Kindred (The Young Ancients: Second Cycle Book 3) Page 16

  Because, he understood, they all thought he was going to go and destroy an entire land, for making him feel bad. It was true that they’d cost him a lot. Also that it was tempting, in a very unwholesome way. The idea of wiping them all out for the disparaging words of a few resonated with a part of him that he wasn’t proud of at all. A darkness that he kind of feared, as Timon had pointed out, was due to his blood. Not the Baker family side of it, either.

  Not that it mattered. He was a killer, but not an insane one. That he was capable of doing it was a known thing. He had several times now.

  Taking a deep breath, he just shook his head.

  “No. If anyone comes for me, or at me, then I’ll deal with them, as an individual. Probably by throwing you at them, Tim. At least if they’re from Austra. You’re good with that, right? For now, we’re setting up the Jupiter mission. I can send you with some transport units. I haven’t hired any crew, but… Well, maybe Samantha will help out? I’ll have to ask her. I need to get a handheld, or… I guess make some. I can’t really go back to Harmony to collect things.”

  Sara started to pull one out of her side pocket, which got Timon to put his left hand out.

  “No. He’s right. Make your own, and improve on the basic model. How long do you think it will take you to rebuild it, and patch it into the main network?”

  Not knowing, he shook his head.

  “Not that long? A few hours? It will seem longer to me, but it isn’t hard really.” It probably wouldn’t take that long, thanks to all the changes made to him already. He didn’t live in the same time as everyone else did any longer. “We should do that tour, so I can distract everyone from the fact that I’m a horrible person? This way. It won’t take long.”

  It didn’t really, since after showing them the main strip, with all the shops and spaces for more things, and the housing areas, with a demonstration of each type, the only thing left was the place that he’d made for Karina and himself. After they were married. He didn’t introduce the idea, just taking them all in, downplaying it by simply opening the door.

  Karina whistled, in appreciation.

  “This is nice. What is it for? Some kind of temple?” She smiled, joking about it all, since it was clearly a palace, if under the surface of her world.

  He winked at her.

  “Our first home? I don’t think that we can have one on Harmony now. Maybe we can buy some land in Noram?” That would only give them two places, but they could possibly arrange something on one of the Martian Circle stations. They had an in with the Ancient of that place anyway, so it might work.

  Looking around, the Princess nodded.

  “It will do, as a first home. I mean, it’s only the nicest single dwelling in creation. That might make the second home a bit of a letdown, but hey, I’ll work with it.”

  Sara looked around and nodded then.

  “So, I get a room, too? Next to yours? Otherwise the midnight visits will be harder to manage.”

  Timon acted like they were being cute, instead of just making real plans. Karina nodded, happily, as if it made sense, and Dare waved toward the left hand side of the place.

  “The rooms are about an eighth of a mile that way? I was thinking that the second level would be nice for that, but we have other options. There are rooms in three different directions. Most of the first floor is kind of public though. The kitchens, large baths, ballrooms and that kind of thing? There are five floors below us as well, if you want more room for things?” The place was kind of large, of course. Huge, came to mind.

  Karina wanted a full tour, but after two hours there was still more to look at, and she started to laugh. It was a dark chuckle, but after a bit turned into something larger and more expansive. That came along with a hug.

  “I’m impressed. We can entertain here, without being embarrassed. At least if we block off a few of the floors. It might be a little much, otherwise. Now all we need are some guards and staff. Not that we don’t get some time to put all of that together. So… We should go and set up that Jupiter mission?”

  He nodded, not wanting to be alone, though at the same time he was ready for the others to leave. That probably meant he was feeling a little grumpy. Possibly a bit annoyed, too. On the good side, it didn’t take that long to get rid of them. Karina and Sara had a ship, and Timon was able to simply walk away, heading for the main transport node. Neither was that far away from where the main port facility was, since it was the way he’d designed the city.

  The interesting thing was that, as they all got to the front door of the palace, Samantha showed up, smiling, with a floating chest behind each of them. There were three of them, though only the one that walked up to Timon explained. That was good, since it meant there wasn’t a weird three voice thing going on.

  “We’re going with you, as requested? Each of us has multiple transport units, as well as more of us, in case we’re needed?” She glanced at Dareg, and danced in place a little, showing a lot of energy. “If that’s all right, sir? We were eavesdropping. You said that it was our choice? Is that… True? I… We… We’re real people?”

  He nodded at her.

  “Yes. I mean, be good, but… Yeah. You aren’t a slave. That means doing what you want. As long as it isn’t harming anyone else, of course.”

  She clapped, all three faces lighting up.

  “Goody! So, we’ll go with these three, and set things up for the big mission?”

  Dare nodded, looking at the new woman that he’d brought into being.

  “Keep in touch. Remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Not at all. If anyone tries to make you, then leave. All right? You can always come back here.”

  Not that any of the people with them would try to abuse anyone, but the world was filled with others, and Samantha was only four days old. That was young to go out into the world. He didn’t say any of that out loud, since being worried about her wasn’t going to really help anything. She was smart, and came packaged with a lot of useful information. Nearly as much as what Dareg had inside of himself. It might not be enough, but it was literally the best he could do for her. Holding her too close wouldn’t teach her anything except how to be helpless.

  She wasn’t that.

  So young or not, that meant his new creation needed to be allowed to find out what she really was. Dareg had guided her into being, maybe, but that was all. She was, and would be, what she made of herself, just like everyone else. The real people anyway. Even if he felt a fine tendril of fear tingling its way down his spine when he thought about her going away into the world like she was doing. At the same time she was planning to stay close, so at least there was that.

  Samantha nodded, and oddly enough moved in to give him a gentle hug. All three of them standing there did it, even though they were only one person. It was nice though, and felt like it was real. Karina grinned a bit, probably suspecting that his intent toward her was a bit less wholesome than he’d been letting on. Tim just nodded, going a bit concerned around the eyes.

  Which was probably about the man thinking that Dare was losing his grasp on reality. It was possible, but in this one case he didn’t think it was the fact. In other ways, perhaps. Like his sudden killing of the man on Harmony. Yes, he’d been goaded into action, and the man should have backed off, but there was a time when Dareg would have run off before even yelling at the fellow. This time the rage was there, and had kept him in place, prepared to fight, and even destroy an individual, for being annoying.

  That wasn’t really normal or good.

  Even if he was getting a pass based on his having combat rage, no one really went around killing other people for things like that. Well, some nobles, in Noram, perhaps, but even they didn’t celebrate it or act like it was a good thing, in particular. Dareg should have…

  Honestly, he either needed to have walked away, or gotten the man to go with him someplace far away, where no one would ever find the body. He’d even mentioned that part of things.
High handedly executing the man while in Timon’s arms…

  Before the larger man could leave, as the women headed off down that hallway toward the airlock to their ship, He put his right hand out. That got Samantha to stop as well, but Tim smiled at him.

  “Do you need me to contact someone for you?” It was an insightful question, but wrong, as to what Dare had planned at the moment. The man meant Tor, of course, but that had been discussed already. His plan was to protect them all, and that meant not being part of their world, really. At least in an official, family oriented, fashion.

  “I wanted to apologize. I… That man, Albright. I killed him. In your arms, as you tried to save his life. That… It was monstrous. I really hadn’t even thought about what it might do to you. Bad enough I’m a killer…” Dare stared at the man, and knew his face seemed sad. Not horrified at what he’d done, which would have been the right thing to feel, but that part of him was broken now.

  The man who used to be his Uncle took a breath and nodded, letting it out slowly.

  “That part wasn’t fun. I keep running over what I should have done. Getting him covered with a shield, or doing the design work on you differently. Coming up with new ways to calm rage, or… I don’t know. I should have acted faster, or said the right thing. Something.” His face was blank, but the words held pain.

  Due to what Dare had done. What he’d forced him to live through.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t think I could have done anything else at the time. I should have, I know that, but… The idea of letting him get away with maligning me again, over and over… It was too much. I… Really, I don’t think it was how you changed me. I nearly did it before a few times, when the Austrans were coming at me. A thousand times. I have to own what I did, but… Those people…” It felt to him like he was putting the blame on innocent individuals suddenly.

  Tim shook his head a bit however.

  “I think that might be a difference in culture, more than anything else. They aren’t bad, as a group. No worse than the people of any other land, really. They focus on coin, as a way to measure their morality, though. In Noram we hold to other things, like honor, first. So they figured that the only thing that could be going on was you taking from Tor. Even after giving everything back, a lot of them will look at it as if you’re going to benefit from it somehow. It’s the only thing they have, really, so they put everything into that one line. I need to fix part of that, but…” He shook his head. “I can’t. Not fast. I tried to tell them that they had to back off, but too many of them think that they’re protecting Tor and I from you. From what they think of as being you using us. How do we fix that?”

  He was really asking, and Dare didn’t know in the slightest.

  So he shrugged, collected a last hug from Samantha, and watched the two people escape the awkward conversation by walking into a twelve-foot-high red box.

  Then, slowly, for him, Dareg walked back to his little room, collected some tiles, and got back to work.

  Chapter six

  Anyone seeing what Dareg did over the next few days would have thought that his mind had well and truly gone away into madness. It could even have been the truth, of course. Instead of working on getting in touch with people, even though he’d created a handheld that would tap into the main systems in use, including a few secret ones that surprised him when the names popped up. For instance, he decorated the walls and created a new kind of person, who was different than Samantha.

  The basic premise was the same, but the look and mentality was very different. She was a bit better looking, being based on Queen Tiera, but smaller. Instead of being seven and a half feet tall, she was only about five-seven. Her hair, and eye color, even her face and build would be able to vary, but that would be up to her.

  Unlike Samantha, he didn’t come up with a name for her. Not instantly. On the great side, the new girl was both friendly, and hard working. The other new being was great that way too, compared to most people, but his newest creation seemed to make a point of getting things done all the time. Even while he worked, she set about decorating the entire city, and made a point of bringing him food.

  It wasn’t until three days later, after Tim and the others had left, that anyone got in touch with him. Strangely enough, it was an Austran, though not one that he wanted to kill on sight, which was a good thing, he supposed.

  The being who bothered with him was Jan, his friend.

  “Dareg? I…” She was clearly having trouble talking to him, probably because she’d seen him murder a man, on her screen. “Uh… I was contacted by the Revered One? Ours, here. Timon Baker? He told me that I should get with you, as soon as I could? The Jupiter mission is still happening?”

  The poor girl, who was plain looking for someone from her part of Earth, seemed scared, or at least nervous. As if he were going to reach through the screen and harm her. That, or scold her for some reason. Which was silly, given that she was one of the few people from her land that hadn’t really made a point of trying to make him feel uncomfortable. At least when they’d met.

  “Right. I have the crew ready. We can meet at Jupiter. I’ll set up a ship, in orbit with a transport node there. Or does that lack impact? I guess we could leave from here? I need to send you an amulet for that, but you can come here from the port there? The red box? I don’t know if you’ve noticed that yet?” It was probable that no one had, but oddly, she smiled, and nodded.

  It seemed shy.

  “Yes. People have been using it to go to Harmony, Noram and Afrak. Soam as well. The… The government here put a warning out, suggesting that no one go to Mars.” She blinked and shook her head almost imperceptibly. “There are two locations listed there, but no one knows if there’s air or if they’ll just open onto the surface.”

  He could see that one, now that it was mentioned.

  “No, it’s a fully functioning city. Underground, like Harmony. Only larger. You can come here, if you want? Can you get to the port there? Also, can you get with Marco Sorvee? I… Things changed, schedule wise. You probably caught that part?”

  She nodded, and her face went hard.

  “That… Yes. We all saw it. Things are very torn here, over that. Especially after what Queen Tiera said on the matter. That the law that was broken was on Kris Albright’s part? That’s very different than our law here, but… Well, Harmony isn’t here. The man knew the laws, and it’s on record. One that he recorded himself, at the time. So no one knows what to think on the matter. Not that it makes you more popular here. Or…” She smiled a bit then, and looked away. “Or less. Not everyone loves the media all that much, so a certain kind of person feels that it might be a good lesson for us. So… Where are you? In Noram?”

  He blinked, since it was really obvious to him, but he hadn’t really given his location that way yet.

  “I’m on Mars. I’ve been living here for a bit. You should come and visit. It really is safe. You still have your shield for space work? Anyone coming will need one. You can get them at the magic shop here, I made some up for that, but… We need a shop next to the pods.” That was a good name for the things, he decided. Not that they looked like proper pea cases. It was slightly better than hut.

  It was more work for him, but he could do that. Make a little magic shop. Even if they just had shields for space work, and someone to hand them out.

  One of the new girls that he’d made might work well for that. Samantha, or the other one that still needed to find her name. If they wanted to do it, of course.

  Jan looked at him, her face strange, but she nodded.

  “It will take me a few days to get there, but I can come to you? For an interview? No one has gotten one with you yet, after the unfortunate event. It wouldn’t hurt to show that you aren’t planning on killing everyone that says the wrong thing. Though it’s kind of obvious to me that you aren’t. What do you say? It won’t be fun, but there’s no reason to put things off. When you don’t speak, people think that you’re hiding
things from them. That means they will imagine the worst about you.”

  That earned a snort and a bit of a scowl.

  “Oh? You mean they think that I ate the body too? I murdered that man. Even if it was inside the law, and I couldn’t help it. I did it… And nothing I do now can make that go away.” Nothing he was willing to bother with.

  His Austran friend, who wasn’t all that old, being about twenty-one or a few years past that, suddenly gave him a look that seemed wise and a bit subdued.

  “All right, that’s what you need to let people know, then. That, along with an interview with Queen Tiera, and perhaps some others. Your father, Tor? Do you think you can get him to give us access? Or… I guess I could get in touch with him myself. That might work better, if he’ll take my call.” She seemed to mean it, as if she hadn’t heard that Dareg wasn’t part of that family any longer.

  “I… I disowned him, Jan. There’s too much hate coming from Austra, so I gave everything back and left. Hopefully it will be enough to get your people to leave us all alone.”

  The words were responded too with a disgusted look, and a huffed out breath.

  “What? That… No one wanted that! I… I need to look into things. Can I get back in touch with you? Also, setting up the trip? When?”

  “Four days from now? Here? It’s safe to come. Just… Try not to bring in anyone that will call me a liar? At least to my face. I won’t read their minds or anything, or hold their hate for me against them, as long as they don’t force me to fight.”

  A clipped nod, and a long goodbye later, the screen went dark. Which meant that Dareg needed to get in touch with people that Jan wasn’t going to know needed to be gotten in touch with. Sighing, he walked to the restaurant with the pod out front, so that he could sit someplace other than the one room that he mainly lived in all of the time, only to have one of the new girls there, looking a bit too pretty really, to both bring him a protein drink, which was what he normally had, and to sit with him, her face a bit wry.