Challenges (Frank Kurns Stories of the UnknownWorld Book 4)

by Natalie Grey

  Nathan nodded. Those who were descended from Wechselbags, like Yelena, often had experiences in their early lives they could not explain to others. Some, with family guidance, could channel their talents into useful pursuits, even if they were not Wechselbag, themselves. Yelena, however, had not been so lucky in her family.

  Nathan shook his head regretfully, “It must have been hard for you, not knowing what was going on.”

  Yelena considered this, taking a bite of her own cheese pastry. “In some ways, yes,” she agreed finally. “Cipriano would never have understood, I know. He was my ex-boyfriend. I didn’t tell a lot of people about Bellatrix for that reason. But I had her, you see, and that made it easier.”

  Nathan nodded, his eyes distant.

  “What are you thinking about?” Yelena asked him.

  “There were legends across the world of druids and shamans who could speak to animals,” Nathan explained. “And some about warriors who had animals as their familiars and fighting partners. I wonder if they were from the Wechselbalg lines like you.”

  “I hadn’t ever thought of that.” Yelena gazed out the door to where Bellatrix and Ashur were dashing around the garden at high speed. “That would make sense. Perhaps they could not even explain it. Sometimes I questioned my abilities with Bellatrix because I didn’t know how I knew things.”

  Nathan smiled and nodded.

  “So where did Ecaterina go?” Yelena questioned Nathan. “She looked very happy.”

  “She is going out to track down the trappers,” Nathan replied. “She says that she and Alexi will only be observing the traps today, not hunting the ones who set them…but I have my doubts.”

  “You are not worried?” Yelena was surprised by this.

  She was further surprised when Nathan chuckled. “Ecaterina can take care of herself. And Alexi is also a Wechselbag—he takes a bear form.”

  “Bear?” Yelena asked incredulously.

  “Oh, yes.” Nathan smiled. “And both can fight quite well, so I suppose we shall see what happens.”

  Yelena considered. She had been excited to accompany Ashur and Bellatrix on the trip to Romania. Though Yelena was not someone who particularly enjoyed hiking or other outdoor pursuits, she knew that Bellatrix would be overjoyed to be able to race around in the wilderness.

  She had also been looking forward to getting to know the others on this trip. She had learned a little about the members of Bethany Anne’s team, but she wanted to know more. Each of them had a story to tell.

  Each of them had a strong sense of honor, too—something she was not used to in an organization so big.

  Now she was getting a chance to learn about each of them. She smiled and sipped her coffee, utterly content.

  She did not know it, but Nathan was watching her. Even though Nathan was no longer a second-in-command, he still retained the desire to vet each new member of the organization.

  He approved of Yelena. He had been impressed by the way she cared for Bellatrix, even when she did not understand the bond she shared with the dog. He had heard the stories about her, and had even shared in some of the speculation about her and Bobcat.

  In his opinion, she would make a good addition to the group, as long as she could come to terms with the self-sufficient independent streak each member had.

  He was not particularly worried about that, though. Yelena seemed to direct her worry toward other people, not herself. He’d heard that even outmatched, she’d done some real damage to her jerk of an ex-boyfriend.

  In time, she would learn that other people could take care of themselves too.

  He stood up. “Should we go see the town? I’ll get Christina if so.”

  “I’d like that.” Yelena nodded and sipped at her coffee as Nathan took the stairs two at a time, and came back in time with Christina all dressed. They picked a pastry for the little girl, and all headed outside.

  It was a beautiful day. Yelena tipped her head back into the sunshine for a moment, and then waved at the fence, where a group of passing men had stopped to look at the dogs. “Hello!”

  They waved back and disappeared hurriedly.

  Yelena shook her head, suddenly worried. “Maybe we should leave the dogs here.”

  “Why?” Nathan frowned back at her.

  “People are always afraid of Bellatrix,” Yelena explained. “In my home village people knew me, and they knew I worked at the kennels and my dogs were always well trained, so they trusted Bellatrix. Here they do not know me. I don’t want to make anyone upset.”

  “Good point.” Nathan smiled at the dogs. “And they seem quite happy here. Listen up, you two,” he called to the dogs. “We’re heading into town. Try not to eat too many bees.”

  Ashur chuffed indignantly, and Nathan laughed as he and Yelena made their way through the gate and into town.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  QBBS Meredith Reynolds

  Stephen emerged from a shower, his dark brown hair still drying, to find Jennifer curled up in one of the armchairs with his copy of Master and Commander. She was frowning in concentration.

  “What’s a ‘minim?’” she asked him.

  “A single drop,” Stephen explained. “It’s a unit of measure.”

  “Did people really used to say that instead?”

  “Language used to be less…regimented.” Stephen shrugged. “People spelled things all different ways and used different words for things all over the place.”

  “Really? I thought…” She chewed her lip. “I guess I thought language used to be more formal.”

  Stephen laughed, “Not really. Remember, people didn’t travel as much. It wasn’t uncommon for people to be stuck in the same place with the same people all their lives. Even in a city, they often kept to their same class or ghetto or wherever, so they developed their own ways of speaking.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.” Jennifer watched as he put on a suit. “Where are you headed to, all dressed up?”

  “Nowhere special. I’m listening in on a conference call for this seed vault Bethany Anne started.”

  Jennifer grinned and shook her head. “So why are you wearing a suit?”

  She already knew his answer, but she wanted to hear him say it.

  He gave her a dignified look. “After so many weeks covered in dust and blood, I wanted to look nice for a change.”

  “You look very nice covered in dust and blood,” Jennifer told him with a grin. “All sweaty, in a shirt I can see your muscles in...”

  Stephen adjusted his tie without comment, but he smiled into the mirror as he did so.

  “Although you do look quite nice in a suit as well,” Jennifer told him. She grinned. “It’s just that I feel like a slob, still being in my pajamas.”

  “I think you’ve earned a good few days in pajamas,” Stephen told her as he stooped to kiss her. “And a good few bubble baths. And champagne. And maybe a nice dinner tonight, hmm?”

  Jennifer grinned up at him. “I like that idea. And I think I might just go take a bubble bath, then. Unless you think I should be on the conference call?”

  Stephen shook his head. “This was specifically mentioned as a project for relaxation. I’m only going because I’m curious.” He headed for the door with a rueful smile. “It’s certainly a nice break after our last few projects.”

  “Yes, I don’t think many seeds are homicidal maniacs determined to create a new world order by subjugating Wechselbalg,” Jennifer quipped.

  Stephen was laughing as he slipped out the door. “Exactly.”

  He made his way through the hallways quickly. Every time he came back here it seemed there was more progress on the base ship. It was becoming a fine place to live, almost a self-sufficient city.

  The seed vault intrigued him for this reason, as well as what it represented: a slice of home they would take with them when they left.

  He knew now that he was part-Kurtherian, a product of the universe beyond Earth, but Earth was all he had ever known and at h
eart he was human. He had wondered sometimes if he would miss Earth when they left to go through the gate.

  Maybe Bethany Anne was wondering the same thing.

  ***

  Marcus laughed as he settled back in his chair, “That cannot possibly be true.”

  “It is!” Tabitha exclaimed, clearly insulted to be doubted. “She’s very sneaky!”

  “You’re telling me that Gabrielle killed several commandos in Buenos Aires while wearing Louboutins?” Marcus shook his head and took another sip of his beer. “No way.”

  “Vampires are less constrained by the limitations of the physical form,” Barnabas said gravely. “Gabrielle is able to move more quickly than a human, even when she is wearing high heels.” He frowned as he took a sip of his own beer. “Of course, such affectations are not helpful to her any more than they are to a human.”

  Tabitha rolled her eyes, “You don’t think so? Every man there who saw her immediately decided she wasn’t a threat. That gave her an opening.”

  “When one can move as quickly as Gabrielle can, an opening is not as necessary.” Barnabas looked grave.

  “Maybe she just likes being sneaky, then,” Tabitha said. She gave an impish grin, “You know, like you do.”

  Marcus gave a low whistle. “Oh, really?”

  “I beg your pardon,” Barnabas said, with great dignity. “I am not sneaky.”

  “You are too sneaky,” Tabitha said. She gave Marcus a knowing look. “He loves tricking people.”

  “Tabitha—”

  “He likes tricking them by behaving in ways that help them make unwise assumptions,” Tabitha continued in a stage whisper. “And then he says that if they weren’t so hasty, if they just took more time to examine the issue, they wouldn’t have been tricked.”

  “Tabitha!”

  “Hmm?” Tabitha looked innocently at Barnabas. “Am I wrong?”

  Barnabas gave her a look. “I do not employ cheap trickery.”

  Tabitha considered this. “I wouldn’t call it cheap,” she said finally.

  “Tabitha!”

  Marcus wished he hadn’t taken a sip of beer. He was trying desperately to keep it from going up his nose as he laughed, and it was only with great effort that he managed not to spit it down his front.

  His laughter only got worse when Barnabas gave him an aggrieved look.

  “You should teach me how to do that,” he suggested. “It sounds useful. Make people rely on incorrect assumptions so they hamstring themselves instead of me having to do it for them. It sounds like a neat trick.”

  “It is not a trick,” Barnabas insisted with great dignity.

  “It’s definitely a trick,” Tabitha whispered loudly.

  “It is not a competitor’s duty to explain to his competition that incorrect assumptions have been made, after all.”

  “Even when you encouraged them to make those assumptions,” Tabitha continued, still in her loud whisper.

  “I will box your ears,” Barnabas told her.

  “I don’t even know what that means.”

  “You’re about to.” Barnabas gave her an eerily calm smile.

  Tabitha shut up.

  “Now, as I was saying,” Barnabas looked at Marcus, “a competitor can always benefit from another’s incorrect assumptions. Perhaps you might, in this case. However, the true measure of a competitor is in his own actions, not in others’ failures. Simply execute each stage of your brewing correctly, and you will be most of the way to winning.”

  “Right,” Marcus agreed mournfully.

  It seemed like Barnabas was absolutely determined to make Marcus win this without any tricks at all.

  But he doubted that he could succeed against the other two without them.

  Maybe Tabitha would teach him how to use Barnabas’ tricks…

  ***

  Bethany Anne looked up with a smile as Stephen came into the room, “How are you doing?”

  “Very well, thank you.” Stephen nodded and took a chair, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he sat. “It is good to be back.”

  Bethany Anne nodded, “Especially after a mission like that, I would think.”

  “Exactly.” Stephen shook his head slightly. “Every time I think I understand people...”

  Bethany Anne opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of it. It sounded as if Stephen’s experiences in Europe had brought him some new conclusions, and perhaps he needed to speak them rather than have a conversation.

  Though none of her team were naïve—by a long shot—everyone had been shocked and horrified by what Stephen and Jennifer had uncovered in Europe. A man named Hugo Marcari had, in a maniacal quest for power, abducted whole clans of Wechselbalg and attempted to break them to his will so he could build his own personal army.

  It wasn’t the lust for power or even the cruelty that bothered Bethany Anne. Oh, she would fight and die to save the world from those things, but she was not surprised by them. Neither, she suspected, was Stephen. It was something about the meticulous planning and the sheer breadth of the cruelty that had shocked her.

  She did not say any of this.

  She wanted to hear Stephen speak of it first. She liked to hear his thoughts on the world. He always had insights that surprised her—or reminded her of her values.

  Stephen seemed almost unaware that she was still there. He was gazing at the far wall with a frown on his face.

  “I keep thinking that I understand greed,” he said finally. “I saw it enough with the others.” He looked at her then, his eyes jarringly old in his young face. “I saw what they did to Michael.”

  Bethany Anne swallowed and looked away.

  “I should not have—”

  “Not speaking of it won’t change anything,” she said simply. She took a moment to steady herself, and looked back at him. “What were you going to say?”

  “Just that… I think I understand greed, and that I will be able to recognize it and anticipate it. But greed wears so many faces.” Stephen’s mouth twisted. “I never recognize it when I see it, and I am always surprised. I am like a child… I am shocked when I should simply expect such things now.”

  Bethany Anne could feel TOM’s interest, and she had the sense that ADAM was waiting silently for more information. It was clear to all of them that Stephen’s experiences with the torture facilities in Europe were haunting him in more ways than one.

  “Hugo made himself believe that what he did was right,” Stephen said quietly. “I am sure that with enough…pain and time, one could have stripped away the lies and he would admit that he simply wanted power, and he couldn’t bear to have people defy him. But on every real level during every interaction, in every thought, Hugo believed that what he was doing was right and necessary.”

  Bethany Anne nodded quietly. She was beginning to see what was troubling Stephen.

  “If he could convince himself that such horrific things were right,” Stephen asked quietly, “what could I convince myself of? What have I convinced myself of?”

  “You know you are nothing like Hugo,” Bethany Anne said quietly.

  “I don’t know that,” Stephen said bluntly.

  “In the pursuit of all moral causes, there are those who become extremists,” ADAM said.

  Both Bethany Anne and Stephen looked up in surprise. Neither would have expected ADAM to weigh in on such a matter.

  “It is said by some that the pursuit of specific social change is an inherently selfish endeavor,” ADAM continued. “The cause resonates strongly with those who follow it, so they seek satisfaction within themselves by pursuing change.”

  Stephen considered this. “Do you believe this?”

  He was interested to hear the AI’s conclusions on the matter.

  “I believe it is a correct interpretation of the data, but not necessarily an important one,” ADAM said after a moment. “If an injustice has occurred and it is righted, is the happiness of the one who righted it the important thing, or is the most important
thing the fact that justice has been served?”

  Stephen smiled. “An interesting conclusion. So how would you answer my question, then?”

  “I think you are aware that an organic mind can create delusions, and I think you have surrounded yourself with those who would tell you if you engaged in harmful delusions like Hugo did. Consider the fact that Hugo punished those who contradicted him. You do not do this. Therefore, I think you have arranged your life—whether on purpose or not—so that you pursue good social endeavors, and you will not be allowed to slide into extremism.” ADAM sounded proud of himself.

  There was a pause.

  “It takes a great deal of processing power to examine organic minds,” the AI admitted a moment later. “And I never know if I am correct.”

  “Sounds exactly correct to me,” Bethany Anne said. She nodded at Stephen. “What do you think?”

  Stephen was smiling slightly. “I think that was a very good analysis, ADAM. I would like to talk more about this at some point, if it would not be too tiring for you.”

  “I would also like that very much.”

  Bethany Anne smiled at the conversation as she spread blueprints out on the table. “Count me in. I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts. Now, I’ve had a few ideas on building materials. Is the call connected? Good. Bobcat, tell me what you think of this...”

  Romania

  Over lunch in town, Alexi and Ecaterina shared their findings with the others.

  At Alexi’s insistence the dogs had been brought along. Alexi enjoyed much the same reputation in his town that Yelena had in hers. He was known to have a somewhat innate understanding of animals, although there were a lot of jokes about how livestock seemed to hate him.

  People were only too eager to tell Yelena how so-and-so’s horse had taken an immediate dislike to Alexi, or how so-and-so’s chickens fled the yard, squawking whenever he arrived. It was clear that everyone in the town considered this hilarious.

  Yelena, who knew there was more to the story, only smiled.

  Ashur and Bellatrix, brought along under stern instructions from Yelena that they were to be on their best behavior, were making a big show of being dainty. Ashur fairly pranced, and Bellatrix preened whenever someone complimented her coat.