Chapter 6

The granite floored dining room set off the cherry furniture and paneling. It too had a large fire place but there was no fire tonight and it would have been dark had there not been up-lights tucked into every corner and behind every couch adding to the light cast by a crystal chandelier. They ate at one end of a huge table, with Martin sitting between April and William. The food was excellent and hearty appetites masked the lack of small talk while they ate, with no mention of Mary or James and no questions of April's ancestors.

After dinner they retired to a small library, shortly after finishing what they could of the rum bundt cake. No one wanted a cigar. April didn't think any had been smoked in this room, at least not since the hanging of the old burgundy velvet drapes. It reminded April of her father's library. The desk was larger, the books were older, but it meant the same thing. She could tell this room was used often. She tried not to think of her family and stared at the fire in the large fire place.

Eventually William broke the silence. "So, April, how is your training coming?"

"I would say I am coming along quite well I suppose. I can ignore their thoughts most of the time." She hesitated and then asked, "Is it rude of me to ask if you were able to hear any of my thoughts when we touched?"

"Yes, it is, but how are you to know unless you ask, so I am not offended in the least." William dismissed her question. "Who is training you?"

"Martin." April seemed surprised at the question. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, traditionally it has always been a member of your own sex who would teach you, and it would have started early. Events are awkward in your awakening. I'm not sure really if there is a difference in the male and female mental training, and it seems odd that in all these years we haven't had a cross-match before. I just never thought about such training not being done by a same sex parent, and I don't know of any instances of such a thing. But under the circumstances I can see why Martin would be a logical choice, and really wonder at how sexist I have been. Maybe it helps that you are of human adult age already?"

William tried desperately to keep his face neutral. Suddenly he saw what Mary was doing. She was tricky enough to fool even the paranoid Martin.

"Martin, do you ever wonder why we can sit and stare into a fire for such a long time?" William asked to cover his urge to laugh. Eventually Martin would figure it out too. He wasn't quick, but he was deep. He would worry at the problem until it was solved. Then he would kill Mary. Could she hide from him for 200 or 300 years? She wouldn't have the patience to stay away from Martin's children for 200 years.

"All races are the same, we will sit and stare into a flame for hours," said Martin. "It was in the genes of our common ancestor. It is fascinating and beautiful, isn't it? As a child I would fall asleep in front of the fire. Maybe it's the warmth or maybe the sense of safety, but it is comforting, and no one can deny that the flame colors and shapes are Nature's art. Even the sounds are pleasing."

Another word was not spoken until William excused himself. He laughed when he said that he needed more sleep now that he was old.

"I like him," April said once William was gone.

"It's hard not to."

Martin rose leaving the room. When April awoke it was morning, she was snug under a down comforter. The fire was out; whoever had covered her had also removed her shoes and somehow placed a pillow under her head.

William did not eat with them that morning. A huge dark skinned woman named Nora said that William had work to do and suggested that Martin and April drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mount Mitchell. The Parkway would be closed to all traffic soon as winter tightened her grip on the Smoky Mountains. Martin had nothing else to do but brood, and walking the trails provided some welcomed exercise. The drive was scenic with wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, red crossbills and even chipmunks sighted.

The next day William joined Martin and April for breakfast outside, with a view of the mountains. The mountains were bleak in the late fall yet peaceful - They were some of the oldest mountains in America. A mixed flock of chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice moved noisily through the yard, each with a slightly different ecological niche but all with eyes to watch for predators.

After breakfast William said, "Martin, do you remember who your parents were?"

"You've asked me this before and you know I don't"

"Who trained you?"

"Has senility already struck you?"

"Please Martin, humor me."

"Daniel trained me."

"I always assumed that Daniel was your father. In the last two days I think I have identified your mother."

"What? How long have you been looking?" asked Martin.

"Just a while. On and off. Mary gave me some new information."

"What was it?"

"First I have a favor to ask of you."

"I know I will hate myself for this, but go ahead."

"It is not a small favor."

"I didn't think that it would be. I can't promise that I'll do you this favor, but I do know I won't if you don't ask."

"We all die eventually," William said. "I have the records of our race. Think of me as Moses writing Numbers for our race, but our genealogy stretches back over 5000 years. These are records that I don't want to be lost. I want you to keep them."

"Oh no, I am not going to be the official historian of our race. You're crazy. I would hate it. Surely there is someone better qualified, someone who would want to do it," Martin exclaimed.

"You don't have to do it yourself. Hire people to do it. It is up to date. All they would need to do would be track new children. That, and track enigmas such as April. I've got it all on the computer now, and yes, it took quite a while to set it up, but now all you have to do is enter new data into pre-designed forms. I know you are not concerned about the cost, but this job comes with its own money I've set it up."

"I don't need your money, but why me?" Martin asked.

"Because you are paranoid enough to get through the years ahead, no matter who wins this current disagreement. I don't want this work lost, I want it continued."

"Didn't you hear, I've already been shot once?"

"And now you are really paranoid."

"William, I think you have already slipped into your dotage."

"Yes, yes, but will you do this?"

Martin stood and reached forward with his right hand; William mirrored his movements. "I will keep the records for you and find a qualified person to take on the task when it is time," Martin said.

William replied, "Thank you my friend, I am in your debt, and honored that you value my life's work," and then he broke the contact. "You will find your information within the records. Do you mind if we just sit here a moment and let me enjoy this feeling?"

"Not at all," said April as Martin sat with a bemused expression on his face, "I am enjoying learning more about the art of appreciation of life's finer moments and how to make more ordinary moments into finer ones."

"Mary said you were wise for your young years."

The three sat quietly on the deck, sipping their tea/coffee. William was satisfied that his records would be in safe hands. The genealogy would be continued in conscientiousness. April was studying his face and his Zen-like blending with the outdoors, and Martin wondering what other reasons William had for his request.

Finally Martin could bear it no longer and interrupted the reverie by questioning William. "William, this is all nice and cozy here, but what else did Mary tell you?" Martin asked.

"She is not a threat to you and April but a slip on her part has put you in danger. I can't tell you what that slip was. There is a group of several old ones who see you and April as a danger. They also see James as a danger."

"In that we agree."

"William," asked April, "why can't you tell us more?"

"Because of promises I made to her in order to get the information. I can only give you enough information to put you on guard, but that should be enough anyway."

"Is the information in the records?" April was insistent.

"Well, actually yes. She forgot about that." William gave a smug smile.

"So what can you tell us?" Martin asked.

"I can tell you that Yoshima is one of your enemies. Mary is certain that he was behind the attack on you, Martin. She either does not know, or would not tell me, who was behind the attacks on April's family."

"It seems more and more likely that she is the puppeteer," Martin said almost to himself.

"Why would you say that?" asked April. "She spoke the truth when she said she wished us no harm."

"Yes, but she didn't say if she had already done us harm. She probably knows who hired the police to kill your brother. She knows who tried to kill us. She seems to be in the middle of everything. She means you no harm but she risks your sanity by leaving you without someone to guide you through your first weeks of adulthood. She is more than a bystander."

You better run Mary, thought William.

"Okay, William, who is Martin's mother?" asked an exasperated April.

"Jazel of Aswan."

"Never heard of her." Martin said. He was distracted, thinking of other problems.

"Is she still alive?" April knew that Martin could get tunnel vision when working on a problem but this was ridiculous.

"Sadly, no," William replied. "She was killed during the Napoleonic wars. In Spain in 1808 just after Martin was born. It is certain that Daniel was not his father, since Daniel was in India from 1803 till 1810."

"Did Mary tell you where she was going?" Martin asked.

"Of course not, Martin. You don't live as long as she has if you have a death wish."

"Well then, what is your best guess? Would we be safe here for a couple of months?" Martin asked.

"Probably if you stay inside. I would think so. Why do you need a couple of months? Would you like to stay here?"

"April may get thrown in jail. We will get her out quickly, but she needs enough training to use her senses and her fighting together. Then she can protect herself."

"I'll bring in some female bodyguards for you to evaluate," William spoke to April.

"Thank you."

"What about Tommy and Howard? Would you like them here?" William asked Martin.

"Yes. Thank you very much. April, would you rather have Barbara, Lynn, and Stevie than new guards?" Martin enquired.

"Barbara and Lynn will be enough. Stevie is a distraction."

"Do Tommy and Howard distract you?"

"No. They don't mind sneaking a peek, but mostly they think of their wives if they are thinking erotic thoughts. It's almost romantic. Stevie is a bit overwhelming."

"After a while you won't even find it notable. I think we'll go with four guards since we will try to stay primarily indoors and William does have his own guards. And actually as for Stevie, I wouldn't worry about it since you've grown so much since then. It would just be background noise now."

"We'll assume that our enemy knows we are here," Martin continued. "Once April is sufficiently trained, we'll take care of the legal problems and then we'll be able to make our plans without having to hide from both the police and our enemies."

William stood and spoke, "Alright then, your enemies are my enemies. I'll see to getting your people here. What is your current code phrase?"

"My linen is dirty."

William laughed. "You should keep that one. It fits so perfectly." He stood, twirled a quarter turn on the balls of his feet and left the room with a little flair. April stared and wondered if he had been a band leader in high school. And then she realized there were no schools when William was a teen.

As April and Martin walked upstairs towards their rooms, April asked, "Martin, why aren't you more interested in your mother and father?"

"I'm very interested, but it probably doesn't influence what is happening now. I'll think about that later."

"Well, I think you're wrong. And I don't think William would have brought it up unless it was important."

Martin stopped walking and looked at April. "Okay, now that you mention it, yes, I guess you could be right. Where are you going with this?"

"It seemed to me that he went a bit overboard in the way he asked you about taking over his record keeping. Like he was trying to get you to figure out a clue he wasn't at liberty to point out to you."

"You're right. So something about my birth affects the threat to you."

"Yes."

"I'll go find William. Maybe I can pound something more out of him. Let's see if we can start working on the data as soon as we find a company to do it." Once he made up his mind, Martin was quick to act. April watched him run down the stairs with a wry smile on her face.

The afternoon was spent with Martin and April exercising and practicing martial arts. As they finished, he explained some of the threats of lock-up and prison to April. "Generally, the biggest danger would be surprise, being caught off-guard while not alert or aware of an impending attack. Your best friend will come up behind you and stick a shank into your kidney. But you have an advantage none of the other prisoners have - you can hear them coming, hear what they are thinking. No one will be able to surprise you if you stay aware, keeping track of those around you. That ability, and the physical training, will keep you safe. Over the next couple of days we will train, and if you make mistakes with me it is not a problem, I heal quickly. Remember, control has two meanings: you can hit your target lightly when you want but you can also hit your target with full force when you want. Now let's rest and get ready for dinner."