misdirection and power.”

  “The compliment is much appreciated, sir Lord,” said Harris. MacNamara quirked his head slightly and I realized that Harris had changed languages. That’s why his comment sounded a little strange to me. Somehow, I’d made the translation without knowing that I’d done it. It was the current Elven tongue, the Summer court dialect, to be exact, though Winter’s differed only in inflections.

  “My guests,” said MacNamara still in the Elven tongue, “have requested to speak to you regarding certain events in your home realm. I have acquiesced providing you don’t object and it doesn’t break the peace-bond. And I must admit they have brought forward the most interesting piece of information in that regard that I, myself, would like to ask about at the end of the interview. Would you mind?”

  Harris looked uneasily around the room. “You understand, sir Lord, that my position in my realm puts me at a certain… sensitivity. These two are not the responsible people that they claim to be. The elder has been in hiding for over forty years and has eluded government officials and the younger has been quite destructive to that same government. If it were not for the peace-bond, I would be apprehending them now.”

  “Trying to,” int
erjected Kieran in English.

  Harris looked at him, confused.

  “You mean ‘trying to apprehend them now,’” he said. “If you’d like, I can have Seth say it for you in the language you were just speaking. We both know it. Or in fourteen other Elven dialects.”

  “And I thought we’d put the idea of you arresting any of us to rest already,” I said with agitation in my voice. “It is rather tiresome. Come to think of it, Ehran, I’m not sure I want to rescind that promise. Let’s just leave now so I can kill him tomorrow.” The Day Sword hummed loudly at my side at that statement. I swear it had a sense of humor, because it had to know I was bluffing. I was bluffing.

  “I told you he had it,” Harris whispered hoarsely to MacNamara.

  “Yes, you did,” said MacNamara brightly. “I do apologize for not believing you but you must admit a human boy having all of the Black Hand’s weapons does sound a bit preposterous.”

  “All of them?” said Harris, the shock showing on his face. Apparently, he hadn’t seen the contest with St. Croix and either hadn’t heard or didn’t believe any reports about it, either.

  “Yeah,” I said. “People keep forgettin’ to tell any of us that some things are supposed to be impossible, so we keep doin’ ‘em.”

  “I suppose that’s one way of looking at it, yes,” agreed Kieran. He crossed his arms on his chest and took one step forward, crossing the imaginary line of the ranks of Harris’ men. His feet were both immediately encased in arcing blue-white energy coming from the first man on either side. It was laced through the rug on the floor. It was rather nicely done, too, almost invisible in the rich and homogenous background that the Arena provided. Kieran glanced down at his feet, unconcerned.

  “Oh how nice,” he said as he looked back at me. He acted bored. “Do be careful, little brother. There are some lethal craftings in the rug. They might… tickle a little.”