Conspiracy (16 page)

Inside, a fire burned in the center of the facility. The four local men quickly took seats around the fire, one of them gesturing with a slight motion of the head for the guests to be seated as well. Fur rugs and leather skins were located around the floor. The guests all took their lead from William and remained silent.

The elf to whom the others seemed to defer began to speak in a low, guttural voice. He continued for several minutes while William listened attentively. When he completed his comments, William responded in a language that none of the visitors understood. He spoke for about one minute. It appeared as if the men knew each other. When William completed his comments, he turned to his party and began to translate.

“This gentleman is Hagnar’s father, Orland. He is the appointed village chief and has served as such for over four hundred years. I have met with him on many previous occasions and we have become close friends. During those years, we have taught each other our respective languages. Orland will speak with us privately at a later time in our own language—however, he prefers to conduct this initial meeting so his people can understand what is being said. He has welcomed us to his village, and assures us that we will receive all the hospitality his people can provide. The remainder of his comments were his personal greeting and welcome to an old friend whom he is pleased to see once again.”

At this final comment, Orland smiled and nodded.

The meeting was over as quickly as it had begun. William and the chief rose, followed by the three elders of the village, and without another word, the visitors stood and departed the building.

“We will be shown to our quarters now,” William said. “The leaders from several other villages will be here in three days. I suggest you use that time to become acquainted with the people, who I am assured will be most friendly. In fact, if I understood correctly, there’ll be entertainment provided over the next several days so you may gain understanding of the lifestyle of this community.”

“Are we free to come and go?” Queen Eimile asked.

“You may go anywhere you desire,” William answered. “The people are honored to have a queen as their guest.”

Three older women appeared, and by arm and hand motion requested Eimile and Mallorie to follow them. Likewise, a young man requested Ian, Gregor, and Michael to follow him. They hesitated momentarily, waiting for William to join them, until he advised them that, as an old friend, he would be staying with the chief’s family.

Chapter Twenty

Southern Realm

Reagan

While the current and future rulers of the three Realms explored the North, my sister and I took the time to reflect on our circumstances, all the while concerned about the safety of the men we loved. As I was to discover, Vice President Castillo approached things from an entirely different perspective.

Haslane and Camille, despite their approaching wedding ceremony, performed as gracious hosts. Tony spent the afternoon fishing in the Waimak River, which dropped quickly from the snow-covered mountains to the ocean. His freedom to do as he wished without fear of attack or security intervention, was, to his way of thinking, the most enjoyable afternoon he had spent in many years.

Nonetheless, he found it difficult to come to terms with both his surroundings and his true heritage. On the second afternoon following William’s departure with the royal family members, Tony sought me out on the veranda.

“So, the family has given you full access to the residential suite,” he said as he approached and took a seat next to me.

When I saw who had joined me, I reacted instinctively and rose from my seat, acknowledging his presence. “Mr. Vice President –”

Tony held up his hand, signaling me to be silent. “My name is Tony. I went fishing yesterday afternoon without you or any other agents to watch my back. We’re in a new world here, Stinger,” he said, smiling at the use of the code name he had given me to complement his Secret Service name of Hornet.

I self-consciously sat down again, his infectious smile spreading to my face. “So, Tony, did you catch any fish?”

He laughed out loud at the instant familiarity I adopted. “Enormous, but I’ll never be able to tell anyone on Capitol Hill the story.”

“I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to call you Tony and to spend at least thirty minutes being a friend rather than an employee.”

I watched as his face dropped. “Is that what you think you are, Reagan? An employee?”

“Well, there isn't much personal exchange besides ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir.’”

He nodded slowly, shifting his gaze out over the valley below and the multitude of farm animals that could be observed in the distance. The most unusual from my perspective was the large herd of various-colored alpaca. I had quickly come to admire the clothing prepared from their soft, warm fur.

“Seen from your point of view, I can understand that,” he replied. “Perhaps I’ve never said it, but I want you to understand clearly that from my perspective you’ve always been far more than an employee. As a Marine Corps officer, I thought of you and the other agents as members of my battle team. On occasion I’ve thought about that random attack that might come as bullets fly toward my vehicle or my head. I’ve wondered whether I would have the nerve to stand between you and that bullet. In the six years we’ve served together, I’ve come to understand, and I have no doubt, that you would stand between that bullet and me.”

“That means a lot to me, Tony. Over the years I’ve learned that several of my fellow agents feel like a piece of furniture in the room when meetings are being held and they’re present, but ignored.”

“I suppose that’s a fact of life, Reagan. But the agents are trained to be inconspicuous, aren’t they?”

“Inconspicuous, perhaps. But not nonexistent.” Under any other circumstances, this would have been a totally inappropriate conversation for me to be having with the vice president of the United States. Yet here we were, two people in a foreign world, neither of us certain of our future, and both of us faced with decisions that would alter our lives forever. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the familiarity, I decided to change the topic. “It seems I have the choice to become an elf or not. That option is not available to you, is it?”

He was silent for a long moment, his face a mask of indecision and confusion. Finally he turned to look directly at me. “I’ve lived forty-six years as a human. I see no reason to change that.”

“I think it has changed, whether you like it or not. You’ve crossed over now, at least twice. The inherent powers of an elf begin to manifest themselves following a crossing.”

“Are you saying I’m going to become an elf whether I want to or not?” Tony asked, his eyes intense.

“Don’t turn to me as the expert on elf genetics,” I replied. “I know that with regard to myself and my sister we have seen significant changes in our capability, our physical prowess, and even our perceptive ability to discern issues around us. And we are only partially Elven. I think your birth has caught up with you, and while you may be able to continue your role in the human world, your Elven heritage will increasingly become part of your everyday life.”

I watched as Tony contemplated my words, both of us sitting on the balcony and staring out over the valley below. Despite his being a full-blooded elf, I could understand that his choice was far more difficult than my own. This was a man who, through his own intelligence, perseverance, and sheer fortitude, had become the vice president of the United States. There was a strong probability that he would, by this time next year, be the new president of the United States. Was that the role for an elf? Could he continue to perform in this political capacity knowing full well his heritage? As if reading my thoughts, Tony responded.

“Yesterday while fishing, Viv joined me in the afternoon and brought me to understand the dilemma I face. Yet she expressed it in such a way that I felt I had all options open. She said there have been many elves over the centuries who have lived long lives in the human world only to the return to their respective Realm in what humans perceived to be their later years. She helped me to understand that should I choose to remain human, my ability to perform as president would only be enhanced, and it was totally within my capability to shield any knowledge of my paranormal genetics.”

“Except from the
Olc
,” I responded.

“Except from the
Olc
,” he repeated.

“So you've made your choice?”

“Not so fast.” He smiled. “You’re in love with an elf. Yet you have a successful career, you have a father, and if I'm not mistaken,” he added with a smile, “you have ambitions of your own.”

“Are you asking me what I intend to do?”

“You didn't think you were going to get off just questioning me, did you?”

I nodded with a small smile. “I thought perhaps your answers would help me reach my own conclusions. I don’t know what I'm going to do, Tony. I really don’t. Yes, it’s true, I love Ian. In our professional world, on the human side, a relationship is against Secret Service rules. If we remain, one of us will have to resign. And now even our primary protectee knows of the relationship.”

“I think all the rules have been suspended. When we return, we’re going to share a secret we will be unable to divulge to anyone else. It could be to our advantage, but I also think it will cause us a great deal of grief. Despite all the complaining you’ve heard me voice over the years, I like my job. I like the opportunity to make a difference. I know that sounds trite, I know it's a political cliché, but I also know that for many of the people with whom I work, it’s true.”

“Are you ready to go back to Washington?”

“No. I plan to attend the wedding and learn a little more about this elf world. It’s the first real break I’ve had in many years, and if we can return to my apartment only moments after we left, it seems a pretty good opportunity to come to grips with who everyone says I really am.”

I stood, placed my hands on the railing around the balcony, and leaned forward. “This is a beautiful place, but it’s not where Ian comes from. In my short time visiting the Realms, I’ve been to three. I absolutely love the Western Realm, or as you and I would call it, Ireland. Something deep in my heart tells me I could be happy there. But like you say, if we choose to live in the elf world, and I crossed over nine times to become a full-blooded elf, I’ll have many years to live with that choice.”

Tony also stood and stepped close to me near the railing. I was very surprised when he put his arm around me and pulled me into his shoulder. In the six years I’d worked for Tony, he had never touched me physically other than to shake my hand or to brush past me as we entered or exited a room or vehicle.

“Stinger,” he said, his voice once again strong and confident, “if we play our cards right, maybe we can have both.”

Chapter Twenty-One

The Northern Realm

Two days in the far reaches of the Northern Realm provided a comprehensive understanding of the banished elves. Ian, Gregor, and Michael found themselves invited to participate in sports and competitive ventures, including leg wrestling, a reindeer rodeo, and even a small game hunt, using a unique weapon that none of them had seen before. It was a small, carved wooden crossbow in pistol shape, which fired a four-inch dart. The young men of the various villages had become very proficient with this weapon and could hit smaller animals as far away as thirty to forty yards.

This cultural exchange, while enjoyable and informative, paled in significance to the surprise with which the Northern Realm elves learned about sifting. In a large gathering of village members, including the elders and leaders of outlying villages who had come to Orland, William tried to explain, in their own language, the concept of sifting. However, moving from one place to another in the blink of an eye was foreign to these people, and frightening.

In a demonstration that they had discussed among themselves, the visitors tried to demonstrate the concept. Ian walked about fifty yards from the gathering of people while Gregor and Michael remained in front of the fire. As William continued with his explanation, Gregor disappeared and was instantaneously standing fifty yards away next to Ian. Some of the children began to cry, clinging to their mothers, and some of the older women stood and hastily departed. There was uncertainty throughout the community, and when Gregor and Ian sifted back to the center of the community, appearing next to Michael, there was, once again, a mild uproar.

Despite William’s explanation that nothing dangerous had happened and there was nothing to fear, what they had witnessed with their own eyes was dramatic, unnatural, and foreign to their comprehension. When William continued to advise them that such movement could occur over a great distance, even between villages, there was shock and obvious disbelief.

The village leaders, however, although visibly surprised, expressed interest in this astonishing feat. As the evening concluded, William promised the leaders that they would return and teach them all they could about their heritage and their capability as members of the Elven community. Despite their apprehension, their gratitude was apparent.

The language barrier prevented Mallorie from conversing privately with any of the Northern Realm leaders. Eimile had closely watched her daughter during the visit and had become even more convinced that Mallorie was hiding her true feelings. As much as it pained her to admit it to herself, she didn’t trust her daughter. When she confided her feelings to Gregor, he concurred.

“I am saddened to admit,” the heir to the Southern Realm said, “but I have come to the conclusion that Mallorie is somehow in league with the
Olc
. During my time as security chief to the royal family, I would never have believed her capable of such treachery. The events of the past few days have made it readily apparent to me that she is a danger to the peace and harmony of the Western and Eastern Realms.”