Tremble in the Dark: A Gwen Farris Novel Page 16

  That reminded her to actually speak to people, so she engaged Sally, smiling at her. The woman had picked up that Beth was none too pleased with her, but not, Gwen didn't think, why.

  "It's that the people that we're going to see really hate her, just for being. They may not be as kind about things as Mr. Cordell is being either. At least he isn't responding with fear to her. That might be tense." She didn't give a lot of preamble to her words, but Beth nodded once and Sally went a little wide eyed, as if Gwen had read her mind.

  Clara though, she coughed once and smiled, covering it as if she were being clever. She looked at Bethany while she spoke.

  "Well, of course they'll be upset. You're bringing in a Westmorland demon. What do you expect them to do?"

  Honestly, she didn't know. It would probably be a fight, but on the off chance that it wasn't, they had to take it, didn't they? It was...

  Well, change didn't happen unless you made it take place. Her entire life she'd been the one looked down on and put off to the side, and no one with enough power could or would speak for her. Now, in this place, she was rich, popular enough, and had power, after a fashion. For her to just let things go, being content with the way it always had been, because it was nice for her, that was as bad as if she were the one keeping them all down. It was another thing that she figured no one would get about her. They just didn't have the context.

  It took a long while to get to the hotel, which was only about two miles away, but they kept stopping and picking people up, then letting them off, like a bus. When they all piled off the thing, there was a new challenge, since the place was a lot smaller than she'd figured it would be. Rooms had been set aside for her and Beth, but she had to pay top dollar for the girls to have a place, which meant that they ended up in what she thought might be the honeymoon suite. Sally tried to change with her and Beth, but Gwen shook her head.

  "Nope. You two can share with Martin. Unless that's..." Tacky, or simply not done, came to mind, but the women both seemed fine with that idea. Martin looked scandalized however, but there were no other rooms available there. The other option was for him to go off and sleep outside somewhere, or in a single stay, which, if Gwen understood the concept, was basically a stacked coffin with a door on it. They weren't even inside buildings really, just boxes under a roof, with heating inside for the winter.

  It didn't sound fun at all. More like what you did to someone you hated.

  It was Sally that worked that part out, going to talk to Martin alone for a bit. When they came back he still looked disgruntled, but allowed that he could sleep on the floor. Simply to preserve the "maids" honor. Naturally.

  Then they headed off to the Telesar station, since that part had apparently been real. She left Sally and Clara behind, since, if there was a real fight, they didn't need to be part of it. She and Beth were well armed and had their bags with them, so if anything went down, they'd win. That was a given, to her mind at least. Martin wasn't even thinking that way, and waltzed into the place as if he, personally, owned it. As far as she knew that might simply be the case. He had to have funds coming from somewhere, didn't he?

  At the front desk he waved at the woman that was behind it, who looked completely normal. She even had glasses, and long honey blonde hair, above a nice, but lower class dress. That just meant there weren't fifteen layers of lace and ruffles. She looked a little bit like a Mormon from an old western movie, but smiled when she saw Cordell, and only froze when she saw her and Beth, instead of looking scared or like she was planning to go for a Crin she had hidden under her desk.

  "Mr. Cordell! So good of you to join us. We weren't certain if the train would be in on time. I... Don't know your friends?" Now she sounded nervous, but Martin waved at them both, in what was a normal enough fashion, she thought.

  "We should have a fantastic show today, Jennifer. This is Gwen Farris, and Detective Bethany Westmorland. Miss Farris has come to speak to us all. She's pro-Westmorland, but also pro- low magic people. I found it shocking, but I think that Miss Westmorland is as well. If you could get Telly out for us?"

  There was sudden bustling, as the woman, who wasn't all that old, being right around what Beth was, so twenty-five or so, nearly fleeing into the back room. The set up was different than the one other Telesar station she'd been in, WGN, but it was nice enough inside. Not highly decorated, but care had been taken with the space and it was well cleaned and polished, as if someone actually took pride in what they were doing. She would have thought that this place, being the center of hate for the region, would have been poorly kept, if anyplace was going to be, but that didn't seem to be the case.

  Telly, it turned out, was a Newsie. Not one that Gwen was familiar with, but Beth, it seemed was. At least she wrinkled her nose when the heavy man walked out from the back, looking ready to fight them all right then and there. Including Martin, which was heartening. After all, at least there was hate to go round for them all. It was always good to remember to share the treats around evenly. The man positively glared at her though, which meant that Gwen was halfway to moving on him before he even spoke.

  "Damn-it Cordell! What do they have on you? Found out about your tax dodging?" Without waiting, the large man sneered at her and tried to grab her by the shirt collar, like a school yard bully. Gwen looked at the hand, and smiled.

  "That's a bit harsh, considering that I came to do an interview with you, for free." The man actually tried to shake her a bit, like she was a child.

  Because, clearly, he wasn't too bright. Reaching up she slapped the inside of his right hand, and gently put pressure with her left hand directly on his elbow, then pivoted about forty-five degrees. The man, who was probably a hundred pounds heavier than she was, flew into the ground with only a little extra help. Then, being that she was Gwen, he was kicked in the head half a dozen times while Jennifer squealed, as if she were the one being beaten, and Cordell, made odd, half panicked noises.

  She let the dazed man go, and stood up, then pulled her little red colored PC from her side pocket. She wasn't going to use it, just hit the man with it, a bit, for practice. The action had several others come from the back, including an older woman who looked at the situation and actually worked out what was going on.

  "Ah. Gwen Farris. Telly, what was your plan? You've heard the stories about her. It hasn't been like her face wasn't in all the papers." She stopped short of calling the man a moron however. "Glenda Simmons, pleased to meet you. May I ask why you've come here? Is there an emergency?" Now the lady actually seemed worried, which made sense. Gwen had been on the TS a lot, but the fact was, most of the time when she was, something very bad had just happened. A terrorist attack, or the King being kidnapped. That sort of thing. In fact, all of them, including Telly, the new mop, stopped then, to listen to her.

  "Nope. Or rather, yes, there is a very dangerous and horrible situation, but it isn't new. I was asked to come and speak about the mistreatment of both the Westmorlands and the low magic people in this society. I know that it isn't your normal Westmorland hate ideal, but if you people can't drop that after you find out about what's being done to them in your name, then you deserve what you get." She held up her right hand, which had the weapon in it, then put it away.

  No one was going to attack her now, she didn't think. If they did, Beth would probably mock her, and call out suggestions for them. She did not look at all happy. In fact, she was turning a brilliant color of red that matched the man on the floor, as far as angry looking flushing went.

  Mrs. Simmons let her eyebrows go up, and seemed ready to tell her where to stick her haughty ideas, when Martin spoke, his voice sounding professional and mellow.

  "If what I was told is correct, Glenda, she isn't wrong about that. I hate the idea of eating that much crow, myself, but it seems like I might have to. They're tortured. It's what the Westmorland Protocols really are. They're... slaves. Our slaves, in as far as we're the Kingdom too."

  That got people to look at him fu
nny, and Gwen shrugged.

  "Which you only have my word for, so far. I can prove it, if I'm not thrown in prison for telling you all of this, I mean. I can even arrange for some of you to try out their lowest level things, so that you can tell others about it."

  That for some reason, had her marched into a waiting area, just outside a glass fronted sound booth. This one was a bit larger than what they had at WGN, with slightly raised and unpadded stools rather than chairs for sitting in. The big man, Telly, who looked like a rather angry version of Teddy Roosevelt, stormed the booth, and waved at her to come in, along with Martin. Beth just shook her head and walked out, so that she wouldn't have to listen to what was being said. Since that would cause her a lot of discomfort, it seemed like a good idea to Gwen.

  "This is Telly Richards, today, here in the studio, we have two very special guests. I'm not at all pleased by it either. Martin Cordell is here with Gwen Farris. And yes, before you ask, that Gwen Farris. Martin, please tell me why you brought this witch to my doorstep?" The man was still clearly upset, and Gwen glared at him, because if he attacked her again, she was going to kick his ass so hard he'd need a hospital visit.

  That would probably mean she'd end up paying for it too, but if it was what had to happen, she'd do it, and not lose sleep over it.

  Martin settled onto the central stool, putting himself between the two of them, and laughed.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, our host, Telly Richards, just tried to lay hands on Miss Farris in the front room here at WXFL. It was a mistake, and now he's acting like a giant girl about it. Except that he isn't, because at least some girls wouldn't have been tossed around like that, by a woman. Luckily you didn't insult her friend, Telly, since she mentioned putting people through a wall if they tried that. Now, I've been on a train with Miss Farris and her friend, Bethany Westmorland, for a day. Yes, a Westmorland. I was told some rather troubling news, which I'll relate to you now."

  It took about five minutes and most of what took place on the train was left out, but the part about the torture and enslavement of children, and worse things being done than that was all left in. Then Gwen was asked to go over what she'd experienced, personally, in that regard.

  It took a bit.

  "Now, don't get me wrong, hard training, even at that level, if chosen by a dedicated adult, is... Well, no one should ever think it's good, but it works. I'm not saying that the Westmorlands aren't needed. I'm saying that they should have a choice in the matter however, and not be tortured into love of Kingdom and King." Those words, she knew, would probably have her out of favor pretty much everywhere.

  It hadn't occurred to her before that, since, after all, she came from a world with the internet, and no one really cared what a person like her had to say about any given topic. Here though, she was very nearly part of the government herself. During the recent crises, she'd been the mouthpiece more than once and had simply made up rules and laws, that everyone had followed. This was a part of things that were dangerous, for her.

  Ferdinand might well not be all that pleased with her now. She'd been joking about ending up in prison for saying this, but now, after the words were out, she realized that she might be in some trouble for real. Someone had to do it though, didn't they?

  "Don't get me wrong. Your King is a great man, and has a good heart, and the Westmorlands aren't wrong for loving him, but they deserve the same choice that you have, at least initially. They're taken away as children and forced to become what they are, and aren't even left with the ability to speak out against it for themselves. So we need to do it for them. Yes, I get that they've been the focus of hate for a long time, with some people that don't have a lot of magic feeling that they, personally, are behind people being kept down, but that isn't true. In fact, the Westmorlands are there to work for you as much as almost anyone else."

  She went on, and just when she was about to have to repeat herself, Telly, the jerkwad assface, attacked her. With words.

  "You're a liar. All we have is your word on this. You could say anything." He sounded livid, but, she noticed, his face was a lot calmer now than it had been when they first started. She just shook her head and let her disdain sound in her voice.

  "To what end? Do you think that the King will thank me for this? I might well end up in prison, or hanged, for letting people know this. Do you think the Westmorlands are going to have a party tonight, after this? They'll likely hate me, because they don't have a choice in the matter. If not, I've probably just made their lives a lot harder. No, the only thing, the only people, that can gain from this are those listening at home, and some children that might not be tortured and have their lives stripped from them. I don't think that the adult Westmorlands can be helped now. The only thing we can do to make their lives better is treat them as people, and not show fear of them, or hatred."

  Telly snorted. "Really? I suppose that next you'll claim that you're doing this out of love for those with little to no magic? Do you think that they're your equal as well, Miss Farris? Do you think that I'm the same as you are? I can't even charge a tiny crystal pack, no matter how long I work at it, and I hear tell that you can power airships. Certainly you think of us as the same, don't you?" He sounded just a bit bitter.

  Gwen snorted back. Then she let her voice go a bit sharp. It seemed to be what Telly was going for.

  "Naturally. Where I come from no one has magic at all. Or, if they do, it's the barest fraction of what you have here. There are other ways to get things done, and while your way has some handy aspects, the non-magic folk of my world have a greater technological base than you do here. There are other ways to do things."

  That took a while to explain and the conversation shifted for nearly two hours, but she was finally let go, managing to win Telly over, just a bit. They did hit the torture aspect again, as well as what could be done without magic. She started out with some cautions, since they didn't want to follow in the footprints of her world, since that could do some damage, but the idea seemed to make the host happy.

  Then, with very little fanfare, she managed to collect Beth, and head back to the hotel. It was still light out, but getting late, but they could eat at the restaurant next to where they were staying. Hopefully at least. She was wrung out and exhausted now, even though she'd hardly done anything all day long. It would be nice to just sit and relax for a bit.

  The Public Lorrie they were on, which was the last one that would run that day, if the sign was correct, took it's sweet time getting them back, and Martin went off to change, coming back with both Clara and Sally, who were dressed nicely, but conservatively, considering everything. Then the ladies, since it was their job now, for the week, helped Beth and her to get into nicer clothing and makeup, for the meal.

  Or tried to. They had showers there, in their rooms, and both Beth and Gwen stated that they'd be using those first. The hard spray was brutal, but it was so nice to be clean again that it was worth it. An hour later they were all walking outside, to the place next door, hoping they didn't need a reservation. It wasn't packed, but there was a line to be seated.

  It was nice though. Not the best place that Gwen had ever eaten, but the food was decent, and cost less than the stuff on the train had. By a lot. Bethany, being far more clever than she was about social things had already slipped the funds for the meal to Cordell, who produced them as if from his own wallet.

  Sally and Clara were silent the whole time, and tried not to seem impressed by the place, which was good, since it was, really, just a place for them to get food. It was a seven course meal, but very little food actually came. It was just how they did things here.

  When they got back to the hotel, much as Gwen had suspected, they were ambushed. Not by an attacking force, which she was pretty much ready for, having taken her bags with her even to the restaurant, which had raised a few eyebrows. It was the desk man that waved them down however, looking nearly panicked.

  "Ma'am? Miss Farris?" He said it in a way that nearly h
ad her wishing she'd used an alias to sign in. Well, no help for it now, was there?

  "Yes?"

  "The Telestator... I... The man said that he was the King?"

  Gwen nodded. That just made sense, didn't it?

  "Well, might as well get this done. Shall we?" She didn't know where the Telestator would be kept, so just followed the man. Everyone else trailed along, because naturally Bethany did and...

  Well, the rest probably just didn't know what else to do, did they?

  For that matter, neither did she.

  Chapter twelve

  Gwen decided that, if she was in trouble, the real kind, that Ferdinand wouldn't be calling her at all. It would just be a hit team of armored Special Service coming through the door of her room, probably while she slept. That meant she was almost certainly not in that kind of trouble, so she decided to try and act like she wouldn't be in any at all. That worked.

  For about three seconds.

  "Ferdinand! How wonderful to hear-"

  "Shut your mouth, Miss. I. Am. Not. Pleased." There was an edge to his voice, and the sound of shifting from the room he was in.

  The Telestator she was at had the air of a thing that was old and had been well cared for, but still was less than perfect. The quality of the signal was weak, and Ferdinand sounded different. His voice not nearly as rich and full as it normally was. There were scratches on the wood of the table, and while it had been treated with a scented oil recently, it wasn't stained.

  That was what Gwen's mind turned to, while she waited for the man to either say something, or for her own anger to rise enough for her to start her own bit of shouting. She didn't like to be bullied, and King or not, if he tried, they'd be in a fight.