Sons (Book 2) (74 page)

“As for how,” I continued, watching Gordon as he thought about Marty going through the tortures at Dunstan’s again.  “The wards here were originally built as a gestalt.  When the Queens arrived, I asked Kieran and Ethan to watch Marty and help with the wards if the Queens started to overload them in any way.  The Faery protocols are finicky and aren’t geared for peaceful visits by someone of their levels of power.  So I asked Marty to watch them carefully and if he had any problems to toss any dangerous energies my way because I could handle them better. 

“Ethan slipped into the gestalt shortly after I built the knowe and Kieran entered to recite at my faeries’ request.  This isn’t something we could have done normally, but I stacked the deck ahead of time.  And if I realized that this was going to go on for so long, I would have suggested bringing the Castle down to high warning levels or something.  Marty held seven major ley lines moving in tandem for over eight hours by himself before Ethan even started helping him, but he hit the wall then, poor kid.”

“I should have thought of that,” Gordon muttered to himself, getting angry.

“Don’t go kicking yourself, Gordon,” I warned him.  “Be proud of him, instead.  He did a damn good job of this and so have you.  And he might have wanted to go run and play among all the people and faery, but he got a very unique perspective from where he sat.  He won’t soon forget what he saw here.  Just wait, he’ll be jabbering ninety to nothing in the morning about it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Gordon said slowly.  “It’s just that he looked so frail when you caught him, so tiny.”

Kieran called from the doorway.  “Well, let’s go kick a few hundred people out of your house so you can rest.”

“My bed.  That sounds glorious,” Gordon said, slumping his shoulders tiredly and dragging his feet to the door, if only for a moment.  No one else saw Cahill in any sort of weakness, but we were family now.  He stopped a few paces from the door, turned back to me and said with some humor in his voice, “Oh, no!  You need to leave!  I’ll never be rid of them if they think you’re still here.  Much as I’d appreciate the help, too many people would be hiding in the shadows trying to get another word in to you for that right now, and the promise of my bed before sunrise is too great.  Your brothers can help and manage well enough.”

I smiled at him.  Big.  “All right, Gordon.  I’ll go.  Thank you for your hard work.  I owe you for this.  It went better than I thought it would.”

“We can talk about that tomorrow,” he answered, smiling and pleased with the compliment.  “Late tomorrow.  And you’re welcome.”

Jimmy,
I called through the geas,
let’s go home.

“But there was so much left to do,” Jimmy grumbled as we walked down the Road toward the barracks.  “And I used to get a kick out of ducking the housework.  What have you done to me?”  He whacked my arm playfully when he asked that, making me chuckle at him.

“It’s called growing up, big boy,” I said, winding our way through the short maze to Alsooth’s office where Laston was overseeing a rather tense meeting with two of the generals and Major Byrnes.  “And unfortunately, we would have gotten more in the way than helped.  Gordon was right to send us away.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t have to like it,” he grumbled again. 

I just grinned as we turned into Alsooth’s office.  An odd tableau greeted us.  Laston faced us, sitting crossed-legged atop the large desk with another sprite on his right who seemed to be ready to take notes.  He smiled serenely at the two generals opposite him at the desk, their backs to us.  Major Byrnes sat on the right, dressed in a silk suit surprisingly reminiscent of Jimmy’s.

“No, sir, he’s not being obstinate,” Byrnes was saying to the generals as we walked in.  “He’s making a statement of fact.  This is as private as it gets here.  Laston has authority over the barracks at the moment and therefore has cognizance of everything that goes on here, regardless of whether he is in the room or not.”  He stood abruptly with Laston and his aide as I walked in with Jimmy, stopping just inside the doorway.

“Good evening, Lord Daybreak,” Laston and his aide called together cheerfully, bowing.  Byrnes was quick behind him, a welcome depth of voice.  The generals both started to stand as I came around to the free side of the table.

“Good evening, Laston and… Zero?  Really?  How cute!” I was gushing at the two little brownies as I sat down.  I must have been more tired than I thought to show this much emotion in front of strangers.  “Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.  Now in a few generations there’ll be a few million Zeroes and it won’t be so adorable anymore.”

The little brownies giggled, huddled together.  Laston said, “Don’t worry, Lord.  Your secret is safe with us.”

“No, please, there will be enough secrets over time,” I said smiling at the two them, “that such a simple pleasure shouldn’t be one of them.  Tell whomever you like and, please, carry on.  You seem to have things under control.  Good evening, Major Byrnes, you were saying?”

“He was trying to explain why we could get no privacy,” the man on my left said sternly.  “But that would seem to be a moot point now that you’re here.”

“Really?  How so?  It doesn’t change it in any way,” I asked, leaning into the table on my elbow.  The sprites sat back into crossed-legged postures, still smiling serenely, undoubtedly uncannily to the men across from them.

“We’re here to negotiate for their safe return to US soil, Mr. McClure,” the man said.

Jimmy was a flash of blue fire as he lurched over the table, thrusting his truncheon in a wide arc to hit directly in front of the man in a brilliant flare of light and heat.  Shocking both men, they fell back from the table, shoving hard on their chairs.  The fire on the stick instantly died away, but Jimmy’s fires fell more slowly.  “He is Lord Daybreak.  Here, on Gilán, to use any other name shows disrespect to him and his people.  Showing disrespect can be extremely dangerous.  Am I making myself clear?”

The man nodded, shaking and unsteady, adding a weak, “Yes, sir.”

“You remember my First from when you were escorted across the border,” I said, waving my hand at Jimmy as he sat back down beside me smugly, snapping the truncheon back in place.  I suppose I was pretty smug about it, too, as he slowly let the fires die off to a mere glow.

“Yes,” both men muttered.  The left one went on to say, “That was quite an unusual experience for us.  We were not expecting to see such marvelous creatures on this kind of a diplomatic mission.  Col. Echols was adamant that we would be dealing with a completely human contingent.”

“You are,” Byrnes said.  “At least the ones in charge are human, the Lord and his First.”  Now he was being smug, but his was more polished and less obvious than ours.

“Now, why would I negotiate for their release with you, anyway?” I asked, leaning back from the table.  “You were the ones trying to kill them.  Why would you think I would trust you with their safety a second time?  Why would they?”

“That
is
a good question, General Harmond,” Major Byrnes agreed, leaning into the table with interest.

“And now I have a name.  Thank you, Major,” I said, nodding to him.

“My apologies, Lord Daybreak,” Laston cried and jumped up quickly.  “I assumed you knew their names and I should not have.  This is Brigadier General Samuel Harmond, Pentagon Judge Advocate General’s Office, Detached, and Lt. Col. Vincent Morelli, also of the Judge Advocate General’s Office.  They claim to be members of the defense team guiding Major Byrnes and his men.”

“Thank you, Laston, and it is reasonably fair to assume I knew them since I sent them over,” I explained to him.  “But our introduction was cut off and this was arranged rather abruptly.  And where is Agent Messner, General Harmond?”

“He and our associate, Col. Barnett, are asleep in the lavish suite of rooms your… people housed us in,” Harmond said and smiled, trying to get into his role as ambassador.

“Agent Messner was very tired,” Laston said concerned over my reaction.  “And Col. Barnett seemed to be under the influence of a drug, so Master Ellorn allowed them to return to sleep.”

“Okay, so this is an overture only, then,” I said to the General.  “I won’t be making any decisions without Messner’s approval over this situation.  As I said, you’ve already tried to kill them once.”

“And that was a supremely stupid decision,” Harmond said matter-of-factly, “made by supremely stupid individuals trying to cope with a situation well beyond their means.  I assure you, Lord Daybreak, that will
not
happen again.  The US Army, nor any other branch of the military, condones such actions—” He started his rant with righteous ire and fire of his own, but I cut him off quickly.

“Save the indignation for the courtroom, General.  I’m not interested.  You can assume I know at least some of what sat on Pennington’s computers.  It’ll be safer for you.”  He stared at me, slacked-jawed, unsure of himself again.  “Have you bothered in any way to investigate the conspiracy that General Pennington was involved in?”

Harmond exhaled slowly, stalling, getting ready to lie to me.  Even Byrnes could see it coming.  Apparently, Byrnes’ clamped-shut eyes and gently shaking head were enough to warn the General in time.

“We have,” Colonel Morelli interjected politely, only mildly surprising his superior officer.  “But a man with such powerful allies and such a diverse and, frankly, top secret background is difficult to investigate.”

“I’m certain you can find a way to manage,” I said mildly.  “Because you really don’t want me nosing around in your business.”

Ellorn stepped into the room leading Lt. Brinks pushing a small cart through the door and into the corner.  “Hi, Ellorn,” Jimmy said as Ellorn turned the corner.

“Good evening, First!  Good evening, Lord!  Would either of you care for refreshments?” Ellorn asked cheerfully, climbing steps set against the rear of the table.  I had to lean past the edge of the table to see them but they came in two sets.  The first set of steps curved up to the set of the chair, attaching by its weight.  The second set spiraled similarly in the opposite direction and attached to the tabletop.

“Oh, that is cool,” I remarked.  “Yes, please, Ellorn, any chance you’ve got coffee?  That is a clever design.  Is that one of y’all’s?”

“Lt. Brinks, do you have coffee?” Ellorn asked crossing to the center corner of the table between the Colonel and Jimmy.  “And each room in the Palace seems to be equipped in something to help with size differences, Lord Daybreak.”

“Yes, Lord, freshly brewed,” Lt. Brinks called out from the corner.  Zero jumped up and ran off the edge of the table near Ellorn and jerked lightly on Brink’s pant leg.

“Lieutenant, we have guests,” Zero said quietly to Brinks when he looked down at the brownie.  Still looking perplexed at the little sprite, Zero went further and explained, “There are protocols to follow.  Please answer the questions in the order asked.”  Brinks seemed to understand and half-turned to the table.

“My apologies, Master Ellorn,” he said with a slight bow of his head.  “Yes, we do have coffee, freshly brewed and enough for everyone.”

“Thank you, Lt. Brinks,” Ellorn chirped merrily.  “Lord Daybreak will take a large mug with three teaspoons of sugar and, if it’s available, a small piece of dark chocolate.  First, would care for anything?”

“Coffee, please, Ellorn,” Jimmy said turned half-way in his chair watching Brinks.  “Lieutenant, is that a bottle of brandy down there?”

“Yes, sir,” Brinks answered as he brought two steaming mugs of coffee to the table.  “Mr. Borland sent it down this morning and said Lord Daybreak might appreciate it this evening.”

“Ooohh, that does sound good,” I said, sipping at the too hot coffee.  “Maybe after the coffee, for me, though.  This is very good, Lieutenant, even better than this morning.”  Brinks beamed in pride, smiling at me.

“Thank you, sir,” he said.

“General, colonel, would you care for anything?” Ellorn asked.  They both watched Ellorn with great distrust, the kind you’d give a ventriloquist’s dummy that jumped up on the table and started talking to you.

“Yes, please,” Morelli finally managed.  “Two coffees, black, and two waters would be excellent.”

“And I’ll take a shot of that brandy if you don’t mind,” Harmond added a little brusquely.

“Certainly, sir,” Ellorn chirped, turning to see Brinks already pouring their requests.  “And for you, Major?”

“The same, please, Ellorn, thank you,” Byrnes said, watching their discomfort with us with amusement.

“So, General Harmond, what do you expect your defense to be?” I asked quietly as Brinks settled mugs and glasses around the table.

“Well, sir,” Harmond started after pausing to sip his coffee to collect his thoughts.  “According to both Special Agent Messner and Colonel Echols, you have close to four hundred confessions of unconditional guilt.  There isn’t much defense I can do against that unless I can show coercion.”

Glancing at Byrnes, we just sat and waited for the other shoe to drop.  It’s not often the defense “attorney” admits to both client and key prosecution witness—one of the victims—that he’ll lose.  This guy’s throwing in the towel before he even knows the evidence.

“You see, Lord Daybreak, the problem is,” Harmond started, then exhaled slowly, drumming his fingers on the table and taking a sip of brandy.  Stalling poorly while he gained some courage.

“Oh, just spit it out, man,” urged Morelli in a harsh whisper.  “He’s just a k—”

“Don’t finish that word!” Byrnes shouted, interrupting the colonel and using himself as a missile to cross the table fast enough to stop him.  Brinks was on him with towels to sop up the two water glasses and single coffee mug he managed to spill.

“Wow, I tell ya, it’s the simple things in life that are amazing,” I remarked as I picked Byrnes up off the table and around the brownies, back to his chair.  “Are you all right, Major?  Any broken glass stuck in anywhere?  Bleeding?”

“No glass on the table, Lord,” Brinks said softly.

“No, Lord, I’m fine, thank you,” Byrnes admitted.  “Just winded.”

“Amazing that you only hit three, though,” I said, grinning.  Seemed to be a perpetual state with me.  Checking on Laston and Zero, I asked, “You guys okay?  Ellorn?”

“Yes, Lord Daybreak, we’re fine,” Ellorn chirped.  “We just don’t understand the nature of Major Byrnes’ action.”

“He was trying to warn the Colonel off from using the word ‘kid’ in reference to me,” I explained to Ellorn, and of course to everyone else in the room.  “He is aware that on several occasions, several people have used that particular word to belittle me and use it as a slur.  Specifically, several of the last people I killed used that slur in their final epithets.  For some reason, I just don’t take kindly to it.  Makes me want to show ya just how much this kid can do.”

“However, Colonel Morelli is correct in one sense, General,” Byrnes said.  “Please continue.  It’s late and Lord Daybreak has had a long day.”

Harmond sighed, still shaken by Byrnes’ excitement.  “The problem is, neither of us can afford to have this come to open court and you know it.  If a conspiracy of this nature and size were to become public knowledge it would devastate our ability to operate in world theaters.  And you as a… Faery Lord cannot allow the nature of your position to become public.  Please pardon my candor, we are quite new in dealing with your kind and you have barred our normal lines of information from these types of talks.”

“Lord Daybreak is the first and only of his kind,” Jimmy said simply.  “You are not the only one to have this problem.  Perhaps the first step is to learn carefully those lessons learned by those who have earned his enmity.”

“Yeah,” I said, off-hand, then a lot more devilishly to them, “Fuller missed quite a show tonight.  Be sure to tell him the Queens showed up unexpectedly and that you got to see them.  That’ll really tick ‘im off.  Especially that you’re
here
of all places and he’s not.”