Chapter 32: Conference

To say the least, I was stunned ... again.

Sitting back on the bed, I considered what everyone had told me. While Sally and I were in the bedroom, my mark had exploded like a flash grenade not only from me, but from everyone bound to me. That included all the girls bound to me, all my House Members as well as Cicely and all of her House Members.

Even worse, at least for the Law of Secrecy, Mind Magi weren't the only ones to see it. Everyone who was within viewing distance of anyone with my color witnessed what had happened.

No one had been hurt, but there were suddenly a lot more people asking questions that shouldn't be answered and this time it wasn't just about me. That made it so much worse to me.

For her part, Cicely was sitting beside herself with worry about what would happen. She had been with one of her House Members in a car when it happened to them. Several other drivers around them looked at them. One was an off duty police officer. He had even gotten out of his car to check on them.

Other calls came in. My House Members were being bombarded with questions, curiosities, and concern. Whatever they had been doing was dropped and they headed for home.

As I sat there, contemplating all those involved and how it would affect them, I had flashes of memories from what had flooded me earlier.

I could see the slaves of Egypt working on the great pyramids as if I stood on a catwalk and looked on with anticipation of what they created.

Men mounted on horses, wearing armor and brandishing swords charged into an army of would be defenders of a country I didn't know.

A steam engine train pulled away from a gathering of people who had just witnessed the joining of two railroads in the middle of a heated prairie.

These events were vivid, as if I had actually been there. The memory I had received previously reminded me of the old man who passed his memories to me through my mother before I was born. I wondered if the flashes I was seeing were from him.

All of that occurred as I sat discussion the flash of my mark with my girls.

"I still don't understand," said Sally. "You've had sex many times with all the others. Why did it happen when you were with me?"

I shook my head. "I can only imagine that it has something to do with what Michael had suggested."

Renée looked up at that. "He said Sally might be your soul mate, not that she was."

Shrugging I asked, "Then what do you think?"

"I think your abilities are still evolving. Being bound to an entire House, this may have been a flashback of some sort."

That may have been possible, but I wasn't sure. I hadn't mentioned the torrent of memories or how they were currently flashing through my mind. At that moment another scene erupted, that of Roman soldiers marching along a street and throngs of people parting to let them through.

Instantly I was back in the hotel room.

"Ral, Michael told you about how House Leaders will step down and a new one will take over," offered Erin. "Did he mention anything like this when that happened?"

"No," I said. "And I don't think I've taken Cicely's House from her. She can still access her House Members' abilities."

"Then that leaves us with only your bond with Sally," Charlotte concluded.

I kept my head down, looking at the floor or anything to keep from looking at the others. Every time I did look up, whoever I looked at stared back at me. My eyes were still amber. I had hoped that it would wear off but there had been no change.

"Ral," Charlotte said. "Look at me, please."

I looked. She looked back at me. Her face reminded me of another woman. She too had dark hair and eyes, but she wore paint that made her appear more exotic. Their expressions were the same, a touch of curiosity with a heavy dose of concern. I closed my eyes.

"Is there a possibility someone did this using Master PC?" Chloe asked. It was the first thing she had offered since we all sat to discuss it.

I looked at her. Everyone else did too.

"That's an idea," Charlotte said with a touch of excitement. She got up and went to the briefcase she had brought with her that contained her laptop.

Sally and I had gotten dressed. The others had already done so while she and I were alone. Most of us were on edge, half expecting Dragons to show up, and half nervous about what had happened to my mark and eyes.

Charlotte pulled up my profile. After a quick scan over the code she announced that no recent changes had been made.

That was somewhat disappointing. Part of me hoped she would see something, at least added code, but I knew that just gaining additional memories didn't reflect in the program.

"Okay," I said standing up. "I know this is something we could sit and puzzle over for a couple more hours, but I'm sure the Dragons aren't going to let us. We need to get moving.

"Are we sticking to your plan?" Charlotte asked. She shut down her laptop and packed it back into her briefcase.

I nodded. "This incident will be a major distraction for everyone involved. We need to use it." I wasn't only sure of it; distractions were a very well used tactic. Something in my newly acquired memories told me that.

Everyone else got up; those still not fully ready to leave made preparations. Once everyone had everything ready, we left together.

When we got down to the parking garage Renée asked, "What about Sally?"

I looked at the young woman in question. Something told me she would be safe with me. Whether it was my instincts or the new collection of memories I wasn't sure, but I wasn't going to argue about it. "She's staying with me."

Renée nodded as if it hadn't mattered one way or another. I could feel something in her that I would have to address when everything was over. It wasn't jealousy per se, but something akin to it.

The four gave me hugs and kisses. Sally waited quietly behind me, but she wasn't left out, and to her surprise they hugged her as well. Finally, they climbed into the van.

After we got into her car, Sally asked, "Where are we going?"

"For now, just drive. I want to give them time to get to hotels and be settled. Once I get calls from them saying they're ready, I'm going after the hostages."

Sally started the car and we left the hotel garage. The van with my other four turned south, Sally and I headed north.

More scenes flashed through my head. Some were quick and I couldn't discern what was happening, others seemed to linger as if they were memories that had been thought about a lot. Again, all of them seemed to be events from human history. None seemed very specific, but only what someone had witnessed and remembered from various moments in their lives.

That thought disturbed me. One person had lived multiple lives? That wasn't possible. I was sure Michael would have known if there were a Mind Magi who lived so long. Especially with the eras and events these memories presented.

A short time later, Cicely called again. "Ral, I have a conference call with the other House Leaders set up."

"What time?"

"They're on now."

"Perfect, patch me in."

There was a conversation already in progress. Someone was saying, " ... has gone too far. We cannot allow him to continue to expose us to the rest of the world like this."

Several others murmured their agreement and no one attempted to say anything against that idea or defend me. It seemed I was already at a loss in trying to gain their assistance.

"Fellow Council Members, this is Lord Setton of House Nautikuus," I began. "The last day and a half has been trying for all of us. I would say the concern each of you felt for the family members who are being held hostage has only been replaced by the nonsense you now discuss in my absence."

"Lord Setton," said a low voice.

My new memories told me it was Lord Morehouse. Whoever the old man was, he knew the council at the time.

"While we do not disagree that what is happening is deplorable and must be stopped, your methods only seem to draw more and more unwanted attention as you actively pursue and fight with the Dragons," Morehouse said.

Several others started talking after that. Some even sounded angry that I had endangered their families.

"Do any of you realize that one of my girls is also being held hostage?" I asked, making my voice clear yet refrained from yelling to be heard.

The others stopped talking.

"That's what I thought. It seems the idea that I wasn't putting anyone I loved in danger was something several of you held onto. Has Lady Reynolds not told you of the events since our meeting yesterday?"

Again, several tried to answer. Finally another woman said, "No, Lady Reynolds has only just joined this conference."

"Considering we are not in a room together, where we can see who is about to speak, we should keep this as to the point and ordered as possible. If you have a question, speak your name," Lord Morehouse ordered.

"Lord Greenwood," was the first name I heard. The others listened as he asked, "Lord Setton, what do you have to say about your actions earlier this morning at your store?"

"I was simply fighting off an attack that could have turned out worse than it was," I replied.

"And you didn't even consider the news cameras all around the area?"

"At that moment, no. I was more concerned with stopping the attack."

"And what have you done to stop the flow of information after the fact?"

"Nothing, there hasn't been time because I have been continuously pursued and attacked by Dragons."

There were comments about that.

"Lord Setton, this is Lady Arneson. You had reported to my brother, a detective in the New York Police Department, that two Dragons had attacked you in your room at the 'W', but he found no evidence to support that claim. What about that?"

"If any of you would take a moment to consider who we are facing - and I do mean 'we' because if any of you were to attempt to do anything to rescue the hostages, the Dragons would be chasing you as well — then you will understand that the incident at the hotel, the attack at my store and everything else has been nothing more than an effort by the Dragons to force me to expose myself to the public, thus having you do what they cannot: stop me."

"To answer your question Lady Arneson, I have witnesses to the event. I didn't point them out to Detective Arneson only because he took my word about what happened, or did I make a mistake in understanding his willingness to help?"

To a degree, I felt insulted that I would have to defend my actions, however I knew there had been many times throughout history when the actions of a man or woman, willing to do what was necessary at the time, were condemned by those who ruled over them. I would not let the Council stop me any more than the Dragons.

"I will tell you this," I said over several trying to reply to my accusation. "If you attempt to stop me, I will consider you in league with those leading this rebellion."

"A rebellion?" someone asked with a seriously mocking tone. "This is Lord Flemming, and I don't know what you've been drinking or smoking, but no one is ceasing control of the Mind Magi."

"And what makes you so sure about that?" I asked quickly.

"If they wanted control of the Mind Magi, then they would have stripped us of our Leadership. All of us still have our mantles."

"And you're simply going to trust that whoever has taken your family member is just going to give them back and go away? Just like that?"

No one answered. For a moment I wondered if I had been disconnected.

"Is anyone still there?" I asked.

"We're still here," came back a voice. "Tell me, Lord Setton, do you have a plan to free the hostages?"

The voice was calm but had an underlying hint of fear. "Who is this?"

"Lord Hendon," said the voice.

"Yes, Lord Hendon, I do have a plan."

The line was still quiet. They were waiting for me to elaborate. The problem I had was my suspicion that one or more of them was involved in everything going on. So far, I still had no proof except for Whisper using Lord Greenwood's daughter and letting me bind her to me.

At that moment, I wondered if Whisper had known the young lady would be taken hostage as well, held as a captive to keep me in check.

"I have support for what I'm going to do. Going in alone will be rough, but all of you are more than welcome to join us."