by Pam Uphoff
Master Xen stepped away from them to look at the herd of kids. And adults. It looked like half the city wanted to watch.
“All right. We are in the process of expanding city services, here. A team—a Mage Compass with a lot of building experience—is going to use magic to create the large diameter main pipes of the sewer and storm water system. And you guys are going to observe from a safe distance . . .” Master Xen chewed on a knuckle. “What they are doing will be mostly out of sight . . . underground. I think. Q and I may need to jump in occasionally . . . umm . . . the last time we did a major project, they gave a great example of drunk on magic. Hopefully that will not repeat . . . but we do need to be on hand . . . just on general principles.”
Yrno was grinning and leaned over to whisper gleefully. “This could be awesome. Drunk on magic.”
“Uh huh. But if it’s out of sight, it’s going to be boring.” Arno eyed the builders. “I think I’ll try to feel what they’re doing.”
***
“Manholes? Really?”
Xen looked at his uncle with trepidation. The Rip Crossing sense of humor could be embarrassing anywhere else in the Multiverse. “Yes. Holes a man can go down and check for problems. The civilized types think they are necessary.”
“Hey, if it’s in the plan, we’ll do it.” Ras looked at the plan, and then around the plaza. “Right, one starts up that block all along here, turns the corner and dodges down to the diagonal street.”
Orion pointed. “Another starts over there, and runs across that side of the plaza and meets up at the diagonal. And then down the diagonal and across country to the stream. A couple of side pipes and done. Well, apart from hooking up to the buildings.”
Havi nodded. “So, let’s start over here.”
Xen kept an eye on them while he turned to talk to the kids. Who seemed to have reacquired their pals from the Maze. “These eight guys are very strong individually. In a compass, they are flat out scary. Keep your distance, and watch how they handle power.”
The kid crowd was followed by an adult crowd.
Xen looked at Havi, waving papers and pointing at the ground. “. . . start with a manhole . . .”
Then the paper blew away and the men reached out to each other, an easy, experienced, merge and the power built.
A hole opened in the street. Xen could feel a faint quiver of the ground, probably the soil and the limestone beneath it compacting away from the incipient pipe . . . which was showing a strong resemblance to a rather sizable tunnel
He heard the indrawn breathes behind him as the closest slab of rock squeezed down the hole like putty and disappeared. The eight Mages dropped their hands and strolled down the quivering street, keeping their formation. At the next marked manhole, the dirt fountained out of the hole and Xen hastily diverted it in a stream that arced over the small crowd and piled up behind them along the side of the Disco staff’s houses.
“Don’t forget the junction with the Earth’s residential building.” Xen watched them make a hole in the side of the pipe and run a smaller diameter pipe a dozen feet toward to Earth’s fenced off compound.
Then a side pipe toward Disco . . .
Q darted over to the far side, and they coordinated handling the debris and occasionally bringing in extra granite. Making the crowd stand back . . . Feeling a power twitch, gravity? And fishing two kids out of the manhole they’d dropped down into . . .
“Sorry Captain Wolfson. It didn’t look that deep!” Irwun looked quite cheerful, likewise his brother.
Must have rubber bones, it’s a good twenty feet down!
Their age-mate Zodiac had had enough sense to not jump in . . . Or maybe he’d cushioned their falls.
These boys need more training.
Zodiac pasted on an innocent look.
A quick scan of the crowd showed a lack of any of their various relatives.
“We moved up to the first world across to do a bit of trading with the campers. The witches were just setting up a display and told us to get lost.” Alin looked innocent.
Xen sighed. “You two need to get signed up for the Two-Year Rotation.” Give you something useful—and honest—to do.
The twins rolled their eyes in unison.
“Well, I guess some boys like living with their mothers. I was quite happy to get away for a couple of years.” Xen shrugged, then having done his duty to the Kingdom, trotted back to save the spectators from the Mad Mages.
“What’s the two year rotation?” A young boy’s voice, probably one of his swarm, queried the older teenagers.
The terrible twins attracted a small bit of the kid crowd that had gotten bored with the mostly-out-of-sight construction.
“And what was that thing you did to make them not fall very fast?”
Xen took a quick glance back. Arno. Rael’s boy. Mine. Ours . . . Did he feel that gravity effect? Is that why everyone missed his having grasped power? If he just started using gravity . . . Oners don’t, so they wouldn’t look for it. And I didn’t either. That’s really interesting.
A side pipe for the Kingdom’s embassy, Arrival’s . . . The Compass turned the corner, and strolled west . . . a pipe almost to the Oner Embassy.
At the next corner they broke off for a stretch and to grab drinks and sandwiches out of thin air.
Xen grinned at them. “I’m impressed. You’re much less out of control than usual.”
Ras laughed. “It’s sewers, dammit. Why would we decorate them? Now when we get to the outfall . . . Ah, then we can have some fun.”
“Oh . . .” Cor’s snickering. That’s a really bad sign.
“You’ll love it.” Havi slapped his shoulder. “Well, depending on how well we stick to the plan.”
Xen winced and didn’t mention that his plan had involved an open pipe just above the stream’s flood stage with a rock spillway down to the drought level.
What can they do with it, anyway? He winced. Anything they want to.
They walked well past the Earth Embassy and the companies along the south side of the road and half a mile on, before they circled back up to start again. At the diagonal, they joined up to the first tunnel, and then they started down the diagonal road.
Two major branches, and then out through the countryside. Xen kept them going mostly straight—they tended to go around trees—and then the final slope down to the stream.
Where the big pipe surfaced . . . to a series of drops down to the stream.
Waterfalls, once there’s actual water flowing.
It was all angular and clean until the statues started popping up. A rearing horse with odd holes in the upper shoulder that with a spray of water might look like wings.
A woman washing her hair under one drop. Kids and dogs playing . . . Pagodas, pools, a big flat area of small holes with one way spells for a fountain.
Right. Wait until everyone hears about the sewer-water playground.
Xen walked into the twenty foot high main sewer pipe. Tunnel. An almost flat floor, with walks along both sides, larger than the specs, but not by too much . . . well, double.
The walls were covered with waves, leaping fish, a sea serpent . . . He shook his head and walked back out.
Time to distract the Mages.
If he could.
***
“You know, Xen . . .”
Xen looked across the table at Cactus. “Yes?”
“You may have gotten all your Oner kids out of the sewers, but half the rest of the population of the planet is still walking in and out, checking out the . . . artwork.”
“Well . . . I’ll see about doing something about the obscene bits. But even so, you have to admit that it beats months of torn up roads.”
She rolled her eyes. “Mermaids and dragons doing naughty things? I’m going to pretend I didn’t see the octopus . . . mural.”
“Sorry. Most of it’s subconscious.”
“So, can I imagine that perhaps only a single one of them is a pervert?”
Xen bit his
lip . . . “Two at least. Orion and Cor . . . Well Havi’s a bit of a ladies man. But Korbin and Ras are just regular guys. Zip and Kal . . . have an interesting history. And Richie’s one of the Old Gods. The God of Eternal Youth.”
“I see.”
I hope not. The God of Orgies and three of the original Goat Boys . . . and Cor.
“They’re all pretty normal Rip Crossers. Party Boys.” Xen managed to not mention orgies at any time of the day or night . . . “They party a lot. Umm, avoid being alone with Cor, and you’ll be fine.”
“Cor being?”
“The oldest blond. Umm, the Archetype of the Dirty Old Man. No. Not kidding.” Xen half stood to look around the restaurant. Sat down with a sigh. “He’s probably out looking for some nice old lady to flash.”
Ambassador Ashe wound through tables to theirs. “Well, that was impressive. And tomorrow they’re going to do something to the water supply system?”
“Yep. Much less apt to collect artwork. I hope.”
Ashe and Cactus both snickered.
Ashe looked over his shoulder. “I don’t see as many kids as I’d expected.”
“I failed to exhaust them today. Some of them are off exploring the Maze. They’ve got a mapping project underway. The rest of them went to the theater, with the local kid pack for that new movie.”
More snickers. It was, of course, another “Endy Dewolf” adventure. Fantasy. I’m willing to bet it has very little resemblance to my first encounter with the Helios Miniverse. Although . . . maybe I should check it out. In case it’s really bad. So I’ll know what they’re laughing about.
“I’ll wear them out tomorrow.”
***
“Dr. Quicksilver?” Ryol swallowed nervously and looked around . . . her aunt’s office.
“I don’t bite.” The witch looked amused. “Come in, sit. What’s up?”
“Well, we met some witches in the Maze. Master Xen said they were smugglers.”
“Crimson, Walnut, Macaw, and Eden. And whichever kids were with them this trip. Did you have a problem with them? I haven’t found the boys any worse than any other seventeen year olds.”
“No. I talked to Crimson, about what Walnut and Macaw did to Master Xen.” Ryol squirmed, uncertain what can of worms she was opening.
“Umm. Macaw was fifteen, and Walnut eighteen. Old enough to know better, but that family was . . . difficult. Too many old women living together under a holy terror of a matriarch, the younger women taking care of them, and the little kids. And not having time for the teenagers. And like most teenagers, curious about sex. And rebelling against controlling elders who never took the time to explain . . . anything.”
“Well, my parents are a little that way, but . . .”
“Yeah. That’s part of parenting. Those women took it to an extreme. Anyhow, the three sisters experimented with magic, with no supervision, and made a magic ring that made them irresistibly sexy. And Walnut ran off and used it on a boy . . . do you realize that losing one’s virginity releases a burst of power that can damage a sexual partner?”
“What! No . . . or, not for Oners.”
“Oh dear. I think we need to have a talk with all you part Comet Fall girls. Hopefully it’s just an effect of the witch power gene.” Dr. Quicksilver looked worried. “Well, Walnut’s boy wasn’t much harmed, just sort of out of it for a few days. Then Macaw took the ring and snuck into the room where Xen was recovering . . . and then Walnut wanted to try a powerful wizard too, so she snuck in.”
“And they both got pregnant? At fifteen? Eww!”
“Indeed. So?”
“Oh, well, they seemed a bit sad that they were missing the Winter Solstice in Ash, something about getting disinvited by the head witch. I wondered if they could come here . . . Xen mentioned hotsprings. But maybe not.”
“That was all fourteen years ago. I slapped them down hard, so maybe they’d remember to not take advantage of men. And so far as I know, they’ve been sensible about it.” The witch eyed Ryol. “I hadn’t thought about it, but perhaps I’ll invite them. All the local witches who don’t go home, go up to the hotsprings here on the Solstice.”
Q frowned. “And I think I’ll take all of you girls up there tomorrow so we can have a little talk about the facts of life for young witches.”
Chapter Seventeen
Hotsprings and the Moon
Same routine, the next day. Arno groaned. “Rise before dawn, run, martial arts. Not that I have many expectations for Magic Camp, but . . . “
And after the martial arts—and getting his butt kicked sparring—Master Xen gave them some quick instructions.
“Casual dress. The boys will be practicing on the beach in small groups, today. The girls—take your swimsuits, or wear them underneath. Q and Rael are going to give you some female type advice. Right after breakfast at The Kitchen.”
Master Xen took Yrno, the other Arno, Yrbo, and Or What off to the beach.
The priests conferred, then the female types went off with Rael and Q and all the girls.
Eight of us left, with three priests?
Ytry nodded. “Well it’s a nice day, so why don’t we step out and we’ll dole you out among us. We’ve got three with training. Three blossomed with no training to speak of, and two who haven’t quite blossomed.”
Izmo snorted. “You’re the lion tamer, Ytry. And Unvu’s got his nose in the air. So I’ll show these boys the early exercises, so they’ll have control when they do feel the power. Unvu can take the trained boys and show them the next stage. Leaving you with three powerful lads who need to learn both control and actions.”
Ytry sniffed. “Bossy. Arno, Avro, and Ogri. Let’s step over here.”
The old priest coached them in shielding, both mental and energy, and talked about physical shields.
“Don’t try them yet. Avro and Ogri, your power collection is a bit wobbly, and that can have some unfortunate effects with physical shields.” He frowned a bit at Arno. “You . . . puzzle me a bit. I can’t feel you pulling power, but now that you’re getting experience with the shields, they’re so strong you must be outside sourcing. I’m going to have to think about this.”
“Master Xen said it might be because I don’t have the One gene.”
“Hmm . . . I suppose that could be it. However, let’s move on to sensing things. Close your eyes and open those mental shields to incoming glow. Can you locate all the people around you? You know where the other three are, and where I am . . .”
Arno considered his two-way mirror . . . and dissolved the outside reflector. And hastily put up a fogginess to tone down the brilliance from outside.
It wasn’t that bright before! I know my magic is supposed to grow as I get older, but it didn’t know it would go so fast!
He tucked the speculation away . . . and looked for the others. Not working with the fog. All right. Back to the mirror, and open a small hole.
Right. There’s Ogri, irritated and wanting to go back to the beach, and Avro, also irritated, because his twin brother got to go with Master Xen first. And One Ytry, glowing with absolutely no information getting out. That’s a nice trick!
He looked around further. One Unvu was leaking irritation at having to drill rank beginners. The three beginners were getting very little training at all, and they were getting irritated.
Irritation all around!
Except over there, where One Izmo and two low glowing spots were calming and meditating.
He reached further. Lots of glows around, Oners leaking enough that the other Oners would respect them. What are those guys doing? Oh, Mahmud, Erek, and Max.
Watching us. They’re all older than we are. Don’t they get training? They could ask Master Xen. After all, their dads are Disco Agents.
And they’re irritated too . . . because the girls aren’t here? Great, they’re pervs. Or, well, maybe typical teenagers, because it’s not like anyone here’s taking their clothes off.
Why is everyone so irritated? Or
am I misinterpreting what I feel?
He opened his eyes and looked at One Ytry. :: Are there a lot of irritated people around here, or am I projecting? ::
One Ytry blinked. :: Ogri and Avro are both irritated. And you . . . are very sensitive. And picking up control impressively quickly. I’d add you to the “trained” group, but Unvu’s not teaching them anything at all . . . ::
Arno’s head jerked around suddenly, to the school building. That glow was not so much bright as dense, or maybe deep, giving a small peek into a vast underground reservoir of strength.
:: And Wolfson’s back. :: Ytry stood up.
:: With Yrno, Yrbo, Or What, and the other Arno. They all feel sort of boggled. ::
Ytry shot him a quick frown. :: Indeed. Boy . . . you are going to be pretty scary when your magic fully emerges. ::
Arno thought that over. :: Scary? Like that friend of Ebsa’s? The Warrior Ra’d ibn Nicholas? He was sharp, and dangerous, but so’s Ebsa. I wasn’t afraid of them. ::
Ytry laughed. :: Oh, you’re Rael’s son all right. Enough. ::
“Ogri! Avro! Enough. Let’s see what your biofather is going to do next.”
And I need to find out what I’m going to do next. Or become next.
***
“Wait . . . you mean we could literally, actually, kill a boyfriend the first time we have sex?” Ryol boggled at Dr. Q sitting so comfortably in a full lotus. She looked beseechingly at Aunt Rael.
Who shook her head. “There’s a burst of power the first time you have sex. But not big enough to damage your lover. And I’ve never heard of this channeling. I mean, you can exhaust them, but it’s very rare that a drain is even serious. I’ve never heard of a fatality. The ability to drain someone of so much power their glycogen blood level would drop enough to put them in a diabetic coma, or even outright kill them? Yikes.”
Q nodded. “Good. Hopefully it’s not an issue for half Oners. But you do need to know, and watch for it. The channeling is the big leap in a young witch’s abilities. It enables the handling of a huge amount of power. Hmm.” She reached a hand out to Aunt Rael. “May I demonstrate?”