Wine of the Gods 26: Embassy

by Pam Uphoff

  Rael nodded. "How did that other gate experiment work?"

  "Well enough. Xen went through the powered gate with the Team, and was able to open a gate back to us without, apparently, too much trouble. So . . . There are other possibilities."

  "Just not as handy."

  "It doubles the price, but it's still cheap. They've settled for charging us what five minutes of gate time used to cost for every permanent gate. Less than a year and trade from the colonies is booming, prices have dropped, with virtually no cost for gate transit . . . there are bridges that charge higher tolls than we're charging for gate transit."

  Rael giggled. "Rumor has it that the main purpose of the toll gates is to space out the vehicles. Everyone knows how dangerous gates can be. Hard to believe they're having trouble already."

  "Three fatal incidents. Eighteen with injuries, and thirty some with just vehicular damage. These gates may be mild compared to the powered gates, but they aren't harmless."

  "How about the corridor?"

  "Even more mild. No fatalities yet. Despite the idiot commuters trying their hardest."

  "It's . . . going to be an interesting decade, adjusting to all this."

  Rael looked over at him. "Did you see the DNA results on those two goats we caught?"

  "Yes. Totally normal Earth Human. Orde ordered them returned."

  "We tossed them back through the Embassy gate a week ago. At night. One only knows what they'll remember, or comprehend of their stay here." Rael shook her head. "We could feel the spell net, but that thing was designed to stick. We couldn't break it. Hell, we couldn't analyze it. Agni was looking a bit . . .odd and muttering about dragons."

  Chapter Forty

  Summer 1399

  Seaside

  The fields in the icy world were finally frost free. Plowed and showing sprouts, but even this indication of self sufficiency wasn't enough to keep the ice age farmers home. They had leapt for the chance of farming somewhere warm, barely pausing to gather their meager possessions. They had snatched edible greens and berries all the way to the river valley. Which made it a slow trip, but no fun at all, in the words of Ronnie. Some of the wizards had ridden down regularly, putting on a display of lordship. Rior ignored rumors that there were a couple of widows that were very welcoming.

  "We need some action, or the wizards are going to make trouble where we'd prefer to have friendly relations." Rior looked back at Jade.

  Jade nodded. "Falchion is better at getting the sort of World she wants. I'll open the gate home. That I can find, even if the rest of my gates are otherwise random."

  "Good. Try to get Falchion to find another Earth, and the usual location in the woods somewhere not too far from a big city."

  "I'll take her triad up there around noon. It would be nice if Epee and Gauntlet could catch on."

  Rior nodded, although he was beginning to have doubts. They are getting too powerful! They don't really need us men except for playthings and hunters. And any men would do as well.

  Thomu scratched his itching scalp. Whatever potion Mag had forced down him had caused his hair to fall out, and now it looked to be growing in multicolored patches. His father was still furious. "When you're ready to do yours, I'd like to try something, if I may."

  Jade cocked an eyebrow at him.

  He squirmed, and actually looked embarrassed. "I think that potion gave me power genes. If it did, along with embarrassing me for three months, I wondered if I could help with the gate, instead of tracking down Mag from whatever hole he's hiding in this time."

  "That wine is bad enough, and all the potions for hair color. Surely they don't make one that does genetic engineering? Of power genes?" Rior was more than taken aback, he was aghast at the thought.

  Jade leaned forward and took Thomu's hand. "Old Gods! You've got both wizard and mage genes, I know the feel. You've got a bit of glow, sort of coming and going. I wonder if that could actually work? Yes, let's you and I open a gate." She stood up and towed him out. "Or at least see if it works.

  "And get more of those potions." Mirk muttered.

  Rior nodded. "So we can all be magic." Balancing out the three way split a bit better. Wizards, witches and . . . leaders. "For now though, perhaps we should let the wizards know that we'll be going on a raid soon." He checked upstairs, and as expected found the wizards still abed, with company, of course. "We're going to open more gates today, and start scouting for a raid." Falchion was in bed with Mag. Bad combination, and naked, he could tell she was swelling with another baby. One!

  "Maybe we don't want to open any gates." Mag sneered.

  "Maybe we don't need you anymore." Rior smiled nastily and walked away. He walked out to the horse pasture. The two foals were big handsome animals now, almost as tall as their mothers. The horse lovers tended to rhapsody over their ideal legs and strong backs and such. Rior rather liked the one with the elegant blaze, and pet him before catching the chestnut mare and leading her over to the barn under all the shade trees. If Jade and Thomu could open a gate, he'd take a ride through to look around, see what part of Comet Fall they'd attached the gate to.

  Thomu was grinning, and Jade looked smug as they passed.

  "We opened a gate home, and another to a primitive world. Now we're going to try for a civilized world."

  Jade nodded. "Falchion thought we should spread the gates out a bit. So we'll put the next few on the far side of the pasture."

  Rior glanced back. "Is there a problem with too many too close?"

  Jade shrugged.

  Rior rode on, and turned his attention to persuading the mare to go through the gate. Whatever she saw on the far side wasn't too bad, she hopped through without too much trouble, turning a little to avoid the first tree. Everything was green and leafing out, and Rior couldn't see any distance at all. The trees were mid sized, the underbrush patchy.

  He kept the mare walking in as close to a straight line as they could manage, and reached and snapped small obvious branches as they pushed between trees, and then turning toward a patch of sunlight, out onto a small road. Rior stopped and broke enough branches to be sure of finding the gate again, and turned right to go slightly uphill, hopefully for a view. Clear of the trees, he could see ridgetops, the one to the left and behind with houses on the crest. Perhaps he was headed the wrong direction? But when the road crossed the low spot in the ridge, he suddenly recognized everything.

  Jade had managed to land the gate a few miles from some peasants that really needed killing. He'd put it off and put it off . . . He headed down the hill, smiling grimly.

  There was a big black mare grazing in front of Aunt Susto's house, and a well dressed young man in riding gear chatting away to a pretty middle-aged woman that was probably a niece or something, she looked a lot like Susto.

  ". . . So I've got to run, see you later, Susto." The young man was too short and wiry to be a relation to the oversized peasant farmers. He bounced down the steps and jumped to get on the big black animal.

  Rior grinned in anticipation, as he saw that the horse had managed to shed her bridle. But she just turned neatly and headed up the road, the boy giving Rior the once over with striking green eyes as they passed.

  So. Rior looked back at the woman. "You really are Aunt Susto, aren't you?" He dismounted and tied the mare. "Took one of your own potions and lucked out, did you?"

  "Oh yes." She wiggled her hips and giggled. "I don't remember ever meeting you before, handsome."

  "Oh, we met, and unfortunately I encountered some interesting effects of your potions."

  "Ah, I see. Some days I don't even recognize my own children! Lizard, what do you think you are doing!"

  It was one of the Farmers from the orgy, the young one, still with the big horse.

  "I told you, you weren't going nowhere until you collected the eggs, now git out there."

  The young man rolled his eyes, tied the horse and trotted around the house.

  Aunt Susto smiled. "Now, why don't you co
me in and we'll see what we can do about whatever you don't like about your potion. Would you like some tea?"

  "No thank you." Not after what happened last time! He shut his mental shields tight as the cacophony of spells beat at his mind.

  "Perhaps a glass of wine, then." She produced two dusty wine glasses from the clutter and produced a bottle, not the Wolf's Head Winery label that caused so many problems, thank the One.

  Rior looked over the potion bottles. There were more than he remembered, some very clearly labeled for a single effect. Curious, he took one out to the porch, away from the collective din of magic and opened up just a bit. It really was a single effect potion. Would wonders never cease. The big work horse stopped working at the knot that held him and sniffed at the bottle.

  He put the bottle back—last thing he needed was red hair—and read the rest of the labels. 'Forever Young' 'Taller' 'Male to female' and vice versa. Nothing for power genes. He sipped wine—not bad at all—and browsed. He need to remember that he was here to kill people, although starting by getting some power gene potions would be even better.

  "I have some more things back here." Susto topped up his glass and he drank as he followed her. Damn, that must have been some potion to turn that fat blob into this curvy . . . She'd led him into a bedroom. And when she kissed him, the wine went straight to his head and he found himself dropping his pants and taking her hard and fast. And again. And getting undressed and doing it over. Realizing that it was that damned wine again he wasn't gentle, and she seemed to like it that way. Finally he got a grip on himself and wallowed out of bed and got dressed despite interference.

  "You had some potions in these ugly clay jars, too," he gritted, trying to keep her at arm's length.

  "Oh! Those nasty hexes, they make your hair fall out, and then grow in funny. You don't want any of those!" her glance went to the side and down, and he pulled out a crate full of potions. Ugly clay bottles and pretty glass bottles with people's names on them. He grabbed an armful, scanned the shelves of labeled bottles and chose a selection. And a flour sack to put them in.

  "That many! My, you are going to be busy, honey. That'll be a hundred fifty royals, total." She never noticed the knife, just got round eyed and collapsed. Rior yanked the knife out, wiped it on her shift and walked out. The big horse was fucking the mare. He cursed as the stallion slid off and trotted away.

  "I hate this place." He adjusted the mare's saddle, and mounted. He'd have to come back later for the peasant. Best he leave right now before Aunt Susto's body was found. He booted the mare into a canter. He easily found the broken branches and turned off the road, following his trail. Back on the road he heard galloping hooves. Too late. They'd never catch him.

  Back through the gate, he turned for the last clearing. What sort of world had Jade and Thomu found?

  A glowing circle of hot sunshine on pale rocks and paler sand. A hot wind blew through. "Doesn't look terribly inviting."

  The mare nodded, as if agreeing.

  He turned her away and headed down to see if they'd had any success down below the pasture.

  Someone—Jade most likely—had mowed a path through the high bushes, crossing their usual path down to the beach. Three side tracks to open circles, but only one held as gate. A vertical view of short cut grass, sidewalk and street. A car passed by as he watched.

  Excellent.

  He retreated, dismounted, and tied the mare and stepped through again. To a suburban lawn. He quickly laid an illusion over his clothes. Generic black slacks and white shirt, collar open. He listened carefully, then strolled in the direction of the loudest traffic noises. Around a curve, an intersection with a busy street. A bus shelter with a map for the Calgary City Transit. He strolled on, and at a small corner store went in and bought their fanciest chocolate candy and a newspaper. Mentally suggested payment with a large denomination, and received change.

  They'd celebrate the breakthrough in gate making, and then get back to work.

  He strolled back to the gate, wondering what museums Calgary had, and what they could steal from them.

  Chapter Forty-one

  Late Summer 1399 px

  10 Quadah 1401 yp

  Embassy

  Rael smiled nicely for the ambassador. And accepted the assistant he assigned. And the guest quarters. The public reason for her visit was to preview security for a possible Presidential Visit later in the year, for the official opening of the nearly finished first Embassy building, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the much larger (eventually) second building. Well, not counting the temporary metal garages for materials, and the temporary housing for the workers.

  The trucks had driven through earlier in the day, mixed with the usual construction traffic. They'd spend the day parked, and the night getting the shell of the Oner type vehicle removed from the Purple style truck. With mega improvements, the electronic camouflage, engines, armor . . . All they needed was a minor distraction to divert the attention of the guards on the Purple gate. Tomorrow, right about the time the Purple trucks were heading home for their second load.

  Dan's sneaking about had exposed the lax security of the Purps. The lack of electronic backup. Two well trained Oner teams should be able to satisfy any suspicions with mental influences and just drive off. To explore a completely unknown world. Brave souls! Dinosaurs would be easier—they don't ask for your ID, and they don't have traffic laws. And you can just shoot them when they become a problem.

  But today, Rael put herself into the mindset of a bureaucrat, and took the tour of the raw facilities. A huge campus, three major buildings tentatively planned. Good view across the plaza to the earther's construction site.

  Her tour guide and temporary assistant, Eddi sighed. "I'd say our construction techniques were more advanced and obviously superior to theirs, but I still remember the Fallen building their embassy."

  "Ah yes. Our ordinary tech may be better than Earth's ordinary tech . . . but it's still ordinary. The vids . . . I've watched them a dozen times."

  Eddi nodded. "It was even more impressive in person . . . the glow of power off those two . . . well, we're all really polite to them."

  "They should be a hit in Paris." Rael studied the two embassies on the north side of the plaza . . . the black cubes crouched to attack beyond them. "I wonder why Disco chose a corner, rather than a side of the plaza?"

  Shrugs all around. They headed for the tin building that was doubling as a guard shack until the wall and proper guard shack were done. Eddi's teamers, their superiors. She chatted them up and then decided she'd seen enough.

  A quick dinner with a group of the guards, then Eddi and a committee of his friends extended a tentative invitation to the newly opened nightclub.

  "Oh sure. I must see it. You wouldn’t believe the arguments about the wisdom of allowing such a thing on Embassy."

  Eddi laughed. "Oh yes we would. We heard them all, on this side. I regret to say that it hasn’t turned into a hotbed of espionage, like we’d hoped."

  "Hoped?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "Well, you know, we thought an influx of Comet Fall Honey Bees . . . "

  "And Xen!" One of the girls put in.

  Igro nodded. "Witches and Baby Gods. But no, we mostly got married couples. Xen showed up once, with two women—Everyone is quite sure one of them was Deep Night Janic, who's supposed to be the author of the Outsiders stories—and he only danced with them and only had two drinks. We were horribly disappointed."

  "Well, he is a professional. And I suspect they watch the younger magicians carefully." Rael suddenly wondered if she was going to have to run Xen down. Surely he’d hear about the agent from Urfa. Or perhaps he wouldn’t recognize her. It had been so long, he'd probably forgotten her. "So, does everyone wear their slinky best, or is it more casual?"

  "It’s casual, early on. By twenty-two hundred, the casuals have cleared out, and it’s all formal. Do you have a preference?" Eddi was eying her smooth hair and uniform uncertainly
. Mixed messages.

  "Oh, formal. Definitely formal." She smiled to see that she was fulfilling their expectations of a rep from Urfa with that. Just wait until they see what I’m going to do tomorrow. Tonight will just be the warm up.

  And so three hours later her red hair was in spikes and the rest of her was in a very slinky dress with winding panels of black, copper and gold. It exposed her arms and shoulders, covered the scars . . . She dropped her shields to half so everyone would notice her and mention a spiky haired redhead to Xen, and then she’d see if he’d turn up and ask or if she needed to hunt him down . . . across the table from her, Eddi’s eyes widened and the conversation stalled in mid-sentence.

  She turned her head just enough to see him in her peripheral vision. Tilted it up. One! I forgot how tall he is.

  "So . . . Are you going to kill me, or dance with me?"

  Her insides flopped over at the familiar voice. There was a smile in that voice. Or maybe laughter. Joyful, not mocking. She took a deep breath for bravery, stood up and turned around.

  "I’m so glad you're alive." He held out a hand, retreating toward the dance floor as she took it.

  "Are you?" She tried to keep the anger out of it, but knew she failed. Heard the pain in it too, and stiffened. I will not be vulnerable to this man. "You never bothered to ask Urfa if I'd survived being shot."

  He slid an arm around her, swung her into the rhythm of the dance. "You were my biggest vulnerability. I dare not hand that to Urfa. Although I suspect he knew."

  She pulled her mind away from the warmth of that arm. "Ha! Vulnerability. Those War Party wives didn’t have any trouble at all seducing you."

  "Bah. Bored and neglected wives playing games. That was just work. You, on the other hand, I suspected had been ordered to seduce me by Urfa, and even so you were too damned tempting by far."

  Rael stiffened. "Urfa did not . . . he wanted to know more about you, and left the methods and extent up to me. If I hadn’t lusted after you, I would have flirted in an entirely different way. Trust me, Princess School teaches how to get what you want without putting out."