Yes, and then he'd want to know why Senth didn't and no way was he explaining to dear old Dad how he hacked into Planet Fun for "a planetful of fun" instead of going to class.
That fortune Dad paid for Senth to attend classes at the guild academy? Yeah, wasted a full day of it to impress a few girls, which was why he was calling needing a bail out.
No way was he going back to the droid, stand right in front of a table full of professors, and do the Hey can I borrow your key thing.
Riiight.
He tried a few other codes, used a couple of work-arounds and then trashed two premium override keys trying to wangle a back-way in.
"Forget this." Senth snapped the lockpick shut and got out his mobile. He tapped his first choice for help, the third name from the bottom of his contacts list. When his fellow thief answered, voice only, Senth wasted no time. "You got overrides for a Probata?"
"Excuse me? Who do you think you're talking to?" The woman never blinked in class. She listened, took no notes, never failed a test. "How bad you need it?"
Bad enough not to make a fool of himself in front of his professors. "Season ticket to Planet Fun. You can barter that for anything."
"Hmm." Clicking sounds in the background. Searching the value, most likely. "Stolen or purchased?"
"Excuse me?" Senth returned. "Who do you think you're talking to?"
She gave a throaty chuckle. "Send your code. I'll send mine."
Senth unclipped the chip from his debit bracelet, inserted it into the send slot and tapped her icon. "Done."
"Same."
The code came up on his mobile. "Thanks."
"Pleasure's all mine."
Senth disconnected. It had taken him half the day to hack into that security system and forge an aced-up pass. It took two seconds to transfer the code to his lockpick. He aimed it at the device.
"Excuse me, sir." The android stepped in front of him. "I need to restock coffee. I'll be out of your way in a moment." He opened the door and stepped aside. "Are you finished or would you care to come in?"
Fist clenched around the now unneeded lockpick, Senth chewed the inside of his cheeks. "Waste of a perfectly good pass."
Yellow lights flashed on the droid's name tag. "Pardon, sir? Was that a joke also?"
"Apparently, only on me." He trudged after the droid.
Once the droid finished and Senth was alone, he accessed the password function. That he had no idea what it might be did not deter him. Unlike the door, this took no time to break.
"This is prolly some test to see how fast I can breach idBot." He opened the message, and then brought the device to his ear.
"A worker at the Guild says he's met a man who claims you're family. Come home and we'll discuss it. Now." The message ended.
Senth jerked the device from his ear. "No way I heard that right." He pressed play and brought it back to his ear.
"The idBot messaging system regrets that your message has been deleted. Would you like to access another message at this time?"
"No, I wouldn't like to access another message. I want to hear this message." He poked at the screen. None of the usual options showed. After several fruitless attempts, he resorted to asking for help. "IdBot, how do I replay the message?"
"Message has been deleted."
"I know that, you stupid machine. Undelete it."
"IdBot is unable to comply."
Senth swore under his breath. "Why?"
"Message was delivered as hear-once-and-delete. Would you like to access another message at this time?"
"No, I wouldn't, idiotBot." Senth turned off the device and jammed it into his pocket. "Thank you not very much."
Chapter Three
Kelthia, Miraj City, Holding District
The Harbinger's home
The three-story house resembled others in the neighborhood. Constructed with brown stone and trimmed with beige marble, nothing about it stood out. Curtains fluttered in an open window on the bottom floor. A white picket fence led to a path lined with pink flowers. A pink wreath made the place look homey and sweet. The façade fooled anyone who lacked entry codes.
Senth pressed his palm against the lock plate and the idBot security system scanned him. Locks clicked open.
Truth was, this house was all steel fortress and thick walls. Not long ago, someone out to get his father had blown it up. The rebuilt place could withstand a war.
And those curtains fluttering in the open window? Please. As if anybody in this house would leave a burglary invitation. There wasn't even a window on that side. Massively believable hologram.
Not a sound in the house, and when Senth checked the security panel, it showed the staff had gone for the day. No one home.
"Riiight." That reading meant the Man was here, because idBot never saw him no matter where he went. How he managed that was beyond Senth, but hey--the guy owned the company, right? Must be nice. Whatever this was about, Saint-Cyr wanted privacy for it, which couldn't be good for Senth.
He swept off his cloak and hung it on a peg. "Hi, Daddy, I'm home!"
Luc Saint-Cyr rounded the corner. Built like a towering god of war, his father filled the small entry.
Senth took a step back.
Saint-Cyr's impressive height forced Senth to look up in order to meet his gaze. Solid-black eyes made the black-skinned man resemble a giant bird of prey, and he had all the warmth of one.
"I am not Daddy, Senthys. We've discussed this." Saint-Cyr adjusted a white cuff on his dark business suit. "If you must use a familial term, use Father."
"Been thinking about changing it to Pops." Senth rocked on the balls of his feet.
His father about choked. Those black eyes narrowed. "You most certainly will not. I have asked you to--"
"Yeah," Senth interrupted. "And I've asked you to call me Senth. Not Senthys."
"Nicknames lack dignity."
"Father sounds like a priest. Which you aren't."
Saint-Cyr took one step closer.
It took all Senth's considerable will not to back up, look away or otherwise submit. How many people wilted before that black-eyed gaze? He swallowed, focusing on the reflections of light in the man's glassy stare. If he held on for a few more seconds...
Saint-Cyr looked away first, pinching the bridge of his nose and murmuring something about battles.
Senth clasped his hands behind him. Steeling himself against any show of relief, he dropped the pose. No submission. No giving in. Not in front of this man.
His father gestured toward the kitchen and headed in that direction. "You're late."
Senth clenched his fists but forced open his hands and took a deep, calming breath. "I am not late. Your note said now. Now isn't a time. I came as soon as I could."
"How good of you. I could have accomplished a great deal of work in the time you've spent dallying." Saint-Cyr twisted and looked back at him. He gestured to the table. "You were planning to join me, I assume."
Senth crossed to the table, pulled out a chair opposite. "You aren't the only person who works. I was working too."
"At what? According to the Grand Master, you have no contracts on file." His father pulled out a chair and sat, hands folded.
He jammed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and fought the instant retort that shot to mind. Once again, dear old Dad had bypassed asking him. "I picked up the new cloak. I was testing it."
"Ah." Saint-Cyr leaned back. "Go get it. Let me see it."
Senth returned to the foyer and donned the cloak and gloves, and then pulled up the hood, activating the Nightstealth. Once invisible, he crept back to the kitchen, careful to make no sound. He couldn't pass up a chance to sneak up on the Man. He'd been trying to accomplish that since he was a kid.
The family dining room was empty. Senth edged around the corner to the formal dining room, tiptoed into the pantry, then the adjacent family room. No one. With care to miss the squeak on the hallway floor, he crept into the kitchen.
*
* * *
The moment Senthys left the room, Luc stood and pulled on his own cloak and gloves. After raising the hood, he settled into an out of the way corner. How long had it been since he'd played hide and seek with his son?
Seemed centuries ago.
Back then, it had been behind curtains and furniture. Nothing so high tech as this.
Senthys had been four. Younger, perhaps. The boy had thrown himself into the game with all the gusto of a ruckball player completing a pass. When he'd find Luc, he'd squeal with delight and start hissing, dancing from one foot to the other. And then Luc would throw his arms wide and his son would run to him...
A shimmer of light revealed that Senthys had entered the room and passed before a lamp. As Luc grew accustomed to the effect, his son's outline showed. Similar to the aura Luc saw around his own people, but a hundred times dimmer.
The immortal needed every gift in his arsenal to stay ahead of Senthys.
With each visit Luc made to this world, the young mortal grew closer to discovering Luc's secret life. Once his son learned the truth, there was no going back.
Such knowledge posed a threat to himself, his people hidden around the Empire, and more importantly, to his all-too-mortal son.
A son whose mentors all coached him in uncovering corporate secrets and lies.
After Senthys passed the lamp a third time, Luc tapped him on the shoulder.
With a hiss that morphed into a screech, the boy knocked back his hood, which turned off the invisibility.
Laughing, Luc pushed back the hood of his own to reveal himself. "Tag. You're it."
"Not funny!" Senthys brushed hair out of his eyes. "You scared the life out of me!"
Saint-Cyr bared his teeth. "Good." He pulled off his gloves, shrugged out of the cloak, and draped it over a chair. "I got mine last week. Black, as you can see, though your blue is a nice touch. You'll live up to your guild name in that. Hot, though. No circulation." He swept both hands through his damp hair.
"How did you--" Senthys yanked off his gloves. "I couldn't see you at all. How did you find me?"
"I didn't move. To find you, I simply knew where to look. Watch." Saint-Cyr whipped the cloak back on and drew up the hood. He took a few steps away, then back, and lowered the hood. "See me?"
"Yeah. When you moved." His son shrugged. "Because I knew where to look."
"As I said. Impressive technology." Luc removed the cloak. "This is going to make thieves a lot of money."
Senthys snorted. "Only until copbots upgrade to beat it."
"Too true." He tossed the garment back over the chairback. "But by that time, no self-respecting thief will want a cloak without it, and Nightstealth will have an expensive upgrade."
"What makes you think it'll be expen--"
"Senthys." Luc folded his arms.
"Ah. I should have known. What's that saying on Tarth? 'Never underestimate the Man's ability to turn a profit.' You invested in Nightstealth, didn't you?"
"Invested!" Luc jerked up his head. "What do you take me for?" He seated himself. "I bought it outright."
"Of course, you did." Senthys folded his cloak over a chair.
"Sit." He tapped the table. "Let's talk."
His son dropped into place across from him. "What's with the encrypted hear-and-delete message? I didn't even know idiotBot did that."
"Here now! Show a little respect. I own idBot."
"There's irony." Senthys leaned a chin on one fist. "Top security service in the Empire owned by the top thief."
He brushed at lint on a sleeve. "Former thief. I'm retired."
"Sure you are, which is why you hold an Arcane Level seat on the Guild Council and got your cloak last week before anybody else."
All his advisors warned him against reaction or provocation with his son. Never push a Kin into a corner. They will claw you in half to escape.
Or in the case of a clawless HalfKin, bite whatever they can reach.
Luc had witnessed what his son's fangs could do to a man's throat. He rubbed a spot on his hand. "Label me as you wish, but I will thank you to show respect. IdBot even guards the Thieves' Guild."
"Yeah? Well you can label it what you want, Dad, but everybody at the Guild calls it idiotBot."
He refused to let that go. "IdBot pays the bills around here."
"It might pay your bills." Senthys leaned an elbow on the table. "But as you so often remind me, it's up to me to pay the bills in this house, not you. I've been paying them since I was twelve, so don't give me any grief about what to call idiotBot."
With a reminder to pick his battles, he took a deep breath. "Yes, you have. I'm quite proud of that. You're one of the best thieves in the Guild." He leaned back. "And that's straight from the lips of the Grand Master, not me."
"Great, because I'm sooo interested in what he has to say."
Why must his son express continual irritation with the man? "What is your issue with the Grand Master? He's quite fond of you."
"Yeah? How nice." Senthys tapped the table. "Stop avoiding my question. What's with the weird secret message?"
"I don't want that kind of information hanging about in the ether. Best to take it down as soon as it's heard."
"It's true? I have family of some kind."
"You do." Luc pushed back his chair. "Let's have some coffee." He started to rise, but at his son's sigh of irritation, sank back down. "Very well. Coffee later. When I adopted you, all I knew was that your mother was human, you were given to slavers by an elderly Kin female to save your life, and you had a half-brother."
"I know that. You-- Wait." Senthys sat up straighter. "You never told me I had a brother." He lurched to his feet. "How long have you known?"
Luc forced himself not to flinch or draw back. Not to show fear. He caught himself rubbing the old wound on his hand and stopped it. He cleared his throat. "From day one."
His son's mouth dropped open. "Since I was three years old you knew I had a brother. You knew." He slammed both hands on the table. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Feet planted flat on the floor, Luc calmed himself before responding. Advice to the contrary, no one spoke to him in that tone. "Son, you will respect me. Sit. We'll discuss this. Like adults."
The youth narrowed his eyes, one corner of his mouth twitching, but he sat. "Sorry."
"The information I had was from an anonymous Kin female who'd made a 'gift' of a newborn child to a group of slavers. In the three years before I adopted you, it's surprising they even kept a scrap of that information. The children's home where you were sheltered had no other details. With the little info provided, I couldn't determine if your brother was human or Kin. For all I knew, he was with his natural family."
"What if he was a HalfKin?"
"Absolutely not."
"You can't be sure of that."
"Son, the Kin never separate twins. To them, twins are sacred. The likelihood of him being HalfKin is nil."
"He wouldn't have to be my twin. He could've been older than me. I--"
"Senthys," Luc said with exaggerated patience. "Think. You were born the same year Felidae was discovered. There were no humans on the planet until the Empress stationed Praetorian there. HalfKin are human-Kin hybrids. Therefore, no older HalfKin brother."
"Oh. Okay, I guess not. You think he was either Kin or human."
"I said as much."
Senthys jumped up again, paced behind his chair. "Maybe my father was a Praetorian. A lot of Kin joined the Praetorian Guard that year, didn't they?"
"Yes. It's possible."
"Go on." Leaning on the chairback, his son gestured for him to continue. "You said you looked for my brother."
"Yes, before I finalized your adoption. If I'd have found him, I'd have adopted him too if he had no family. I looked for your mother also. However, with nothing to go on but a last name, I had no luck."
"Why'd you want her?"
Because no one took what belonged to him. Because if he claimed this boy, he'd to
lerate no interference or outside claims.
"I wanted to be sure your family wasn't looking for you. I found no records of a woman with the name Antonello having been on Felidae. Until now, she simply didn't exist. With what I discovered about your brother, there were new clues, including your mother's first name, Sileenya. A liaison at what you so quaintly call idiotBot is searching for more."
"But you knew I had a brother from day one."
"Yes, I did."
"And here I thought you never lied to me."
"Son, I have never lied to you." He hadn't told the whole truth. That was different.
"Oh, yeah? You knew I had a brother, but you didn't tell me."
"That was hardly a lie. What good would it have done? If I couldn't find him with all the means I had at my disposal, you couldn't have."
Grimacing, Senthys scratched a thumb across the chairback. "I guess."
"You guess? I--"
"All right!" The young HalfKin threw up both hands.
Every muscle in Luc's body tightened.
"Sorry." Senthys dug his nails into the chair. If his son had claws, he'd have punctured it. "All right? You were correct and I was wrong. You happy now?"
"Son." Luc released his tension. "I am never happy about you being wrong. Be that as it may, if at any time, your family information had become available, I'd have told you." He withdrew a slim notereader from an inside pocket. "As I have done this very day." He set it on the table.
Senthys lowered his head. "I shouldn't have doubted you."
"Apology accepted."
"Is that the info?" He nudged his chin toward the reader. "What else does it say?"
"In good time. I adopted you but didn't change your last name to Saint-Cyr so if your family looked for you, they'd find you, and that's how it happened. A worker at the Guild mentioned to this person that he knew another Antonello. One thing led to another."
"That's why you kept my name?"
"Of course." Luc frowned. "Why else?"
"I thought--" Senthys eased back into his chair. "Never mind."
"Say what you're thinking."
His son didn't react at first, but finally lifted his head. "I figured... you were--you know." He gave a small shrug. "Ashamed of me."
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