Ancient Kings (The Young Ancients)

by P. S. Power

  "Great. I'll get them in on that as soon as I can find them. How are you? I know that things..." What did he tell her? It was awkward, but Richard had the right of it, leaving it alone or hiding from what had happened wouldn't help. Worse, in a lot of ways, he still loved her and not like a family member. It was gross now, but that didn't make it all go away.

  "We're all well here. There have been outbreaks in the Capital, and a few of the staff have hidden the symptoms, not wanting to risk a day off of work, but it's been controllable here. Other places haven't been so lucky. We've had word that Tellerand has been hit very hard already. There isn't a lot we can do for them I fear, since their religious beliefs are going to prevent a lot of them from using what you're providing. They truly mistrust magic in all its forms there. As to the other thing... I'm surviving. The situation is far from a good one, but things like that really do happen and I hope that we can be friends. I... know that I pushed you, more than a bit, originally. We all did, the girls and myself. I hope that you don't feel too uncomfortable with us now?"

  The polite thing would be to lie, of course. Tell the woman that he was fine with it all, treat it as an amusing joke and then never speak of it again, but the words just kind of popped out from his lips, how he was really feeling. It wasn't what he wanted known, to tell the truth.

  "A bit uncomfortable. A lot really. I'll live and it isn't anyone's fault, except whoever changed your parentage without permission like they did. Even then, they didn't have any real reason to think that we'd get together, did they? So, I'm not blaming anyone. It's just that the rules I grew up with are so different than what you all have. Ali was telling me the other day that it wasn't such a big thing really, and that I shouldn't worry about it, but I feel wrong. Dirty. It's worse than that, since I really like you all. I mean, I see you and my first thought isn't 'Hey look, that woman that's older than me and yet, interestingly enough, is also my daughter' you understand? My thoughts are much different than that, and it... sickens me. Because that kind of relationship is wrong and I'm not supposed to want it. But I do." It was about the wrong thing to say, he decided, as a soft sob came from the device in front of him, making him wince more than a bit.

  It wasn't fair of her to cry about it. He felt bad, but there was nothing he could do to change things, except keep his mouth shut in the future. It had been stupid of him to speak, hadn't it? He was about to apologize when she cut the line, not adding even another word. He didn't blame her, but it wasn't easy for him either. What could they do about it all?

  Nothing, as far as he could see.

  He took a fast shower, just to knock the worst of the dead skin and sweat off and slowly walked out of the house, headed almost true north, trying to jog a bit. It wasn't late in the day really, though after noon. There was still light out, which meant there were many large bodies practicing in the fighters Square. It looked about the same as he remembered it, except that this time when he looked in, there was a tiny woman trading thunderous blows with Baron Havar. It looked and sounded painful and they were both grunting as the staves they fought with connected with unshielded arms and legs. There were spots of blood coming through the clothing they wore, neither in even leather practice armor, just wearing what seemed to be light tan canvas. It was fast and brutal and the Baron wasn't pulling his blows much, Tor didn't think.

  The man was winning, that was true, his skill level clearly higher than the smaller form's. That wasn't stopping Tiera from charging in and taking the blows as she delivered her own though. The funny thing there was that no one else even watched them overly, except Karen, who seemed to have a considering look on her face, instead of shock.

  Tor would have pulled a weapon of his own to shoot the man who was beating his little sister, but Kolb waved to him as he came through the gate and started to walk over easily, as if nothing could possibly be wrong. He did notice where Tor was looking and nodded at the pair practicing like insane people.

  "Every day nearly, they meet and do this. This isn't even their official work time, they're staying late, just for fun. Not that I disapprove, but I'd like to see them doing at least a few other things. Tiera dropped her other classes, except meditation, which leaves her with very little else to do. We should find something else for her, to keep the girl busy."

  Nodding, Tor stared as the people did enough damage to one another that he didn't think he would have been able to do it himself. He would have run away by then.

  "Tiera! Havar! Take a break, we have work to do." Tor called it out, not knowing if they'd actually do it, but after a few more blows the large man jumped back and the tiny girl with her very short black hair stepped away to glare at him. After half a second she smiled though and jogged over.

  "Are the healing amulets ready?" Her voice was only slightly breathy and while a rivulet of blood moved down her left cheek, she didn't seem upset by it. Not at all. The stick in her hand was carried, held on a shoulder, ready to go again at a moment's notice. It had a red stain on one end. Havar blood, Tor figured.

  "Yes. They need to be checked, but they're good. We can start moving them out as soon as you all get people around for it. I'd like a word though Tiera, before you run off on me."

  That got a suspicious look from Havar, but Kolb called in the rest of the Instructors and had Karen dash off to signal the others.

  "Like we planned. Everyone knows their duties, let's get it done. The world is dying in front of our eyes, we don't have any time to lose. Run!" The large bald man bellowed the words, then did just that, heading off for Ali's house directly. Not having a better plan himself Tor patted his sister's back, noticing that she appeared to have healed already from her practice session. The amulet was inside her, on the right hand side of her ribcage, Tor noticed. The idea was a good one and really seemed to work pretty well.

  He was staring he realized, but she didn't say anything about it, just looking at him rather blankly. It was hard to remember that her friend had died like she had, since instead of sulking or mourning even, Tiera had thrown herself into her schoolwork. It probably wasn't the healthiest thing she could have done, but he didn't have a better option to offer her. Standing back a half step he tried to make himself sound sympathetic and not like he'd just spent over a week in a deep state that would have probably killed him, if no one had been around to make sure he had water. He could have come up for that every few hours if it was needed, which was how he'd survived making all the fields he had for the anti-Larval device. That had taken over a month, but the actual fields on each particle of dust had been simple, compared to a healing device.

  "So, how are you doing? Do you need anything? Did you manage to get with the Blues, or did that fall through?" He didn't know how space travel worked, precisely, or if he was being led around as a joke by Burks and Brown on that score.

  If so, his little sis was in on it too now.

  "It was amazing. Seeing the world from up there... It really puts everything in perspective. I can't describe it really. You'll have to go and see for yourself. On the good side I was able to use the computer on the Lunar base and set up real time tracking for forty different people on the ground. Gray and her immediate known family, as well as a couple of people in Noram." She grinned, a thing that lasted for several seconds, finally falling suddenly, turning into a sly expression as she crossed her thin arms. "You don't know what most of that means, do you?"

  "Nope. I can't even guess very well. What's a computer?" He'd heard the term before, but Cordes answered for him, with a rush of information that shook him enough that Tiera took his arm to hold him up. "Alright, I have it now. So, you set things up to watch people? That's handy. Were you able to get a location on Gray? Not that I care that much about her at the moment. I'm not wild about her putting out this virus, but she is family and that means we need to try and help her. In this case help her fix what she's done. Not that we can." Most of what he said was just to cover how shaken he was from the information. He didn't simply know what a
computer could do, or how it worked, he could fix the ones on the moon, if he had too. At least if they were the same type that they had been about two thousand five hundred years before, which wasn't that likely. Blue or one of the others would have changed them by now.

  Tiera nodded at him, but seemed at least a little glum.

  "Right, just like how you managed to get the King put into our family suddenly as an in-law, so I wouldn't go after him? We don't really know Gray at all. I've met the King of Noram twice and I'm almost certain he knows who I am by name. The Gray Ancient is a lot less friendly than that. At the summit all she did was yell at people and act superior to all the men." The smile that came onto her face was at least a bit teasing then, rather than mean. "Which is true, clearly, but not something that should be rubbed in. She might have hurt someone's feelings after all."

  Tor let his mind range for a few seconds, remembering it all. The way that the woman looked exactly like their mother for one thing, and how she was so aggressive that Laurali had actually seemed ready to hit her at one point for being mean to Timon.

  "No one had bothered to get too worked up though. By the way, you can trust me on this one, I had nothing to do with all the new family members. You wouldn't have hurt Richard anyway and it's more than a little inconvenient for me, if you want to know the fact of the matter."

  It was probably a sign that his little sister was growing up, but she didn't needle him about why that was exactly. No, she just nodded a few times and then started walking toward Ali's place.

  "I was going to. Hurt the King. He's protecting Sandra." Her right hand waved at him, commanding silence, but she didn't give him a chance to say anything, doing no more than adding a half seconds pause. "I know what you've said, but I can't help but feel that it's all a trick to let her get away with it all. He let her get away with interfering in a duel. One held on the Palace grounds. That was an act of war. A real one. I know that you don't get that part yet, but Count Morris wasn't just forcing me to fight him with his insults, but he nearly caused Lairdgren County to have to as well. He could have killed me in an honest duel, and no one could say anything about it, since I accepted. Or he could have given up and surrendered at any time. No one would have thought he was doing anything except not killing a little girl even, so he didn't have to try and save face. Even as a Count, Morris could have begged on his knees for forgiveness and the others would have applauded him for it. Most of them. He didn't though, and let his daughter and several of his military men attack me to save him. That isn't allowed." Her arms were crossed as if daring him to doubt her.

  The thing there was that he didn't really care at all. It had happened, and it wasn't the King's fault. Morris was an ass and probably didn't deserve any good words Tor could think of for him anyway. They weren't the same issue though. Not really.

  "Well, we can't have that kind of thing right now. You were the one that told me about the... Um, problems." They were on the school grounds still, if near the edge. Just because he didn't see anyone, that didn't mean that they were out of earshot if someone wanted to spy.

  "I know. I'm not stupid, but I won't let her get away with it either. I can hold my hand against the King, for a while, but Sandra and her father are dead. One way or the other. I know that you can't understand why I'd do that. I probably seem like a monster to you, wanting to kill someone when there might be another choice, but Tor... If I don't kill them, they will come back for me. They destroyed Reggie, and won't be stopped by a few harsh words or a slap on the wrist like little naughty children. The only reason there hasn't been blood already on this issue is that..." There were no more words then, Tiera just shook her head and let her mind go blank as Tor read her intent.

  "Because you went to those other people and offered to help them?" He expected to stop, or maybe have to explain what he knew, but she kept walking, with nothing showing on her face at all.

  After a while, almost to the front door of the house, which had people running in and out loading Fast Carriages and leaving as soon as they had their allotted amount of packages, she shrugged once.

  "That would be why, yes. I'm supposed to wait until Sandra is released and the Council is done before I act, so that I won't be making war on the King directly. But then the others might move, if I'm successful. That was all said to keep me in the dark, as if they were being clever or something, but I don't really mind. I'm just some little girl to most of them. Why should they trust me?"

  A thousand things tried to come into his mind then, but Cordes did something rare and special, taking over his mouth again. It wasn't fair, since the man in his head didn't have to deal with the fall out of what was said. That didn't stop him this time however.

  "They'll trust you after you slaughter the Morris family. Are you planning to just take the Father and the eldest girl, or the rest of them as well?" Worse, the jerk didn't even use his own accent, so he sounded almost identical to Tor.

  Tiera went wide eyed anyway.

  "I was... thinking that just Sandra and the Count need to die. Her little sister has never wronged me, and the Countess is actually nice, for all Morris doesn't deserve her. Do you think I should kill them too?" There was a strange quality to the words, almost as if she expected him to scold her for them. The Ancient King just chuckled hollowly and spoke with a deeper voice than Tor normally used.

  "Yes. If you leave them alive, they'll be bound by honor to order your death. This is already a war, so they can do almost anything. Take that option away. For that matter, kill all the other heirs as well, until none will come forward. Only then will the situation be safe. I know that this sounds hard, but if you let a real war come of it, then you'll cause the death of thousands. Maybe more, given modern weapons. Do it this way, and no one will challenge you at all for a long time. It should get you in with the..." Then the voice stopped, leaving Tor in charge again, thankfully.

  He nearly told her to disregard what he'd just said, but it kind of made sense, if in a bad and slightly too practical way. The stupid, and probably evil, Ancient King was messing up what he wanted his good little sister to do. Jerk.

  In his own voice he finished the thought, "those who you wish to claim as friends now. That's probably as good a plan as any. I can't like it, but..." He felt horrible already for telling her to kill, and to take out innocent people on top of that. She just stared at him, and didn't respond at all as a Fast Carriage that looked white and rather clean took off from in front of them without a sound, headed due south.

  Then a brown craft was loaded, people almost running with their loads of tan canvas bricks. Color coded, he realized a short while later, as David Derring set up a solid black craft. Tor didn't ask if he was allowed to make a change, just adding in a large, slightly glowing, golden cross to the bottom of the thing, so that it would match the religious symbols used in Tellerand. Then he waved the rather tall young man over, smiling at him. Without saying anything at all the clothes he wore changed, Tor not even touching him. They turned black, but had holes in several places, along with light smudges on the knees and an off-colored patch on the right elbow. Then a simple brown cross appeared on a plain copper chain that was around David's neck. After a bit Tor shook his head and altered that to looked like thick twine, so that it didn't seem too rich.

  "There, that will work better in Tellerand, I think. Bow a lot and remember to pray constantly. If you don't know the words, just lay on the floor like you're begging forgiveness and close your eyes. It will make you seem like a follower of their religion. Normally I wouldn't say that you should lie like that, but we don't have time for them to refuse our help." It was a horrible reason to abuse their faith, but what else could they do? Be honest and simply let most of them die?

  The combat giants from the school ran to do the loading, which still took a while, even with several of them helping. Havar finished the last of them, carrying about two hundred pounds of amulets in his arms, which a tall, plain featured but sturdy looking girl got into
the back of the craft for him. The man looked at David and then tried to change his own outfit to match. It wasn't perfect, but it had the right feel about it. Shabby, but in a way that said the person wearing them was very pious. They didn't wait, driving away with Havar doing the flying, about thirty seconds later.

  Tiera wrinkled her nose and let her thin arms cross over her chest protectively.

  "No one wants me to go along with them. I think it's jealousy, since I got to go into space. Did you know that you don't weigh anything up there? You just float around. It's relaxing. You weigh a little on the moon, but not like here. Blue explained it to me. It means you have to do a lot of things differently. Like using the restroom or drinking water. Otherwise it can make a mess." They didn't help with the work, since there seemed to be an actual system in place, and the large bodies moved a lot faster than he was used to seeing them go, outside of a fight. At least they were taking this seriously.

  Tiredness settled on him, even as he just stood, watching other people do all the hard work. Not that he didn't have a good reason for it, having been up for over a week, but no one else would think of it that way, would they? To other people his work probably seemed restful. Like a very long nap. It wasn't at all. It was hard work that required attention on a level most didn't think possible. Tor decided that he wasn't going to feel that bad about not helping this time, since no one was stopping to stare at him or even giving him dirty looks as they worked.

  His little sister stopped talking and just watched for a bit too, finally shaking her head and pointing up at the sky, where a mirrored silver craft hung, waiting for a spot to clear in front of the house.

  "Tim's here. We should get together and chat soon. He knows a lot more about the world now, and what's really going on, than I think anyone realizes. You can help me pry his secrets out. It's annoying, but I think he might be smarter than I am." She grinned and pushed his shoulder gently. "Since I'm more intelligent than you, that must really be hard to take, huh?"