Chapter 28: Decisions and Warning

Udit was sitting at the kitchen table an hour later with Seth, Martha, Pappy and Sean. "David confirmed that it was Magdalena that attacked Pete and Susan," he explained. "That's the bad news because she's a very dangerous person. The good news is that she doesn't seem to be aimed at Sean and our group, our family. She was only there to try to protect one of her people that was being prosecuted. Pete has already handed off the papers to the prosecutor so there shouldn't be any further danger from her."

"You didn't mention this woman before," Martha said, accusingly. "Why not?"

"I talked about the Brujos that I thought would be a danger to us in North America," Udit said, evenly. "Magdalena is from Central America. She hasn't been seen in North America in over eighty years. I didn't consider her a threat."

"But..." Martha started, angrily.

Seth cut her off when he said, "Udit's right, honey. We can't prepare for everything. The only thing we can do is try to prepare for the most obvious threats."

"Is she really that dangerous?" Pappy asked. "Pete and Susan were able to beat her so she couldn't be that dangerous."

"Pete and Susan were barely able to beat her, according to what they said." Udit pointed out. "And they still couldn't stop her. She got away." Udit got a thoughtful look and continued after a moment. "But they almost got her. That's the closest anyone's been to killing that creature in over a hundred years. It might have caused her to scurry back to her hole in Central America. That would be a very good thing."

Sean was looking thoughtful too, and he started shaking his head at Udit's statement. "I don't think so, Udit." At Udit's questioning look, Sean continued. "I don't think she left, for two reasons. First, if she hasn't been truly challenged in over a hundred years, then it would be a matter of pride with her. That is a hundred years for her ego to grow. She will want to crush whatever successfully stands against her. Running back to her lair would only mean that what challenged her has a chance to grow stronger and become more of a threat to her. I don't care what names we call the Brujos, but, we must remember that they are still human. That means they are still subject to human failings like letting egos have too much control.

"The second reason is the Dream. We're assuming the dark side of the Dream is guiding the Brujos. We've escaped Eli at least twice. Once when I was born and the second at the airport. We've defeated Cocheta at least once, no, twice if we include the rabid dog. Now our family has defeated Magdalena. I think the next time we'll be facing more than one Brujo on orders from the Dream."

"I wish you looked older," Pappy grumbled. "What you're saying makes sense, but it would be easier to accept from someone that didn't look like a one year old."

Sean giggled, and said, "But Pappy, I am a one year old, or soon will be."

Udit shook his head and, ignoring the exchange between Pappy and Sean, said, "Two fighting together will never happen. Brujos do not associate with each other. They communicate but, any time they get close to each other, there is a battle."

"You said that Cocheta is associated with Eli in some way," Seth pointed out. "How do you explain that?"

"They had a battle," Udit replied. "We know that Eli won the battle. We know Eli didn't kill Cocheta but Cocheta does things that Eli orders him to do now. Eli has some kind of hold over Cocheta."

"So, maybe it will be Eli and Cocheta," Sean speculated.

"No," Udit disagreed. "During a battle, Cocheta could easily turn on Eli and escape whatever hold Eli has on him when Eli dies. Besides, Eli likes sure things. He doesn't take chances. His attack at the airport is the most exposed he has ever been that I know of."

Sean's little forehead wrinkled in concentration as he thought of all the information that he had available. Finally he muttered, "I'm right. I know I'm right." He looked up at Udit and said, "We can't do anything today but I think I'll need your help tomorrow."

Udit's eyes narrowed and he asked, "Help with what?"

Sean shook his head and said, "Let me think it through tonight. I'll explain what I think I should do then."

"And how about us young man?" Martha asked looking at Sean with raised eyebrows.

"Do you mean besides cooking the meals and cleaning the house barefoot?" Sean asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Seth groaned and warned, "Don't start that, Sean. It will only get you in trouble." He turned to Martha and explained. "We were listening to talk radio in the truck when we went to town for feed. They mentioned 'barefoot and pregnant.' I had to explain it to him and he said he was curious about your opinion on the subject. I warned him not to bring it up."

Martha turned a cold eye on Sean and said, "I don't know how Seth explained it to you but all that phrase means is that some people believe men are superior to women and practicing that phrase is a way to keep women in their place. Any time you believe men are superior to women, just take a look at the women in this family. And don't try to change the subject because it won't do you any good."

Seth looked surprised as he realized how easily Sean had changed the subject without anyone noticing except Martha.

"I don't think anyone's superior to you, Momma," Sean said seriously. "You may have a few equals like Poppa but no one superior." Sean sighed before saying, "What about the rest of you is a good question." Sean took a deep breath and let it out as he looked around the table.

Martha had to hold a smile in as she recognized one of Seth's habits when her husband was trying to make a hard decision and under stress. "I love my men, " she thought to herself. "Both the short and the tall," the thought continued, and she had to hold in a smile.

"I need to figure out what direction my training needs to go," Sean said softly. He sounded like he was assuming a responsibility that he didn't want yet. "That training could be dangerous to people around me so it needs to be away from all of you. Udit insists that he will be there. I can accept that but it doesn't make sense to endanger more than one of the people that I love. For the rest of you, well, continue training and train harder, if you can."

"But..." Martha started, but Sean interrupted her.

"The only reason Pete and Susan were able to beat Magdalena was training," Sean said pointedly. The conviction in his voice gave them all a hint of the person that would be leading their cause in the future. "Their training was the only thing that could have saved them. I love all of you so if training is that important for your wellbeing then you need to train. Train harder if you can. I, I don't know what it would do to me if I lost any of you, and I don't want to find out. So train."

"He's right, honey," Seth said quietly. "There are some things that we can't help him with. He's right about Pete and Susan too. And the rest of us needing to be prepared."

Martha nodded her head in acceptance, turned, and left the room. She didn't want them to see the tears that she was trying to hold back. Martha loved Sean dearly and with all her heart. But, when you get a baby, there is an expectation that the baby will stay a baby. At least they should stay a baby until they become a toddler. Martha loved Sean and did accept him as he was but she also regretted missing all the growth stages she had been looking forward to when she found out that she was getting a baby. She couldn't hold back the tears.

Sean felt Martha's sadness as she hurriedly left the room. "That didn't go well," he muttered as the kitchen door closed behind her. Turning to the others, he said, "Megan, um, Aunt Liz is in danger," Sean said seriously.

"What kind of danger?" Seth asked. "Why would they be in danger?"

"They'll try to kill Megan before she's born," Sean explained

"But, why, Sean?" Pappy asked confused. "Why would the Brujos want to hurt Megan before she's born?"

"Megan's going to be a wizard or whatever they call females with talents like mine," Sean explained. "Would that be a Sorceress or an Enchantress, Udit?" he asked his mentor.

"Could be either," Udit muttered before finishing his coffee in two quick gulps. "I would go with Sorceress."

Seth shook his head and ignored Sean's question. "No Sean. Liz's baby isn't due until the first week of July at the earliest. Udit said that Wizards are born on the summer solstice. That's the day before your birthday this year, June 21st. That's only about three weeks from now. Baby's can be premature but usually only when there's a problem. Every checkup Liz has reports no issues. She's healthy and so is the baby. She would need to be weeks premature to be born on the 21st."

Sean looked at Seth, with the patience of a monk. After a moment he said, "I know what the doctors say, but I'm pretty sure that she'll be born on the 21st of June. Poppa, I was thinking they would be safer if everyone thought Megan was going to be a normal baby. I didn't consider the help the Brujos are getting from the Dream where Megan was concerned," Sean explained patiently. "I didn't consider that they couldn't have known about me but they did and killed my mom and dad. Poppa, they will go after Uncle Ben and Aunt Liz."

"I don't know," Seth said slowly, while shaking his head. "That might be a hard sell with Ben and Liz."

"They don't have a choice," Sean said with a sigh. "It's like wanting a boy and getting a girl. The parents don't get to decide."

"Do you want to go with me, Pappy?" Udit asked.

"Sure," Pappy said. "Maybe Liz has some of those cookies she makes."

"For now, I need to figure some things out. Can you keep them here until I get back?" Sean asked. He sounded tired.

Udit nodded and Seth said, "I'll let Martha know what's going on. She'll make sure Liz and Ben stay; at least long enough for supper."

Sean nodded his thanks and said, "Lightning needs to go outside for a while so I'm taking him for a walk." No one said anything as he climbed down from his highchair and left the room with his dog.

Seth watched the boy and the dog walk out of the kitchen. He didn't need to hold the worried smile back as the door closed. He didn't even try. He was so proud of Sean that he felt like he could bust at times. At other times, he was scared out of his mind for his baby boy. Seth let out a breath after the door closed. "Is he really that capable at his age?" he asked the room at large.

Udit accepted the question and said, "The only Mage I can compare him to from personal experience is John, Avasa's husband. I didn't meet John until I was ten years old. John was ten too. He wasn't a powerful Mage like Sean but his mind..." Udit shook his head. The gesture was mixture of respect, loss of a friend, and amazement at what his friend was. "I was told that John was like Sean when he was young. John was ten when I met him and he was as smart as Sean is. He saw to the heart of things the same way Sean does too." Udit paused and he had a troubled look on his face. "Based on my experience with John and now with Sean, I think the intelligence is instinctive for Magi. That includes the ability to quickly assimilate information, categorize it and convert it to knowledge, and then use it." Udit nodded toward the door that Sean had exited and continued. "Think about how he just sounded. Other than the pitch of his voice, if you were listening but couldn't see, you would think it was a group of adults talking. He has the knowledge a bearing of a twenty year old."

"But he's not a twenty year old," Seth protested weakly. He knew Udit was right, but it was still hard to accept.

"No, he's not," Udit agreed as he pushed his chair back up to the table tiredly. "But, in a way he is. He has been aware and understanding all the input from his senses since his first breath. Normally, babies don't become aware of all their senses and get them sorted out so they can use them for months. The understanding takes years longer. I think that knowledge, understanding issues and their solutions aren't the challenge that he's facing now though. I'm pretty sure he knows what he should do for himself. I think his struggle is trying to figure out how to protect his family."

Sean ran his fingers through the ruff of Lightning's coat thoughtfully as they walked. The dog was shoulder high on him now but wouldn't get much bigger, he hoped. He thought it was strange that dogs and horses grew so quickly to full size but humans took years to reach their full growth. Humans, the stewards of the earth, were helpless and nearly defenseless until a long time after their birth. Even then humans could barely hold their own against other animals in a physical sense. Men couldn't run faster than a horse except over very long distances. Humans didn't have teeth or claws to match dogs or cats. Only their minds gave humans an edge over the rest of the animal kingdom and normal humans couldn't use their minds to compete with animals until years after they were born. Sean was assuming that he was human. That was something he thought about a lot.

Avasa had been Sean's choice to ask the question about the humanity of Wizards. His reason for selecting her was simple. She had known a Wizard intimately for a long time.

"Are Wizards really human, Ava?" Sean asked one day while he watched her make some Indian flat bread.

"Why do you ask that, honey?" Ava asked curiously as she sprinkled more flour over the dough.

"Because I'm different than other people," Sean replied with a shrug. "I look the same but I'm not the same. I'm like your husband and I thought you would know the answer better than some of the others."