Chapter 90 – EVO
***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***
***Thalia***
He is so cute! I pulled at Isaac’s cheeks, basking in the sadistic joy of an adult pampering a child against its will. You like aunty Thalia, don’t you? Oh, I know you hate me doing this but I am doing it anyway because I want to. Astra, he might be the best thing you ever accomplished. You just have to make more of them as soon as you can.
I already have, Astra replied tiredly while sinking into her couch. There are two more of them waiting to ‘hatch’. And are you trying to say my reproductive abilities outweigh my other accomplishments?
I blinked at her. Weeell… except for hooking up with Magnus there isnt much you-
She pointed a warning finger at me. Don’t say it!
But it was the truth. Who would have thought Magnus would turn out to be a fucking goldmine of political power. As a bonus, he had already saved the clan from an existential threat. Who could say what would have happened if he hadn’t made us aware of Thich’s cooperation with Earth?
We would still be sitting on our asses. Complacent with our way of life while the clans power was slowly subverted from within. Meanwhile, Thich would have slowly outstripped our relevance on Tirnanogs political stage.
If I had known beforehand, I would have taken Magnus for myself callous as that may be.
I touched my chest in fake hurt. Oh, I am so sorry if I scratched your ego! In truth, I was just complimenting our cute Isaac. I can already tell he will have a very big heart once he is grown up.
The emotions and mental impressions I got from children were so pure compared to any adults I knew. Nothing against Astra, but just having Isaac in the same room felt soothing.
Sadly, the boy would have no more of my teasing and wiggled out of my grasp to flee to his mother. He spread his arms expectantly and Astra sighed, picking him up for a hug. Now that he had his parents around, Isaac wanted all the hugs in the world.
Until I read his emotions nobody was aware of the child knowing exactly who his parents were from the moment he was born. Not having them around when he hatched had left him worrying about them all the time.
I love you too, Isaac. But any more than three of you sounds like a very big mistake, Astra mumbled, already tired after just one day of keeping him out of trouble. In hindsight, I can now understand why Magnus blacked out when he heard of the triplets. Let’s just be glad that the zipper mutation messed with my cycle. If I am right, I just have to be careful during winter and I should be fine.
Should I tell her that such drastic mutations to the reproductive mechanism likely came with other downsides? Like, heightened libido during the most opportune time? Then again, Astra and Magnus were comparable to rabbits in their libido, so was there a difference?
I tapped my chin in thought and decided against mentioning it. Astra would have to find out on her own. It wasn’t like I could be certain.
Where is Magnus anyway? I asked, looking around. When I came to visit, only Astra had been looking after the boy. The elders had already returned through the wormgate to meet with the Hochberg leadership.
I would have to join them at the latest when all the formalities were taken care of. Juliana and Skye Rumen had been very clear that they wanted me present when the discussions between Aerie and Hochberg turned serious.
Not to mention, the functioning wormhole was treated like a state secret. Having me, Magnus and Astra simply disappear and no longer attend the negotiations at all would look strange.
Who would have thought that Magnuss breakthrough with the cores would have allowed elder Gilbert to tear the guts out of a worm and get them to work? Then again, he was a skilled craftsman with several hundred years of experience.
So, maybe I shouldnt be surprised at the Frankenstein horror he managed to rig together?
Astra rolled her eyes. Visiting the Mora estate, I bet. Searching for his sister. Magnus wasn’t pleased when he heard from uncle Sullivan that Iv spends most of her free time with her crush.
Is Sullivan tutoring the girl? I asked, surprised.
The Frost’s master at arms? Was he looking out for Iv? Having someone so skilled invest time in a youngster was highly uncommon. Even if Iv was an adoptee of the Frosts. Teresa must have cashed in a few favours for that one.
Yes. Astra sighed. She was already well trained in all things concerning survival and combat from her stay with clan Thich. Sullivan is just making sure she doesnt slack off and, how did Sullivan call it? Ah, yes, rounding out the edges.
So she went all in with Hector already? At least thats how I understand her spending so much time with him. I winced. Magnus will blow like a pressure pot.
On the other hand, it was to be expected. Iv had very few social contacts within the clan. Her adoption by the Frosts hadnt made the other families forget her ties with the Thich, so they kept their distance. Hector also being a social pariah had allowed them to find solace with each other.
One more reason for me not to be there when Magnus catches them fucking in some hidden corner, Astra grumbled. I was there the last time when he blew up and I want no part of it.
Yeah… That hadn’t been pleasant and was partly my fault. It would have been better for Magnus to find out about them in a more controlled manner. Thankfully, Astra had intervened before irreparable damage occurred. Magnus was quite distressed about catching his sister with a guy who he didn’t approve of.
He was very old-school when it came to how he thought about family relationships, but that was also what endeared him to Astra who was an archaic romantic in her own right.
Astra grinned at her partner. But you are a Frost now, you know?
Magnus shrugged. On paper. I will still do my best to preserve our family traditions.
He patted Isaacs head. Do not worry little one. You will learn in time.
There was a hint of some dark undertone in there, making me wonder just what kind of people the Elrods had been. Magnus had described his parents as upstanding if a little bit too law-abiding bureaucrats. Which gained them the attention of the wrong people in the end.
His comment made me wonder what would have happened if Earths authorities hadnt assassinated them. Come to think of it, was the organisation contacting and recruiting Magnus as simple of a story as he made it look like in his retelling of the events?
Why would the members of a secret cabal walk up to some unknown person and tell him to dig into the affairs of his deceased family? Such a thing had the potential to backfire catastrophically.
Unless they had good reason to believe he would take their side in the end. Like his parents being secret members of the said cabal.
I wondered, deciding to look into the matter if I ever got the chance to do so inconspicuously.
I got up and ensured my clothes sat correctly. Just dont be too hard on Hector. I will have to excuse myself in the meantime. I have to get back through the wormgate to Hochberg and attend the discussions between our political big shots. Dont forget you will have to join in tomorrow. Find yourselves a babysitter for our lovely Isaac by then.
Magnus groaned. Please dont call it a wormgate!
I am afraid the nickname is already stuck. Its a wormhole gateway torn out of the guts of a worm. Hence, wormgate, I replied with a small hint of sadistic joy at Magnus’s distaste for the term.
I bade them goodbye and left the young family to figure out their affairs. Normally, a young pair like them would be encouraged to have as many kids as possible. But Isaacs peculiarities introduced just enough complications to make it impossible to simply hand the child to a foster family as it would be normally done.
A molerat carriage took me back to elder Klines estate on the fourth strata where the wormgate was set up for the moment. There were plans to get it to a more easily accessible location for the other stratas, but first, the security aspect had to be handled. For the moment, there was no place more secure.
The Klines had tripled down on their security and hired several hunting teams from the twelfth as soon as the wormgate had proved to be functional. Phenomenally so, allowing a permanent connection between Mount Aerie and the fleets flagship.
Powering the gate was easy enough thanks to the small fusion reactor. The clan had its fair share of worm incursions throughout the centuries and Gilberts strata had never thrown away the gathered resources. According to the artificer, the clan had at least two decades of fission material stocked up.
This was thanks to the gate being relatively small compared to adult worms.
I reached the Klines estate without problems and took the wormgate to the flagship.
Walking through the wavering ring of light felt strange, as it reminded me of being thrown through one of Earths wormholes as a teenager about forty years ago. I had been older than Astra at the time, about to enter university.
I had never learned the reason why I had been exiled and I wasnt aware of my biological parents even possessing the power to piss off Earths authorities. The revelations with the Thich had at least brought me closer to an answer than ever. Maybe I was just one of the unfortunate few who had been chosen for some genetic quirk their scientists were interested in.
Cadence took me from the flagship down to Hochberg, where I spent the rest of the day attending boring discussions between the elders and the matriarchs staff.
***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***
***Mary Frost***
I was warm, relaxed, and at peace with the world. Right until a young, very shrill voice woke me from my slumber, combined with small fingers twisting my cheek.
Mary! Mary! Grandma!
Blinking, I tried rubbing the drowsiness out of my eyes. Wha? Isaac? How would you get in here?
After entirely too much time, I finally realized the child wasnt the only one who had invaded my bedroom. What the fuck are you doing in my quarters!?
Astra fell to her hands and knees, kowtowing with her forehead touching the floor. Grandma Mary! Please! I need… really, really need your help!
Isaac raised his arms to me, clearly expecting to be picked up.
The corner of my right eye started twitching involuntarily as I finally woke up enough to understand what Astra wanted from me.
Things surely weren’t dire enough to invade an old woman’s bedroom!