SNAP: The World Unfolds

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

As we flew through the night, Jean-Louis paced the cabin and replayed the so-far fruitless meetings with the head of the Huszar family.

It seemed that they were not interested in moving into the 21st century.  Felix, Matthias’ predecessor, had gone so far as to cultivate trees that had the truffle fungus.  He’d even planted an orchard of hazelnut and oak trees, inoculating them with the fungus that produced black truffles.  This was a lucrative cash crop for the family and allowed them to build and consolidate their holdings, but they still relied on peasant labor to work their land, and for their own food.

When the Baron suggested to them that they could have a new SNAP bureau in middle Europe, perhaps Ukraine, Matthias just laughed and said they didn’t know the first thing about the media, didn’t want to learn, gathered his bodyguards and walked out.

“Neither Stefan nor I thought that was a productive talk,” Jean-Louis shrugged. 

Being immortals, they figured this was just an opening sentence.  The Kandeskys were looking at making this a change that would produce peace for centuries to come. 

After Matthias stomped out, the Kandeskys and their demons spent the rest of the night responding to Huszar feints and forays. Their shape shifters flew in low over the roofs and chimneys, searching for any chinks in the motion lights.  Small creatures crossed the lawns, watching to see where the motion sensors shot out laser beams.  The feral pigs and werewolves ranged in the forest, searching for any lone demon on patrol.

The defenses held, but the Kandeskys worried that all of their perimeter was mapped, which made it easier to be breached when the Huszars mounted a true raid.

“One of the tasks I have in L.A. is to research defense and surveillance equipment.  We may not be quite state-of-the-art yet.”  Jean-Louis showed concern in the small vertical lines between his eyebrows.

“I didn’t think vampires had worry lines,” I teased and reached out to smooth them away.

He took my hand and kissed it before putting it firmly back in my lap.  “We do have worries; it’s just that we know they’ll go away.  This is concerning us, but it isn’t a war, so we’re bulking up our defenses, not going on offense.  We’re going to keep pushing for a summit.”

“Are you still trying to stir up a coup?”

Jean-Louis looked at me, assessing how much he should share.  He shrugged and laughed. “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.”

I must have looked stunned.

“I can’t tell you everything.  If the Huszars think you know our plans, you’ll be in even more danger.  We’ve identified a few of Matthais’ council who are fed up with his leadership.  Not all of the Huszars believe violence is the way to live.  Stefan is sending demons out at night to get messages to these guys.”

“If the pigs are running, isn’t that iffy?”

“I can see I’m going to have to tell you more. I told you, you question too much.”  He swiveled around, pulled open a drawer in the table next to him, took out a fat roll of paper and unrolled it.  I was looking at a map of the lands around the Baron’s castle.  It was more of a drawing; forests were hundreds of tiny trees and the trout stream a sinuous blue ribbon with a leaping fish. 

“This is a strange map. Where are the roads?  How can you tell the land boundaries?”

“I guess it does look odd to your eyes.  I don’t even notice it.  It’s a copy of one done in1810 when we needed to reach a pact with Felix.  This is just not like what you’re used to.  See these?” and he pointed to thin, spider-web lines.  “These are the roads.  They’re cart trails and hunting trails.  Some were paved and on a new map, they’d show up, but these are paths we’ve used for years so we know where they are.  That’s not what I wanted you to see, though.”

He went over to the desk, smoothed the map out and said “Come here.”

I felt an instant bristle.  It sure sounded like an order to me.  I bit my tongue and walked to the desk, glowering, a look not lost on him. “What now,” he asked, impatience making his voice tense.

“I’m trying to learn your language.  It sounded like an order you’d give to a demon.”

He rolled his great violet eyes and blew out air, flaring his nostrils.  “I’ve talked this way for more than 400 years.  It wasn’t an order, I don’t mean to insult you, but you’ll have to cut me some slack.  I can’t relearn how I speak.”

He must have learned a lot of American idioms over the years; his use of “cut me some slack” tickled me and I nodded in agreement.  “Will do.”

His finger circled a batch of the tiny trees.  “This is the forest claimed by the Huszars.  See, it’s south and west of their castle and village.”  He pointed to huts surrounding a large manor house.  “It’s some of the original oaks interplanted with hazelnuts.  This is where the truffles grow; the primary spot where the feral pigs live.  We seldom track into there.  And the werewolves are predictable, they won’t shape shift without orders...or a full moon.”  Jean-Louis wrinkled his nose and snickered.

“It just takes some care.  That’s why we partner with the demons.  They’re ready anytime, dependable, loyal...”

“Sounds a lot like Boy Scouts,” I interrupted.

“I sure wouldn’t let the demons hear you say that.  They take themselves very seriously.”  He raised his eyebrows.

“The stream is the boundary between our lands and we’ve negotiated a treaty so that our visitors can fish there.  We send a messenger over just before dawn to tell them there’ll be fishermen.  They know enough not to attack the Baron’s visitors.  You were attacked the night before, but the next day when you walked down to meet the guys fishing, you were fine.  Anyone who gets an invitation to the castle, and then is allowed to fish, is a VIP.  Taking someone like that is an instant invitation to war.”

The map showed that the Kandeskys held a vast tract of land around the castle, with outbuildings designated by drawings of their purpose.  Horses were in a stable and surrounding yard, a mill was on the stream, and two villages connected to each other and the castle with the spider-web trails.

“Who lives in the villages?” I asked, wondering about Janos.

“They’re all family members.” 

“Do they do all the farm work?”  I didn’t know of many farm chores that could be done at night. 

He looked at me as though I’d lost my mind.  “Good god no, you ninny,” he snorted.  “We hire people to do that.  I think you must be tired if you can ask a question like that.”

I was tired.  We were somewhere over Kansas and I was running out of steam.

“Go in and get some sleep,” he told me.   “I have work I need to do before we land.”

I hadn’t fully acclimated to day and night changes in New York and knew that once we landed, Jean-Louis would send me home and then spend the rest of the night working.

“I’d rather stay here and curl up on the couch near you.  I don’t know how much I’ll be able to see of you when we hit L.A.”

“Maybe not a lot.”  He looked at me but I couldn’t read him.  “I’m only going to be there for three days, then back to the Castle.  I have some research to do on starting another SNAP branch.  I’ll be asking you for some help, so we will have time together.”

I had to be satisfied with that, so I kicked off my shoes, curled into the corner of the couch closest to his desk and closed my eyes.  His voice on a call with Stefan was a soothing background and I drifted until shrieks, howls, snorts and beating wings woke me with a jolt.

Jean-Louis was coming toward me.  “What were you hearing?  Where were you?”

“The forest, I think,” my voice quavered.  “There was a lot of noise—shrieks and howls mostly—and shapes coming at me.  Flying things.  I felt threatened, but I knew I was safe.  It was like looking at a scary movie.”

Jean-Louis nodded.  “I think you’re beginning to get the sight.”   He took me in his arms and held me the rest of the way to L.A.