On the Run (Wine of the Gods Book 28) Page 9

  "At that time I was President of the Council, the equivalent of Prime Minister. I was not involved in the assassination, but you see, there was a problem now, with the inheritance. Prince Staven had been grievously wounded in the assassination, and was no longer fit to lead the armies. Crown Prince Rolo had no other sons, his wife was in her forties. King Leano had but the one other boy—a very sound lad, Prince Garit, but not a great brain. He was a year older than my younger son, serving in the Army. They could have made a great Spear and Crown. My older son is studious, stodgy. He never had any ambitions. But if Leano or Rolo adopted Thomu . . . He was a marvelous boy. Athletic and brilliant. Ambitious for the crown. My wife had always tromped down hard whenever she saw a faint spark of that ambition. If she had lived, I suppose we'd still be there happy and content.

  "But she didn't, and Thomu and I . . . his ambitions fed on my concern for the quality of the heirs.

  "Leano brought in the illegitimate great grandson of another Spear, his half brother the current General of the Armies. He was two years Garit's senior, with an active career in Army Intelligence. Perfect to be Spear to Garit's Crown. Another damned bastard. A tall fellow with a bad reputation with the ladies, a champion swordsman. Xen.

  "I contacted the assassin. Well. It all fell apart, mainly because of Xen and Garit. They located and arrested a good part of the assassin's gang—as President of the Council I received reports on all of this—then on the eve of my great plan, Garit turned up at the right place and time to prevent me from killing the pregnant crown princess, and then he and Xen teamed up to protect her, to fight off the Council Guards until the King's guards showed up in force. Twenty-nine men killed. Xen was badly injured, but recovered entirely. Garit was fine, he's a much acclaimed hero these days.

  "The assassin was killed by Rebo's half-brother, who would have been his Spear. Prince Staven, that half brother, is now the presumed Crown Heir, and Prince Garit his Spear. The Princess gave birth to another boy, and Prince Mirk had two very young sons. Any of those infants may supplant them as the Spear and Crown heirs. They've sensibly decided to wait and see what sort of men they grow up to be.

  "Thomu and I went to prison, living with Prince Mirk and the wizards and witches that were part of the assassin's gang. For five years, until the rest of the gang came to free them, and we fled with them."

  Peggy pondered the bare tale. "You went from genetically enhanced mental abilities to magic rather quickly."

  "It took fourteen hundred years, and the extremely magical are still rare. I wasn't born with the genes to collect power, the energy needed to actually do magic. The very powerful have the ability to use their mental abilities, microtelekinetics, if you like, to do genetic engineering. At the nadir of my criminal career, I partook of a potion that gave me the power genes. Fortunately it didn't remove my conscience. What little of it I've managed to retain. I couldn't commit the brutal kind of crime, and even the carefully planned, no one gets hurt kind, left me sick with myself.

  He studied her for a long moment. "You shouldn't have anything to do with me. I'm weak. Under stress, I failed."

  "Then clearly you need to strengthen yourself, so you never fail again." She stood and faced him as he stood as well.

  "It's not an engineering problem." He smiled a little. "Although I'll try to weld my soul back together enough to at least be a friend." He took her elbow, and steered her, not to the stairs, but to the front door. "Really. Look me over thoroughly, this fruit has blemishes."

  "With intriguing corridors. I have trouble picturing an interstate highways system of magic corridors." She stepped out the door and he followed.

  "Yes, we've incorporated. Next we'll have to find a place to do business and hire staff, I suppose. Until Ajay's kids grow up we two will be the only ones who can make them."

  "So get other people to do all the rest of the work."

  "An excellent suggestion." He leaned in and gave her what started as a chaste kiss, that lingered, and then fled. He backed off. "Good luck next Saturday. I'll cheer from my living room, so smile for the cameras."

  "Is Red Sun from your World?"

  "Yes. Of course. There's no problem with ownership, just a complete lack of documentation."

  Chapter Eleven

  1 January, 2962

  "So I brought you each a New Year's present." Ajay handed out the thirty-seven transfer cards. Ten thousand pounds each. One each, plus extras for the twins. "And I talked it over with Hailey, and she says that what you lot really want are jobs. So Fidel and I, this company of ours, are going to hire you all."

  The head Cougar looked him over narrowly. "What about the babies? The Docs say they're genetic freaks."

  "When they grow up, they'll probably be able to make corridors like we do. They'll wind up friggin rich. And Fidel said something about needing a crèche at the office, so that won't be a problem, see?"

  "And I suppose you're going be all noble and claim to be saving us from a life of crime? Do you expect us to swear to be honest or some such shit?"

  "Old gods! That's your business and none of mine. I'm not an honest man. Fat chance I'll go all noble. And let me tell you, after hanging out with Fidel, nobles ain't noble. They're just people with a right to stick a title in front of their names."

  "Huh. Well, so you want to give us jobs, eh?"

  "Yeah, well, we're looking for where to put the company, you know? Probably out on Elizabeth II boulevard, one of those lower buildings beyond Scottsdale. That is what Fidel's looking at."

  "There's a bus, we could take it there."

  "Most of them have parking garages, too. So you could all carpool, you know?"

  "We'll think about it."

  "Umm." Ajay hesitantly proffered a business card. "How about sending resumes here?"

  "Just like we'd ever held real jobs?"

  "Yep. Just like."

  ***

  Eight corridors later, they purchased instead of rented the small office building Fidel had been eyeing. It was over a third empty, but Ajay quickly filled the largest block with a small crèche, and an enthusiastic bunch of women who had never been employed, but had educations second to none in the world. Two women with actual engineering degrees and seven lawyers made up the sales force. They each had a secretary, as did Ajay and Fidel. A receptionist. A librarian. Four research associates. Human relations. Three accountants. Payroll. They wound up hiring trained early childhood educators for the crèche. After three days they switched the Head Cougar, Madeline Umbrage, from sales to office manager. She smoothed the daily running marvelously. The researchers learned the geographic data base, and the corridor's limits for air pressure changes with altitude, so planning new corridors went smoothly. They stuck to short corridors with miles of separation, and no crossings of oceans at all, until the ecological issues could be addressed.

  Everything settled down, and the jobs came in regularly, one or two a month, as regions realized the advantages for commuting, and the King's Parliament passed laws allowing the collection of tolls and fees for corridors.

  Chapter Twelve

  30 August 2962

  "So he's almost three now?" Peggy walked Red Sun quietly around the ring, letting him get a good look at the jumps. They were all set very low, as his bones were young enough that they shouldn't be subjected to the heavy impact of high jumps.

  "Yep, although what with differential times, I wouldn't swear which side of three he is. He was born in the Fall, a year before the gate disappeared, and the seasons seemed to be in sync."

  "Well, he's a lovely, intelligent three-year-old, so let's see what he thinks about jumping."

  The big stallion had turned an ear back to listen to her, and readily picked up a trot and popped over the first jump. He bounced a bit in excitement, and happily jumped everything she pointed him at.

  Fidel raised the jumps a bit, and rolled out some poles on the ground so he'd take off further back. Sun thought it was all great fun.

  "He's al
ready changed my opinion of stallions. Next he'll be changing my opinion of stallions in the show ring. I hope you don't take it wrong when I say I wish you'd geld him, so he'd have a nice long career as a jumper?"

  Fidel shook his head. "As it happens, I agree with you that stallions, with their over-active interest in mares and occasional aggressive impulses, are not ideal show horses. However, there are other ways to deal with the problem, one of which is to suppress the androgens, umm, magically. Which is what we did to him at about nine months of age, two months into puberty. This slows the physical manifestations of puberty and lowers the interest in mares and aggression. At a rough guess, I'd say it takes away three quarters of the behavior differences."

  Peggy shook her head. "Just when I get used to treating you like an ordinary human being you go and say something like that."

  "Sorry." He gave her an innocent look. "I suppose I shouldn't mention magic potions aimed at maximizing fertility and reproduction that are so strong they can regrow amputated parts? So if, for instance, you carry out those threats to retire Pride you could put him out to stud?"

  Sun halted abruptly, and she eased her grip on the reins. "Sorry, that man startled me. Blame it on him." Sun snorted as if amused and walked out again, eyeing the jumps. "Pride isn't particularly well bred. That is, he's a cross-breed and won't reproduce consistently."

  "But a few foals all your own . . . ?"

  "Oh. You really are tempting me."

  "Perhaps after the Florida Winter Circuit? You know, the one where you're going to beat all of last year's champions?"

  "Oh, Mr. Iron, you really do know how to tempt a girl!" She grinned.

  "I don't know about that. Ajay considers me a hopeless romantic."

  "Ajay is insane. I can only think that he must be putting 'don't sue me' spells on all those women. Thirty-seven babies?"

  "Toddlers, almost all of them are walking now. And talking. I wound up buying a small apartment complex behind the office, and all the women moved there. We're getting permits to build a daycare and preschool on some of the open space between the office and the complex."

  "I can't decide if you two are the World's most benevolent employers, or oppressive keepers of a harem."

  "Well, the main problem most employers face is that most of their employees are married, and the spouses' work also enters into their decisions about where to live. Ajay has mostly solved that problem, although a lot of the women do have regular boyfriends, and give Ajay the cold shoulder. In fact there's only one woman who has always stuck to him. Hailey, the head accountant."

  "Hmm, do interdimensional criminals marry?"

  "One of them is horrified by the very idea, the other thinks he probably ought to be. Really, any minute now the Good Guys could show up to haul us off."

  "And you wouldn't fight them off?"

  "Adding resisting arrest and killing more people to the load on my conscience? I didn't have good, up-to-date information on the opposition, but what I had seems to indicate that Garit or Xen are likely to be the people who come calling. Possibly both at once.

  "You called our succession scheme a recipe for disaster, but actually the pair of them acted in concert, supported each other . . . they genuinely were a good Spear and Crown pair. Then Xen resigned from the succession altogether, and Garit switched from Crown to Spear in favor of Staven. Then when Rolo and Amalie had another son, those two accepted temporary status in favor of the babies. They were strong and honorable where I wasn't. I won't risk killing any of them. If the babies don't work out well, the Kingdom will need them."

  Peggy eyed him. "You really did shred your soul, didn't you?"

  "Oh yes. I'm still at the point of picking up the pieces and figuring out where they all go. I'll get it glued back together, but I'll never have the same overweening opinion of myself again. Too many cracks and chips for that."

  Epilogue

  29 September 2964

  Fidel spotted the tall figure sitting stubbornly in the reception area, and felt himself pale. "Thank you, Henry, but I think I will talk to the fellow after all. Ask Ajay to step around to my office, please."

  Both Henry and Alice looked worried as they peered at him. Well, most likely he did look like he'd had a shock.

  "Prince Xen. Perhaps we should do this in private."

  The prince stood up. "If you wish. I just have a brief message for you. And a request."

  "Oh?" He paused as Ajay strode into the reception area and stopped as if he'd run into a wall.

  "King Leano asked me to inform you that if you live honorably here and do not ever return to the Kingdom of the West, he will not pursue you. The Department of Interdimensional Security and Co-Operation notes that you seem to have given up your life of crime, and that you were minimally involved with the so-called Black Island Gang, and will likewise not pursue you so long as we receive no further requests from member polities. Ajay, you are one of the perps at the Deveneau raid who didn't rape any of the women. Congratulations, they have decided to not pursue extradition at this time. Behave and you're home free." Xen looked back at Fidel. "My request is that you inform the local government of my visit, and that I will come back in two weeks to talk to them. You may not be aware that we have designated an Empty World as a neutral meeting ground. Everyone is putting up embassy buildings and negotiating trading agreements, mediating disagreements, and registering ownership of Empty Worlds. If any or all of the governments of this World are interested, we will open a permanent gate or gates to Embassy from wherever they would like."

  "Thank you, Prince Xen. Obviously from your speech you've been scouting this World for some time. So, shall we say two weeks, in London, before the House of Parliament?"

  "Yes, that will do nicely. Thank you, Lord Fidel. Ajay." He nodded politely to each of them and disappeared.

  Falconstone was standing in the doorway. "I've never seen you do that, Fidel."

  "That's the difference between a half-assed wizard and a very powerful and well trained wizard. Did you hear all of that?"

  "Just the last bit. What about the House of Parliament?"

  "As a place for him to show up and find out if anyone is interested in opening up cross dimensional diplomacy."

  "Oh. Yes. I'll have the appropriate people there."

  "Good. Now come to lunch with us. I think I need a drink."

  "I think I need my Mommy." Ajay muttered. "I'd forgotten how scary wizards can be. He was so dense I felt like I was about to slide downhill. Worse than Rior. Much worse."

  Falconstone eyed him thoughtfully. "Almost as scary as scientists? I was coming to talk to you about a possible corridor to Mars. And some medical types want to talk to you. Half about suspended animation in these bubbles of yours, the other half about genetic engineering."

  "Tell them to wait a few weeks, and they can probably speak to the greatest experts in the Multiverse." Fidel smiled finally. "As for me? I think some new options just opened in my life."

  Utopia

  Pam Uphoff

  Prince Mirk Negue frowned around at the endless rolling miles of tall grasslands, and contemplated his companions.

  Frost was the only one he knew well. She was meditating, trying to figure out which direction would be best to travel. The girls were holding hands and looking around, relieved and curious, not traumatized.

  "There's something that way." Frost pointed. "Mechanical, powered, electrical I think. It's coming this way." A witch of moderate power. She was from Verona, but she did have some training.

  Which came first? Was she named for the pale gray eyes? The nearly white hair? Or had Teri at some point "disguised" her with, knowing Teri, genetic changes to match the witch's appearance to her name?

  Thank the Gods I don't have to cope with Teri or Jade! Those two women give witches a bad name. All things considered, these three aren't a bad trio of witches to be lost with.

  Halberd appeared to be perhaps thirteen or fourteen, with every sign of being a very strong
witch. How else? Teri would have picked a good strong mage to father her first granddaughter. Probably Mag, with that red hair. Napalm looked about ten and had precociously grasped power the month before. One of the servant's children; Teri must have played around with her genes to get the streaky hair and purple eyes.

  "If it's a vehicle, maybe we can get a ride." Prince Mirk stretched his back and tried to not look weary. Ten years ago, in a fit of insanity he'd hired an assassin to kill his nephew and half brother. He'd been running or in prison since. No matter how many weird elixirs and magic wines he drank, he was tired. I'm what? Forty-six? I feel twice that, some days.

  When the air cushion vehicle whined to a halt in front of them, he was delighted.

  The top hissed upward. The vehicle was empty.

  "You are trespassing on the East African Savannah Preserve."

  Mirk eyed the speaker at the front of the three rows of seats.

  "You are required to board this vehicle for transportation to the headquarters in Mombasa."

  Napalm climbed into the rear seat. "Might as well get someplace first, then start disobeying."

  Mirk took the front seat. Frost joined him and Halberd slipped into the rear. The clear dome closed over them. "Please fasten your seat belts. The skimmer cannot move until all passengers . . . "

  What odd land had he come to?

  He strapped in. This could be really interesting.

  Chapter One

  Fall 1399 px/1-10-3516

  East Africa, Utopia