Kingdom of Stars (The Young Ancients: Timon Book Three) (26 page)

"You know, I can't. Interesting. What is it?"

"It's actually a variation of micro-plasma, after a
fashion. Tiny shields that surround each of the components of your being, one
at a time. They can't attach to the other pieces or communicate, which, I hope,
will pretty much make it so that you can't move, after a bit. You won't get out
of the field either, so my guess is that in about... Oh, ten to twenty minutes,
you'll be frozen in place. It should kill you, actually, if Monroe is right
about how you're built. If he was wrong you'll probably kill me, so I sort of
hope so." He waited, watching the line of puffy looking flesh rise up the
bare legs.

Remy just laughed. It actually sounded pleased, which made
Timon wonder where his death would be coming from. He even looked around, just
in case.

The girl in front of him sighed though and smiled at him.

"No, you got me. Finally, a worthy adversary. It took
so long to find you, and then I had to push you into being what you are now.
The new ultimate killer. My replacement. To think, you're a bag of water too,
and not one of the elite at all. Not one of my kind. The new elite, I guess?
Magic. Who knew?" She, or it as the case may be, stared at the line that
moved up her form, that was only partway up the thighs. "A bit slow
though. Couldn't you have made this quicker? What if I figured out how to beat
it? Not that I have a clue, but that's what I would say if I almost had it too,
isn't it?"

That was true. He really could have, but he bowed instead of
answering instantly. When he spoke, his voice was soft, and deeper than normal.

"Yes. I was hoping that you'd be willing to answer some
questions, before the end comes? We don't have long, so if you don't want to,
no one in the world will be able to force your hand, or tongue, as the case may
be." It was just the truth, but the Remy let her head tilt and then
nodded.

"Let's chat then, Timmy. What do you want to know? Who
I was in your world? No one in particular. I figured it was too dangerous to
replace anyone wholesale. I've been several of your people though, at different
times. The Queen even, a few times, which you've no doubt guessed. Kinkaid Rue,
Dan Samson from Two Bends, and sundry others. We've even kissed you know, if
not romantically. I'll let you work that one out on your own however. I didn't
kill anyone, but I have rather left your Aunt Connie in trouble, haven't I? The
King and his people quite think she's a spy now. Being in the wrong place at
the wrong time too often can do that."

The line of swelling was to her middle now, so he didn't
bother stopping to talk about that sort of thing. Even if they'd kissed, it
wouldn't have mattered. Except to confirm that the being was really trying to
die. If he'd been a real target to it, then he could have died any number of
times already. It had
left
him alive then, and groomed him for this,
like it had hinted.

"Is there a fleet coming from space? Is it a real
danger to us?"

That got a strange and slightly annoyed look at least,
rather than a smirk or something that spoke of condescension.

"That's what you want to know? Yes, and no. There is a
fleet coming, three of them, just like it seems, but think about it, eighteen
years away? No one would travel that slowly would they? Not living beings. It's
something coming back in, and Gray and Cordes used that to influence the rest
of you. To distract you all. It's just a robot fleet. They come every few
hundred years, and then move off again. That the others, Green and Brown don't
know about it, makes sense, being that they've been kept in the dark about a
lot of things over the centuries, but Cindy Blue should know. Now, ask
yourself, why wouldn't she have told you about that?" Now there was a
smirk.

Timon however rolled his eyes.

"Because she wants a space fleet, clearly. Now, do you
know what Cordes and Gray really have planned and why?"

That got an honest sounding laugh.

"No. I'm not with them. I wouldn't be. Killing off
humanity is foolish. We
are
humanity. Well, they are. I've never had
anyone else, other than my people, so I always looked at it that way too. Only
a fool would do that. It's clear that they mean to however. There aren't enough
clones for it to work, a few thousand. I think that Gray has lost it, if you
want to know the real reason here. She can't see common sense anymore. It was
never really her long suit anyway. Brilliant little bitch, but too wrapped up
in her own little woman's utopia to understand reality half the time."

She looked down at the rising line, that was moving faster
now, as the billions of fields spread.

"Time for one more, I think."

"Are there anymore of you Remy left? I have another
device that could kill you all, I think, anywhere on the planet, but I don't
want to use it. My mother has it right now, so, you know, she might have
already. She's Gray without the Rhetistics after all."

That earned him a pained look at least.

"I don't know. I hope not. I've tried so hard to die
for so long. We're all the same, us Remy. They have to be trying to do it too.
If so... Well, kill them, if you can. It will be a good thing, I think. It's
time, and far past when it should have happened."

Timon didn't answer, but also didn't say no. He might not
have a choice at all, he realized. Laurie Baker was her own woman, and always
had been.

As the line got to the neck, the thing stopped talking,
since there wasn't enough air left to make that happen. That or it was just
done and wanted to spend its last moments thinking of something happy. It
didn't fight though, or try to change shape, the girl in front of him just
smiled, looking puffy and swollen all over, including the plain brown shift.

Then the line slowly crawled to the top of her head, and it
was done.

Not that he was going to count her not moving as being truly
dead, of course. He had time now, to launch it into the sun, which would be
what came next, after he finished with the King and Queen.

He felt empty, instead of triumphant. Really he was waiting
for the thing to start moving again, and didn't let the containment field down
at all, just in case. Instead he pulled a small focus stone tile from his
pocket and walked back to his own gate, letting the floating corpse move along
behind him silently, the feet almost dragging on the earth. The guards looked
shocked at least, but let him in, so he explained as well as he could.

"It's an Ancient shape changing assassin. Dead now, I
hope. We can put it in the garden shed, for now?" He did the work himself,
but the women didn't seem to think it seemed normal or good. Walking around
with what seemed to be a dead girl could do that.

The
interesting
part was that, even though worried over
it, they didn't try to stop him from doing it, even if it was horribly creepy
seeming. Then, he was a noble and the girl had clearly been a commoner. That
made it legal enough, most likely.

Tim grimaced, but didn't have to go find his wife or mother,
since they both came out to look at what he was doing, which probably meant the
gate guard had actually reported him to someone at least, if only them.

Working carefully, he tucked the Remy away and then
explained it all.

Trice looked baffled for a bit, and a little frightened, as
if he'd lost his mind, so he pulled a truth amulet and confirmed his story.

"So, that's an Ancient assassin, and it can look like
anything. Or it could. That part's done now though. As for the rest of the day,
well, now I lost so much time I guess I should catch a ride in to the
Palace?" He tried to sound light, but his mother hugged him closely for a
long time and then moved to hand the amulet he'd given her the night before
back.

"I gather I won't have to take my revenge then?"
Her words seemed pleased with the idea, so he took the device.

"No. Though Remy Seventeen here did suggest that using
that might be a kindness to the others. I don't know if any are left however.
Or what they might think of things if they are. I think we should hold off for
now. So, shall we?"

He'd had to set up the containment field, so that no one
else could move it, carrying away the piece that would allow that to happen,
but with it turned off. If he didn't come back, no one was taking his dead
Remy, he didn't think. Not unless they were a very good builder themselves.
Then he got in a tiny carriage that Trice set up for them. Laurie wasn't
scheduled to go to the Palace and given the wars and all that you didn't just
show up unannounced anymore. Oddly enough they still had people going with
them, since Terlee and Tovey were slated to attend meetings.

They went in low though, not flying over the city. After
they were halfway there, Count Thompson explained why that was.

"Austra sent a set of missiles for us, to guard the
city. The Royal Guard has control of them, so as you can imagine, no one flies
over the Capital now. You land outside the gate and come in slow, or find
yourself in a million pieces. As you might perceive, it's making things far
slower than they were for a while. It pretty much means that no one flies here
now. Even the birds look a bit edgy when they try it."

That made sense at least. After a fashion. It was sad
though, since flying was so much fun, and a lot faster than walking or even
floating along like they were, in comfort. Not that it took long to get to the
front gate, about twenty minutes, since there were checkpoints they had to stop
at, swearing under Truth verification that they were expected at the Palace and
of good intent.

Four of them, just to reach the front gate. Even regular
passers-by, a half mile away, were stopped. It was oppressive, but what the
Ancients had brought upon them, with their attacks. What else were people going
to do, after all?

For his part Timon just rested, letting the world pass
around him outside the windows of the dark blue floating carriage. It wasn't a
Tor build
or
one of his, he realized after a while. It felt...
different. It was slow, and didn't fly for one thing, going no more than a foot
over the ground. Trice rode in the front, and Tovey had been crammed in the
back, nearly bent in two. It still took a moment to figure it out, patting the
visible shield to try and get a better connection.

"Taman built this?"

That got Terlee to nod and smile.

"She did! All by herself. She has a whole line of them.
They don't change shape, like yours do, or move into the sky or very fast, but
she's selling them for five gold a piece and making them on stone, which means
that a lot of people can actually afford them. She has some that are bigger
too, and open in the back like a wagon. Tovey and I bought twenty of them, for
our farms. I think this one was given as a late wedding gift to you and
Patricia?" She patted the side, which seemed to be covered with nice blue
leather.

Trice cleared her throat.

"That's right. They're the preferred vehicle for in the
city now too. Faster than a horse, but enclosed for safety. Not too shabby,
considering she's only six."

That got Tim to sigh.

"I've missed a lot of birthdays back home. Well, I
guess I'll need to make that right then. This is really nice, actually. We
should buy some too, if we have the funds for it, I mean. I've been ignoring
business for a while."

That got a laugh from everyone, but it was Trice that
explained, sounding pleased enough.

"We've taken over goods transport between the more
distant areas, in Kingdom and out. Your new Fast Craft are perfect for it. We
aren't exactly hurting for gold."

That was nice to hear, since it was one less thing to worry
about.

"Good, then it will just make me seem full of myself
when I give everyone presents later, instead of stupid. Or, well, probably
both." He grinned, but his wife just opened her door, so the Royal Guards
could pass out more Truth amulets.

That was the way things were now, it seemed.

It was Kevin the gate guard that nudged him, reaching into
the vehicle with a wink.

"Going to school after your visit?" It was teasing
and Tim nodded, looking down at the plain brown clothing he still had on.

"A point. Let's see..." He focused and caused one
of his old visiting outfits to appear. It was silver and black, but not
overdone. It was early still, not a party and really he just didn't feel like
showing off. Count Thomson and Terlee looked better than he did and even Trice
shifted so that she was in a green and silver dress that looked finer, but not
so much that he had to feel bad about it. It was a bit plain, for a Countier
First, but hey, who cared?

Trice took the carriage down as soon as they all got out of
it and they were escorted to the meeting room directly, by four guards. No one
else seemed to think it was over the top, but Timon couldn't help but remember
that the last time he'd been there he'd only been led in by one, himself. It
was a big deal too, since they had to wait for the guards to come back from the
last group to come through. That meant they weren't late at least, which would
be rude.

Timon plastered a smile on his face and tried not to care
about anything at all.

The halls seemed the same, and a few minutes later they were
led into a large space that had chairs lining it, with what seemed to be all
the Counts and Countesses there. With their spouses, which made for about sixty
people in all. Tiera was already there too, looking serene. She didn't have a
spouse yet, Timon noticed. He might have missed that, but it was good to know
he hadn't.

The instant they got into the room, The King stood, with
Aunt Connie by his side, and then they bowed. Low. They held it too, which was
pretty darned respectful, just for them. The rest of the room rose and did the
same, toward
him
. Even Tovey and Terlee did, though Trice just stood
next to him, hand in hand.

Ah. They were bowing to the person that held their debt.
Timon bowed then, going low, with Trice matching him, her eyes going wide, as
if he were making a mistake. He knew what he was doing though, and held the
move until the King stood, smiling. Even Connie smiled.

"Lord Baker! We're pleased that you can attend us here
today. We've heard of the unfortunate attacks upon your person. If there is
anything we can do to aid you in that situation, please let us know?" He
seemed to mean it, even though he sat and left the newcomers standing. Tovey
and Terlee had chairs, but he and Trice had to stay where they were. Not that
it mattered. Tim was hoping not to linger too long.

"Thank you, Sire. Queen Constance." He bowed
again, but only a little, which wouldn't require a response. "I've handled
that situation with the Ancient assassin, in the last hour. It's dead."

That got a murmur from the room, which sounded doubtful. Tim
pulled his Truth amulet and repeated himself, glowing cheerily. No lie showed,
since he didn't bother.

"So, I'm holding the body in my shed. I'm planning on
dropping it into the sun later. This isn't the kind of thing to take
lightly."

No one doubted him then, but a few muttered something about
the Remy not being that big of a threat, if a mere boy could handle it. That
made logical sense, so Tim didn't bother worrying about it. No one said otherwise
either, not even Count Lairdgren, who was just staring at him. Trying to read
him.

To make certain he wasn't Remy Seventeen, just pretending to
be him. After a bit, the man smiled and sat back, still holding his tongue.

It was the Queen that spoke next, her voice tense and a bit
brittle. She was good at that. To be fair, Timon had seen her with other
people, and she was fine. Even kind and gentle. The woman just wasn't
comfortable around him. He didn't know why.

"Lord Baker, it's been a matter of conversation, how
we're to repay you for the work that you've done on our behalf. The new shields
that do so much, the anti-radiation units for towns, and the rest you sent us.
The new weapons and all that we asked for. Do you have some thought in mind as
to what you might want?" She seemed really uneasy about it all, as if he
were going to ask for the Kingdom itself, or perhaps just that she be run
through the streets naked, while people hurled rotten fruit at her?

For a moment, as petty as it was, he nearly said that last
one, just as a joke.

Instead he took a deep breath and looked around the room.
Connie wasn't the only person that seemed uncomfortable. Timon really
understood now, what Tor was always going on about. It was hard to bear,
knowing that anything he did would probably be taken the wrong way. Still,
there was only so much he could do.

That meant bowing again, to the front. It would look like he
was about to make a demand, but it was what you did when you presented a gift
too.

"That's for the Kingdom. I should have sent a note. If
the perceived debt caused any tension here, I apologize for it. I haven't been
thinking in that fashion for some time." He held the bow until the King
bowed back, looking slightly bemused.

"You're giving us this, as a gift?"

"For the common defense, yes. As is the responsibility
of each with the ability, in times of peril." It sounded pretty good, he
thought, though for some reason it caused a dead silence, for nearly half a
minute.

Right until a very old man stood.

And bowed to him.

The rest of the room followed, including his wife, who
angled toward him. He'd seen this kind of thing before, but they held it and
didn't stand. He wasn't supposed to bow back, but a few of the older giants
were going to collapse soon, if they didn't stand up. So he waved at them.

"Thank you, all. Now, what's the next bit of
business?" Maybe he could leave, which would be nice.

That wasn't happening though. In fact, after everyone
recovered and the blood rushed away from their heads, the King sat and got
right to work.

"We need to know the disposition of your new colony, as
well as what plans you have, for the near future. Are you coming for a
rest?"

That sounded so nice, but he had to shake his head.

"No, I have more work to see to. The project, well,
we're making a full city, not just a base. Eventually we'll need people to live
there. The hope is to have it ready in about six months for the first who are
going to live there. Sooner, if we can manage it. The idea is to have folk from
each land. I wouldn't want the job, but hopefully someone will volunteer. We'll
need about a hundred thousand people to start, with a little over a million
being the eventual goal."

That caused a stir, but no one called him on the idea, even
if it sounded like a bit much.

The giant redheaded King waved at him, a seated and gentle
move that spoke of amazement, but didn't, at the same time.

"What other plans do you have? With this assassin gone,
it's safe for you to attend school again, isn't it?"

That was a hard one to call. He didn't ask if Remy had been
the one responsible for the nuclear weapon. He didn't think so, since the being
had been in Printer and everyone said that it was one of the few things that
could kill a Remy outright.

"No, I don't think so. That may change, but there's a
war on, and like it or not, I'm in this thing." Timon was afraid that he
was going to have to explain that to them, but Count Breen stood and cleared
his throat. Loudly.

"That's a brave and sensible thing for Lord Baker to be
doing. Perhaps we could stop browbeating him in full court, and see to a meal?
Or at least some beverages?" Normally it would be horribly rude to ask for
food or drink like that, and worse to not offer it, but the King just threw off
a short and choppy seated bow.

"Yes. I take your meaning, Count Breen. It's not a poor
idea at all."

It still took five minutes for everyone to stand, and the
King and Queen didn't leave, after calling for drinks, but instead mingled, as
if it were a party. A horribly boring, and rather stuffy one at that. Worse,
the second that the others all stood up, the main doors opened and several
other people walked in. Karina was a welcome face, and walked up to him
carefully, her freckles looking cute on her dusky skin and her hair a bit
longer than he remembered.

"There you are. I nearly had to go to space just to
visit you."

Timon didn't know what to do really, and started to touch
her arm, only to be grabbed into a hug.

"You're getting big too. Tall. Six more months at this
pace and you'll be bigger than I am."

She was only about six-four or five. So she was probably
about right.

The bad part was what came next, as Tor was right behind
her, standing next to Prince Alphonse. Timon was in a trance, but he pushed
himself deeper then, letting himself think of nothing much at all. Tor was huge
now. Nearly seven feet tall, and still fine looking, but rail thin. Like Tiera,
he still managed to look like himself.

"Timon. I hear that you've made it so I never have to
build again? About time. Now we just need to get Tiera on things and I can just
bake and make some mediocre sculptures. Not that I've been making anything
important for a while. I guess that you've handled it all?"

Rather than try to talk about anything important, Timon
smiled, without feeling himself do it and regarded his brother with cool eyes.

"Is Alyssa around today?" It was an indirect dig,
and Tor made a face, showing that he got the idea. Tim was teasing, but only
sort of. After all, he really was still angry with Tor. He understood why he'd
changed him, making him feel guilt and shame, but it wasn't needed, and never
had been.

His brother was reading him, and got what he was thinking
rather clearly. He could feel the attempted connection, and pushed back a bit.
He was too upset to let it go without resisting.

"Timon... That's a bit petty of you, isn't it?"

"Probably, but it might actually get your attention,
and keep you from doing things like that again."

"Ah..." It was exasperated, but Count Lairdgren,
who looked like a tiny version of Tor now, clapped Tim on the shoulder.

"If I could have a word? If you're done trying to
intimidate your brother for the time being?"

That got Tim to laugh.

"What, I'm supposed to just let things go? I don't
think that's going to happen. Not anytime soon." He meant it, but didn't
toss a punch at the side of Tor's head, so he was improving, right? Timon
didn't even really want to, as disgruntled as he was.

It didn't help that the whole time he was there his brother
was reading him. The
entire
time. That wasn't normal. He wasn't hitting
the whole room. Timon could tell that. No, it was focused and hard enough that
even a person that wasn't a builder would have noticed it, if only as an uneasy
feeling of someone watching them.

It kept up until he was out of the room, even though a mere
stone wall or wood door really wasn't enough to stop it, if Tor had wanted to
keep going. It was strange. So much so that Tim didn't realize he'd been taken
into the back room instead of the hallway. Trice had come along however, as if
snubbing Tor for him. Count Lairdgren waved her on, out the far door.

"One minute and I'll sneak you both out of here. I have
to cover a few things with Timon that the King missed."

She looked wry, but walked out, since the man was family and
probably meant well enough, as far as she knew. As soon as the well carved and
very fine looking dark stained and shining door shut, with his wife on the
other side, Lairdgren grimaced.

"Tor was reading you."

"
No
. Not Tor. He'd
never
do anything that
invasive. Why would you even say that?"

"Ha. Very funny. I need you to go and check on Julie
White. Soam hasn't been hit that hard so far, which means that there's probably
something huge planned for them. Lara always disliked White with a passion. If
you go now, you can take Kolb from the school without running into your brother
again. You're in a trance?" There was a soft probe, which didn't pick
anything up.

"I have been for months. Working all the time, you
know."

"Naturally. I'll let that drop in conversation, as for
why you resisted Tor so cleanly. That has to have been baffling to him. You're
his little brother. It's bad enough that Tiera is doing the same thing all the
time, but at least we can sell that as part of her new schooling, to aid her in
learning self-control. It's working that way too, which is helpful." The
man started to move, but Timon stopped him and dug out an amulet. The one for
the containment field around Remy.

After explaining it, he handed it off.

"See if Orange will take care of this? Or her people, I
mean. It needs to be dumped into the sun. I think it's well and truly gone, but
I sort of promised."

"I see. I'll pass the word, and the body. Anything
else?"

Timon snapped his fingers, and smiled.

"I almost forgot... Remy Seventeen admitted to having
come here, pretending to be Aunt Connie, several times. It mentioned that she
might be suspected of being a spy because of that? I didn't want to mention it
in front of everyone, but you know, she
probably
isn't. Maybe you can
tell the needed people?"

"I shall."

Then he was pushed out the door, as if Green saying that he
needed to find White was all the information he needed. Hopefully Kolb would
know more, since his grandfather wasn't sticking around to share with him,
regardless.

The hall was nice, in a fine but plain way. Stone floors of
polished marble, wooden walls with sculpture every ten feet on pedestals. There
were also a few people, including Trice, who was being pressed back against the
wall by a decently tall man that seemed to be about her age. She wasn't trying
to get away, as much as eat the bottom half of his face.