Ambassador tya-4

by P. S. Power

  The gorgeous man… winced. Hard.

  “Ah. Couldn't have worked with one of the other girls? White perhaps? Even Red? I suppose the genetic knowledge was important for the procedure and your own… techniques… magic?” He nodded, figuring it out for himself, without needing to be told, even though Tor struggled to follow a bit.

  “Both are needed to form such perfect beings then?” He winked at Tor and smiled grandly.

  “Don't let that perfect part go to your head little brother, I just mean that you're a very good replication. Well, the world could do worse than to have another green man in it. Perhaps we could meet to discuss your future someday? That would be very nice indeed. I think the rest of us have forgotten what we originally were over time. It happens. Time that is.”

  Burks laughed, but Tor didn't get the joke yet. Maybe after he'd lived as long as they had?

  The other man growled softly, pushing the idea that he wasn't all that well balanced as far as Tor could tell.

  “Silence! Enough foolishness. I've given my demands, now, tell me what you've decided to do and let me know if I get to push buttons tonight or if I have to spend yet another tedious evening suffering your collective existences.” This was directed at the King who looked back at him as if bored.

  “Everyone, this is Glost Serge. Somehow that I don't understand, he's become the Prime Minister of Austra. The polite man next to him is his… advisor, Dennorian Brown. For lack of faster explanations he's Count Lairdgren and Master Tor’s brother. Don't let the details bog you down, it's a headache, the truth though.”

  “Enough I said Ricky! What have you and your bitch Queen decided to do, buckle under like good little dogs or die? I'm hoping for “die” myself, but it's up to you. Pick.” Glost grinned his teeth showing in a feral look that would have terrified Tor if he could just work out what he was supposed to be afraid of. As it was he kind of just wanted the man to shut up.

  He was really annoying.

  When Connie tried to speak, her own voice calm, the Austran leader interrupted her. Then again, demanding they choose immediately. It got to Tor, so he finally raised his hand like he used to in school. The mad eyes man's image stopped fuming and interrupting people and he pointed to Tor.

  “At last, one polite person in your whole damned kingdom. Go ahead young man.” He sounded suddenly prim, but calm, as if actually taking a question in a school room.

  “Sorry, not to show how dense I am, but I'm not really certain what’s going on, could you fill me in?”

  The man blinked, started around the room as everyone looked at the table except for Burks and Ali, then laughed an insane and lilting belly laugh that sounded both false and deranged.

  “No one told you? Not anything? Too cowardly Ricky? Can't tell a little boy that the big bad Austran is making him leave his wife and marry my Daria? Haven't told him why he can't say no either, have you? Brilliant, oh, let me then, oh yes, this will be fun. Listen close everybody. Once upon a time…”

  Glost Serge spoke well, perfect Noram even, if slightly accented at times, the effect coming and going, but he was a lousy story teller, at least in the moment. That could be stress, or homicidal rage, messing with his timing and delivery. Tor couldn't tell which exactly yet.

  “I had thirty-five nuclear devices built and pointed at all of Noram's Major cities. Then I told the King, the evil bully known as Ricky Cordes and his little bitch wife that if you didn't marry my daughter and return her to me safe and sound, I'd send the missiles flying and kill you all. An eighty kiloton bomb for each Count and Countess and two for Ricky and his brood of dullards. That's you by the way kids, I don't want you to get confused. Just in case it's too hard for you, “dullard” means someone that isn't very bright… Oh, probably bright enough from what I've heard, but your education system there is a joke. Science isn't taught at all and you actually practice magic… How quaint and superstitious. I suppose I'll have to be ready for you to chant some curses at me now, won't I? I'm really so very frightened… So now, either give over the money and the boy along with my daughter, who has best not been harmed and I'll let you live, for now at least, or refuse and take your due. Pick.”

  It took Tor a moment to process the whole thing, looking at Burks, hoping the old man would get his personal shorthand.

  “Bomb… big? Can we defeat them? Shield or weapons?” Tor tilted his head as Burks shrugged.

  “Weapons yes, the one you made. For the rest, big and spread poison. Land killers. Cities gone and the rest poisoned. Probably can't shield, too big.”

  “Oh.”

  So they could fight on fair ground, but couldn't stop the madman by just blocking him. It would take a real fight and probably destroy both lands. Tor looked at the crazy man and wondered if he was nearly as gone as he seemed or if it was all an act for some reason.

  The whole thing was a bit out there as far as complicated and unpleasant plots, but he got why the man wanted him to marry his daughter and go there, because then his work wouldn't be of use here. He could be killed at leisure or maybe exploited. Glost didn't seem to have a high regard for magic though, so maybe it wouldn't be that one. Just killed then? Probably.

  Tor was nearly willing. Sacrificing his own life to stop the murder of millions was a good trade. No one could doubt that. Even evil people would have done it. It was just too obvious to go against. What caused him to balk was when Daria Serge was brought in. Wearing irons.

  Lillith Degray.

  It made a convoluted and sneaky kind of sense once he heard it. Smythe had investigated further and found that she didn't have a history, not in Noram. She wouldn't answer questions, so they didn't get the whole story from her, but the old counselor did put together that she'd come several years before simply to try and corrupt one of the royal children. Daria looked up and smiled at Karina when this was said, her shirt dirty, smeared with filth and covered with food stains, hair wild and one tooth missing in front. The wound was fresh and still bled freely. She'd fought when they came for her it seemed. That or someone knew she was about to get off for free and wanted a little payment first.

  “Don't worry Kari, I won't tell everyone how I made you, their darling little Princess lick my asshole every night for a month.” She grinned viciously.

  “Oops, too late. Sorry about that.”

  The scary part was that she suddenly really did sound sorry. It was freaky, she'd gone from snarky and bitchy to sweet and compassionate, even contrite, sounding in the same breath.

  Yep, that was sane. Good wife material too no doubt, Tor thought, wondering if he could take these devices out at a distance somehow. If they were in Austra the easiest way would be to locate them and destroy them totally. Could he make a device that would search out something like that? He needed to know a lot more about them first. Hopefully Burks knew something that could help. It had worked with the tiny devices, the nanos. Maybe it was something like that?

  Karina smiled at her.

  “Who cares? Trust me, that you're a murdering bitch is a much bigger deal than me doing what you wanted in bed. It's your kink anyway, not mine. By the rules here I was just being a good friend. If I'd asked my parents first, they would have told me to do it just so you could have more fun. And that's with both of them never actually liking you.”

  Connie gave a single short nod, but didn't let anything else show on her face.

  It made Tor wince a bit. People did that? Eewww. He didn't want to judge, but… Eewww!

  Lilli drooped a little. Sad her barb hadn't hit home? What did she expect from a noble of Noram? Tor shrugged himself, thinking that the girl was confused and deranged, so maybe she wasn't really thinking anything, just responding to what was put in front of her. She hadn't even tried to speak to her father yet. She raised a chained hand to wave a little, but then kept her mouth shut.

  Tor sat back and listened, because, obviously the words of someone like him meant very little to the Austrans, though Denno seemed all right. Really it di
dn't make sense for him to be backing Serge like he was. That seemed to cross Burks mind too, and he stared at the illusion of his brother, their brother? Which looked serene and relaxed.

  “Den, a bit against the treaty isn't it? Nuke's? Forbidden technology in fact. Also terrorism isn't allowed between us. We haven't even been invited to the parley table in this. Do you have an explanation that might shed some light?” The tone was interested and polite, not demanding. Then you didn't need to be demanding with someone that actually wanted to tell you something did you?

  The Austran Ancient spread his hands eyes going heavy lidded in a way that meant something that Tor couldn't understand. He got it was a code, but lacked the key. Something very old then? Burks responded in nearly the same fashion a beat later. Oh. That was the signal to start then? Tor focused on what they did and said as closely as he could.

  “Well, I've been a little out of the loop for a while, about seven years. Hard to tell down here. I agree that I've personally been remiss in this, Thirty-five nuclear devices?” He rubbed his nose with the side of one index finger a cute move, but not one that fit his stature. Something about the devices?

  “Really Burks, you should bring the kids here when they marry, nothing would please me more than to see what our new little brother brings to the game.” Long hair brushed back, a feminine gesture, out of keeping with even a few moments before, on the word nothing. Tor thought he was starting to get it, it was about the devices, the claim of thirty-five was nothing? Did that mean there were a lot more hidden away or none at all?

  Burks nodded his face still serious.

  “We haven't established that Tor is marrying Daria yet. Even if we agree to the terms, we need a time, a place and assurances that Tor will be safe in Austra. Naturally this all depends on him. We can't ask him to give up his life just to amuse Glost, can we? Hardly seems like something he'd do.”

  Tor almost missed the meaning there all together, it came so fast, Burks thrumming his fingers on the dark cherry wood table, in time with the words, going just a tiny bit faster on the key points. It worked out to something like “Time, place, Tor. Naturally this all depends on him. Ask him. Seems like something he'd do.”

  Right. Some kind of stupid rescue mission?

  That did seem like something he'd do, didn't it? Suppressing a nod Tor dug his heals in then. After all, if it seemed easy no one would believe it.

  “No way. I love Ali, she's my wife. Any kind of annulment would just be a sham. Lillith, Daria here, killed Yardley. I only met her once, but really… you can't make me marry her! Even the King can't order that.” Well he could order it, but Tor didn't really have to do it. Not by tradition. Of course that wasn't the real message he just passed.

  What he tried to communicate, attempting to be subtle about it was “I sham, make me marry her. King order.” It needed a question mark at the end, but he had to hope that one of these two would get the idea. Really, it would have to be Burks, since the fellow off in a foreign land in a prison cell couldn't order anyone to do much of anything. Then rubbing his own nose he finished the message.

  “I'll fight you on it if you try!”

  Then he did. They did a decent job of it too. Glost Serge stood back and laughed at them as they all cried, pleaded and screamed at him to save them, he played the insane spoiled brat with too much power, a thing he'd done before, for real, but didn't threaten to destroy Austra if Serge didn't back off. It would be one thing if the man had the weapons, but the longer they went on the more his crazy eyes shone with triumph above the glittering buttons and too loud coat below. Everyone argued against him except Ali, who resolutely held his hand in support and said nothing, which was perfect. Her face twisted a little so he squeezed her hand, the white, slightly iridescent dress she wore looked like foam around her shoulders to him suddenly and he had a strong urge to kiss her, but it didn't fit the scene. Instead he told Burks Lairdgren, his own grandfather, to go fuck himself. Everyone went quiet then, even the Austrans.

  “That is it young man! I'm both your grandfather and your Count. You may not have to marry on the King’s command but you do on mine! The issue is settled, your marriage is annulled and you'll wed Daria Serge in three months, in their capital city. That's my final word on it!” His posture turned aggressive like he wanted to fight, squared off and stiff, fists clenched tight, knuckles going white.

  It didn't really worry Tor, because he'd seen the man fight once. It was a relaxed and fluid thing even in a battle to the death. If he came at him to pat him on the back it would have been scarier. Tor crossed his arms and stood up, just as aggressive, but more passive. After all, you couldn't fight like that, not well.

  “Oh?” Tor didn't raise his voice now, instead he let himself seem very, very angry and barley in control.

  “What are you going to do if I don't? Kill me? That won't help your little plan at all will it? Daria do you take this corps to be your husband for all eternity? She'd probably like that though, no back talk!” He laughed hollowly, and looked to Rolph as if for support. It couldn't come, his friend still thought their kingdom faced destruction if Tor didn't go along with all this.

  “Come on, he only wants to get me down there so he can kill me, or at very best lock me up and forget about me!” That, Tor guessed was the real plan, that and getting his daughter back alive.

  Burks told him to shut up, the King suggested that Knight should put the kingdom before himself and Connie wept openly. Rolph got more and more grim the whole time and Varley clutched her arms across her middle as if it hurt physically. Karina kept staring at Lilli and Tor was pretty sure that if she could figure out a way to do it, the girl was going to die before Tor was taken. Possibly before she left the room.

  Ali stayed very still, as if trying not to be noticed and so did her mom. A conditioned response to potential violence most likely. If Karen had been that conditioned for sex, what else had that freak of a father been doing to them?

  Slowly, over the course of an hour the plan was set. Finally he sat, breathing hard, defeated and probably doomed. When they walked Daria out she smiled, turned to him and spoke loudly enough for the room to hear.

  “When I have you back home I'm going to have you castrated and sell your ass on the street to all comers for our wedding night. If you don't bleed out the first time, I'll let you alternate between doing that and sucking cock from then on. We can use your magic clothes to dress you in pretty lacy under things and put you in those fancy whore boots they like here. Doesn't that sound fun? Maybe I won't even sell you, I'll just let people take turns. Yes, that sounds much more like you doesn't it? Just giving your ass away?”

  She said it in her serious, crazy voice, not teasing, not threatening, a plan to be followed pure and simple. Tor stared at her. There was nothing to say to that. Crazy just didn't play by the same rules as sane. Most of the time it barley played by rules at all. He shook slightly instead. For once in his life he was actually faking it. The girl didn't scare him at all.

  The room was cleared of everyone but the participants in the little talk and Burks carefully packed up the communications device, a science thing that Tor wasn't supposed to understand, but could take some hints from anyway. It was doable by magic too, though talking at a distance was really enough, why did he need to see people all the time? It took too much space for one thing and for him to do it would waste work if not energy.

  Once they were alone, and they actually were for once, no spies watched from the walls as far as Tor could tell, Burks grinned at him.

  “Not bad. Little sloppy at first, but you picked up the idea soon enough. So did you get the whole thing?” Everyone else stared at the Count but Tor nodded.

  “ I think. There are no nuclear weapons, he tried to build some but people in his own system sabotaged them. He's insane, but still has a firm grip on Austra somehow. Denno Brown is being held captive and has been for somewhere between seven and ten years, he isn't sure, what he does know is that he's being
kept in the basement of Serges palace.” Tor frowned and looked at the Ancient hard. The man had regressed in age and now looked virtually like Tor did, but a little too tall and wearing green instead of black. The hair was too short, but they had three months to make it match.

  “That was a little vague. It would be best if we could narrow that down. Um, then we set the time, three months from now. Now all I have to do is figure out how to go in, free him and get out without the Austrans catching us. I guess, when I start working again that's what I'm doing, figuring out how to get us out.”

  Everyone else stared at him now. Rolph was the one that spoke.

  “Huh? Um, Tor, the plan is for you to go get married isn't it? And then apparently be turned into a girl and made a whore? Well, not really, they get paid. I'm not sure I know where the rest came from there…”

  Burks sat and smiled, their looks matching so closely that first Ali gasped and pointed and then everyone else gasped too, except the King who just nodded.

  “I see, so this isn't a marriage at all, it's a rescue mission?”

  The Count looked around and nodded, his mind clearly elsewhere.

  “Right, Tor and I go and get our brother. That's not too hard to understand, is it?”

  Copying what she'd seen Tor do with the obviously insane man earlier, and most likely not to certain everyone hadn't caught the crazy bug, Ali raised her hand. Burks nodded to her gently.

  “Yes dear?”

  “Um, if the marriage to Lilli isn't real, then are Tor and I still married or not?” She sounded half scared as if the answer depended on her asking the right way.

  Burks shrugged.

  “Oh, you're still married. You'll stay that way too, Tor can even help get you set up at school and get back to classes. I think the Prince can too, resume school, for now at least. Even Serge won't want to mess things up now. Sorry about all the dramatics, but it would have looked a little strange if Tor got on one knee and begged Daria for her hand, given everything.”