Summer Reign

by John Conroe

  “Good day, milord. The administration of this city is requesting to meet with you and make introduction,” he said. “Also, I’ve taken the liberty of bringing some food and tea.”

  Stacia headed into the main living room and swooped down on the food with wolfish focus.

  Stocan watched her with cautious interest while I processed his words. “Why do they want to meet me?” I finally asked.

  “’Cause you’re the new boss,” Stacia said, biting into a large drumstick of some Fairie turkey analog. “Hey, is this velociraptor?” she asked Stocan. “Mack and Jetta talked about velociraptors that the locals sometimes hunted or were hunted by.”

  “I do not know that word,” Stocan said, looking to me, at a loss.

  “You are correct, Stacia,” Omega said, his voice coming from her phone.

  Stocan turned to look at the small piece of electronics, normal stoic expression clearly curious.

  “Mmmm, delicious. Really close to turkey, I’d say,” she said.

  “I thought everything was supposed to taste like chicken?” I asked, amused by her gusto.

  “Only to people with limited tastebuds,” she said.

  I thought back to her answer to my earlier question. “So they just want to meet me?”

  “You have immense influence over the course of their lives,” the tall elf said. “And I am the only resident who knows you.”

  “And you’ll be there?” I asked.

  “The City Council has told me to bring you to them but that I would not be present,” he said.

  That gave me pause and my head swiveled to Stacia. She raised one brow in challenge.

  “Tell them I will meet with them, here, tonight. Let’s say one hour after our dinner. You will be present for the entire meeting,” I told him.

  “But the Council…” he started.

  “Wants to meet with me. They can come here. Or not,” I said.

  He nodded, gave me a short, sharp bow, and left the apartments.

  “Good start,” Stacia said. “Think and act like an Alpha would.” I sighed. “Yes, I know you don’t like it, but all people push and pry for advantage. It is enough that you agreed to meet. Everything after that is your terms,” she said. “How are you going to deal with the elemental things?”

  “Well, if you’ll keep an eye on me, I thought I’d lie out in the garden, on the stone, and do a little out of body work,” I said.

  “Good. I can guard your body while the sun tans mine,” she said. I perk up. Stacia sunbathes sky clad. She frowned at my expression “Nope, don’t even think about it, Holder boy. You’ve got a Realm to whip into shape.”

  Chapter 19

  Despite the enticing distraction named Stacia, I settled in to commune with Middle Fairie. Lying on a sun-warmed slab of river rock in Ashley’s garden, I spent a few minutes thinking just about my breathing. Letting my body and mind relax with each breath out, surrendering to the feeling that I could sink into the very stone itself.

  Some types of Craft require pushing all thoughts out of your mind, creating blankness—an empty palette. This type of work was almost the opposite. I needed to push my awareness outward, into the stone, into air scented by alien flowers, out of me and into the land.

  It came quickly, perhaps because the garden was a perfect spot for a witch and also, perhaps, because I had complete faith in my guardian werewolf.

  I felt the rock, warm on top, but cooler down below where it rested in dirt and gravel. The soil led me to the garden beds, each growing thick with well-tended plants, herbs, and flowers. Insects, both familiar and foreign, zipped and buzzed around the vegetation, and pucks flew above them, either patrolling warriors or excited furry children, or garden-tending females.

  That carnivorous pucks could and would be inclined to tend gardens and plants was a shocker. But anything that flies uses enormous energy and the puck clans couldn’t get that from meat alone. Natural sugars, harvested from nectar or nectar-eating insects, were an important source of energy.

  Once I had absorbed the details of life in the gardens, I pressed outward into the surrounding apartments and the stone of the city itself. Now I could sense and feel the life forces of Idiria’s inhabitants, now I could experience the strength of the rock Idiria was built from. The solid bedrock under that stone and the sun-warmed winds that blew fresh air through the streets and alleys, the water that flowed through exquisite aqueducts, pipes both hand-formed and grown, pools and reservoirs.

  That last part was new, as my previous awareness of water had been virtually nonexistent. I pushed out further still, past the city walls and into the hills, fields, and forests surrounding it.

  Back home, on Earth, my sense of the land would have been severely limited to my immediate surroundings. On Rowan West’s land, I could feel all the way to the boundaries of my aunt’s property. But here I was easily aware of every tree, alien bird, and alien animal for miles around.

  The first elemental I brushed against was a being of the Air, and one that accepted me as Holder.

  Air elementals are capricious and energetic, easily distracted, like they are the attention deficit champions of the universe. Some might tell you that you should never start your elemental dealings with these flitting, unfocused beings, but my first elemental was Draco. You could say I cut my teeth on Air elementals.

  This one was different and familiar at the same time. The same lack of attention span, but a curious connection to the realm. An elemental from Earth (the planet), particularly one of Air, would not have formed any bond with a particular region on our home world. Yet this one had an affinity for Middle Fairie and it was not shy in telling me the details of its travels across the land. Which flocks of birds flew where, what trees leaves shed the easiest, which clouds were most likely to become storms.

  I found a small Earth elemental next, and it barely woke up long enough to greet me. It managed to divulge the presence of a large bed of coal that it called home. Then a river borne Water elemental sought my attention as it flowed through the soil layer above that sleepy Earthy.

  My only experience with a Water elemental was the one in the cave, so really this one, who felt almost female, was my first. She was hesitant at the start, maybe shy or maybe uncertain of my intentions. But after a bit, she warmed up to me and then became a flood of information. She bubbled and burbled with details of the land, of the fish, the amphibians, the carnivorous reptiles and the water birds of my realm. She knew which ponds were just bodies of water and which held beings like herself. We flowed eastward, across the land, and she introduced me to mountains, thunderstorms, gentle breezes, and vast, deep lakes. A few followed along but most just greeted me and stayed where they were.

  The rarest elementals in any large land mass are always the beings of Fire. Probably a good thing, as volcanos popping up across the continent would be a major downer to everything else. We came across two as we traveled into the mountains; two buried deep below. Both were on board with the whole Holder business, but further out, my guide of Water showed me a glacier-carved lake whose elemental wanted nothing to do with me. I, at least, was able to present myself to that cold, ancient entity, then left it to its steep granite shores and craggy depths.

  That appeared to make an impression on my friendly guide and upon the two Air elementals who floated and breezed above us. One of those floated on ahead of us and began to announce me before I actually entered the range of new elementals. We found a few more holdouts, but again I simply made them aware of myself and then continued on.

  We skirted the big mountain of the Wild Hunt, my Water guide shuddering at the tremors of its remaining anger. She did dive us deep into the ground, letting me brush against the Fire elemental who had previously answered my call and helped me disturb the mountain.

  By the end of my tour, I had met every elemental in Middle Realm, even the ones who disagreed with the notion of an autocratic Realm Holder. I didn’t subjugate even the least of these dissenters, leaving th
em alone instead. Curiously, this had more of an effect upon the ones already in line than the objectors. Word spread fast on wind and wave that I was not a tyrant like the queens of north and south. When I finally came back to my body, now lying in shade as the sun dropped below the roof of the Roman-type interior garden, it was with a feeling of understanding. My realm had picked me to avoid being crushed and drained by one of the queens or their daughters, pure and simple. My live-and-let-live attitude with my holdouts had won me a few points and helped reassure those elementals who had agreed to my rule.

  “So?” Stacia asked, raising up on her arms to look at me as I sat up. I blinked at her, then stood carefully and stretched my arms to the sky.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Maybe three hours,” she said, studying me with a curious glint. “Must have been some communing.”

  “Why do you say that?” I asked, twisting a kink out of my neck.

  “Because you haven’t moved or twitched in all that time. It was like standing guard over a coma patient,” she said.

  I looked down at her bronzed form. “Don’t you mean lying guard next to a coma victim? You did remember to roll over occasionally, right? Keep the tan even?” I asked. Her tan looked mighty even to me, with nary a line in sight.

  “Ah, now you’re back. You were a little distracted there when you first woke up.”

  “No, I’m distracted now.”

  “Father, I’ve found new information in your mother’s case,” Omega announced out of the blue.

  “What? What have you found?” I demanded, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

  “It is a small thing. There is an article in the Boston Herald, dated one week before your mother’s visit. Listed in the Lifestyle section, it tells of a paranormal research group headed by a Harvard grad student and their most recent investigation. In summary, the group was asked into a brownstone in the Beacon Hill district, where the resident claimed she had been pushed down a set of stairs by a ghost. The group conducted an overnight investigation, captured some anomalous data, and began to research the property’s history. Finding no real backstory, they returned a week later to conduct a second set of tests. This time, there was no activity. The homeowner was grateful, but not surprised. Seems she had been approached by a foreign woman claiming psychic powers who managed to banish the spirit. The group attempted to track the medium down but was unsuccessful.”

  “How does this relate to Declan’s mother?” Stacia asked.

  “The homeowner reported that the medium had a thick accent and claimed to be newly arrived from Ireland.”

  “We widened the scope of the research to anything or anyone newly arrived from Ireland. Mom had been contacted by them,” I said to Stacia.

  “The odd bit, though, was the homeowner was of Irish descent herself. Had been to Ireland several times and traveled other parts of Europe as well. She mentioned in an aside to the lead investigator that the medium was no more Irish than she, herself, was Swedish. Said the accent reminded her more of a Slavic one.”

  “All that was in the article?” Stacia asked.

  “I’ve accessed all of the groups’ electronic records and used a micro-drone to process their written field notes.”

  “Of course you did,” Stacia said, turning to me. “But what does this mean?”

  “It means we need to broaden our search parameters. We need to include visitors from Slavic countries as well. You know… the area my father and half-sister are from,” I said.

  “Whoa. Your father? You think he killed your mother?” Stacia asked. “And what does the ghost story have to do with anything? Why would a magical assassin take time out to do a good deed and banish a malevolent ghost?”

  “You ever watch any good assassin movies?” I asked. Her crossed arms and raised brow was enough of an answer. “So what does the foreign assassin do first when they arrive in country?”

  She looked at me, puzzled for like two seconds, then I saw the light bloom on her face. “They seek out weapons!”

  “Yeah, and what kind of witch deals with nasty ghosts to the exclusion of all else?”

  “A death witch!” she said. I just nodded.

  Chapter 20

  We had Stocan and his people bring dinner to us, eating it while we set up the main sitting area for the coming meeting. My mind was reeling from Omega’s discovery, twirling through dozens of questions about my half-sister, my father, and my mom. I had no answers to any of them, stuck on an entirely different planet, engaged in work that had to be done. At least Omega would still be working on it.

  So it was difficult to switch mental gears and get ready for the leaders of Idiria, but maybe it was a good thing to have to focus on a type of confrontation that I had little experience in and even less skill to handle.

  Ashley’s apartment had two separate seating arrangements in the main living area, and we brought them together to create enough room for ten people: seven council members, Stacia, myself, and Stocan.

  The bigger of the two areas was a set of very low cushions that served as couches. Then there was a set of four low-slung chairs, made from that very prevalent blonde wood. We put two of the chairs facing the low cushions and then a third slightly off to one side. Exactly an hour after we finished eating, Stocan knocked then entered, holding the door and announcing the City Council.

  Four female elves and three males followed him into the apartment. I knew from our previous visit that one of the lady elves was Stocan’s wife, but I had no idea which one she was. Stocan stood, almost at attention, eyes facing forward as the city leaders filed in. He made no gesture, not even a twitch as each strode through the door.

  And strode they did. I won’t lie… I’d been hoping for a much less formidable group of people, maybe even a bit apprehensive. What I got was hard, blank faces with cold, analytical eyes.

  One of the men headed toward the chairs, only to be steered toward the couches by Stacia, who moved between him and his goal, gave him a nod, and pointed at the couches. His existing frown turned deeper, almost a scowl as he first came to a stop, looked her up and down, and finally, grudgingly, took a seat on the couch.

  “I’m Declan. This is Stacia. Perhaps you could each identify yourselves?” I asked, taking one of the two chairs.

  “Of course, Lord Holder,” one of the women said, her tone even, her body language tight but not outright hostile. “I am Bien,” she said, simply, turning to the woman next to her.

  “Lillain, my Lord,” the tallest of the woman said with a slight bow of her head.

  “Cullene, Lord Holder,” the male to her side said.

  “Trohale,” the next male said.

  “Mostella, Realm Holder,” the smallest female said in a clear, bell-like voice.

  “Fafael, Lord Realm Holder,” the last of the ladies said, giving me a slightly deeper bow.

  The last council member, the male who’d approached the chairs, turned his scowl from Fafael to me. “I am Rife,” he ground out.

  “Great,” I said, my eyes lingering on Rife a moment. “So you wished to meet me. What do you want to know?”

  “This is irregular,” Rife said while at least two of the others were drawing breath. “This council meets in its appointed chambers.”

  “That’s it? You wanted to tell me where you meet?” I asked, letting confusion cloud my face.

  “We don’t meet in apartments,” Rife growled. “We are the City Council!”

  Wow, new world record for directness.

  “I see. You would rather I came to you—called before the Council, as it were,” I said, trying for calm and even.

  “I believe Councilor Rife is pointing out the traditions we use to keep things organized and proper,” Lillain offered.

  “Oh,” I said. “The City Council of Idiria is looking to organize us in a proper sort of way? Is that about it?”

  My tone must have changed more than I intended, as more that a few of the councilors leaned back and at lea
st one looked at Rife, who chose to lean forward.

  “This city did not ask for a Realm Holder and was founded on neutrality,” he said.

  “How ironic. I never asked to be a Realm Holder,” I said. “I was asked—by the Realm itself.”

  “My lord, I do not believe my fellow councilor intended any insult,” Trohale said. “We, the Council, bear the responsibility of leading this city, and it falls to us to act as intermediary with you and our citizens.”

  “Thank you for your candor, Councilor. I appreciate it. I even appreciate Councilor Rife speaking his mind so readily,” I said. “I prefer it to the twisted conversations the queens and their daughters seem to favor. Well, other than Neeve. She’s pretty straightforward.”