Against the Empire: The Dominion and Michian (51 page)

“There’s no ‘we’ going on this trip, Alec, don’t worry,” Bethany called from the hallway as she emerged with a piece of luggage.

“Oh Beth, there you go, go spoiling my fun,” Allisma protested. “The wheels in his mind were turning for a second there.

“Well, go and have fun without me then; I mean, go and have a productive trip – I know this is strictly for reasons of state,” she added.

Alec took Bethany’s bag without comment, said his farewells to the girls who gathered at the door, and walked Bethany outside and down the hill towards Ari’s house. “I was worried for a minute there. I don’t know why I can’t learn to take her with a grain of salt,” Alec admitted as they walked. He bent over impulsively and kissed Bethany’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re going on this trip,” he said, as her cheeks reddened with a slight blush.

“I’m glad too,” she said. “It’s going to be a long trip this afternoon. I remember we used to take parts of two days to make this journey.”

They arrived at Aristotle’s building, where two horses were saddled and tied to a rail, as Ari sat in a rocker on the porch. “It’ll be almost like old times, riding on a journey, won’t it Alec?” he said as he slung his bag up behind his saddle, while Alec did the same with Bethany’s. They walked down to the gate, where Alec climbed up into Walnut’s saddle, and they started on their journey.

“It’s been decades since I traveled up in this part of the kingdom,” Ari said after they left the suburbs of Oyster Bay behind and began riding briskly through fields and pastures along the broad Northern Road.

“What do you plan to do when you get to Bondell, Alec?” Ari asked as they rode.

“We’ll see the prince, find out what he knows about the invasion in the south, work out the logistics of shipping everything to the south, and then take the vanguard and go down there immediately,” Alec said. “I won’t have any plans really until we get there and find out how much information is available to help us make the best decisions.”

“Will you wait for the Goldenfields forces to arrive, or the Stronghold forces to arrive?” Ari asked.

“I’m not sure when they’ll arrive from Goldenfields,” Alec admitted. “John Mark moved me through time so frequently and to so many places that I don’t know when to expect Armilla to notify Goldenfields about the need to go to war. The Stronghold forces will follow as fast as they can, probably no more than a month behind us, and I don’t know what forces the other cities will send in addition.”

“You can’t expect to do much with a few ingenairii and a company of Oyster Bay troops alone,” Ari warned.

“We can blaze the trail, and try to set up the best defensive spot for all our forces to meet,” Alec answered. “No, we can’t fight Michian on our own. But Imelda and Rashrew have apparently done something right to show that a small force can hurt the invasion.”

“Tell me about your hand,” Ari unexpectedly changed topics. “Your newest mark didn’t go unnoticed, and I suspect there is some connection.”

Alec took a deep breath, then launched into an explanation of what he had done, as well as the results.

“Oh Alec,” Bethany softly said after he finished his story and his companions rode on for several seconds of stunned silence; it was the first time he had explained his experience in detail. “Was that a part of what happened when the lion attacked me on the plains?”

He nodded. “I couldn’t have used such strength to manipulate Rief or to restore your soul without those powers,” he agreed.

“Alec, I don’t know enough theology or ingenairii theory to really contemplate what you have done to yourself, nor can anyone begin to understand it,” Ari told him. “You are prudent to keep your hand covered for now, but you should find a way to test and control the gift you’ve been given.”

It was a gift painfully earned,” Alec muttered. “Kinsey knew about it right away, to some degree. It must be obvious to Spiritual ingenairii,” he said.

“It is. It glows like a beacon for us,” Ari acknowledged. “Kinsey would be a good mentor to teach you to channel that energy. So many of the Spiritual ingenairii were killed in the first rounds of violence after the coup, we don’t have many left, and she is one of the best left, besides having an uncanny ability to read you.”

“I think we have five or six healer ingenairii now,” Alec took the opportunity to switch topics. “Bethany and Rief both gained the power through visiting the Cave, and Cassie got it from my healing efforts. I think that perhaps Imelda and Yula and even Noranda may also have also gotten some powers from all the work and efforts I used on them.”

“So the Healer House may be you and six girls?” Air said with a gleam in his eye.

“Don’t think we won’t set some rules in a hurry about seniority there,” Bethany laughed, and their conversation grew light-hearted for many miles.

As nightfall approached, Bethany started pointing out landmarks. “We’ve made good time! We’ll be at my home in half an hour,” she exclaimed. “Do you plan for us to spend the night there?” she asked.

“Is there room enough for all of us?” Alec replied.

She looked at him disdainfully. “Of course. My mother insisted on being prepared to house an army of guests. She’ll be insulted if we don’t stay there.”

So they rode up to the front of a substantial country home a few minutes later. “Alec, would you treat the saddle soreness?” Bethany asked as they stood on the front step.

“You can do it yourself now, you know,” he said with a grin. Alec placed his hands on top of Bethany’s and pulled them around to the back of her thighs, then released his power through his hands and hers into her legs, taking away the pain and stiffness. Just as he did so, the front door opened, and two people stood looking out at them.

Chapter 46 – A Case of Hiccups

“Daddy! Mother!” Bethany squealed.

“Bethany!” her mother cried and wrapped her daughter in a hug.

“Who’s your friend who put his hands where they don’t belong?” her father gruffly asked.

“He’s a healer, Daddy!” Bethany said with exasperation. “He was treating my saddle soreness.”

“Come in, come in,” Bethany’s mother motioned them to enter the home, determined to be hospitable. “Won’t you introduce your friends Bethany?” she asked. “Is everything okay? You’re not here for some problem, are you?”

“Everything is okay,” Bethany assured her folks. “This is Aristotle, the head of the Ingenairii Council,” she motion to Ari, who shook hands with both parents.

“And this is Alec, a Healer, and a Warrior, and a Spiritual ingenairii, plus he’s the Protector of the Crown of the Dominion,” Bethany said proudly.

“Is this the boy you wrote about last year?” her mother asked, looking at Alec closely, and not recognizing the importance of the titles Bethany mentioned, as her father also seemed to fail to grasp their meaning.

Bethany smiled and blushed, “Yes, he’s the one,” she agreed. “We would like to spend the night if we may,” she added.

“Of course you’ll spend the night!” her mother said. “And you’ll have dinner with us too. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“No, not at all. Ari relentlessly made us ride all afternoon to get here,” Bethany said, growing more confident and comfortable at home with each passing minute.

“I’ll take our horses to the stables and bring our bags in,” Alec suggested, slightly intimidated by the looks that Bethany’s father gave him. He quickly slipped out the door and set to work.

Minutes later he was back in the front hall with the luggage, when a young boy came thundering down the stairs. “Are you Alec?” the boy asked. “I’ll show you your room,” he continued without waiting for an answer as he turned and ran back up. Alec hitched the bags higher on his shoulders and climbed the steps, then found another flight to climb, while the boy waited above, looking down at him.

“These are your rooms,” the boy said, nodding to two doorways.

“Where’s the other room?” Alec asked.

“Oh, you mean Bethany’s? It’s downstairs by mine,” Alec’s guide answered. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

“You don’t go anywhere slowly, do you?” Alec asked as he trailed the running boy along a hallway. “What’s your name?”

The boy stopped in front of a room. “This is Bethany’s room. You can put her bag in here,” he pushed the door open. “My name is Tapper. My dad says I go so fast because I’m trying to catch up with everyone else. I’m the youngest kid in our family. Bethany and Trica have already grown up and moved out.

“I’ll bet I’m faster that you,” Tapper said quickly, challenging Alec.

Unable to resist the chance to pull a prank on the boy, Alec used his ingenaire abilities to rush into the open room and place Bethany’s bag on her bed. “How fast are you?” Alec asked.

“Wow! You’re really fast! My dad wouldn’t believe it! How’d you do that?” Tapper asked.

“I eat lots of vegetables, and they give me strong muscles,” Alec said, stifling a laugh.

“Really?” Tapper asked in a crestfallen tone.

“And I exercise and practice a lot too,” Alec added. “So this is where Bethany lived?” he asked. He looked around at the room, decorated in pink and blue, indisputably a girl’s room in decor. “Where is everyone else?”

“They’re all downstairs in the back parlor. It’s down the hallway and to the right,” Tapper said. “You’re supposed to go down and join them,” he said as he left Alec’s field of vision.

Alec walked back downstairs, turned down the hall, and knocked on the first door on the right. “Come in,” a man’s voice answered.

Alec walked in the room, and found Bethany’s father sitting alone. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Alec said cautiously. “I thought Tapper said this is where the rest of the party was.”

“Come in,” Bethany’s father said. “How old are you, Alec?”

Alec felt a sudden sense of panic for no good reason. “I’m eighteen, getting close to nineteen,” he said, still standing by the door and trying to discover an excuse to leave.

“My wife says that Bethany wrote about you often for a while, then stopped. How have you been treating her?” her father promptly asked, sitting forward and putting his book down.

“I have tried to treat her as well as possible,” Alec said quickly.

“Have you ever hurt her?”

“Never intentionally, and never physically,” Alec answered. “I think she’s a terrific girl. I really care for her a great deal.”

“What are your intentions towards her?” her father asked, and Alec felt beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.

“I’d ask her to marry me if I thought she’d say yes,” Alec found himself saying, babbling almost. “I told her I loved her, but it wasn’t enough for her, or it was too late,” he tried to explain.

“Can you support her in the manner she is accustomed to? She can be a little expensive,” her father told him. “How will you make your living?”

“I have a healer shop in Goldenfields,” Alec heard himself explaining. “She will be able to have anything she can afford.”

“So are you asking my permission to marry my daughter?”

“It wasn’t what I expected to do when I came up here,” Alec blurted out. “And I’m not sure she’ll say yes if I do ask.”

“You won’t know until you do. You need to decide for yourself if you’re willing to devote the time and energy and love to be a good husband,” the older man said. “For my part, if Beth decides to accept you as a suitor and future husband, I’ll trust her judgment. You have my permission to seek her hand in marriage.