The Mansions of Idumea (Book 3 Forest at the Edge series) (26 page)

“I will tell him, some of it. But Peto—one
other thing about that dream. I’m sure it wasn’t just for me. It
was for
you
. That’s why I was so happy to hear you’d
come.”

Peto looked up quickly to see his
grandfather’s eyes brimming with tears. Seeing the general this way
startled him, as if he could be startled by anything more that
morning.

“Why me?”

“I don’t know, Peto. But you’ll live to see
your father become something great, something greater than he
already is.” Relf’s voice quavered again. “That was made very clear
to me.
You will see it all!
This was all for
you
.
Now, Peto, write it down. All of it!”

Peto raised his eyebrows, the only part of
his body he could move.

“There’s parchment—that will last longer—and
a quill in the top drawer.” Relf released his wrist and gestured to
the desk. “Use the best ink on the side. You need to remember this,
and keep it for your children.”

Peto, stunned by his grandfather’s fervor,
obediently got up and slipped behind the desk still pushed against
the wall. He pulled out the parchment and quill and glanced up at
his grandfather.

He twisted in his bed to see his grandson,
and his face contorted in pain at his awkward position. “Begin with
the names I told you. Some day you will want to know them
again.”

“I’ll remember, Grandfather.”

“Not good enough! You must write it down,
boy! Then write down what I told you. Neater than that, Peto! I can
see the scribbles from here.”

Peto wrote as carefully and quickly as he
could, the odd combination of words spilling sloppily on the
parchment. Peto didn’t know what to think of any of this, so he
thought of nothing but obeying his grandfather and his unusual
commands.

He brought the parchment to his grandfather
for inspection. Relf took the quill and struggled in his slouched
position to write a few clarifying words and the day’s date. Then
he signed his name to verify it in two places: once by the names of
Lek and Lorixania Shin, then at the bottom of the parchment.

He handed the quill back to Peto, but held on
to the parchment, running his finger along the side of it. He blew
gently on the damp ink and immediately regretted it as his ribs
reminded him they were broken. Finally, he looked at his
grandson.

“You’re not yet fourteen, son, but you’re old
enough to understand. This is important,” he said holding up the
parchment. “I don’t know why, and I don’t know when. But it will
become
important. Guard it with all you have. Keep it
hidden, but take it with you if ever you should leave somewhere for
a long time. And, this may sound strange to you now, but I feel
distinctly that I must tell you: show it to no one, except your
wife.”

Peto’s mouth dropped open again. “I’m not
planning on getting married anytime soon!”

Relf smiled at him. “Of course not. But your
children and grandchildren will come to treasure this parchment.
The one written by their father and signed by their
great-grandfather. Not only do I know that, but I
feel
that.
Promise me, Peto.”

There was nothing else to say but, “Of
course, Grandfather. I promise.” He took the parchment and pressed
it to his chest, wondering where to put it. He saw an envelope on
his grandfather’s desk and reached for it.

Relf took the parchment back from him, folded
it carefully, then gave it back to his grandson who slid it into
the envelope.

Relf then put his hand on Peto’s face,
effectively paralyzing his grandson. Relf had never held his face
before, nor had Peto ever seen such emotion in his eyes.

“We speak of this never again, Peto. By going
through those documents and rerecording those names, and not
revealing to anyone what I uncovered, I’ve just committed some
serious offenses, and now I’ve dragged my grandson into it,
too.

“And say nothing of this to your parents,” he
added in a low tone as he released Peto’s face. “I’m fairly
confident your mother’s going the same direction as your father in
regards to him becoming a general. And maybe this is why you must
know all of this. Perhaps it’ll be
you
who finally gets him
where he needs to be.”

Peto swallowed. “No pressure there,
Grandfather.”

Relf scoffed quietly. “And as for the dream,
well, I don’t think the Administrators would like to hear about
that conflict. They don’t hold The Writings or dreams in much
esteem. They’d consider me a crazed old man. Honestly, I’m not in
any condition to be tried by the Administrators. And neither are
you.”

Peto smiled uncomfortably at his grandfather.
He wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not. Something in the air told
him there was nothing funny about what General Shin just said.

Relf gave him a genuine smile to ease his
worries.

“I have to break one more regulation. I know
it will be painful for you, but it will be far more painful for me.
Peto, give the general a hug.”

---

It was one of the longest half hours Perrin
had ever endured, and by the time his interview with the young
lieutenant was over, he was sure three weeks had past. Thank
goodness for afternoon classes.

He saluted away the lieutenant, who was
immediately flanked by several other cadets eager to ask him
questions about the time he spent sitting on a bench discussing the
secrets to running a fort. The boy hadn’t really cared about what
Perrin had to say, as much as he cared that Perrin noticed he was
asking him questions. Thorne’s purpose had been to be
seen
,
not to learn. That was how all the pre-commissioned lieutenants
ran, Perrin knew, and why he felt the urge to run from the
campus.

As soon as Perrin’s feet hit the road outside
of the university, his chest immediately felt lighter. Only going
back to Edge would allow him to breath easily again, but this would
have to do. In just a few minutes he’d be back at the mansion, then
he and Peto could—

“You must be Lieutenant Colonel Perrin
Shin!”

The voice rang over to him, stopping Perrin
in his tracks. Reluctantly, he turned and stiffened in
surprise.

What caught his eye was the red jacket. It
was impossible to miss, with its deep dye and long coat tails in
the back. It topped the black pants that were part of the uniform,
along with the ridiculously white ruffled shirt.

An administrator.

But this administrator was unusual. He was
wearing a broad, genuine grin as he jogged over from a bisecting
road.

Perrin put on his practiced smile again.
“That’s what I hear, Administrator,” he said, shaking the man’s
hand.

“Yes, yes,” the Administrator said, looking
him top to bottom as if inspecting a horse for sale. “Indeed, you
do favor your father, but you’re definitely larger.”

Perrin’s shoulder twitched. “So I’ve been
told. Been compared to a bear a few times. Not favorably,
though.”

“And thunder,” the man mumbled more to
himself, still evaluating him with his ready smile. “But I don’t
see it. I’m glad I ran into you! I was just on my way to your
father’s mansion to check on him—”

The last thing his father needed was an
Administrator by his bed. Even one who was now anxiously smoothing
down the last of the hair that circled his head as if he was
worried that he didn’t look presentable.

“I don’t think he’s up to visitors yet, sir,”
said Perrin. “He had Cush and a team of officers by earlier wearing
him down, and by the time I reach home, I’m sure he’ll be ready for
a nap. He’s already sent away my mother with my daughter and wife
to see the city.”

Something in the brightness of the
Administrator’s eyes dimmed slightly when Perrin mentioned
“wife.”

“Ah. I see. Well good, good!” The brightness
tried to return, unconvincingly. “Sounds like he truly is making
remarkable progress.”

“He is, Administrator . . . I’m sorry, I
don’t know your name.”

The man chuckled in apology. “Of course you
don’t. Forgive me, forgive me—Dr. Brisack, at your service!”

Perrin’s smile warmed a notch. “Nice to
finally meet you, Dr. Brisack. I’ve heard good things about you,
and my father’s spoken highly of you over the years.”

“Has he now? Why, I’m flattered. To get
Relf’s compliments is rare indeed.”

Perrin nodded. “It is. I’ll be sure to let
him know you were inquiring after him,” and he took a deliberate
step to head home.

“Uh, Lieutenant Colonel, there’s something
else,” Brisack said with a slightly different tone.

Perrin stopped. “Is there?”

“I was also on my way to meet
you
. You
see, now that your father’s improving, we at the Administrative
Headquarters would like you to pay us a little visit. Been so many
years since we’ve seen you, understand. Most of us have never even
met one of our greatest officers!” His smile developed a decidedly
crisp quality.

Perrin swallowed. “Yes. Well. I intended to
come by—”

“Tomorrow, then. Mid-morning,” Brisack
insisted. “That’s when we all meet together. Give you the
opportunity to report to all of us about the condition of Edge and
how things are in the northernmost part of the world.”

Perrin went wooden, trying to let the words
penetrate his mind.

All of them.

A report.

Tomorrow, mid-morning.

Sixteen years of avoiding them was about to
come to an end. So, too, might many other things, if he didn’t do
this correctly. The problem was, he had no idea what the correct
thing to do
was
.

“I . . . suppose I best be there then.”

Brisack patted him on the arm as if they were
old friends. “Nothing to worry about, Shin! We just want to see you
again. Or for the first time, as the case may be,” he chuckled
amiably. “Just a friendly check on our favorite officer.”

“Yes. Of course. Thank you. I’ll be
there.”

“You could bring along your wife, too,”
Brisack suggested, something lighting again in his eyes. “Let her
see the seat of government? Rare opportunity for our citizens, you
know.”

That would be very worst idea in the world
since the formation of Idumea, is what Perrin
wanted
to say.
Instead, he merely scoffed an easy chuckle. “Oh, I don’t think so.
That’s not really her thing.”

Again the light mysteriously dimmed in
Brisack’s eyes. “Oh. Well then. Guess it’ll have to be something
else,” he said vaguely. He grabbed Perrin’s hand once more and
pumped it vigorously. “Again, wonderful to finally meet you, Perrin
Shin! You’re almost exactly what I expected.”

Perrin couldn’t help but smile at that
evaluation. “I thank you. I think.”

“Say hello to your father for me, and good
day, Perrin Shin!”

Perrin waved at the doctor who turned on his
heel and headed in another direction. Perrin exhaled and jogged all
the way home before anyone else in a blue uniform or a red jacket
felt the need to call out his name.

---

When Perrin returned to the mansion it was to
find his son running out from the study and stuffing an envelope
down his shirt.

“I’ll be back, Father,” he assured him as he
ran down the Grand Hall to his bedroom. “Then we can leave.”

Perrin walked to the study and knocked
lightly on the door frame to get his father’s attention.

Although Relf attempted a smile, he cringed
in extreme discomfort.

Perrin rushed over to him. “Are you all
right? What’d Peto do to you?”

“Nothing, I’m fine, I’m fine. I just don’t
remember broken ribs hurting this badly when I was Peto’s age, or
your age.”

“Let’s get you lying down,” and Perrin helped
him to a more comfortable position. “You’ve already done too much
today. Your ribs are probably tired of trying to mend again after
all these years. Only so much abuse a body can take.”

“True, true,” the general murmured.

“What was Peto leaving with?” Perrin asked,
sitting down on the chair next to him.

“Grandfatherly advice, son. Things he should
do for his father when he gets older. I’ve had some time to think
about that during the past few days.”

Perrin looked down at his hands. “So have I.
I’m sorry I didn’t know what happened sooner. I would’ve come here
that first day and joined in the search for you. That would’ve been
the right thing to do. My duty is to my family first, not to the
government. That’s not what the Creator intended—” He looked
suddenly around the room. “Where’s your lieutenant?”

“Probably chatting up the cook,” Relf waved.
“They have a thing going.”

Perrin nodded and winced.

“I recommend keeping your children out of the
kitchen when they start whispering about sweet rolls. We’re alone,
son. No one will hear you spewing your anti-Administrators
prattle.” He gave his son a warning glare.

Perrin matched it. “Father, I’m supposed to
meet with the Administrators tomorrow morning. One of them caught
me on the way back from the university and told me I’ve been
expected. Brisack wishes you well, by the way. I have to admit,
I’ve been a bit . . . insubordinate in my thoughts about them.”

“Obviously,” Relf said. “I see it in your
eyes.”

Instinctively—childishly—Perrin briefly shut
his eyes.

“Don’t worry, no one else can see it, I’m
sure,” his father assured him. “You’re doing an excellent job in
Edge. Everyone knows that. I don’t think they’re looking to
confront you. You’ve
done
nothing insubordinate. In fact, I
think they may want to find a way to bring you back to Idumea. Say
the right things tomorrow, and you can soon take over my
position.”

“I’m not high enough in rank,” Perrin said
smugly.

“Easily fixed. You’re well overdue for
promotion to full colonel. Be that for a year or so, then become
general. In less than two years you’re back here. It’s tradition
for the High General in Idumea to be a Shin. Your grandfather, me,
next you.”