Chapter 15: Sunday Afternoon

The first thing I did when I got home was reach for my phone. The morning meeting had unsettled me a lot. For a lot of reasons.

“Maggie, its’ Hank. Listen, when you get this message, get together with Carrie and call me back. There’s something you need to know, and somethings we need to talk about. If you can spend time here at 1030 this week, or pack up and come down next weekend, I would be very happy. It’s kind of important. And please, be careful.”

I didn’t know if I needed to bring them into a safe place, or what. I didn’t know what I needed to do to protect them.

I got to thinking about the different “Councils” involvement. And I was struck with a sudden realization. There really wasn’t any sense of law and order there, except as relates to the three primary rules. And those were rather loosely covered. I understood the “no Public office” rule, but where did that apply to servants and supporters in the scheme of things? Nonparticipation in the military of any nation. Where did that come from? I understood the “No Public display of Magic” rule. That made sense. But the rules about “Protecting Familiars” didn’t seem to apply in the “Over Council”. If my parents could both be killed and my three friends killed, and their brains sucked out for information about me by a bunch of foreign agents, what was the official reaction to that? Why did I get the feeling that, from both of the Council’s perspective, I was on my own. And please don’t do anything massive that would be noticed was their last comment. I got the feeling that “Governance” for them was a totally different concept from what I thought was Law and order.

I thought back to Peter’s response to my capturing and draining Charity and her buddy Buster when they tried to attack me at school last year. There was more concern about the artifacts that I stripped from them when they were attacking me. I got three days suspension in school, for fighting, when I was attacked, but crippling two adults with magic was seen as no big thing.

My Dad had talked to me about “European Perspective”. He frequently talked about how it was more important to “Not embarrass” the Europeans when he was in meetings before he left government service. Their “Embarrassment” at Nazi Germany’s rise, and the fall of Nicholas II of Russia seemed to get in the way of all of the agreements with the European Space agency. They wanted American funding of their own projects and for their own national interests and goals. They wanted to return to Pre WWII eminence with us carrying the burden.

That’s when it hit me. All of the people (except Reggie and Pat) were holdovers from before 1900. Pax Britania ruled the Waves. Almost all large commercial and industrial development was in Britian, Germany, and the rest of Europe. Americans were considered “Colonials” with backwards beliefs of Religion, Economics and Fashion. We (colonials) were there to Buy products manufactured in Europe (At a high price) and sell raw materials to Europe to manufacture the products we bought (At a low price).

And we Americans weren’t alone in this scheme. Europe did the same thing with South America, Asia, and Australia. “Let the natives buy what we have to sell” was the mantra of the East India Company.

The people I was dealing with lived by those rules, because that was what they had grown up with. And they expected me to simply build my own fortress around myself and wait out the next attack. But don’t built it too big, or too large, or take up too much energy.

One of dad’s favorite sayings was that “A totally Defensive strategy only has one logical conclusion. Defeat.” Some of his books that I read said that you needed to Identify the threat, counter the threat, and then eliminate the source of the threat. I had been personally lucky so far. My parents and friends, not so much. I really, really needed to talk with someone my own age.

Which is why my next call was to Wendy.

Finding someone to talk to.

It was time to find a place we could talk.

I went downstairs to the Lounge and asked Ogrenaut what the process for reserving time at the Arch Park was. (Funny how that name stuck.) He said write a note and leave it with him, Natalie or Carla, and it would be posted. Evidently everyone looked at the poster board for the week that was on the desk before going in. I guess everyone took the idea of scheduling seriously. “Is Tuesday open?” I asked.

“Do you want to go there on Tuesday?” He asked.

“If there’s no conflicts.” I told him.

“There’s no conflicts. And Auger will be there for food and drink if you get hungry or thirsty.”

“Why do I get the feeling that even if there were any conflicts, they would be rescheduled?” I asked.

“Hank. I said. There are No Conflicts.”

“So what’s going on right now?” I asked.

“Paula and Jeffery and some of the Fae are playing games. And the Dwarves are having a wrestling match. Would you like to watch?”

“Isn’t it raining?” I asked.

“They have rain shields which catch and direct the rain while they are there. So there are dry as well as wet spots. We take them down at night so the grass can grow.”

“That sounds like something that I want to check out.” I said to my good big friend.

Checking the Park. And all the things to do.

I discovered that I liked stepping through the Arch, the feeling of stepping onto flagstones from a floor was a real rush. What I saw ahead of me was truly a surprise.

To my left, across the field, I saw Michael Fitzhugh, Sylvia’s partner, standing in the center of a line with both of his hands raised, and he would wiggle his fingers. When he did, a small ball of earth flew out of different points on the ground and in different directions. Standing on either side of him behind the line were Brimstone and Brynstan both focused on the balls of earth as they flew up and across the field. Which they would focus on and send a stream of energy from their mouths to the balls as they danced and flew through the air, bursting the balls of earth which then fell to the ground. Skeet shooting by Dragons. Seeing me, Michael laughed, turned toward me and said, “Watch this, Hank.”

The ground erupted and a massive group of dirt balls flew up and toward me. Both Brim and Bryn pivoted and opened fire, individually exploding all of the balls before they could travel more than thirty feet. That was impressive. Looking around I saw that lots of the Fae were taking advantage of the park.

All of the younger Gargoyles were running across the field to my right, one holding a football, while the others chased him. I don’t’ know what the rules of this particular game were, other then all chasing after the ball carrier, but the spirit was very high, and I could see hits and contacts that made me wince. Looking ahead to the Gazebo I saw Paula’s head showing above the couch.

In front of the Gazebo saw two Dwarves wrestling, while a third was evidently the umpire. The flips and throws were high impact, and I looked around for the Medic, sure that someone was going to break something.

Brin and Bryn both broke off toward me, Brin saying “Thank you Master, for letting us play in this wonderful play yard.”

“That’s fine, Brin. I am happy to see both of you exercising and enjoying yourselves.”

“So, Michael, you are the skeet thrower?” I asked.

“I have to tell you; these two guys are quick draw artists. Once they got calibrated, they never missed. That flock I threw toward you was slower than normal, because If I threw them at normal speed, you would never see them. It would be like a flash of sparklers going off in the air. These guys can hit a speeding bullet. It’s just plain fun. And they break it into sand, so the earth just sprinkles and falls in the grass. No cleanup required.”

“Well, I am glad you are having fun. Where’s Sylvia?”

“She’s in the gazebo with Paula and Jeffery. They were dueling with the dragonets a while ago, and it was a draw. The humans tired out after a while and sent me to work with the Dragonets. I have to tell you, the energy these two have is amazing.”

“Well, I’ll wander over there and sit a spell. I don’t mean to break up your play”.

Walking into the Gazebo, I saw that Paula was sitting up, but Jeffery’s head was in her lap. It was the ultimate picture of peace on both of them.

“Ah, Young love. Tis a great thing to see” I said to them, teasing them.

“It’s even better from this angle” Jeffery said, sitting up.

“Sylvia, are you keeping these two out of trouble?” I asked.

“They are both dressed. That’s all I can offer.” She said.

“Hank, this place is amazing for us.” Paula said. “The energy that we feel here is almost as wild and varied as we have at 1030. But the smell and the sense of the outdoors, the sounds of birds, the touch of the growing things all make this place almost intoxicating” Paula said.

“Well, feel free to come here whenever you want. And do whatever you want. I know that everyone here will enjoy it.” I said. “Brin and Byrn are enjoying themselves I see. And the Gargoyles are surely enjoying themselves. You should get into the water when the weather is warmer, and swim. I think you will find it almost as invigorating as your bed at home.”

I saw Paula shiver when I said that. “Hank, when you say that, it sends a warm feeling inside of me.”

“Say what?” I asked.

“Home. Do you really think of our place as home?”

“Yes. Of course. For the next fifty years or so.”

Paula looked at Jeffery for a moment. I guess they had a lot of experience speaking mentally.

“I guess we have to do that as well. Plan for the next step.”

“Not for a while. Enjoy the now.”

“Hank. When Our children are born, will you act as Godparent?” Paula asked.

“Regardless, I will act as God Parent”. I said.” And I need to intrude on your office space tomorrow, Or rather, the library in the Lounge.”

“What do you need?” Paula asked.

“Texts on European and British history. The last three hundred years or so. I need to find the political ins and outs of how and who stole, cheated, and went to war with who. Beyond just the Brits and the French and the Spanish.” I said.

“What are you looking for?” Sylvia asked.

“I’m in pretty deep here. There are a lot of things that have gone on for a long time that I wasn’t aware of, but I think that it is part of what’s happened so far to us here. I got a report from the Councils about our three fellows that broke into your place, and some of the things I heard are kind of disturbing.” I said.

“Hank, that’s probably a good idea. I was exiled to Australia from England after the first Potato Famine. This led to a lot of turmoil in England which pushed a lot of Irish and other Catholic peoples out of England proper. A lot of it is confusing to read. Hell, it was confusing when you were in it. “The Great Game” was a big chess match. I visited England a couple of times in the Great Republican rise of 1880, and there was a lot of turmoil. And the great empire of Pax Britannica, was on everyone’s lips. I’ve always been a sucker for England.”

Paula’s eyes opened wide and her and Jeffery’s jaws both dropped at this short speech from middle aged Sylvia.

“You don’t think much of it until it’s right in your face.” I said, looking at the two young lovers. “Close your mouth, Jeffery, or you will catch a fly”.

“Sylvia,” I continued “that’s what I am talking about. Evidently there are a number of Mages and even a Power wizard that have made some marks repeatedly in history in eastern Europe, in the Mid East, and along the Silk Road to India. I think some of them were involved with the three stooges we caught in your home, and the two that Paula splattered in our foyer. What I want to be more aware of is the possible alliances and cooperation between some of these so-called members of the Over Council coalition. Aware enough to head them off at their next possible point of attack.”

“What advice do Reggie and the Wizard council have to offer.” Sylvia asked.

“They want me to let them know before I launch any massive retaliation”. I said. “Nothing in the way of what they are doing now or will to prevent any new issues.”

“And you feel that something else will happen?”

“Yes. I don’t think they will go after Reggie, as the head of the American Council. And I don’t’ think Sir David is at risk. I seem to be singled out. And I intend to preserve my friends and family. I hope you don’t mind if I count you as a friend and family.”

“Hank, is brute force the best way to handle this?” Jeffery asked.

“That’s why I want to get some intelligence on the famous question of “Why?” Why do these people do what they do. Know the Why, Know the how, and you can imagine the what. That’s three of the magic six.”

“That leave only When Where and Who.” Sylvia said.

“We know two of the Who. What don’t I know is “Who else?””

“Hank, you are thinking on a whole lot older level then you should be. Did this stone and creek age your brain to fifty years or so?” Sylvia asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe your Monocle had a lot to do with it. I did see a lot of things through that lens that I would never have seen without it. But I do seem to be able to express what I feel a lot better when I am around Layline magic. I still make dumb mistakes. But I don’t always feel as stupid as I did last year.”

“I’ll get Amelia and William to work on a course ware presentation of English and European history and historical behavior. How deep do you want it to go?” Paula said.

“We need to find out alliances and intentions of our European friends. I want to get them first. And I also want to get a breakdown of the history of our Atlanta Bitch.”

“I can reach out to Charlie Baxter and see if I can get that file.” Jeffery offered. “He owes me a bunch.”

“Careful. I don’t want to leave you open to any pressure. You are family.”

“Got you.” Jeffery said. Noticed that his expression suddenly fell into a intense concentration. I didn’t know enough about him from before. I think getting a better idea of my next Warlock/Wizard was probably a good idea.

Taking my leave of the young lovers, I wandered around the playground and watched the dwarves doing their Mixed Martial Arts contests. I was so glad I was able to settle them without a fight last year when I met with Arno. Those guys hit hard.

And they loved it. The smiles on the faces after a hard hit on both sides was funny to watch. Some people get off on being beaten. The Dragons were playing chase with the gargoyles, and everyone seemed to be enjoying being outside.

After a couple of hours, I walked up the path and went home.

I actually slept good Sunday night.

Monday Morning. Back to work.

First thing, check the phone. Nope, no messages from Carrie or Maggie. Ok. Call them again later.

Dad and mom had always said that “Individuals drive technology improvements, History drives people’s behavior.” I never thought of it as set of rules before now. But I guess it is. Another of dad’s favorite sayings was “Know your Enemy.” And now that I had a couple of names to work with, I needed to sort that out.

First on the list was Abigail Analise Anders. Who really was she? What forces can she bring against me? Where was she now, and where did she come from? (To get some idea of her background.) When did she come on the scene with the American Council? And how did she fit into this set of attacks?

If Abigale Anders had actually been a member of the American Council since its inception (which she said she was when the revolt occurred) and that was two hundred and thirty years ago, then she had to be older than that. That meant she was active at least before 1750. That meant the Georgian Era of Britian. Holy Shit.

But this led to the question “Was Anders born in the Continental United States?” Or was she older than that. And from Where?

We didn’t know that many places she could have come from. That meant England, France, Spain, Italy, or the Germanic countries. And possibly Russia and some of the other countries.

Now, she came to the Colonies in or before 1750 or so. Georgia was heavily English and some German. Not a lot of variety of people there. These are the questions I needed Amelia to work on.

But this brought up another issue. Except for Pat and Reggie, I didn’t know anyone among my circle of contacts in the Mage world that wasn’t from the first half of the century. Or a lot older. My contemporaries were not so contemporary. These people were all a lot older than my parents. Peter and Grace talked about life before the “War between the States”. And Peter had admitted to having three different names and how buying another name and history was getting harder and harder with the Federal NICS system being in effect. But that said something else about the people I was associated with.

“People Learn from the environment of their youth, and work to force the rules they learned in their youth on the world around them as they grow up”. That was one of my father’s favorite sayings. “That’s why history repeats itself.”

That meant that almost all the different Mages and wizards grew up in different times, and had different values pushed into them from what was contemporary today. It also meant that while they adapted to the society they functioned in, they still probably held onto the rules of engagement that they grew up with. Victorian England was a different world from Georgia in the 1980s. And the courtly speech that I had found so useful with Sir David, Martin Bujold, and Cecile reflected the times they were most comfortable with. Not the current world I had been living in before my dunk in the pool.

That also meant, given the lifespan of Mages, Wizards and who knows what else, that connections with the fabric of your local environment had to be temporary. You had a “Shelf Life” of 70 or so years, but then you had to move on. Close out the accounts, pull up stakes, roll up the tent and move on. And that romantic connections had a limited life as well. The spells for health that I cast on my sister would keep her healthy for a century. But she would age and die. And I would keep going on. And become someone else, somewhere else.

You could do that, given help from friends, Fae, Mages, and others, but you had to reinvent yourself every fifty years or so. Move to a new area and start over establishing roots. For Mages leaving Europe, America was a great open ground. But we were fast getting too civilized to do that for much longer except in the far northwest. I guess that meant that my life here in Augusta had a “End of Life” date. I guess 2030 was my date here. I guess I shouldn’t get too comfortable.

So, dealing with so many “Old Farts” as I was, I recognized the need to do a couple of things. First, study. I had to learn more than just defense spells, shields and power manipulation. I had to find what other spells, enchantments and elements that I could manipulate. I also had to learn other talents to make money with. Some were hard (I didn’t want to be a MD, like Dr. Atkinson. That took too long). Others were too transient, like running what was essentially a gift shop powering an artifact.

The other thing I had to do was learn the rules that the others played by. Most of the people I knew had their beginnings in European or other cultures. What was “fair play” for them? What were their rules of engagement for the people most comfortable with the court of Queen Victoria, or the Russian Court of Nicholas? And like Pat told me a long time ago, what were the truths that people told with a straight face that were missing pieces of information that twisted the meaning. What was the Weave and Spin that people fabricated to tell you enough of the truth that you draw the wrong conclusions? And then take the actions that they wanted you to take, and not the ones that were in your best interest?

One of the things Peter Gill had told me last year was that “People who tell the partial truth are the most difficult liars to catch. You spend so much time validating pieces of the story that don’t seem to add up that you end up disbelieving the entire story. Except that parts of it are true. And you can’t fight truth. You can only accommodate it within the context of the story.”

These were the thoughts going through my mind when I walked down the hall to the office and met with Natalie.

Natalie was always bright and chipper and cheerful on Mondays. (How is that even legal?) Going down to her office right after waking up and getting a beignet for breakfast was usually a quick trip. But today she had a list of items for me before I even got my second cup of coffee.

“First, Hank, the school called. They wanted to know where to send your Diploma in June, I gave them this address, but also you have to update your DMV records regarding your license and the registration of your car. Sign here and here so I can get that stuff out in the mail this morning.”

“Second. Maggie called and left a message. There is an insurance company investigator that wants to talk with her and you about the fire at your parents’ house, and about the insurance policy. I told him that he can come here with her after this weekend, and they can settle out the issues.”

“Third, one of the Gnomes using a visitor bracelet was able to walk through the thorns surrounding the Arch Park this morning, and wanted to know if that constituted a security breech, or if you intended for people to be able to leave the park and wander the area. I think that should be given to Jeffery and Peter to consider. The reason he used it was to walk to your parent’s site and do a visual check. There wasn’t much to see, but there was a notice from the real estate agent asking if you were interested in selling the property. How do you want to handle that?”

“Anything else?” I asked kiddingly. “I know if I stick around here for more than ten minutes you will come up with at least three more items.”

“No, but if you happen to be walking downstairs, ask Paula to come up here, I have some things I need to cover with her.”

“Yes master. Boy, getting laid sure got you recharged.” I said, kiddingly. “So how was Jerry this weekend?” I asked.

I ducked, fortunately, because the notebook she threw would have bounced off of my head if I hadn’t. Natalie was a little insecure about her budding relationship with Jerry McAlister, and It really wasn’t fair to tease her. But it was fun.

“None of your business, Mr. Smarty Pants. But we had a great weekend.”

“When are you taking him to the Arch Park and let him get his mind blown.” I asked.

“We’re a long way from that yet. I don’t think I can get as lucky as Paula did. Amelia wants to talk with you about some research you want her to do?”

“Thank you, Natalie. I think I better leave here before you have me chained to the wall doing who all knows what.”

“Yes, you can leave. But check back at noon so we can plan the meeting with Maggie and the insurance company.”

I left before she found something else. It used to be Paula was the person I had to avoid, but since her and Jeffery made love over the Fumeral, and I later discovered that it’s reach went up three stories, as a massive fountain of energy, she was busy with twenty other things. As a Power and Rune wizard, she may have even a greater affinity for power then I was. Jeffery was (I guess) infected when he made love to her and took her virginity on the fumeral, and so we had three possible power Mages living here. It was a very unusual arrangement. I loved it.

Walking down the hall and down the stairs to the first floor, I walked into the Lounge, and caught Amelia working at organizing books on shelves. Since I moved my bookshelf down to here, books seemed to find the bookcase as a new home to fly to. From places far and away.

This delighted Amelia, because she was the one we had here with a degree in “Library Science”. Whatever that was. But she did know how to organize books. What I was thinking about was a little more complicated.

“HI good looking, how are you and William getting along?” I asked.

“Wonderful, Hank. Thank you for asking. We really do have a lot in common, and we aren’t that close that we cannot safely make love.”

“WOAH, girl. TMI. I assume you can do what you want to do with whomever you want to do it with. I am not running a breeding farm here”. I said.

“We know. Paula was quite forthcoming on that score. And Carla has been a great mentor. Its’ so much different with you from Mistress Abagail. She had so much control over us.”

“Well, I don’t need to have that. I believe that people need to be able to form their own opinions and beliefs. But I would like to get some of your own insight about Abagail. How much do you know about her history?”

“Not a lot personally. She was a great diarist. I know that she kept a running tab of events and things every day. She called it her “brain space” books. She even had a spell that kept things organized. Pat had them in Atlanta, and I think he sent a lot of that to you.”

“Pat sent me the records on her breeding efforts. And the slave cornicles. I didn’t get her personal diaries.”

“Ask Pat to send them to you. I doubt he wants to read them. Lots of juicy stuff I am sure.”

Going into the mind of a Witch

I bit my tongue for a moment. Pat was very cavalier about anything that didn’t hit him directly, but very appreciative of things done for him. Now that his health had been restored.

“Yes, it shook me up. And after what has been going on, I want to figure out what is coming next. And the best way to do that is to get inside of the heads of the people that are opposite me.”

“I play poker too, Hank. I know what you are up to. I’ll have Victoria box up the stuff that is here and ship it to you today. There’s probably a lot of it, since Abigail was a packrat.”

“Thanks, Pat. I appreciate it”

Three hours later, Pat sent over all of the books he had inherited from Abigail. It was a collection of over four hundred books, all leather bound, dating back to 1706. And that earliest one had a first note saying that the others were lost on the ship coming over. From England.

From Portsmouth, where Anders had ended up on her travels through England after she was run out of London. I don’t know what all she did but evidently it was pretty ugly and involved a married Duke, and she left town with a chest of valuables, a chest of clothes, and a chest of books. Two of three made it to the New World.