Sons (Book 2) (17 page)

I smiled at them and said, “Kings are primogenitors.  My father, brothers, and I have all worked hard for any and every title we hold.  No, I am not a king.”

Richard opened the door and stepped out of the room.  “Nicely said, Seth.  Has Olivia finally managed to mellow Robert out, then?  You seemed rather practiced at that.”  I had gotten several oblique comments regarding my father’s radical swings from brusqueness to smooth diplomacy. 

“Ya’ know, I get that question a lot,” I said, cheerfully, following him out.  “He must’ve acted completely differently at home than he did elsewhere.  That’s all I can think of.  I really should ask him.”

Peter waited for Jimmy to catch up, waving for him to hurry.  Peter decided to take a parting shot, “Yeah, ‘king’ isn’t quite the right word for what he is, Ben.  Bye, now!”  Then he left Ron and Ben at the conference table with confused looks on their faces and fat checks in their hands.

We decided on New York for lunch and drove both cars to Richard’s apartment before leaving.  Watching Peter and Richard talk through the rear window as I followed was an adventure in pantomime.  Neither was as animated when he talked alone, but put them together and arms went flailing.  That Richard was able to keep the car under control was purely miraculous.

The short trip over gave me a few minutes to explain to Jimmy what we were about to do and who he was about to meet.  I wasn’t actually worried about either Kieran’s or Ethan’s response—it would be harsh—but he needed to know ahead of time that either one could grind him into dust if he acted up at the wrong time.  And neither would be particularly remorseful about it.  Oddly though, that’s not what he had questions about.

“Is what Peter said true?” he asked hesitantly.

“What did Peter say?” I asked, hating guessing games.

“Well, you had just denied being a king, but just before we left, Peter said that ‘king’ was the wrong word.  So if you’re not a king, what are you?”

“I’m what kings have always aspired to be but never could.  I am Lord of the Realm, Liege of Gilán.”

“How is that different?”

“It’s not something that can be taken away, for one thing.  Far more importantly, there is a connection to the people and the land that goes deeper than merely a line on a map.  And let me tell you, that connection can be downright scary at times.”

“Why?”

“My people can be… intense.”  A million, very short, very intense people who really, really want to please.

I felt the tickle of wards when we parked and again when we entered Richard’s temporary housing.  I felt half-naked under such under-powered protection, but considering the geography and neighboring buildings, there wasn’t much more that could be done without creating havoc for other people.  Sort of destroying the point behind hidden wards.

Ethan called Peter’s cell, telling him they were back in the hotel.  I’d taken to opening a tiny hole and searching through it to see where people and objects were before jumping into places.  We could only open portals to places we knew well anyway but this meant I wasn’t knocking people over who just happened to be walking by when I barged in.  Peter’s phone was the first to chime the call disconnected beep after I jumped us to the room, but Jimmy was the first, and only, to chime with shock.

“Where the hell are we?” he asked loudly.

Ethan was on him like white on rice.  “Jimmy Morgan, what are you doing here?  And in Seth’s clothes?”  Jimmy had a few inches of height on Ethan, but nowhere near the muscle mass.  Ethan was the cock-of-the-walk here and near his bursting point.

Kieran stood up, too.  “Seth, what happened?  Why is he under a geas?”

“He was spying on the house from a tree in the woods,” I said.  “The geas forbids him talking about anything he sees or hears about us while he’s with me.”  I explained the rest of the story briefly, but it didn’t assuage Ethan’s aggravation at all or Kieran’s, by much.

“You’re lucky it’s his decision and not mine,” Ethan growled at Jimmy, who kept slowly backing away from him.  Ethan may act cute and bouncy most of the time, but he could be threatening when he chose to be.  He chose now.

“Richard, it’s good to see you again!” Kieran said cheerfully, changing the subject as well as the tone.  “Mike’s getting us a table downstairs.  Shall we?”

Jimmy latched onto my coattails as we trooped downstairs to the restaurant.  Couldn’t blame him considering the hostility he’s gotten from us, but I wasn’t feeling all butterflies and puppy dogs for him either.  Kieran and Peter kept the conversation amicable and light on the trip down to the restaurant.  Mike and Ian were sitting at a table large enough for twelve in the back corner when we came in, searching through menus and talking quietly.  Ian jumped up, eager to see us after his boring morning, but not eager to admit how boring it actually was.  There was some jockeying for position at the table as Jimmy kept trying to get away from Ethan while trying to stay close to me and Ethan kept advancing to stay next to Jimmy.  It would have been funny if it weren’t so aggravating.  I finally had to dictate where the two sat, sitting between the two of them and putting Jimmy between Peter and me.  It felt like I was dealing with children.

The first order of business was getting Jimmy to order.  Everything on the menu was more expensive than the twelve dollars he had in his wallet and he was seriously balking.  Walling us in with the Stone, I explained in no uncertain terms that this was an embarrassment and that he should expect
me
to take care of these issues while he’s with me.  I went further to say that if he needed or wanted something that he should say so rather than just stand there looking stupid.  Relief and fear battled for dominance in his aura emotionally while intellectually he went into relief and mentally he decided on proteins and carbohydrates.  At the moment, he was close to starving so that probably had a considerable amount to do with his adaptability.

After we ordered and sound shields were setup by Kieran, the table veritably erupted into babbling as three to five different conversations started at once.  We were suddenly one big happy family reminiscing about recent events and telling stories.  With one lone, long lost cousin sitting in the corner.  We flowed seamlessly through each other’s conversations with ease, certain conversations stopping suddenly when servers stepped past the curtain.  I didn’t worry about Jimmy.  At the worst, he’d learn about us some.  At best, he’d figure out which of us to stay away from.

The big hit for Ian was counter-signing a check.  “I’ve never seen so many zeds in one place before!” he whispered in awe.  “Does this mean we’re rich?”

“Ian!” Mike said sharply.  “That’s not the right way to say ‘Thank You’ to Mr. McClure now, is it?  And, no, we’re not rich.  We just don’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from or whether or not you’ll go to school next week.  ‘Right?”

“All right, Michael,” Ian said, chastised ever so slightly.  Leaning over the table, he said, “Thank you, Kieran, for giving me the opportunity to sign the back of a million dollar check!”

“You’re welcome, Ian,” Kieran said, grinning at me the whole time.  He knew Ian was picking on Mike.  He was just making sure I knew.  And, yeah, I knew.  I was having a hard time holding back the snickering.  I lost that hold when Peter said, “Well, he couldn’t really pick Ethan…”

Even Richard and Jimmy laughed and there was no way either could have gotten that joke, that Ethan didn’t have a last name, just that Ian was being a smart-ass.  Ian beamed at Mike, who gave him a half-smile in salute to having been out-maneuvered.  The sound barriers were broken in rapid succession by a team of servers carrying plates.  Pretty good timing in breaking up any magical discussions.

Once everyone was settled, Peter finally asked, “So, Dad, do you want a whole apartment for you and Mom, or just a couple of rooms in mine?”

“Son, I realize it’s a palace, but do you think you should be giving away whole apartments on a whim?” Richard said, chuckling.  Maybe it was because we’d already been laughing and we were easily amused at that point, but those of us who’d seen my Palace started laughing or choking or did something in between at that.

Peter finally managed to say, “Dad, I don’t think you realize the magnitude of ‘palatial’ with reference to Seth’s Palace.  It’s bigger than this building.”

“By two, maybe three,” Kieran added, red-faced and wheezing a little.  “Truly, Richard, it will be decades before even half is populated.”

“I don’t understand,” Richard said.  “Aren’t we talking about MacNamara’s realm?”

“No, Dad,” Peter said quickly.  “Seth’s realm is not a part of that universe at all.  MacNamara was a part of Faery with the Winter and Summer Queens, but in the Wyldes.  Seth is the Lord of Gilán.  It is completely separate from Faery and yet is still a Faery realm.”

“And how does
that
work?” Richard asked.  It was a domino race of faces around the table as everyone turned to me for an answer.

“Damned if I know,” I said, shrugging.  “I’m making it up as I go.  I will say the Fae Lord magic is fascinating and very different than what I’ve seen before and I’m learning now.”

“When did you name it?” Ian asked.

“Gilán told me this morning,” I told him.  “It stole me right out of my hotel room in the middle of the night to wake me up at dawn to tell me.”  He wasn’t going to blame me for missing this one.  Everybody missed this one.

“Was that what it was called before you got it?” Ian asked, quite logically.

“It didn’t exist before Seth got it,” Ethan said, pausing to cut some sort of meat.

“The Rat Bastard had some powerful mojo he didn’t use very judiciously,” I said to Ian.

“Or didn’t have the ability to use in that manner,” Kieran said.  “Don’t belittle your own power, Seth.”

“You say that now,” I said.  “There are a few things in the Palace you haven’t seen yet that will make you wonder.”

“Seth thinks he’s found a way for others to get in and out of Gilán without him now,” Peter said.  “Shrank’s the only one to try, but it looks promising for everyone.  We’ll test it tonight.  If it works like he thinks it will, and I have no doubts, we’ll have a permanent hole in the wall.”  Jimmy had finished already and Ethan wasn’t but about three bites behind.

“Speaking of tonight,” Mike said, pushing his plate forward and reaching for his wallet.  “Has our schedule changed in light of Jimmy’s appearance?”

“Through Thursday can’t change,” I said immediately.  Kieran grunted agreement.

“And if we keep putting off hiring help, three of us will be out of socks and shorts by Monday,” Peter said, exaggerating but not by much.  We were still working on my wardrobe in Alabama and the few things we’d been able to buy since.  It was stretched incredibly thin now.  The wardrobes on Gilán were fantastic but, until we could get to it freely, it wasn’t much help.  Tonight’s test was becoming more important.

“I think we can keep doing what we’re doing, right?” I said.  “You guys take the interviews today and Peter and I will go look over the property.  Then we’ll check out Jimmy’s house, see if we can find any financial records his mother left, or whatever else we can find, then call if you want us to see any of the prospects.  Make tomorrow’s plans from there.”

“I’ll go with you,” Richard said, grinning.  “I suddenly find myself on sabbatical.”

“Cool!” Peter said cheerfully.

Another server broke through the sound shields and rounded the table, heading for Mike.  Placing a small black book on his right, the woman said quietly to Ferrin, “It’s time, sir.”

He handed her the credit card without looking at the bill.  “Thank you,” he said.  “Quarter till, gentlemen.”

“Yeah, I think that will work for now, Seth,” Kieran said.  “Can’t think of anything better, anyway.  You calling us or we calling you?”

“We’ll call,” I said.  “That way I can make sure I’m not driving in traffic.”

“Okay, see you in a few hours,” Kieran said.

Richard and Peter simply stood up, but Jimmy stood and moved away from the table like we were walking away.  I wrapped portals around the four of us and jumped us back to Richard’s TDY apartment in Alabama.  Jimmy’s impetus carried him over the back of the fake-leather couch and nearly into the floor.  Peter laughed with Richard and helped Jimmy to his feet.

“Sorry about that, Jimmy,” I said from beside the kitchen table, chuckling a little.  “I wasn’t expecting that to happen.” 

“’Sokay,” Jimmy said though the look on his face said differently.  “Thank you, Mr. Borland.  This is a lot to get used to.”

“Tell me about it,” I mumbled, in answer to Jimmy’s complaint.  Turning to the road map laid out on the table, I was beginning to understand my father’s fascination with maps.  “Jimmy, where is your house on here?”

He walked over, oriented fast and pointed.  “Here,” he said.  “This was Billy’s house.  This is yours, roughly, and this is where Yaeger’s place is.  This map doesn’t show the other place you were looking at.”

Tracing the roads back to this address, Jimmy’s house was only a few miles off from Yaeger’s.  Just a few turns and we’d be there.  Billy’s was more of a drive on the main roads, but just a few miles to Jimmy’s straight over land, a lot closer.

“Okay, Dad’s all packed and ready,” Peter said coming to the table.

“What?  That was fast,” I said, surprised.  I looked at Richard beside the door.  A large beat-up trunk standing on end was on the floor beside him with his similarly beat-up briefcase, open and waiting.  A small, black tray sat in front of it, glowing slightly and radiating strongly with several different energy types.  His traveling wards, he was waiting for the all clear to shut them down and leave.

“It’s never taken him long to pack,” Peter said, shrugging.  “Definitely a talent I lack.”

“Hah!  Liar,” Richard cried.  “You were like greased lightning when Seth called.”

“Before we start out, let’s decide on a route,” I said, grinning at the pair of them.  They joined me at the table and we perused the map.  We decided to drop Richard’s rental car off, then make a large loop around the map, first to Jimmy’s, then to Yaeger’s and that area in general, then, time permitting, Billy’s house.  We should be back to my house by five, Central Time, to make the call to Kieran in New York.