Kingdom of Stars (The Young Ancients: Timon Book Three) (31 page)

Tiera looked puzzled, but Kolb nodded sharply.

"Mitchell. He's been playing with us the whole time. He
is Cordes, mind and body."

Then her lips firmed, even if her mind was still locked down
tight. "I see. Well, let's go and see about this then. Trice... yes. Tor
is one of them, and has been. We've hidden that from you, since you can't
protect your mind from him. It isn't him, our Tor, but the thing inside him
that's doing it."

Firming her stance, as if she were ready to fight it out
with them right then, even going so far as to start reaching for weapons, Trice
grimaced.

"So take it out. You can do that Timon. You have
magic."

It was part of the plan to, but the fact of the moment was
that no one had ever done it, and he really didn't know how at all. Honestly,
he hadn't planned that part out very well, he realized. He'd hoped that there
would be more time. Maybe a few hundred years to work on it?

"I can't. I want to, but there's no way to do it. Not
even old technology. We've all checked for months. I still... magic is the way,
I can feel it, but we can't let him fall into their hands. Not with King Cordes
in control of him. Trice... I-" Knew that she loved him. Maybe more than
anyone else in the world.

It was Kolb that spoke then, interrupting them.

"We
have
to deny that resource to them,
Ducharina Morgan. We may only get one shot at this. I know Tor, and how he
fights better than anyone else in the world, and I'll tell you this; when he's
the only one at risk, he'll
run
. I trained him to it. If Cordes takes
over, we may stand a chance. He can do incredible things with combat rage, but
he'll stand his ground, I think. It's sad to think, but the best hope we have
is facing my brother. I have rarely feared any man, but in the right moment I
would not want to be standing in front of Tor, if he decides fighting is the
only thing left to do."

Which was
why
, Tim was about to say, he should go
alone. Or more exactly without Trice. Instead of letting him say that, she let
herself shake and then...

Contacted Prince Alphonse.

Timon felt his stomach drop then. They really didn't need
the Prince calling in the Army just then, especially since it would probably be
to fight
them
, not his best friend. What his wife said next chilled him
though, in the coldness of her delivery.

"Alphonse... We have to do it now. Tor... He's with the
other side. It's as we feared."

"Oh." There was a lingering sense of time, but he
spoke almost instantly, in a very royal accent. "You have to stop him
then. I'm so sorry, Trice..." There were tears in his voice when he said
the words.

"Me too. If I fail..."

Timon wondered what the Prince was going to do then, if they
failed, but it was sort of clear a moment later.

"Then I won't, I promise."

"I know. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, cousin."

Then the connection broke and she climbed into the fast
carriage at a gallop. On the good side, Tim wasn't the only one that felt
baffled. He didn't ask what that was all about however, but Tiera did, some of
her normal spirit coming back into her words.

"You have a plan in place to kill my brother?"

No one spoke until they were in the air, but after a while
she looked at Tim and shrugged.

"It's been my job for years. Ever since he proved to be
as powerful as he is, back in school. Of course the plan has always been for me
to get him into bed and stab him while we were in the throes of passion, but
the orders are to use any means needed. I just never thought... Well, he was
always so
good
. I really figured that I'd turn evil way before he did."

There was that. He was nice and sweet and everyone that
didn't hate him, loved the man. Timon didn't ask if it was her job to kill him
if he went over the edge. It wouldn't be. They'd use someone else for that. It
didn't take a long time to work it out either.

"Sara Debri." It was spoken softly, but Trice
moved her head sharply to look over at him.

"It's scary when you do that, you do know that don't
you? Just freaky. She should have been the last one you ever suspected.
Literally. There are formulas for that kind of thing. It's why she kept putting
off your marriage proposals. Of course you were
supposed
to get married
to Collette, but I had to throw a rock into the works on that one. Sorry about
that. I know how you like blondes."

"On the good side I now know that when faced with
almost certain catastrophe, you don't lose your sense of humor." He said
it lightly, and Tiera nodded along.

"That's true. You seem almost chipper really. Pleasant
even. You know, for you." She said it with a straight face, but for once
Trice just sighed and looked out the side of the craft. They were nearly there
already. Ten minutes out, at the most.

"So, if we fail here, and all die, or whatever, then what?
No one can beat them if that happens, the rogue Ancients, can they? The world
is going to die and they'll have won."

Timon let that settle in for a moment, but then he reached
over and took her right hand. The real one. Holding it gently, he looked into
her eyes, her pretty blue meeting his rather standard brown.

"No. I... made a device. If we're all going to die, the
person holding it will release a group of self-replicating fields that will
kill all the Ancients left on the planet. No one else, if they can survive. But
the Ancients will all be gone. Anyone with the genes for it." He'd been
really complete, though a few might make it. Any remaining Remy's would be all
right for instance. None of the others, he didn't think.

"You aren't just saying that? You put a weapon into
someone's hands that could end this all, right now?" She sounded briefly
hopeful about the idea. It was a thought.

"Yes. All he'd have to do is sacrifice half my family,
Kolb, Doris and the rest of the Ancients that didn't do this. It... Might be
needed. Hopefully we can avoid that, since it's going to take a whole lot to
save everyone that's left." The weight of the deaths from that day nearly
crushed him, but he sat up a bit straighter and wouldn't let himself long for
death. Not yet.

There was still a little time, and some hope.

His wife looked slightly petulant.

"Who did you give it to? Smythe of Westend? No, you'd
be dead right now if
he
had it. Um... Alphonse? Karina? No, you said
him
..." She was actually trying to work it out, as if there was more
than one obvious answer. "Who is it?"

Still looking out the window, Timon spoke gently.

"The only person in the whole world I could count on absolutely
to kill me at the right time if it came to it. The bravest and most courageous
man in the world."

Then she made the leap, being smart, after all.

"Gerent?"

"Yes."

That got a moment of shock from her at least, but Kolb took
a deep breath and then smiled, looking back at them.

"Good choice. I just feel sorry for you kids. Three
thousand years is enough for anyone, and the heart of the problem here. Maybe
they don't need us now? The people of this world? After the cataclysm we
thought it was our job to save them all, but now, after this, a
second
cataclysm... "

Tim spoke, but his voice didn't carry far.

"It isn't one yet. We still can stop the worst of it. I
think. If we work together."

That got a chuckle at least, and Kolb seemed bemused, which
was out of place for the moment.

"Sorry, it's just the first time a lot of people said
that too. The rest ignored them until it was so bad we nearly lost
everything."

"Then I'll
make
them pay attention.
Somehow."

It sounded like a good way to start a tyranny, didn't it?
With high ideals, and a hope to save the world? It was a risk, no matter what
they did.

Tiera landed hot, right in front of Tor's bakery, which was
about two blocks or so from the school, on the side by the weapons practice
square. That meant they did some damage to the street, which had Tor running
out of his place not ten seconds later.

"What's wrong? Is everyone all right? I heard that
there was an accident or another attack? It wasn't clear really."

Timon nodded and then got out. They all did. It was a lot
harder to look Tor in the face right then than it should have been, but he did
it, hoping it just seemed slightly worried, instead of frightened out of his
skull, which was the truth of the matter.

"Half of Austra is gone. We saved... I don't know how
many. More died. Nuclear weapons were used to cause giant waves in the ocean.
Soam... I imagine they lost more, and so did Afrak. I haven't even checked to
see what's going on in Vagus yet. I... Tor, a good chunk of the world's
population is dead. Ten, maybe twenty percent of them." He waited,
wondering what would happen, but Tor just went wide eyed and looked at the
others.

"No! What do you need me to do? I can... Make more
healing amulets, or houses, people will need those, clean water too. I have
some things, you can take them for me. Tim, we need to get to work. I'll, let's
close down the shop, and just start. There-" No one else moved, so he
stopped halfway to the door and did too.

He was so big now, but thin. In a way it was like he wasn't
really Tor at all anymore, wasn't it? Timon tried to tell himself that, but
just sank into a deep trance, trying to get himself ready. After a moment he
shook his head gently.

"We know where one of the Cordes clones was. Here at
the school. There might even be others, so we'll have to check. He said that he
kept coming to you and claiming to be our brother Terek? Have you seen him
around?"

That at least got his brother to raise both eyebrows at him.

"Um, sorry? Terek? I saw him a few days ago. But it's
him. No one could fool me that easily. It feels like him and everything. The
same as always. I checked, to make sure it wasn't that assassin that was after
you." The way he said the words expressed that he was almost certain the
problem was with Timon, but Tiera, who was back to being her calm and
controlled self shook her head.

"No, Tor... Do the numbers... There are eleven of us
kids, list them all off...
Think
about it."

Sticking his tongue out, Tor started on his left thumb.
"Fine then; Teral, Terlee, me, Todd, Terek, Tiera, Timon, Terry, Tess,
Tenent, Tara and Taman." Then after counting to twelve he smiled and
looked at the two fingers sticking up and tried it again. The same thing
happened.

Then he shrugged.

"That's nothing... I just counted myself as me
and
Tor, stupid, but understandable. There are so many similar names."

Trice shook her head.

"Tor, you don't have a brother Terek. You never had.
I've been working on a list of your family members names for years and trust
me, if you had a spare fifteen year old brother around, every noble woman in
Noram would know about it. As it is every girl under the age of fourteen is
already trying to figure out how to trap Terry into marriage one day."

"That's... ridiculous. Of course we have a brother
Terek. The one that likes woodworking?"

Except that they didn't, not at all. It was like trying to
argue that objects didn't tend to fall down normally, however. Tor knew what
was,
and in his mind Terek was real. Anyone saying otherwise was clearly delusional.
No matter how many of them said it.

Tiera tried a different path then, "Mitchell from the
fighting section at the school admitted that he was a Cordes clone and has been
tricking you. Probably with the help of the Cordes in your own head. You have
to try and fight against it Tor. Cordes, all of the copies, including the one
inside you, they're trying to kill us all. The whole world. You have to
fight!"

A brief flicker passed over Tor's face, but it didn't end
with him being Cordes, just an annoyed older brother who was suddenly wondering
if the earlier story was true at all. Timon could see that pass through his
mind as clearly as if he were reading his field. Of course, he was, on some
level, so that had to help.

"Wait, are you just trying to get free things from me
for your County Tiera? You could just
ask
. I mean, I know that I said
you should do your own copy work, but that's just because I don't want you to
get lazy, that's all. If you can't do it, or don't have the time, then I have
some things. Lying about the world being in danger isn't the way to do it. I
nearly had a heart attack!" He chuckled weakly though, and smoothed his
short black hair with a hand.

Timon finally checked his brother for weapons, and it was
about what he'd figured. He was shielded, with a very nice and new version of
what everyone had, but it wasn't as good as the ones that Tim had made. That
surprised him a little, actually. He also had two force lances on him, and an
explosive weapon.

The only thing that Timon could really do was hold all of
that off while they killed Tor. His own older brother. It was becoming clear
they couldn't argue him into sanity. Though if they could turn the things off
and take them from him, maybe they could move him to somewhere safe for a
while? So they could try and work on him? Get him to really resist? It was a
plan and probably wouldn't work at all, but it beat just killing him.

Except that it wasn't as certain.

Turn the shield off, and a single explosive blast would end
the threat. He didn't let his mind chant it, but it came across strong enough
that Tor seemed to feel it and suddenly became wary. That wasn't going to help
matters at all.

In the end it was Trice that acted first, using an explosive
device made by Tor himself from the feel of it. It just stopped where it
touched his shield, and then obviously did something to the weapon that was
attacking him, since Trice threw it down with a yelp of intense pain.