Strangers and Lies Read online

  Gwen shook her head, still feeling sad and sickened by the whole thing. She answered, because no matter what, collapsing inside herself wouldn't help anything, would it?

  "No. He was sick, and knew it. That's all. Combined with the power of his position, it meant that he did way more of this than should have ever happened. In my world he would have been stopped, even if he were powerful. Eventually at least. Faster than this."

  It was about that time, just as she finished the last word that Billy, her brother, came into the room.

  The whole idea was bizarre to her, but somehow it also seemed to be true. In her own world she'd been deformed and damaged, apparently from genetic experiments done on her before her birth, by her own mother. That had gotten her dumped on a family, two people hired to care for her as an only child. She'd never known they weren't her real parents until Billy had told her, about two months before.

  He was from her world too, but unlike her, he'd come across physically, trading places with the version of him from this world, a boy at the time, named Darren, who'd been learning to teletransport and, as Billy liked to say, did it a little too well.

  "Hey everyone. What's up?" He had a horribly casual air for this place, and sounded like they did, his accent matching the others perfectly. That actually made it worse, since he just seemed insane or at least eccentric, rather than simply from a different world. Gwen was almost certain he didn't actually care and just thought the accent was cooler than his.

  It was Beth that told the story, which sounded far different from her perspective, being a tale of how Gwen, using her magical powers, had located the missing children and then, out of bravery and honor, the men responsible committed suicide, so that the horror would end.

  Billy looked at her and forced a smile that made the round scar on the right side of his face crinkle a little. He had a matching one on the left, like the red dots on a clown face, but it stayed about the same. "Good. So, we know that Gwen here is decent at using her precognitive abilities, what else did the testing say? No one told me the results yet."

  It had been a while, but she hadn't asked, fearing that she just wasn't good enough at anything to bother training. Her brother hadn't been able to do much that way, and had to rely on the bit he'd gotten as a child, from their insane mother, who was trying to turn him into a super soldier as a test subject. No one mentioning it was probably because of something like that, Gwen had figured.

  The Westmorland Detective seemed pleased by the change in subject matter however.

  "Decently high in short term precognitive function, her strongest area is in teletransport. In this case that means that you can learn to move objects and use other physical effects. Short of using the Westmorland protocols, which you're too old for I think, we can't recommend trying to move through space itself, instantly, but levitation, pushing things with your intent, that sort of thing, should all be possible, if you practice enough. You also have some innate healing talent." There was a soft smile and a quick flipping up of the palms, which seemed to be that she didn't know what else to say, even as she kept speaking. "We've been looking for someone that can tutor you in the correct basics. We also need someone to go over how to resist mesmerism for you. I fear that not being able to do so is keeping you out of most of the work you should be doing right now."

  That was something that had been mentioned before, but no one had seemed to care to pursue it, so she'd figured that no one really wanted her involved in anything important overly. That kind of made sense, being that she was from another world and all that. Who'd want someone like that being in on all their secret plans to stop the world from being destroyed? What if she was actually in on it somehow? Or, maybe they just thought she was a monster? That or just a stranger, which to most people was nearly as scary as the things that went bump in the night.

  Fear of the other was a real enough thing after all.

  She grinned, which took some work, given how down she was feeling at the moment.

  "Right, I need to get on that now, don't I? Since I don't really have anything else to do it seems like a plan. Do you think I can hire tutors from the University for it? Doctor Grainger might know some people." He was in radiatives, which was kind of how they built their magical technology, but he knew people there, being one of them, so maybe some of the kids would be willing to lend a hand? Everyone knew she was from another place now, so it didn't have to be hidden that she just had no clue what to do with her abilities. A lot of adults didn't bother really learning more than basic skills after all.

  It was kind of like learning to play the violin, she guessed, from what she'd been told. Most people could do it, but very few ever bothered and even if they did, the vast majority never put in the time it would take to really be good at it. Katherine was powerful, but she hadn't really seemed to have practiced a lot, had she? Not if her strongest ability was Teletransport.

  Or at least she'd never encountered the information before if the girl had.

  Beth kind of waved the whole idea away, as if it wasn't something to rush into. "We can do that tomorrow. Or rather, you can. I... don't want you to get your hopes up too much. You did well today, but learning to use your abilities on purpose and as you command them to function can take a long time. Years. At least if you wish to do it well. You can't just start floating around the room or anything. Though I always thought that looked so fun when I was a child, for the kids that could do it." She looked at Billy as if expecting him to back her up, which got a shrug, instead of help.

  "Don't count her out just yet. I mean, I understand the idea, that Gwen might be in for a few years of work and even then, it may not really be the same for her, being too old. But then again, she isn't from here. Her subconscious mind just isn't like yours, or even mine. If she can accept things in a different way, she might surprise the hell out of us all." It didn't make a lot of sense to her, but Gwen nodded anyway. He'd had a long time to consider the idea after all, having been there for years before she came.

  "Well, I won't know until I try, right?" She tried to make it sound happy, since it was the kind of day that needed people to do things like that.

  The men had floated in their armor earlier, which was a thing that she'd managed before too, and while the suites were basically just giant radiatives, with that function worked in along with a lot of others, it was a thing she kind of understood on some level, having done it before. On a lark she closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself in her own armor, feeling the radiatives kick in as she pushed power into them... and then triggered the mental game controller she used to get herself to float in the air.

  She'd been in the armor enough that she didn't freak when it actually happened, allowing her to rise about four feet, which was way higher than she'd ever managed in the armor. She also managed to keep it up for a lot longer than she thought would be possible, even as Beth clapped happily. Billy spoke first, his voice a little sour.

  "You are so awesome. I wish I could fly. Well, at least we know that you won't be subject to vast mental blocks that way, huh?"

  She settled to the floor, panting a bit, since it was actually hard work to keep things like that up.

  "Yeah. I was a little worried myself, you'd think I'd be kind of resistant to all of this, right? It's probably another sign that this is all make-believe and that I'm locked in a loony bin somewhere, isn't it? I mean, who just floats around like that?"

  That got her Westmorland friend to tilt her head and give her a considering look.

  "Not many people at all, to tell the truth, even here. On the good side, if you can do that, no one can ever just kill you by throwing you from an airship or tall building. Also, as you improve, you'll no longer need a step ladder. Otherwise it isn't as useful as all that. You should make an effort to practice daily anyway, for the time being. I recommend at least half an hour for now. Add in movement as well, since that will increase the utility greatly." There was a strange undertone to the words, but Gwen couldn
't tell if it was meant to be teasing or not.

  "Give that a try now, why don't you? It won't be hard for you, I don't imagine."

  It was a little more difficult than it sounded, since she kept bumping into things at first, having to repurpose the mental controller to allow her to slowly float from place to place and still come down about once every minute or two, to catch her breath. Beth let her do that twice and then demanded that she go high enough to touch the fourteen foot high ceiling.

  "Go on, do it now. Really focus."

  It hurt, doing that, making her head feel like it was going to split in two, but on the fourth try she managed it, flailing a bit wildly and stretching up as high as she could. Her middle finger just brushed the wooden paneling there.

  That got Billy to clap a bit.

  "Not half bad. Now just learn to go about five times higher than that and hold it for an hour or so and you'll have a useful skill. If you can do this on your first try, you can do that with practice, easy. Probably more."

  It sounded a bit ambitious to her, but Bethany brushed her blonde hair to the side and nodded, her face just a bit pale from the stress of the day.

  "True. Tomorrow we should start on an obstacle course. It will be fun. For us, I mean. I imagine it will just be work for you, at first. Later we can tie ribbons to you and you can fly down the street during the children's parade."

  It was clearly mocking now, but Gwen winked and played along, asking what that was. It turned out to be an annual thing in the spring, where each town had the kids actually walk around in costume, for some unknown reason. They'd get treats and such, but just little things. Apples and oranges were popular for it. Like a really sucky Halloween. Poor kids.

  After they finished talking for a while Beth got called away, having to go back to central to answer some questions about what had happened to Count Kavas. Gwen was just as glad that she was being ignored, as far as that went, and while Billy seemed game enough to just sit and talk with her, he also didn't really have anything new to share, not at first.

  "So, um, I kind of have to head back to Central too, soon. Tonight. Adam was pitching a fit like a little girl on the telestator earlier. It isn't like I haven't been working, but I do have to admit it's faster if I don't have any distractions. Is that alright with you? I mean, I'll tell him to go take a flying leap, if you want, but there isn't a lot for me to do here. Except set up that obstacle course for you. We should get Heather in for that though. You two really need to hang out more."

  For some reason that gentle and fluffy buzzing tickle hit her again. It was a little distracting, which made her rub at her forehead a bit. The smoke must have really gotten to her. It hadn't seemed like it and her lungs felt fine, but she was really light headed, after a few seconds she forced herself to ignore it. She was good at doing things like that.

  Gwen smiled, actually feeling it for once, since the slightly older Westmorland in front of her was one of the people that she felt closest to, over all. After all, Heather was, in her own way, just incredible. Like the person she would have wanted to be, if her life hadn't been as messed up as it was. Then, as a Westmorland the idea that her life was also a mess kind of came with the package. All the kids were orphans after all. Or at least abandoned by their parents. No one really knew for certain, since the records were all sealed.

  "Oh? Why do you think that?" Gwen went teasing herself, which wasn't something she'd done a lot of in her life. "Do you have a crush on her? You're about the same age..."

  Billy... made a face. Kind of disgusted, but let it clear after a few seconds.

  "No... Gwen... you do realize that she's you, right? Who you would have been if you were born in this world? I thought I mentioned that already..."

  She rolled her eyes, but didn't let the shock show. Of course Billy would forget to mention that kind of thing. It was his way it seemed. Anything that might be useful to her at all... He just forgot to tell her for the longest time. She tried not to be irritated by it.

  "Nope, you seem to have forgotten that part."

  "Oops?" The scarred man said blankly, as if he'd accidently spilled some water on a vinyl table cloth.

  Forcing a laugh she shrugged.

  "Kinda an oops moment, yeah. I can see you saying that."

  Chapter four

  After Billy explained it all, the whole thing made sense, in an awkward and kind of backwards fashion. Daren and Heather had been twins, born more or less at the same time that Gwen had been. A little earlier than that, according to the records that had been stolen by a certain maladjusted person that was sitting across from her. Not that she wouldn't have done it too, but it was kind of frowned upon. Most of the Westmorlands never even thought about peeking, since they weren't allowed to. Her brother wasn't one of them though, for all that he kind of had the job.

  "They didn't know, Heather and Darren. Kind of like how we didn't, so it parallels that way. Same mother too, and my guess would be same dad, since I looked enough like Darren to fool everyone when I first got here, except for the scars. So I figure that odds are, Heather is you. The real one I mean, not the mess mom made of you back home. So, excuse me while I go barf, instead of sleeping with her."

  Something clicked in her mind then, based on the barest of hints from months before.

  "Um, Billy, do you know who our mother is? Here I mean?" She didn't want to know for certain, but there had been a hint already and she really doubted that it was going to turn out to be a coincidence now, was it? It couldn't turn out to be someone nice like Ethyl Vernor or anything like that. No, that would just be too much fun. That probably couldn't be allowed.

  He nodded.

  "I'm almost positive I told you this already. Erin Debussey? Dead ringer for mom. Identical. Different name, since she was Christine Cavendish there, but it's her. Why? Do you think that has something to do with why you're here? It could, I suppose, since she was so closely involved in forcing Katherine to steal you from our world. Heh. Well, it doesn't matter. I killed the bitch once, I can do it again." There was a smooth sound of peace and certainty in his voice then, as if it was a very good plan and that there would never be a need for another one. He had a problem and a quick death would solve it. Done.

  "I can get behind that. Just for what she's been trying to do here. Bringing back those Old Ones to destroy everything. I wonder why she gave up her kids. I can kind of see our mom doing that, since I didn't fit her plans at all, but Erin seems... I don't know, like she would have done a better job at being a parent, somehow."

  Billy shrugged and stood up, pacing.

  "Doubtful. She's a narcissist and a genius. That's not a great combination. My guess is that she decided Daren and Heather were just in the way and she got rid of them as fast as possible. There might be an Andy around too, our older brother? I didn't find him in the records, but then, I didn't look too hard. It only occurred to me to check Heather out after I saw Debussey. They kind of look alike, around the eyes. Same nose too."

  Gwen didn't see it, but it was probably there, if the records honestly said that. It was sort of hard to wrap her mind around. Did that make Heather her sister? Or... No. Maybe something else? For now she wasn't even certain she should tell the woman. It might just make things more difficult later, if they had to execute Debussey or something.

  Billy walked from the room and didn't come back, which wasn't a surprise, since he did things like that. The shock came about five minutes later when Count Gobles and Ferdinand walked into the room, alone. The Special Service detail that followed the King was there of course, just standing outside the room. Or at least they had better be. If not then Gwen was the only protection they had at the moment. She stood, since neither man looked to be in a very good mood. If she had to fight, it would work better if she wasn't overwhelmed while lounging. Sure, it was paranoid, but just in case, she did it anyway.

  Ferdinand waved her back down and plopped onto the sofa across from her chair. It was all in fine and slightly shin
ing leather, which squeaked when the man sat. Gobles followed him, a beat behind, sitting in a fashion that was very nearly prim. He made no noise at all, which was odd. He should have. It took a second for the man to come into full focus, since he was a little blurry. Ferdinand was crystal clear, but the Count... not so much. She rubbed her eyes for a few seconds, which did the trick.

  Then they just watched her for a long time, not saying anything. When the King spoke, he sounded very upset. Almost as if he wanted to hurt someone. Possibly her. It was hard to tell at first, since she wasn't the best at reading faces. An angry person probably meant you were about to be attacked, life had conditioned her to think that and so far it had pretty much been true.

  "I've had the news about Count Kavas and his 'suicide'. It's clearly not the truth. Please tell me what really happened. I can assure you that the news will not leave this room."

  It was nice of him to say, but probably wouldn't be the case. Still, she didn't want anyone else getting into trouble for what she did. Before she could confess and throw herself onto the man's mercy, Richter let a huge breath out.

  "We know what happened Ferdinand. The Con-sev boys found him fouling the young woman and took matters into their own hands. Probably beat the man to death, and that was no better than he deserved. You or I would have done the same thing, if we'd been there. Can't be allowed of course, since it sets a bad precedent, but it was all they could do."

  Gwen let her mind go still and empty, feeling like what she was about to say was exactly the wrong thing, but knowing that forcing someone else to take the blame for her actions was just as bad. Maybe worse.

  "Not... exactly." She paused then, hoping that something more clever would come to mind than the truth. It didn't of course. "The Count's men both spoke against him, telling us where to find the bodies of the girls in the back yard, and I found the man raping one of them in the sitting room, so I know that part was true, no matter what else is found. He confessed and asked me to help him end it. He didn't really have a choice in the matter, but he, and both his men, went out pretty bravely. The Count had to be stopped. He told me so himself." It wasn't a lie even, so she stopped there, not giving a blow by blow, until the King insisted, looking like he was ready to punch her the whole time, fist clenched and white, with red showing in places. He even sneered at her when she told the story. It didn't really seem like him at all. He was normally pretty calm about almost everything.