Authors: Scott V. Duff
“Pardon?” I asked, curious enough to look into his mind. This was Fuller’s kid, his only son, Sean, and he wasn’t supposed to be here. I couldn’t see why exactly without shoving in deeper. There was no way I would do that.
“He says it’s bad enough that diplomats will bring their children along in the first place, but if he catches you trying to drink in his house, he will have a fit!” he said, grinning like the Cheshire cat, then he chugged his off-color drink down to the ice. “Course, it’s no skin off my nose. I’m all for pissing the old man off. I’m Sean. It’s good to see somebody my own age at one of these museum pieces.”
“If your dad doesn’t like kids here, why are you here?” I asked.
Ethan leaned past me to look at Sean. “Seth! Say hello first. Hi, Sean, I’m Ethan and this is my brother, Seth the impolite.” Sean giggled, a little intoxicated. That wasn’t his first off-colored drink, but he was only a little tipsy yet.
“Sorry,” I said, blushing slightly. “I’ve met so many people tonight, I’ve forgotten who I have and haven’t met.”
“No worries, dude,” Sean said, smiling. “I just snuck down for some juice. Be right back.” He hopped up and ran to the bar through the dimness.
“What’s up with him?” Ethan asked quietly, smiling but not really asking.
“Teenage rebellion,” I answered, needlessly. “He’s just doing it because he thinks he needs to. He’ll get over it in a year or two as long as Fuller isn’t a complete ass.”
“High hopes for Fuller,” Ethan said, laughing. Sean returned with another glass for him and me. The bartender remembered me, which was nice, but I hadn’t finished even half of my first. Still, I accepted graciously and poured the old into the new and sipped appreciatively. It was a crisp brandy.
“Have you guys been to many of these?” Sean asked, settling in beside me again.
“My parents took me to several, but I stayed in the hotel and waited for them,” I said. “This is the first that I’ve attended.”
“Ehhhh, third, really,” Ethan said. “Thursday counts and so does the Rat Bastard’s party as bad as that was.”
“Let’s hope this doesn’t end that poorly,” I said, letting the disgust drip from my words.
“Bad night there?” Sean asked, eyebrows arched and a half-smile creasing his boyish good looks.
“That would be putting it lightly,” I said but nodding. “Got all my brothers in a really big fight. Lasted a few days.” Killed a few people, tossed a few Queens-in-waiting around. Yeah, big fight.
“Did you guys get to meet the elf tonight? I can’t seem to find him on the property anywhere,” Sean said.
“There’s an elf here?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t felt an elf’s presence in the wards earlier and I was pretty sure that would ping my radar.
“Swhat Dad said,” Sean replied, slurring slightly. “Some Lord high Muckety-muck Faery who helped them do something in Europe was coming so I was supposed to stay upstairs all night. I haven’t seen an elf before, but all I see in the wards are human. Seward says elves look different under the wards.” He shrugged.
“I can honestly say I haven’t seen any elves tonight,” Ethan said, smiling and almost bright red in the face. “How about you, Seth? Have you seen any elves? Or maybe even a Lord high Muckety-muck?”
Ethan’s question caught me trying to cover my own creeping smile with a sip of brandy, resulting in a snort of laughter from me. Let’s just say that brandy can indeed warm the body, especially when it’s snorted down the throat and back up through the sinuses and out the nose—alcohol burns! I was caught between laughter, choking, and searing pain. Luckily, laughter won out quickly but Sean still panicked and was beating my back and asking if I was okay every two seconds.
“He’s fine, Sean. Settle down,” Ethan cajoled, laughing at me while he took the bulbous snifter and set it aside. With an excellent act of mundane magic, the bartender appeared with a bottle of water and disappeared with the snifter just as quickly.
“What’s wrong with his aura?” Sean asked. “I can’t see him. Or you. Oh-oh-oh, you have
got
to teach me that trick. That’s really got to tick Dad off.”
“Well, it certainly ticked off Seward,” I said, still smiling through the fit. Both Ethan and I looked at the door as Phillips walked into the room, slowly weaving his way through the tables, directly to us. Sean didn’t take the hint.
“Seward?” Sean asked. “Not Phillips, then? Daddy sent the big dog out? Huh. Wonder how that went.”
I sat back down on the table again as Phillips stopped behind Sean, crossing his arms on his chest. “You’re not too enthused by Mr. Phillips?” I asked, then chugged a third of the bottle. Ethan snickered quietly.
“Oh, no, don’t get me wrong. I think Phillips is a perfectly nice, stand-up guy, especially when you know he’s right behind you,” Sean said, turning over his shoulder and leaning back on the table. “You’ll never figure it out, you know.”
Phillips burst into a smile and said, “On the contrary, Sean, I already have and I have Mr. McClure to thank for that.”
“What?” Sean and I asked at the same time.
“Whad I do?” I asked. A second later Sean whirled around to face me, shocked at my admission. Of course his story on us was still really off-kilter.
“You wrote out his hook,” Phillips said, hitting the last word distinctly. “So when he triggered his little blanking spell to hide the doors opening in the ward, it didn’t work. Imagine.”
“You let him invoke our wards?” Sean demanded of Phillips in a hoarse and worried whisper. “Does Dad know about this?”
“I took them from Seward and, yeah, your dad knows,” I told him calmly. “He’s not too happy about it, though.”
“He told you that?” Sean asked quickly, his eyes searching my face.
“No, not at all,” I responded. Yep, that’s all you’re getting, kid. Search away.
“What am I missing here?” Sean asked suspiciously.
“Do you know who you’re talking to, Sean?” Phillips asked, moving up beside him. “Where you’re not supposed to be in the first place?”
“I thought it was just some kids my age ditching their parents,” Sean said, deep blue eyes looking forlorn in the dim room, shoulders drooping.
“I think I’m the Lord high Muckity-muck,” I said, grinning and raising my hand. “What? He didn’t know!” I defended Sean to Phillips’ horrified look. “Just blame it on me anyway. Tell Fuller I invited him down. I knew he was up there, after all.”
“That would actually be a very good idea,” Phillips said slowly, staring out into space as if doing calculations on a mental chalkboard. I felt a greedy satisfaction from Phillips.
“Plans involving Seth have a nasty habit of backfiring, Phillips,” Ethan warned him. “Just ask any elf.”
“You’re seeing elves now, too?” I asked facetiously, knowing he didn’t. “How is it that I’m the one with all the Fae power and I don’t see them?” Ethan chuckled while Sean looked on, baffled, and Phillips reconsidered. I chugged some more water.
“It’s still a good idea,” Phillips decided. “Maybe the two of you can keep each other out of trouble for a while.” One of his men walked up then and stood a discrete distance away, catching his attention. “Excuse me, please.”
Sean sat on the table with us again, his nerves shot. “Who are you people?”
“We told you,” I said, smiling. “I’m Seth McClure and this is my brother, Ethan. My parents aren’t here, though, and I’m afraid we’re the high Muckity-mucks they’re trying to impress.”
“
That
you leave out,” he said bitterly. “Make me look like a fool.”
“Hardly,” Ethan guffawed. “Now Seward, he looked like a fool.”
Encouraged by the statement, Sean said, “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Any chance you’d show me how to hide my aura, too?”
I shrugged, shaking my head. “Sorry, man. We’re not exactly sure how that works. It just sort of happened to us, one by one.”
“So who are you guys, really? And who’s the guest of honor? One of your family, or what?” Sean asked.
“Your father’s coming,” I told him, nodding toward the door. “And the guest of honor is Lord Daybreak. That would also be me.”
Fuller stepped in the door with Peter beside him, Kieran and Mike behind them. Phillips walked up to meet them and Sean started panicking, then turned back to me. Seeing me calm seemed to help him regain his composure. We sat and watched Fuller’s aura streak in sudden anger then fade quickly, contained under concern and alarm. I almost reached out for his mind, but he’d be easy enough to read shortly.
And he was. Darius Fuller was a suspicious man, at least where his son was concerned. His anger had turned to agitation and curiosity to see how much of Phillips’ story I would back up.
“Oh, good,” I called as they got closer, standing up. “Just in time. Mike, can I have a card, please? I’m sorry, Mr. Fuller, I didn’t realize that asking Sean to come downstairs would cause so much trouble.” Taking the card Mike held out, I handed it to Sean, giving them both a moment to focus and discover I’d covered for Sean and Phillips adeptly with one sentence. “This is a service because we’re a little hard to get in touch with most of the time, being, um, off-world a lot and we have to change our cell numbers constantly. Give me a call sometime, though, when you have some free time, and we’ll do something. I don’t get a chance to spend time with guys my own age very much.”
“You got it,” Sean said, grinning. I didn’t know if he’d actually ever do it, but I meant it. He was a good kid and a nice guy. All he had wanted was a friendly face here and I liked him.
“Seth, we should perhaps call it a night?” Kieran said, questioningly. “We have an early day tomorrow.”
I nodded in agreement and Fuller jumped into action, waving Phillips forward and saying, “Have the van brought around…”
“No, please,” I interrupted. “I’ll take care of getting us back to the hotel, thanks. I don’t think I can take another trip through New York City today.”
Fuller scrunched his face in confusion. “I thought you couldn’t open a portal under my wards?”
“I couldn’t open an endpoint from across the universe,” I explained. “Local holes are a little easier to handle.” Okay, so opening the portal right there and then in the wall in front of them was probably not the most polite gesture in the world. Like Kieran, though, I was ready to leave. Sean had been the highlight of the night.
“It has been a most interesting evening, Mr. Fuller. Thank you for your time,” I said. “And please give Mr. Peraza our best.”
“Most certainly, Lord Daybreak,” Fuller countered. “Meeting with you and your brothers has been an experience. We look forward to our next encounter, Carlos and I.” Oooh, nice diplomacy, he got Peraza in there, too. Good for him!
Sean stared at the portal edges, studying them while I watched everyone say good night. When he noticed me watching him, he asked, “Lord Daybreak? You’re the Fae king?” I grinned, nodding. “How is that possible?”
“Ask your dad the story,” I said as Peter and Ethan walked into the portal behind me. “He knows as much as anyone. Give me a call sometime, seriously. It was good to meet you, Sean.” Then I stepped through myself, followed by Kieran and Mike, who were waiting patiently for me, not willing to leave me alone.
Looking back as I shut the hole down, I saw Sean pointing back at me and saying to his father, “That is one serious freaking hole in the wall.”
Mike started laughing as Kieran fell onto the couch heavily.
“Thank God that’s over,” Ethan said, rubbing his face. “That was so boring. I’d rather watch a river flow than waste more time like that.”
Kieran chuckled. “That was just the first in a long line of such extravaganzas, my friend, so get a good mental picture of that river. You’ll need it.”
“Hey, at least we’ll be able to get out of a few of them,” Peter said slyly. “They don’t have that luxury.”
“I get why I don’t. Why doesn’t Kieran?” I asked him while Ethan snickered.
“I may… have made it seem like I was the power behind the throne,” Kieran said, picking invisible lint off the sofa.
“O-kay,” I drawled. “While I’m not exactly offended by that, why? You’re just asking for trouble there, aren’t you? You’re gonna catch hell about anything I do wrong.”
“He stepped in it,” Mike said, pulling calling cards from his pockets. “Pure and simple.” When he finished emptying his pockets—he pulled them from so many pockets he looked like a television magician doing a playing card trick to impress a jaded audience—he had three stacks, each two inches high.
“There were that many people there?” I asked in shock.
“No, there were not,” Mike affirmed for me. “But every time I turned around, there was someone else handing one of you a card, which I took. It’s going to take me a week to go through all of these.”
“Pete, d’you get a chance to call your father?” I asked, sliding my jacket off my shoulders.
“Left a message,” he said, shaking his head and hauling himself up from the chair. “I’ll try again in the morning before we leave. Which bed am I in?”
“You’re in with Seth,” Kieran pointed over his shoulder and Peter headed that way. “We’re at the attorney’s at nine, right? Want breakfast out here at eight?”