by John Booth
Eddie smiled. “All the chips are fully tested before being cut from the wafer. Look, I’ll show you.”
He took Lana to a keyboard and an enormous display. After pressing a few buttons he turned to her.
“It’s in diagnostic mode. Which variant would you like to see tested?”
“All of them in turn please.”
Eddie pressed a few buttons and the screen showed a red checkerboard with thousands of elements. I extended my magic sight to inside the machine, but it didn’t help. The checkerboard rapidly turned green, which I gathered was a functional block passing a test. There were strange flashes of magical energy within the machine for the second and fourth test. I had no idea what that meant.
We thanked Eddie and I made him forget we were there. He wandered off, presumably to chase up his air filtration problem.
“The forth variant is the Wizard Detector,” Lana said. A lot of the software structure is familiar, so I could track some of the functions. One of the other variants does something with magic, but I don’t know what.”
“If we destroy this factory does the problem go away?” I asked.
The girls gave me withering looks. They were right. Tens of thousands of detector chips had been sent to London. It was unlikely all the finished detectors had gone on to Killan.
This was getting very complicated.
“We should make sure that the chips only get sent to London and then get out of here,” Esta suggested.
“Don’t expect off-world addresses,” I told her in an attempt at a joke. But she was right. There was nothing else we could do.
32. Conference
We regrouped in the Bat Cave the next morning. The girls were not impressed by Fluffy’s housekeeping.
“This cave reeks of burnt meat,” Lana told me. “And when was that sofa last cleaned?”
I was sure I had freshened it up a couple of days ago, but I dutifully gave it a magical sponge bath and dry. Lana looked slightly happier.
“What was wrong with meeting in our apartments?” Esta asked.
[I would not fit in it,] Fluffy said. He had been lying very still and the cave was dark. He raised his head and smiled. Unfortunately, unless you have a close friendship with dragons their smiles and snarls are difficult to tell apart.
Esta stepped back and Lana drew her sword. Smoke curled lazily from one of Fluffy’s nostrils. I knew that meant he was amused. They didn’t.
“The Dragons need to be informed of what we’ve found out, so I thought we could do it all at the same time. This is Fluff..err Lord Retnor, The Ambassador for the Dragons on Balmack.”
“This is not the Embassy,” Lana said looking around her. “This is somewhere on Earth.”
[This is my home. I bid you welcome.]
Esta recovered her manners first. “Thank you, Lord Retnor for allowing us to enter your dwelling.”
[Jake regards it as his home half the time. The whole place stinks of human.]
Lana slowly put away her sword. “I don’t see what this business has to do with the Dragons.”
[The Knights of Justice and the Dragons have a long history together.]
“Ladies. Can I interest you in tea and biscuits before we start?”
Lana nodded.
Esta looked startled. “Where did the dragon go?”
Fluffy had hopped or possibly glimmed.
“I’m sure he’ll be back in a minute.”
Lana shuddered. “Is this cave always so cold?”
I applied some magic to heat it up. The cave was rarely cold for long so it was an unusual thing to have to do.
I got the milk out of the refrigerator and checked it was fresh. I had made the mistake of not checking it on one unforgettable occasion. We waited for the tea to finish brewing.
Fluffy reappeared. Jenny was riding him. She slid down his neck and walked towards me.
I gave my dragon a look.
[She made me,] Fluffy said in a thought aimed exclusively at me.
We hugged and Jenny gave me the most passionate kiss I could remember, long and lingering. When she turned to face the girls, she had her arm around my waist. She smiled warmly at them, the way she smiles at children.
“I’ve been waiting to meet my husband’s little student friends for such a long time. I’m Jenny, Jake’s wife.”
Esta blushed and Lana looked uncomfortable. Lana recovered enough to speak.
“Jake has told us so much about you. He talks about you all the time.”
Jenny laughed. “I doubt that. Can you name my birthday?”
I knew we should have learned sign language.
Lana didn’t try. “Each world has its own measures of time. On my world we only celebrate actual birth, menarche, marriage, and death”
Jenny’s smile seemed to be frozen in place.
“Who’s looking after Merlin?” I asked in an attempt to break the tension.
“He’s at my parents’. Though who’s looking after who is more the question.”
“Fluffy told you about our meeting?”
Jenny turned to Fluffy who seemed to flinch, though I might have been mistaken.
“I am Lord Retnor’s rider and it is impossible for us to keep secrets from each other.”
[No matter how hard we try,] Fluffy telepathically sent to me alone.
Jenny spun to face us, that damned false smile fixed on her face.
“Well, are we going to start then?”
“The X-Chip is the heart of the Wizard Detector and is being made in Scotland,” I said. As I drew breath Bronwyn appeared and she didn’t look happy.
Lightning flashed inside the cave and the air reeked of ozone.
“Were you going to tell me?” Bronwyn demanded. “Did I have to find out from your wife?”
[Mind the furnishings. This is my home.]
Bronwyn stalked towards me. Her hands clenched into fists in front of her. Miniature lightning bolts in some unlikely colors flashed from her. I readied an array of protective forces.
She was three feet away when Jenny stepped in front of her and slapped her. I reached for my darling wife as hopping her away might be her only chance of survival. But Jenny dander was up and she had other ideas. She pushed Bronwyn back and stepped away from me. My hand grasped at empty air.
“You put my husband in danger as though he’s a toy and moan when he doesn’t tell you everything? You enjoyed our hospitality for years and then hold out on a cure when you know how desperate we are? You blackmail us and demand respect?”
Bronwyn was crouched on the floor and she was crying. She had the power to vaporize Jenny and yet she was cowering in front of her. The lightning had vanished. Fluffy sighed and the air cleared and the cave was lit in a soothing pastel light. Jenny bent and helped Bronwyn to her feet.
“It’s so hard,” the girl said between sobs. “Being responsible for a world inbetween homework and supper. He just waves a hand and everything is solved. He never knows what he’s doing and he always gets away with it.”
Jenny put an arm around her. “It’s his way. Women have to worry about consequences, but Jake just does whatever he feels like. We women need to stick together.”
Jenny turned to Lana and Esta. “You think life is just about having fun. All that power you possess and no responsibilities to go with it. But real people die when you wave your hands, and real people can get hurt when you spread your legs.”
[The Dragons are wondering if you are ever going to start this meeting. I am wondering if you would like to go somewhere else to continue your fight. You are frightening my lunch.]
I looked over to the holding pen way on the other side of the cave. Fluffy was right, the three sheep over there looked terrified.
Jenny turned to look at me and I had a question that bothered me.
“You told Bronwyn about this meeting?”
Jenny nodded. “By voice-mail. She had a right to know.”
The world became a little darker at that moment and I
wasn’t entirely sure if I had any friends or lovers left. There was nothing left to do except start the meeting.
“We know where the detector chips are made, but stopping their manufacture may provoke an economic crisis in the UK.”
“It’s not the chips, it’s the detectors,” Bronwyn said quietly, her voice almost calm.
“We think the detectors are assembled in the factory in London. We know they incorporate off-world parts. If we destroy the production line and any completed stock, the problem will be largely over. But we need to interrogate Richard and Greta de Conte, to find out who is behind this, or we will only have bought ourselves a breathing space.”
“Esta and I will come with you to London,” Lana said. “I understand d’Tachi equipment and you will need those skills if the de Conte’s teleport from Earth.”
“I’m coming with you,” Bronwyn said. It wasn’t a request.
“Too many wizards for an effective team,” Esta said. “I will wait this one out on Balmack.”
I stared at her in surprise. We had worked in bigger teams than this. She gave a little shake of her head telling me to back off, so I didn’t pursue it.
[The Dragons approve, provided you help us rid the multiverse of the Knights, or at the very least, reduce their numbers to something more manageable once this is over.]
The latter option seemed fair, even though I didn’t think I needed Dragon approval to raid a factory on Earth. “I’ll lead a raid with you, but I won’t commit genocide.”
Fluffy nodded on behalf of the Dragons.
Bronwyn had got to her feet. She wiped her eyes and it seemed to me she grew a couple of inches.
“We plan the raid as soon as I’ve sorted out your wives. I should have done it long ago.”
“How is Dren?” I asked. Lana and Esta focused their gazes on Bronwyn.
Bronwyn shook her head. “We can’t just remove his memories like you did to me. Their torture techniques used magic and run much deeper. He is comfortable, but he is not himself. He may never recover.”
As soon as she finished talking Esta hopped.
Lana came to and clasped arms with me. “You know where to find me.”
She let me go and hopped.
Jenny gave me a look that suggested we hadn’t finished our discussion and then stood next to Bronwyn. “Shall we go?” she said brightly.
Bronwyn offered her a shy smile and then her hand. The two of them vanished.
“I should probably go after them,” I told Fluffy.
[Not before you have helped me tidy up and calmed down my dinner.]
I looked over at the terrified sheep.
“Does that really matter?”
[It ruins the flavor.]
33. Divorce
I looked at my watch yet again. It had barely been two hours since Jenny had left with Bronwyn. Was that long enough?
[Jenny will see you now,] Fluffy thought dryly. You have to know a telepath to discover how easy it is for them to convey subtle feelings along with their thoughts.
“Are you sure? Maybe I should put it off for a few days?”
Fluffy snorted blue smoke across the cave. The color was new, usually he only puffed an acrid black smoke; this stuff was almost pleasant by comparison.
“New trick?”
[Bile. You should go now. Jenny is waiting for you.]
It looked like I had run out of excuses, though I rummaged my brain for any I may have left under a rock, before I conceded defeat. I hopped home.
Merlin ran towards me in a rush. He always seemed to anticipate my exact point of arrival. He grabbed my legs and hugged me tight.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
Then he turned and ran out of the room leaving me facing Jenny. She had crossed her arms and stood staring at me.
“Did Bronwyn do it?” I asked when the silence became unbearable.
Jenny’s voice was tight. “She spoke to Merlin and he nodded. She says my pregnancy will proceed normally.”
“Well that’s good, isn’t it?”
“It was Merlin and Morgana, just like you said it was. Merlin said: ‘Daddy doesn’t do anything without a push.’”
“I don’t?”
Jenny turned away when I started to walk towards her, so I stopped.
“Can we be honest?” Jenny asked. “Totally honest?”
She turned her head so she could see me nod. There was a pain in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t go away. I felt light-headed. Dreading what she might say next.
“It was my fault. You were in a coma and Esmeralda said you needed the magical strength that only marrying both of us would give you. I knew you would never marry her unless I forced you.”
“I don’t…” I stopped talking because she was telling the truth. The double marriage had been foisted upon me. It had also saved my life.
Jenny sat on the sofa, hands clasped tightly together.
“And that gave you the license to take a mistress. I knew you were at it with Betty even before I knew her name. Is her child yours?”
I nodded. So much for my attempts at deception.
“Esmeralda tells me you need her. That she’s some kind of prophet and she’s made you stronger.”
“She’s part Norn.”
Jenny winced. “And I’m only a girl from the valleys.”
“You’re not…” Her raised hand stopped my words.
“But it didn’t matter. You were still mine, or part mine, some part mine. Then you got yourself crucified.”
I shuddered and repressed the flashback that always came with those words.
“Not by choice.”
Jenny stared at me. “It broke you. Deep inside you something was broken and I couldn’t fix it, Esmeralda couldn’t fix it and not even your little Norn on the side made any difference.”
“I wasn’t broken,” I was pretty sure I wasn’t.
“And you went off to Balmack and came back whole. You had fucked yourself whole on those two bitches.”
Tears ran down Jenny’s face and her fists were clenched tight. “We weren’t enough for you and still aren’t. Why am I not enough? Why?”
I reached out towards her and again she pulled back from me.
“It was Dafydd, not Lana and Esta. I had to stop Dafydd before he killed more people while trying to kill me.”
“Then why did you keep on having sex with them after Dafydd was dead?”
I didn’t have an answer for that. Because I could and I enjoyed it, didn’t sound like words I should say.
“I’m sorry. I’ve cheated on you and I have no excuses.”
Jenny continued to sob and there seemed to be only one thing left to say, though I didn’t want to say it.
“Do you want a divorce?”
Jenny looked at me as though I had hit her. Then she threw a cushion at me. I didn’t know what to do so I hopped to Salice.
Esmeralda listened quietly until I told her the thing about the divorce.
“Husband, you are a moron. No, that is grossly unfair on imbeciles everywhere. I doubt one of them would say such a thing. It was at that point you came running here, wasn’t it?”
I nodded.
“I love Jenny, but she’s right. I can’t stop cheating on her. I don’t know how to stop. What else can I do?”
Esmeralda gave me one of those looks she specialized in. Like I was the silliest little boy she had ever known.
“You could have told her you loved her more than anyone else. That whatever your cock was up and into, your heart was hers alone. For someone who is over endowed, you should grow a pair.”
My mouth dropped open.
“I should go back now…”
“And she will think it came from me and not from you.” Esmeralda pulled me to her breast and cuddled me. “I know your heart is Jenny’s. I see it every time the three of us are in the same room. But she needs you to remind her of it. When you are able to see it clearly you should go and tell her. Not what I just said, but
what you feel.”
“You’re right,” I said. It all seemed so clear when Esmeralda explained it.
“Divorce,” Esmeralda whispered in a derisive voice. “Don’t you know you would sacrifice the multiverse before you would let her go?”
“Why can’t I give up Lana and Esta?” I whispered back.
“Ask your Norn Queen. I suspect they are tied to your fate.”
“And what is my fate?”
Esmeralda hugged me tighter. “Dark clouds are gathering around your world and you ask me that? You don’t need Norn blood to see it.”
I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, but resolved to ask Betty about it in the morning. Right now I needed Esmeralda’s strength and love.
Betty dropped a disposable nappy into her kitchen bin and I touched it and hopped it into a volcano a long way away.
I picked up Freyja now she was no longer smelly and cuddled her. She grinned and giggled at me.
Betty was finally ready to talk.
“I am not your marriage counsellor. What Esmeralda said makes sense. There is no alternative future where you and Jennifer are divorced. And that includes futures where the Earth and this universe have ceased to exist.”
I gave Freyja a kiss, noticing that she laughed before I tickled her. She also frowned just before I gave her back to her mother.
“Why can’t I stop having sex with them? Every time I try to think about it, my mind seemed to slide away to think of something else.”
Betty laughed. “Try being a Norn. There is so much wisdom I want to knock into that thick skull of yours, but to tell you would be to change the future.”
“You’re saying that it’s because of those Norn gifts you put in me?”
“That’s not how I remember it. To my recollection, it was an enormous slab of you in me that caused the problem.” Betty put her daughter in the high chair and offered her a bottle.
“So my relationship with the girls is important to the future?”
“Believe what you want. You will continue to have sex with these women and that is the reality. Does it matter why?”
“I guess not.” I wondered if I could sell Jenny on the idea that it was all to do with our survival. Not that I believed such a thing for a second.