Though his friends didn’t have quite the same visceral reaction that he did, once he explained what he thought the heliograph showed, there was only silence for almost a minute before Raja asked, “So you think what… the Rhulvin took your family hostage? Like, your mom and your dad?”
“Who knows who they have,” Benjamin said with a shake of his head. “This is bigger than that. All this time, I thought they were just taking random people from random places, but if they can summon specific places or things between worlds, then…”
“It can’t be that easy,” Matt answered, “Look at where they summoned our campground. It was out in the middle of nowhere. There had to be a reason for that. If they could just summon whoever, wherever, whenever, then they would always bring new recruits into the heart of their domain and call it good.”
“Maybe,” Benjamin agreed uncertainly, “Until I kinda thought that they had to pick two really similar places in different worlds and line them up, but this…”
“Well, I mean, you are from Fresno,” Raja chimed in, “And that looks like the middle of nowhere to me.”
“So what are we going to do then?” Emma asked, giving Raja a warning look. “It’s not just a trap; it’s a trap for you specifically, Benji. There’s no way we can—”
“We have to,” he shot back. “This is definitely a trap, and it’s definitely Ethan’s doing, but that doesn’t mean we can just ignore it. They’re holding my family hostage.”
“Yeah, and when they kill you, they’ll kill them too,” Matt said sadly. “I don’t see how that’s an answer.”
“I don’t know either,” Benjamin said, “But we’re definitely going for a closer look.”
They argued more after that. They couldn’t divert the army. They needed to think about his safety and stay focused on the larger threat, but Benjamin stood firm. They could either come with him, or they could continue on without him, but either way, he was going.
That was enough to force everyone’s hand, and in the end, they made plans to maneuver the army closer. Despite the apparent lack of enemies, they would disperse it into several units in case the worst should happen. There was only so much Benjamin’s friends could do, though.
He knew that. The most likely reason to put a piece of bait that juicy on the table was so they could drop a bomb or a dragon right on top of him and end their little rebellion once and for all.
However, that didn’t mean he was just going to breeze on by and hope that they didn’t have his mother or his sister in that sprawling blue ranch home, even if they did have an army of ninjas in those other buildings.
None of these thoughts could fight down the angst building up inside Benjamin, and as they got close enough to see some of the details, he was appalled to find out that he recognized some of the other buildings in the odd empty city, too.
Until now, they’d seen the same sort of buildings everywhere they went. Either they were crude structures with thick timbers and thatched roofs made from local materials, or they were the almost beautiful stone buildings that erupted from the earth thanks to magic.
These were neither. They were squarish single-story, asphalt-shingled homes with stucco or vinyl siding like you might see in any town in the world they’d come from. But they were places he’d been before. They were his family home from before he’d gone off to college, and another one was an older place they’d lived in years before his dad had gotten some kind of promotion at work.
There were other places, too, including a sub shop that he seemed to recall also sold pizza by the slice, even if he couldn’t remember anything else about it. But despite all the little details that were coming to mind as he saw the strange assortment of buildings, There were no people anywhere to be seen.
No, that wasn’t correct. As they got closer, there was exactly one person sitting at a table in the gazebo of what should have been his parent’s backyard. They were only able to see them once they got close enough to circle around and start looking for traps.
As soon as Benjamin spotted the figure and pointed them out, Raja used eagle eye, and his expression immediately soured. “It’s Ethan, alright,” he told his friends.
Benjamin didn’t need that confirmation, though. He already knew that was the case. No one else could possibly know any of this. Even though the message had come from Lord Jarris, Benjamin had known it would have to be him. The Summon Lord had destroyed their memories as he’d turned them into soldiers, not archived them for later use.
Only Ethan could possibly remember any of this, and now he was sitting right there like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I could probably hit him from here,” Raja said with a sardonic smile. “You want me to try?”
The man was still over a mile from them, so Benjamin found that unlikely but not completely impossible. Nevertheless, he shook his head. “No killing. Not yet.”
In the end, they approached just like they’d discussed. The army fanned out in a broad semicircle almost a mile away from the ramshackle compound under the command of Raja, while Benjamin, Matt, and Emma went in with nothing but their usual equipment.
Benjamin only brought along a few surprises, including one fist-sized two thousand-carat sapphire in case the worst should happen, and he decided to bring the whole house of cards down. No one wanted that, of course, but it was always good to have a trap card, even if he couldn’t quite remember what that was in reference to.
Raja had wanted to join them, but someone needed to stay behind, and with his ranged powers, he wouldn’t have been nearly as useful as either of Benjamin’s other friends. So, they walked forward slowly, flanking him on either side as they all stayed on their guard while he stayed on overwatch atop Benjamin’s battle turtle.
If this is an illusion, it's a good one, Benjamin thought as he tried to resist the tidal forces of nostalgia and paranoia that threatened to overwhelm him.
He could see the neat semicircular cutout where the overgrown grass of his parent’s front lawn just stopped and made an imperfect seam with the longer native yellow grasses, which had been chopped or burned short for more than a quarter mile in all directions. All the other details seemed right, too.
He kept looking for indications that this had been a decoy made from magic instead of brought here from a place where they used nail guns instead of wands. He saw no discrepancies, though. He could see where the sprinklers had eroded the stucco, and the hedges were starting to die. Even the oil stains of the semicircular section of the driveway that had come across with the rest of the house were just like he remembered.
He expected his mother to open the screen door at any moment and welcome him home. That didn’t happen, though. Instead, when Ethan saw the three of them and raised a glass of lemonade complete with ice cubes, he beckoned them over with a wave.
“You guys look thirsty,” he said as they approached, smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world.
The difference between him and them couldn’t have been more stark. Ethan was dressed in a clean t-shirt and jeans. He even looked like he’d recently had a haircut and a shower; he’d probably never looked better.
Benjamin and his other friends were filthy, by contrast. They were sweaty, tanned, and looked like barbarians or movie extras in comparison.
Matt and Emma both wore armor and though one was dark leather and the other was polished steel, they were both impressive. Benjamin, by contrast, had a few pieces of Rhulvinarian jewelry and a battered bronze breastplate. Other than that, though, he wore a set of generic clothes intended for plantation slaves that had been patched and repatched with lesser creation magic.
Benjamin regarded his friend silently for a long moment before he finally asked, “What is this? What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Ethan smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
As he spoke, he started to pour three more glasses from the pitcher. He doubted any of them had any intention of drinking whatever poison he was offering them. Some part of him was forced to admit that it looked damn good in the heat of the day.
“If you wanted to talk with us, then why did you steal our fucking car,” Emma growled as Matt restrained her from flinging herself bodily at the man that had once been their friend.
“Listen,” he laughed, “We didn’t part on the best of terms, and I think it was very reasonable that I chose to get the fuck out of there rather than melt anyone’s faces off. When last we’d parted ways, we definitely weren’t on the best—”
“I’d like to see you try it, you fucking prick,” Emma spat. The words were fiercer, but the tone was much colder. This was the mood she’d kill him in if they let her.
Benjamin chose to step in between the two of them, knowing full well what a terrible idea it was. “We aren’t here to discuss the past,” Benjamin said, trying to keep his cool. “I want to know why my parent’s house is sitting here in the sea of grass and what you’ve done with them.”
“Why… there’s nothing sinister here, Benjamin. I just thought a little taste of home would make you more reasonable,” Ethan said in a voice that dripped sarcasm. “It’s time for this war to end, right? And we all know that no matter how many fighters you have on your side, you four are the war, so—”
“I don’t think the fighting can stop until everyone is free,” Matt interrupted as Benjamin nodded along.
“Nonsense, don’t be so self-righteous,” Ethan disagreed. “We both know that you can’t break Bound to Serve anymore. That part of the war is done. From now on, everything you do is just murder. There’s no justice to be found. So, we just need to find an accord that benefits everyone and move along.”
“I’d be a lot more interested in whatever it was you were proposing if you told me where my parents were,” Benjamin said finally. Truthfully, he had zero interest in finding an accord with the Rhulvin or with their turncoat friend who now obviously worked for them, but he was willing to play along until he had some idea of what was going on.
“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Ethan smiled after taking a long. “Your dad is probably just watching the TV, Sarah has a friend over, and your mom is making dinner. I’m sure you’ll see all of them soon.”
So they are here, Benjamin thought as a jolt of anger went through him.
“Hostages,” he shook his head. “Why in the fuck would I talk to you about anything while you have my family hostage, man? What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that I don’t want you to kill me on sight,” he smiled wickedly. “And I think now that I have your attention, you can tell your army to stay the hell away, and we can sit down like grownups and have a conversation about what’s in everyone’s best interests, mine included.”