Slave Line (The Young Ancients) (25 page)

"So... my nearly getting you killed is maybe going to do it again? I'm a curse for you aren't I? Everything bad that happens to you has me right there, involved in it. It's like I just attract horrible things to you." She didn't tear up or anything, which was good, since that could start her crying.

Changed or not, Tor knew he still hated to hear her cry. Not for good healthy reasons like caring about her feelings either. She could go on for hours and get loud about it, sobbing and moaning in a way that for a long time he hadn't thought could be real. Besides, this time what she said wasn't true at all.

He took her hand gently and smiled at her.

"Oh... No. I mean, yes, there is a chance that some small biological part of you played a role in this current mess, but you're far from being the one that brought everything bad into my life. That position goes to Alphonse, with Burks and the King playing a strong secondary support position. Do you know they both knew who I was the whole time I was at Lairdgren? Maybe even before that? I mean, the whole Tor being a double of Green thing too, not just that I was my mother's child. Burks even gave me a shot of his blood when I was a baby. Kind of absolves you of the major portion of things for this, doesn't it? The thing is though, with the Ancients involved we can't really trust anyone, even the ones we like. We have to stick to the facts and even that might not be enough. They're all too crafty by far. Anything we can think of, most of them have probably lived a half dozen times already. They've had practice and the idea that we could out think them is probably insane." Tor hugged her, enjoying the feeling of her lean body against his for just a moment. It was always a little awkward, since she was taller than he was, but then most people he knew anymore were. It was just something he needed to get used to.

For her part she returned the moved without hesitation and didn't seem as tense after a few seconds of contact. Tor could see that Trice had never been adverse to touching him. Now he got it at least. She'd even tried to initiate it when they'd first met, but he'd always pulled away or broke it off, worried that she was stooping too far below her station or that someone else would be angry over it. This time when he moved back, he kept a hold on her hand, the left one, which wasn't real, but could still feel the texture and warmth of his skin. It felt like an actual hand, almost perfectly so. If he hadn't built it himself he wouldn't have known it wasn't.

The pretty girl was outlined in the moonlight, her slightly tan skin smooth and clear. Tor knew he must practically glow, being as pale as he was, but that could work. Bad for night combat missions, but good for not being lost at sea if he fell overboard. She spoke, her voice soft and warm again, rather than guilty or worried sounding.

"So you don't blame me for all this? You aren't mad?"

"Why would I blame you? Blame isn't going to help me now, and really, when it comes time for that, to find someone responsible for this, I doubt it's going to be anything as normal as one of my friends playing a prank or being in the wrong place at the right time. No, this is probably one of the Ancients and the plan here most likely goes back before either of us was born. Kind of hard to beat something like that. The really rough part there is that we can't trust anything that happens as real anymore. Not as far as any of them are concerned. I mean that. We have to watch them all. So, you know, great fun." He started walking slowly, tugging her hand just a little.

"So, come sleep in my room tonight? I have to be up early to help Carlos with breakfast, but it will give Ali the impression that I'm not some kind of unmitigated prude. Um... Again, I can't do much yet, so I understand if you want to find someone else for the night." He really did too. It was hard to say the words, but in her world it would be the right thing to point out.

Trice was kind of known to be only medium level friendly that way, not having hundreds of lovers per year or anything, but not likely to spend all her time alone either. Tor was kind of country still. That apparently was all him, because he still felt a twinge of guilt over taking a woman not his wife back to his room, even if they weren't going to have sex.

Patricia giggled at him just a little.

"I'm good. Surprisingly enough Marvin didn't hire any male whores for the trip. I think he just assumes that women can get sex whenever they like, so they don't need them. That just leaves the musicians or the Austran spies. True a couple of those guys are nice looking enough, but it could be awkward politically. So it's pretty much you, Ali or one of the Ancients. Denno seems likely there, doesn't he?" She was teasing, which showed in her voice, but her facial expression went still after saying it, like she wasn't sure how he'd respond to it.

Tor started to say something, then stopped and shook his head.

"No. Political reasons again. We've just been at war with Austra and he is, like it or not, their real leader. A lot more so than Burks is for Noram. Lyn maybe, but she's never shown any interest in girls that I know of, even great looking ones like you. Burks... but if you do that it would really bug me. A lot I mean. I don't know why, but I think I'm a bit jealous of him."

They didn't talk again until they got into the room, the light having been left on, since it didn't burn any fuel at all. Trice didn't do anything at first, just standing, but her face seemed sweet and happy for once.

"Where do you want me?"

"Such a loaded question." Tor grinned getting the idea. She meant it that way, but he shook his head, knowing sex wasn't in the cards.

"On the bed though, and ready to sleep, perhaps with some cuddling. Wild and saucy cuddling." He meant it to be funny, and for once it got a laugh from the girl. She normally just smiled when he tried to make jokes.

He went to the restroom first, hitting the light plate on the wall making the decently large space bright and cheery. Tor just wanted to brush his teeth before bed, that being his habit. It meant looking into the mirror though, something he always tried to avoid when he could. It wasn't that he was hideous, but his face was just kind of plain and average looking to him. Or it had been.

This time when he looked in the mirror someone else was standing there staring back at him. It wasn't his face at all. Or rather, it was, but up until that moment he'd never really seen it for what it was. Tor really did look like Burks and more than that, he was... Really good looking. More than he'd ever expected from the descriptions people had given him. It took a second for him to recover himself, because the idea was just so different than what he'd thought. Tor had been told that he was good looking by a lot of people, but even knowing that the programmed beliefs in his head stopped him from seeing it, he'd never quiet understood it before.

"Oh..." The mirror was a magical one, a thing that reflected light perfectly and was built in to the wall. The noise must have caught Trice's attention, because she came to the door of the room and watched him carefully, her eyes a little wary.

"Is everything..." She let the words trail off as he smiled and gave a nod still looking into the reflection, reaching out to touch it with the fingers of his right hand.

"Perfect. I'm... not ugly. I can see it. In the mirror I mean. I guess that when you kept talking about "people like me" acting aloof and stand-offish all those times you didn't mean "Troll like short guys" at all, did you?"

"Nope. You're fine. Incredibly attractive. Everyone I've ever talked to thinks so, even people that kind of hate you for it. Marvin is all jealous of you, you know. He honestly still thinks that you're going to come in one day and steal Maria away from him. Even after the whole thing with... you know." She waved at the mirror her face going mock serious.

"Are you going to get all into yourself now and start sleeping with anything that moves? I wouldn't blame you, but I kind of liked being one of the main women in your life you know. Hard enough having to compete with Collette all the time for attention, and Connie. They're both so pretty."

Tor sighed and loaded his toothbrush with paste from the tube he had, proper anise flavored stuff finally, having run out of the other that he'd been using for half a year. Cinnamon. It wasn't horrid, but made his mouth feel funny.

"I don't have time for anything like that Trice. Maybe, if I can get through all this with Cordes and still be a person in the end, I can learn not to seem all cold and off-putting to everyone. I... it's so strange, I can see it all now. How I must have seemed to people before. Kind of cold and distant, even when I wanted to be warm and show how much I cared. Even when I really thought I was."

He started brushing his teeth, wondering if his body would allow him to show Trice that he wasn't cold or distant from her at all? It would be interesting to find out at least.

Chapter seven

The next morning, after being woken up by Ali, who pounced on him and Trice a little, kissing them both in places that should have made him blush and squirm, but didn't, Tor got himself down to the bathing chamber and hit the showers. He'd gone in alone, but the tubs filled up rapidly as a few of the Austrans came in along with a man Tor thought played the steel drums in a band and five women that were most likely the whores. They were all pretty enough and looked fit, so probably dancers too. Good economy of funds if that was the case.

One of them looked really familiar though. Martya, one of his business partners. Tor blinked water out of his eyes and waved to her when he realized who it was. She waved back, stowing her clothing on the bench along the wall, walking over to him nude, her body a nice even brown shade.

"Tor! I missed you yesterday. Marvin contracted me to set up the girls for the trip, since I have family connections. I figured I could chip in, just to help out for the Kingdom. I'm not taking gold for it though." She laughed as the others looked at her. They didn't seem upset by her words, not even the other women, in fact they looked almost like they respected her for it.

"I'm not a whore anymore. Still everyone here is good looking enough and clean, so why not? It isn't like I don't know what to do. The ice houses are all set up to care for themselves, along with the other businesses, so no need to worry there, not if I'm back within a few months. I was thinking of coming to visit you and Collette in the summer. In the Capital I mean." She chattered merrily, not letting anyone else speak at all for some reason.

"What do you think? Can you introduce me to any merchants in the area so I can gain contacts? Please?" She started the shower next to his with a tap on the glowing sigil, causing clean warm water to spray out of the nozzle above her.

Before she could go on about how she'd make it worth his while, Tor just nodded.

"No promises, but I do know a few people. Like the head of Debris house and the Finance Counselor, Johansson. Maybe a few people from some other merchant houses? Not that you'd need me to introduce you. You and Collette are kind of big now yourselves in your own right. Kind of taking over the ice business for the Kingdom, aren't you?"

"Yes. But there's so much more to do. We've also been planning to do something with focus stone, since no one else has yet, not outside the military. It could change the world." She soaped her body as she thought, looking at him closely while soaping up her lady parts, fingering herself enough that some of the men in the room were staring, even though that was more than a little rude. Her fault though, acting like that. Kind of her plan though, wasn't it? She was trying to get him interested in her. Probably for business reasons, but maybe it was just because they were friends. He wondered what she wanted exactly, but didn't have to wait long for her to simply ask.

"So... could you introduce me to the Lairdgren group? I hear they're very nearly a manufacturing concern all on their own and don't have any official ties to anyone yet. Putting out more devices in a week than Debris House does in a month? We could set up shops in all the major cities... " She watched him carefully, still stroking between her legs, but it was an almost absent thing. Enough of a show that some of the men were obviously getting aroused though. A bit mean of her.

"Sure, if you have time after this I can make the first intro for you. Actually, why don't you all come along? Everyone should get to know one another. Having contacts can't hurt. Martya gets first crack at business deals of course, but knowing a troop of young wizards can't hurt in life, even for musicians. I suggest making friends at least." He went back to washing, studiously ignoring Martya, who washed in a more normal fashion after that. Tor looked down and realized that her show had gotten him slightly aroused as well. It was a good sign, since it meant he wasn't completely broken that way.

He hadn't wanted to admit it before, but that idea had worried him more than a little.

When he got to the Kitchen he found Carlos there already working, as well as Timon, his little brother. Tor didn't want to alienate the kid, but calling himself Weasel kind of lacked in dignity and he was, eleven years old or not, a real builder already. He looked at him and grimaced slightly.

"Um, Tim? We should probably go back to using your real name for the rest of this trip I think. The Austrans might not respect you as much if you have a name that sounds quite so..." Tor didn't know what to call it that wouldn't be rude, but Timon just flipped a hand at him and went back to making the bread dough.

"Got it. It sounds like I made it up when I was a little kid, trying to sound tough or something. Which is where it came from, but I get the idea. Useful at home though."

He didn't have to explain that part at all. Eleven kids, all with names that started with the same letter. It was easy to get lost in the crowd there. Maybe that was the point? Making them all seem interchangeable and common? It was an unusual thing to do though and a vast family. Most people had no more than three kids, but his mom had decided to go for a huge family for some reason. Three of her children were Immortal too. Possibly more than that if any of the younger kids started to show signs. That was a problem. The world could only take so many people that wouldn't die for a long time. He'd have to mention that to her, if they were ever going to speak again. It would start another fight no doubt.

She didn't show up to help with breakfast or eat with them, getting Tiera to take a plate to their shared room for her instead. His sister rolled her eyes at him, but didn't say what he expected at all. Tor kind of figured she'd blame him for everything, but she didn't.

"Ma is being a brat. I know, don't speak badly of the elders and honor your parents and all that, but she knows she's wrong and just doesn't want to admit it yet. Made a fool of herself in front of everyone and can't bear to pop her head out the door. Not that anyone here would make fun of her for it. She should have just mumbled an apology and left it at that. I mean, what are you supposed to have done? Ali
is
too young to marry, but that isn't her fault. The whole story is romantic enough, isn't it? How you protected her from her evil father and then stood by her afterward, even though the King and Queen tried to make you leave her? Someone should write that down into a story or make a play of it. I might do it myself if I ever gain the skill. Anyway, I don't think Ma is angry with you at all, just in shock that you suddenly grew a spine and aren't taking her... Words... anymore."

Then in typical Tiera fashion she left, having never let him speak at all. It was nice to hear she was kind of on his side though. It could very easily have gone the other way. She and his mother were close. Perhaps more so than the rest of the children, now that Terlee had left home.

Tor didn't see his mother for the rest of the trip and tried not to worry about it, working each day in the kitchen and taking some light exercise on the deck between the mid-day meal and dinner. Unlike the trip to Afrak, which had taken ten days, this one went much faster, since not only did Petra push the ship a good bit more, but they weren't stopping at night.

Ali was doing a good job it seemed, not only keeping them on course, but also making sure all the entertainment was taken care of, a slightly different show being put on each night. Everyone seemed happy enough by the time they reached Austra, coming in from the south to their major port on Brown's orders.

"There we go. Home sweet home. Let's see about stopping here and letting them know who we are. I'm sure they have an idea, I did let everyone know we were coming and what to expect, but best not to frighten anyone if we can help it." The Ancient seemed confident enough that they weren't about to be attacked, but the others seemed to think they might be in for some rough treatment for some reason.

Tor hoped not, the mission had been going so well to this point.

Quavel it turned out had a small communications device with him, so he could call ahead, which he did from the deck of the ship as soon as Denno gave him permission. It was just a plain looking black box made of some kind of material that Tor didn't recognize by name. He'd seen some of it before, he thought, in Burks basement, but what it was he didn't really know.

Except that he did. Rather Cordes did. That was a little eerie, since he had the first hundred years of the man's memories now. A bit more in fact. They were all pre-cataclysm, which was odd, since he'd kind of thought the Ancients were from the time of the event, not that far before it. It was like someone had seen it coming for a long time first. Centuries.

The memories told him it was "plastic" and the device was probably a radio. It might be something else he knew, since there had been thousands of years of possible technological improvement made, but it looked right. It wasn't like being told that this was the case, more like Tor just remembered it all. It took a bit longer than his own memories to come to the surface, but otherwise it felt the same.

That would be how it would take over no doubt. Tor would just grow with the memories and soon they'd be most of who he was. He still felt like himself and wasn't acting different that he could tell. Not like someone else. But then, even that was so hard to be certain of. In fact, what sense of personality there was seemed to be actively trying not to influence or interfere with Tor at all. If that was taken away he'd probably be in trouble, or at least have to fight for his own mind, but so far it wasn't a real problem.

Quavel spoke into the device after hitting a code on a flat pad. Then he waited for a voice to speak. Tor couldn't hear what it said, just what Quavel said in return.