seymoure

22.

After pouring himself another cup of tea, the Colonel set to the task of informing his new charges of many details their father already knew.

“I, along with all the Stonedragons before me,” he began, “Head a confederation that calls itself ‘The Inheritors,” a title you will soon understand.”

The boys looked up to their father, who gestured for them to listen.

“Your mother was one of the most gifted and talented members we had ever been thrilled to add to our ranks, until the day when she . . . left us.”

“Was Dad . . .” Mickey began, but the Englishman continued for him.

“Your father was not one of us. He, is, however, a member of another group no less mythic or regarded than are we. But that is a tale for him to tell you, and not I.”

The boys looked again to their father and got a slightly blushing repeat of his previous gesture.

“In the days before man was wise enough or civilized enough to conceive of creating a history, there were Inheritors,” the Colonel began again.

“In a time before any of us can conceive there were creatures that came to Earth, some from other worlds, some from other dimensions and, I am sure, some from realms we cannot even imagine. These were the Gods and demons that litter the mythologies of the world. If you have studied myths in school . . .”

Both boys nodded, with Mickey being the more enthusiastic of the two.

“You remember the Norse, Greek, Roman, Egyptian gods and monsters, some of these at least were of the class I mentioned. Others were not.

“But those who were flesh, albeit un-Earthly flesh often . . .” he looked slightly uncomfortable at this juncture, “Found human women who they . . . fancied and . . .”

“They mated with humans” Mickey said, “Especially the Greek Gods, Zeus was a regular . . .”

“Yes,” the Colonel interrupted, “You know of Hercules?”

“He was the son of Zeus,” David jumped in, making sure no one thought he was ignorant of the subject.

“He was an Inheritor,” the Colonel stated.

“He got super power from being the son of a god?” Mickey asked.

“It can be passed down through either side of the linage, but yes, that is essentially what happens,” Came the answer.

“For an example, the Stonedragon family has been around for millennia, but due to the secret nature of the Inheritors no one outside of a select group even knows we exist.”

“What’s you superpower?” Mickey prodded.

The Englishman heaved a sigh that showed he was not used to dealing with young people.

“My family members, for the most part, have had the ability to cede their consciousness into any inanimate object and animate it.”

“Like the head of your cane?” Mickey jumped in.

“Yes,” the Colonel agreed, “Other examples from history include the Colossus of Rhodes.”

He looked for a moment at the boys and then added, “Well, you don’t think they built a huge statue of a warrior there to just stand and scare off invaders, do you?”

Both boys shook their heads as though they really knew what the Colossus of Rhodes was.

“And the Trojan Horse!”

Ah, here was one they knew.

“Full of Greek soldiers to sneak into Troy!”

“Poppycock!” the Colonel raucously answered, “A handful of soldiers to take a city that huge and fortified? Now talk about the confusion and chaos caused when this giant horse comes to life in the middle of the city and crashes through the gates allowing the Greeks in! But, the story teller had a point to make. ‘Beware Greeks baring gifts!’ Now, that was a story that sold.”

The military man saw he had let himself get more caught up in his story than he had intended.

“But, we inheritors come in two castes,” he returned to his former low key tone, “One, like my family, who pass a trait on down the line. The other group, like that of your mother, can send the ability to present power in a random set of ways. That more than one member of the family got power is not unusual. Many times four or five children can occur who present different forms of power in each child.”

“We have taken you under our protection,” Stonedragon said, “All we ask of you is that we give you a small amount of training and education. Then you can do as you wish with your abilities.”

The doors to the coach opened again, and they were along side the family car. How the huge car had moved so motionlessly that the boys were not aware that they had even started the engine, was beyond them.

“If you agree, as your mother and father already have, we will begin your training in a month at a location decided on later.”

He held out an outrageously large hand for the boys to shake.

Both looked at their father and he nodded back.

The boys shook the Englishman’s hand and then left the car.

Behind them they heard their father say, “Thank you Justin.”

They saw the two men shaking hands, and then heard their father say, “And say hello to your grandmother for me.”

The Colonel smiled, and then looked just the tiniest bit uncomfortable.

The boys made a mental note to add this to the long, long list of things they were going to have to ask their father about on the way home.

“She was something to see when she danced back during the war,” Benjy muttered to himself.

That question suddenly moved high up on the list.