Larkhill Garrison, Salisbury Plain
January 2014
JJ. Kelson's kidnapper and torturer.
As you can understand, the news that he may now be setting his sights on my family, specifically either Claire, one of the boys, or potentially Jenn, did not fill me with a great deal of pleasure. In fact, it further reinforced the feelings that his treatment of Kelson had generated in me. That the man was a dangerous animal and needed to be put down.
Believe me, I was glad of the warning to give me time to let them know that there was a potential danger. I just hope that it was time enough, and that he isn't already here on Terra Magica, waiting to pounce. "Some kind of Pattern user and a shape shifter," ran the description. Family, then, and connected to Eric by all accounts...possibly even Eric's son. A man who seems to think that all the half-bloods in the family are fit for nothing but humiliation and extermination, Jasra's children most especially.
I hoped the warning was alarmist, but I could not afford to take the chance that it was not. Once the Trump call ended, I started making plans on how to react. Firstly, I made my way down to the Map Room, to see if there was any sign of a being with power who I had not previously been aware of.
Nothing.
Is that just because he is not here yet? Or is he good enough with the Pattern that he can hide his presence, even from me on my home turf? Understandably, I think, my preference was for the former, not the latter.
I tried to get a trace for a couple of hours, but to no avail. Then finally, at around five in the evening, I headed back upstairs. I went into the library, poured myself a drink, sat down and tried to work out where - or rather who - the threat would reach, assuming it really existed.
Jenn would be the most vulnerable, I suspected. Barely at college and without the training I had managed to give my sons to protect her. Once again I regretted the fact that Pamela had only told me about my daughter after she was born, and that while she had asked for my help and support in Jenn's development and education, as was my due to them both, she had decided to bring the child up as a normal inhabitant of Terra Magica. I had tried to tell her that Jenn could be in danger, but doing so without going into the long and lurid details of who and what I am made it harder to convince her. The only positive was that virtually no-one knew of my relationship to the girl, and I had to hope that that would protect her.
Michael was also potentially a target. Anyone observing me would know that I was close to the boy, and could guess that he would be someone I would not want hurt. Still, at least he had the Pattern as a defence, although it had done Kelson little enough good. He would have to be warned, but it is always difficult to persuade a teenager that anything you say is in their best interests. I added him to my mental list of people who would need to be told.
Andrew, I considered, was probably safer. While there was no guarantee that JJ would restrict his operations to Terra Magica, Andrew is fairly strong in his own right...certainly an equal to a lot of the younger generation, and he is a little more visible than Kelson. After all, he is in Avon a lot of the time now, and people know he is there. While being obvious is not a guarantee of safety, it might at least be something.
I Trumped him first, and then went through to him in Avon palace to explain the problem. He listened in stony silence, but seemed willing to heed the warning.
"I guess that getting known around the family was going to catch up with me eventually," he commented ruefully, once I was done.
"I hope not now, and not any time soon," I replied, "although now perhaps you understand why I was always so reticent about introducing you to the others."
"I have to admit that I always thought you were over cautious," he agreed, "and I know Claire feels the same, but listening to this I have to accept that perhaps you were right."
"Watch your back, Andrew," I answered, quietly, "please."
"Of course," he said, smiling broadly, "don't worry. I am sure it won't be as bad as you think."
However, I remembered what I had seen in Kelson's mind, and I wasn't so sure.
"I hope not," I replied, uneasily.
"Have you told William and the others yet?"
"No. I will try and contact him when I get home. Keep in touch."
"Always," he answered, "now go."
With that, I brought an image of Millbank to mind and Trumped myself home to try and work out how to break the news to my younger son.
William's situation was a little different. While we were on reasonable terms, the same closeness I shared with Andrew was not there. I think the situation was not helped by the fact that he still thought I was half crazy, despite our trip to Chicago some years before. He grasped magic well enough when he was at college, but beyond that he was far more down to earth than Andrew...far less willing to believe in the impossible.
However, he was also Eric's grandson, and I could almost see JJ thinking that he would be the perfect target just for that. Not only was he my descendant, but he was also a half-blood on his mother's side. My discovery of Annabel's true parentage, as sister to both Blake and Paolo, was a new enough shock to me that I had not had the chance to tell him, as I had not seen him for a couple of months. Even before I contacted him I knew he would not be amused though.
I postponed the inevitable, calling both Jenn and Michael first and going through to warn them - a trick my daughter is still surprised at, as I have only tried it a couple of times in her presence - before returning home. Then, carefully, I brought William's Trump to mind, and reached for a contact. It was slow coming, but eventually it resolved into William's face.
"Hi Dad," he said, a wary smile on his face, "how's tricks?"
"Up and down," I answered, "I need to talk to you. Can I come through?"
"I suspect they won't appreciate you Trumping into an army base," he commented, "if you can get to the West Gate, I'll meet you there."
I nodded. There was a certain logic to the argument.
"Alright, see you in ten minutes...I guess I had better look the part, too."
"Okay," he answered, and broke the contact. I headed upstairs, and hastily got changed into my Engineers' uniform. It might look a little better walking into a garrison looking as if I belonged on an army base.
Once I was done, I concentrated on visualising the West Gate of Larkhill Garrison - I had been posted there myself in the past, so it was familiar to me - and teleported to my destination. I walked up the road through the mid-evening mist to the main security hut, and stopped when challenged by the sentry.
"State your name and business," said the efficient looking corporal on duty.
"Colonel Robert de Lacy to see Lieutenant William de Lacy," I answered, handing over my regimental ID. The corporal accepted my papers, made a double-take when he read the rank, and then handed them back.
"I am sorry, sir," he said, almost sounding as if he meant it, "I was not informed that you would be arriving this evening."
"Don't worry, Corporal. This is a private visit," I answered.
He was about to reply, when I saw William walking up to the gate. I raised a hand in greeting, and the Corporal handed me a visitor's pass before lifting the barrier and letting me through.
I crossed to join William, and once we were out of sight of the sentry, he unwound enough to smile and almost look pleased to see me. I looked him up and down once, to make sure he was okay, and was a little surprised to see that he was finally wearing a mage's flash on his sleeve under the SAS insignia. Ever since joining the army he had played down his Talent, and I wondered what had happened to make him change his mind. I was glad, though. He was a bloody good mage when he put his mind to it, and denying it had always seemed a waste.
"So what brings you here?" he asked, his tone light, but a trifle wary.
"I wanted to check you were okay," I answered, "and I haven't seen either Sarah or James in a while. You didn't make it for Christmas."
"I was on duty," he answered, "we're working up to some big exercises in the Balkans and all leave was cancelled." Then he paused a moment, and in the gas light I saw an apologetic smile cross his features. "I'm sorry, Dad. I would have liked to have been there."
I considered asking him what the panic was about, but it occurred to me that he probably should not have said as much as he had, and held my peace.
"I missed you," I said, finally, and then said no more until we reached the house where he was living. To make an issue of it would have been pointless. Long ago I learned that pushing an issue with William served no purpose but to hurt us both.
He opened the door and then stood back to let me in, and as I crossed the threshold I was met by a small, brown haired whirlwind.
"Granddad," shouted James, rushing up to me and grabbing me around the waist, "why haven't you been to see us for so long?"
I picked him up, smiling, and gave him a big hug before putting him gently down. He had grown a lot in the couple of months since I had seen him last, although he was still very lightly built for his age. It was alarming how much he reminded me of William at eight, though.
"Both your father and I have been busy," I answered.
"Have you brought me a present this time?"
I reached into my pocket, thinking it likely that I had something suitable on me, and brought out a bar of chocolate and a model engine that would be the right size for the railway I had given him for Christmas. I handed them to him with great ceremony, and saw from his expression that the choices had been perfect. He grinned, and then started off upstairs.
"James, have you forgotten something?" came William's voice as he stepped up beside me. The child looked sheepish and then turned to face me.
"Thank you, granddad," he said formally, then grinned again and ran up to his room.
"He loves the railway, but you do spoil him," commented my son as we walked into the lounge.
"I spoilt you when you were that age, too," I answered, smiling.
"True enough," he replied, and I could see him relax slightly, "you didn't mind him asking did you?"
"No, not at all. If I had planned this visit properly, I would have brought him something anyway."
"So what did you give him? Something you conjured up out of thin air?"
"Something like that," I answered, "I've walked the Pattern since I last saw you, and making my grandson happy is a pleasant side effect."
"You always swore blind that you weren't going to do that," he said as he threw his uniform jacket over the back of the settee, then crossed to the drinks' cabinet and brought out a bottle of Scotch.
"I know, but circumstances change," I answered, removing my own jacket and folding it over the arm of a chair before sitting, "and I suspect that you should also walk it before much longer."
"You never pushed before," he commented, "you always said I had a choice. What's happened?"
"As I said, circumstances change, and more people are beginning to know that you and your family exist," I said, quietly, "where's Sarah?"
"Over at the gym...it's one of her fitness classes tonight."
"It's probably just as well," I said, thinking aloud, but saw a flash of anger on his face again.
"You spend a lot of time trying to cut her out, Dad," he said, obviously trying to keep his voice level but not quite managing.
"No, not intentionally," I replied, "but she is uncomfortable enough around me as it is without my making it worse by discussing matters to do with my family."
It was something I had always regretted. My daughter-in-law had never really got used to the fact that I was a member of the nobility, even though I had tried hard not to press or flaunt it, and any attempts to discuss my relatives off Terra Magica had met with disaster. It had taken her long enough to realise that William was who he said he was, and that it didn't change his feelings towards her one iota. I hope that one day she and I can come to some agreement, spoken or otherwise, but I suspect it will be a few years yet.
"Okay, so you're here on family business," he said, finally, "I guess that's a start. Now do you want to be specific? Last time, you were warning me that Mum might do something stupid. What is it this time? Another warning?"
I shrugged.
"I cannot help it if I worry," I said, quietly.
"I know, and I also know that you truly believe there's a problem if you mention one to me," came the reply, his tone steady, but with the usual undertone that made it sound as if he could not really work out if I was serious or not, "but as yet I have never seen the worst."
"I hope that continues," I commented, levelly, "I don't want to see any of you hurt."
"Neither do I."
I paused for a moment, and took a sip from my drink. "Yes, it is another warning. This one, however, is a slightly different case if it is true. With your mother, it was more a suspicion that she might do something, although I do not think she would ever hurt you. This time, the man in question most certainly will, if he is after you and if he gets his hands on you."
William looked at me, trying to sum me up I assume, and his expression became more serious. "Go on."
"There is a man named JJ. I believe I have mentioned Eric to you before..."
"Yes. You and your compatriots fought against him in one of the Amber wars you mentioned."
"That's the one. JJ is somehow connected to him...maybe a son, or maybe just an ally...and a friend has told me that he it is possible that he wishes to harm someone in my family. He suggested the target might be either Claire, or one of my children."
"And you think he could hit me?"
"Possibly, or James...or maybe even Sarah," I replied, hoping that I was convincing him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a couple of sketches: one I had made from Kelson's memories, and the one I had been handed earlier. "I am not even wholly sure of what he looks like, but both of these images are supposed to be JJ. By the sound of it he is a shape shifter, though, so he can probably look like whoever he chooses.
"Any particular reason why he should come after us?"
"Us as in the de Lacy family? Or you specifically?"
"Both, I guess," came the answer.
"In general terms, then, he is some kind of Rilgan/Erican fanatic who believes that the blood of Amber has been foully polluted with the blood of Chaos, and that all the half breeds should be put in their places."
"Which includes you, from what you've said before."
"Not just me."
"Hmm. And what about a threat to me specifically?"
"It's tied up with another matter I have to talk to you about," I answered, "however, I have warned Andrew, Jenn and Michael as well, just in case."
"And you saved me until last," he snapped, a trace of bitterness in his voice, "thanks a bunch."
"There was a reason," I replied, trying to stay calm, but hurt that he would even consider that I was treating him more callously than the others. It blatantly wasn't true. "I needed to warn them quickly, however, as I said there is something else I have to tell you, and I did not want to rush it."
He looked at me, weighing me up again end presumably noting the slightly wounded expression I imagine I was wearing, and then nodded, the look of hostility fading once more. "Okay. Go on," he repeated.
"It's about your mother," I said, after a pause.
"You've murdered her," he replied, immediately, and I wasn't completely sure if he was joking.
"I have done no such thing," I retorted, "last I heard she was alive and well and with her brother...and she seems to have given up baiting both myself and Karl in favour of new prey: my brother Kelric."
"You have too many brothers," he commented, and a wry smile finally crossed his face, "what went wrong with Karl? They were married last time you mentioned them."
"I don't know. I guess she realised he wasn't as unlike me as she had expected - or perhaps hoped - especially when she realised that Karl and I were actually getting on."
"I should meet Karl sometime...the first time you mentioned him you called him an enemy and you made it sound as it that would never change."
"I know him better now," I replied, "and I admit I had a mistaken impression of him."
"Wow, a rarity. You admitting you made a mistake," he said, his expression dead pan. It took a couple of seconds to realise that he was joking, and for the umpteenth time I really wished I could read him as well as I can Andrew. Then his expression turned serious again.
"Are you ever going to change your opinion of Mum the same way?" he asked, quietly, almost plaintively.
I looked at him, and then shook my head. "She is the one who has continued the hatred, and she has blackened my name with accusations. While I would be happy if one day she mellowed towards me, I don't hold out much hope."
He shrugged, and looked disappointed. "You can't blame me for having wanted you to get back together again, can you?"
"No, especially as for a while it looked like things were getting better between us," I answered, sympathetic to his feelings. For a long time, before I met Claire, I had hoped the same thing.
He took a drink from his glass, then glanced up at me again. "So if you haven't murdered her, and you haven't got back together again, what do you want to tell me about her?"
"It's to do with what I mentioned before...being descended from both an Amberite and a Chaosian," I replied, "I have discovered in the last few weeks that your mother was about as human as I am."
He looked at me, a startled expression on his face.
"What?" he said, finally, his tone reflecting a combination of surprise and disbelief.
"Despite what I had always believed, it seems that she is also a member of my family."
"Christ, Dad!" he exclaimed, going white, "you aren't about to tell me that she's your sister or something, are you?"
"No, thank God," I answered, "but she is my cousin."
"And what was all that you said about her resenting the fact that you were immortal?"
"It was genuinely the way she seemed to be acting towards me," I replied, "believe me, I really had no idea of this until about a month and a half ago."
"There's more, isn't there?" he said, cautiously, after a few moments.
"She is Eric's daughter," I said, gently. As the comment sunk in, he looked at me in something akin to shock.
"She's the daughter of this enemy of yours? The one who the man who you think is after us is working for."
I nodded, slowly. "There is no guarantee that the threat from JJ is real. However, it if is, then I can see he would be interested in a relative of mine who is also descended from his paymaster. Especially taking into account that Annabel's mother was Chaosian. For the record, she was the daughter of a woman named Juno Chanicut. You've heard me mention Blake?"
"In passing. He is the one who would be King if the current monarch down there hadn't got there first, right?"
"Right. Annabel is his sister."
He sat in silence for a few moments, staring at the glass of Scotch in his hand, and occasionally taking a drink from it. Finally, he looked up once more and met my eyes.
"What does this make me?" he said, finally. He looked uncomfortable, and a little afraid.
"You are effectively in the same position as I am," I answered, gently, "half of Amber blood and half of Chaos. It's just that you have collected it from four people, while I have just inherited it from two."
"I see," he said, slowly, "and the business with Blake? Are your family's politics going to reach out to haunt me?"
"Hopefully not. I checked into that, too, and it doesn't look as if you are in the line of succession to the throne of Chaos through Juno's line. There are two sons who would be ahead of you anyway, and it appears that even if that wasn't the case, the fact that your mother and I never married would disqualify you anyway. The only way it could touch you is through my mother's line, but even if she weren't from a cadet branch of a pretender's family, it would have to pass through myself and Andrew first. I do not think you need to be worried about being dragged in on that score."
"You're serious, aren't you?"
"About what?"
"About this succession business. I don't feel like any kind of prince, let alone one that high up in the rankings."
"I understand. It was hard for me to accept, too, but it is what I am, and it is what you are."
He paused for a moment, and took another drink, before continuing. "I'm going to have to think about this. It will take some getting used to."
"I understand. However, it seemed fair for me to tell you."
He nodded, shallowly. "Out of interest, where does Andrew fit in all this?"
"He doesn't, as far as Annabel is concerned. His connection to it all is through myself and Jasra."
"So this is my problem, and I am going to have to solve it?"
"You will have to come to terms with it eventually, yes," I answered, trying to keep my tone gentle, "do you now understand why I needed the time to tell you? This could not be said in a hurry."
He nodded again, but did not answer. I watched him thinking it through as I took a drink from my own glass, and waited for him to break the silence.
Finally, he stood up. "Sarah will be home soon. What do I tell her?"
"Just warn her to keep an eye out for strangers who might be more than usually interested in her or James," I answered, "and beyond that...I have told you what I can, and what I had to. It is up to you to decide what you want her to know."
I paused for a moment, also rising, and downed my drink. "It should come from you. If I say anything, she will probably think I am as crazy as you did, the night you brought her home to Millbank for the first time." Then I shrugged. "Hell, she probably thinks that anyway."
William said nothing, but I got the impression that I was closer to the mark than he would have liked me to be. We looked at each other in silence once more, weighing each other up, and in my case wishing that he did not seem so distant at times. Finally, I broke the deadlock, and picked up my jacket.
"I should be going," I said, at last.
"Do you want me to walk you back to the gate?" he asked, quietly.
"No, you should stay with James," I answered. I had a feeling it would be easier on both of us that way. "Give him my love, and say hello to Sarah for me."
"I will," he answered, and we stepped into the hall. I crossed to the door, but as I opened it, he spoke once more. "You're really worried about this, aren't you Dad?"
I nodded. "If JJ really is out there, and really is a threat, I did not want you to be ignorant of it," I said, slowly, "things are difficult at the moment, both with this and with events in Amber, and I am afraid it is all going to explode very soon. I don't want you to get caught in the flak, and anything I can do to prevent that, I will."
He looked at me, and finally smiled. "Thanks."
"If you need anything...anything...call me."
"I will remember," he answered, "be careful, Dad."
"And you, William," I replied, and then stepped out into the mist to head for London, and Claire.