by Elsa, Sandra
Harrison, Jallahan, and I, stared at each other a moment before we all said, “We make them nulls.”
“In that case,” Paul said, “Frankie will have to contribute some of her DNA.”
“I can do that. But like I told my father earlier, nothing about me gets committed to paper. This is only for our project.”
“I’m sure Great-Grandfather will agree.”
“We have something to do this afternoon. Probably better to give the interlopers another day or two to clear out and give us some breathing room.”
“Speaking of which…Congratulations, to all of you. Thank you for the invitations, Mage Jallahan, but we thought with the crowd assembling, it was best we kept our distance.
“Perfectly understandable,” my father said. “I warned William of that fact when I gave him the invitations.”
“We didn’t tell Jordan about Harrison and Frankie’s participation until ten o’clock in the evening the day before the wedding and he still managed to get dozens of people here.”
“And once again attract somebody who wanted me dead,” Harrison added. “I wish his enemies would realize they’d have an easier time killing him, security teams and all.”
“How can they not?”
“They don’t understand the problems they’re having, because they don’t understand Frankie’s nature.”
Nan smiled at us. “I have to admit I had my doubts about you spending fourteen-thousand dollars for a week of her time. Turns out it was money well spent. If you’d stayed in District Seven, the likes of Flanders could easily have attacked you.”
“And I never even thought of my talent as defensive or offensive magic before we found ourselves being pursued and I was so damned determined not to let them come between us.”
Frankie laughed. “I had to admit I might be able to appreciate him, the first time he blew out a tire with lightning.”
“But it wasn’t until the first night on the beach down here that I ever thought of my talent as deadly. It’s small wonder his enemies think I’m an easier target. Hopefully this will be the last of those who believe that. But enough about unpleasantness. Just like the first bout of notoriety when we originally married, this too shall pass. Probably even sooner because it’s no longer an astounding newsworthy thought that the president has a son. In the meantime, I plan to spend our time out of the spotlight. In a remote corner of the world.”
“You still want me to go?” Paul asked.
“We’d love you to go. But we’ll be out for a while.”
“Can I take someone with me?”
“Probably a good idea. Do you plan to stay near the ocean or up near our camp?” I asked. “I guess an important question would be, can you survive in a freshwater lake?”
“You already have a lake?” my father interrupted.
“It’s not huge, but quite sufficient for swimming, and watering plants,” Harrison told him. We have several species of plants started…if they survived our absence. I sorta hoped that’s where Jerry ended up when Jordan arrived, but really haven’t had the opportunity to ask him since he turned back up.”
“Annabel’s trying to talk him into going home.”
“That’s his decision. I’m sure he’d be safe enough now, but he was just starting to feel like he might fit in.”
“I didn’t get the impression she was talking him into much of anything, but forgive me, you were asking Paul about fresh water living,” Jallahan brought the conversation back around.
“I’m not sure. I’ve been in freshwater. Taken showers and baths to moisturize when visiting friends, but I’ve never tried living in it. The source in Two-Three-Seven is a desalination plant. It’d be an interesting experiment. Maybe I’ll see if Great-grandfather can hatch out a tub full of freshwater minnows before we head out.”
“Excellent idea,” Jallahan said. “And if you’ve got flowers maybe take a hive of bees.”
“I suppose some smaller things would be fine,” I said. “We weren’t really thinking about animals until we see how we fare during the storms.”
“Which is only three months away,” Harrison said. “It’s not like we’ll have time to grow trees sturdy enough to provide shelter for anything; not even if we genetically enhance them.”
“Harrison!” Jordan Drover’s voice brought us all to our feet. He was striding down the pier. Jamison and his crew stood near the pier‘s entrance.
Chapter 18
“We’ll talk after he leaves,” I said to Paul, who was already sliding off the side of the pier. He barely caused a ripple as he entered the water. Poppy swam toward him and he resurfaced to heave the soaked shorts toward us. He grabbed Poppy’s dorsal fin and she tugged him toward the distant line of the dome. I turned away from him to face Jordan Drover.
“We’ve been searching high and low for you.”
“You’ve had people tailing us since you got here. You haven’t been looking too hard,” I said. “We told Jamison we’d meet him at noon.”
“And it’s twelve-fifteen. You don’t even answer your phone?”
Harrison looked up at the sun, then patted his pockets. “I left the church in a tux. We had to have Jerry bring us clothes this morning. Didn’t even think about the phone. For all I know, it’s still in the church.”
Jordan nodded at me. “You don’t have your phone, but she’s got her pistol?”
“Told you yesterday it was strapped to my leg. Not my problem if you choose not to believe me. I’m sure Jamison and his stooges had their weapons yesterday. Why would I leave mine behind?”
“Fine, whatever the reason, it is now a quarter of an hour past when you agreed to show us the spear of malevolence you claim Flanders attempted to use against you. Jamison said you wish to travel outside the dome to release it.” Jordan didn’t even try to conceal the impatience in his tone.
“In case I do something wrong with it,” Harrison said.
“Of course. Can we please go?”
“Don’t take anybody you don’t wish to know about the condition of the outside atmosphere, because we won’t be wearing rebreathers. I don’t even know if I can find it without physical contact.”
“Yes, fine.” He sounded like a child willing to agree to anything just to get to what he anticipated being a big present. “I’m sure you recognize everybody on my security team. They’ve all been involved in some way in our plans over the past several years.”
We stood from the pier and followed him back to the hotel parking lot. He glared at Nan and Jallahan, but apparently decided protesting their presence wasn’t worth wasting more time. Jallahan waved us to a gold Dodge Dart and we slid in the backseat.
“You haven’t had your car down here all along, have you, Mom?” Harrison asked.
“I told Annabel to drive it. Although I think Uncle Jeffrey drove. Surprised me that he showed up. Didn’t think we’d get him in the same room with your father without something exploding.”
I perked up. “Do you mean that literally?”
Nan laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you, Frankie, but no, Jeffrey does not have the power to blow things up.”
I sank back in my seat with a grin, “Don’t tease me.”
Nan shook her head. “You don’t have a bloodthirsty bone in you, Harold. Where did she inherit that gene from?”
My father grinned back at me, his eyes held affection. “Maybe if I’d had anything to say in her upbringing it wouldn’t be so prevalent. Since I managed to botch that job completely, I accept the amazing woman her mother raised and don’t question the few frightening quirks of her personality. Besides, it’s kind of fun to watch Jordan squirm. He wants his son back, and he knows he won’t get him unless Frankie accepts him.”
I snorted laughter. “And there ain’t nothin’ he can do to make me accept him. I’ve seen beneath the façade.”
My father looked uncertain. “He’s already exhibited incredible patience trying to reverse your opinion.”
“Smart move on
his part. Doesn’t mean it’s going to help his cause. According to Harrison, I hold an entire arsenal of other peoples’ spells, and apparently the ability to not only rip another persons’ magic from him, but if I catch it at the right moment I can rip him to shreds with the magic I’m stealing. I’m sure he’s trying to come up with a way to contain me and not make Harrison despise him, but I don’t see it happening.”
The uncertainty in his face magnified as he said, “Were you to live in District Seven, you might be able to assert some control over him.”
“I. Will. Never. Live. In. District. Seven. That ship sailed when I had to call a teenage picket to help me up the hill in Eighty-Six. I saw how sadistic he can be if he’s thwarted.”
Harrison grinned at me. “I don’t see him ever pulling the wool over your eyes. Even if you hadn’t had such a poor first meeting.”
“Which reminds me, did you see any spells in his particular shade of blue while you were looking for the spear?”
“Persuasion--several times over. Truth seeker. Not much else.”
“Cool.”
My father spun around and stared at me as Nan pulled out of the parking lot. “You’re saying you have access to every spell ever turned against you?”
“So it would seem.” I swept for bugs in the vehicle, not that it was going to be a secret much longer. Surprisingly there weren’t any, at least not of the magical sort. I felt rather certain President Drover was smart enough to make the leap from one accessible spell to others. “Where are we going?” Nan asked.
“There is only one road out of town, just drive until we leave the water behind,” Harrison told her.
We chatted as we drove. Three Hummers followed us up the road. One of them contained Roy Jamison, President Drover, and two other members of the security team. The other three rode in a second hummer along with Sergeant Kallas. The third hummer was filled with mages from the president’s table the previous evening. I noted Jeffrey and Annabel weren’t invited. Harrison and I both turned to watch, as the waterway we planted the natural plant in passed us by. If Jordan would leave, we could stop on the way back and see how it fared.
“Something special back there?” my father asked.
I winked at him. “Last place we stopped before arriving at Two-Three-Seven.”
His cheeks colored and he turned back toward the front. “Sometimes I wish I’d introduced myself before you met Harrison.”
I grinned. “Never said anything about stopping for any specific purpose. This one was completely innocent. Maybe we’ll show you, one of these days. And you know, you could have. I’ve never shot on sight, except for survival. And while I might have cringed at the family resemblance and promptly kicked you out, anyone claiming to want to hire my services could have at least gotten through the front door.”
“I thought about it. A thousand times I picked up the phone to ask if Francesca Leone was accepting new cases. Thought maybe I’d even hire you to find you. Then I’d look in the mirror, know you’d recognize me from your own mirror, and chicken out. You and your mother made it plain you wished nothing to do with me.”
”You never mentioned you knew where she was before Harrison found her,” Nan said, a note of reproach in her voice.
“It never seemed important since I didn’t get up the nerve to approach her. Fortunately, your son’s got more courage than I.”
“How long have you been keeping her a secret?”
“I’ve known she existed for thirty–two years, I’ve known where she lived for the past five.”
“And you never said a word to anyone?”
“Why would I announce to the world I had a daughter who would prefer me dead and gone? She’s been tested twice and found to be without talent. So I wasn’t even consciously breaking any laws by not reporting her existence to the registry.”
“How did you know they didn’t want to see you?”
I let them carry the conversation, leaned my head on Harrison’s shoulder and closed my eyes. He brought his hand up to rest on my stomach and leaned his head back too. Staying up all night caught up with both of us. We woke up when the Dart bounced off road. My father glanced back and said, “Sorry kids, we went as far as we could to give you some time to sleep, but I’m afraid Jordan has decided we’ve gone far enough.”
I stretched and sat up from where I’d slid down into Harrison’s lap. The hummer which had been following us, now sat in front, doors open, passengers spilling out. Jordan Drover stood staring at the Dodge Dart as though debating marching over to rush us, or restraining himself. He stretched and turned away as Harrison and I opened the back door of the car and got out. Of all the people he’d brought along, the only one who seemed shocked at the number of people pouring out of vehicles without rebreathers was Sergeant Kallas.
President Drover approached her and held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sergeant. Thank you for coming along. Since you currently have the prisoner in your jail cell we thought it would be best if you saw the reason behind his incarceration.” Persuasion entered his voice. “I’m told you see magic. The only thing I want you to recall from this journey is the color of the magic my son and daughter-in-law are about to reveal and what the spell is. You will not recall being outside the dome without a rebreather. Is that understood, Sergeant?” He kept his voice low and monotone, no more emphasis on one part of the statement than the other.
She nodded her head appearing to have barely been listening; nervous, as the president shook her hand.
Jordan then beckoned us to his side. “You’ve dragged us all out here. Why don’t we get straight down to it?”
Harrison turned to a small hill a hundred yards away. “We’ll be over there. Jamison, if any of your men can create shields to turn spells I suggest you employ them. The spear was not completely formed and it won’t be a quick pluck and release like the net on the beach. I’m not sure what we’ll need to do to produce it so you can judge it for what it is, and I’ve never handled a spear before.”
“Then allow me.” The young, dark-haired man who’d been taking notes back in the room spoke up.
“You can’t go where I need to go, to bring it out. If I can hand it off to you and you know of a safe way to dispose of the thing, you’re welcome to accompany us to the hilltop.”
Jamison nodded at his man and we trekked to the nearby hilltop. Harrison wrapped his arms around me and after making sure the security man was less than an arm length away he leaned his forehead against mine. It was harder than usual to pull the null field tight around myself and allow him access. Too many powerful mages stood nearby. Every restless shuffle from the distant crowd set back my efforts.
Harrison kissed me and after a tentative moment worrying about our audience, I returned it. When I completely gave myself to his efforts to distract me, I succeeded in telling myself I could do this. I went back to the night before and pretended the mages weren’t there. Sweat soaked both myself and Harrison by the time I managed to let him into nullspace to recover the weapon. He slid his hands under my shirt, fingers leaving slick trails through the sweat. I moaned and pressed myself against him. I felt his happiness and knew he’d succeeded in entering null. One of his hands slid out from under my shirt toward the security mage standing nearby and I felt the man step closer. Harrison withdrew from null and I expanded the field to encompass both of us. With a final kiss we turned to watch the mage as he held the semi-completed beige spear in the air and turned toward our audience.
He concentrated on the spell and several of the gaps in the magic filled in with a bright yellow color. When he stood with the spell completed, he made sure the others acknowledged it and sank it into the earth, grimacing as he grounded the magic.
We strode back down the hill and past the mages toward Nan’s car without slowing down.
“Halt!” Jordan Drover snapped his command. “Explain what you did.”
Harrison wrapped his arms around my waist and turned me to stare at his f
ather. “We can’t. The first time I ever ventured into nullspace was a fluke and I can only go there because my wife trusts me, completely. I can tell you every spell ever thrown at her, resides there, including some of yours, Father. Now you know as much as we do.”
“She can’t pull them out?”
“We haven’t tried. We know this way works.”
“That’s how those men ended up netted on the beach,” Sergeant Kallas said.
Harrison nodded at her, even as I wondered if she’d remember that.
“And the mage,” Jordan demanded.
“As close as we can guess he was building another net when Frankie snatched the core of his magic from him. Now, would anybody like to piss off my wife this afternoon?”
Even Roy Jamison’s eyes flickered at the ground. The only ones who refused to drop their gaze were family.
“No? Then we’re going to go sleep for about twelve hours.” He spun us around and headed back toward the Dart.
“Ride with me, Harrison.” Jordan raised his voice.
“We don’t have answers for you Father and we’re not going to spend the next hour being grilled.”
“We’ll be leaving tomorrow. I do have other priorities if I hope to keep my position. Except for the day you got home from the hospital, I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you.”
“That would be because we’ve been avoiding you. You could barely keep it peaceful under détente.”
“Harrison—“ his voice was sharp. He caught himself, then after a moment said, “Please.”
“Your vehicle is filled.”
“I’m sure your mother won’t mind carrying one of my men. The other may ride with Sergeant Kallas.”
Harrison leaned up next to my ear. “It’s your decision, Frankie.”
“I plan to sleep. I really don’t care where I do it.” It was a lie. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep in a car with Jordan Drover, but if he was leaving tomorrow I’d allow Harrison a final ride with his father.
Jordan turned toward the dark-haired man who’d accompanied us to the hilltop. “Sorenson, you drive.”