Dawn

by Marcus LaGrone

  “Do you mind Gwen being around?” asked Ivy from the stove. “She is a little different.”

  “Not at all, Mom, she’s delightful. We are all a little different. She is just a little autistic.”

  “That she is,” Ivy smiled at the response. “So you don’t mind even if she does tie bells to your toes?”

  Dawn laughed, “Oh, so you heard about that. Speaking of which, are those bells hers or the twins?”

  “Oh, the twins. Who else would have planned such a thing?” mused Maria. “Seriously though, you are fine with Gwen around here?”

  “Yes, indeed, what’s up? Is there a problem between her and Rachel?”

  Both the ladies laughed.

  “Far from it,” said Maria. “It’s just both twins are expecting some time in early winter and I could use the help.”

  “We have a darn good chance of having four new baby girls in the house in five months’ time,” Ivy said.

  “Four girls?” asked Dawn.

  Maria wrinkled her nose, “Class time! What are the chances of a baby being a girl?”

  “Class before breakfast?” Dawn tried to protest, “Um, Lowlanders it’s like 52%, pretty close to humans; Highlanders it’s right at 80%.” Dawn’s head swam as she fought through the numbers.

  “Yes, indeed! What you may not know is, with a Silver as the father and a twin as the mother, their baby girls are almost always twins as well.”

  “Wow!” Dawn sudden grasped the very real prospect of four more little sisters.

  “Wow, indeed. Either way it will be quite a handful. Speaking of which,” Maria carefully stood and craned her neck.

  Gwen strolled into the room smiling and carrying a barely awake Lily. Gwen all but glowed as she passed Lily to Maria and then went waltzing off as quickly as she had arrived.

  Dawn smiled as she watched her go, “Oh, I was supposed to meet Gavin for bocce just after lunch. Is there anyone who can come with me into town?”

  Ivy paused thoughtfully, “I’d say you’re big enough to go on your own if you like. Ask your father first. Things are still a bit tense.”

  “Worst case, we’ll go with you,” offered the twins. “We need to drop off things in town anyway.”

  How did they sneak in again? Dawn was beginning to wonder if they could change colors to hide like a Silver or if they were just that sneaky.

  “Don’t get your hopes up too much,” they continued, “it looks like rain.”

  “We’ll find something else to do if it rains,” Dawn proclaimed.

  “I bet you two will!”

  “April! May! Mind your manners. She’s only fourteen!” Ivy scolded.

  The twins smiled broadly, “Sorry, ma’am.” They quickly changed the subject, “The bells are yours to keep, Dawn. They seemed to fit you well.”

  “Thank you. I did have quite a dresser,” Dawn cocked an eye. What else were the two up to?

  The twins flashed sly grins as they exited the kitchen.

  “I do think it was a public service we did taking them in, before they caused real damage out in society,” mused Maria.

  Ivy almost lost control she was laughing so hard. Dawn joined in on the joke as she sat down for breakfast.

  Dawn made it to the edge of town just as the first of the rain started. Her father had let her come on her own, but had insisted that she take an umbrella, and now she was very glad for it. It wasn’t that heavy a rain, it was quite light in fact, but wow! was it cold! The twins had commented that snow wasn’t impossible this time of year, and she hadn’t given it a thought. Now, she was starting to believe that maybe they weren’t kidding.

  She gingerly opened the umbrella―it seemed so delicate in her hands―and stood there for a bit enjoying the playful pat-a-pat that the rain made against its surface. Cold as the rain may be, she still enjoyed its sound. Sounds she hadn’t heard much of while on travel. So calm, so relaxing, so…

  Dawn cried out as she was suddenly bowled over. Someone running through the rain had just run into her at quite a clip! “Ow! Are you all right?” she gasped as she wiped mud from her fur.

  “Why don’t you watch where you are going!” came the shrill reply.

  The unseen speaker viciously kicked Dawn’s umbrella which crunched alarmingly as several of its ribs broke. “Oh, I’m sorry…,” came a sarcastic apology.

  Dawn suddenly recognized the voice; it was that girl who had been so mean at the dance.

  The girl continued berating Dawn. “You are a clumsy, pathetic girl, aren’t you. Just standing there in the rain while decent people are trying to go about their business.”

  “It’s not like I ran in front of you, you ran into me,” countered Dawn as she struggled to her feet. “And you didn’t have to break my umbrella.”

  “Well, you should learn to stay out of my way! If you hadn’t been so clumsy and dropped your stupid umbrella, it wouldn’t have gotten damaged now, would it?” sniffed the girl, “What are you doing in town anyway? I thought you had the decency to stay out in the woods.”

  Dawn bit her lip. “We come into town all the time.” Why did this girl have so much venom for Dawn? What had she done? “I don’t see how that could possibly be a problem, Miss..?”

  “Kate.” She sniffed, “You ought to have known that by now. Well, if you had any proper breeding or upbringing you would have. My mother is Lady Mayor of this town.”

  “Well, Kate, that doesn’t excuse you from…”

  Kate got right in Dawn’s face. “I’ll do as I please, and drab, ugly little girls like you had best stay out of my way.” With that she shoved Dawn and continued on her way.

  Dawn had caught herself from the blow and managed to stay on her feet. What a grouch! What was her problem? Suddenly the words from her late sisters seemed to catch up with her. Drab and ugly. How long before “freak” was added to the list? The rain was bitter cold, and it was starting to bite into her fur and stab her skin. She didn’t care…what difference did it make anyway? She was just so plain and dull and…

  “Hey, Dawn! Are you okay?” asked Gavin as he came running up. “What happened to your umbrella?” Gavin was all smiles. Dawn needed that.

  “Well, it looks a little wet for bocce. I might as well go home,” mumbled a deflated Dawn.

  “Hey, you just got here! You can’t leave now. Come on, let’s get in out of the rain. There is a café not far from here. I’m buying!” Gavin picked up the broken umbrella and carefully closed it the best he could without further damaging it. With a smile that was warm enough to fight off the rain, he offered his hand.

  Dawn smiled in spite of herself. “Thank you. Something warm to drink and eat sounds wonderful.” She took his hand and the pair quickly made their way down the rainy street and into a small cafe on the corner. They found a seat by the window, and before long they were enjoying a light snack and comparing books they’d read. They both enjoyed an iced drink as they talked and munched away.

  “You invited me for coffee and you don’t drink it yourself,” Dawn suddenly realized.

  “I hate the stuff, but I had to suggest something, anything. I first saw you at the book store and it was only by happenstance that I saw you at the field,” admitted Gavin.

  “You saw me at the bookstore?”

  “Yep, you were getting ready to buy a huge pile of books. Smart and cute, I figured I had to check you out.”

  Dawn flushed again, “You just have on rose-colored glasses.”

  “But that is the advantage of you,” he countered, “Black fur looks the same with and without red glasses.”

  Dawn would have been horribly embarrassed, but the sight of her father and the Lady Mayor on the street drew aware her attention.

  “Father is with the mayor. Something is up,” she blurted.

  A crisp smile crossed Gavin’s lips, “Then let’s go find out what!” He got up and headed for the door, turning back for Dawn.

  Dawn’s mind raced. Following her father was a bit silly, but it
also sounded like fun and she was terribly curious. Finally she nodded and smiled, joining him at the door.

  “Keep close and try and act casual… well, at least as casual as possible when sneaking up on someone like your dad.”

  Dawn nodded and smiled as she flipped up the hood of her jacket against the light rain. The pair headed out. It was colder than she expected; it was spring in the mountains after all.

  The adults quickly converged with Owen under an awning, while Dawn and Gavin tried to stay hidden in an alley.

  “Not good news I take it,” guessed Owen.

  The Lady Mayor made a frown and began, “It started out good. It was reported that Eric Fechner died in prison five months ago. However, when we pressed them for a positive ID, things turned south.” She drew a long breath and continued, “He and a few other inmates were moved to a different prison a year ago. It seems during the transfer he swapped identities with another inmate. An unrelated inmate that was reported escaped three weeks ago.”

  “So he swapped places with another inmate, had that inmate killed and then escaped himself,” summarized Owen. “That sounds like his level of depravity.”

  Dawn listened with great interest, but the weather was starting to wear on her. Her jacket was far too thin, and was now soaked. She started shivering.

  Gavin noticed the shiver. “Here take my coat. You’re freezing,” he whispered.

  “But you’ll get cold too,” she argued.

  “Ah, but I live here in town and you have a long way to go home.”

  Dawn nodded. Hard to beat that logic, she gratefully took his coat and tried to keep up with the conversation.

  “I assume Eric went after your sister because she presided over his case and conviction. Does that mean he will come after you two? After all it was you two that broke up the gang and arrested him,” the mayor continued.

  “He may very well, or he may just strike out at the town as a whole,” began Owen. “My job is to ensure the safety of everyone. While attacking me isn’t easy, attacking people I’m responsible for does sound like his style.”

  Llewellyn nodded, “It does sound like him to go after soft targets.”

  “What do you two propose?” the mayor asked.

  A grin, a primeval grin, spread across Llewellyn’s face, “We hunt him first!”

  “Marshal who you need. Make it happen before anyone else gets hurt,” instructed the mayor gravely.

  Llewellyn and Owen nodded in agreement and the three split and went their separate ways.

  “Wow! That is creepy,” murmured Gavin after the others had departed.

  “Okay, what happened all those years ago?” Dawn begged.

  “Long story. First let’s get you back indoors.”

  Dawn nodded her agreement and the two of them made their way back to the cafe. This time they choose to sit by the fire rather than the window.

  “Okay, it may be a long story, but give me the short and dirty of it.”

  Gavin nodded as he fluffed his fur by the fire and began, “Fifteen years ago Eric Fechner and his cousin Tarl started robbing people on the outer passes. As time went on they developed a bit of a gang around them and also became much more violent. The Rangers were sent out to find them. Three of them, your father, Owen and a third named Allrich, hunted them down in the mountains and took them out. Tarl was killed in the process but Eric and most of the rest were captured. Twelve on three and the Rangers cleaned house. Your dad is just awesome! Anyway, they went to trial. I didn’t know that Helen handled the case, but that makes sense; she was a legal type before she became our ambassador. It turned out that Eric and a few of the others had dual nationality with the Kulpgurie, so it was decided that they could serve their time in Kulpgurie prisons which made sense; their prisons are bigger and stronger, plus we didn’t have to deal with it.” Gavin took another drink, “And that about brings us up to the present.”

  Dawn nodded and soaked it all in: a killer from before she was even born was out for revenge. She suddenly shivered.

  “Hey, don’t worry,” offered Gavin. “You father is, well, he is just amazing. He won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I know that,” she replied, “I’m just worried about everyone else.”

  “Speaking of which, there is your dad now,” Gavin pointed to the door.

  Llewellyn had entered the room and smiled as he quickly spotted the couple.

  “Do we need to go?” asked Dawn.

  “Nah, everything is fine. I was just concerned you didn’t have a good coat for this rain, but it seems you have it in hand. Be back by four, okay?”

  “Yes, Dad. Take care.”

  “I will, little one. I will.”

  Chapter 13

  Dawn warmed herself by the kitchen fire. Gavin’s borrowed coat had helped quite a bit, but she was still wetter than she liked.

  “You could just go take a warm bath and change into something new,” suggested Llewellyn as he wandered in and rummaged through the ice box. From how fluffy his fur was, it looked like he had just done the same himself.

  “I’m more tired of being wet than I am cold,” she replied. Her mind started to race. They were alone and she had a ton of questions, “Dad, can I ask you a question?”

  Llewellyn found a pair of chairs and dragged them over closer to the kitchen fireplace. “Of course. What’s on your mind?” he asked as he offered her a chair.

  “Well, I have a bunch. I don’t know where to start,” replied Dawn starting to get flustered.

  “Well then, what question is the most perplexing or has the most abject curiosity associated with it.”

  Dawn thought a bit as she tried to organize her thoughts, “I saw the results of a Forest Wall but what is it?”

  Llewellyn brightened, “Excellent question. One of the principal effects of Live Steel is to access another plane of existence. The humans hypothesize it’s more of a pocket dimension that is parallel but out of phase with ours.”

  Dawn nodded slowly. Great! she thought. Already her head was starting to spin.

  “Some of us,” continued Llewellyn, “can reach across this plane on our own. It is how a High Silver’s fur just goes away, how we can gate in times of peril, or how you can store your wings outside of our realm. There is a great strain between these two realms, and if you thump the boundary it rings like the string of a guitar. That ringing releases a lot of energy and actually helps stabilize the boundary after the fact. That ringing, however, resonates with the land itself here in the Highlands.”

  “I remember the humans in the drop ship mentioned something about strong magnetics here in the Highlands causing problems,” Dawn recalled. “Is that related?”

  “Yes, indeed! Good at finding the connection! The giant machines the Ancients built to connect our great lands and to defend the Highlands had unexpected consequences. Not only do they operate the gates, but they can generate massive magnetic pulses that can fry electronics. They also have provisions for repairing the land itself in case of attack.”

  “So when you make the boundaries between the realms ring, the energy is dissipated by having the machines regrow a forest?” Dawn was flabbergasted.

  “That does capture the essence of it. Bizarre as it may seem, it is a quite useful side effect of us using the realms naturally,” explained Llewellyn. “The next questions that follow are obviously: Why can some of us use the realm independently of Live Steel or the Great Machines? Why can the High Silvers fold space and why can you fold your wings in and out of existence? The short answer is we don’t entirely know, but it appears to be a side effect of something the Ancients started ten thousand years ago. Rather than fear these consequences, we are embracing them and using them to our benefit.”

  Dawn melted in her chair. That’s what she got for asking a question, a bizarre answer that brought along more questions as baggage. “I, I think I’m full up on questions today,” stammered Dawn.

  Llewellyn laughed and patted her on the
shoulder, “Glad I could help. But seriously, if you ever have any questions, feel free to ask.”

  Dawn smiled as her head started to slow its spinning, “Okay, here is an easy one.”

  “Go for it,” he beamed.

  “Will you teach me to use Live Steel? The twins say you taught them.”

  “Of course! I’d be glad to.” Llewellyn cocked his head at Dawn. “Hmm. Oh, let me guess. You are looking for something else to have in common with Gavin?”

  Dawn grinned, “Well, just maybe.”

  Chapter 14

  Dawn raced into the kitchen in search of a couple of big jugs to fill with water. She was going to be practicing swordsmanship with Father and the twins and she knew she was going to need lots of water before the day was through.

  “Are you coming?” called Llewellyn from the front door.

  “Yes, Dad. I’m just grabbing something extra to drink. I’ll meet you out at the field in just a few.”

  “Good plan. Hydration is always important and it looks like it’s going to be quite a sunny day. See you in a few, little one.”

  “Okay, Dad,” Dawn called as she filled up the jugs with ice cold water. The water was always fresh, right from an artesian well, and always quite cold! Water at the ground floor made sense, but how did it make it up to the third floor? The artesian well didn’t have that much pressure and she had never seen a pump. For that matter, what heated the hot water? Was it just waste heat from the kitchen? Dawn had lots of little questions, and just never seemed to find time to ask them. Oops! There was Maria, and from the look on her face she had questions of her own. “Yes, Maria? Is there a problem?”

  “So you are heading out for sword play with Father and the twins,” she began somewhat seriously.

  “Yes, ma’am,” replied Dawn a little nervously. It was so unlike Maria to be so serious. She was always so cheerful and fun-loving.

  “I see you made a good choice of clothing for the day’s outing.”

  Dawn looked down at her skirt. It was sturdy and well-fitting but showed the signs of many repairs.