Jack had the Enterprise beam Mister Warner down as soon as they were close enough

  for the transporter to have an angle of attack. Then they were moving toward the Picket.

  “What’s the plan, Jo-jo?,” he asked as he sat at the conference table.

  “Before we head home and look at things with the girls,” said Josie. “I want to talk to

  Kaus the Younger.”

  “Really?,” asked Jack. He supposed that the man had put the young assassins on the trail

  of his king. Should they do something about that? Maybe this fell into the making the

  world a better place category they had developed beside finishing the quests.

  “I would like to talk to him about things,” said Josie. “I can’t believe we were issued a

  quest about Kyle when there surely were cases of regicide before we got here.”

  “Maybe the other champions of order handled them,” said Jack. “We already know that

  there were more of us than the four of us doing the job now.”

  “But did any of them talk to the backers behind the plan?,” asked Josie.

  “Not if they all did things like Mister Warner,” said Jack.

  He wondered if they all just dropped in and blasted a target and then vanished back to

  the real world. If they did, it would explain a lot of things.

  He liked using the magic too much to go home to a boring dreary life. He would wind

  up punching people in the face for looking at him funny at any bar he visited to drink.

  “I would like to talk Kaus the Younger,” said Josie. “I feel that I should warn him about

  any more plots against Kyle, and what I will do if he doesn’t listen.”

  “I am ready to show some goob how the Enterprise does business,” said Jack. He

  grinned at her.

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  “We are not dropping a torpedo on his keep just because we can,” said Josie. “Am I

  understood?”

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  “All right,” said Jack. He shrugged. “You drain the fun out of everything.”

  “I want this to take a few minutes,” said Josie. “And then I want to get home and check

  on the girls. I still have to clear Jane’s lawn in the morning.”

  “Can you?,” said Jack. He thought that was going to be a lot of work.

  “I don’t know,” said Josie. “I’m going to try.”

  “All right,” said Jack. “Are we over the target, Enterprise?”

  “Unknown,” said the machine.

  “I’ll take us down, Enterprise,” said Josie. “Just keep an eye on us in case you have to

  shoot the phasers.”

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  “All right,” said Josie. “Let’s do it.”

  Josie transformed and threw out a bird to where Kaus the Younger should be. The spell

  yanked them across the gap when it reached the spot she wanted. She let the persona

  vanish and sat down in a chair she pulled up next to the bed.

  Jack reached over and grabbed the man’s face as he slept in his bed. The man jerked

  away, but the watchbearer clamped down to prevent him from moving out of reach.

  “If you move, you will be hurt,” said Jack. “If you make a noise other than to answer our

  questions, you will be hurt. If you look at me funny, you will be hurt. Do you

  understand?”

  The man in the bed nodded.

  “Are you Kaus?,” asked Josie.

  The man nodded. Jack stepped back and stood behind Josie’s chair.

  “I suppose you are wondering why we’re here,” said Josie. “We represent the Robert

  Reed Appreciation Society. We know you tried to have Kyle murdered by Haynes’s

  children. We have our eye on this part of the world, and you are this close to stepping

  over a line. I felt we should give you a warning to change your ways, or I will allow my

  partner to destroy your castle, burn your land, and take anything not nailed down.”

  “Maybe not everything nailed down,” said Jack. He smiled quietly. “Why try for Kyle?

  You could be the next high king at the next election. Why bother trying to have him

  killed?”

  “I don’t have to explain anything to you,” said Kaus. He glared at the two intruders. The

  woman seemed to be in charge, and women were soft.

  “You don’t,” said the woman. She stood. Something wrapped around her arm glowed

  as she moved. “We know your father ordered Haynes to kill goblins. We know our

  predecessor killed Haynes, and as many of his force he could reach. We know you set

  the children on Kyle. They are gone. Kyle is still there. The problem is someone like

  you who is used to getting away with murder won’t take a threat seriously until it’s not

  a threat any more. So I think you should see what we’re prepared to do to you unless

  you tow the line, and stay out of trouble. Jack.”

  “Enterprise,” said Jack.

  “Acknowledged,” said a mild woman voice.

  “I need you to target an area of this building, or an outbuilding without anything living

  in it,” said Jack. “Prepare a torpedo.”

  The woman touched the glow on her arm. There was a flash of light. She pointed at a

  wall. It came apart, shaping into a balcony.

  “Come along,” said the woman. “We’re only going to do this once as a demonstration.

  The next time will be for real.”

  Jack had his eye on the noble. He made sure to keep an eye out for weapons. He grabbed

  the guy’s wrist and exerted just enough pressure on a nerve in his hand to get him on his

  feet and walking. The three of them stood on the balcony. There was a small carriage

  house next to a stable and corral for horses.

  “Enterprise, go ahead with one torpedo,” said Jack. The one hand had Kaus’s while the

  other pressed a button on an armband he wore.

  A drop of light flashed from the sky. It hit the carriage house near the entrance. The

  building came apart in a roar.

  “Run your kingdom with an eye toward fairness,” said the woman. “Or you’re going to

  have a problem.”

  “But it won’t last for long,” said Jack. He grinned. “We’re going to let you figure out

  what you want to do about the damage. If you do get elected to the high king spot, you

  will still be touchable.”

  “And we will touch you,” said the woman.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  She waved her hand to summon a bird of fire. It flew into the sky. It took them with it.

  Jack blinked as they landed in the conference room. He stretched, hearing his back

  cracking.

  “Good job with the torpedo, Enterprise,” said Jack.

  “Affirmative,” said the Enterprise.

  Josie went to the windows, looking out at the night sky. She frowned at whatever she

  was seeing.

  “Do you think he will take the hint?,” Jack asked. He sat at his place at the table, leaning

  back in his chair.

  “I don’t know,” said Josie. “I hope so. We can’t be responsible for guarding Kyle for the

  rest of his life.”

  “We could,” said Jack. “But would we want to?”

  “No,” said Josie. “Enterprise, set course for Hawk Ridge. The running around is done

  for the moment. Thank you for a good job.”

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  “So what are we doing tomorrow, Brain?,” asked Jack.

  “Working on helping Jane clear her lawn,” said Josie. “I need to check that other

  building and see if we can buy and use it to house our victims until we can heal and

  send them on their way.”

  “We might have to handle Illheim’s friends,” said Jack.

  “All we have to do is wait them out now, and keep the kids out of trouble,” said Josie.

  “The rest will take care of itself.”

  “Did you come up with some kind of sneaky plan?,” said Jack. He grinned as he leaned

  against the wall.

  “I set a curse on him to automatically kill one of his minions whenever he rested

  himself,” said Josie. “The Montrose will start dropping dead as they work. Hopefully

  they won’t die and leave their captives stranded in the middle of the road somewhere,

  but the idea was to erode their manpower instead of one big push that killed them all at

  once.”

  “Could you have killed them all at once?,” asked Jack.

  “Yes,” said Josie. “I had a revelation as soon as we arrested Illheim. I didn’t think the

  Society would like the results of it.”

  “Too many dead people?,” said Jack.

  “Too many dead people,” agreed Josie. “Stopping the attack across the border was one

  thing, but I think I was pushing it clearing out the cities, but this would have reached

  around the world.”

  “It’s not like we haven’t done that before,” said Jack.

  He had no regrets making it harder for the Montrose to control their victims.

  “We’ve been pushing at the rules put on us,” said Josie. “I don’t want to be exiled and

  leave the girls alone with your irresponsible self.”

  “I’ll have you know I’m as responsible as any human being can be,” said Jack.

  “Proof,” said Josie.

  “You’ll have it as soon as I can manufacture it,” said Jack.

  “I’ll wait on it,” said Josie. She rolled her eyes as she shook her head.

  “On station,” reported the machine.

  “Do you need anything before we go?,” asked Jack.

  “Condition is nominal,” said the machine.

  “Any problems, call us,” said Jack. “You’re the sole member of your class here. I don’t

  want anything to happen to you.”

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  “One more thing, Enterprise,” said Josie. “Keep an eye out for any ship heading this way

  from that other continent. I don’t know how far you can see in that direction, but it

  would be nice to have some kind of warning other than a quest alert from the Society.”

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  “Do you think they know we sunk their ships in the sea?,” asked Jack. The thought of

  a hive mind came to him. He didn’t want to say it out loud unless he had to.

  “If they have any type of telepathy, yes,” said Josie. “On the other hand, they have the

  same technology as this continent from the looks of things so we don’t have to worry

  about any type of explosive as far as we know.”

  “All right,” said Jack. He had a feeling they would be dealing with more of the

  Bloodborn before the kids were too much older.

  “Let’s go down, see what Angie has cooked, and see what kind of reports have been

  written up,” said Josie. “Maybe Matilda is more serious about following in our footsteps

  than I thought.”

  “I already promised her the Enterprise when I thought she was ready to take command,”

  said Jack. “It’s obvious that the Society thinks she has the stuff if she wants to do the

  job.”

  “What does Aviras think about it?,” said Josie.

  “Wherever Matty goes, he goes,” said Jack. He scratched the scar over his eye. “He

  seems like too much a crotchety old man otherwise.”

  “Let’s check on our extended family and see how they survived the day,” said Josie. She

  smiled at his puzzlement.

  “All right,” said Jack. “It will be great to roll in my sweet baby’s arms.”

  They took the bird express down to the Hangar. The kids and adults were all over the

  general room doing their separate things. Jack and Josie watched things for a bit.

  “I remember the times when people jumped up to see me and tell me how great I am as

  a relative,” said Jack. His voice was just loud enough to make Case and Caroline stop

  hugging.

  “I don’t remember that at all,” said Josie. “Did you girls get done with your

  homework?”

  “I have them, Josie,” said Elaine. “Thad said you had one more stop to make before you

  came home.”

  “Had to talk to a man about a wrecked outhouse,” said Josie. She glanced at the older

  girls. “Where’s Emily and Seven?”

  “Boim went home after helping Aviras with his action report,” said Elaine. “Emily

  decided to turn in.”

  “I have some plates of food warming for you to eat,” said Angelica.

  “Let’s see what you have for us, Angie,” said Jack.

  “Let’s see the reports, Elaine,” said Josie. “I want to add them to the archive before I go

  to bed.”

  “All right,” said Elaine. She went to the dining room table and gestured for Josie to sit

  and read.

  Jack secured their plates with mittens and carried them back to the dining room table.

  He put Josie’s off to one side of her arms as she read. He put his plate down in front of

  his own spot. Angelica arrived with cups of hot chocolate for them.

  “Wrecked outhouse?,” asked Elaine. Jack smiled at her as they sat at the table.

  “You know I can’t take Josie anywhere without her blowing stuff up,” said Jack. “She

  loves explosions like Matty loves books. One time, she almost ripped my arm off so she

  could light our fireworks first.”

  “You stole mine,” said Josie, as she sifted through the papers. “It was a good thing your

  sisters were there, or I would have put my boot up your butt so far I could have worn

  you for a slipper.”

  “You see how she treats her best friend,” said Jack.

  “You’ve already seen how I treat my enemies,” said Josie. She put the reports aside and

  sat back in her chair.

  “Are you going to eat your dinner?,” asked Jack.

  “Yes,” said Josie. “I have to talk to the girls first.”

  “Oh really?,” said Jack.

  She passed him the paperwork. He scanned the sheets rapidly, spreading them apart with

  his fingers. He smiled at Elaine’s loops, Seven’s spiky rendering of both hers and

  Aviras’s actions. Aviras’s had a lot of digressions about how great he was. Caroline’s

  looked like a letter to a peer. Emily’s reminded him of a Dragnet cold open.

  The reports from Josie’s six sisters all looked the same, from the handwriting to what

  each said, to how it was said.

  “I see,” said Jack. He grinned at her unamused expression. “I would love to see how you

  handle this and take notes for my own brood when Elaine and I are successful in that

  venture.”

  She frowned at him before taking a bite of toast from her plate. She stood and gestured

  for the papers back. Jack handed them over, making sure to keep his hands ready to

  move in case he was the first target.

  She whistled a long piercing note to get everyone’s attention. She gestured with a hand.

  “Girls, front and center,” she said. Jack noted she always sounded calm before she

  pushed someone down a flight of stairs.

  “Caroline, take Case and Budd into the weight room,” said Josie. “Aviras too.”

  The four guests quickly strolled to the weight room. Aviras rode on Budd’s head as he

  kept an eye on the proceedings.

  “Whose idea was it to cheat the reports?,” asked Josie. Her sisters looked in every

  direction but at her calm expression. “Either I get a confession, or you will all be

  punished as severely as I can make the punishment for the guilty party.”

  “What kind of punishment?,” asked Matilda.

  “I don’t know,” said Josie. “But the Enterprise could do with a good polishing.”

  “That thing is huge,” said Melanie. She gestured with her hands at the whole of the ship

  floating above her. “It would take us years to polish the Enterprise.”

  “It will probably take you as long as it will take for Matilda to grow into an adult and

  find a courter,” said Josie. “It will take even longer if I give you a toothbrush to share

  to do the job.”

  “That seems excessive,” said Angelica.

  “If I get a confession, only one of you gets punished,” said Josie. “And Beatrice. The

  other four get off scot free. This is my final offer. After that you will be relying on my

  mercy.”

  “Which you all know she doesn’t have,” said Jack from the table. He leaned back in his

  chair to watch the drama. Elaine sat with a straight back next to him.

  “All right,” said Melanie. “It was my idea to ask Beatrice to copy the reports from

  Matilda.”

  “And you all accepted this,” said Josie. “Even though you knew I would see it and be

  disappointed.”

  “We didn’t expect you to read the reports,” said Matilda.

  Josie pursed her lips. She stared at each of the girls in turn. They didn’t meet her eyes.

  “I’m going to have to think about this,” said Josie. “I did promise...”

  The doorbell ringing interrupted her.

  “Who could that be?,” asked Josie, looking up to the ceiling.

  “I got it,” said Jack. “Go ahead and flay them alive while I’m gone. I have an elixir for

  that.”

  “What?,” said Angelica.

  “The Enterprise will love that scrubbing,” said Jack as he crossed the room and

  triggered the elevator. “My engine isn’t shining enough. Scrub it some more.”

  The doors opened. He stepped inside. He grinned at them.

  “Cheating is bad,” said Jack. “And if you get caught, you did it wrong.”

  He stepped into the elevator and went up to the Hangar’s hangar to use the gate to get

  to their office.