One day right after her lesson with Elsie, she received a spear thread from Rory. Missy, I have a horse that broke her leg and I could use some help. Do ye have some time to spare me?
At the stable, she found Rory and the stable hands next to a flat-bed truck. They were winching a horse cradled in a sling off the truck bed. Rory explained the mare had stepped wrong out in the field and broken her front leg.
“Will you have to put her down?” Brenna asked in sorrow.
“Nay,” he responded, “a normal vet would, but here we’ll heal her. She won’t be ridden again, but she’s a good mare, good bloodlines, and we’ll get a few more foals out of her. She’ll just be retired from riding.”
The mare was quiet and Rory showed her how he had laid a Comfort on her mind to calm her and how he had blocked the pain receptors so she wouldn’t feel the pain. They splinted the leg, and he showed her how to align the bones and begin the process of callus formation that would eventually knit the bones back together. She also learned how to send her mind into the area of the injury to heal the broken blood vessels and realign the muscles, tendons and ligaments and heal the bruising.
“We’re just starting the process now,” he told her, “we’ll be doing all of these things several times a day for the next month until she’s healed completely. The biggest issue in these types of injuries is vascular. By repairing the blood vessels and capillaries and ensuring there is good blood flow, you keep the area from necrotizing.”
~~~
Brenna got back to the house a bit before supper and found Rebecca in Callie’s private sitting room having a beer. Callie was talking about how certain Gifts were underappreciated.
“For instance, I know Cindy’s been teaching you about the succubus Gifts and those related to it. I’m sure she’s been thoroughly schooling you on Glamour and its usage. But Glamour is just a very specialized Talent that a succubus can use as part of her Charisma.
“About fifty percent of all telepaths have Charisma as a second Gift, but most never really explore what it can do. They just accept it and it helps them pick someone up in a bar. But it truly is a powerful Gift, and it can be used every day, especially when you’re out in the world interacting with norms. It’s subtle, and people tend to get excited about splashy, exciting Gifts. It has more power than succubus Glamour because it can be used for more than just enhancing the beauty of the body.”
Callie smiled and took a sip of her beer. “You know of course, that I’m the most beautiful woman in the world, far outshining Brenna, smarter, of course, and far more fascinating. As a matter of fact, you’ve probably never met anyone like me. You’re privileged to know me, and you would do anything for me. It would be an honor. It’s really amazing that I’m even willing to allow you to hang around with me. The greatest sorrow of your life is that you can’t have my children, but if I asked, you’d volunteer in a minute to carry my quickened egg, bear the pain of childbirth for me, and babysit for the next eighteen years so I could have my time free just to be amazing.”
Brenna felt herself move to the edge of her chair. She had never realized before how amazing Callie was, how beautiful, how smart and witty and such a joy to be around. She saw Rebecca leaning forward, and even started to get up out of her chair, her hand stretched toward Callie. Then Callie hit the part about having her baby, and she realized something was wrong. She threw power to her shields, and Callie returned to just being Callie, her friend, her aunt, actually a pretty amazing woman, but nothing like the glowing goddess she had been only an instant before.
Callie smiled at her, turned to Rebecca, and said, “Will you carry my baby, Rebecca?”
Rebecca started to nod, then shook herself and straightened, her eyes unfocused as Callie stopped the projection. “Holy shit. Hell no, carry your own Goddamned baby.” She shuddered, fell back into her chair. “Yeah, I’ve got to learn that one, and even more important, I need to learn the block. Wow, you really pulled me in.”
A sly smile grew on Callie’s face. “Damn, thought I was going to get a couple more kids without the labor pains. Of course, it’s most useful in business and normal day-to-day life, making your life easier. Want to return a blouse? No sweat. Get out of a speeding ticket? You don’t need to go into his mind, just use a little Charisma and he wants to help you out. Buy a new car, hell, the salesman will kick in his commission to make you happy.”
Drinks after supper in Callie’s sitting room became a nightly affair, as they learned about Charisma, Empathy, and Empathy Projection.
The lessons with the Protectors in Electrokinesis and Pyrokinesis were much more exciting and spectacular. Burning things up was fun.
Caroline O’Connell came down from New York to show them how to control their Rivera Gift, Neural Disruption. After she left, they practiced it with the Protector Jeremy. That one was difficult, since they had to use animals which were ready for slaughter. They quickly learned not to eat before those training sessions.
But something that turned into a total circus was learning the fine points of Air Shielding with Seamus. He was showing them how they could tailor and shape their air shields, and how you could use them to strengthen a fortification, such as a building.
“Grandfather, what would happen if you created an air shield inside a building, shaped to the walls, and then pushed it out? Would the walls contain it, or would it be stronger than the walls and continue to expand?”
His brow pinched as he considered Brenna’s question. “I never thought of that. I don’t know.” He was silent for a while, “Damn, I don’t know.” A mischievous smile lit his eyes. “Want to find out?”
When they got back to the house, laughing and exhilarated, Callie was standing in the foyer with her arms crossed under her breasts, wearing a deep frown and tapping her foot. “Been having fun?”
They stopped, all three looking like school children caught doing something naughty. “We were just having a lesson. Why?”
“Rory is pissed. He called and said you blew up one of his sheds.”
The three dissolved in laughter. “It was an old one, we checked to make sure there wasn’t anything important in it,” Seamus said.
“Yeah, all it had in it was old, rotting tack and broken shovels and crap like that,” Brenna told her.
“And it was close to falling down anyway,” Rebecca finished.
“Callie,” her father fixed her with one of his expressions, “we made sure no one was around who could get hurt.”
“Maybe so, but he’s still pissed. I hope you have enough to pay Darrien to build him a new one.”
“Crrreeeeaaaakkkkk,” Rebecca said from behind her.
“BOOM.” They all said together, lapsing into laughter again.
Brenna put a hand on her hip. “We were doing important scientific research. And we have made several significant discoveries. Did you know, if you fit an air shield to the internal contours of a structure, and then continue to feed power to it and expand it, it will gradually cause the weak points of the structure to fail, eventually causing the structure to fail?”
Her grandfather took up the narrative. “And if you feed power to it and cause it to expand swiftly …”
“BOOM.” they all three shouted in unison.
“It explodes, quite spectacularly.”
Callie continued to give them ‘the stare’.
“Fine, tell Darrien to send me the bill. It was worth it. Now, ladies, what do you say to a little Midleton’s to celebrate a breakthrough in scientific research?”
They all laughed and started down the hall to his study.
“You know where we made our mistake, don’t you?” Seamus said.
“Yeah,” Brenna responded, “we should have told Rory what we were doing ahead of time.”
“And he would have been out there with us.” Seamus finished. “He’s just upset because he missed the fun.”
Callie watched them go, a soft smile turning up the corners of her mouth. Twelve years ago, sh
e was convinced she was losing her father, on top of the loss of her mother, her brother, and her best friend. Then Cindy had stepped into the picture and taken charge of returning Seamus to sanity. Now these two wilders, with their wild questions and unconventional way of looking at the world, were rejuvenating him even more. She turned to go back to her office and call Darrien. Hell, the old man might outlive me, and I’ll never have to deal with the whole heir thing. That thought made her even happier, and she was practically skipping by the time she reached her desk.
~~~
Chapter 1-16
The frank sexuality of the early Celts was associated with the worship of fertility religions; the pre-Christian Celts were permissive about sex and accorded a high status to women. The Christian missionaries found a people who … maintained a free sexual morality. On them, it sought to impose a code of extreme severity … - Gordon Rattray Taylor
Brenna and Collin were lying in bed, snuggling and talking as the morning light crept through the window. There was a peremptory knock on the door and Seamus walked in. Even though she was an adult, and this was the most permissive environment she could imagine, it still embarrassed her to have her grandfather see her in bed with a man. She pulled the covers up around her.
“Brenna, get dressed, pack a bag, we’re going to Washington. Collin, call Mike and coordinate. I want everyone out on the street. All leaves are cancelled.”
“What’s going on?”
“Cindy’s missing, and her protection hasn’t checked in.” He paced, frowning.
Brenna hopped out of bed and padded to the bathroom, all thoughts of modesty gone from her mind. Seamus froze, watching her go.
“Damn.”
“Yeah,” Collin said, “watching her never gets old.”
Seamus shook his head then began to pace again. “I’m getting tired of this shit. First my grandson and granddaughter are harassed, and now this. I want that German cultural affairs officer, what’s his name?”
“Goldenstein.”
“Yes, Goldenstein, I want him rousted. If we have to go into CBW’s offices, we’re going to do it. Tell your people, vests, armed, and travel in groups. This is my turf, Goddammit. If we have to rub their noses in it, then that’s what we’re going to do. I want every damn telepath that isn’t Clan to know we can put force on the street, and we will protect our people.”
Brenna came out of the bathroom and disappeared out the door to the hall, still naked. Both men paused to watch her.
Collin started dressing. Retrieving his cell phone from the top of the dresser, he pressed a button and connected to Mike Riley in Washington asking for status.
Seamus left and went down to the kitchen. “Mrs. Doyle, can you please set some breakfast for Dorothy and Brenna? It’s going to be a long day.”
He waited for the two women to eat, sitting at the dining room table with their bags sitting next to the door. He was too keyed up to eat, pacing and fidgeting. When they had finished bolting their food, they picked up their bags. He took each of them by the arm and teleported to Washington.
A man and woman stood outside the room they materialized in.
“Status?” Seamus barked.
“They’re all still missing,” the man answered. “We have all teams from here and Baltimore out looking. Collin called and I have more manpower coming in. He’ll be here later today with what can be spared from the estate.”
Seamus stood unmoving, absorbing this. He took a deep breath. “What can I do?”
“Not a lot at this time. I’ve posted an all-points bulletin with DC police plus Maryland and Virginia state police. There are almost two thousand men looking for her, and for the people who were guarding her.”
Seamus shook himself, almost like a wet dog, stood rigid for a moment then said, “I’m sorry, my manners have slipped. Brenna, this is Mike Riley and Karen MacIntyre. My granddaughter, Brenna Morgan. Mike is head of security here in DC, and Karen is in charge of our offices here.”
They nodded to her and Karen said, “Good to see you, Dorothy, though the circumstances aren’t the best. Come with me and I’ll show you to your rooms while Mike takes Seamus to our command center.”
Brenna had never been to the Washington headquarters before. Karen explained they were in a block of rowhouses in one of the older, wealthier parts of the city near Capitol Hill. It had been turned into a compound with high-rise office buildings at each end. On the west side was O’Donnell Group’s putative corporate headquarters. The east end was MacIntyre and Associates, the lobbying and consulting firm that Karen headed, managing the Clan’s operations aimed at the federal government. MacIntyre was a wholly-owned subsidiary of O’Donnell Group. She explained that Cindy, formally employed by the U.S. Senate, was secretly an employee of her company.
“Her Protectors normally check in every hour, it’s standard protocol. They’ve now missed several check-ins and we have no idea where any of them are.”
“How many Protectors were assigned to her?” Brenna asked.
“Four, in close protection, four more in reserve. Mike had three of his best men assigned to her, and the best woman we have. And believe me, when I say Joan is good, she’s good, absolutely one of our best. She and Cindy are friends, and she’d call if she could. We’re extremely worried.”
They had evidently arrived in one of the office buildings, and they crossed into what Brenna assumed was the compound, the décor changing from sterile office to old-fashioned mid-Atlantic. Karen showed Brenna to a room and told her that after she’d settled in, to let her know.
Brenna shot Dorothy a spear thread. Do you know why I’m here?
Because I asked for you. Despite what Elsie might say, she thinks you’re really good and I agree. If I have a patient come in with a head injury, I’d appreciate your knowledge.
Elsie thinks I’m good?
Then why does she beat me up so much? I thought I was a total washout.
Just her way. If she didn’t think you were worth the effort, she’d just completely ignore you and put you to sterilizing instruments – forever.
Pondering that information, Brenna unpacked her bag, took a shower, put her clothes back on, and sent a spear thread to Karen.
Karen gave her a tour of the entire compound and the office buildings. O’Donnell Group and the Clan had a headquarters employing over three thousand people, and housing over two hundred, within a mile of the White House and Congress – all telepaths – and no one ever suspected. Karen told her that in addition to the people who actually worked in or out of the two office buildings, there were almost three thousand more telepaths working for or linked to the Clan in the greater Washington-Baltimore area.
“If you count the people who aren’t affiliated with us, other Clans and foreign nationals working or stationed here, there are probably ten thousand telepaths in this area,” Karen told her. “It may be one of the highest concentrations in the world.”
Brenna reflected that she’d lived all her life in the area and never encountered any of them.
Eventually she was led to the command center in a sub-basement. Seamus was pacing and Mike Riley was trying to coordinate the influx of men Collin was sending in. It looked like something out of NASA, screens everywhere, people on keyboards with headsets, clocks on the wall lining the room showing the time in various parts of the world.
“How long since she went missing?” Brenna asked Karen.
“Her escort team’s last contact was at ten o’clock last night, so about eleven hours. They could be anywhere by now, but we’re limiting our search to the metro area and up the ninety-five corridor to New York.” She shrugged. “We don’t have unlimited manpower, so we have to hope they haven’t driven her to Detroit or Nashville, or some other weird place. We know she hasn’t flown out of any of the three commercial airports, but they could have taken a train.”
“Has Farrell be
en contacted?” Seamus barked. Mike shook his head and Seamus scowled. “Call him. I want every resource we can bring into this.”
“Charles Farrell is a Clan member with the FBI,” Karen explained. “We also have people serving with local and state authorities. For the most part, we try to spare them for emergencies rather than create possible conflicts of interest, but in this case I agree with Seamus.”
“How do you know she’s alive?”
“Seamus would know if she died. They’re bonded, that’s why he’s so crazy. If she’s hurt, he can feel it.”
Collin came in a few hours later with two hundred Protectors, and immediately an assault force was mounted to visit the German embassy and CBW headquarters.
“What is CBW?” Brenna asked.
“Center for a Better World. It’s a German-based philanthropic organization that serves as a front for our major rivals in Europe. They’re very active here and in New York,” Karen told her. “Their U.S. headquarters is about two miles from here.”
“And we’re sending in assault teams? In Washington in broad daylight?”
Karen made a brushing off motion. “The norms will never see us. Surveillance cameras will catch us, but we’ll take the tapes from both locations with us. They don’t have a security force in either place that will oppose us. Collin has already ordered two hundred additional Protectors from Britain to our German office in Bonn.”
Brenna drifted over to where Collin, Kallen, and a dozen other Protectors were huddled with Seamus.
“No, you can’t come. I don’t give a damn how much you think they need a direct message from the family, this is within my authority, Seamus. You can fire me, but good luck finding anyone to replace me who will go along with putting you in the line of fire,” Collin looked harried, but was standing, feet planted wide, in front of Seamus, who looked like an old gray bear looking down at him.
The Telepathic Clans Omnibus Page 19