Free The Land Beyond All Dreams by Bryan Fields Page A

initiated the lockdown.”
    “All right.” I looked at Rose and smiled. “Email the details to me tonight. My girlfriend is a Dragon. If she likes the numbers, then I’ll listen to my lawyer.”
    “A Dragon, huh? That’s cool. My ex is one of those killer robots. Whenever I go to pick up the kids, she starts screaming ‘Cas-ter-ate! Cas-ter-ate!’ Anyway, I’ll get the offer to you in a few minutes.” Carlos paused and added, “It’s been nice working with you, David. Good luck.”
    I called my folks while Rose reviewed the numbers. Mom was not sounding good, and I started feeling increasingly guilty about turning down Thain’s offer. Shut up . It was a bullshit offer anyway .
    Right on cue, her maternal superpowers kicked in. “What’s going on, David? I can tell you’re thinking about me. No sad thoughts, young man.”
    “I’m not sad. This is anger. This guy made a stupid comment and I’m trying to move past it. It’s just…not easy.” I fell silent, but Mom out-silenced me. “He offered to cure you if I looked the other way while he hurt a lot of innocent people. And, yeah, I think he could have done it. I told him to piss off.”
    Mom said, “Good. If you’d given in, I’d have smacked your backside till you couldn’t sit down. You do what’s right and don’t worry about me. Never let anyone use me against you, ever.”
    “Did you hear the part about actually being able to do it?”
    “I did, and my answer is still no. No fate but what I make for myself, David. If it comes up again, remember that. No fate but what I make.”
    “I know. I’m in the same situation. I got offered early retirement tonight. Time to choose my fate, I guess. Rose is looking over the numbers now.” As I said that, Rose flashed me a thumbs-up. “Rose says the numbers are good. I’ll run it past my lawyer tomorrow. If he signs off, I think I’ll take it.”
    “If Rose likes it, you’re probably set. Let me know what happens.”
    I promised I would and we said our goodbyes. The next day, on advice from my lawyer, I drove into the office, signed more papers, and turned over my work computer. The security guards escorting me off the property wouldn’t even look me in the eye.
    For the first two days of my retirement, I tried keeping an eye out for any news reports that might indicate where Thain had gotten off to. That turned out to be useless, so I spent the third day watching more Japanese game shows. Over dinner, Rose gave me a gentle smile and said, “Find something to do with yourself before I tail-whip you into next week.”
    “I’m sorry,” I said. “I haven’t had centuries to master the art of graceful indolence, or get my degree in competitive napping.”
    “I wasn’t suggesting anything as advanced as that,” Rose replied. “I was thinking you might want spend some time in church.”
    “That certainly came out of nowhere.” I set my fork down. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
    “The monastery of Stonewall is open to all races. The monks teach basic fighting skills to anyone who asks. You could spend a few months there and really learn something about using a sword.”
    “Stonewall, eh? I suppose that’s a good, Dwarven name.” I shook my head. “It sounds tempting, but I’m not too bad with a sword as it is.”
    Rose smiled and patted my hand. “You’re very good at fighting other unskilled people using heavy sticks. You’ve got enough skill for Kindness to work with. I’m talking about actual skill, training with a war priest. How many people in that Society of yours would leap at the chance?”
    I started to shake my head, but the idea took root and started spreading. “Three months there, three days here. It could work. I guess I could live with a bunch of hairy guys for a few months.”
    “Hairy girls, too,” she said. “Dwarven women grow beards as well. The married ones have rings braided into their moustaches, so leave them alone.” She grinned at me and