Lord of the Sky (The Young Ancients: Timon) (2 page)

The man nodded.

"I'll see to that. You know how to get there? Montblanc is in the mid-north section, above Ross. I have a map..."

Timon had actually been there. More than once. His job required him to pick people up from all over the Kingdom after all, at times. He'd even met the Countess. He doubted that she'd remember him overly, having just been her pilot. It would make things riskier normally, but he had the perfect excuse to go in as seasonal help, didn't he?

It wouldn't be what Kolb meant him to do, but if he was supposed to just pick up information, there was no reason for him not to be himself really.

They talked about the kind of thing that the King was interested in knowing, which had to do with very little, to tell the truth. Just when the enemy planned to actually move to attack again. They knew who was working against them now after all. The Truth amulets showed that pretty clearly, so no one was secretly hiding out in the ranks of the King's friends even. Not that anyone knew about. If there were any, the people were doing something right, which would be surprising.

"So, what you're basically saying is that this is some kind of busy work for me? What, are you all afraid that I'll get bored and take over for myself? I really don't want the job. If I did, I would have taken Afrak already." He stared at the other man, who looked away again, not seeming happy this time.

"Not really. Or, rather,
yes
, it's to keep you busy, in a place that isn't all that dangerous, but we all know that you aren't currently planning anything. Really... I need you out of the way for a while. Your sister is about to go through some hard times and both you and Tor would step in for her if it came to it. She has to do this for herself. This will get you out of the way for a few weeks so that she can start."

Nodding, Timon started to load himself into his Fast Craft. After all, if there was a time schedule, then he needed to be moving along, didn't he?

"Three weeks, if I can get in at all. If not, well, I'm sure you can find something else for me to do. I promised Brown that there would be a tour of Tellerand for some of his people that have volunteered to help." He felt down for some reason as he said the words, but that was probably just because of what had happened to him with Countess Alan. It never really went away, the visions of her face over his as the pain coursed through his body. The terror and all that. It wasn't fun, but he shrugged and left, not giving the bald man another chance to suggest how he should do things.

After all,
he'd
probably want a measured and careful approach, like a real spy would make. Tim just didn't care enough anymore for that kind of thing. Instead he simply flew across the land, his Fast Craft making the trip inside an hour and a bit. Normally he would have checked on his watch and gotten things as exactly measured as possible, but it wasn't like he was being paid for this.

It was, of course, a stupid plan that he'd come up with, wasn't it? He forced a smile, a thing that didn't touch his eyes at all, and that he barely felt. There was no reflection of his face in the shield glass in front of him, since it was still full daylight out. That didn't matter, he knew what he looked like really. Black hair, brown eyes and perfectly formed features that got more than his fair share of female attention. It would probably help, eventually, being good looking. It already had, in several ways he knew, if he were going to be perfectly honest about it all. People assumed you were better at things if you looked nice. It helped. Being as young as he was Tim had to use everything he could to make up for his lack of age, didn't he? Intelligence was fine, but only covered so much in the minds of other people. Being one of the best looking people around gave him an edge.

When he landed, setting down directly in the front yard of the Countess Montblanc's walled Palace, he altered his clothing, making them into the nice black velvet he normally wore. If he wasn't going to try and be sneaky about it all, there was no reason he shouldn't make a good impression. He did take his craft down, the mirrored square leaving his trunks floating behind him. Those followed along as he walked to the large white front door.

The steps were made of smoothed stone that had the polished look that things made with a cutter always had. The door was wood, and painted carefully, with a large brass knocker in place that looked like a bull's head with a huge metal ring through its nose. He used it, the weighted clapper at the bottom hitting the metal plate loudly.

No one came to the door at all.

He tried again about two minutes later, wondering if they were ignoring him, but it still didn't get anyone to come let him in, or even tell him off for using the wrong entrance. A lot of the big houses were like that, using the official door only for special guests, the family and staff using a side entrance most of the time. That was mainly down to poor design really, the front rooms kept away from where the people actually lived day to day, but that wasn't his problem.

He tried
again,
and was just about to go around to the far side when a very giant woman, about six-ten, opened the thing. She almost didn't notice him at first, but finally looked down far enough and managed a sad looking smile for him.

She wasn't homely at all, having a good face that reminded him a little of Sara Debri. Her hair was darker, a rather plain brown, that was pulled back into a single tail. Her dress was old, and made of real material, but the woman was clearly a noble. In fact, even she was only about thirty or so, and looked younger, she was the Countess herself.

"Hello?" There was a truly baffled look in her eyes and she scanned him with decent care, taking in the obviously magical trunks that floated behind him and his nice clothing. It marked him as being someone special, but not all of the nobility could see that most of the time. Tim was short, only being five-five or so, and had the wrong coloration, for all that he was a Countier himself.

"Hello!" He made his voice bright and chipper, then rushed in, not giving the woman time to respond in a normal fashion at all. It made him sound like a salesman, but they used that kind of a patter for a reason. It worked. "I'm Countier Seventh Lairdgren, Timon Baker. I'm supposed to come and help you with your Noram Day arrangements? Possibly after that for a bit? I heard that things hit you here pretty hard. My condolences as to that." It sounded almost right, like he was actually sorry or something, about all the unneeded death. He really wasn't, since it had been his plan in the first place to withhold the healing amulets that would have saved everyone's lives, but Tim didn't mention that part of things. No need to point out that he was evil after all. She'd eventually guess that one on her own.

The woman froze, her face looking nearly hopeful for a second, but baffled at the same time.

"I... wasn't expecting anyone. Countier Lairdgren... Are you certain that you're supposed to be
here
? I don't want to make too big of an issue of this, and please know this isn't a threat, but aren't your people supporting the King in the current conflict?" She wiped her hands on the side of her skirt, which was a soft and slightly off-white thing with small blue flowers on it that had faded with time. Her version of work clothes no doubt. What she had to be nervous about Tim didn't have a clue. She was the one standing there being all tall and intimidatingly female after all.

"More or less true. In a backhanded fashion it was the King that sent me. Only in a way, he doesn't know that I'm here, of course. Oh, by the way, if you could let drop the coming battle plans for your current side in this, that would be great. I'll check it out, so no need to lie about it or anything. This is mainly about getting me out of the way. I suppose I should try to subvert you and get you to come over to our side, if I can? There's cake in it for you if you do." He deadpanned the whole line and the woman looked nearly frightened for some reason. Not of him, in particular. She moved closer to him, which sent a thrill of fear down his spine, and his shield to kick on. The Countess didn't touch him, just looking past him carefully, as if for an attack.

There wasn't anything to see, naturally. Montblanc had been hit so hard by the disease that his grandmother had created that the Countess really didn't have much of a military to bother with anymore, so the King's forces wouldn't be coming, unless she did something that made her into a real threat.

Like take him hostage. If she tried that, she'd need a good plan, and some help, because he wouldn't be going down easy this time.

She moved back instead and shook her head.

"Alright, you win, I'm
completely
baffled by what you're doing here. Have you come to kill me like you did Nora Alan? Or kidnap me and make me confess, like you did to Will Rodriguez?" Her words were slightly cold, but she wasn't looking around anymore and didn't hesitate to say the words at all.

Timon pulled out a Truth amulet from under his clothing, around his neck. He carried two of them all the time after all. One that was real, and his special one, there in case he had to lie to people and be believed. This one was real, since he had no reason not to be honest. Turning it on he smiled again. The cream colored light that appeared around him, with its thick goldenrod stripe made the woman step back at first, her eyes going wide as she got what the whole thing meant. Everyone of a certain station recognized the field now, after all.

"You heard about that? Interesting, I thought that information was kind of secret. Well, anyway, I'm not here to kill you, harm you, or make you overly annoyed. Just do that light bit of spying, if possible, and play servant for a bit. I'll do that anyway, if you want, so feel free to just let me know when the next attack is coming and then we can start in on those holiday preparations? I'm a fairly decent baker..." It sounded insane, even to his own ears, even the field didn't flicker at all.

Then, the honest truth was, he
wasn't
very sane, was he?

The Countess didn't move or say anything for a long time. Finally she frowned a bit and put her right hand out, as if asking for the amulet herself. That was a bit of a strange thing, to tell the truth, but Timon played along. Even if she just took the thing and walked away, it was worth it, to see what she'd do. The field transferred to her perfectly, and she sighed. Then she held it the amulet up to her mouth, as if speaking into it, even if it clearly didn't work that way. It was kind of cute really. In a tall and female way.

"I have absolutely no knowledge what's going on with the rebellion. Communications shut down a few weeks ago and no one has contacted me at all in that time. The blight has taken so many of my staff and forces that we're not of much use at all right now." She made a face that seemed slightly disgusted, rather than mean. Then she sighed hugely. "So, is that enough to earn me a little helper around the house?"

She didn't seem to think it would, but handed the amulet back to him. He got the idea, she was joking with him, expecting him to leave, or attack her, even given all that he'd said.

"Sure. I really can bake pretty well and help with cleaning and all that. Light cooking too, but that isn't my strongest point. Run errands, within reason. I mean, obviously, I don't want to go hang out with your friends, just in case they think taking me prisoner would be a good idea. It wouldn't, by the way." He stopped and nodded at her. "Do you have a spare room? I can set up a house out here if you'd rather?"

The woman laughed and waved at the front lawn.

"You carry magical houses with you too? I'd love to see one. Please, set up a grand Palace. It will be a spectacle if nothing else."

Like he had one of those? They were hard to make and a little bit too expensive so far to just have laying around. Making a bit of a face he walked to a nice large clear spot and got the right amulet out. The woman pulled a sweater from behind the door and followed, watching him carefully. She didn't jump back when he triggered it, clearly having seen something similar before, but she did shake her head at him. Then she examined the little stone cottage that had appeared closely.

"Hardly Tor's Palace is it? I've heard of these, this is the kind that doesn't grow, or change at a whim?"

"Right.
I
made this one, not Tor." Timon waved for the woman to follow him, which, surprisingly, she actually did, if a bit tentatively. "I haven't made anything as complex as one of his palaces yet. I do have a batch of Fast Craft coming, if they work, that will be nearly as neat. No one but my brother has managed to make those yet, the really fast vehicles, so it will be a big deal if they work. Do you have a well or pond I could hook the water up too? That way I'll have a bath and shower in here, as well as a working kitchen."

It was a strange scene then, because for about half an hour the woman just walked around with him, watching him closely, as if for the trick to be revealed. Like he had anything that complex planned? That he wasn't in chains already was huge, as far as he was concerned. Vast.

When he pulled out his communications device from his secondary trunk the woman tensed. She had one after all, but probably not one of the new kind like this. He tapped on it for a while, showing her what he was doing, but then held the thing toward himself, starting it with a tap.

"I don't know if he has anything on him right now, so..."

The line picked up less than ten seconds later.

"Alphonse here. What may I do for you today?"

"Hey, this is Timon. Just calling in with a report. I've gone to Montblanc and gotten at the secret battle plans of the rebellion, as far as the Countess knows them. That is to say; she's currently out of the loop. Truth tested, so that's at least accurate information. She was very nice about it all and volunteered without me asking, before you scold me for being rude. She's
very
polite." There was a silence for a moment, but the Prince didn't ask any revealing questions, like what the heck he was doing there, or if he'd lost his mind. Instead there was just a low hissing sound from a bit further back than the man would be.