by Wilson, Maer
“That is where you come in. I would like the four of you to go with me. I also intend to invite Aela and a few of her warriors, and Romeo and Juliet. My people will respect outside testimony and having so many diverse viewpoints will give them a fuller understanding of the events of the last month.” He looked at us over the rim of his wine glass.
Thulu and I looked at each other, excitement at the thought of going off-world bright in both of our eyes. Then I remembered we had a new responsibility. We couldn't simply go wandering off to other worlds when we had a child. Thulu's expression grew thoughtful.
Jones had carefully watched the two of us and nodded.
“You are concerned about Carter,” said Jones.
“Well, of course, we are,” said Thulu mildly. “Just how long do you think we would be gone? And is there any danger to us?”
“As to time, that is difficult to say. I am not quite sure how long the trial will last, but certainly not long. I would imagine part of a day at most. Getting to the Light Ones' portal on my world will take minimal time. I will simply open a portal near that one.”
“Why not just open a portal right next to the one to the Light Ones’ world to begin with? Let the Light Ones go right through to their own world. That would be a lot faster wouldn’t it?” I asked.
“And deadly, as that portal is very closely guarded, as I am sure you can imagine. Going to it without permission would certainly result in many deaths. Besides, since I must take Satorah before the Court, I can hopefully kill two birds with one stone.”
“In any case, the Light Ones will not only need to get to the portal, but they will need assistance once they are through. According to Belus, the valley where the spell is being cast is some distance from the connecting portal to our world. And their terrain varies from desert to low, but very rocky, mountains. I do not have the option to use a portal on their world.”
“Two questions: One, why can't you make a portal while there, and two, why don't they just fly?” asked Reo.
“The elves have already begun the spells to quarantine them from the rest of us. Portals will no longer be able to be opened either to their world or on their world until they have succeeded in curing them.
“And absolutely they can fly. They will most certainly have to get as much energy as they can before they leave. However, the children will not be able to fly as far as the adults and will need rest periods that the adults do not need, slowing them down. That could result in depleted energy if the time becomes too long.”
“What about teleportation?” Thulu asked.
Sloane answered, “That is not a talent that is readily available. Most of those who teleport cannot teleport others. Of those who can, most of those are limited by only being able to port to a place they have already been or have someone there who can act as a beacon. The elves there are healers for the most part, not teleporters. Those who can teleport have not been to the area where the portal is. We need to move sooner, rather than later. I’m not sure we can find people with these talents as soon as we need to. I also do not think it is wise to widely advertise that we are going.” He shook his head. “No, we shall need to go on foot across the Light Ones’ world.”
Jones tilted his head to one side, mentally calculating. “Not on foot exactly. I plan to use ATVs from Earth, but about a week would be a good guess.”
A week? That wasn't so bad. Parents went on vacations all the time. And with our large extended family, it wasn't like we didn't have someone we could trust to care for Carter while we were gone. In fact, we had lots of someones. But could I leave him for that long? I'd only been a mother for a month, but I knew I would miss my new son. And what about him? Would he be upset for us to leave? Was it the right thing to do with his birth mother so recently dead? And what about us?
“And the danger part?” I asked. Jones hadn't answered the second question. I wasn't afraid to go into danger, but as a new parent, I owed it to Carter to not get myself killed.
Jones looked at me steadily. “I would not imagine it is any more dangerous than driving your car. I think I would describe it more as a tricky situation, rather than dangerous. Of course, that is just my best guess, since I have not had contact with my world in quite some time.”
Maybe this was doable. I looked at Thulu, trying to gauge which direction he was leaning. He dimpled at me before leaning over to kiss the top of my head.
I thought over what they had said and a conclusion that wasn't very pretty came to me.
“You need us for their food supply. That's why you want us along.” I stared straight at Jones.
“I want you along for various reasons, but yes, that is one of the minor reasons. If they do not have the resources to make it flying on their own, they certainly do not have them with only me and the others.”
“We need to discuss this, Jones, but I think we can have an answer for you tomorrow,” Thulu said.
Reo said he might need a few days to arrange someone to fill in for his show. His night job was a wildly popular act at a five star hotel as female impersonator, Brandy Malone. Brandy sang a bit, made predictions, gave advice, dispersed goodwill and various other “magical” tasks. She had a very large following, and her show was sold out months in advance.
Taking a break meant letting a disappointed audience know in advance and giving them the chance to re-book. Usually, when Reo took an unexpected break, extra shows were added to make up for those missed or he prevailed upon his friendship with Miss Diva, a mega pop star to fill in. I wondered if she could or would cover a week of shows. DeeDee, Miss Diva's real name, had recently finished a world tour, so I supposed it was possible. The nice thing was that when Miss Diva filled in, people didn't complain much. She had a lovely acoustical act she did that was far different from her pop tours.
Sloane said he was available and would be happy to go along.
Stuart, of course, would go where Jones did. He smiled when he caught my eye, and I got the impression he was a bit excited to go to another world.
Jones seemed unsurprised with the responses. We chatted idly about friends and family, as we finished the last of the Yquem.
After all our guests had left and I'd washed the last of the crystal wine glasses, Thulu and I made our usual rounds of checking the house. I doubted anything, magical or otherwise, could penetrate our defenses. Jones had placed particularly strong spells around our home, protecting it from any kind of predator.
We shut off the lights and made our way upstairs, where we checked on Carter before going into our own room.
It wasn't long before we were both ensconced in our front window seat, looking out over the city, bedroom lights dimmed so as not to interfere with the city lights. Neither of us said anything for a long while. This was our usual nightly routine, to just sit quietly and let the events of the day settle.
Of course, the events of the day were not usually as controversial or dramatic as this day's had been.
Thulu thought the visit from Brown and Lassiter had mostly been a fishing expedition. Obviously, Brown suspected something, but wasn't sure what. We decided to leave that topic alone, since there wasn't much we could do at this point in time.
We also stayed away from the topic of Thulu helping the police. Sometimes the better part of valor was just to let things go. And I was still too emotionally raw from so many deaths in the family to deal with what I considered his betrayal. No, that was a topic that must be discussed, but it was one for the future, not that night.
As to the situation of the Light Ones, we both agreed that they needed to go home. Whether we would take part in that expedition still remained to be seen.
What had happened at the Grant Corporation was horrific. I tried to block out the brief images I'd had. My imagination was more than up to the task of filling in the blanks, and I simply didn't want to go there. So different in appearance, but both children had suffered needlessly and cruelly, and I knew I'd remember them for a long time to come.
> In an effort to block that thought, I latched on to something else that had caught my attention while we were at the Grant Corporation.
“So, Jones and Grant had a child. I wasn't expecting that tidbit of information,” I said, leaning against Thulu's bare chest.
I felt his head nod behind me as his fingers gave mine a light squeeze. “Well, we should know by now that Jones is going to always do the unexpected. The guy has lived for eight thousand years, at least. I'm sure there are lots of deep, dark, old secrets a person could accumulate in that amount of time.
He paused for a moment before continuing. “I'm more interested in what he's up to. Jones is rarely selfless and I wonder what it is he'll get out of this. Maybe he wants an excuse to go to the Light Ones' home world. If that’s the case, I'd be very curious to find out what his reason is.”
I hadn't thought about it from that angle, although I questioned Jones's motives, as well. Jones using the trip as an excuse to get onto the Light Ones' home world could be even more sinister than I'd thought.
“He's had plenty of time to hunt down and kill Light Ones over the centuries. Do you think this is a clever way for him to get onto their world and get mass revenge for their invasion?” That thought saddened me. While I doubted I'd ever completely trust Jones, I had grown fond of him. At times. “And if he really is using this as an excuse to stage his own invasion of their world, why invite us along?”
Thulu shrugged. “I'm not saying he's using it to stage an invasion, but he's definitely up to something.” Thulu shrugged. “Maybe it’s as simple as he said and he really is tired of their war. I think we need more information from Jones. If we can get him to talk.”
I had to agree with that. We simply couldn't go traipsing off without a lot more information.
“Okay, let's say we do go. Is that fair to Carter?” I asked.
“Well, we’ll have to sit down and talk to Carter about this. As long as he knows we're coming back, I think he'll be all right with it. But absolutely we're going to talk to him before we make any decision.”
Chapter 6
Carter was up early the next morning. He leaned against our bed, his little face inches away from mine when I woke up. When he saw I was awake, he tried to climb up on the bed. I sat up and lifted him up to me, his little boy scent and tousled hair tugging at me.
“How’s my boy this morning?” I asked, hugging him close. His little arms circled my neck as he hugged me back
“Good. It stopped raining. I can go outside, right?”
“You may, indeed.”
“Breakfast is almost ready. Papa Thulu says ‘Get up, lazybones.’ You were sleepy, huh?”
I looked over at the clock on my bedside table. It was almost nine. Thulu had taken pity on me and let me sleep in.
“I sure was.” I smoothed his soft, brown hair. “How about you go tell Thulu that I’m awake and I’ll be down soon, okay? I’m going to take my shower and get dressed.”
I helped him slide down to the floor.
“Okie dokie,” he said, cheerfully, as he pattered across the floor. I smiled after him, content in a way that only a child can make you.
It wasn’t long before I’d joined both my boys downstairs. Thulu gave me a smile and a quick kiss.
I grabbed a Coke from the fridge and looked at the stove where Thulu had been busy cooking pancakes.
“That smells heavenly,” I said as I sniffed Thulu’s gourmet coffee appreciatively. He had many different kinds, but I was pretty clueless about them. Coffee smelled wonderful to me, but the taste never seemed to match the smell. I was happy to have the aroma and stuck to my Cokes for my caffeine fix.
The syrup and butter were already set out, along with milk for Carter. Soon the three of us were eating pancakes with chocolate chips in them. We made the kind of small talk that I imagined families with young kids had been making forever.
Parker, Jenna and Sophie soon joined us, and the air was filled with the scent of popcorn and cinnamon, courtesy of the two ghost kids.
As we sat around the table, empty plates pushed back, I felt the air change yet again. The scent of gardenias and honeysuckle announced our visitors. I smiled as Nana Fae and Mama Deb drifted in. My grandmother and Thulu’s mother had been two of the casualties last month, along with Evan, a cousin who served as the family accountant.
Evan was in contact with me a lot since I had to relay messages to his widow, Mara. With Earth in turmoil since the appearance of the other-worlders, his gift with accounting was still needed. Mara was more than competent, but Evan was brilliant. I suspected that he had been a bit of a supe himself, with his knack of knowing exactly where to put our family’s money.
Nana Fae and Mama Deb had decided to do some world tours and also see first-hand how things were in other countries. They’d been keeping us filled in on reactions to the portal openings. We usually knew what was happening, but since things were starting to settle a bit, the two had decided to do some sight-seeing.
Since they could go anywhere they wanted, they had decided to go wherever their mood and inclinations took them. And being dead, their time sense was skewed. They usually checked in every few days, but this last time, they had been gone for about a week.
Still, I hadn’t been worried. Aside from already being dead, they were two of the most solid and reliable people I knew. Besides, I could call them in at any time and they would “hear” me.
“So, where have you two globe trotters been this time,” I asked.
They exchanged a look.
“Funny you should put it that way. We went to see the pyramids first, but then we decided to go to the moon,” said Nana Fae.
“Wow!” I had not even thought about ghosts going into space. Apparently neither had Parker.
“You went to the moon?” he cried in disbelief. “I am so going there today.” His grin was from ear to ear.
“Wait,” I said. I turned to my grandmother and mother-in-law. “Is it safe?”
The moment the words were out, I wanted to take them back. I never adjusted to the fact that it was difficult to harm the dead. In my defense, it was possible, but very unlikely and very, very difficult.
Parker snorted, and my two favorite women gave me a bit of grief before giving in and admitting that it was perfectly safe for Parker to go. In fact, they said they’d be happy to show him around later on. That did make me feel better. They decided they’d take Jenna, too.
I felt a little strange listening to them make plans I couldn’t participate in and felt a twinge of loneliness that I couldn’t go with them.
Nana Fae looked at me wisely. Her gift as an empath hadn’t exactly been dampened with her death. It was still strong, but it was a bit more erratic now. That’s probably why she hadn’t picked up on things earlier. She gave me a sweet smile that carried all the love she’d had for me all my life. It helped. Some, anyway.
“So, what is going on here?” asked Nana Fae. “I’ve been detecting some unsettled feelings from you two.”
“Just a sec,” I said. I got up and lifted Carter out of the booth and set him down. After a trip to the bathroom to wash his hands and face, I sent him outside with the other kids, reminding them to stay in the backyard, where I could see them from the breakfast nook.
Thulu and I quickly filled Nana Fae and Mama Deb in on what had transpired during the last few days.
“So, what do you think about us going with Jones? Bad idea? Good idea?”
Thulu’s mom frowned, with a shake of her head, “I’m honestly not sure, guys.” She turned to Nana Fae. “What do you think?”
Nana Fae was quiet for a long time. I could see she was thinking, maybe even getting a sense of the trip. Thulu and I were quiet, waiting patiently.
“I think it’s okay to go. I’m not getting much of a feeling either way, which causes me some concern. But, that could just be because I’m no longer in touch with the corporeal world. Did Reo have any hesitation?”
“I don’t t
hink so,” answered Thulu. “In fact, he was already making plans to get his show covered.” He paused a moment. “But I don’t know how much of that is from the idea of going to another world. Maybe he didn’t even try to see what repercussions there might be.”
“Then I suggest he make a concerted effort to find out.” Nana Fae said with a smile. “If he senses no danger, or at least nothing you can’t handle, you should be all right.”
“I think Carter will be fine. We certainly have enough family who can watch him,” added Mama Deb. “Can we travel to those worlds or do we need the portal?”
Thulu and I looked at each other, shrugged and shook our heads. “I have no idea, Mom, but we can ask Jones. If he doesn’t know then we can try it when we go to his world. That way if the portal is needed you’ll be right there. Besides, that would give us a line of contact back here. Good idea.” Thulu smiled at his mother.
“We still haven’t talked to Carter. If he gets upset, I’ll stay behind. He’s had enough to deal with the last month,” I added.
“I think you’ll find Carter understands situations far beyond his age,” Nana said. “He’s a very old soul in that little baby body.”
We all agreed on that, and I glanced out the window, checking on said old soul. He was quietly playing in his sandbox, building something. It looked like he was getting direction from Parker and Jenna.
We kept an eye on the three of them, while Nana Fae and Mama Deb told us that the riots had indeed calmed down, except for isolated incidences across the globe.
There was still some fear and hatred directed toward the supernatural beings who had come through. There were religious sects in various parts of the world that were convinced we were being invaded by demons.
I personally found this ironic, since the presence of the Darks Ones - daemons - was completely unknown to most humans. The same held true for the Light Ones, angels, too. It had been deemed best not to reveal those two races for the time being.