by Pam Uphoff
It was tedious, being careful, because if she tipped over she'd be even more helpless. The last step was turning around backwards so her tied hands could unscrew the cap of the flask.
She pinched her fingers. And the flask was out of reach. She bumped the table. The flask teetered . . . fell toward her. She untwisted the cap, set it down. It tipped and spilled. Red wine pooled on the table and dripped off the edge.
"Son of a . . . Well, that does solve the problem of how to get my mouth on it."
More inching and scooting. Rocking, tipping . . . she smacked her head on the floor, then twisted to lick . . .damn it, it tasted like ordinary wine.
"Bloody hell. Don't tell me this stuff just hit its expiration date . . . " Fog retreated, brilliant sparkles of life all round her. "Or maybe I just couldn't feel the magic for a minute." She angled her fingers around carefully, to get them out of the way. Very odd, casting a spell behind oneself . . . carefully because slice was no respecter of human flesh. She chickened out and wrenched herself up enough to see the binding on one leg and sliced that, then kicked herself away from the coffee table and dammit, she couldn't see. She sliced again, removing a chair leg and rolled onto her back and got the other leg free and then demolished the chair bit by bit until she was free.
She limped stiffly over to glare at the bomb. Pretty straight forward, which probably meant there was a trick to it. Back to the coffee table. She unfolded the bubble handles, spread them. Scooped up the bomb, and closed it.
Heard footsteps outside the door. She snatched a loose chair leg and stepped behind the door.
Kael was shoved through the door, glassy-eyed and obviously bespelled. Loik stepped through and received the chair leg across her forehead, and a second smack as she headed floorward.
Kael blinked, shook herself, and looked around. "Humph. Stupid woman. I can't believe she didn't realize what an error it was to leave you alone."
"I'm surprised she got to you."
"Oh, I let her, once I realized she really did have you. I didn't want to delay, just in case her bomb threat was real. Although I suspected you wouldn't need any help." Kael shrugged a dismissive shoulder. "Which policeman shall we call?"
"Ox. I suspect he'll bring Izzo with him." Rael boggled a bit. She let that woman capture her . . . because of me? She looked at the old battleax. This parenting thing is amazingly complex. I mean . . . I'm nothing to her, right? She watched the older woman stagger over to a chair and collapse, blinked back tears. Wrong. She risked her life. Thanks, Mom.
She searched Loik for her comm. And said it out loud. "Thanks, Mom. Good work."
Kael's head lifted, eyes widening. "My hotel, she left a trap. Mead and the kids, they're tied up and when anyone enters their door it'll go off. We have to tell them to not open that door! We have to get there."
Rael searched Loik, for her car key and headed out, punching Ox's number. She recognized the voice that answered. Oops, the office number wasn't his any longer. "Puppy? There's a possible bomb in the Durango Inn . . . Don't open the door to room." She looked at Kael.
"315."
"315. The connecting suite through the door numbered 317?" Kael nodded. "Is not trapped. Meet you there."
They staggered down the hall. Rael wasn't really drugged, Kael was still not healthy.
The old woman looked desperate. "I managed to drop my room key in the parking lot. I thought someone might turn the key in, and the desk clerk might check through the door that was safe to open. Even a crook who might try to burgle the room would be welcome . . . She taunted me. 'Come rescue your daughter quickly! Then race back here and save your pathetic lover and her boring children.' It's all my fault for being such a bitch."
Rael shook her head. "She's loopy. Totally lost track of reality. Either that or she watches too many stupid thrillers."
Five blocks. She only ran three red lights.
She staggered up three flights of stairs. Kael, anemic or not, was ahead of her . . . the door of 317 was open. Loud voices inside.
"I'm trying to rescue you, One dammit! will you please get out of here. We'll call the police from downstairs . . . "
Mead backed out of the room, Deim and Imde following . . . They spotted Kael and mobbed her.
Kitchen stepped out of the room.
"Oh, there you are." He looked past the group hug. "I really expected it to be you in there. All tied up with a bomb or whatever that is in there. It's your style." He nodded at Kael. "I saw her drop her key . . . She was moving all jerky and reluctant, so I figured it was important."
Rael heaved a sigh. All safe. Just one trap to dismantle. "Why were you there?"
"Oh I spotted this strange old woman driving my fa . . . the car you've been driving, and wondered what was going on."
Much tromping of feet, and Puppy arrived, out of breath, slowing and glaring.
"Umm, guys? Can you describe this trap on the other door?"
Mead looked around. "Oh, it was just an electrical wire, to turn on the little coffee grinder from the kitchen here. She dumped in some things from a little pillbox . . . "
"Oh. How . . . interesting. Any clockwork involved?"
They shook their heads.
Puppy sighed. "Hazmat gear, and we pull the breakers before anyone goes near." He waved off his minions to take care of that, and turned to Rael. "Do you know where we might find Princess Loik? Fortunately getting an arrest warrant for an assigned princess is much easier than for a Presidential Guard."
Rael ignored Kitchen's snickers. "Umm, hopefully out cold in the room just under Ahvi's. I have, umm, removed the bomb from there." Rael paused. "I hit her pretty hard. I hope I didn't kill her."
Puppy closed his eyes briefly. "Right. So . . . let's get everyone out of the way of the Hazmat people and you can tell me all about it."
Chapter Twelve
Friday 17, Emre 1402 yp
"There's just that one thing we must do before the wedding."
Rael looked over in surprise. Ox was frowning down at Raod, who was not meeting his gaze. "Forget to order flowers, Sis?"
The man sighed. "It's about the twins . . . parentage."
Rael snorted. "Ox . . . the only man I've ever met with eyes like that is Xen Wolfson. And I'd thought enough information about Comet Fall had been released that no one would be saying stupid things about 'natives.' Right?"
"Prejudice is remarkably resistant to facts."
Heh, worming his way into the subject, admitting nothing.
Raod swallowed. "But what is he going to do?"
Hmm. Not actually admitting anything, but that was pretty clear. Dammit, Xen's mine!
"About the kids? Raod, he grew up in their witch community. They don't marry, and they don't, by-and-large, allow the father to do much of anything with the children. This is normal for him. His buddies at Disco kid him about his twenty-whatever kids on One and he's got, like, nine kids back on Comet Fall, only two of whom he has any regular contact with. He's not going to do anything about any of his kids here."
Raod wiped angrily at her cheek. "I shouldn't have . . . I ought to have talked to you years ago . . . " She glanced at Ox, and away. "I'm worried about the kids."
"There's nothing wrong with the kids. Xen is the descendant of exiles from the same Earth the Prophets came from. Colleagues of the Prophets."
Ox stalked around to glance out the window, then turned his back on the light and studied Rael. "Have you mentioned your niece and nephew to him? Do you think he might be more interested in them specifically, because they're related to you and because you love them?"
Click. "You're seriously afraid their father is going to take them away." She snorted. "And I really hope you don't think I'd join forces with him to kidnap them and spirit them away to our castle in the Multiverse. I don't want children. Especially little ones. They're icky. Sticky. And noisy. Teenagers are almost human. And there isn't a castle. That I know of."
"And how about Urfa? Is he cold-blooded enough to use
children for leverage?" Ox was still watching her.
Rael opened her mouth to deny . . . closed it and thought. "I think the situation would have to be dire before he would use a child . . . And . . . I have mentioned the kids to Xen, but never said that I thought they were his." She blew out her breath. "Trans-dimensional diplomacy is not really conducive to complete frankness. I think that I will not mention the twins again."
Ox sighed. "I am generally not in favor of keeping bioparents ignorant and . . . absconding with their parental rights. It's borderline illegal. But this is such an odd situation. And if just keeping my mouth shut will keep Ryol and Arno safe . . . "
Rael nodded. "Yeah. In this case, screw the legalities. It's not like they were married, so his rights would be minimal, anyway."
Ox winced. "There's . . . a lot I would do to keep those kids safe."
Cop through and through. And both honest and honorable. It bothers him to skate legality, and severing a tie between father and child offends his innate decency. One more promotion and the poor man will be so far up in administration that he can't even pretend to be a cop anymore. Bet he'll hate it. And still be as honest and honorable as he can, while getting the job done.
Rael sighed. "Laws do their best, but some situations don't fit. Do your best to keep the kids safe and happy, and don't stir up anything you aren't prepared to live with."
"I didn't even want to talk to you about it." Raod glowered at him. But got up and walked over to lean into Ox just a bit.
"Smart sister."
Ox snorted. "And, umm, maybe not go out of your way to tell Urfa?"
"Heh. I'll bet he's got a list of all the women that infuriating overgrown spy was ever within ten feet of. But, yeah. I'll not mention my totally baseless suspicions of their parentage."
"Thank you." Raod looked down guiltily. "It's just . . . I have nightmares about losing the kids."
Ox put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "We had our first fight over whether we should talk to you, and how much we should say."
Rael grinned. "Neither of you admitted a thing. Such nice careful wording. Are you sure you're not a lawyer?"
"I thought about it, but I got sick and tired of college and decided to just admit I wanted to be a cop." Ox shrugged. "Although I did manage a bachelors in political science."
"Eeep! That's even worse than law school." Rael giggled. "So, you think you're tough enough to raise my niece and nephew, eh?"
"Ask me again when Ryol hits sixteen."
Rael met her sister's eyes. "Should we tell him what we were like at sixteen?"
Raod sniffed. "You were only six when I was sixteen. I doubt you remember."
"Yeah. I guess I mostly remember when you were eighteen . . . but I'll let the poor man keep his illusions." Rael sat up straighter. "Now, what was this about forgetting to order flowers?"
"I did not . . . "A flash of panic crossed Raod's face. "I guess I'd better check on them, and some other things . . . " She hustled off.
Rael got up and walked to the window, to the right of Ox, so he was facing the sun. Time for you to answer some questions with the light on your face. "I'm surprised you'd risk turning a pair of sweet innocent children over to Xen. Did you expect me to help him? Do you want me to snatch them up and run off to my native lover?" She couldn't even make that sharp, challenging. She'd visited enough, seen them together enough . . .
His eyes crinkled a bit, but there was wariness there with the humor. "I have no idea what Wolfson might do. And no, I'm very glad you aren't in charge of any children, let alone those two sweet innocent hellions. Call me biased, but a trained assassin, recently implicated in a high profile kidnapping? Whose boyfriend is an enemy agent from a medieval culture?"
"I do seem to have an image problem."
"I am worried about their father placing a claim. All I know of him are absurd rumors, worse than the ones about you. And knowing you, I can actually believe those rumors. So can I discount the stories about him?"
Rael snickered. "Don't discount anything about Xen. But he's not a monster. He won't steal children away from the woman who bore them, who raised them. Without cause."
"I'm glad to hear that. But one way or another, we needed to talk to you. Raod has nightmares about losing the kids. And we both have nightmares about the kids' futures. Especially about Arno, in five more years."
"The Comet Fall power genes are not the same as ours. The power gene on Arno's Y chromosome is not the Priest Gene, it's the Comet Fall mage gene. I doubt the One will want him . . . I'll find out."
Some slight tenseness eased in Ox's shoulders. "Good. That's very good news."
She eyed him. "Is that why you wanted to talk to me? Did you want someone to remove him from the reach of the One?"
He visibly hesitated. Didn't say anything.
Rael suppressed a snort. "Men! I'll bet that loomed large in your calculations. And hesitations. But since you're determined to raise them, listen up. They will probably grow a bit more slowly than Oner kids. And they're going to be very strong, when their magic evinces, which it may do either precociously early or very late. Xen says the strongest are often one or the other."
Ox's eyes crinkled. "That's when we send them off to visit their Aunt Rael, isn't it?"
"Oh. I should tell you about the summer I spent with Aunt Kael. It was incredibly exhausting, being completely unrestricted for two whole months. Probably a good thing I was only eleven. It limited the scope of the trouble I got myself into and out of."
"Umm, I'd rather not know."
"I'll have to think of something quite lurid, and see if I can make you believe it." She grinned. "Or maybe not. I'll try to be a good aunt."
"And we'll keep the kids safe and loved, no matter the legalities."
"Good plan."
I'll bet the One's got a list . . . then I'll have to stop trying so hard to pretend I don't know who their father is, won't I? And I'll make sure the priests in Makkah know that that isn't a priest gene on any of Xen's sons' Y chromosomes.
Imde . . . has an "abnormal" priest gene. I wonder if he knows, or even suspects it could be from Comet Fall? And is ignorance bliss?
No, it's a horrible itch, and I'll wind up scratching it. Someday. And I suspect Ryol and Arno will too, someday. I'll be careful, occasionally tell a few stories about that famous spy, so they aren't horrified when they do find out.
Chapter Thirteen
Saturday, 18 Emre 1402 yp
It was a lovely wedding. Rael ducked when the bride threw the bouquet. Grinned when she spotted Izzo looking wistfully at the glowing couple.
"So, Izzo, you want a fancy wedding?"
He reached for a tooth pick, found none and sighed. "Xiat doesn't seem interested in a relationship that could interfere with her mobility."
"Eh?"
"Well, she's a cop now. Western Region. She's not about to sleep with her boss, which as of three days ago, is me so . . . "
Rael failed to suppress a giggle. "Don't look so depressed. I'll bet the Guards are making book on how long that will last. At least you had sense enough to not part in anger . . . right?"
"Well, it's not so much parting as . . . well . . . Not dating for awhile. And I can always quit."
She noted the wistful look he cast toward the church, and changed the subject. "So, the One wanted Loik back?"
"Yes. They sent a damned air ambulance. If you find out what they do to her, or with her, let me know, eh?"
Rael wrinkled her nose. "I know the School likes to analyze the failures. I always just figured it was unavoidable human nature. What the One will do? No clue. I either should have hit her harder, or softer. Sorry. How did Former Councilman Ahvi take the news?"
"He shrugged and said he hoped the next one wouldn't be so tiresomely emotional."
"Oooo. Nasty." She grinned. "Of course if they don't send him a new princess, they've as good as said he isn't important any more."
"He appears disgusted that 'this stupid
stunt' detracted from his political reputation, and showed no indication that he might change his plans."
"Ugg. Well, Orde can beat him. Or Agni. Or any contenders from the other parties."
"I hope so."
"Tsk! And you a loyal member of the War Party."
"It's the lack of an upcoming Modernist contender that has everyone worried." Izzo shrugged. "So we stick with the established major parties, because it looks like the Modernists will sink back into obscurity as soon as Orde loses an election or decides to retire."
Rael giggled. Look in the mirror, Izzo, you're being groomed for the position. Once Orde's re-elected a second time, I'll bet the pressure for you to change parties will start. "I'm heading back to Paris before Ox decides to arrest me. How about you?"
"As long as I'm in the hemisphere, I'll swing by all the division capitals and schmooze with the governors and terrorize the Interior Relations Offices."
"Have fun!" Rael grinned and headed for the clump of family. Kael was towering over the twin menaces, looking surprisingly tolerant. Ryol was chattering about her pink hat. Arno was looking around, relaxed. The body in the rock woke up and chased the bad dreams away. Rael figured she could help Jess herd the twins through an hour or so of the party, and then back to her parent's home. And she'd be the Good Aunt for two days until it was time to head for the airport.
Note to self, charm Xen into a Paris to Montevideo corridor. Family is too important for twice a year visits.