by Scott Duff
“Not long on the niceties, are you?” said Cahill. A small man in a gray waistcoat moved in swiftly, halting the conversation for a moment. He quickly placed four glasses of water and two fresh champagne flutes on the table from a tray and collected the flutes of remnants, then disappeared. I passed a glass of water to Peter and took one myself. Marcus and Cahill took the champagne.
“We have been operating without information for too long and we’re starved for it,” Kieran offered, taking a sip of water. “Can you offer any information as to why everyone is out for Seth’s head?”
“I can say that I was only looking for information myself,” he said with a shrug. “Fifteen years ago, people started dying. Not particularly alarming, mind you, as these particular people were spread across the world and seemingly had no relationship to one another, other than being potent. But Robert knew them. He knew every one of them. And he started talking to people and slowly people started disappearing instead of dying. Then the dying sped up. It stopped five years ago. Right when Robert said it would. He said it was because there was nobody left to kill, but wouldn’t say why or how he knew.
“The Faery started acting up then,” Cahill said. “Being right bastards, really. Winter ran amok in Ireland claiming to look for a lost child in the northern hills. Summer wanted a trade agreement re-negotiated with Europe with outrageous tariffs on their side. Over in America there were all sorts of nasty little battles over territory between the councils. Egos flared everywhere. Clearer heads were noticing military build-ups in several places, like along the Fae borderlands. And at every misstep, each of us with any political power reach back in our memory and recall Robert coming to us so long ago and asking, ‘Do you remember…’ so and so? Then we wondered why Robert was holed up in Savannah protecting his boy, the null.
“Now Robert was never particular big politically, but he was useful in bargaining with the Faery in the past. He steadfastly refused to help at all, saying that Seth and Olivia needed him far more than any council needed a diplomat. He and his lawyer started shutting down his connections and he walled himself in. Then St. Croix happened and Robert and Olivia both disappeared, leaving Seth behind somewhere. When the Fae bounty hunters started showing up the American councils got very nervous and began to finally ask questions. But it was too late by then. Nobody around to ask. Except Seth.
“Who, as Deputy Harris was the very first to find out, wasn’t a null after all,” Cahill finished, with a huge smile at me. “If rumors are anywhere near true, that is.”
“No, he’s not a null,” Kieran said. “Far from it.”
“Dad and I have known that for years,” said Peter.
“Borland always has played close to the vest,” muttered Cahill.
“To some,” muttered Peter in return. If Cahill heard, he didn’t show it.
Kieran was quick to ask, “What are those rumors, Felix? I was not, uh, conscious of the actual events, but I am curious to hear how far the exaggerations have gone.”
Cahill barked out a laugh and said, “To hear Harris tell it, you had two Lords of Houses in the bushes holding him off while a dozen battle mages beat a path through the wards for him to the front door. Then miracle of miracles, Seth pulls out both the Day and the Night Swords and sweeps through the house, killing twenty more mages and tossing magic around to boot. Out walks a hulking blond Thor-like man carrying another prisoner. Harris tried to stop you and you zapped him with, well, he’s calling it a ‘null bomb’.” He smiled at me wryly. Mr. Cahill was having difficulty judging my reactions without the help of my aura and that was making him very uncomfortable. “They couldn’t reset any wards for hours afterward. The ley lines didn’t flow right for a day, they said. Harris swears he can defeat you, now that he knows how this null magic works.”
Ethan got pulled into Cahill’s story and turned to look directly at me. I wondered if my expression matched his, then burst out laughing with him. Kieran just stretched out a little more and looked on.
“I’m not sure which part they’re laughing at,” he said to Cahill with a smile. “I’m not sure a seventeen-year-old could even think about withholding the Day or the Night Sword from the Queens after tonight, could you?” Oh, we really lost it then. Even Marcus was grinning stupidly at us. Kieran was playing this man like a fiddle. The man had to know he was doing it, too, but Cahill couldn’t decide just how Kieran was doing it.
“There is legend that suggests the Quiver contains a Bolt made of the stuff of the Night Sword that can cause similar results,” said Cahill, thoughtfully.
“Really?” said Kieran, watching us try to collect ourselves. “The Quiver? Is that another missing weapon, then? I’ve been away for some time and have not kept up with lore. What else is missing that the Queens are searching for?”
“No idea,” said Cahill. “But that was quite a mysterious seeking spell they wrought out there tonight. It was almost as if they didn’t want anyone to know what they were looking for.”
“Yes, I got that impression, too,” Kieran said, thoughtfully. “Seth, Felix has suggested that you might have an elven crossbow and quiver in your possession. Do you?”
I was still flushed and grinning from our laughing fits and barely in control. Patting my thighs and butt and tugging the front of my shirt then looking down the front, I said to Kieran, “No, sir, I don’t believe I have anything on me of elven make. Oh, wait, these clothes probably are and they are quite nice and comfortable. Will we be keeping them?”
“I had not considered the question, but if not, I’m sure we can get something similar at home,” said Kieran, playfully condescending. I knew he didn’t mean it—he was still playing to Cahill’s expectations.
“So where have you been, Ehran?” asked Cahill. It was an expected question, but the first time it was asked. I sobered up some to hear Kieran’s explanation. He’d told me nothing about his time “away,” so I was interested, too.
“Oh, not such an interesting story,” Kieran started, “The day my mother died, my father and I got into a terrible argument and I left home, convinced of a great many things, among them that my father was responsible for her death. I wandered the Hinterlands for several years, lost and drifting deeper into despair. Till I met someone who taught me the error of my beliefs. Then he taught me a great deal more. When he was done, I came home to find Seth, my little brother.” He shrugged. “Not much to it, really.”
“Who is this magnificent teacher that showed you to hide your aura so well,” asked Cahill.
“We have yet to discern the cause of that exactly,” said Kieran. “It is nothing that I was taught or that I have taught Seth at this point. Indeed, I have had time to teach very little at this point, as they’ve been apprenticed to me less than a week. This is the reason I am not allowing Seth to fight. He is quite capable and willing, but I would not endanger him needlessly. We are here only to find my father.”
“That… seems unlikely, Ehran,” Cahill said, cocking his head to the left. “How did you manage an invitation here? Everyone identifies him as Seth McClure and yet the Challenge returned to me unbroken. Three of the four of you are so invisible to everyone that you may as well be statues and you claim to have no clue as to why. You were arrested by the US government and were broken out of jail by your untrained little brother. Much was left out of your tale.”
Kieran laughed. “Of course, Felix, as with any story many details were left out to lighten the tone and get to the melody so that the listener enjoys rather than sleeps. We never received an invitation. MacNamara escorted us through the gate this afternoon. I was introduced to him when I was younger than Seth at a banquet of some sort. I don’t recall the precise circumstances, being a surly teenager at the time. And as for being arrested, I can assure you that I have never been arrested by any law enforcement agency of any government of any realm, human or otherwise. The concept of a jailbreak is ludicrous.”
Kieran stood up abruptly, not angry but assured, confident. His aura c
rackled hotly with power. I hadn’t felt him building it. He must have been soaking it in for hours. “However, this does in no way diminish Seth’s accomplishments on that day. With the help of one person, a journeyman and by no means a battle mage, this seventeen-year-old man, untrained and with few tools—tools that he had never used before—broke two very powerful wards, fought and defeated no less than three powerful combat mages, possibly more, then fought and embarrassed one of the most powerful combat magicians in the human world.”
“Don’t forget about the surgery,” said Ethan, casually.
“Thank you, Ethan,” answered Kieran. “After all of that, he spent over six hours in trance to heal the damage that Harris and his team caused with his drugs. As payment for his actions, he spent three days in a coma. Would you like to know what he wanted from me when he awoke? What he demanded for that life, Felix?”
Cahill swallowed and nodded. His face was white, the blood had drained away. I was pretty sure Kieran had flashed his aura at him, like he had me the day we met.
“Pizza,” Kieran said, sitting back down. “These two ‘children’ have shown more loyalty, bravery, and improvisational skill in one week than most of the people in this room will in their lives. We are here only to find our family. Of all the rumors that abound about us, that is the one truth. We want to find Olivia and Robert McClure. Thus far, all we’ve found is innuendo, accusations, and violence. All in an amazingly short period of time.”
The entire room was quiet and everyone, to a man, was watching us. Everyone heard the last of Kieran’s conversation with Cahill. He publicly admitted that Peter and I had broken him out of Harris’ safe house and of our quest to find my parents. I wasn’t sure the former was such a great idea, but it was a done deal now. I really wished he’d stop singing out praises to me, though. Most of the credit for all that went to the Stone and the Swords, not me. If this kept up, somebody was gonna come gunnin’ for me just to show me up for my reputation. A reputation I haven’t really earned.
Cahill paused a moment, watching Kieran and letting his color return. Kieran’s expression didn’t change and if Cahill could see his aura, he’d see the sincerity there and not the slightest bit of anger or aggravation. Strength of character and power by the shipload, but nothing malicious at all. I would offer to build him a battery later tonight. He certainly held enough power to fill at least one right now and it helped me reduce some stress.
“I believe you, Ehran,” Cahill said, finally. “I have several reasons not to, but I do. I would love to know how you talked MacNamara into letting you in and treating you like a Faery Prince, but I suspect you will evade the question once again.”
He exhaled loudly, beating out a random rhythm with both hands on the armrests of his chair in consideration. His aura was in minor turmoil. He shot a quick look at Marcus, who was leaning forward watching him, elbows on knees. “All right,” he said, relaxing somewhat and leaning forward toward Kieran. “I will help where I can. All I know now is that your father believed that St. Croix was involved in Olivia’s disappearance. I was in New Orleans when Robert confronted him about it. I had business elsewhere, but I did get to see Robert toss Harris through a wall before I left. You can imagine my amusement to see Seth do something similar this evening. Rumor has it that Robert went into the Shadowlands or is hiding with the other people who disappeared. But with Seth now in the open, the idea that Robert is hiding is questionable.”
“Do you know any of the people he asked about who were killed?” asked Kieran.
“No, he never asked me directly,” said Cahill. “I can find out, once we’re back.”
Peter reached in across Cahill and Kieran holding out a business card to Marcus. “An Internet dead drop,” he said as Marcus accepted the card without looking at it. He nodded once, sliding the card into his inside jacket pocket.
“That would be appreciated, Felix, but it looks as though someone has jumped his chain,” Kieran said, standing and reaching out to shake Cahill’s hand. Cahill and Marcus stood as well, seeing St. Croix stalking close with a small cadre of his fellows scurrying after him. “Thank you for your time.”
When Cahill and Marcus were out of ear-shot, Kieran looked at me and muttered, “I’m gonna have to get Harris to teach me this ‘anti-null bomb’ magic he’s developed.” We were all laughing loudly when grandfather stomped up.
Chapter 18
“You gotta hug for your Granddaddy, Seth?” the old man asked, gruffly, his Louisiana accent thick on his tongue. Dark brown eyes peered out under bushy gray eyebrows on a wrinkled face, suggesting a past corpulence his body no longer supported. His arms were outstretched as if he expected me to get up and hug him.
“Not when my Granddaddy sends me a registered letter telling me he wants to kill me, no,” I said, letting the chuckles die in my chest and not moving from my lounging position on the couch. “By the way, my master says no.”
“Your master? You’re apprenticed?” he asked, sitting in the chair between the couches. Anger rose in his aura, blooming beside his anxiety. He had an afterimage that I couldn’t quite see clearly though. “Robert shouldn’t have done that. Is that where you’ve been hiding then? With this new master of yours?”
“Dad doesn’t know yet,” I snapped, sitting up. His belligerence annoyed me, but I made myself calm down. “Mom and Dad have been missing for some time now, as you are quite aware.”
“Then as your closest blood kin I will call the apprenticeship void and you will come with me,” St. Croix said, grinning evilly at me and hefting himself out of his chair.
“I claim a closer kinship,” said Kieran, evenly.
St. Croix stopped, half out of his chair, and stared at Kieran. “And you are?”
“His brother,” Kieran said.
“And I’ve hardly been hiding, Grandfather,” I said. “You could have picked up the phone and called. I’ve had the same number for at least five years.”
He fell back into the chair, studying Kieran, then me. “You’re hiding right now, boy. Don’t try to teach an old man how to suck eggs.”
Ewww! Where’d he get that image?
“Robert claimed to have no other children,” he said to Kieran.
“I doubt that. Otherwise my siblings would be crushed,” Kieran said with a faint, mocking smile. Grandfather’s anxiety level jumped, almost doubling, riding a wave of anger. The afterimage I saw flickered faster and faster across him, like the timing was off on a movie projector and you saw the frames just slightly—just enough to give you a headache after a few minutes.
“Why didn’t the Challenge’s seal break?” he asked. “I only sent it out to find you if you were here. I’ve been looking for you for months. Thought you were dead and at the bottom of a lake till Harris started claiming you were in league with the Ice Queen.”
I looked down at the emblem on the tunic I was wearing, at the symbol embroidered there: the House McClure. I wondered why I hadn’t seen that before. “I believe I am quite plainly showing my associations at the moment,” I said to him. “And quite honestly, before a week ago, I didn’t have any reason to hold anyone in contempt, or even strong dislike. A lot has changed in a week.”
“How did you get here, boy?” he asked. “Y’ain’t strong enough t’fight. An’ yer brother ain’t nobody.”
“We walked,” I answered. He was trying to incite me and I didn’t know why. The belligerence didn’t seem “grandfatherly” to me, at least the television representation of one. Certainly not how I expected my father to act toward any children I might have in the future. But then, I had siblings I’d never met so there was more than I knew.
“Don’t be a smartass, boy,” St. Croix snapped.
“Perhaps introductions are in order?” said the man standing next to my grandfather, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder, stopping his rise out of the chair.
“Don’t matter who they are,” St. Croix said to the man. To Kieran, he said, “Release the boy. He’s mine!”<
br />
“He is neither yours to take nor mine to release. He is his own,” Kieran answered. He was studying St. Croix carefully, searching for something. Kieran must have seen the same flicker I saw. It was bigger now, more pervasive, and full of anger and hate directed at everything, it seemed. His soul looked like it was being drained away by it. Consumed.
“I’ll find a way. You’ll come to me yet, boy, you mark my words,” St. Croix said loudly and throwing the man’s hand off his shoulder and stood, shoving past the couple and stomping toward the exit.
The man sighed heavily and shrugged his tuxedo jacket back into place, smoothing imaginary wrinkles. He watched St. Croix leave then looked back toward the territory they had struck and jerked his head toward the door once. Feinstein headed for the door after my grandfather at a more leisurely pace.
“I apologize for Mr. St. Croix’s behavior. He is overworked and overwrought and his daughter’s disappearance has made matters much worse,” he said. “This was supposed to be a relaxing trip for him.”
“He does seem to be wound a little tightly,” Kieran said mildly. “The Loa tend to do that to people, though.”
“What?” the man asked in surprised. “The Loa?”
“Yes, the Loa,” said Kieran, almost dismissively. He stood up and offered his hand to the man. “I am Ehran McClure. My associates: Seth, Peter, and Ethan.”
“Pleasure to meet you all. I am Diego Florian and my wife, Della,” he said.
“Diego?” Kieran asked brightly. “I knew a Diego Florian years ago in Baja by way of my parents. I believe that was in the seventies.” He stopped suddenly. “Oh, I am sorry. I’m romanticizing and I’m sure that seemed racist. Those are not exactly uncommon names.”
“No, no, not at all,” Florian said, smiling. “Diego Florian was my father and he did have a rather large house in Baja. I inherited it when he passed away in the late eighties.”