Page 10
TEN
I foresaw a successful assault on my wallet.
On the way back to the palace, Terry took us to a camera store, the kind snooty royalty liked to shop at, to purchase everything I’d need to feed Madelyn’s photographic creativity. The store employee, an older man named Josh, helped me understand my new toy with admirable patience.
Madelyn did not need any such help, and she spent twenty minutes scrutinizing her phone before deciding she could afford a point and shoot to stick in her purse. When she was safely out of hearing range, I whispered, “The duplicate bodies are so she can use them. Really, I’m getting this nice one so I can hand it to her when she kills the batteries on the other cameras. I’ll use it a little, but I suspect she’ll be using it more than I will.”
“Ah. You’re one of those. In good news, this camera is designed to make photography accessible for any skill level. The automatic mode will serve you justice, and if you decide to photograph birds, you can mostly make use of the shutter mode and control the shutter speed manually while allowing the camera to handle the rest of the details. I recommend getting extra memory chips and swapping out your chips for a set for her.” Josh led me to the accessories area, pointing at a pair of hardshell cases smaller than my wallet. “Those can fit in your pocket and hold twelve chips each.”
I foresaw needing many memory chips to keep up with my aide. I kept an eye on the woman, smiling when one of the store employees helped her free her new baby from its box and set it up. “Can you sneak in a couple more of those into my order?”
“Sure. Those are actually really nice little point and shoots. She’ll be able to get at least five hundred shots out of a single charge. The downside? She won’t be able to switch the batteries in that specific model. We have battery banks that can recharge them, however. It’ll take forty minutes to charge.”
If two extra cameras didn’t keep her trucking along while the first one charged, I’d have a problem on my hands. “Give me three of them, two for her, one for me. Do they come in different colors?”
“They do. I have purple, pink, blue, green, black, and silver.”
She’d selected the silver one for herself, and I suspected it was due to the store’s sale on that specific color. “I’ve changed my mind. Get me one of every color. I’ll keep the black one for myself and hold on to the rest for her.”
While I understood I went to excessive limits, I could distribute the cameras to RPS agents, and thanks to the camera’s size, they wouldn’t be losing much of the pocket space to my plan to make certain she had cameras always available for her use.
“You’re going to need a bag.”
“Get me something that can carry my camera, all of her stuff, and the extras.”
He pointed at a black bag made of leather. “You want that one.”
The bag, while larger, appeared professional enough, and I appreciated its sleek lines. “Make it so. She managed to run numerous cameras out of batteries during an outing to the vineyard, so I want to be prepared.”
“I recommend three dual chargers, that way you can charge six batteries at one time. If you start her off with eight batteries, you might keep her fully charged throughout the day. My wife is the same way. If it’s interesting, she will take a picture of it. But in good news, it also means I get several hours a week of peace and quiet as she goes through all her pictures. You’re going to need several external drives to store her photos. Even using the smaller file sizes, she’ll end up blowing through numerous gigs a day.”
“What do you recommend?”
“Honestly, get drives with large capacity and buy several of different brands, that way you don’t get caught in a bad batch of drives. I’d keep a backup of everything. Nothing upsets my wife more than losing her pictures.”
I could handle that, and I set a reminder on my phone to acquire the drives as soon as we returned to the palace. “Anything else I should get?”
“A cleaning kit for your lenses.” Josh headed to a nearby stand and picked up two boxes. “This should be sufficient to get you both started.”
Fortunately for my sanity, Josh guessed I’d rather be in and out, and he rang up everything with admirable speed and helped organize my new bag, folding all the boxes from my acquisitions and stuffing them into a plastic bag to store for warranty and resell purposes. Once finished, I slung the bag over my shoulder, grunting at its weight, and decided against one strap, else I’d earn a backache I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.
Madelyn, who had entered an entirely different world of wonder, could likely stay in the shop for the rest of the day. Only when she had wandered over to the disposable camera section did I decide it was time to intervene, easing her away from the display after giving her a few minutes to gush over old film cameras and dark rooms.
I foresaw a successful assault on my wallet should I convince her to stay around, as a dark room was not something we had access to.
By the time we made it back to the palace, I wanted nothing more than a nap. However, with the surfacing of my parents, I needed to have a talk with Terry about what to do and how to go about it. If my parents were sniffing at my turf, they wanted something—and they preferred to talk before acting.
That meant I might be able to get a feel for what they were up to.
Had they wanted, they could have made a huge mess of the vineyard, killing numerous people and likely escaping with their lives. However much I distrusted them, I refused to forget the reality of the situation: they were New Yorkers, and while I was a stronger New Yorker, they defined what it meant to be a threat.
Upon reaching the palace, I waited for Madelyn to head towards the elevators in the garage to say, “Terry, is Monty working right now?”
“He is. He’s working with your sister. Why?”
“I’d like to talk to both of you for a few minutes if possible.”
“That won’t be an issue. Val is on duty, and he can stand in for Monty.”
Val, on loan from Montana, tended to be a quieter agent who understood us New Yorkers were skittish, often disappearing in plain sight in an effort to acclimate us to his presence. “Val works. It shouldn’t take long. It’s about the trip to the junkyard.”
“Ah. I see.” Terry lifted his hand to his ear and requested that Monty meet us in my suite. “I recommend that you give Madelyn a two hour break. She could use the decompression time, and that’ll give her an hour to do mandatory work she feels that needs to be done before the end of the day. We took longer than expected today.”
We had, and I worried what the future would hold.
For the moment, I would focus on appeasing whatever talking my parents wanted to do, and my junkyard would make for the best place for such a discussion. As long as I made it through the next few days, there was a good chance everything would work out with minimal risk of injury to myself and others.
I feared Terry was right all around, and that things would get worse before they got better—and that I stood a high chance of suffering through some form of injury or another. As long as Rachel and Madelyn emerged unscathed, I would endure without complaint.
Terry would be safe enough.
Not even my parents would deliberately stir Montana’s wrath, and anyone with a grain of common sense recognized the beast slept, happy and content.
If my parents acted and Terry dealt with some form of injury, Olivia would not handle it well. With her pregnancy, Montana’s king would give the world a demonstration regarding his family, his tendencies, and his magic.
The Monster of Montana would rise again, and it wouldn’t be a one-man army; every talent in the family would stir, and unlike New Yorkers, Montana’s royalty had zero issues with pointing themselves all at the same target and working together to eradicate what had crossed their line.
I would take care to warn my parents to leave the sleeping beast to his rest.
When they perished, I wanted it to be at my hands with as little collateral damage as possible. Only a fool wanted to get into a fight over the bodies with royalty from Montana, and I was many things, but I was no fool.
As I had no idea how Madelyn would react to being given two leisure hours, I braced for hefty disapproval and strode over to join her. “I’m going to be in a meeting or two for the next two hours. Why don’t you take it as a break? Terry is going to babysit me, and you should have an hour or so afterwards to handle anything necessary before the end of your shift, right?”
“I don’t have much left on my plate today,” she admitted. “One of the other aides recommended I take a light schedule because outings like this almost never go to plan.”
“Then just take off for the rest of the day if there’s nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow. If anyone has an issue with it, direct them to me. If you don’t have a computer that can handle working with your pictures, ask someone in the RPS, and they’ll get one for you.”
Madelyn lit up. “Really?”
I chuckled and nodded. “Really. You do not want to suffer through these meetings, and I don’t want you to suffer through these meetings. Run and be free. I’m sure Terry can handle any babysitting of my person that needs to be done.”
The wise ran when freedom was offered, and Madelyn bolted as though some terror was hot on her heels, entering the palace and gone in the time it took me to blink three times. Terry joined me, and he sighed.
“I can’t tell if she’s running to escape me, if she’s just that excited to be able to get access to a computer that can handle photos, or if she just hates work that much.”
“According to my empathy, Christmas has come early, and she’s about to erupt trying to cope with her good fortune. Don’t forget she is also receiving new crafting supplies.”
Crap. The art store. “I got sidetracked by the cameras and forgot we needed to go get her painting supplies.”
“I took the liberty, and I will have an empath stationed near her suite until we’re certain she doesn’t meltdown from sheer bliss. Monty located a fellow artist who knows watercolor, sent them with an unlimited budget, and asked to prepare a travel kit for her enjoyment. Accounting will ding your personal account for it.”
“Excellent.” Laughing, I shook my head and entered the building at a rather sedate pace. “Will we still be going to the junkyard?”
“We’ll go tomorrow. I will send Madelyn with the monarchs to the courthouse as planned. I’ll put my more aggressive imported agents with them.”
“What about Monty?”
“I’ll decide after we talk to him in your suite.” Terry sighed. “I’ll be sending Olivia with the monarchs just in case. The pregnancy hormones can’t be defeated, and she’s itching for a fight.”
I snickered at the despair in his tone. “I take it the war against the pregnancy hormones isn’t going well?”
“Let’s just say she has developed an inclination to do what she wants and when she wants, and if I want to deter her, I have to present the perfect argument. Right now, I’m just wisely getting out of her way when she decides she’s doing something. I’ve found providing sufficient distraction to be an efficient way to deter her. I’ve also threatened to make my new casual clothes suffer from an accident. I’m reserving that for when I truly need to be taken seriously. I follow up with a promise to wear the casual clothes should she happen to do what I need her to do, and that tends to solve things nicely.”
Knowing Olivia, she stood no chance against the man. “It’s nice to know that you’re equally ruthless at home. You’re not just torturing the royalty you protect.”
He chuckled. “If anything, I’m sure Olivia will endure the worst of my tendencies, as I will do everything I can to keep her safe. This is inevitably going to annoy her.”
“I am sure she will not complain about your protective ways.” We made it through the maze that was the palace to my suite, where Monty waited for us. “Did you use roller skates or something to beat us here?”
“I was attempting to keep the monarchs from destroying more of the new royal wing. So far, your sister has targeted everything in her suite. We’re going to replace the windows to appease her need to eradicate everything from the previous monarchy from her territory.”
I would need to pull my sister aside and have a talk with her. “I’ll try to talk to her. Unless the windows are scheduled to be replaced, that’s excessive.”
Terry sighed. “She’s at that again? Damn it. Fortunately, the bulletproofing isn’t up to quality, and we can handle replacing the frame. As of yesterday, she wants something a little more modest and elegant for the framework. I’m bringing in an architect and interior and exterior designer in the next few weeks to pick the new frames for the entire building. It’s a good initiative; we’ll need a lot of construction workers to do the changes, and that will boost the economy.” Terry bowed his head and heaved yet another sigh. “If you could restrain her a little, it would be appreciated.”
When Terry couldn’t wrangle my sister, things were worse than I thought. The RPS agent, since barreling into New York, had worked miracles with my sister.
If he couldn’t handle her, something was up—and I suspected news that our parents were still on the prowl held responsibility for the situation.
Worried that my sister skirted losing her mind over the situation, I hurried Terry along, huffing and puffing over the door situation. Fortunately for my sanity, Terry had the keys, letting us in. Before I could comment, he said, “You’ll have your own keys and full access as soon as you’re back from California. In the meantime, if someone doesn’t let you in, slag the lock and give the agents a demonstration of why they should be paying more attention and beating you to the door.”
I laughed, as did Monty.
The New Yorker winked at me and said, “I would have gone digging for the keys, but Terry’s in a mood today, and I didn’t feel like losing.”
“That’s a fair and excellent reason,” I replied before stepping inside, shucking off my suit jacket, and tossing it onto one of the armchairs. I waited for the RPS agents to enter, and Monty closed the door. Sighing, I said, “You’re expecting my parents to show up at my junkyard tomorrow.”
A statement, not a question, and from the twin expressions of resignation, the RPS agents agreed with me. Terry nodded. “I don’t think they’re foolish enough to attempt a kidnapping, not yet at least. They’re going to talk to you first and test the waters. I can’t even guess as to why they’re taking the risk of showing up back in New York. It’s one of the most dangerous things they could have done. I give it until tomorrow before news spreads that they had fled rather than suicide. We’re already receiving sighting reports from disgruntled New Yorkers. Their sloppiness doesn’t surprise me; they’re cocky, and that level of cockiness often translates to many mistakes being made. They have to have a reason for their behavior, though.”
I shrugged. “The only way we’re going to find out is if we go to my junkyard and have a chat—we’ll just need to set it up so they can leave peacefully, but if they do try something, they won’t be making it out alive. How many loyal agents can you acquire for tomorrow?” I made a show of cracking my knuckles. “I’ll wear my good suit and my special watch.”
Terry narrowed his eyes. “Special watch?”
I smiled, went to my bedroom, and rummaged through the nightstand, where I stored my eclectic collection of watches. Unlike my regular watches, the piece had more than a few functions I failed to understand or had use for, but the complexity of the face hid more than a few secrets. I held it up for Terry and Monty to see. “The companies that make suppressors also make enhancers. I may have bought an enhancer for airweaving and waveweaving. My flameweaving does not need enhancement. When I’m wearing this, let’s just say the fire Rachel put out would be child’s play, and I wouldn’t even break a sweat. Had I been in position in California, I would have done the work instead of her, and I had my watch with me—but I wasn’t in position. I regret that.”
Ethan had become a beast after my sister had gotten burned.
Terry narrowed his eyes. “How long have you had that? Those are not legal.”
I smiled. “I purchased it before they were banned outside of medical treatments. As such, it’s legal. I take excellent care of it, because I would have to get a special exemption to have it repaired outside of battery replacements. It’s entirely possible my parents want the watch rather than me. They suspect I have it although I never confirmed I got it. They recommended that I get it. However, they think it’s for flameweaving. It’s not.”
Both of them stared at me with wide eyes, and Terry asked, “What would happen if they tried to wear it?”
“It’s attuned to me, so nothing. If they try to bust through the safety features, it’s entirely possible it will trigger them self-combusting. I paid a significant amount of money to make sure I’m the only one who can use this—another reason why it’s legal, albeit on a technicality.”
“Monty?”
“I’ll make sure he remains legal with it,” the RPS agent replied. “If your parents are after the watch, it’s harmless to give it to them?”
“Correct. It’ll self-destruct if meddled with, too. Repairs have to be done by the manufacturer. When I want the battery replaced, I have to make a trip up to Maine or California and have them do it at one of their plants. I just had the battery replaced a few months ago, so it’ll be good for another two to three years.” I returned the watch to my nightstand before pulling out a different one of a similar design. “This is one of my spare suppressors, and I tend to take it with me on trips. You’ll see me wearing it a lot in California. It has specialty leaks.”
“Explain the leaks, please,” Terry requested.
“Empathy is fully unlocked, waveweaving and airweaving are unlocked, and flameweaving is reduced to twenty-five percent capacity. That lets me use my talent offensively with no risk of self-combustion.” I returned it before closing the drawer and sitting on the edge of my bed. “It’s possible my parents might want that watch or a suppressor. They didn’t take theirs with them.”
Terry scowled. “I could see that. Without the suppressors, they’re at high risk of combustion during illness, aren’t they?”
I nodded. “While there is a black market for suppressors, it’s probably riskier than they’d like, and chances are, the suppressors won’t be strong enough.”
Terry spent a disconcertingly long time considering the situation. “It wouldn’t be a crime to give them their suppressors. They bought them with their personal money, and it’s technically their property. They’re attuned to them, so it’s not like they can slap it onto you and have it work.”
I nodded, well aware of the staggering costs for attuned suppressors. Mine responded to my magical signature and mine alone. “If that’s what they want, they’ll leave Rachel alone.”
“And you can use the suppressors as a bargaining chip. It’s safer for everyone if they have their suppressors.” Heaving a sigh, Terry glanced at Monty, who nodded and left my suite. “What else might they want from you?”
I took my time thinking about it. “Outside of being their oldest legitimate child, I don’t know what else they might want. The suppressors are probably their current target. They’re not as strong as I am, but they’re almost as likely to combust as I am. And them having access to their own suppressors is safer for everyone. If they combust, they will take out anyone around them.”
Terry nodded. “All right. I’ll look into tools that they might require for the safety of others that already belong to them. Your mother does have jewels she purchased with her own funds.”
“And my father’s favorite watches. I don’t believe he paid out for any enhancers with his, but he has at least two suppressors like mine. My mother had some jewels with suppressors installed as well.”
Terry lifted his hand to his ear and said, “Please bring the former monarch’s personal jewelry collection to His Royal Highness’s suite.”
“How much belongs to New York versus them?” I asked, frowning at the fact Terry had distinguished between personal and crown property.
“Most were purchased as investments for the kingdom; they had limited personal property,” he replied with a grimace. “We have not broached this situation with your sister yet. She won’t handle it well. It’s one thing to destroy their personal property, but it’s another for her to dissolve things that were purchased with kingdom funds.”
I bowed my head and heaved a sigh. “All right. We’ll take the jewels to the junkyard, I’ll deal with talking to them, and I’ll make it clear that New York’s official stance is that they can remain dead and gone in the eyes of the world as long as they go quietly. How much are the jewels worth?”
“They should be able to comfortably retire after selling the jewels, and they would be able to do so with a lavish lifestyle.”
“Can they do so separately?”
“They can,” he confirmed. “The idea is not without risks, however. They would have significant enough funds they might be able to pursue establishing a new kingdom.”
“If they do so under a different identity and do so peacefully, I couldn’t care less, Terry.”
“That was our thought as well. But can they do so peacefully?”
I lifted my head so I could regard the RPS agent with a raised brow. “My parents are a lot of things, but they prefer the threat of violence more than violence, unless you happen to be one of their children. But perhaps we took the hits so other kingdoms wouldn’t.”
Terry wrinkled his nose. “That’s a disturbing but plausible thought. Will you be able to handle talking with them?”
“If they were to go overseas and live out their lives in obscurity, I would be fine with this. But they’re going to do something. What that something is? That I can’t guess. But they could have acted at the vineyard. They did not. As such, I will give them the benefit of the doubt. If they have something to say, I’ll listen—and I’ll reserve judgment for after. But if they even look at my sister the wrong way, you won’t be able to separate their ash from the dust on my floor, that much I promise.”
“I’ll do everything I can to protect you,” Terry promised.
Of that I had no doubt. “Please put in a good word with whatever therapist gets saddled with me. After this, I’m going to need one.”
“You’ll be fine. It might take a while, but you’ll be fine. I will hope they back away so that we’re not forced to act, but their level of ambition doesn’t die easily. And that is why I fear their deaths inevitably come at your hand.”
I agreed with him, and because I did, I sighed. “Do you think Madelyn will forgive me for what I must do?”
“I suspect Madelyn would be at the front of the line to get her hits in if we make the mistake of letting her know what is going on. Now that her eyes have been opened to the reality of your situation, I think she has the capacity of becoming a sword capable of even tearing down empires. Do yourself a favor. Don’t underestimate Madelyn. If I were your parents, I would step with care. When there’s a will, there is a way, and Madelyn understands the reality of abuse—and should she have an opportunity to protect you, she will take it.” Terry’s expression turned rather rueful. “I may have proposed that we arm her just in case. She will be spending an hour at the firing range daily until we’re confident of her skills. And yes, she will be given orders to use the weapons we give her if the situation warrants it. Mark my words, Ian. Now that she’s been set free, you will find her to be someone worth worrying about—and your parents have earned her ire. I fear that if you don’t deal with them, she will.”