Chapter 8
I watched as Marcus came forward. I still carried very hard feelings for this man. He had been a family retainer, who had betrayed his trust and tampered with my memories. He had screwed with me for some time on earth, sicking an NSA off shoot organization onto me.
While I had decided not to seek any further punishment or actions against him, I was still angry and hurt at what he had done to me. Ok, so he had aquited himself well during the war with Salvadi, but, damn it!
He came to a stop, and bowed to Mirwanna. She nodded and looked at him curiously. He had asked for this meeting. I frowned at him.
"Your Highness. I bring word of an infestation of demons. I have been, as you know, stationed on the border with Landkur and the Feronis kingdom. I was doing a standard monitoring, when I saw a flare of a portal.
"I sent a spell of seeing, and saw several demons coming out before they saw my spell, and ended it. Your highness, Feronis has been invaded," Markus said with a sad sound in his voice.
While I did not really like Marcus as I once did, I was sure that he was telling the truth. He was a strong magic user, and if I knew one thing about him, he rarely made a mistake when casting a spell. If he said he saw demons, then you could take it to the bank.
Our meeting immediately broke up into individual groups. Darla was there, representing her new house. Fithian and Vostich had been here earlier, but they had both had to go in answer to some obscure and arcane spell they were working on, at the castle.
There were representatives from several other houses, all objecting to my creating a bank. It seemed that some of the merchant houses were upset with my cutting into what they deemed their, "Business."
Ok, while it was true that the larger merchant houses had acted as banks and foreign currency exchanges, I wanted to establish a central bank for all. They were all here to ask Mirwanna to block my, "Ill conceived," move to create this bank.
While it was not an official meeting in the throne room, it was interesting. I liked these meetings, lately. I looked up in time to see Markus coming my way. I did not really want to talk to him, but it looked like I was in for it. I sighed.
"Why the big sigh?" Darla asked me.
"Markus is coming this way. I could really not speak to him for... oh say, forever, and not be offended."
"Paul!" Marcus said a bit loudly.
I turned to face him. "Marcus," I said with a nod.
"Paul. It has been some time. I hear you are doing good things within the city," he said to me.
"Yes. It was bound to happen. I stumbled into good things," I said curtly.
He sighed a deep sigh. "Paul, I'm very sorry for what I did. I thought it was the only thing I could do. If there is anyway, anyway at all I can make this up to you, just ask," he said seriously.
"Markus? I hope you don't take this any other way than as I mean it; but, I would not trust you as far as I could throw you," I said gritting my teeth.
I felt rage go through me again, at his betrayal of me and my family. I watched as his shoulders slumped. He nodded, and turned away.
"Paul!" Darla hissed at me. "He is making every effort to resolve this between you two. Get over yourself, and accept his apology. You would want forgiveness if you did something wrong, wouldn't you?" She said in a low tone.
"It wasn't me that tampered with HIS memories. It wasn't me that did everything in his power to sick the US government on me. I'm sorry, but while I understand his stated reasons, I still feel very uncomfortable around him. He BETRAYED me and my family, Darla," I finished a bit loudly, my anger rising.
I glanced up as I said this, and saw that Markus had heard my statement. Hell, everyone around me heard my statement. Markus actually flinched as I said what I did. I felt a bit of compassion at that, but firmed my resolve. I was not going to have anything more to do with Markus if I could help it.
I was sitting at my desk in my apartment an hour later and was musing. I got up and went to a small storage room. There was my cloak and my staff. I had not had them out or used them in sometime. It was time I made sure they were in top working condition.
I started by charging my staff. After I got lines of energy feeding power into it, I turned my attention to my cloak. I stripped down all the spells that had been placed on it, and started over. I wanted a good solid base on it.
I had just finished my second layer of protections when Mariel came in.
"Paul. We need to talk," she said in that voice I was learning meant I had done something wrong.
"Certainly. I am at your disposal," I told her with a slightly worried smile.
She laughed at me when she saw my smile.
"Silly. I want to talk to you about your treatment of Markus," Mariel stated firmly.
I stiffened. I am sure my face assumed a look of, well, intense distaste.
"While I understand your dislike for Markus, you have to know that he was doing his best for you. I remember when father threatened you," Mariel told me.
"Threatened me? I have no memory of any threats, except when I was first training with the dragons," I said, frowning.
"No, I mean earlier. I found a... record of father's discussion with Markus. Father kept good records of that time. He kept Minoril recording crystals, and recorded everything, for some reason," Mariel told me, as if that meant anything to me.
"I am not familiar with that type of crystal," I told Mariel.
"It is a crystal that retains images and sounds spoken around it. They were once many, but over time, they have become lost, destroyed, or misplaced. None know how to make them, nor do we know where they were mined, if they were mined," Mariel said in a lecturing voice.
I smiled at her. She was positively blooming when she could pass information on to people whom she thought of as her betters, or more knowledgeable than herself. I silently cheered her on.
"Well, I shall have to see if I can find one of these crystals. In the meantime, I really don't want to talk about Markus. It raises hard feelings within me," I told her.
She sighed. "But you don't know what he did to help you. For example... " that was as far as she got.
"I said, no more about Markus!" I shouted, and stormed out of the room.
I opened the apartment door, and slammed it on my way out. Why was everyone trying to get me to forgive a man who had betrayed me and my family from the very beginning?
I climbed to the roof, and went out upon it. It was very early evening, and a clear night. I decided to do a little flying, and changed into my dragon form, only much reduced in size. Didn't want to cave in the roof, after all.
I launched myself, and clawed for altitude. Shortly I was thousands of feet high, and flying towards and then over the inland sea. I circled and let the beauty of the evening, and the freedom of flight wash over me.
I was about to start my descent towards the palace when I heard my name called.
(Paul. Come to me at the castle, ) the voice of Vostich told me.
I angled and changed directions towards the castle. A short time later I landed, and changed into my human form. I made my way to the gate and entered the castle proper, and was met by a steward. He directed me to the main dining room.
As I entered I was immediately truck by two things. I felt Vostich as usual, but I felt another presence that was even more powerful. Damn! It was Jorslan. Sitting close to Jorslan was Melissa! I frowned.
"That will be enough of that, Paul. Jorslan has vouched for his child's mother, and that should be enough for you," Vostich told me.
Child's mother? I looked at Melissa again. She had given Jorslan a child?
"Congratulations," I said, bowing to Jorslan.
He smiled faintly at me. "Peace, Paul. I know of the differences between you. You have nothing to fear from my consort. Her powers are gone, and she is ever obedient to me and my wishes," He finished with a look at Melissa.
"If you say it is so Lord Jorslan, then I know that it is," I told him.
"I have summoned you here for a peculiar reason. I will let Jorslan explain. But we are still waiting for two more members to arrive for our little conference. So help yourself to whatever you want. My home is your home until the meeting," Vostich said.
He looked at Jorslan, and they both left together.
I was a little uncomfortable to tell you the truth. Melissa had done her best to harm me on a number of occasions. I didn't trust her as much as I trusted her father, and I didn't trust him at all. Markus and his daughter, Melissa, had been a very large pain in the ass for me.
Melissa and I looked at each other, a little awkwardly I might add. Fithian was there, drinking from a glass something that looked pale yellow, what ever it was. He grinned at me.
"I just love these little reunion scenes," Fithian said, swirling the liquid in his glass.
"You gave Jorslan a baby?" I asked Melissa. I admit I sounded a bit, well disbelieving.
She lifted her chin and met my look squarely. "Yes. It was in exchange for something, but that no longer matters," She told me.
I could imagine what she had exchanged herself for. It had to be power, which she no longer had. The Goddess Ishla saw to that. She had taken way Melissa's ability to work magic.
I nodded to her, and went to the bar and got myself a glass of what passed for brandy here. Actually, it was very good, with a fruity after taste. It would catch on very quickly if I could get enough of it to earth. Unfortunately it was difficult to make, and expensive, even here.
Fithian and I talked and drank a bit, until Mirwanna and Markus came in. I stood up and glared as Markus went over to his murderous offspring. Mirwanna came over to me.
"Down boy," she murmured.
I got myself under control. If Vostich wanted these people here, I was not going to argue. Hell, it didn't pay to piss off the powers that be in this land. But I still didn't have to like it.
I went to the bar and got Mirwanna a wine after asking her what she wanted. I went back and handed it to her. I then refilled my glass and sat next to her.
"So, Melissa, I understand you had a child? Was it a difficult birth?" Mirwanna asked her.
I stared at Mirwanna as if she had grown an extra head. I shrugged and listened absentmindedly as they discussed child bearing and what a precious thing babies were. I looked at Fithian and rolled my eyes. He just grinned at me.
Marcus sat by Melissa and listened as his daughter regaled us with the vagaries of rearing a child of someone as powerful as Jorslan. It seemed that while the child had inherited a lot of his father's power, it would not come out until puberty.
I felt a nudge and came back from the daydreaming I had been doing.
"Yes?" I asked Mirwanna.
"Melissa asked you a question. Don't you think you owe her the courtesy of an answer?" Mirwanna queried me in a no nonsense manor.
"Um, sure. What was the question?" I asked, blushing at my lapse.
"I asked if you would forgive my rude and unbearable behavior back on earth, and then later on, here. Dad has told me I was being a jealous bitch." She paused for breath. I just gaped in surprise.
"Also, Jorslan has all but said if I did not repair the mistakes of my past, he was going to have to take steps, and I would rather throw myself on your mercy, than his," Melissa said a bit anxiously.
I was totally stunned. I actually believed she was serious. I looked at Mirwanna, and I heard her in my mind urging me to accept. Fithian was clamoring right there along side her, all in my head. I threw my hands up in surrender.
"I, too, wish to apologize once more for my actions, Paul. I honestly wanted what was best for you. I did not know if I could protect you if Salvadi sent assassins. Please, Paul," Markus actually pleaded with me.
Again I heard Mirwanna and Fithian in my head, advising me to accept and to end this part of the past. It was over and done, and it was time to move on, they told me.
I drew a deep breath. "I accept your apologies. Both your apologies," I said, wondering if I was going to regret the decision.
Edited By TeNderLoin