Homecoming

Homecoming

## Blurb

**Finding The Way Home Can Be Deadly**

It starts with an article from Jason's crank file. Some campers have discovered an unconscious "space alien" in the wilds of Colorado.

Every mention of the story quickly vanishes from the internet--but not before Alastair Stone gets a look at the single, blurry photo.

The "space alien" looks tantalizingly familiar...

Stone's going to need some heavy-duty help to get her back where she belongs. Help he doesn't even know how to reach. And things get even more complicated when he discovers how she got here—a revelation that catches the interest of yet another powerful friend.

To make this right, Stone must not only walk a tightrope between two brilliant, potent, and relentless allies and their competing goals, but also keep them from finding out about each other.

And finally, at long last, he's about to learn some truths about himself that make everything that's come before look trivial by comparison.

If he survives the experience, his life is about to get *very* interesting

## Plot

Liria, a Traveler in the Wastes of Calanar, is caught out away from her clan and, with her sister, is fleeing the approach of a deadly manastorm. Her sister falls and is torn apart by the wild magic. Liria is sure she will die, but she sees Talented not far away, staring at a strange glowing circle. Belatedly seeing the manastorm, they also try to flee. Liria makes a desperate lunge for the circle just as the storm devours the Talented.

In the Colorado mountains, a group of young adults, attracted by a flash of light, stumble on a strange girl lying on the forest floor. Her green hair, gray skin and slight form immediately make them think ‘alien’. She’s hurt and unconscious, so they take her to find help, but not before uploading a photo to the web.

## Quotes and One-liners

Involving Trevor Harrison in a problem was the equivalent of aiming a tactical nuke at a gopher infestation: the problem would unquestionably be solved, but you might not like the fallout.

“Who is ‘Scotty’?” Stone laughed—he couldn’t help it. “You have got to start watching more television, Mr. Harrison.”

“Al,” Jason growled, “if you don’t tell me what’s on your mind right fucking now, I’m gonna see how my fist aura resonates with your jaw aura.”

Stone on the dragons being unable to prove their claim: "I could tell you I’m really a twenty-foot-tall rabbit made of marshmallow fluff.”

Alastair admits to Jason that he and Verity are no longer a couple then, to get off the topic, turns the conversation to Jason’s burst of strength while escaping Melvin Whitworth’s clutches (Blood Brothers). Stone tells him to come by that evening so he can run tests to see what Whitworth’s cocktail of alchemical magic and Stone’s blood has done to Jason. His aura has been altered, so something happened, despite Jason being unable to duplicate the feat. Before Stone leaves, Gina shows him and Jason an article about kids finding a green-haired alien in the Colorado woods. They’re sure it’s a prank, but something about the description prompts Stone to ask her to look for more information, and photos if they exist. When they return from Lunch, Gina checks her search, only to find the original article has been scrubbed, like it was never there.

Stone does a deep magical scan on Jason and is surprised to find their auras resonating with each other. Beyond that, he can’t tell what’s changed in Jason without further study. He also cautions that whatever Whitworth did might be temporary. Jason says that, as disappointing as that might be, he just wants to know what’s going on.

Later, Stone receives email from Gina with a blurry photo she managed to unearth on the web. The pale, green-haired girl triggers a memory – of Jeritha, the Traveler who helped Trevor Harrison’s people and Stone retrieve Harrison from imprisonment by the Talented. He immediately contacts Nakamura but, as always, Harrison is out of touch. He tells Nakamura it’s urgent, and the moment Harrison makes contact, to tell him a Traveler is on Earth, and in trouble.

Stone wrestles with not being able to take action, and even whether he should. Gina gets him the name and number of one of the campers who found the ‘alien’, but his phone is disconnected. Then Stone has a thought: what if a rift is responsible? A check of Desmond’s magical globe – showing a rift in Colorado – tells him he has to do something.

Apologizing to Jason for putting off his testing, Stone travels to Colorado and the camper’s apartment. The man isn’t there, but bystanders offer to have his girlfriend call Stone. She does, but says the guy’s ghosted her and she has no idea where he’s gone. Stone’s more sure now that someone is covering up. On the advice of the girlfriend, Stone meets with the guy’s buddy, who was also at the campsite. He blows Stone off, getting nervous and angry. He says it was all just a prank.

Stone returns to his hotel to find a man calling himself Todd in his room. The man hints that Stone’s ability to travel quickly – and other things – might come under scrutiny if he doesn’t leave  off his investigation of the alien which, of course, may or may not exist. Stone resolves to talk to Jason about burner phones and fake IDs. Too many people were paying attention.

Next day, Stone travels out into the woods and locates the rift. Its energy seems to seek his, feeling familiar. It definitely leads to Calanar. But closing a rift has consequences. Plus, if Harrison didn’t get into contact, Stone would have to try and rescue the Traveler, and would need a way to return her to Calanar. There was also the shadowy mundane ‘authorities’ to consider. He decides to weave a powerful illusion to hide the rift for now. That would prevent anyone finding it – on this side, anyway.

On his way back to California, Stone is contacted by Harrison, so he hurries home and flies to Vegas to meet with him. He tells him all he can, except about the rifts. Nakamura settles Stone in a room while Harrison returns to Calanar to investigate and talk to the Travelers. The biggest concern is time; the highly-magical Traveler would be weakened by the lack of magic on Earth. Stone and Verity chat and Verity admits her plan to create a magical oversight body isn’t going to work, and she’d like to talk more about his thought of connecting more with in-the-know members of law enforcement.

Harrison returns with news that the man who broke into Stone’s room is Matthew Fischer, an agent for a small government agency investigating extraterrestrials on Earth. They have a hidden facility in Kansas where they’re keeping the Traveler. He and Stone use the Nexus to shift to Denver, then set out via car for Kansas. On the drive, Harrison relates that the resistance on Calanar is encountering obstacles; the Talented won’t give up power easily.

Stone relates his series of near-death experiences, knowing that Harrison had survived at least one that he knew of (The Threshold), and asks if Harrison knows why it’s happened. He doesn’t, but admits he knew he was impervious because he’d once suicided by shooting himself in the head, and come back.

When they get within range of the facility, Harrison uses a sophisticated illusion generator to hide them. Then Stone discovers the man can not only levitate, he can fly, as he takes them into the place. Using yet another device Harrison determines the Traveler is underground. He makes short work of guards and other obstacles and the find the Traveler in an isolation room, hooked up to all kinds of machinery. A scientist tries to stop them, but Stone disconnects the tubes and sensors, Harrison picks up the girl, and they shift to Calanar.

Stone waits a bit to see if the girl is OK and chats with Tanissa, who gives him a better idea of the situation on Calanar – the Talented are volatile, with assassinations and intrigue. Tanissa worries another war is inevitable.

Back home, Stone finally does the deeper scan on Jason, but still comes up with nothing to indicate why he had that burst of super strength. He does verify that his magical battery capability is still intact, though. They head to Jason’s new house to do some clearing on the overgrown property. As he’s working, Stone has a hunch and decides to test it, with Amber’s help. He places Amber in ‘danger’ by magically pulling a large tree branch down at her and yelling. Jason flings his chainsaw, reaches Amber in an instant, and literally punches the branch to pieces. The chainsaw ends up embedded in a tree trunk. Jason does have magic, more powerful now after Whitworth’s treatment, but it appears he may not be able to call on it at will, only when adrenaline is pumping.

Harrison returns after questioning the recovered Liria, and is angry that Stone seems to be keeping secrets about how she arrived on Earth. Alastair manages to persuade him to wait a day for answers, then heads to Kolinsky to convince him to let him tell ‘a mage associate’ about the rifts before he does anything rash, like try to close the one in Colorado. Kolinsky refuses, and warns that whoever it is doesn’t have the same ‘scion’ immunity from reprisal that Stone has – without, of course, explaining what that means.

Out of options, Stone calls Verity in to help explain the rifts to Harrison, insofar as she can. She relates what she knows, including about the one she ran afoul of in Wyoming (Gathering Storm). She tells him about the man who warned Stone not to interfere with the rifts, and that Alastair is now convinced closing them is a bad idea. Harrison is adamant, however; the manastorm concealing the rift on Calanar is moving away. Worse, the Talented have been making forays into the Wastes. He must find and close the rift. Stone says there are powerful ‘others’ out there who will try to stop him.

At dinner with Verity, Jason and Amber, Stone vents his frustration at being caught between Kolinsky and Harrison, and unable to stop Harrison from doing something potentially dangerous. Then he has a brainstorm: the thing in Colorado can’t be a rift because Calanar and Earth are in phase. Rifts drift. Unable to reach Harrison, Stone bails on dinner and goes to Kolinsky.

He intends to make a last plea to make an exception to his oath, but Kolinsky points out that, if this rift is stable and not one of the natural ones, the oath doesn’t apply. Stone is about to rush out, saying he’s running out of time to convince Harrison to investigate how it opened before closing it, when Kolinsky offers an assist. He can get Stone to Colorado quickly, if he agrees to let Kolinsky block his mind from awareness of how he accomplishes it.

Stone ponders this on a rideshare trip from Gunniston to the woods of Crested Butte where the portal is located. The trip had been instantaneous, and deposited him in a nondescript place in a town Kolinsky was unlikely to have a portal in. That has to wait, though. Once dropped off, he levitates his way to the portal site (he’s sure now it’s a portal) to find nothing disturbed and the illusion intact. Harrison arrives moments later and tells Stone to drop his illusion, because he’ll find it anyway.

Stone asks Harrison to wait and listen. The portal is stable, and was likely created by someone on the Calanar side – the Talented. But simply tearing it down could allow the manastorm to come through to Earth, with disastrous consequences. The two men confer and reach agreement on how to safely close the thing when a newcomer interrupts.

The same mane from Wyoming warns the pair to cease. Stone tells him this is not a natural rift, so the rule doesn’t apply. Then, the man becomes intrigued by the portal, sensing its energy is similar to Stones. Now, he wants to stop them so he can study it – and perhaps the other side.  He flings negligent magic at Harrison and is astonished when it has no effect. A battle erupts between the two men until Stone yells to the man that he’s going to close the portal *now*. The man sends a killing blow at Stone, who manages to shield in time. Harrison, enraged, flings white-hot energy at the man who, screaming, disappears. Stone is aghast that the man tried to kill him.

Stone and Harrison close the portal, then shift to Calanar where Stone has a session in a healing bed. Harrison says he will work on his end to find out who opened the portal, and stop it happening again. Stone is again tempted to stay and study with Harrison, but doesn’t ask. With the Talented at odds *and* trying to reach other dimensions, the man has enough going on.

Back at home, Stone receives a mysterious magical invitation to a meeting where ‘truths’ will be revealed. It also contains an oath element, so Stone can’t tell anyone where he’s going or why. After much debate, Alastair accepts. He drives up to San Francisco to the non-existent address given, and finds a strange door in an alley. Inside is pitch black. Hands and a voice guide him through the black to a room where the lights come up to reveal Kolinsky.

Three others appear, including Madame Huan. They’re all seated on one side of a long table, facing Alastair, like he’s on trial. Kolinsky introduces the other two as Morathi Ababio and Thalassa Nera (who has no reason to like Stone; see Game of Stone). He and Mme. Huan relate that their ongoing contact with him over the years was no coincidence. Stone is an unusually powerful – and curious – scion they felt the need to keep tabs on. The relationships they developed happened naturally from there. Stone asks, several time, ‘scion of what’? The answer is ‘them’. Dragons.

Stone, incredulous, asks them to prove it by growing wings, breathing fire. He gets very snarky, angering Nera. Mme. Huan takes over, calmly relating the history of the dragons exiled to Earth thousands of years prior. (For the full story, see Dragons 101) Forced to take human form, dragons occasionally mated with humans, sometimes producing magically powerful scions. Stone is one, sired by the unusually promiscuous Aldwyn. The last save Ian, in fact; none of the others survived this long. Stone is exceptionally powerful, moreso than Ian though, genetically/magically, that should not be the case. In any case, scions are left ignorant and are considered off-limits. Stone, of course, asks why, then, the blond, tried to kill him.

This comes as a surprise to the dragons, so Stone relates the story, omitting any details about Harrison or Calanar (Though he belatedly realizes he once told Mme. Huan all about them; she seems content to remain silent.). Stone insists he wants to have it out with this Cassius, but Mme. Huan warns that, while young-ish, Cassius is still a dragon and too dangerous for Stone to tackle. Morathi breaks in to say there is a way to settle it.

A scion, feeling wronged, can challenge the offender to a battle of wills, and to whatever end the scion desires, including death. Stone decides to think about it and ask more questions. He learns that Kolinsky’s son, Gabriel, is a dragon. He hasn’t and won’t tell Ian unless exceptional circumstances like Stone’s arise. And Stone is not to inform him - or anyone – of any of this. Alastair catches on that no one has demanded an oath and asks why. Kolinsky explains that the dragons feel they and Stone can have a mutually beneficial relationship. Rift activity and magic are increasing, and Stone is well-placed to handle issues as they arise, both indulging his own magical curiosity, and acting in the best interests of the dragons. If he keeps quiet. The meeting ends with Kolinsky telling Stone to come to his shop if he decides to challenge Cassius.

Kolinsky accepts that Stone wishes to challenge Cassius, and shows him how to travel along ley lines, almost eliminating his need for portals. Stone practices popping all over the world for a while before going to Cassius to issue his challenge. He also finds out that William Desmond had been a scion.

Cassius is cocky and assured but, when they meet with Kolinsky and Mme. Huan – and a new dragon, Vic – Stone offers concession as the end of the challenge. Cassius counters that, if he wins, Stone must tell him all he knows about the Colorado portal. Stone refuses; he won’t divulge information leading anyone to Calanar. So, the challenges becomes ‘to the death’. Just before sending the pair to a pocket dimension for their battle, Kolinsky tells Stone he hopes they can get together for dinner after – and invite their sons.

Cassius and Stone are sent to a small dimension where they won’t have magic when they arrive. Part of the challenge is to regain their magic. Stone realizes, though, that he may not be able to get magic back; he’s in a town on an unknown dimension, with no way to know how to access Calanar’s energy. The dimension itself is steadily crumbling, so there’s little time to improvise.

Stone cobbles together weapons from a hardware store, but Cassius attacks with Molotov cocktails. Stone escapes the flames, but takes Cassius’ knife to the leg. He’s down and Cassius is coming with another knife, when Stone realizes the hint Kolinsky gave him: illusion. Cassius stabs him in the chest and flings him away, but Stone blasts him with Calanarian energy, sending him flying. Alastair rises, unhurt, and blasts Cassius again. Defeated, Cassius concedes and Stone allows it.

Harrison contacts Stone and asks him to come to Las Vegas. Alastair arrives, and Harrisons tells him the Talented have become more innovative and adventurous. To protect Earth from invasion, he must disconnect the two dimensions so the Talented won’t have a direct line to find Earth. This means travel between the two dimensions will become difficult, and Stone’s ability to draw on Calanar’s energy must be adjusted to compensate as the dimensions drift apart. Harrison hopes to reconnect them before they drift too far apart, but cannot guarantee it.

Stone is tempted to go with Harrison to Calanar – it may be his only chance to learn. But he can’t risk not coming back to Verity, Ian and the others. He returns home to his friends and family.