Asunder (The Infected: Ripped to Shreds Book 3)

by P. S. Power

  She nodded then, smiling.

  “Not just them. Almost everyone would want to see that. My entire planet. Still, we’ll cheat and send the IPB people first?”

  For some reason, Will at least, thought that was funny.

  Chapter seven

  That night the meal wasn’t large. Not for a thing being given by a Count in his own home.

  They had Tim Baker in along with his wife, and Sam Builder, who was a tall and youthful looking man with light hair and brown eyes. The interesting part there was that the man was the Ancient of Noram. That meant he was kind of the power behind the throne for the entire continent of North America there. He was, when she took a chance to read up on him from his own story, also a fairly decent Wizard. Not in the realm of Timon, Taman or Tor, but he was close enough that the King didn’t feel bad about being stuck with him instead of one of the others.

  He’d also bothered to learn English, which was the big point of him being there that night. He was supposed to see if he could find out what Cindy wanted in return for her aid to them. Which was ridiculous. After all, her crew back home owed Timon and Taman so much that they really couldn’t repay them at all. Then Will had gone, nearly first thing, to make sure his buddies from there could get to have decent vacations.

  The man, who was only thirty-two, smiled at her, bowing as they were introduced.

  “Well met. Are you finding Noram to your liking?”

  She got to nod then, and smiled, actually having pleasant things to say about it.

  “It’s very nice. A lot like home, to be honest. Have you considered coming to visit with us there yet?” She didn't really know what to say to the man, so just tossed a question back at him.

  “Is that allowed? We haven’t wanted to risk sending people. Tor mentioned that not having worked too well the last time. Something about him failing to deliver the pies in a timely fashion?” There was a grin there, as well as the data admitting that he knew about the rather major fight. Worse, that Cindy had nearly died in it. Which was why he wasn’t mentioning it directly, making a joke instead. Just in case her mind was scarred from the trauma of it.

  It really was kind of funny.

  “There is that. Which reminds me, I should send something to him. Cakes or something. I’ll have to have some friends of mine do that part though. So that they’re good enough? I could make one myself, of course. I’m just not that great at it yet.”

  Willum rolled his eyes, then covered a smile with a hand.

  “Don’t believe her, Ancient Builder. She’s been in classes with several master bakers and cooks for months. Along with Lady Sara? Queen Tiera’s protégé?”

  That part was news to her. Not the cooking lessons, since she’d been there for those, but the part where Sara had that kind of pull with Tiera. They talked each day, but she hadn’t worked out that the Queen of the Moon would be taking the girl under her wing at that level. Not that she wasn’t worth it.

  Sam nodded then, his face pleasant.

  “Ah? Is that so you can be a good wife? Or… Are you married already?” Then the words over his head went yellow with fear. Worry, really. She thought that was the case anyway. “Or… I’m not certain on that. Do the men do the cooking there? In Afrak they do, so…”

  She shrugged, then didn’t bother to be offended. They did have different rules that way, but it wasn’t a big deal to her.

  “Not married. I’m… I’ve had some issues. Mental ones. I used to kill people for fun? That’s been changed now, but I’m still not really wife material yet. The cooking and baking is mainly just so that I can have those skills, later. Plus, Sara is…” She didn’t have a word for that, but Will nodded, reading her well enough to understand her confusion.

  “She’s her ward. Sara has several guardians. It isn’t the normal way there, but she’s very special and being trained to infiltrate other worlds as she ages. Right now she’s young still. Only seven, I think. Nearly eight? Still, in a few years she should be prepared to do such things, if needed. We should have her come here and work with various groups doing that. Like I did there? Possibly with the Ysidril?” He glanced around, to show that he meant to be heard saying it.

  Interestingly, who he focused on wasn’t Hess, but a tiny being that was in the same mold. Reading up on that person gave a name for them. Also a pronoun. Ye.

  After all, the kid was young and didn’t have a gender yet.

  She smiled as the tiny being worked their way forward. Moving well enough, thanks to the talisman ye had to allow that. It was a thing that Dareg Canton had made for them. Not just Erath, the one in front of her, but all the Ysidril that came to visit Earth. It was heavier as far as gravity went. The magic was designed to make their lives easier.

  “Yes. We should aid this person, if she is to take on such a task. I have little free time at the moment, but if allowed, I will go to her and help her study for that?”

  The idea was far more complex than the being was thinking about. Or rather, they knew it was more complex, and ye was going over several hundred things that might be needed all at one time. Interestingly, Willum nodded at ye.

  “That would be good. We should have her in for that, here, however. Or rather with the fleet? We run eight to one, time wise with them, so her working here will give her more time. She’s an Ancient, so that won’t be a problem. Also a shape changer. So she should be able to match the Ysidril form. I’m not certain on that. Cindy?” He deferred to her on that one.

  “I don’t actually know. That would be good. Except that we need to keep some of her people with her for a while. Her life has been rough, so we need to make her know that she won’t be left alone.” It was hard to explain, but Will bowed toward her a bit, then did it anyway.

  “An orphan. The families she was sent to abused her. Both physically and then later, sexually. At the IPB base, a military Captain, a noble after a fashion, being in the most elite forces, did that to her. Cindy and her friends killed him, after a night of torture. Once Cin found out about it. This was before she was caring for her.”

  She was about to explain that part, when Sam the Ancient, bowed toward her.

  “Good. That saves me from having to go there and do that. I take it this happened before Tiera knew her? Otherwise, I doubt that the man would have lasted that long.” He seemed to mean it and probably wasn’t wrong, from what the text over his head said.

  Interestingly, even though ye was brilliant, the Ysidril couldn’t understand what they were talking about. That Sara had been molested or raped by a man, that was understood. That the same man was dead was in there as well. The concept that he’d been harmed on purpose and then killed simply didn't make any sense to ye at all. It wasn’t just Erath though. Hess had been listening, standing not too far away, and also didn’t really understand that part of things.

  It was like they just didn’t have the ability.

  The Ancient of Noram did though, and was actually willing to book passage to another world if he had to, in order to protect some girl that he’d just only heard of. Mainly because they were both orphans. To him that meant they needed to protect each other. Then, that didn’t seem too needed, given that Cin and her people had fought the military to protect her. That, or dueled with them. He wasn’t totally certain which, but didn’t ask, in case it would be rude to do.

  At the meal, he was seated right next to her, and kept asking what her personal interests were. The thing there was that it wasn’t about small talk. No, the man was still trying to work out what kind of payment they needed to give her for her work there.

  Finally, she simply shrugged at him.

  “You don’t owe me for helping with this. The war that came here? We’re allies. That means that if I can help you out, without harming my own people, then I will.” She grinned then, and shrugged at him again. Hopefully that was a thing that he could understand. He seemed to get it. “Also, Tim Baker has been coming to help my friends. Some of them… It isn’t a small thing.
So, I don’t need money or goods for helping here. You, all of you, have already paid. Even if you don’t know it yet.”

  She was willing to get into the whole thing, but Will, sitting across the table, just nodded, eating a healthy bite of food. It was a salad, made with a thick dressing. That wasn’t sweet at all, being almost like mayonnaise. With garlic added. It wasn’t that bad, but it was different for being on a salad.

  “This is the truth, Ancient. The people there work without seeking great things for themselves. It is odd, since their land is much like Austra. Many there are very greedy. The IPB is different. An army of powerful people that works to help those threatened in their lands. They hold the Baker family to very high esteem, however. Even Uncle Tor, though he made a big mess of their household there, on first meeting.”

  That got the story to be told about what Tor had done, which sounded different when Will told it.

  “I saw part of it, being there.” He ate a bite of food, then smiled up the table at the Count. Everyone went silent, waiting for the tale to be told, it was clear.

  “So… Two versions of Torrance Baker showed up at the same time. Each in a matching ship, a purple tear drop. When they stepped out, they began to battle instantly, throwing mighty waves of dirt and rock at each other. Each attempting to distract, bury and murder the other. One had come to kill those of the IPB, if he could. The other to deliver a visiting gift of pies to their leader there. The Lady Marcia Turner. The battle was like a thing of legend.”

  After a bite of food and a sip from a rather nice copper chalice, the man went on.

  “It was a stalemate, of course. Neither man winning, being matched so perfectly with the other. Until Cindy Mableton worked out who to aid using her special magical powers. Then she crawled out onto the field of battle, moving behind our Tor, and procuring a magical device that would allow her to turn off the other’s shield. She had to use part of her powers to distract the other man, in order to make that work. I was told of this by Tor, so I know it to be true.”

  From down the table, Dumas nodded.

  “I see. So she took damage then?” It was clear that he’d heard the tale before, from someone.

  “Exactly! Half her left shoulder was blown away by a powerful explosive weapon. It nearly ended her life, but she crawled away, then rounded the building to face the other Tor, being so mighty of spirit that even the potential loss of a limb didn’t give her pause for long. Then she used the strange magic, a thing unknown to her, and ended the battle in an instant.”

  He clapped once, then grinned at everyone, one person at a time. There were only ten in the room, however, so it didn't take long.

  “Then, in a moment, the world went silent. The villain dead. There is more to the story, but Tor was able to help heal the great wound, and the Taman Baker found there was innocent, so we sent her back to her own world. One that is nearly identical to this one. She was not of our enemies, thankfully. The pies were, unfortunately, lost in the battle.”

  He smiled then, but didn’t act like it was that large of a deal. It had felt kind of big at the time, but his version was kind of right. So she nodded. After all, it had been months before, even for her. In Noram it had happened more than a year earlier. Nearly a year and a half. There was enough time for it to have faded in importance, as all things eventually did.

  She didn’t comment, just eating. After a bit, with everyone looking at her, she understood that she was supposed to add something to the whole thing. She didn’t really have anything for that part though, so she just nodded.

  “So, we’re part of the war here. That makes sense, doesn’t it?”

  There was a nod at her, from Willum, but also one from the Count at the head of the table.

  “This is… a fascinating thing! I’d heard a bit of it, and that Cindy Mableton is a friend to us, but not exactly why. Tor is my brother in-law, so if you need anything…” He was speaking in standard, but seemed to have followed what Will had said in English pretty well.

  She was about to have to awkwardly shake her head, when Tim stepped in to help her out.

  “You could perhaps host some of her friends at times? They are good people, but not treated well all the time in their world. I’m working to fix that, but until I can do it all… If we could work from here, in Noram, or Harmony, that…”

  The Count simply nodded, his face smiling.

  “Naturally. Even if they weren’t attached to such a hero, I would aid you in your efforts without question, Timon. We all owe you so much. The entire world does.”

  That got Willum to nod, and speak directly to Cin.

  “Timon kept the entire world fed during the troubled times. For nearly a decade, almost every bite of food that I had came from his efforts. Most of the world was in the same place. Without his aid, we wouldn’t be here now.”

  That got waved away by Tim, though his wife took his hand, speaking next. Since she looked almost identical to Marcia turner, except for having a deep tan, it wasn’t hard for Cindy to pay attention.

  “We shouldn’t speak of such things at the meal. Your friends wish to holiday here? That sounds fun. We should plan to take them around to different lands to visit. Willum, will your friend Olga be allowed to attend? You mentioned that she’s important there…”

  Will blushed a bit, since he’d sold her as being a little more important than she actually was. He’d been vague about it, but made her sound like minor royalty. More or less. Given how tall she was, the people from Noram had simply believed him.

  So Cindy lied. Backing her man up, since it might have been important to do that kind of thing later.

  “Exactly. She’s very important to us. In fact, we should make a point of having her in here as well, if possible. Will, can you set that up with Marcia? I’d do it, but you get the idea…” She was still just a psycho.

  The man bowed toward her then.

  “Yes. Cindy is one of the very top people at the IPB. In her first months there she found seven nuclear devices that were intended to kill her people. She also saved their Queen, Mary Lawrence, who had been taken and replaced with a clone. More or less. She isn’t exactly a Queen, but close enough. It wasn’t exactly a clone, but again, close enough for this conversation. The point is that Cin is one of the most important people in their land.”

  She actually snorted then, and shook her head.

  “Or, you know, the part where I’m an untrustworthy psychopath? I was just suggesting that you might be listened to a bit better than I would on the topic.”

  That got a laugh from the man at least, as the others looked on. Timon shook his head as well, bemused.

  “I think not? Lady Marcia is most attentive to your word, at least she has been in regards to those from this world. Tiera mentioned that Sara defers to you, rather than the leadership there. It seems like you might have more pull than you think.”

  It might have been true, she guessed. A little bit.

  “Still, she also likes Will. Except when she thinks he’s there to spy on her. Which he wasn’t doing, but it’s her job to think that way.”

  Interestingly Patricia nodded at the words.

  “That’s a good point. He could be there doing that, so she had to suspect him of it, just to keep her people and secrets safe.”

  That had a tone to it which spoke of respect, instead of being conciliatory. Then, they were essentially the same person. It wasn’t amazing that Patricia was a bit suspicious, like Marcia was. They were a lot more alike than say, she was with Timon. Her other-worldly doppelganger was a very tall, great looking man. With a deep voice and skin that was darker than her own was by several shades.

  Instead of keeping on with her being humble about her position, which was how everyone took her words telling the truth about herself at the moment, she nodded. They really figured that her actual position was greater than it sounded like, given that. Otherwise she would have acted far more important than she was.

  That part was kind
of different, but no one made her prove it one way or the other. They didn’t even doubt her really. They just thought she was being polite.

  After the meal Will was called off to meet with Count Thomson, along with Patty and Tim. Countess Thomson went along, which meant that she was pretty much left with Hess, Dumas and Clemance. After about ten minutes, the boys walked the leader of Mars out to the transport hut, meaning she was sitting there alone.

  “This, I believe, is my cue to get off to bed.” She was speaking to herself, but tried to do it in Standard, for the practice of the thing.

  Interestingly enough a voice answered her. From behind, where the man had been standing for so long that she’d forgotten he was there. The butler, she thought. The others had all been in green, and he was in stately black. Plus, the words over his head let her know what his job was. A lot more than that as well, though he didn’t plan on bothering her with anything like that.

  In fact, he was kind of impressed that a woman from another world even knew the words that she’d used with him.

  “Very good, ma’am. Do you have instructions for when you wish to be woken?” The fellow didn’t have a single clue what she’d want that way. What he did get was that the lady could well have been on a very different schedule.

  The problem was that she didn't know how to express time very well yet, in Standard. So she just smiled at him and shook her head.

  “Wake me if I’m wanted by anyone? Otherwise, I’ll try to be up when the light comes.” That probably didn't make sense, but the man nodded and them bowed to her, going low. She did that back, her expression working toward bland.

  It was a thing she was actually good at, being close to what her natural expression always was. She either faked having most emotions, or they didn’t really show very well. Except anger. The rest wasn’t really a thing she did, day to day.

  The man left the room then, to allow her to escape, even though his post was technically in the dining room. He understood that she might not know that he was supposed to be the last one to leave, so would stay, trying to be polite to him, even if he were only a servant. On the way past she patted him on the arm, but didn’t try to drag him along, which was pleasant of her. That had happened before a few times, and it was always a bit off-putting to him when it did. The occasional pat wasn’t that big of an issue however. It showed a certain interest, perhaps, but that was acceptable.