Prince of Attania, 2

They couldn’t kill him. And they couldn’t make him give up his physical body and return to Attania as pure elemental, not unless he wanted to—and Aylard, or James Stenson as he called himself now, did not want to. But he stayed a prudent distance away from Attan, concentrating on the Enforcer instead.

“Hello, Daniel,” he said with a crooked grin. “Where’s that brother of yours? He can’t be far behind if you’re here. And it’s Jim now, Jim Stenson.”

Attan still had hold of the area; if Stenson tried to discorporate and escape that way, he wouldn’t get far. It went against everything Attan was to even contemplate such a move, but it was necessary as long as Stenson remained a threat. “My father isn’t coming. You’ll need to deal with me.”

Stenson’s eyes veered over to Daniel, then back to Attan. “You?” he asked, disbelievingly.

Attan nodded. “And the Enforcer. Daniel will ask the questions. I’m. . .” Attan hesitated. “the one who will make sure you answer.”

Now Daniel grinned. “That’s right. Our little Attan here will make sure you don’t wiggle out of this mess again. You left before he was born, but you must remember how he was born, don’t you? He was elemental first, before he ever took on flesh. Just like you. Just like our new little abomination, Meetoo here.”

Stenson regarded Attan once more. “An abomination is always an abomination,” he said. “What did you do to my experiment?”

“Me? Nothing!” Attan said in surprise. “Tom . . .”

“We have a lot to talk about,” Daniel said, drawing Stenson away from Attan and Meetoo. Stenson kept glancing back, curiosity and revulsion warring on his face. “Like,” Daniel continued, “how did you come back, and what the hell are you trying to do?”

Attan caught sight of Elea, followed by Roger and several other townspeople as she hurried up the hill towards them. Meetoo saw her at the same time. “Elea!” he shouted happily, skidding and sliding down the loose rocks to meet her.

Wonderful, Attan thought. Daniel, who was busy talking to Jim Stenson, spared a quick glance for Attan. Watch him, it meant. Attan was watching Stenson. He seemed not to notice the clouds of free elementals which fitted all around them, but that could be an act, too. Stenson’s attention was drawn to the commotion coming towards them. So much for wanting to keep Midver out of harm’s way.

“Ah, these must be Tom’s people,” Stenson murmured. “True believers, like Tom.” He smiled grimly.

Attan automatically moved to intercept Elea, and saw to his dismay that Emma was among the villagers who had trooped up the hill to see what was going on. Didn’t Roger tell them they were dealing with a dangerous unknown Family?

Stenson smoothed back his not-so-black hair and smiled as the people from Midver approached. He glanced warily at Attan, before striding forward, hand outstretched, as the first person reached the top of the hill. His smile wavered as he took in Emma’s filmy white eyes.

“Are you the one my Thomas told me about?” she demanded, stepping right up to peer into Stenson’s face. “Did you send him across the sea?”

“What?” Stenson asked, startled. He tore his gaze from the disconcerting blind woman’s face and looked at the other villagers who had come up behind her. Meetoo had his arms around Elea’s shoulders and was busy whispering something in her ear. Behind Elea stood her mother and a few of the other women from Elea’s village. Roger and several of Midver’s men completed the group.

Stenson whirled back to face Daniel. “What’s this about the sea?”

Daniel shrugged. “Ask them.”

Elea pushed Meetoo towards Attan with a few whispered phrases. Knowing what was coming next, Attan surrounded Meetoo and himself with a wall of shadow, though he kept his physical form and made sure Meetoo did, also. Daniel stepped away from Stenson with a half-smile. Attan almost felt sorry for Stenson. He couldn’t be killed, no. But Elea and her people could send him away from Attania for good.

Elea began singing and the rest of her women joined in, including Emma. Attan braced himself as the eerie melody tugged at that part of him that wasn’t bound to the physical. Meetoo held his shape, too, thought he looked uncomfortable. It was a good thing Daniel had experienced the strange sensations once before, as he knew how to fight it now, though Daniel’s expression hinted at the effort it cost him.

Stenson flinched back, his mouth widening in terror as his essence began to flow out from his body. Soon he would lose form altogether, and Attan knew that once that happened, he would no longer have control over his fate. It would belong to Elea and her group.

Too bad they were nowhere near the sea. There wasn’t anywhere for Elea’s women to sing Stenson’s spirit to. All too soon, the women’s voices faded and the pull on all their spirits lessened, then finally disappeared.

The minute Stenson felt the pressure dissipate, he vanished, becoming a raging tower of wind, but Attan was ready for him. Attan discorporated too, followed closely by Meetoo and Daniel, and surrounded Stenson’s wind with fire, squeezing inexorably in until Stenson’s wind collapsed with a sigh, and his human figure lay on the ground, staring up in horrified amazement.

“Impossible,” he whispered.

In the moments before Stenson reverted back to physical form, Attan had caught something from their forced merge. Stenson, or more aptly, Aylard, knew what the women were trying to do. He knew where they wanted to send him, and it terrified him. “What’s beyond the sea, Aylard?” Attan asked softly, deliberately using the being’s original name.

Stenson didn’t answer right away. He slowly got to his feet, running a hand through his dusty hair. “We do need to talk. You people don’t know what you’re doing.”

You people. Not Family, or even non-family, or abominations. “What don’t we know?” Attan asked. “Tell us.”

Stenson tensed. “Who are they?” he asked, finally differentiating between the Midver people, and Daniel and Attan. “They’re more than what Tom let on, if they can do that. Why didn’t Tom tell me his people were those people?”

Elea held onto Emma when she would have rushed forward at the mention of her son. She glanced at Attan, giving him tacit permission. “Probably because he didn’t know,” Attan replied. “It’s only the women who sing us to the sea.” Attan frowned. “I thought you said the spirits they worship are like us. They are more aware because of them. I thought you knew.”

Stenson sank back down to the ground and covered his face with his hands. “I didn’t know. Not exactly. Only what Tom said, that his people worshipped what they called spirits. He said he could control them. We—we wanted to bring them the last step.”

So Stenson really couldn’t see the free elementals all around them, even though he essentially was one. He was too human, for all his abilities. Attan sighed with relief. That made it easier. “But you know about the sea,” he prompted.

Stenson stared bleakly at him. “If you knew what I know,” he said, “you’d destroy these creatures now before it’s too late.” He looked at the Midver group. Meetoo stood next to Elea. “Maybe it’s already too late. We cannot go back to what we were, apparently. Maybe this world did it to us after all. What we were does not exist anymore. I’m not what I once was. The rest of you are---“ He shook his head. His chest heaved.

Daniel snorted. “Nice try, Aylard. But didn’t you already use that excuse once before? Why did you come back, anyway, if things are so awful the way they are? What’s out there that you’re so afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid!” Stenson shouted. “But you should be—all of you!” If the barrier between worlds is breached, Attania will not survive! Not Family, not non-family, not—whatever those two are.” He pointed first at Attan, then at Meetoo.

That was a lie. Stenson was afraid. “What’s out there?” Attan repeated.

“Nothing.”

Attan couldn’t tell if Stenson was being deliberately uncooperative, or if there was a kernel of truth behind what he said. Hadn’t Elea’s father said something similar? He looked questioningly at Elea.

“It’s where you’re from,” she said. “That’s what we’ve always believed. Sometimes the spirits are tired. They want to go back. Sometimes they get caught up with the rest and we send them back even if they don’t want to go.” She smiled at Meetoo. “Sometimes they want to stay.”

Stenson glared at her. “You don’t understand. It’s where we’re from, where we’re all from. Attania is a bubble of our dreams in the midst of nothingness, and you want to go back there? There’s nothing there! Why do you think I’ve worked so hard to bring Attania back to what we first imagined? Not one of you remembers! Not even you.” He was still glaring at Elea. “Home? If not for us, you wouldn’t exist—none of this would exist!”

She shivered, and moved closer to Attan. “That doesn’t change the truth,” she whispered. “We remember that much.”

When Elea spoke like that, she seemed so much older than her years. Attan wondered if Emma hadn’t been—damaged—if she would have been the spokeswoman instead of Elea. It was a hard burden to put on a young girl.

Daniel cleared his throat. “Regardless,” he said, “Attania is what it is now, and that’s what we’re dealing with. The rest can wait. Stenson—Aylard—I need to know what you’ve been doing these past few years. I’m assuming you continued to create your own branches of the Sons of Men, if Tom Jadock was any indication. Why? What was your goal?”

Stenson sneered. “What it’s always been—Attania for the non-family as we designed it. Family is a distorted reflection of our elemental identities, and should never been allowed to propagate for so long. My followers understand that. In fact, your oh-so-progressive King has made my job much easier, as it allows Family and non-family to work together, for the good of Attania. That’s exactly what I’m doing. We work with Family who believe their release from the physical will ultimately be the best outcome for them and Attania.”

“You’re behind all the recent Family releases?” Attan asked, although it made sense now that he thought about it. He’d seen non-family himself at some of these releases, and wondered at their presence.

“I haven’t given up my goal,” Stenson said. “Jet’s dreams can’t change reality, but mine can.” His eyes traveled to Meetoo, stayed there. “It shouldn’t have been possible,” he murmured. “When the spirit took form, it should have been pure, not—like you.” His gaze swung accusingly to rest on Attan. “How could pure elements combine without physical corruption?”

Daniel laughed. “Without sex, you mean? You’d have to ask Meetoo that, or maybe Attan. I can’t see them either.” He forestalled Stenson’s next outburst. “These ladies can, so what does that say about you, oh original one?”

Stenson clenched his jaw. “No more,” he said. “So you have me. What do you intend to do with me?”

“Me?” Daniel asked with a grin. “Not a thing. We know we can’t change your mind. Tried once, didn’t work. So you can try to convince Attan that you’re right.”

It was a risk. Attan knew that better than Daniel. Half of him already believed Aylard. But Jet and Daniel both had faith in Attan. And there was Elea to consider. And Meetoo. “You’re free to leave,” Attan said. “But I hope you’ll stay for a while.”

Stenson chuckled wearily. “You’ll follow me if I go, won’t you?”

Attan shrugged. “How else can I learn about you?” he asked.

“Fine. I’ll stay. For now.”

Emma clapped her hands. “Old Spirit,” she called Stenson. “Young Spirit, and New Spirit, and Old Spirit.” She took Stenson’s hand and led him down the hill, talking to him all the while.

Attan followed, along with Meetoo and Elea. It just occurred to Attan that if Stenson was going to stay in Midver, he’d have to stay in the one-room house with Attan and Meetoo. Wonderful.