A Long Time from Home Ch. 34

"< No sir. Only two magi and they had a permission >" She paused. "< Shall I place us on intruder alert? >"

The protocol flashed through my head and suddenly I knew what Dianna Piso and the other mage was here for. A part of the intruder alert protocol was a lock-down, that basically prevented anyone from teleporting or gating out of the castle, to allow the Feminae Bellum and the Inquisitors time to hunt down and neutralize the intruders.

"< As far as I remember, the lock-down period is a day, right? >"

"< Yes, sir >"

That was long enough for the Return to start, preventing us from destroying the Northern Anchor while it was still under control of the Ordo presidium.

"< Listen carefully now. Do not, no matter what you hear, lock down the castle >" I sent.

"< That's exactly what they're aiming for and I don't want them to have it. Use a lesser alert and send reinforcement, but do not lock down the castle, and have the reinforcement use non-lethal force. I'm sure this is a trap of some kind >"

"< Yes, sir >"

"< Oh... Did that permission have names on it? >"

"< Yes, sir >" There was a brief pause where I assumed that she was looking at the permit. "< The permit was for Senior Mage Cossus Livia Cor and Mage Diana Pico >"

"< Thank you >" I said and cut the link.

"Well, Inquisitors." Called Senior Mage Cossus Livia Cor. "Lost your tongue? Are you just going to stand there like the powerless people you are?"

Dianna Piso did something with a hand, causing the magical chains to tighten and Tia to cry out in pain. Then the mage looked at us, saying, "Do you enjoy seeing your lover suffer, Emilian?" She snorted. "Yes, I'm not blind. You might be masked, but there's only one male Inquisitor with your lack of height." Her eyes moved over to Verina. "So, you must be Inquisitor Serranus, Emilian's long-term lover." She snorted again as she nodded in the direction of Tia. "Did you know that he fucked her?"

The was silence for a moment. Then Verina looked at me, saying. "Is that true? You fucked Dominus Magnus of the Ordo Architectus?"

For a moment, I wondered why she asked, because I had already told her that a long time ago, but trusting her to have a cunning plan, I went along with it. "Yes, I did."

There brought another triumphant smile on Dianna Piso's face, but that was wiped away, when Verina laughed. "Way to go! The highest I ever managed was a Captain. Was she any good?"

"Oh, extremely good." I said lightly. "Way better than Mage Piso. I guess that why she's pissed... But then again, she tends to let herself be ruled by her emotions, which in turn have caused her career to go down in flames."

"Fuck you, Ivah!" Shouted Dianna Piso, rage evident on her face.

"Sorry to tell you the truth, Dianna," I said calmly, as I studied her. She looked just as angry now as the day of our discussion. "But you're still an ordinary mage, while in the same time Tia Magnus have become a Dominus."

"At least I didn't fuck my way to the top!" She shrieked, her grip on her temper slipping quickly.

I took a moment to glance at the armsmen, wondering where they came from, since the only way into the castle was through the gating room. I snorted, when I realized that the most logical answer to that, was that they weren't here at all, and that I was looking at an illusion.

Using an Ars Mentalis trick to detect mind-patterns, I nodded lightly to myself when none of the armsmen showed up on the scan. Touching my Captains Seal, I used it as a focus to send a message to all Inquisitors within the castle, that the Armsmen were Illusions, just as Verina laughingly said. "Even if that was true, it means that the higher-ranking magi preferred to fuck a half-blood over you. Goddess, you must be bad."

With a shriek of fury, Dianna Pico snapped and with a simple flick of the wrist, she sent a glittering bolt of ice towards Verina. It didn't make it all the way, as the castles defences kicked in and dispelled it halfway, and at the same time, Mage Valentius and a squad of twelve Inquisitors appeared out of nowhere, as their invisibility spells were cancelled when they showered Piso and Senior Mage Cor with Stun and Sleep spells.

The idea was faultless, but unfortunately it didn't go as planned. Only Cossus Cor was affected, tumbling to the ground, and making the illusionary armsmen disappear.

Something black and golden streaked through the space between me and Dianna Pico and then Verina appeared in front of the mage. The sound of someone being hit reached me a heartbeat later, as Verina took down Dianna Pica with three hard blows from her folded fans.

A moment later, the magical chains that held Tia Magnus and the two guards disappeared as Mage Valentius dispelled them.

"Secure those two!" I ordered and walked over to Tia, who had collapsed on the ground. "Are you wounded?"

She shook her head. "No, but that faming hurt!" She sighed. "Sorry about being caught. I tried to delay them and didn't really expect them to attack me."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't suspect they would be here either." Looking over at Mage Valentius, I said. "Good work, Valentius."

"Thank you, sir, but could someone please explain what is going on? I don't think any mage have attacked our people here in Arcem ever, so it has to be serious."

"Oh, it is. The faction in the senate that wants to return Baylon have come out in force and is actively trying to make it happen. Unfortunately, that will destroy Baylon in the process." I said and explained the situation with the anchor and what had been going on.

He rubbed his face with his hands as he thought it over and then said. "Thank you, captain, that's even more serious than I thought. What can I do to help?"

"First of all, get someone to read the mind of those two." I ordered. "There's no reason for them to come here on their own and I want to know who ordered them here."

He hesitated for a moment. "How's the law on that one, sir?"

There was a short laugh from Verina. "On our side, Mage Valentius. Not only did they come here to provoke us, but they even tried to cast elemental magic on us."

"Very well," said Mage Valentius with a slight smile on his face and turned towards the Inquisitors. "You heard the captain. Get what you can from the magi."

"Yes, sir." They saluted and vent to work.

I took a moment to think it over. So far, we had been reacting to the plot the Cor family had set in motion, discovering new things along the way and in general trying to mess with their plans whenever we could. Perhaps it was time for a change.

"How many Inquisitors are at home?"

"Thirty-four, sir." He said without hesitation. "But you're the only captain here. Captain Gavia is in the Capitol with the Dominus Grande. Captain Cardida took off yesterday to give testimony in court, and Captain Leos and Vice-Captain Amata took off a few hours ago to investigate the anchors. The rest of the vice-captains are investigating incidents all over the Empire as usual."

I nodded. While I doubted it was a coincidence, that Gavia and Cardida was in the Capitol and thus locked down there, it didn't sound all that unusual.

Reaching out, I got hold of Sergeant Sibylla again. "< Sergeant, how many Feminae Bellum are available right now? >"

"< Seven squads, sir >"

"< Get them ready. I'll explain later >"

"< Yes, sir >"

I took a deep breath. "Mage Valentius. I want two Inquisitors, along with a squad of Feminae Bellum to take off to search the homes of Dianna Piso. Four Inquisitors and two squads goes to the home of Angus Nigrus Cor." I nodded in the direction of the unconscious senior mage. "And send two Inquisitors and yet another squad the home of Senior Mage Cossus Livia Cor to search it."

"Yes sir."

Looking at Tia, I asked. "Dominus Magnus, name three magi or mentats from the Cor family that're close to the Dominus Grande, but not among the assistants."

Tia looked thoughtful. "The Cors do not have any mentats, but Appia, Tulla and Nonus are all from the Angus Cor part of the family." She shrugged. "I don't know them well enough to say how close they are to the Dominus Grande, but they come from the same branch of the family."

"Verina. Get hold of Sabia Lartius and confirm it with her. If she has other and better suggestions, use those."

"Yes, sir."

Looking at Mage Valentius again, I said. "When we got those names, I want those people arrested and their homes searched. They're charged with Misuse of Powers, Conspiracy against the High King and Conspiracy against the Baylon Empire."

The mage widened his eyes. Both of the last two changes were serious crimes and carried serious punishments with them. "Are you sure, sir?"

"Well, if they're innocent, they will be acquitted by the courts." I informed him. "I just want them to be unavailable for the next couple of days and with the incident in Grove where Angus Nigrus Cor attacked me, and what happened here, we have a probable cause to suspect the Cor family as a whole."

"Slim, but it's there, sir." Said Valentinus, as a ghost of a smile showed on his face.

"Good. Make it happen, while I write up the arrest orders and do the rest of the paperwork. Then we'll see if the two magi can provide us with some answers."

"Yes, sir." He saluted and walked away.

-----------------------

I spent half a glass getting the paperwork in order and then reached out with my mind to contact Jia.

It took several tries, before she answered. "< Ivah! What's wrong? Is Verina hurt? >"

"< Verina is fine. I don't have time to explain, but we need to come get you. Can you send me a mind-image of your location? >"

To my surprise, there were some hesitations in her thought, as she replied "< Is it important? >"

"< Yes. Both Verina's and your life depends on it >"

There were still some reluctances in her thought, as she replied. "< Come then >" and sent me a mind-image.

"< Thank you. We'll be there within a glass >"

Wondering why, she was so hesitant, I walked back to Verina, Tia, and Mage Valentinus, who were waiting for me in front of the Inquisitors and the Feminae Bellum. Or perhaps I should say that Valentinus and Tia were waiting for me, because Tia had changed into the mage armor and it sat on her fabulous body like an extra layer of skin, and Verina was discreetly admiring her.

With a slight smile, I handed the papers to Valentinus, who passed them on to a runner, that took them to the squad leaders.

"Did we get anything from the magi?" I asked Valentinus.

The mage shook his head. "Nothing, sir. The order to go here came by powered communication and the permit was delivered by a runner. Aside from that, they don't know much, except that they want Baylon to return now."

I sighed. "They're better at keeping secrets than the Pulcher family."

"Which is why they're still alive." Said Tia drily.

Both Valentinus and I nodded at that.

As soon as the arrest orders was handed out, Verina lifted her voice. "Attention!"

Silence fell over the ranks and I raised my voice. "In a moment, you'll go to investigate several members of the Cor family and their associates. There's nothing special in that, but for once you need to know what's at stake here."

Switching to the much faster mental communication, I gave a very short version of the explanation I had given Mage Valentinus, using mental communication and mind-images to ensure they knew I wasn't lying. I finished with "< Inquisitors, we're threading a dangerous path here. If we act, we're going against the will of the Dominus Grande of the Ordo Presidium, which for the time being will make us rogues. However, if we stand and do nothing, there's a chance Baylon will be destroyed along with everybody on it, including your friends, family and loved ones >" I looked around at them. "< This time the need of the Empire outranks anybody short of the King of Kings. Remember, that these people have no qualms about trying to kill Inquisitors or Feminae Bellum, so take care out there. May the Goddesses watch over you all >"

There was a moment of silence, but then the squads saluted in perfect unison, followed by a "Yes, captain!" before they marched out.

"Nice speech." Commented Tia with a smile in her voice.

With a chuckle, I turned to look at her. "You don't go to the theatre much, do you? Just about every send-off speech ever written is better than what I just did."

She shrugged. "This is real life, not theatre."

"It was good." Said Verina firmly. "And now we need to go to Lescare."

"Agreed." I said and sent the mind-image to Tia, who took a moment to gather her thoughts and then cast the gate spell.

A shimmering door appeared in front of us, and we were about to go through, when we received an official mental communication. A very loud official mental communication, that was impossible to ignore.

"< ATTENTION! THE RETURN HAVE STARTED! ALL CITIZENS MUST RETURN TO BAYLON IMMIDIATELY! >"

"That was fast." Mumbled Verina, making Tia shake her head. "No, they need as much time as possible to get people home to Baylon and each hour counts."

"And it's our cue to leave." I said and walked through the gate.

As always, the magic made my skin tingle and then I was standing in a cosy looking living room, looking at Jia, who were dressed in the local Lescarian clothes. She looked beautiful as usual, but what caught my eyes were two kids, a boy and a girl, sitting by a table and watching me with huge eyes. Both clearly had a lot of Baylon blood in their veins, because like Jia, they had white hair and slanted blue eyes. There was something disturbingly familiar about them and I froze when I realized they looked a lot like the paintings of my sister and I, my mom had hanging on her wall.

Jia saw the direction I was looking and softly said, "Ivah... This is Ivanka and Kaeso."

For once I was stunned, even speechless, as I looked at the kids, who were looking back at me. Then their eyes shifted to something behind me, as Tia and Verina stepped through the gate as well.

"< Sorry >" sent Jia and as she spoke, the link was filled with regret. "< I should have told you earlier and before you ask... Yes, they're yours >"

Still shaken, the best question I could come up with was, "< When? >"

"< On the way to Hao's wedding >" She answered sadly "< I was so distraught, that I forgot that I didn't use herbs and well... >"

At least that explained why I haven't discovered it. After the wedding, I had taken off with Wukong in search of his bride and almost as soon as I got back, I had been sent to Mordcha to learn forging. All in all, that had taken more than a year and with the amount of time I'd spent afterwards helping Securitas Externa, I haven't had a chance to notice anything. Not even during sex, as power assisted healing would have brought thing back to exactly the same state as before.

Raising the kids in Lescare also made sense in a Lescarian way. As Jia's family were nobles, there would be no problem with housing or babysitters, while Jia was in Arcem.

Reaching out with my mind, I briefly examined the... my... kids' mental pattern and to my astonishment, they both detected as Baylon. That was a surprise, since the chances for a union between a Baylon and a human to produce offspring with a Centrum Potentia was about one in ten. What wasn't a surprise, was the fact that they were Twins. For some reason that happens quite often my family.

Remembering that I was wearing the Battle Armor, I pulled the hood back and removed the half mask from my face.

The two children stared at me with wide eyes for a heartbeat, but then they shouted. "Dad!" in unison and stormed towards me.

The feeling of recognition, wonder and longing emanating from them was so great, that I automatically went down on one knee and spread my arms to receive them in a hug. They rushed into my arms, just as I heard Tia say, "What the flaming fuck?" and the responding, "It looks like a private moment." from Verina before she dragged the mage into another room.

I shut them out and concentrated on the two kids in my arms. Kids are always a gift in Baylon, but after having been rendered infertile by the Peaches of Immortality, it was a gift I had never expected to receive and somehow, that made it twice as precious. I still had a lot of questions for Jia, like why she had kept them hidden, but at that moment, it mattered little.

"Have you come to take us home?" asked Ivanka in a calm whisper.

"Yes, I think I have." I answered after a moment, aware of the tears running down my face.

That caused Kaeso to ask. "Are our moms coming as well?"

"That's the plan, but we haven't had time to talk about it." I answered and looked at Jia. "You are coming along, right."

She sighed. "I don't know." She looked at the children. "Now, you two need to go help Mo Shufen pack your bags so your dad and I can talk without you listening."

I got a last hug from my kids and then they ran out of them room.

Drying my tears of my face, I stood, walked over to Jia and dragged her in for a hug. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

To my surprise, she started crying. "I just wanted them for myself for a few years. You Baylons live so long! You have centuries with them, I have just a few decades!"

For a moment, I stood in stunned silence.

Despite looking younger, Jia had to be around thirty-five years old by now and while that was young for a Baylon, she was middle-aged by human standards and if she had been like the other Lescarian in the area, she would only last a few decades more at the most.

Placing my hand gently on her chin, I turned her head and looked into her tear-filled slanted eyes, as I whispered. "Jia, my sweet. Any half-breed with enough Baylon blood in them to produce Baylon children, will live just as long as normal Baylons. You have lots of time!" She looked at me with a shocked expression, so I sent her a smile and continued. "Trust me. My father is half-Baylon and he just celebrated his 12th decade."

"What?!"

Giving her another kiss, I said. "You'll have at least two hundred years more with the kids."

Jia looked stunned, so I just held her, giving her time to absorb the information.

"I feel stupid." Mumbled Jia after a while. "All that secrecy for no reason." She looked up. "Are you angry at me?"

I slowly shook my head. "I was when I discovered it, but nobody was really hurt and if everything goes right, I'll have all the time in the world with them." I thought for a moment. "And with you for that matter. You need to come with us."

"I'm still no..." She started, but I interrupted her. "In ten years, you'll still look the same, while your friends here will start to look old. In thirty years, your friends and family will have died from old age and you'll look forty."

Her eyes grew wide as the words sank in. "Oh... People will think I'm an Immortal!"

I nodded. "And you will be treated like people treat the Queen Mother of the West. Some will try to gain your favour, others will try to steal the secret of long life from you, using any means possible."

Jia sighed. "And that will bring Ivanka and Kaeso in danger."

"Most likely, yes." I said and the thought of the kids made me ask. "How old are they? I mean, according to my memory, they should be around twelve years old by now, but they seem much younger."

Jia looked slightly shameful, as she replied. "I wasn't ready to have kids, or even talk about it, so I took a magic potion that delayed it some years." She shrugged lightly. "It gave me time to arrange everything, like housing, nannies and trainers."

That piqued my interest. "What kind of training did they get?"