Kindred (The Young Ancients: Second Cycle Book 3) Read online

  Karina pretended not to notice the contact. Though it was possible that she didn’t really care, or even wanted it to happen. It was a real enough thing after all. The two Ancients had been together for years, as lovers, and partners. Here he was now, practically climbing into bed with them, without even asking how they felt about that kind of thing. At least he was doing that with Sara, who’d been nothing but kind to him. Even before he was betrothed to her special friend.

  The Princess smiled, but in a subdued way, and glanced away.

  “We were talking about the laws in different places. Regarding murder, while under combat rage? I was just about to hit Harmony on that one. Tiera basically held to her word there. She’d already told the man himself that going for you after you asked him to stop like that could lead to his death and that it wouldn’t be punished, so no one even questioned that part. There has been a bit of protest about it, from the Austran style media people, but really, no one can touch you, in particular. Which is a horrible thing, of course.” She looked at him, hard, as if she expected him to not understand her meaning.

  Dareg did however. It was obvious, after all.

  “I know. I… What should I do? Go and report to prison? Harmony doesn’t even have that, do they? Exile myself? I suppose I kind of already did that part. It seems fair, really. Harmony doesn’t need that kind of violence, and didn’t have it, before I went there. I can’t bring that man back.” He stopped, knowing that it wasn’t totally true, really, being that there were several ways that he could, more or less, do that part of things. “Well, I mean, I won’t do that. I could probably travel back in time, and prevent it, but I didn’t do that, and it has to be filled with problems, doing that kind of thing. I mean, if I fix it that way, then it wouldn’t happen, so there would be no need to fix it, meaning that it would… Not that I can’t get around that, but…”

  Karina smiled and shook her head.

  “You can time travel now? I missed that one.” She was joking, but Sara looked at him a little more seriously.

  Sipping from her cup, which smelled better than it would taste, she didn’t speak for a bit, stalling while she thought.

  “You… The transportation network? The jump ships too, I bet. They already distort time? I haven’t tried your boxes for travel yet, not having any where I’ve been. Can I get some for my stations? Put one up outside of this place, and it will be my new favorite coffee shop.” The words seemed sort of idle really, as if she didn’t expect that kind of thing to just be passed around casually.

  Which made no sense. They only became more valuable, the more places that had them.

  “I can give you ten of them? More if you need, or want them. I suppose we should put more up here, as well, like you said. We need a new network as well, for the people that we want to visit regularly… Um…” He took a sip from his glass the cool and very thick drink being delicious. It was exactly Tam-Unit’s recipe, too. So that part hadn’t been a joke or mistake.

  The other two didn’t help him out, clearly not getting what he was about to say. Given that he wasn’t all that certain about how to present the idea, that made sense. They needed to talk about it eventually, but it was always going to be awkward, when they did it. Doing it later, or worse, ignoring the thing and never bothering with it, wasn’t going to be a good plan either.

  “So. Karina and I are getting married still? That… You two have been together for a long time and out here it would be a bit awkward to pretend that it isn’t a thing. I know that we’re supposed to be discreet about it all, but… Can we afford that?” He didn’t know, really.

  The whole situation was incredibly complicated. Less so now, of course since Tor wasn’t his father any longer. He was about to say that, when Sara smiled at him. Her eyes were a light blue, and shone a bit, seeming pleased, rather than put out by his words.

  “Are you inviting me to be part of your relationship? That’s very kind of you!” It was clear that she was joking, and trying to be a bit pushy about it, probably to be funny. It kind of was, so he nodded.

  “Basically. I mean, we don’t have to be lovers or anything, since the relationships might be too hard to put together that way, but we should at least try to be close. Not that I have any problems that way, but you could, right?” The words were a bit blunt, and Karina covered her smile with her left hand, but Sara just winked at him.

  “All right. We can do that. Be close, I mean. That means I get to use you for free magics, right? At least for my job? You weren’t in on the original charter with the others, but all of the Ancients are supposed to help each other that way, if work requires it. So, those transport devices? Hmmm?”

  That got him to wave at her, and snort a bit.

  “They’re in the magic shop. I don’t have everything needed yet, for it, but anyone can get one of those, if they want. Or will be able to. I need to make different networks though. The one I gave Tiera will work for that. So that people can set them up in their dwellings and not have to worry about strangers walking in on them as they sleep all the time. That would be annoying. I think that I’ll work on the public ones first though. If it’s too hard to walk down the street a half mile to be able to go to different worlds then you’re probably too lazy to be allowed to go anyplace.”

  He was just thinking out loud, and realized that he had a lot of work to get done still. For a moment he felt bad, having missed King Dorgal’s birthday like he had. The man had been polite and kind to him, and deserved better. Dare had let himself forget that, since they weren’t related now. By blood, perhaps, but there were reasons to be nice about things beyond that.

  They all sat there for a moment, not speaking, so one of the Samantha’s walked over, her slightly round face chipper seeming.

  “Are you ready to order?”

  Dareg was a bit hungry, he realized, so nodded.

  “Could I get some chips and cheese? Marissa, on Harmony, makes them…” She used a Tiera made food device, but as far as he knew, those didn’t have any way to hold patterns in their memories, so it might not be possible. The woman that he’d made just looked away, and then nodded.

  “Why… Yes, we can do that! It’s very helpful…” She glanced at Dareg, and danced a bit in place, like a little kid might. “We were able to send the order in to her, and she handed the recipe back over to us, so that we can make it here. Isn’t that kind of her?”

  It really was, though Dareg wasn’t totally certain how that had been arranged so quickly. Sara asked for a white fish with cream sauce, and Karina got seasoned beef skewers. They both looked good when they came, a few moments later, though so did what he had. For a bit they all just ate.

  For his part it was simply about not knowing what he was supposed to say to them. Karina finally broke the silence, taking a deep breath. The way she did it seemed to indicate she was about to say something that she didn’t think would be welcome. To his mind that meant that she wanted him to make up with Tor. It, the whole situation, wasn’t really about him, however. Yes, he’d been angry about being scolded, at the time, but the man had a right to do that, if unfortunate timing. Even if he wasn’t Dare’s father now, he still had the same moral ability to call anyone, anywhere, on committing murder like Dare had.

  The words from his fiancé were different than he would have expected however, being about work related things, and not individuals.

  “I can set up the Austran portion of things, unless you want to snub them? It… Well, I wouldn’t blame you for it. The scientists going aren’t exactly the media though, or in on what Albright was saying about you. Is that good for you, however? I didn’t want to force you on this.” She seemed actually nervous about it all, as if he was really going to blame all of Austra for the acts of a few. Which of course, he was.

  Not to the extent of going back on his word, however.

  “It would be best if I didn’t have to interact with most of them? Certainly not if they want to call me a liar. Do you think that me disowning
Tor and the others will be enough for them? I… I don’t have anything from any of them any longer. Not a coin or amulet. Nothing. Will that please Austra enough?” He didn’t think it would, to be honest. The evil Austran’s were, in their darkest hearts, simply mean and petty.

  Not that all of their people were like that, but enough were that he could guess at the outcome of his efforts. There would be very little change at all on the matter in the minds of those that wished him ill. It seemed unlikely to them, him coming out of what seemed like nowhere, so it had to be a lie.

  Instead of answering, Karina pulled out a handheld and looked up a name, then tapped it. A few moments later a familiar voice came from her hand. It was warm, and a bit pensive sounding.

  Tim Baker.

  “Karina? You’re… Someplace new. Mars? The scrollwork on the wall behind you reminds me of some doodles that I noticed Ali making a few times. It’s very nice. We should do something similar to that in Harmony. The walls get a little boring here, and the sky is worse, given we can’t see it most days.”

  She glanced around and then nodded.

  “I know! The whole place is like this, too. Huge as well. Anyway, you should come and visit. Dareg has been here, and… We can set up a transport hut to here? Can you get to one there? One of his boxes?”

  Dareg didn’t have any of those on him, but his room wasn’t that far away. Plus, the case that had the things in it floated through the door when he looked over. Samantha, or a version of her, leading it in right then. It was a bit heavy handed of her, but also efficient. He’d need to have a chat with her about asking about things like that first, but she had gotten his intent fairly clearly. There were some in the magic shop, but he wanted to leave those for the public, if they ever came.

  Standing up, his food half eaten, he moved to the front of the place, about fifty feet away, and then set up and logged in the second Mars position, then went back to the table after the large red box was where it needed to be.

  Tim was still speaking, his voice calm and almost meditative.

  “I have one just outside the door here. When would be a good time to come visit? Some of the others will want to do that as well. If that isn’t…” He stopped, and Dareg couldn’t see his expression to read it.

  Sara looked at the handheld and then at Dare.

  “Now? I don’t know how to use the thing, is it hard?’

  Timon made a small noise, which seemed to be him walking, and the color of the light changed, reflecting off Karina, and becoming red. A few moments later the deep and manly voice came again.

  “Mars Two, next to the Inn and Restaurant?”

  He nodded.

  “Right. Everything will get a number code that way, I think, as well as a description. We can change that, if we ever name one of these places. Call this one Samantha’s or something?”

  The line didn’t break at all, but a moment later Timon walked in, visible through the glass at the front of the place first. As he came up to the table, Samantha walked over, her face lighting up. Being that she kind of owned the place now, that made sense.

  “Hello! Would you like something to eat, or drink?”

  The man glanced at her, and then did something. Touching the new woman with his mind.

  “A fruit juice would be nice? If possible. Pear. Very cold? Thanks.” He watched her walk away then turned to Dareg and made a small snorting noise. “So, that’s impressive. You made a person. Are you… Dating?” The question seemed innocent enough, and not like he was trying to be sick about the whole thing, but Dareg made a face without meaning to.

  “Gross. She’s my daughter. I mean, everything about her is what I created…”

  The man, his former uncle, nodded then, and smiled.

  “Ah. Still, she could date, if she wanted? I mean the capability for that is there?”

  Dareg knew that he was asking about sex, and that it had been built in. Timon would get all of that, if not exactly why it had been put in that way. Mainly it was so that Samantha could have fun, if she wanted. Things would be pleasurable for her, in all ways. She wasn’t a slave after all. He was about to mention all of that when Sara grinned.

  “That’s different. I was kind of thinking that she’d been created mainly for sex as well. She’s cute. Enough so that she could staff a brothel and no one would think twice about it.”

  It was probably true, and she could do that kind of thing, if she wanted, but it would be her choice. Just like the rest of what she did was.

  Instead of get upset about it, he just shrugged.

  “That’s her call. She’s basically a female version of Sam Builder, so he might want to avoid doing too much with her that way, but the rest of the universe is fair game, I suppose? Not me, but if the rest of you want to try to seduce her. Treat her kindly though. Or else.” He growled the last two words, which got Karina to smile, not bothering to cover her lips this time, and Timon to glance over at Samantha and nod.

  “Brilliant. I can see the resemblance, now. Can one of them come back with me to Harmony? I’d love to introduce her around. I promise, I won’t try to have sex with my great niece.”

  Dareg looked at the man, and shrugged, shaking his head.

  “We aren’t related. I had to undo that… Because of Austra?” It was hard to explain, but other than looking a little bit sad, Timon didn’t move for a while.

  Neither did the others. Except Samantha, who brought the chilled juice over. It smelled real, and was both clear and cold enough that a bit of frost appeared on the outside of the glass. Timon pointed at it.

  “You put moisture into the air?”

  “Designed into the air units. They’ll keep things at about this ratio, so no water forms on the walls. It was a problem for the first few days, since the outer surfaces are colder than the inner ones here. The current system seems to work. I think that the big issue was the swimming ponds that I built. I should take you all on a tour.” Then as if it made sense to do that, he kept eating.

  Because he was starving, and bored enough that while showing off was interesting to him at the moment, he also didn’t really care about it that much and was kind of ready to be alone again.

  Timon sipped at his beverage, speaking while looking directly into Dare’s eyes. It was intense enough to be a little creepy.

  “Anyway, you don’t get to leave the family that easily. Austra is my problem to deal with, and I should have done it already. Tor, and you, shouldn’t be constantly insulted by my people like that. We’re blood, and you can’t just hand wave that away.”

  Dareg nearly snapped at the man, since it wasn’t his decision to make. Ultimately it was up to Dare, who he chose to be his family. To him blood seemed to be the smallest part of that kind of thing. Being ordered to be part of a group of people didn’t even make sense to him.

  “I… Actually can. I’m pretty certain of it. Besides, you tried to fix Austra and failed already. We all tried. Well, I did. I’m pretty sure that we can’t repair that now. So I did what was needed to protect Tor and the rest of you. If I’m not his son, then what I did won’t hurt you.”

  The words got a strange reaction, which was different for each of the others. Timon looked half panicked. He even started to breathe harder, and turned slightly pale. More than he normally was. Sara turned away, going tense. Karina however, simply nodded.

  “That’s what I thought was happening. I don’t think it will really make a difference however. Austra won’t forget you. Not just because you cut off Tor and Ali. What might keep them from coming after you is killing a few more of them.” She grinned and shook her head. “Which will be an act of war, most likely. On the good side, I think you can take them. If you can get a ship…” She glanced at him, as if she were being sly.

  It didn’t really work, since Sara had seen his craft already, and Timon just looked around.

  “You have one already? Stolen… Or did you make it?”

  Dare smiled and shook his head.

&n
bsp; “Made. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I mean, the only people I could steal one form would be the ones that I gave everything back to. Close enough for that to count anyway. I have a thousand of them. No weapons however. I suppose I could rig them to fly at Austra from space however. Just crash into it? That might work. If they were going full speed when they hit. I could make a device that would take them to the right targets, I bet.” It wouldn’t even be that hard. Not that he was going to do that with the ones that he made.

  If all that was needed was a big shield hitting the ground at high speed, there were much cheaper ways of doing it. He could even build the things so that they’d have different sizes on command, to control how much damage was done.

  Timon winced and then coughed a bit, clearly having calculated something in a few moments. That or read the intent from Dare’s mind.

  “That… Would work. If you don’t mind destroying the Earth. The life on it anyway. Things are so close to being lost right now anyway. I doubt we could handle that. I just got Austra. It would work better for me if all my new people weren’t slaughtered like that. Plus, only twenty percent of them actually think that you tricked us at this point. Most of them aren’t even all that bright, so you shouldn’t put too much weight on what they say.”

  Looking at the man, his plate of cheese covered chips and protein drink finished, he stood up. The others followed along with him, as if he were about to storm off, rather than just take his plate across the room to go into the device. Normally the staff would have cleaned up after them, but they weren’t really open for business, and him doing it was better than expecting anyone to serve him like he was the king or something.

  They all put their plates and silver into the recessed portion of the wall, which opened as he approached it, and closed after they all got three feet away. It was just a proximity sensor, but the effect was kind of interesting. No one else seemed that impressed, but they weren’t really paying attention to anything except him.