“I do not think so.” She offered. “First the deeds that are being attributed to you through Count Trellsor are real. The Orb of Distress was stolen and there was a struggle that resulted in the death of Lord Pelis Mornstar at Tuatha Dun Torin.”
“Tell me about these incidents. Assume I know nothing about either of these two things.” I could tell that she was incredulous and wasn’t completely convinced that I was telling the truth.
“These were not the only incidents that are associated with Lord Trellsor, just the most public and best known. The Count has been the subject of many interesting stories over the last few years.”
“The Orb of Distress was stolen from its display case in the Hall of Memories. The Orb itself is a smooth stone orb composed of malachite. It is what it represents that makes it special. It was stone taken from a battlefield where a force of the Adversary ambushed and slaughtered the Ten Lords of the Border. There was a great outcry when the news of their death arrived at the Court and the then emperor, Lord Shadowsbreath, decreed that the this stone taken from the field of battle would be a symbol of those deaths and asked that all pour their grief into the rock and make their hearts like stone for the war ahead. It took over one hundred mortal years of difficult and dangerous fighting before the slain lords were avenged. In that time the Orb became an object of veneration. It has great historical and cultural value. The Orb was protected by powerful magic and it is still not known how it was stolen, only that it was. It was eventually ransomed, but the sheer audacity of the theft was so great that the court talked of little else until it was returned. Several members of the Court were disgraced and forced to resign their positions for failing to protect the Orb.”
“The death of Lord Pelis Mornstar at Tuatha Dun Torin was a more serious matter still. Lord Pellis was a hardliner who disputed the Compact. He was careful to observe its restrictions at the same time that he savaged it for those restrictions. He felt that the Compact was a betrayal of the heritage of the Court of Twilight. He was disliked by many at both the Court of Twilight and the Court of Dawn. He made enemies like a dog makes water and was not very well liked outside of his like minded circle.”
“At first, it was assumed that his death was an accident. Then whispers began to be heard about the salons of the court that his horse had never thrown him. There was an inquiry, but no evidence was every found that tied anyone to his death, let alone Lord Trellsor and yet it seemed that everyone believed he was murdered and that Lord Trellsor was involved in some fashion.”
“The friends of Lord Pelis did their best to find some provocation to challenge him to martial combat and they finally succeeded. A young Lord insulted Count Trellsor and to satisfy his honor, Count Trellsor was forced to defend himself. Once the duel commenced it was easy to see that the Count was playing with his opponent. It took him an hour to finally administer the Coup de Grace, but only after administering a humiliating defeat that showed that he was a master of the duel. While he did not kill his opponent, he left little doubt that he could have done so had he so desired it. Attempts to challenge him were quietly dropped by Pelis’s friends.
“There were other incidents. Lady Timmon fled court without any ceremony and rumor had it that an assignation with Count Trellsor had led to a dispute with her Lord. Certain ceremonies and rituals were disrupted. There seemed to be no pattern or commonalities to these incidents other than the common knowledge that Count Trellsor was involved in some way.”
“As I stated before, no one knew his true name and his public name, Count Trellsor, provided no clues about his motivation. When your name was associated with his reputation, several of the wags at court accepted this as a truth and explanation and everyone waited to see what the Court would do about this violation of hospitality. To this point nothing has been done other than to observe him.”
She paused and looked at me as if she was still hoping that I might be this mysterious rouge that would dashingly swing from a balcony and save her. Unfortunately, I was bound to disappoint her in this regard.
“Something stinks about that story. Unless the Twilight Order is staffed by a bunch of incompetents, there is no way that they would let this guy run around loose. If they couldn’t find enough evidence to arrest him, they would certainly kick him to the curb to keep him from causing trouble. We’re missing something.” She was either holding out on me or was pretty clueless about they way things worked at Court.
“I have told you all I know, truthfully!” She insisted.
“I believe you. I don’t think you’re lying; it’s just that there’re a few pieces missing. Pieces that we’ll need to solve this puzzle. There’s a lot you don’t know about what’s been going on here and I’ll fill you in on all of it as soon as I hear what else you have to say. I do have a few questions though. When you left though Lady Tessa’s portal and came through to New York, did you see anyone there? Servants?”
“No, there was nothing like that. Her penthouse was empty when we arrived. She came with me to make arrangements for my travel plans. She didn’t stay long and left directions with me that detailed what I had to do. When it was time to go I got a call to go downstairs into the garage and get in a strange vehicle. As soon as I did, the limousine, as it was called, put wheel to the road and deposited me at the airport, where a gentleman met and escorted me to the plane.”
“Did you happen to catch any of the names of these guys?”
“I never saw the limousine driver and the man at the airport did not introduce himself to me. I have to admit that everything was happening so quickly that I had a difficult time keeping up with the whirl around me.”
“I’m sure you did. I suspect it was planned that way. Dalia, this whole thing smacks of a setup. First, Lady Tessa is pretty careful. I doubt she would stick her neck out for anybody. It’s a survival skill. If she helped you, she had a reason other than altruism. Second, this whole rumor that connects me to Count Trellsor couldn’t be accidental. I have little connection with the Bright Kingdom, either Court honestly, but almost no connection with the Court of Twilight. I can’t think of any way that I could ‘accidentally’ be connected to Count Trellsor. Third, the story that we are siblings is a deliberate ruse. The Court is interested in, no fanatic, about genealogy. The idea that Court Chroniclers could have screwed up that badly by accident is laughable. “
“I understand what you say, Sir Melliscant. But to what purpose? Why would anyone do these things, why involve me?” She asked, calmer now that she had began to digest what I had said.
“Nix on that Sir Melliscant stuff. Call me Jake or if you must be formal, Mr. Underwood. I don’t use my court name. I have an idea about why you became involved. We know who your father is, but what can you tell me about your mother?”
“My mother? Very little because of…of what happened. She is or was Lady Mayletha Melliscant. I thought that was your mother as well until today.”
“Lady Mayletha. That name is familiar.” I sat in thought for a moment and mentally climbed up my family tree. The Melliscants were old blood and while they were spread thin on a few branches of the tree, it was a big tree.
“She’s a cousin, or was anyway.” I remembered. “My father’s brother, Lord Balewick Meliscant had a daughter by that name. I never met her, the few times I had dealings with the court. I don’t know much about her, but if she is your mother, then we are related. We’re second cousins.”
She smiled and her face relaxed a little as she sipped her water. Fey put great store by bonds of blood and discovering kin that is related by less than 5 degrees is always a good thing. There are certain obligations that go with any relationship, even one as removed as a second cousin.
“Well cousin, what does that tell you?” She asked.
“Someone is exploiting the bloodtie between us in some ploy. I think you are being used to flush some game out of the underbrush, maybe me, maybe this Count Trellsor. Some of the things that you describe seem to be working at cross purpose
s but we’re still missing some pieces. I would bet my left hand that all these events are connected in some way, until we get a better idea of what’s going on, we should lay low. I think I know just the guy to help us.”
Chapter Thirteen
Dalia finished her water while I excused myself and made a call.
“Hello?” Marty’s surprised voice rang out of the cell phone.
“Marty. This is Jake. I know you weren’t expecting to hear from me so quickly, but I have another little job for you.”
“Actually, I was kinda of expecting to hear from you. Whenever you get in over your head, I get a call from you.” I could hear the teasing in his voice.
“Funny. Maybe we can get you on Carson…uh Leno I mean.” I quipped. “Listen, are you available or not? I got a little job, it might take a few days or a few weeks, I’m not sure how long.”
“I am involved in a little domestic thing, but it could wait. Are you asking as a favor or as a client?”
“Both. I’ll be glad to pay top rate, but I really need your help.” The air went quiet. “Marty? You there?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m here. I was just thinking. This is serious, isn’t it? The tone of his voice had changed. “Okay. I’m yours. Just tell me what you need and we’ll worry about my bill later.”
I almost sighed in relief. “Thanks. Marty. I won’t forget this. I really won’t.” He assured me that it was no problem. “I need a safe house to stash someone for a few days and also to disappear myself for a few days. You got any ideas?” He thought for a moment.
“I have just the place. My sister’s family is on vacation for a few weeks. I’m supposed to be looking out for it anyway. I could put you up there.”
“That sounds perfect. Look, I also need you to baby sit this client I’ve got with me as well as providing a safe house without asking any questions. This is one time when I just need you to take it on faith and not pry.” I could hear his smile though the phone.
“Sure pally, I could do that. Just promise me that you’ll come clean and spill when it’s all over.” Marty hated not knowing what was going on and he was sharp. I had kept him at arms length regarding any aspect of my double life until now. I could only hope that he wouldn’t see or figure out too much.
“No promises. I‘ll tell you what I can, but there is a lot that I can’t talk about.” I got out a notebook and flipped the pages back to a blank page and started writing down the directions to the safe house. I closed the cell and motioned for Dalia to follow me. We got in the pickup and headed south down interstate 45 towards the Gulf of Mexico.
Dalia was curiously examining everything. I suspect that this was her first time in the mortal world and that for the first time since her arrival she was taking time to actually see her surroundings. I could see a genuine smile of pleasure as she became lost in the wonderment of experience a new place for the first time
“It is so very different from the Bright Kingdom. Everything is so complicated here and happens so fast! How can they possible keep track of everything that is going on when everything happens so quickly?”
“Keep in mind that they have only a fraction of the lifespan that you do. At your age, most mortals have already lived over half of their lives. They can’t afford to wait a hundred years for the perfect moment to occur. They make things happen. The brisk pace is one of the things I enjoy about the mortal world.”
“I meant no offense.”
“None taken. But you’ve put you finger on the very thing that frightens both the Court of Dawn and the Court of Twilight. It is very difficult for them to understand things in this world now. Ever since the 1920’s the pace of life here has been increasing and changing so fast that by the time they’ve figured out one thing and integrated into their world view, it’s already obsolete. They look at this world and see an unknowable blur. They’re afraid that something horrible will spring up from the mortal world and destroy everything here and there.”
She was silent for a moment and the asked, “Can we trust this Marty person? How much does he know about us?”
“Marty is one of the few people I would actually trust with my life and my secret. But he doesn’t know about my dual heritage, it would be a violation of the Compact. You may not know it, but it is a violation to let mortals know about anything about the Fey unless there is ‘dire emergency’. So try and be as circumspect as possible.” She nodded assent and went back to staring wide eyed out the windows of the truck
It turned out that the safe house was in Clear Lake, a suburb of Houston that also plays home to NASA’s mission control. It’s a nice part of the city and very expensive to live in. Marty’s sister or her husband must do well for herself.
I drove down the cul-de-sac that led to the two story house that overlooked the bay. Marty was already there. He had pulled his sister’s minivan out and gestured for me to pull the brown pickup into the garage. At this time of day, there wasn’t a lot of traffic, except from high school students heading home, but it made good sense to hide the truck.
The house was nice. Decorated in that generic style that says ‘we have taste and we’re doing all right but we aren’t rich…yet’. The houses’ best feature was a dining room that was on the second floor and had three walls of glass that featured a prominent view of the bay. It was nice, but probably a pain in the ass whenever a hurricane took a swipe at Galveston Island.
“Jake! Introduce me to this lovely lady.” Marty could be charming when he choose to be, he just often didn’t recognize the moment. Although he was perfectly capable of rough and tumble when he needed to be, he was always drawn to the delicate, beautiful heartbreakers. I had worked out a story with Dalia that should keep him guessing for a little while.
“Down boy! This is my cousin’s daughter. She has had a little trouble with her husband and she needed some breathing room. He can get a little agitated so I wanted to make sure that she is secure until I can calm the situation down.”
He looked at me and thought for a moment. Then he grinned. “Sure, we can go with that one if you like.”
I introduced Dalia to Marty and watched as Marty tried to figure out what her angle was. She was charming and I could tell that her flowery speaking style was confusing Marty a little. It seemed to me that he didn’t regard her as a threat but more of a curiosity that he couldn’t quite place.
Dalia went straight into the dining and proceeded to become enchanted with the view while Marty led me into the kitchen. “Look, you may not want to tell me what’s really going on and maybe you’re right to keep me in the dark. What I don’t know, I can’t tell I guess. But just so you know, I got your back. I’m sleeping on the couch for the next few nights, just in case.” He opened the icebox and pulled out a Samuel Adam’s and twisted off the top. He offered me one and I demurred. “I also suggest that you ditch the brown truck for now. Drive the Sienna for a while.” Marty dropped the keys for the Sienna on the counter and pulled hard on his beer.
“Just on the off chance that it might come in handy, I did a little more research on the crew that was watching the office from the street.” Marty took out a notebook to refresh his memory. He didn’t need it. I seldom saw him forget anything that was important. “I definitely ID’ed Chris McNeely. The other guys are unknowns. But they have a lethal look about them. They looked like a hit team to me. I couldn’t get too close because I didn’t want to spook them. I was going to get a few shots of these guys, but before I could they took off. I thought maybe I had spooked them but in few moments another car pulled up and some guys who move like cops got out. I didn’t recognize any of them either. It could be that they are federal boys.” He paused and looked at me questioningly. “Either Dalia’s husband is connected or you got something big going on. I could be more helpful if I knew what was going on.”
I wanted to tell him. I really did. The problem was that it would be a violation of the Compact. Interactions with the mortal world are supposed to be kept to a minimum. We’r
e really not supposed to be here at all. The agreement that the Bright Kingdom made with the Church and the Emperor allowed for temporary passage from one realm to another. No one from the Bright Kingdom is supposed to reside here; we are all just passing through. It’s the main reason that places like the Silver Tree exist. Technically, they are realms and those who choose to make a home outside the realm of the Bright Kingdom are always associated with such a place. Kevin’s death, unless the business could settled under new management quickly would be a major disruption among the expatriates in Houston, myself included. Although I was technically Fey, The Compact reckoned half breeds as members of both worlds and as result had a laxer enforcement policy on us, they still preferred to keep us close. In truth, most Fey wouldn’t want to live here anyway but the few who do have good reason to do so. Under the current circumstances I just couldn’t afford a casual violation of the Compact.
“You’ve already done enough. You’re a good guy Marty and I would be a poor friend indeed to drag you in any deeper into this mess than you already are. You really ought to get out of here and let me deal with this. I appreciate the offer, but I think I can handle it.”
He raised he hands, palms toward me. “Fair enough. You know your business best Jake. But there is no way in hell I’m leaving you loose in my sister’s house without supervision. I do have an a few loose ends to tie up, but I’ll be back in a few hours. If you need me before then, you call.” He turned to go and stopped at the door, glancing back, “Don’t underestimate these guys Jake. They’re looked good and professional. You need to be careful.”
I went into the kitchen and began to look around to see what I could make into something edible. There was plenty of frozen meat in the deep freeze, but nothing defrosted so I scouted around the ice box and found enough fresh vegetables to make a salad. I also found some Boar’s head smoked ham and some eggs so I decided to make a chef’s salad. The kitchen was really well laid out so I quickly reduced the lettuce and tomato into a meal. I found a whisk and made a honey Dijon dressing and combined it with the aged cheddar and ham to finish the salad.
Naming Day (Jake Underwood Book 1) Page 13