Kingdom of Stars (The Young Ancients: Timon Book Three) (25 page)

In the morning the very first thought that occurred to him,
even before he opened his eyes, was that it was a good thing that they'd had
the night before. After all, he could very well die that day. Or soon at least.
That his mind was strong enough now to let him enjoy something like that was
amazing. The second thought he had was that he needed to use the restroom, and
get ready for the day. In that way it was pretty normal seeming.

Except that now, after the last months, nothing really was.
Just waking up, instead of staying awake in a trance most of the time, was
different. Really, it didn't happen, he knew. His mind was clear and focused,
but distant in a way. He was still in a deep state and probably would be for as
long as he lived. Unless he survived the day, that was. That would be the plan,
if he could swing it. One way or the other, he wanted to live.

He did things differently than before, starting with a
shave. He'd seen others do it for years and had the materials right there, so
he cleaned the peach fuzz off his face. It was dark and made him look awkward,
which wasn't what he wanted for the time being. Without it he looked even
younger, but his new height was helping there a bit. Tim was youthful looking,
but actually seemed like a real noble kid. Taller than a lot of them were at
his age even.

Timon cut himself, the pearl handled straight razor a bit
harder to handle than he'd figured on, but the healing amulet he had fixed that
in about ten seconds. Then he showered and ran a bath. The tub was a huge
thing, and it would be nice to soak for a bit, in some warm water. They didn't
have the resources to spare for things like that in space and he'd kind of
missed the pleasure of it.

That was where Trice found him, and after a quick shower she
climbed into the tub. It was a bit strange for him, but only for a moment. He
was so deep that he managed to smile and let all the emotional weight of the
actions go in short order. It was still there, of course. He felt the
embarrassment of being seen naked still, his backwoods upbringing making that
something that would exist as part of him for a long time. There was also
pleasure in it though, seeing her nude like she was. The only things she had on
were her shield, one of the new ones he noticed, even if he hadn't given it to
her directly, and the small pea like amulet that held her left arm.

For a while he stared at the amulets, feeling them with his
mind. The fake limb was a masterpiece, of course. Articulate, and so well
formed that it was nearly perfect. The thing there was that his humble little
shield was nearly as complex, if in a different way. Nearly as good too. That
kind of surprised him. He'd thought there would be a lot more distance between
his work and Tor's still.

The things that Tor made were all his own work however,
which made it harder, and his was derivative, but Tim could live with that. He
was making what was needed for now, not what he'd been dreaming about. That
would be hard, because in his dreams he didn't build much at all, and simply
ran a few businesses.

His wife smiled at him, her deep brown hair being pulled
back and up, to keep it out of the water. It was very curly, and her blue eyes
didn't quite go with it, but it managed to be striking on her, rather than
strange.

"So, what's the plan for the day? Morning with Uncle
Richard and Aunt Connie and then heading over to Vagus?"

Timon didn't think it was actually going to go that way at
all, to be honest. Remy was smart, and old. If Brown had word of a shape
changer in Vagus, then Remy would go to where he figured Tim would hide. He
might not have figured out that he was in the Capital yet, but it was his home
and almost everyone ran there first, when they were in trouble. The more he
thought about it, the more likely it seemed that he wouldn't have to go
anywhere at all.

Still, not telling Trice that wouldn't help anything. There
was no Remy in the room, though he did search for listeners with his mind
before speaking.

 "I don't think so really. Can you get everyone here
shielded before we leave for the day? You might want to give us an extra bit of
time too. I'll walk over to the Palace, myself. Say in about half an hour? I'd
love a bite to eat first, if the kitchen has anything ready."

Trice had her flaws, but being dumb wasn't one of them at
all. She worked out what he meant before the last words were out of his mouth
and went wide eyed.

"We can call in troops. The King's Army and the Baker
forces will back us. I can-" She stood suddenly, making the water in the
large black tub slosh a lot. It looked like focus stone, which was the
convention, he knew, even if it could have looked like anything they wanted.
Marble or even wood might be nice.

Tim forced a small smile, not meaning it, and waved the
woman down, noticing her dark nipples had gone hard at the thought of danger. That
it was a thing that he could notice now, without fear made him feel a lot
better again. The night before might have been a fluke, but he didn't think it
was.

"No. Not
us
, and not a sacrificial force of
pawns. This is my fight, and..." He tapered off, realizing how it sounded.
Like he was too stupid to let anyone else help. "I have some things ready
to go. If it works, then anyone else would just be in the way. If they don't,
well, then there's no reason for a bunch of other people to die. From what I
hear, as far as a Remy goes, once their chosen target is gone, they stop. Doing
anything else is wasteful."

What he didn't share was just how many layers of defense and
offense he had ready. It was more than seven, which would at least make Cordes
happy, he didn't doubt.

Trice made a face at him and suddenly seemed like she was
going to argue.

"You're just a little boy. You can't go to battle with
this thing alone. No one could do it. Green said-"

"Green said what he needed you to hear, Trice. He's not
a bad person, but he only says what he thinks will cause people to do what he
thinks is needed. The thing there is that he can't see a way for anyone to win
against a Remy, because
he
couldn't do it. That isn't because he lacks
the skill or willpower to do it, but because his nature refuses to let him
directly confront one of the command line Ancients. For him it would be simple
death, and he thinks that it will be the same for me, but he's wrong. It's just
a fight for me." Then he grinned, nearly meaning it. "True, it's a
kid going up against a being that has thousands of years of experience, but
hey, I could get lucky, right?"

That didn't seem to make her feel any better, but when they
got out and dried off using fluffy towels that were made out of magic and felt
a bit like Farlo Ross to his mind, she only called to set up a meeting with the
King, and not tattle on him. She did dress in combat leathers as they were
leaving though, which got Tim to roll his eyes at her.

"No. You have to stay here. I'll meet you there in a
few hours. Really though, that's way too obvious. Notice how I'm dressed?"
Like a school boy, all in rough spun looking brown. "This is the way not
to over sell things."

That earned him a snort and a hit to the shoulder that
caused his shield to come into play on its own.

"Don't die Timon. Run, if you have to. You have forever
to fight this thing. Don't be stupid about it."

He smiled and then winked at her with his left eye. Taking a
deep breath, he let his mind go blank and empty.

"The last time we met, it was the Remy that fled, not
me. Not that I think that means it won't have learned from the events of that
day, but I have, too. I'll play it smart. This... I'm not planning on a fair
fight. I'll survive this." If he could.

If it showed up. After all he could be wrong about the whole
thing, and the Remy might well be on the Ranford, pacing the hallways sourly,
since he wasn't there.

Tim kissed his wife goodbye and made a point of doing a good
job of it. After all, he really might not be coming back, even if he wasn't
going to say that at all. She knew. She had too much information not to get the
basic idea.

The strange part of the thing, Tim noted, as he left the
richly appointed front of his palace, and it was that, in truth, was that he
wasn't scared. Oh, he
would
be. Even in a trance state, it could happen,
as he'd learned the night before as the dark world rushed at him. For the
moment though he was calm and relaxed, feeling almost good about the world.

The front gate was still guarded, if by different people,
but the two women there just nodded to him, probably not certain who he was at
all. They'd clearly understood that he was coming out, not trying to get in,
and were fine with that. Really, he should have stopped and chatted with them,
so that they'd recognize him later, but he just didn't feel like bothering.
Outside the gate, once he could see it all in the light, he felt slightly
amazed. The inside of the wall was nice, having several gardens and a few young
trees, but outside, it was paradise. The whole world, a space which had once
been a battlefield that had seen thousands of deaths, and before that had been
an empty wasteland of dust and a few scraggly bushes, was now lush and green.
Not perfectly so, but there was even and tended grass as far as the eye could
see, broken in the distance by rows of growing things that made it seem a bit
like a farm.

There were trees almost everywhere, and off to the left
there was a large lake that hadn't been there before at all. Timon started toward
it, wondering if it was being fed by the floating river that ran around his own
wall when a rather poor looking girl in a plain brown smock waved to him.

"Sir! A word Sir?" She took a few steps in his
direction and then stopped, the new lake at her back, though that was still
about a quarter mile away. She stood barefoot on grass, and had brown eyes,
which made her seem very common looking. She was missing a tooth in the front,
which wasn't likely to be real, since everyone had use of healing amulets still,
and missing teeth grew back. That got him to check her field, which was very,
very wrong for a human being.

So, Remy Seventeen really
had
been waiting for him?
Perfect. He wanted to tense, but didn't, smiling instead. She wasn't ugly after
all and he was supposed to be caught unaware. It would make things easier for
him, if the Remy figured its plan was working.

"Sir? I... Was hoping I could beg a position at this
residence, Sir. Do you know who to ask about such a thing?"

Timon let his face go considering, as if he was really
trying to work that all out.

"Well, right now you need to talk to Patricia Baker,
since she's the lady of the house. Technically I own it, but claiming that...
Well, you know how that is. The woman rules the home. I could put in a good
word for you though? If you wish? Right now I have to go and give away a
fortune's worth of things to the King so he won't ruin the economy, but...
Here, take these. It's a few coin and some magical amulets. You're about
fifteen?" He dug for the correct things and actually got two silver out as
well, as if he were flashing how rich he was to the girl, hoping to get her
into bed. It was a time honored tradition after all.

"Seventeen, Sir. My last position fell through, due to
hard times. It's something like this or whoring now for me and even the street
girls say business is slow." She didn't move to take the things from him,
letting him close the distance, which was clever. The act was nearly perfect
after all, except for the missing tooth. It was well healed. If Remy had made it
a fresh looking thing, that would have worked better. It was a timing issue.
"I can suck cock though, Sir, and take it up the ass. Should the job
require that, I mean. I'd prefer not to, but my last place did. Master Henrique
figured that apprentice tanners should earn their keep in more than one
way."

It was delivered blankly, those words, as if they were a
simple truth.

Timon shrugged.

"What you do that way is up to you. My guess is that
you'd be put on as a garden girl? Tending the flowers and such. Or in the
kitchen. Can you cook?" He held out his hand, waiting for the attack to
come, but it didn't. The girl just looked relieved and a bit apprehensive, but
took the coins and the three amulets from him. Which was better than he figured
would happen. He stepped back, and bowed.

"There's a clothing amulet there, so that you can dress
as you wish. The coins are enough to buy a meal as well. Several really, in
case Trice, Patricia, my wife, says no. Not that she would. She pretends to be
hard at times, but she's a soft touch that way. Don't tell her I said that
though. Best to keep up the illusions as long as possible. My bet is that if
you would have presented yourself there like this months ago, she would have
taken you in, you know that? This works too. For me I mean."

Remy the girl looked innocent and guileless for a bit, until
she tried to bow, peasant fashion and bumped her head on the containment field.

"What..." She poked at it, and then looked scared
for a moment, which got Timon to nod back at her.

"The other two amulets. One created that field. It can
only be turned off from here however. Now that it's up we don't even need that
amulet, that was just to set what it would surround. Go ahead and destroy it,
if you want. I can make more. The other..." Timon shrugged and paced
closer, as if he weren't horribly afraid. It was a lie, of course, but he was
no stranger to doing that. Lying was a skill of his.

Going silent he pointed at the girl's bare feet, and then
waited. They were already swelling. Not a lot, but enough that it was
noticeable.

"Can you feel those anymore? I don't think you'll be
able to."

Remy Seventeen looked down at them, and then her hands,
which were also puffing up a nice bit.