Out of the Woods (The Coalescence Book 1) Read online

  “Sorry? I don’t know what you mean?” Given that he really didn’t, it was simple enough to seem innocent of the charge. If it was one.

  “Oh? You were just using magic to see if I had a disguise amulet on. Which I don’t, thanks. Did you think I’d miss something like that? I’m a builder, after all.” She seemed pleased enough anyway, even if he’d been doing something wrong without knowing about it.

  “I…” He wanted to deny it, but that wasn’t the truth. He realized that in a rush. After a moment of thinking he had to nod. Forced to it by simple honesty. “I didn’t know I was doing that. I think I did, but…”

  That got waved away then.

  “Interesting. Tim did mention that you were sensitive to things like that. It should mean that building is going to be pretty simple for you. Making magic? Not that it doesn’t take training and practice anyway, even if you’re naturally talented.” The tall woman went very still then.

  It was the kind of thing that got everyone in the space, to pay attention. That was the front room of the house, behind the bake shop, connected through a single door to his family’s business. Tiera nodded at each of them, then finally focused on Willum.

  “He also mentioned that there was a small issue earlier? An attack on you? That isn’t allowed there. We have rules.”

  It was good to hear, the way she spoke the words. For one thing, they’d been in Standard, meaning his mother wouldn’t be left afraid. Not that she wasn’t looking at the floor, along with Carlisle. Diana looked up into her face rather directly, though Will wasn’t certain she knew that her Aunt was the Queen of the Moon. Not directly.

  So he shrugged.

  “I’m… Truly, I’m not pleased by that. I guess there might be some kind of reason behind it? Everyone has said that there was, but… No one has let a lot slip yet. I don’t suppose that you would?”

  She tilted her head to the side, then tightened her lips.

  “Yes. Let me see here.” Then the woman didn’t speak for a moment. Finally, she looked at her brother, then the silent two, Maggie and Carl. When she spoke, she used Home Tongue, so everyone would be equally informed.

  “About six months ago, during King’s Week, Dareg met a young commoner man. Bill. No last name. Dare gave him one, which was Bill Humboldt. He also arranged for the man to be given a Squire’s position. That was… A huge thing. Not that Bill hadn’t honestly earned the honor. He was good. Strong for his type of person. He learned to fight well rather quickly, for one thing. I met him a few times myself.” She took a huge sip of air then, making a hissing noise. “The thing there is that Bill wasn’t what he seemed. Another man, Kevin Straughan, a minor noble was caught out for some depravities. That started him to attack a room filled with people. Bill throwing in on his side.”

  She shook her head, stopping in place, then locking eyes with Willum.

  “They, unarmed, walked through that room, leaving death behind them. No magic worked to protect those inside. Several of the strongest fighters in the world died in that space. Finally, Kevin and Bill were killed. The cost was… Insane. Tor and Dareg nearly died that day. It was so close that I’m not certain both are truly recovered from it, even now.”

  Will nodded, since that sounded like the kind of thing that could warp a man’s mind.

  “So, Tor and Dareg are insane? Scarred from what happened that day?”

  Interestingly the Queen just looked at him sympathetically.

  “Perhaps. Though that wasn’t why they tried for you. We uncovered an enemy that day. People from other worlds that are coming here in an attempt to destroy us all. Not just to take over, but to end all life, so that nothing will have ever existed. Some of them are us.”

  She waited, as Diana looked puzzled. The girl was smart though, so honestly picked it all up before Willum did. Not long before, but by enough that he noticed it happening. It showed on her face.

  “So, this Bill Humboldt was Willum? He shared the same face?”

  No denial came, just a somber sigh.

  “Exactly. That wasn’t the last one either. There was another version, claiming the name Will Farmer. Dareg threw him into the sun. Again, he nearly died doing that. It cost him a space ship. Best not to mention that part, since he’s still embarrassed about it. Other people came as well. Not all of them being evil or against us by any means. There’s a woman from a different world on our side who’s clearly me. Several versions of Tor have come as well. Even a very nosy and annoying version of Dareg.”

  Will thought he got that then, putting things together.

  “So, when I walked into the magic shop… No… When Clemance took me to see Count Lairdgren, he started things in motion. I’d been told that bit. He tried to have me set up for death?”

  Tiera winced, then nodded.

  “Basically. Thankfully they figured it out in time to stop that. So, it leaves us with a problem.”

  He understood that part. After all, Clemance had handed it to him already.

  “Yep. They tried to kill me. Their reason was understandable, but they were wrong, so that can’t be used as an excuse. On the one hand it seems like there’s some kind of battle for everything going on. On the other, I have nothing to do with that. So…” He shrugged, meaning it.

  The sensible thing to do was, naturally, nothing at all. The men had to be allowed to fight the enemy in a war. On the other hand, he wasn’t that kind of person. Finally, Will just shook his head.

  “Well, no harm done. I’ll just scold them for it when we meet and call it over? They frightened me after all. I…” He made a face then, not hiding the fact that the blood was rushing to it. Not that he could really. “I struck at them. Hitting their shields, but… They’d already stopped coming at me.”

  Tiera actually snorted at him.

  “Fair enough, when rushed like that. I’d have done a bit more than that, so I can’t say much. You might have to humble yourself over that. By our laws there, in Harmony? That means being stripped naked and begging for forgiveness to passersby in the main hallway. We’ll see at the trial.”

  That got Willum to stiffen a bit, which for some reason had Tiera look at the ground. Her face kind of hard.

  “For striking a noble? Tor is an Ancient, isn’t he? Vagus? Dareg… Clem mentioned he was really important on Mars.”

  The words got his Aunt to smile then.

  “Ah. No. None of that matters in this case. They attacked you. It’s attempted violence. It doesn’t even matter who they went for, if that person didn’t go for them first. Self-defense is allowed, after all. No one expects people to just stand by and die or anything. So it will be them on trial for their actions. By the same piece, we can’t make it impossible for them to protect themselves or others. So it’s a hard row, you understand?”

  He kind of did. It also wasn’t as bad sounding for him personally, since he had just been attacked moments before. Even if he were stripped and forced to beg for forgiveness, that wasn’t hanging for striking a nobleman. It didn’t even sound like it was being beaten or locked away for it. He might be shamed, but it seemed survivable.

  “So, do we do that this night or…” He had no knowledge of that, but Tiera shook her head.

  “Not even a little bit. Dumas is introducing you all to society. Which means we should cover some things. How to bow, when to speak and most important, when not to. When in doubt, do this.” She draped a single arm over her middle, bending low over it.

  Instantly, Willum did the same thing, with the others following, one by one.

  “Exactly. Now, Taler, you speak Standard. I know that mother taught you when we were younger. So do Diana and Will. Carl and Maggie… You both understand it, right?” The use of the name was different, but Will understood that it was his da’s family nickname. In Home Tongue Teral often came out sounding like sterile. So it was shifted around a bit. In Pine Creek he’d always been Tal though. So it had never really come up before.

  That plan got nods, of course.
It wasn’t that hard to do, after all. In a lot of ways, it was just a very static version of Home Tongue. They only sounded like they were different languages after all.

  The tall woman smiled cheerily then.

  “Good. Carl, you’ll stick with me. Maggie, try to stay with your husband? Remember, people might touch you. Even in very improper seeming ways. Try not to reject them, if it happens. Merely smile and if you can, do something similar back. Just don’t go off with anyone this time. If you do, you’ll probably end up having relations with them. There are real rules to these kinds of things, but we’ll cover them later. We don’t have time right now. The most important one is not insulting anyone. So, even if it’s embarrassing, it’s better to service someone rather than do that. A lot of these people will have armies after all. On the good side, many will also be family members of yours, so will try to prevent anything like that from happening.”

  The words seemed to terrify Maggie. At least she was trembling a bit already. Tal moved in beside her, being close without really touching her at all. It seemed to help her feel a bit better at any rate.

  Eventually, after a few hours of instruction that half of them would probably be too distracted to use properly, they moved to the magical transportation box. Diana did the honors, taking them to the Thomson Residence directly. It wasn’t even hard to get in, since the guards, who were in pretty blue and brown uniforms, complete with white gloves, simply bowed.

  “If we might have your names, gentles?”

  It was interesting, since they addressed Tiera directly. Probably due to her being the tallest person there. Willum, however was the one that moved forward, speaking calmly. He tried to make his accent as perfect as possible. So far, out of everyone, he thought he sounded most like his Aunt Terlee. Hopefully that was understandable enough.

  “This lady is Queen Tiera, of Harmony. We also have Countier Second Lairdgren, Teral Baker and his wife, Margrite. This is their son Countier Third Lairdgren, Carlisle Baker.” He moved to bow slightly at his own sister then. “The young lady is their daughter, Conserina Fifth Lairdgren, Diana Baker.”

  Tiera smiled at him, bowing slightly in his direction.

  “Leaving only the one speaking. Willum Baker. Countier Four Lairdgren. Hopefully we all made the list?” There really was one, a third man, who was half hidden behind the iron gate checked it. It was dark enough that Will didn't see him as much as feel it happening. Possibly with magic, though he’d never even thought of doing that as being odd, much less magical in nature.

  Not until Aunt Tiera had pointed it out to him. That a thing he’d always done, almost without thinking about it, was magic.

  The last man moved forward, felt relieved for some reason. He was dressed differently, being all in black finery. It was real clothing, though the guards had on magical amulets for that.

  “You are all on the list, indeed Queen Tiera. Please, come this way? Master Dumas requested that you be shown in to the parlor as soon as you arrive. Unless you need to refresh yourself after your travels?”

  That one forced Willum to think for a bit. It wasn’t about having water after the hard walk from the box twenty feet away. No, the man was, rather fancily, offering them a restroom. Everyone had taken care of that already however.

  Tiera simply shook her head, ever so slightly. Her pale white gown shining in the lights of the city, just a bit. The house had magical lamps as well, it seemed, since it fairly glowed at them. It was kind of pretty. Also, looking up, he noticed a thing that he’d missed earlier. There was a glowing tube around the wall in the distance. The one that ran a circle, carrying water with it. He could feel that, even in the distance. It glowed in several places. The only thing there was that the water wasn’t moving smoothly at all. He frowned at that, which no one noticed.

  Except Tiera.

  “Are we under attack?” Her voice was hushed and soft as they kept walking toward the large house. As if that kind of thing might just be normal in her world. She spoke in Standard however, so the man in black with them went stiff, but Carl and his mother really didn’t. After all, they had to know if it were important, Tiera would be screaming in Home Tongue.

  “No… Something with the floating river? It’s choppy… Is it supposed to be like that?”

  The woman stopped walking, forcing the rest of them to do the same. After half a minute of just standing there, she shook her head.

  “Not at all. No, it’s starting to fail. Nice catch, Will. Not that we can make fun of Tor over it. The thing has been in constant use for twenty years. It’s on metal as well, which means that the work done was very strong, originally. I’ll bring it up with him. People are used to their river after all. I dare say, he could do a bit better now, don’t you imagine?”

  Willum nodded. After all, that was probably just the truth. His first chair had been shaky and a little too thin in the legs. Undecorated as well. Now he could make a real one that was sturdy and beautiful to behold. That was after only three years. Tor had a lot more time than that to improve.

  They walked to the front door, being let in by the man with them, who strode toward a side room rather purposefully.

  “Here we go, ladies. Gentlemen. I’ll summon the household, if that serves?” The words were all for Queen Tiera then. Which made sense. After all, one of the people was the ruler of another world. The rest of them had stepped so recently from the forest that they still smelled of pine and fir sap.

  Literally, if you had a keen enough nose.

  The room they were taken to had strange furnishings. A large bench with a high back to it, padded very well with pillows and heavy fabric. Several large chairs that were similar as well. To the side there were even more benches in the same cream and gold colors. It was all real, Will thought. Nothing was just a magical construct or seeming.

  The first person into the room wasn’t cousin Dumas at all, but was rather Count Thomson himself. Interestingly he moved over to them before they even settled on the pillows.

  “Ah! Queen Tiera. So lovely to see you!” She got a small hug and a kiss on the cheek. It was close to scandalous, but they really had been warned about that sort of thing.

  Willum bowed, which got everyone else to do the same, including the Count. He greeted Teral first, slapping him on the shoulder, then moved to touch Maggie on the arm, below the elbow. Thankfully no one stabbed him. Not that they were walking around armed.

  The giant man did something similar with Diana, then bowed toward Carl and finally Willum. It was a bit off, but after a moment he kind of understood what had happened. Carl was more important politically than Diana or he was. The girl however was pretty, so he was trying to get in good with her. Possibly for inappropriate things later.

  That nearly caused Will to lose his composure, but everyone else did better than that. Either not realizing what was going on, or getting it and thinking that it would be safe enough for the evening. Diana smiled up at the giant man in a way that would probably be dangerous to her retaining her virtue much longer if she wasn’t careful.

  Count Thomson then looked at Will directly, his face going serious.

  “I heard of the attack on your person. I know both Torrance Baker and Dareg Canton to be men of good spirit and kindness. Also, clearly, you are without blame here. Is it…” He made a hard face, then shook his head. “It isn’t my place to suggest that you don’t seek retribution. I…” He was, clearly, at a loss for words then.

  Tiera wasn’t.

  “Willum Baker is being quite understanding of my brother and nephew, on this issue. I believe he spoke of gentle scolding over it however? After the meal, I’m certain. No need to worry too much, I don’t believe.” She smiled about it, but it held a strange, almost regal quality. One mirrored by the large man, who was about the same size as the Queen in height.

  “Truly then? That’s heartening news. From hearing Clemance speak on the subject I feared an ambush over the pudding. I’d love to avoid that, if at all within the bound
s of honor and sensibility.” The man looked at Will again. Not knowing what else to do, or say, he just nodded.

  “We’ll try to keep to that then, Count Thomson. I’m sure it wasn’t meant to be…” Except that it had been an assassination attempt.

  They had stopped though, once it became clear he wasn’t a threat. Even when he’d shamed himself by striking at them, they hadn’t started again.

  Honestly, he thought that he understood what was going on. The whole thing wasn’t about him being attacked, even in spirit. No, it was all about the day’s events being too strange for him. That led to stress, which was causing a few troubles now.

  After a while, Dumas and Clemance found them, the younger boy haranguing their poor Aunt for all the information she might have. That got the story about them being under attack to come again, even as the Count looked away. Annoyed at it being shared so openly.

  The boy was truly clever however and had ten times the data being freely divulged that Tiera had explained to him. It was all in Standard, which meant that Carl and their mother could pick it up, but imperfectly. They understood it wasn’t a simple tall tale however, which was the big point. There was a war on. One that no one was being told about. Also Aliens from other worlds coming. Not just the ones like them, but beings from space itself.

  Ysidril. They were true aliens from the sound of it.

  Also a vast number of others. Machine people, which Will had to admit, he didn’t understand at all. In his mind he envisioned something a bit like a wagon, propelling itself down the path where it willed to go. There were also others who were called Forten. From what Dumas told them, those people were just like everyone else, if with different hair and eye colors.

  It didn’t sound like it would be that big of an issue. After all, it wasn’t like they were meeting with any of them that day. Except, of course, that as people filtered into the waiting room, before the meal, a strange being came in, standing near Dareg. On the good side, the four armed, purple and green being was distracting enough to take his mind off the fact that Dareg was there already.