Chapter 8

Another Halloween

And more challenges

“Wake up, sleepy head. Tonight’s Halloween and you have decorations to set out and there are jewels waiting for you to fill.” The sweet voice whispered into my ear.

Someday, I am going to have that voice connected to a real live body and not just inside of my head. Someday that whisper will get responded to with a tickle and a nibble on the neck. Until then, the sound of that voice just being in my mind will have to do.

“Good morning. Is it dark still?” I asked.

“Yes. And today is Halloween so you must do some decorating here and in Albuquerque. So, get up, sleepy head.”

It promised to be a busy day. We had orders to fill and ship and would probably be sending sprites around the globe to get caught up. This was our busy season, with gifts and things, and we would probably be hammered from now to the aftermath of the Conclave in January. Holidays are such an exhausting time of the year.

We also had some discussions going on in a couple of weeks with a couple of hedge witches that were happening to be working in California. They were supposed to be sharp people that had been found by our “Mage Detector” earlier this year. They had been so busy themselves that they didn’t have any time to visit with us. But they had a break in their work at their jobs and wanted to come to visit us. They did something with computers, I think. They were something like “Artificial Intelligence Development Engineers.” No idea of what that meant. They were going to be taking a sabbatical vacation in Albuquerque soon so we would be able to get into their heads a bit.

It was strange to think of a couple of guys who worked for a printer company based in Rochester New York would be working in the most important research lab in Palo Alto, California. But we would see what we could do with them. Who knows? California Mages were all a little different. Kind of like Wendy. Hmm. Maybe I should want her to do the talking with these guys, come to think of it. She had a lot more foal education then I did, and I might be able to let her do the interface work with them. After all, I am just a High School kid.

I walked into the Lounge and there was a plate of Blueberry pancakes with jelly and bacon with coffee and orange juice. Yep. That was Thursday. I swear that the Ogres must keep track of my eating habits. Regardless of if I was in Albuquerque or in Augusta, the meals are custom tuned to me. I walk in the door and the plate is on the table. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. What I happen to like most is there waiting for me. And so were the normal people wanting to talk with me. Setno, for instance.

“Hank. We should talk about the two hedge witches that are in California coming into Albuquerque. I wonder if we can manage to use them to get some of our symbology translated into code that they can sell.”

“You want us to get into computers? Isn’t that kind of a disconnect from our core business?” Hank asked. “While I like the idea, isn’t it kind of risky to do that with a technology company? How we do our current magic is not something we want to really publish to the world, is it?”

“There is that. But there are a lot of good reasons to diversify, according to Natalie and Paula. This would enable us to hide what we do as far as information capture by getting it into other sources. Other people could then do what we do, and it would defray the risk of discovery of us.” Sento said.

“Ok. Let’s get the Halloween stuff set out here and in New Mexico, and this weekend we will talk about this computer stuff. I admit that I wonder how we can manage all of the pies we are getting into. We do have a lot going on and I am concerned that we don’t have enough people with enough time to cover it all.” Hank said. “In the meantime, while we are waiting for them in the next couple of weeks, I have a lot of crystals and jewels to fill.” Hank said. “So let’s get this place decorated and then get to New Mexico.”

Did you ever notice that you don’t ever get all your Holiday decorations in place in the timeframe you have available? It was from eight to noon in Augusta, and from nine to five in Albuquerque, and me, two gnomes and Riska were all dead tired before we got everything finished. The size of the space in New Mexico made the work a lot longer, while in Augusta, we only did the first floor (where all the commercial space was.)

Still and all it was a great “Trick or Treat” season, and Paula’s two kids got disgustingly full of candy. They went from Sugar rush to dropping solid to sleep before nine o’clock, and we were all ready for November first. So, I was taking some time to relax with Paula and Jeffery in the Lounge West (the bar we built in the house and training center in Albuquerque.

“Hank, what do you think of these computer guys being Mages?” Paula asked.

“Setno got to me early at breakfast about that. You want to work with the guys from Palo Alto through the Christmas holidays? See what kind of offerings we can make into this computer world?” I asked.

“Hank, I think it’s the right idea.” Jeff said. “Microsoft changed the world in the 80s. And the adaptation of the mouse, GUIs, and all of the other computer “magic” seems to be in line with the themes that R. A. Heinlein wrote about. I know that Cindy nags you about it all the time.” Paula said.

“The Palace Ladies think that this could give humanity a big jump forward and this kind of thing could work for us. And this “Internet/Arpanet” thing could be a gold mine for information and intention if we research it right.” Jeffery said.

“As well as against us” I replied. “How do we disguise our interests and our impacts. We don’t want to get involved in another MK Ultra mess.”

Fortunately for the Mage Community, the actions of Richard Helms stopped a witch hunt with the destruction of over twenty thousand documents of the M.K. Ultra program in 1975. Carter cursed the compliance of the Intelligence community for destroying all the documents going back to the beginnings of the Cold War. These, as well as other documents were the “Family Jewels” of the CIA and were indicative of the efforts to “Uncover and use resources that were totally unscientific.” Mages and hedge witches by name were included in lab notes as well as the descriptions of the use of Magic in the reading of minds, mental communications, and different shields and mind control. This would have been a major disaster for all of us if the Magical concepts were laid open along with the LSD and other test types. The idea of Mental control of another human being was the hot bed of research in the 1950s and 1960s. Stuff too close to the sort of accusations that get people tied to a stake and burned.

Jeffery and Paula both looked thoughtful about that side of it. “So, tell me this. How can they empower computer language to copy the commands we perform with a Rune or Spell?” I asked.

“I think that’s what we want to find out.” Paula said. “How can they write a spell that a machine can read and act on. If that’s what they have been doing, then that’s what we need to understand to make Magic more deliverable.”

“So when are these guys getting here?” I asked.

“Two weeks from Monday. They are taking a couple of months off while their various projects are being evaluated and reviewed for funding within PARC” Jeffery said.

“And what’s PARC?” I asked.

“Palo Alto Research Center. It’s an offshoot of Xerox of all people. And it’s where Steve Jobs got the Mouse.” Jeffery replied. “And a whole lot of other stuff.”

These must be some weird guys, to be hedge witches and also computer nerds. Wendy and Cindy, here comes your competition, I thought to myself.

Filling stones, Draining Artifacts, Paying Bills.

Ninety five percent of what we do every day can be broken down into one of these three categories. Outside of retail sales that is. I spell Paula and Jeffery in Albuquerque every day for six hours a day filling stones, artifacts and estate jewelry with elements of power that are best useful to the owners. It’s a simple job and it gives Paula and Jeffery time to enjoy kids, do the domestic stuff and enjoy the scenery. Karen is coming along quite nicely with doing the same thing (although she sometimes forces power a little more than the target can accept it. We blew up a twenty-centimeter quartz stone for a basis of a transporter arch while she was working to hurry one evening. She has since learned to throttle way back on that.)

Artifacts that come to us from owners are always drained of all residual power first. Then we clean the gems internally. That means we remove internal inclusions and flaws and make them flawless before we refill with the appropriate energy type. Different basic spells that are the common of the user often get better results from different formulations of power. Something that was never provided by the European Mages and their power sources. It’s kind of like putting High Test gasoline in a engine to get better performance on specific loads. We also “tune” large jewels to the owner. That means that if it’s lost or stolen, it’s useless to any Mage or Wizard other than the registered owner. Paula came up with that little stroke of genius and it extended the power for artifacts by almost thirty percent. When properly cleaned, drained and refilled, the buyer was treated to an entire new experience. And we were still cheaper than the Euro or Asian crowd of Mages doing this refill work.

Our other “Artifact” business is with the Mining artifacts we have planted in rivers in the US and some other places. We currently were mining for Gold, Silver, Platinum, some metals like Tin and Antimony (from expended ammunition like in the Russian rivers like the Volga) and a few other freshwater endeavors. This was our mainstream income. And our basis for trade with the Fae. And we knew that these “mining” exercises were time limited and results limited (no mine lasts forever), and we were careful to make sure that we didn’t upset the Gold market.

Our “non-powered” jewelry market efforts were kept pretty small. We didn’t want to compete with the companies like DeBeers and others for diamonds, except for our own use in either artifacts or other power sources.

And this takes bookkeeping, attention to detail, and focus on the part of the Power Wizard. After three weeks, Karen was as good as Jeffery, and almost caught up to Paula in terms of speed. And I have to admit that I had to keep focused because she was quickly catching up to me. We didn’t race to see who could do it fastest. We wanted the quality to always be at the top. Which is why we developed the questionnaires about “Use” with the hedge witches we filled and sold to.

Evidently no one before us had ever seen colors in energy. No one had deduced that some colors worked better with some spells then others. The three (now four) of us as Wizards had managed to shift the elements of power from quantity to quality as appropriate to use.

For instance, the darker colors (Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet) were better used with spells, runes and enchantments which related to Water and Earth. Like growing plants, moving water and other ground spells. Red, orange, and Yellow were almost exclusively the base for Air and Fire magic. And their association with those spells lent greater power and longer duration. Different things for different uses.

When you combined clean, clear and perfect cultured stones (and that included Quartz Crystal which was able to soak up a lot) with energy that was focused to your use, you had a power item that was relatively cheap and available) being able to be tuned to the Wizard or Mage or Hedge Witch for their everyday work.

For artisans, this allowed them to produce better products that they could claim higher prices for. For cultivation of crops, it made the difference, especially in Arid areas. For fishery use, it made for increases in catch in shorter time. And less work by the mage associated with the action. People didn’t have to work as hard to make their income. And they came back for refills often.

None of this was missed by the Over Council. And when the Mages and Hedge Witches of the European and English Councils started to specify our goods for power store and supply, it threatened the revenue for those councils. This was the economic warfare that had been ticking for five years.

What we didn’t think about was that this was the kind of problem that had caused every war in modern history. It’s not about the any high-sounding ethics. It’s about Economics. We were the powerhouse of Power. We had it. They wanted it. We wouldn’t give it to them. So they would try to take it. Any way that they can. Simple as that. And since we had thrown them back out twice (Three times if you counted the attack on Jeffery and that Paula turned them into tomato paste.) They would probably try a different tact. Which is why the information from Reggie was so worrisome. And while I was thinking about this while pushing about eight hundred Joules of power into artifacts this afternoon. To the tune of almost one and a half million dollars in sales.

That’s the economic issue. And it was this that was the real threat of Clan Lambert. All too often different groups captured the governments and used them to attack other economic groups. Spain, Italy, England, France, Germany and all of the rest of the euro nations had a long history of wanting to take economic power any way they could. And that was the risk that we were looking to avoid.

Pet Adoption Agency

After Halloween, and the world settled down, I was working to make up for lost time with the stones for delivery when Peter Gill came into the room while I was working. He waited until I moved stones around on the bench before he talked. While he wasn’t much of a power source, he recognized the steps in making an artifact and didn’t want to juggle my elbow.

“Hank, why did you ask for me to come down here today?”

“Peter, I need a favor. And I need it from some of my oldest and best friends.” I replied.

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Have you ever had a pet?” I asked.

“Do you count?” Peter replied.

“Not really. I always thought that I was everyone’s pet, not just yours.”

“It did seem that way for a while. You are thinking of me being partnered with one of the Dragonets?”

“Actually yes. They have shown that they do better when partnered, and they surely are protective. And a good source of strength when you might need it. And they don’t need a litter box.” I said. “But they do seem to benefit from having people to attach to.”

“My wife and I never got attached to pets. The life span thing. Dogs, cats, horses, everything seemed to pass on all too fast.” Peter said.

“Well, I don’t know how long Dragonets live, but the ones we have survived since 1876. And have a lot of life ahead of them. Heck, they will probably outlive me.” I said.

“So, how do we handle this?” Peter asked.

“Well, we sit around here in New Mexico and see if any of them like you. If so, then ask them what their name is. Kind of like the mental stuff you do with anyone else.”

“Sort of what you did with Brimstone. I do admit that the absence of kids now that they are in college has made our “nest” kind of empty. Even before we moved to Augusta and then to here in New Mexico. I guess we could look at taking on a pair of kids. At least we don’t have to clean a litterbox or take them for walks.”

“True. But I have to tell you, they are amazing in their total attachment. Brimstone is around here somewhere, and I think that the only time I don’t have him is when I am in the bathroom.”

“I have heard from Jeff and Paula that Brynstan is almost as bad. I admit that sometimes I wish I had some backup when I am out on a case. So, how do we start?”

“Let’s wander into the courtyard and see who wants to meet you.” I said.

Six o’clock in New Mexico was a magic time. The sun was setting on the desert to the west, and the late sunlight was reflecting off the Sandia Mountains to the east. You could see clear details of the mountains in the evening light, with the lower parts dark and a clear line of sunlit areas that moved up the mountain as the sun went down in the west. Coupled tonight with the Moon rising above in a glorious display as well. I was extremely grateful to have found this place and been able to build it to suit our needs. And the courtyard was covered with the multicolored large lizard bodies that were Dragonets. All of whom looked toward us when we went into the yard. One of them, large and dark brown, looked at us and approached us from the middle of the path around the driveway. He stopped and looked at us both with his large and intelligent eyes, tilted his head to the left and mentally spoke to us both.

“One of you is Lord Lambert. And the other is his person Mr. Peter Gill. I have heard of Mr. Gill. And Lord Lambert, you nursed me and my brothers and sisters back to health from that place in the mountain. I want to thank you on behalf of all of us.”

“You are more than welcome” Hank replied.” Are you doing well here?”

“We are all doing amazing well. We have a great deal to thank you for.” The Dragonet replied. “Is there some way we can serve you to demonstrate our gratitude?”

“Service is not a requirement. If you choose to be a friend and familiar to a member of Clan Lambert, we will look to find you a person to appreciate you, and to care for you as well. But you owe us nothing for your release or your recovery here.” Hank said.

“I have heard from Brynstan that you feel that way. Your charter is open to all Fae. Not just human form but all of us. And all of us who were rescued by your efforts would like to pelage our service and our lives to those who have saved us.”

“We don’t seek pledges of service. You are at the very least members of our Clan. Anything further is a gift from you to us. As I am sure you have been told. What I do need at this time is a familiar to work with my friend Peter Gill, and to be his familiar as he works to unravel mysteries that endanger or could affect Mages and Wizards who live among the norms. But I don’t want anyone to think that they are ever impressed into service. It’s a free association. A partnership between friends.”

“I would like to try that, Lord Lambert.” The dragonet said.

“Peter Gill, would you care to accept our friend here as your familiar for a time where both of you agree to be friends and partners in the tasks you have before you?”

“I would be delighted to be partnered with a creature as wise and appealing as this dragonet. What should I call you?”

“I have been called Abraxis by humans in the past. My true name is not able to be clearly understood by human ears and is not well spoked by human voices.”

“Well, Abrax, would you like to sit with me for a while and we should talk about what you need and how I can help you with it, and explain what I do and what help I might need.” Peter said.

“I’ll leave you two alone, and let you get to know each other.”

Walking away, I thought to myself that I was now possibly one down. And only thirteen plus five to go. And now we needed to find self-sufficient Mages and possibly a few Wizards. Mages and wizards that would be able to work well with Large and Powerful Pets.

I did a mental inventory of what we had and who with. Natalie was totally immersed with Lech. Paula and Jeffery were with Brynstan. Brimstone was my not so silent partner. Aine was living large at the Fae Park. Lumi and Lotan were candidates to live at Albuquerque as combination gate and yard guards. (Both of them were selected by Brynstan). Abraxis was getting to know Peter Gill. Sapphire would probably join them, since she was Abraxis’s mate. (Both were very, very slow to recover from the imprisonment. I hoped Peter would be patient with them.)

Karen and Robert were a pair almost bonded at the wrist. I don’t think I had seen a better connection between Mage and Familiar. But that left a lot of creatures needing homes.

A visit to the Park

Karen, in the meantime, was doing a little recruiting on her own. Going to the Park to enjoy a warm autumn afternoon after Halloween was a treat to her and to Robert. It was one of those days where the sun was bright, the air was crisp and not muggy, and there were not a lot of people in the park. And Auger kept the mint julips coming at thirty-minute intervals.

The creek was filled five various alligator shapes, lying about in the stream or on the rocks. And the drinks were great. Suddenly, Karen heard a commotion.

“The Lady is here.” Voices grunted in the stream. “We didn’t know you were here.” Another one answered.

“You have made quite an impression.” Robert thought to Karen.

“All I did was distribute some crystals.”

“And you stood up against the Mage who would have returned us to the confines of despair and darkness. You stood him down. You lectured him on his behavior, and he went away”

“Well, I didn’t give him much choice.” Karen said.

“I know. And so does every fae creature that was there. You provided succor to all of us. You and Paula worked to save us. That is why they notice you.” Robert said.

“Can I have a word with you, My Lady?” a new voice spoke into Karen’s mind.

“Sure. Who are you and where?” Karen asked.

One of the dragons crawled out of the swamp. He was larger then the others, and on the thin side. And he transformed into a form of almost a Human. Seven feet tall, green scaled skin, standing tall on his two rear legs, with piercing, large green eyes and horns standing out behind his ears. With a mouth that was a cross between a Iguana and a large bull dog. A tail that hung down to the ground. And he stood with wings as well. Ears that stood out able to catch the slightest sound. Amazing musculature, reinforced by scaled plats on his chest, legs and arms. This creature looked like something out of a carefully illustrated picture of a dragon. Or a man in the form of a dragon. His hands held four claws, three opposed by a thumb, all with claws. Downright Scary.

“Hello, my friend. How can I address you?” Karen asked.

“I am known as Deamonus. It was a name given to me by one of your churches elders some time ago. He felt I was evil.”

“I don’t feel any evil in you. And I didn’t when we were bringing you out of the caverns.”

“Grass eater. Do you know of me and us?”

“Yes. I am called Robert by Lady Karen of Lambert. And I know of you and yours. I know that you know of me and mine.”

“Yes. Small, intelligent, sees all and hears all. Fast and maneuverable and sharp witted. An excellent familiar to a woman dealing with men who may be less then honorable. Robert, you are pledged to this Lady Karen. Is that not true?”

“I am. I am not sure that she realizes it yet.”

“I realize it. You have been a perpetual shadow except for that time with Reggie, but I will not be separated from you again. You are my friend.” Karen said.

“Lady Karen. I assume you trust the judgement of this Familiar?”

Karen thought for a moment. This was an interesting set of questions. “I have seen no reason to doubt his judgement. I and he are teaching each other, he is learning my life and surroundings. That experience will give him greater understanding and reduce his fears and mine. Yes. I do trust his judgement.”

“Lady Karen. It is not the place for any creature to usurp the place of any familiar. As he is bonded to you directly, I and mine will respect that bond. In your language “first come, first served”. But our smaller brethren often hit their limits easily when in opposition to larger and more dangerous forces. Robert of Lambert. If you ever feel you are at risk when being outclassed in strength while the familiar of Lady Karen, as her guardian and protector, reach out to us. All of us will Come. This is our Pledge to you and to Lady Karen of Lambert. We only ask that you see the threat so that we can identify it more quickly. I trust your judgement.”

Karen was in shock for a moment. What do I say to this?

Robert answered. “I hear and gladly accept your offer of aid in my service to Lady Karen. You are true, I have limits. Lord Hank has offered to extend the strength of the necklace I wear to give me more strength then I have had in the past, but we have all heard the saying “better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.” I hear your offer and pledge to give you all of the sights, sounds, smells and identities of those who would be a threat in a timely manner.”

“Thank you, Robert of Lambert.” And Deamonus nodded his head, turned around and sank back into his alligator form and walked toward the creek.

Karen sat for a moment. She was a little irked at this arrangement that she had no control over, until she remembered her own work with the FBI and when visiting with US Marshals and US Secret service. These guys were the same. Just on four feet and with scales. And lot bigger guns.

“Robert, please do me a favor. If you find a threat, try to keep the overkill to a minimum. I don’t want to be wiping up tomato sauce like Paula did.”

“I promise to try, Lady Karen. I will try.”

Karen was not totally comfortable with that assurance. Somehow, massive overkill seemed to be a Dragon’s modus operandi. Oh well. Maybe I can learn the shield before barbeque trick. Or maybe I can ask Hank to have Brimstone give lessons. To all of them. That seems to have worked.

A discussion among Dragons

The Groundskeeper was a little disturbed. Aine had fallen deeply in love with his home and charge, and part of that love was hearing everything that anyone said on the grounds. This last discussion had left him a little disturbed. After an hour of consideration, he felt it was a good idea to reach out and get some clarity.

“Deamonus, can we have a few words?”

“Surely, Aine. I would be happy to speak with you.”

“You know of my ties to the lands here. And you also should know that I hear all that happens here. I am a little disturbed by the content that you shared with Robert and Lady Karen. Could you educate me as to what and how this all means?”

“Sir Groundskeeper, you are totally involved with this land. Your defense of it and your keeping of order is such that we all are in awe of your attachment. But there are not many other places where we can assume that attachment. And there is indeed a debt owed by all of us to those who have taken the time and invested the energy to save us all from our previous worlds and conditions.” Deamonus said.

“Yes. That is unfortunate. But what does that have to do with your Pledge to Robert?”

“Robert, despite his size, is the acknowledged familiar of Lady Karen. While there are means to support his position, and to gain power to help him in his role to defend Lady Karen, He has limits. Unlike Lord Lambert’s support by Brimstone, Robert’s resources would be overcome by those tactics discussed by Sir Alyn Lombard in his infamous treatise “On Dragons”. I was able to read that treatise and it struck fear in my heart. Any of us could succumb to these tactics, much less a simple Grass eater. Especially if he was unaware of them. That could leave Lady Karen bereft of her protection in a time when she needed it most.”

“I can understand that. I can also believe that there is some other course being played here. You are a canny dragon, my friend, what is your goal?” Aine asked.

“You have already made recommendations for Lumi and Lotan to move from here to the mountains and river in the place called New Mexico. And they are clearly the best suited for that task, enjoying basking in the sun of that conclave. Your selection of them was gifted. But that means that myself, and four more to reside here for the moment are unattached to lands until further lands are open to us. We have no mission to absolve us of our debt to Lord Lambert, and others.”

Aine replied. “And you see a solution to this challenge?”

“Not in the normal way. But Lord Hank is seeing increasing dangers to his clan. Our Clan. And we are uniquely configured to provide support to our clansmen as a resource in the event of any further attacks. I do not see Dragons as Familiars to Mages or Wizards. We are too large, cumbersome and powerful for that task. However, if summoned, in times of need, we would be useful to repel, or destroy any force attacking a member of Clan Lambert, regardless of Species. The Dragonet’s, The Grass Eaters, and others know how to speak to us, and those others with amulets can speak with us at any time. If we are to be equipped with the same Power vestments that those others are equipped with, on the scale of our size, we would be a serious support for defense of any member of the clan that found itself endangered and without sufficient power to repel the attacks.”

“You would have us as Cavalry, riding into the fray to defend our Clansmen when they are in need?” Aine said with a touch of awe in his thoughts.