Oilcan understood wanting loyalty but the word “unquestioning” made him uneasy. “The wood sprites wanted a choice?”
Forge laughed. “Exactly. It’s the nature of wood sprites to question everything. My mother and Death came to a settlement where Death hid us in the jungle and kept us a secret. Even our name — wood sprites — was to make it seem as if Death had some mystical connection with supernatural forces. Only his five lieutenants, the Harbingers, knew the truth, since they often had to act as his liaison as we developed weapons to use against the Skin Clan.”
The “we” seemed to be more personal than just the historical sense. “You fought in the Rebellion?”
“Yes. I was barely out of my doubles when we started the construction of the Spell Stones. I may have been the youngest but I was also the loudest when we debated who should be given access to the Spell Stones. Death wanted to carefully parcel them out, giving access to warlords only after they’d pledged loyalty to him. Not the Stone Clan but to him personally. It was a distinction that alarmed me. It seemed that he was using us to make himself the next emperor. We would have fought and died only to replace one absolute master with another.”
“Do the Harbingers know that you championed the cause?”
Forge laughed. “Oh, they know. While it was a group decision, I was the one who traveled the world in secret, setting up stones for the other clans. My wealth and standing as Queen’s Architect are a direct result of that work. It would be impossible for them not to know.”
“Verily,” Forge’s First said. “Death could not have forced allegiance out of the other warlords, especially from Scourge. We would not have won the Rebellion if all four clans had not been able to bring the power of their Spell Stones to bear against the Skin Clan. The Rebellion would have died when Death was captured on the Blood Plains.”
“How do the Harbingers feel about the wood sprites sharing the Spell Stones?” Oilcan said.
“One would have to ask them,” Forge said. “Something I’ve managed to avoid doing for nae hae. If you pore over the events that led up to Death’s capture, our decision played no part in his downfall. Emperor Heaven’s Blessing, though, had Death flayed alive, then stuffed and mounted as a footstool. Rational discourse cannot follow such a fate.”
“I suppose not,” Oilcan said.
“The salt in the wounds was the fact that the wood sprites also collectively decided to be neutral during the Clan Wars,” Forge said. “We retreated to our jungle sanctuary, pulled up the bridges, set out defenses, and told all comers to leave us alone. All who persisted learned that wood sprites are not to be cornered.”
Far to the east, there was a flare of power at the edge of Oilcan’s awareness. It flashed off and on in a weird pattern that reminded him of Morse code.
Forge had gone still as if listening intently. “Speaking of Sunder, that is hir communicating to Darkness via battle code. Not a very private way to communicate but still it’s better than trying to shout across a battlefield. I will have to teach it to you and your cousin. It is a handy tool.”
The stones unloaded, Iron Mace’s Hand shifted armor crates onto the cargo elevator. Traveling bags of clothing and equipment followed. There was something oddly final about their preparations.
“Are they leaving?” Oilcan asked.
“Aye,” Forge said. “The distant voices brought word that they’ve been recalled for questioning at Summer Court. Sword Strike wants a full account from their own mouths, most likely with the queen and Pure Radiance on hand. I suspect that the crown is attempting to find who else might have been involved in Iron Mace’s activities. I was sending my gossamer to my holdings at Summer Court, so I offered them passage.”
“Sama!” someone called.
Oilcan glanced around. Sama was another elf word that Oilcan wasn’t sure of its full meaning. He’d known that it meant “head of household” but he wasn’t sure why Tinker’s people called her domi instead. His kids hadn’t stopped using it for him despite the fact he was now an elf.
“Sama!” The voice seemed to be coming from above.
An elf in Stone Clan Black waved from the gondola. Oilcan didn’t recognize the person.
“Hoi! Digger!” Forge raised his hand in acknowledgment. “I’m needed. I left my personal household in disarray when I came here. I need to give my husepavua some instructions before he heads to the Easternlands.”
“What does sama mean? Exactly?”
Forge looked surprised and then pleased for being asked. “Ah, old habits die hard. Digger became my husepavua before I was given lands by the crown. Until a domana is given lands, normally they retain the title of sama as head of their households. I’m sure that Beloved Tinker will gift you lands and your household will need to learn a new title for you.”
Forge stepped onto the lift and rode it up, looking more like an action hero than a great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Oilcan watched him go, mulling over what he’d learned. The bad news was that the Harbingers most likely hated all wood sprites and Forge in particular. The good news was that Sunder was also well versed on what a bad idea it would be to try and force the twins into something that they didn’t want. The fact that they were children — historically — meant nothing in terms of their ability to act decisively.
It was possible that Sunder would decide to let the twins choose their own guardian, since that was the path of least resistance in the middle of a war. It would be the Wyverns that insisted on someone like Oilcan, who had sekasha in abundance at his enclave.
That led back to how would the twins feel about being given a guardian.
The twins had a plan. Oilcan was sure of that. Tinker would. The fact that the twins were on Elfhome, not Earth, was testament that they had planned something.
It was unlikely that the girls had planned on living with Oilcan in an old Catholic high school with a horde of elves. The twins left Earth before Oilcan had adopted a bunch of kids or moved out of his condo. Nor could the twins have known that Esme had returned from space or that Forge was in Pittsburgh, so their plan wouldn’t have included the other two possible guardians. That left Lain or Tinker but those two were currently off the table. If the twins were truly like Tinker, they might even have some crazy plan of trying to live alone.
Tinker would be reluctant to abandon her plan. On the other hand, Tinker could be reasoned with. She could be persuaded to change her plan if something better was suggested.
What did Oilcan have to offer?
Sacred Heart’s ground floor was mostly big public-space rooms. The gym. The dining room. The massive kitchen with walk-in coolers. There were a handful of offices and large closets but those were already in use. There were ten big classrooms converted into bedrooms on the second floor that he had dedicated for “guests” of the enclave. With Iron Mace’s Hand leaving and taking his belongings with them, it would free up two of the ten rooms, but it seemed as if Forge had just tripled his number of people. Oilcan wasn’t sure if there would be space to move Jewel Tear out of her room on the third floor. He never meant for anyone but family to be living in the space.