Sons (Book 2)

by Scott V. Duff

  Turning in the open doorway, I cleared my throat to bring their attention to me fully from the armors that so fascinated them. “This is the first warded door. Before we go into the bladed weapons, you should know that some things react nearly as much to your thinking as to your movements. With that in mind, you need to be more controlled with what you express through the geas, so I need to show you how to do a few things first. You can train your officers and from there, the rest of the men.

  “Let’s start with privacy barriers,” I told them then proceeded to show them several different ways to partition themselves and others off from the party line of the geas. The first time they tried, they managed it, but broke it immediately, fearing the loss of the geas. Jimmy was nearly in fits laughing, but managed to be consoling instead, sort of. Once they both managed tight enough screens around themselves to hold against all but the main vault, we continued. All together, it only took about fifteen minutes. They were smart men and able students.

  “These are the edged weapons,” I said, returning to the tour. “Everything from small knives to swords to battle axes to things I don’t know what they’re called yet.” There were literally hundreds of thousands of blades, packed more tightly together than the armors. Everything in sight was a plain weapon, bearing only the mark of Gilán. These were the “working” weapons of the everyday soldiers. Locked in cases behind them were more decorated and potent samples. These were the reason for teaching them to shield their thoughts.

  I turned left at a cross hall that led to the main vault and around to the other two rooms. When I stopped at the next cross hall and paused, Byrnes looked back down the hall.

  “That’s quite a distance we just walked,” he said, mildly surprised as he consulted the increasingly bright map I was highlighting for them.

  “Yeah,” Jimmy said, grinning at them. “You’ve gotten quite speedy. Just wait till the clumsiness kicks in, though. It’ll drive you bonkers until you get used to how fast you get.”

  “You didn’t seem clumsy to me,” I said, looking confused.

  “But I practiced constantly,” he said chuckling. “Every chance I got whenever you weren’t looking, trust me. From flipping coins to tossing a stick back and forth, it wasn’t always easy. My apartment was a mess the first few days from all the things I knocked over.”

  “You should have said something,” I said, upset. “Maybe I could have helped.”

  “You were busy,” he said shrugging.

  “Jimmy!” I said, bordering on angry.

  “Seth, you were busy and it was a small thing,” he said calmly and quietly. “I coped with it.” The simple sincerity on his face tore any anger I had to shreds.

  “All right, you’re a big boy,” I said, sighing and relaxing, then pointed at the massive vault at the center of the Armory complex. “But that stays locked under my authority alone until I can teach you a lot more.”

  “Please do,” Jimmy said, chuckling as he stared at its black walls etched in a grid of blue. “Even from here, the locks are scary as hell.”

  “You ain’t just whistlin’ ‘Dixie’,” Byrnes muttered, staring at his feet instead. Velasquez was trying hard to read notes he hadn’t taken from his pad.

  “Good,” I said and turned to go to the next juncture. Stopping at the door on the right, I decided not to go in there, but I swung the other open. “That room is mostly supplies for building various siege engines, so let’s not bother going in. This is ballistic weapons and loads. The more exotic and explosive of which are in the vault. Back here are the larger weapons, catapults and the like. Then longbows, shortbows, crossbows, you name it. If it’s not a gun and it makes something fly and kills, it’s probably in here somewhere.”

  Swinging the front door to this section open, we exited into the main cross-hall and turned left again. “These are the offices that hide the vault’s door. Mostly, I can’t see them being used that much since I really don’t see us actually fighting a war anywhere. My current plans for you are as a security company, mostly watching, looking threatening, and saying, ‘Go away,’ to people we don’t want around. Not nearly as formidable as what you’re used to dealing with.”

  My commanders nearly giggled at each other. “We’ll take that over burning down villages, Lord,” Velasquez said, grinning, eyes bright and strikingly blue against his dark skin.

  “The training rooms shouldn’t take long,” Jimmy murmured, looking through the walls. I felt him send a blanket command through the geas, followed by a series of more complex orders to others. Many of them sent simultaneously.

  Yeah, he coped. Was coping. Learning. And doing it well. Jimmy was proving himself to himself. He was becoming the First of Gilán in far more than just name. I was proud of him and proud to call him my friend.

  “That’s why I picked this side first,” I said. “That side will make more sense when you know what you’ll be training with first.” The trip out and across the wide hall was quick and Jimmy had already opened the door to the training section. I led them through the front section first, moving toward the first large training room.

  “More offices for trainers, some conference rooms for staff meetings, everything still under the auspices of the Armor Master and his lieutenants. Small medical stations throughout. You’ll be working with the brownies quite a bit for the first few weeks, getting everything properly set up. They’ll also help with some of the training in a limited capacity, coaching and teaching only. Under no circumstances are they to be used in any kind of battle drill or fight maneuver. It can be psychologically damaging to them and they don’t know that much about fighting.”

  “Yes, sir,” Byrnes and Velasquez said together.

  The floors outside the office areas changed from stone to a red clay-colored rubber-like material that seemed to grip at our shoes. Pulling a small amount of water out of the pool, I dropped it in our path and walked through it without slipping at all. Byrnes drudged through the puddle totally unaware of it. It was marvelous slip-proofing.

  Training Room #1 was clearly marked and enclosed totally in glass on the hall side. We walked through the open entrance, out onto the thick, blue matting on the floors. From this side, all four walls appeared mirrored, but there was power in the walls, ready to snap forward to protect and slow projectiles. On the far wall, a fixture of staves lined up in slots, hundreds of them, sat beside another of equally numerous sets of padding. Reminiscent of baseball umpire uniforms, the padding consisted of face masks with eye guards, thick chest and arm pads, and thigh and shin guards. They looked very hot, but far better than getting the crap beat out of you with a big stick.

  “Obviously for large groups,” Jimmy said mildly, looking around the room. “Will we be training in here?”

  “No, I think we’ll need a bit more room, so mine is more appropriate,” I answered. “And once you start tossing magic around, it’ll get even weirder, no, not here.”

  “So this room and two others for groups of hand-to-hand, stick fighting, and sword combat,” Velasquez said, eyes unfocused but concentrating on the map. “A lot of smaller rooms for specialized or smaller groups and archery ranges. Those can be changed to handgun and rifle ranges with ear protection when needed. Seems fairly complete for what we need.”

  “I just don’t see how sticks and bows can compete with modern weapons,” Byrnes said dubiously.

  “Well, my Crossbow can take the pit from a cherry from five miles away on a windy day,” I said confidently. “And the Day sliced through a running car engine in about a second flat. How many guns does the Army have that can do that?”

  “None that I know of, sir,” Byrnes answered, paling.

  “And don’t underestimate the staff, Ted,” I said, waving absently back at the sticks racked up behind us. “It’s not merely a practice instrument for swords, but a powerful weapon in its own right. I have fought experts at both and neither was easy and certainly not one easier than the other. Further, I watched my brother Kieran take
the Swords I carry from their previous owners bare-handed and they were nearly as fast as First.”

  “Kieran did that?” Byrnes asked, shocked. “Big, happy Kieran?”

  “Big, happy Kieran,” I repeated, laughing. “I wouldn’t want to face him in a fight, believe me. He scares the hell out of me. Anything else here you want to see?”

  “Um, I don’t see anything on the map that doesn’t make sense,” Byrnes said. “You, Ric?”

  “No, sir,” Velasquez said. “Everything but the Armory vault is clear. Now we just need the time to make sense of it all and put it to use.”

  “Time is something you have,” I said, heading out the door. “We will have to pull some men away to build support services for you on the other side. I’ll coordinate through First or probably some other officer once you’ve had a chance to build a hierarchy. I suspect that you’ll both be very busy for a while.” I gave the force field a little mental push as we neared to collapse it. Disappearing only long enough to let us pass, it snapped back into place on Velasquez’s heels.

  “Now just a few more minor issues to take care of here tonight and I’ll let y’all get settled in,” I said, stopping at the intersection of halls just down from the gymnasium. My commanders still hadn’t quite realized how fast I’d made them walk yet. “First off, I don’t think that any one single man here has worked harder and more constantly than Lt. Brinks. Please arrange for him to take a couple of days off, even if you have to do it under threat of violence.”

  They laughed lightly. “Yes, sir,” Byrnes said. “No problem.”

  “It might be,” Velasquez said, eyebrows together in concern. “He’s a sneaky bastard. We’ll have to put a tail on him.” Byrnes laughed again, nodding in agreement.

  “Second is the two of you,” I said, looking between them. “You’ve only been slightly less active than him and I don’t want my commanders cracking up under pressure. Your bodies and minds need time to rest to acclimate to your new surroundings and the changes caused by the geas and Gilán. Don’t rush things just to impress us. Take some time off opposite each other. Don’t work through every night. Trust me, I can use the time myself.”

  “Yes, sir,” they said in unison, still smiling.

  Jimmy looked at them dubiously. “Why do I think I’m going to have to say that again?”

  “Probably will, Mr. ‘Practiced Every Chance He Got’,” I said, chuckling myself. “And finally, I brought a couple of things back with us today for you guys…”

  “He got suckered, he means,” Jimmy interrupted.

  “I did not!” I objected.

  “Yes, you did,” Jimmy challenged me, drawing each word out. “You saw both Delvecchio and Simms looking down that aisle like there were ten strippers down there and then you saw Ramirez dancing in the aisle in that other store. Don’t deny it! I saw you. Suc—ker!” He fell against the hall wall laughing, probably to avoid another shove.

  “Whatever,” I said, shaking my head. “Anyway, after I address the men, First and I are going to dinner. In each of the Day rooms, my brothers and the brownies have set up sandwiches and beer for all of you as well as a battery-operated stereo and a small CD library. Also, in each of your offices are small CD players that you can use for background music while you work. Bear in mind that batteries are limited until we can set up the generators for recharging them properly.”

  “Yes, sir,” they said happily. “Thank you, Lord Daybreak, that’s unexpected and quite charitable of you considering all that you’ve already done for us,” Byrnes added.

  “Think the IRS will let you take that deduction?” Jimmy asked, then slid down the wall laughing.

  “Eh, there’s a little lesson in the beer,” I said, grinning at laughing boy on the floor. “Some are gonna try real hard to get plastered. Those guys are gonna actually drink themselves sober. The faster they intoxicate themselves, the faster their bodies will detoxify them now. Those that hit a nice warm buzz will last longer.” Now it was our turn to laugh.

  “And they won’t believe us when we tell them that, will they?” Byrnes said, still laughing.

  “Not likely,” I answered. “Come on, First, time to get up. I’m hungry. Let’s go act all lordly and everything.”

  Chapter 42

  “At-teeeen-shun!”

  We hadn’t even made it through the door before that order was called so someone sent a message ahead of us. Four hundred and twenty men and women jumped to their feet and snapped to attention in the bleachers on one side of the gym. My brothers and our assistants milled around in the center. We walked at a human pace to join them.

  “Hi, guys, thanks for getting that set up for me,” I said to them.

  “Not a problem, Seth,” Kieran said, then he grimaced a little, “But we did skip lunch so…”

  Smiling, I said, “This shouldn’t take long, but would you mind walking up with Jimmy and me? There’s something I’d like your opinion on.”

  “Sure,” he answered without pausing.

  “Thanks,” I said, patting his arm absently. Looking back at the ramrod straight men facing us, I said to Byrnes, “Um, Commander?”

  “At ease,” he called loudly without yelling. Everyone quickly and quietly sat down. It was kind of eerie.

  “Thank you, Commander,” I said, then stepped forward so I could modulate my voice to speak loudly enough to be heard by everyone and not blow out my brothers’ and my aides’ eardrums. “Welcome, you are the newly installed Fourth Garrison of the Palace Guard of Gilán. I see you found the pool.” A roar of laughter rolled through them. Half of them were still dripping wet.

  “Over the next few days, you should get more aware of your surroundings. There have been a number of changes and per our agreement, you will no longer be idle. Instead, all of you will be actively involved in building this garrison into a force that can handle fights more attuned to the kinds of battles that a faery kingdom actually fights. The modern style of warfare that you’re used to fighting will only be so effective in magical realms and you have to adjust to that reality.

  “I will, however, continue to do everything in my power to avoid such conflict as I don’t consider warfare particularly useful for anything. There are just far too many better ways to a resolution, but I won’t back down when others are killing my people either. I think you know that.” A low rumble of agreement ran through them. That was the reason they were here after all.

  “Most of these changes will come slowly,” I said, gathering some speed in my speech. “Others, by necessity, will happen rather quickly and some won’t be popular, chief among them is the issue of rank. Your titles, whatever they may be, may have to change. Some of you may go up, some of you down. Major Byrnes and Captain Velasquez have both been forced to give up theirs. Please understand that this is reorganization, not demotions or promotions.

  “With that in mind, I’d like to introduce your new leaders,” I said proudly. “Placed at the rank of Garrison Commander is Ted Byrnes…” Damn, could four hundred people get loud. Byrnes tried not show how much he enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a battle he could win, being bright red and having that shit-eating grin on his face. After three minutes of ‘boo-yahs’, stomping and other miscellaneous carrying on, I had to call for silence. “And placed at equal rank and second only to Commander Byrnes is Ric Velasquez.” I got as far as “equal rank” before low chants of “Kez” ran through the bleachers. The Guard was rowdy tonight.

  Looking over at my extremely happy commanders, I asked, “I should be aggravated by this, shouldn’t I?”

  “Probably, yes, sir,” Byrnes admitted begrudgingly.

  “Eh, not tonight,” I said, wearing a crooked smile, and turned back to the Guard. “My brothers and I have a lot of work to do over the next few days, so you won’t see us much. Some of you will be called to do some work in your areas of expertise over there in support of the Garrison. These assignments will go through your commanders. And if you are brought over, I need everyone to rem
ember a few things.” I paused for a moment to get everyone’s attention solidly.

  “First, to most of the world,” I said slowly, “Gilán does not exist and we need to keep that as true as possible. Among those who do know of Gilán, they think of us as a realm. This is a word full of connotations that you aren’t aware of. You think of Gilán as a world, just like Earth, and you aren’t wrong.” I projected two very different globes out into the space between the bleachers and us. “Earth is obvious, the giant blue marble in space.”

  I sighed, admiring my handiwork. The image held the same luster as the Worldgem but it lacked something for me, probably the wonder of the gem itself. “This is Gilán as it as shown itself to me. It has many similarities to Earth, but there’s one incredibly important one. It’s a planet. No other realm shares this distinction. Since this is what makes Earth such a valuable commodity, it also makes Gilán a very valuable commodity.

  “So, it is very important that we keep even the idea that our world could be planetary a secret,” I said solemnly. “Initially, it’s best if you didn’t mention Gilán in any way, but that’s not always possible.

  “And second is the matter of our protection,” I said uneasily. “There is a treaty out there between man and… basically everybody else in the universes.” That struck me as funny, actually. “There’s a lot of myth and legend about this treaty that hides the truths behind its origins. Right now, I’m standing in front of a firing squad and daring them to shoot at me, more or less. The treaty is called the Unseelie Accords and it quite literally codifies acceptable behavior between individual peoples in innumerable circumstances.

  “An oath was attached to the treaty that binds the promise to the magic wielded by the signer,” I explained. “Ancient and unbelievably powerful, breaking the oath could kill if the right rule is broken. I took the Oath in good faith, signing my full name below the Queens of Faery on the Original. Both Queens watched along with dozens of other powerful magicians and wizards as the magic of the Accords flared over me and fell away without taking hold. And the second time, when the Queens attempted to interfere, Gilán blew them off like a snowflake in a fire. The magic can’t bind me.