Portals (31 page)

I felt awkward. Considering my intuition had come under so much good-natured teasing over the years, the real thing was not as welcome as I might have thought.

Stuart and Lassiter seemed pensive as they returned to their seats. The fairies found perches nearby. Aela almost beamed at me with her pointy teeth and Jones continued to watch me carefully. Maybe he wondered if I’d fly next. Flying would be cool, now that I thought about it.

I looked at Thulu. “Are you getting any strange visions or pictures or anything? It would make more sense for you to, what with your Finder sense and all.”

He shook his head, with a smile. “Nope, not me.”

“My guess is that you both are going to be changing. Perhaps slowly, perhaps quickly. Who knows what you’ll be able to do once we have fully entered the magical area.” Jones seemed inordinately pleased with the possibilities. It was annoying.

“I bet the scientists are going to go crazy with this,” said Lassiter. “And I think it’s more important than ever, for those who do have abilities to keep their heads down.” He looked at me and Thulu sternly. I thought it was cute. His protectiveness of us. I appreciated it, too and grinned my thanks at him. Lassiter was turning out to be someone I liked immensely, and I could see why he and Thulu had been friends.

“Okay, so back to the mutated ones,” said Thulu.  “I found several more locations while you were gone, Jones.”

“Will you show me?”

The two of them headed back to the study. I heard the printer a few moments later. Thulu was probably pulling up maps and printing them out.

I was content to simply rest for a few moments. A feeling of lethargy was creeping over me, and I wondered if Jones had put something into my tea. It would be like him to do that.

Opening my eyes, I realized I’d drifted off. A quick glance at the clock on the mantle showed it had been for less than thirty minutes. The room was empty except for Keiron.

“Where is everyone?” I asked. My head felt clearer, and I realized I had lots of energy. Yay for power naps.

“In the kitchen,” he responded.

I nodded and stood up, stretching. My brain didn’t have that just awake feeling at all. Instead, I felt invigorated. If Jones had indeed put something in my tea, I was perfectly willing to forgive him.

The doors to the hall had been closed, probably to allow me to sleep. I headed to the kitchen, flanked by Keiron, to see what was up and found that Reo and Sloane had arrived.

“How was your show tonight?” I asked, only to be met with laughter. I looked around with a frown. “What? Is that some kind of guy joke or something?”

Reo smiled, “Nope, sweetie, it’s a magic joke. I knew things tonight that were just plain freaky. Even to me. I hear you had your own freakiness, though.”

I nodded as I moved to the cupboard and got a wine glass and poured some wine from a bottle on the table. It was one from mine and Thulu’s wine cellar and was nice and mellow.

We drifted back to the family room and settled in once more.

“So what has been figured out?”

Thulu smiled. “Well, we have the locations here on Earth. There are about two dozen spread over the whole planet. Jones is going to call in reinforcements from Phaete, Aurelia and Belus will bring in the elves and our usual allies will join in. Since Jones is the initial target, he thinks we should use him as bait.”

I smiled sweetly. “I cannot imagine a finer use for you, Jones.”

He actually snorted a laugh, before giving me a mock frown and raising one admonishing finger. “One day, little human, I shall teach you to respect me.”

“Uh-huh. I respect you just fine, Jones.” Except when I temporarily forgot how old and powerful he was - which was most of the time.

“So we draw them to you? Where?”

“My estate. I will open a careful hole in my defenses.”

“I hate to say this, but won’t that be an obvious trap?”

Jones nodded, as did the rest. “Of course it will, but it will be one that they cannot refuse to step into. They wanted my attention for whatever reason, so there is no need for secrecy. Instead of battle, we can hope for negotiation. However, now is the time for whatever will happen. I hope we can come to an understanding, but I am prepared to handle it any way I need to. It’s time we found out what is going on with them and see what is to be seen.”

“The elves have located the portal they used. It’s been sealed and is being monitored. There will be no more excursions to Earth,” said Sloane.

“Do we have any way of knowing if they have their own portal openers?” Thulu asked.

“We must assume they do.” Jones seemed positively cheerful.

“Jones how can you be so happy about this? An entire species desperately wants to hate on you. Doesn’t that bother you?”

He shrugged. “Not particularly,” he said dismissively.

I looked at him suspiciously. Did he want a fight? Too much negative emotion might be an issue with daemons, but that hadn’t stopped him before.

Jones continued, “They want to get to me? I shall let them have me. And everything that means.” His smile was positively wicked. It had predator written all over it.

Sloane interjected mildly, “We’ll hope for a peaceful resolution, though. However, we cannot allow harm to come to Dhavenbahtek. It has been decided.”

“Okay, so tomorrow you guys might or might not be going into a fight. Lovely. What else is going on?” I asked.

“Well, we open the defenses; send them an invitation by way of you, La Fi, if you will allow it. Someone will come. Perhaps to negotiate. Perhaps to try to kill me. We shall be waiting.”

“Well, maybe talking is a good thing. I mean it’s been thousands of years, Jones. Maybe they have changed and aren’t crazy anymore.” Thulu pointed out.

“Yes, that possibility has been discussed. We shall just play it by ear and see what happens.”

“Can’t the elves cure them like they did the Light Ones? With all the time that has passed is it possible that they have changed enough to be helped?” Thulu asked.

Sloane shook his head. “Possibly, but unlikely.  Thousands of years have cemented that spell in.”

“You changed the Light Ones and they had been evolving for thousands of years,” Reo protested.

Sloane sighed. “Evolving? Perhaps that is the difference. I’m not sure evolution is what caused the changes to the Light Ones, but that is probably the best description. However, these are not the same situations. The daemons deliberately used magic to change what they were. The variations were unpredictable and wildly varying from one person to the next as far as we can discover. On the other hand, the Light Ones had a gradual increase of one very specific element in their makeup. We simply reduced their need for that one element. Trying to isolate how the original magic impacted the daemons and their offspring would require working on each case individually. It is something that is being discussed in elven councils and will depend on many factors. It is simply too early to make any decisions.”

“So when are you unsealing the defenses?” Thulu asked.

“Tomorrow. No sense in waiting. Let us get everything out into the open and see what is going to happen. I would like to have you, Thulu and Reo there, if you do not mind.” He nodded his head at me before continuing. “Of course, once you have delivered the invitation, please do not feel obligated to stay, but I would like it if you did.”

“Can you get us out if it looks like it’s going to be a fight?” I asked. “Not that I mind, but I have Carter to think of.”

Jones nodded. “Yes, I’ll keep a portal open for your escape, just in case. I shall also put some individual wards on each of you, so that you are not so fragile.”

I started to protest that we weren’t fragile, but I guess from his point of view we were. I shut my mouth and simply nodded.

We spent the rest of the night talking and speculating, but no new ideas or conclusions presented themselves on the mutated daemon situation. I did find out more about Reo’s night, though. He filled me in on what he’d discovered during his show.

“I figured it out pretty fast. I needed to censor what I said. Impressing people is one thing. Scaring the hell out of them is quite another and not what I want to do. But I tell you, it took a lot of concentration to stay aware of my show and not just run with whatever popped into my head. Things were crystal clear, though. Not my usual clear, then murky and back to clear again. This time it was solid. I knew what people were thinking. I saw things I’d rather not have seen. Sloane is going to work with me to teach me how to block and manage this.”

“Oh, hey, Sloane, can you do that with me, as well?” I asked.

“Of course, La Fi. That is very wise of you.”

“Great, thanks!” I liked the idea of being able to block or at least control whatever the hell this stuff was. We set a time the next morning to work.

Once everyone was talked out, we called it a night. Jones and Stuart left via portal, while Reo and Sloane ported out, as did the fairies. Lassiter walked to the front door, the only one not leaving by supernatural means. He seemed a bit forlorn about it.

“Are you okay, Jeremy?” I asked.

His expression was pensive, but he nodded. “It’s a lot to take in. I feel kind of useless as the only one without some special ability.”

“Are you kidding?” I asked incredulously. “You’re the real pro here. The one with the training. The rest of us are taking it as it comes, with no real plan or training or even an idea of what we’re doing. You’re a tremendous asset, so don’t even go there.”

He smiled at me. “Thanks, La Fi. I appreciate the thought, even if it isn’t true.”

He shook Thulu’s hand and gave me a hug. We locked up behind him.

Anyone who tells you mental magic lessons are easy hasn’t worked with Sloane.

He and Reo arrived early the next day, and we went upstairs to the studio while Thulu went to pick Carter up. We also made arrangements for Erik to watch Carter later that day when we went to Jones’s estate. I felt guilty sending Carter off once more and hoped he could understand the situation. Thulu and I would do our best to make sure he did.

Parker, Jenna and Sophie showed up to watch. When the young ghosts found out we were going to be working with Sloane, they moved to a corner and floated in midair. They stayed quiet, and I soon forgot they were there.

When my boys got home, Carter was full of excitement about some puppy Ally had let him play with. He chattered on and on about how soft and fun and nice she was. I smiled and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Ally was always trying to get us to get a real dog.

But Thulu and I had gone from just the two of us to a son and two dead kids and a ghost dog. I wasn’t ready to add to the count. Live dogs took work.

We sat in a semi-circle on mats on the floor facing Sloane – Reo, Thulu, Carter and I. Sloane had decided to include Carter in the lessons, and began with some exercises that reminded me suspiciously of Thulu’s meditation stuff. I’ve never been good at that. My brain would wander because I got bored. I was great at concentrating when it’s something I liked. But meditation simply didn’t hold my attention for long. I tried, though. I really did. Since I was motivated by not wanting a repeat of the night before, I applied myself dutifully.

Sloane took us through some basics - according to him they were children’s games - designed to see the extent of our abilities.

I wondered how well Carter could follow considering he was so young. However, with the flexibility, mental and physical, of the young he jumped right in and was able to complete the simple tasks Sloane set for us.

Sloane was a patient teacher. He explained things so we understood them clearly, even Carter. A few times he made contact directly with Carter’s mind to show him what he meant. I was impressed with how gentle he was and how carefully he explained things so that Carter wouldn’t be confused.

Carter thought it was a great game, but also caught on that it had a serious side. His little face would scrunch up in concentration, and I wanted to pick him up and hug him, but I left him alone. Thulu and I smiled over his head

We discovered that Thulu could teleport things. Nothing too heavy and not very far, but it added teleportation to his other abilities. Sloane thought it would grow stronger. It could be a useful talent. Sloane gave him some exercises to build up distance and strength.

Reo didn’t show anything new, but his existing abilities were much stronger. I had my new telepathy and psychic abilities to deal with. Carter had some empathic ability. No telepathy, for which I was grateful, but he could pick up on emotions. That might have had a lot to do with some of his precociousness and his desire to please. Sloane gave us each some simple exercises and started all of us working on blocking exercises.

They weren’t too terribly difficult in theory. We put up mental walls and Sloane would blow through them, but we got the idea. He wanted all of us working on that, even Thulu who wasn’t coming out as telepathic or empathic.

“You should learn to keep your defenses up at all times, but that may be hard for you at first. Do try, though.” said Sloane. “You don’t want any hitchhikers in your minds.” He smiled.

We smiled back. I made a little progress, which was a big deal for me. Sloane insisted we keep going. I finally got so I could repel many of Sloane’s attempts. I could see what I needed to do to strengthen the walls so that I would eventually be able to block him out completely. It was a new way of thinking though, and one I’d have to get used to. It also took enormous amounts of energy.

Sloane eventually pronounced us ready to defend ourselves enough to get by.

“You must continue to work on these exercises. I recommend you include it in your study time with Carter. Make a habit of practicing daily until you have it down as second nature.” Sloane looked around at us. “Any more questions for me?”

We looked at each other and Carter raised his hand. Sloane smiled and nodded to him.

“Can we eat now?”

We all laughed and Thulu swung Carter up in the air before hugging him tight.

“I think that’s a great idea, Carter. Let’s go see about having a snack.” Thulu tucked Carter under one arm. It was one of Carter’s favorite places and he waved at us, grinning broadly and eyes sparkling as Thulu headed downstairs, trailed by the rest of us.

I felt hungry, too. Maybe using all that mental energy added to my appetite. I looked at the kitchen clock and realized we only had an hour before Jones would come to collect us. Time enough to eat first.

I started pulling out stuff for sandwiches and salads and everyone helped. We had a filling lunch set up in the dining room in no time. It was a quiet lunch, with lots to occupy our minds. We didn’t want to discuss too much in front of Carter either.

Reo and Sloane popped back out to get Reo’s gun. I went upstairs to pack Carter’s backpack for the day, while Thulu retrieved our guns. Mine was waiting by my purse on the kitchen counter, when I came back downstairs. I quickly slipped it into the special pocket and slung the bag over my shoulder. Thulu took the backpack and we went into the family room to await Jones’s arrival.

We played a few of Carter’s games while we waited, but I was distracted and didn’t have my usual enthusiasm. I tried to make up for it, but I was beginning to get a little nervous. I was so used to my feelings being discounted - and rightfully so, if forced to admit it - that it was still hard to take them seriously.

All too soon, my phone sang to me. Jones with a terse, “I am on my way.”

Seconds later the portal formed and Jones stepped through, closing the portal behind him. I called Erik to alert him to our arrival. Jones opened the new portal and Erik said it had formed there. I gave Carter a hug and a kiss on his head before Thulu picked him up and slung the backpack on his shoulder.

Thulu was only gone a minute or so before ducking back in. Jones closed the portal and asked about Reo and Sloane. I started to call when they both appeared in the room, with an audible pop.

We looked at Jones expectantly and he quickly reformed yet another portal. He stepped through and we followed behind. I have to admit I had a moment of “what the hell am I doing?” but Thulu had my hand and we stepped through together. It was my usual butterscotch experience and I was comforted, feeling what were now familiar sensations. I relaxed even more as I stepped into Jones’s gorgeous library a second later.

Many of our magical friends were there. Aurelia and Belus were both present, along with several elves I didn’t know.

Romeo and Juliet were present, probably as chroniclers. Aela was there with what looked like two squadrons of fairies, armed with bows and swords.

Ceil, our pixie friend, was also there. Her white hair and pink skin were almost pale against wings that were bright yellows, oranges and red. The colors brightened even more when she caught sight of Thulu and me and she flew over, eyes bright with anticipation. Smaller than the goblins, but much larger than the fairies, her wings blew a breeze across my skin.

We exchanged greetings with Ceil and then others who came up to us. Jones motioned me over.

“Are you ready to try to help me connect to the two you saw before?”

I nodded uncertainly, having no idea how he expected me to do that.

“I will help you,” he smiled encouragingly. Making me think once more that he read minds.

He held his hands out to me. I glanced over at Thulu, feeling a bit silly, but he smiled and nodded. I took a deep breath and placed my hands in Jones’s large ones. They were both harder and gentler than I expected. I hadn’t noticed before, but being in front of a room full of people made me self-conscious and aware of every little thing. God, I hated being the focus of any group and cringed inside. Probably outside, too, because Jones gave my fingers a light squeeze.

I looked up into dark brown eyes and heard him speak inside my head.
“Okay, La Fi, just remember how you connected before. Can you picture that for us?”

I shook my head and sent my thoughts at him.
“It just happened. It was that loud noise and then their voices. I didn’t do it on purpose, and I have no way of knowing how I did do it.”
Why hadn’t I thought of that this morning? I could have asked Sloane how I connected and how I was supposed to re-connect with them again. Now, here I was in front of all these people and no clue how I was supposed to do anything.

“Do not worry. I did not expect that you would know what you did, my dear La Fi. Simply recall the conversation you connected to last night. I believe that will help me direct you back to them. Once you make contact, simply invite them to meet with us.”

I nodded and tried to remember the loud roaring sound and the voices that appeared in my head. Jones was a presence in my head, unobtrusive, but definitely there. It made my head feel crowded again.

I sighed and tried to bring my thoughts back to concentrate, much like Sloane had taught me about the wall that morning. Taking what I’d learned from him and trying to apply it to finding - what were their names? I pictured the silhouettes I’d seen, one smaller than the other and the sound of their voices, one deep, one somewhat higher. Trabohren - that was the higher voice - the one who could track Jones. The other was Khadentok. Unfamiliar names, exotic sounding. I tried calling to them, trying to reach them, repeating their names.

I flashed on a memory from the month before. The first time I’d seen Jones and demanded his real name, as if I could banish him if I knew it.

“
Stay focused, La Fi,”
his voice in my head sounded amused.

“
Stop that, Jones.”
I pulled my mind back to the others and began the process once more, building the picture, faster this time. I called their names.
“Trabohren? Khadentok? We need to speak with you. Hello? Trabohren? Khadentok?”

I felt approval from Jones and grew a bit more confident. I called to them again using their names.
“We mean you no harm, but it’s important we meet with you under a truce. Elves and fairies will be present and also wish to speak with you. You will be safe.”

Suddenly I felt the roar, but it quickly subsided. I wondered if Jones had done something to make it leave so quickly, but I had connected to Trabohren. I felt her disdain and distrust, even though all I could see was a dim figure.

“Why should I believe you?”

I showed her the room I was in. I hoped she could see it through my eyes, as I looked around and focused on Aurelia, Belus and Aela. Even if she did not know them personally, no one who saw those three could doubt their power.

I felt a shift in her attention.

“This is where you are now?”
she asked.

“Yes, we feel it is necessary that we speak with whoever is in charge, your leader or council or whoever.”
I finished lamely. Good god, I had no idea what their hierarchy was.

“I will pass on the message and contact you when I have an answer.”

“Thank you.”

The automatic politeness seemed to catch her off guard, as she hesitated, but a second later she cut off contact. It wasn’t the abrupt shove of the night before, so maybe I was making progress.

“You did well, La Fi.”
Jones’s tone and the feeling I got from him was that he was pleased and proud.

The tension in the room had ramped up a little. I once again felt drained and Thulu was right next to me and led me to a loveseat. He sat beside me, with his arm around me protectively.

Sloane handed me a flask and I sipped cautiously, then gratefully as I recognized my favorite elven drink. Okay, so it was the only one I knew, but still I loved it. It rejuvenated me immediately and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Jones filled everyone in on the exchange, letting them know the message had been delivered. Now we would wait. Hopefully not too long.

Thulu leaned over and quietly spoke. “Dad said the barbeque is on for tomorrow.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously?”

Thulu nodded. “That’s what he said.”

“We have some work to do when we get home then.”