Category: Immortal Empires

Luc had brought Wulf home with him to protect him from a threat. As the Harbinger, Luc has a well-won reputation in the widespread world of the Thieves' Guild. Anyone  foolish enough to attack him would be swiftly dealt with. In this scene in Luc's home, Luc and Wulf are awakened by someone breaking into their bedroom. Though Luc is armed and ready to shoot, it turns out to be his son, who's come to warn them the power is out and the guards protecting the house are all dead.

Escape Plan

How Luc hated it when he was right about things going wrong. He'd planned for big trouble; hoped for an easy solution.

Wulf stared at Senthys with a blank expression that faded to one of terror. He lurched backwards, glancing about the room like a rabbit with foxes after him.

Luc dashed forward and dragged Wulf up against his chest. "Easy, love. It's all right. I won't let anyone hurt you."

The younger man trembled, but he drew himself up and controlled his chattering teeth. "I—I'm okay. You take care of S-Senthys."

"Hey." Senthys winked at him. "Don't worry about me." He gave him thumbs up. "But you might want to get some clothes on."

Luc handed Wulf his pants. "Shirt and shoes too. We may have to run for it." Luc added his own shirt. "Now you see why I always fold my clothes. Easier to dress and run."

"Run where?" Senthys folded his arms. "There's no way out from up here except the windows in the other rooms."

"You knew we were trapped in here but you came anyway?"

Senthys frowned at him. "What was I supposed to do, leave you? You're my dad."

Luc slipped on his shoes. "We'll talk about safety later." He tucked the weapon in his pants pocket, opened the drawer, and pulled out an extra power clip. "Wulf, do you know how to shoot?"

"I could learn."

"That's my boy. You may have to. I don't want to arm Senthys if I don't have to."

"What!" Senthys faced him. "I can fire a weapon. I've had training. He hasn't."

"And if I need you to shoot I'll give you a gun without hesitation, but I don't want to jeopardize your guild standing if I don't have to."

The Guild took a dim view of using a weapon except in self-defense. Armed robbery, at least on Kelthia, didn't exist. A sad truth that had come about after the death of Wulf's father.

"Wulf, love, open the closet door. Go to the third set of shoe cubbies on the left, then the fourth cubby up from the bottom right. Reach into the back and push."

The rear of the closet swiveled open.

"Oh, cool!" Senthys rubbed his hands together. "A secret passageway."

"Senthys, you lead the way. Here." He tossed him a flashlight from the drawer. "No noise."

"Yes, sir."

Wulf followed him without prompting.

Luc closed the outer closet door, entered the narrow brick passageway, and shut the secret door behind him. A smooth passageway tilted down. Luc brought up the rear.

Wulf waited for him ahead. "So much 'not even Senthys could get in here tonight.'"

"Shh." Luc raised a finger to his lips. "Wulf," he whispered, "would you kindly keep in mind a killer's in the house searching for us at this very moment? Keep your voice down."

At the bottom of the stairs, Senthys stopped before a metal door. "I've never seen so many locks in one place before."

"Excuse me." Luc turned sideways to fit into the cramped space and moved around Wulf. To dry his fingertips, Luc brushed them against his pants and then stroked the topmost lock. "Senthys, hold the light."

"Yes, sir. What system is this?"

He keyed a pattern on the second lock. "A Cyr de Tomasson. Very old, made before the planet Kelthia was part of the Tarthian Empire." He caught Wulf's knowing smile over Senthys' head. Luc had been Cyr de Tomasson in a previous life. This was his invention.

"Wow." Senthys squinted at the locks. "I never thought I'd get to see one of these. Was de Tomasson related to you?"

Luc fumbled the lock sequence and had to start over. "What in the worlds made you think that?"

"The 'Cyr' in the name. Seems like a lot of Kelthian history is about people with that name. I run into it all the time when I'm researching the guild archives for Grand Master de Laney."

Senthys shone the light on the last lock. "Did you put this thing down here?"

Luc hesitated. "It came with the house." Not a total lie. He'd built the house too, in another life.

"Don't you think it's time to upgrade?"

"Modern thieves have no idea how to operate the system. It isn't just a series of locks, Senthys. There are small switches and catches as well." He released the final lock. "Virtually pick-proof. It's safe to say no one in the union these days could break into it."

"Then how did you manage it so smoothly?"

Luc pulled open the door, took the light from his son, and shone it up on his own face. "I'm the Harbinger, remember?" He used the light to indicate the opening. "Let's go."