Excerpt: The Broken Legion

Peppermint schnapps.
Trelos adored the abominable concoction; Alair couldn't even stand the sight of the stuff, let alone the smell or the taste of it. He stubbornly pushed it aside and reached for the dry sherry he usually cooked with, trying his best to ignore the bottle's taunting candy stripes.
It had been Julia's guilty pleasure (not that she'd ever seemed to feel guilty about much, Alair sourly reflected), a bottle or two obtained illicitly and tucked away in some secret stash of hers. Eye catching colorful glass bottles, no cheap liqueurs, those. Overpoweringly minty and astringent in taste, an excellent mask for certain... additives.
Perhaps, in a way, he should have seen it coming. It had been one of those weekends, with both Alair Senior and wife gone for the entire week to follow, away on business; as was usual, Alair and Julia had run of the mansion. Alair was about fourteen; Julia had nearly reached her majority and was gearing up for collegiate studies. Of course, that deviant streak of hers had not petered out in the least; if anything it had only intensified, although she still managed to maintain that aura of innocence in mixed company.
At the moment, however, she looked anything but. A sly grin curved her lips and she flipped a data chip between the long fingers of one elegantly manicured hand; from the other dangled one of those candy colored bottles. Alair gave her a questioning look and hurriedly closed out of what he had been doing (Father would definitely disapprove of his son going through his collection of erotic films) and pasted a carefully neutral look on his face.
Julia's grin only widened, her eyes glimmering with some tantalizing secret. "Oh, don't even, Alair," she reproved, letting out a low chuckle. "I know quite well what you were up to."
"And?" Alair replied, endeavoring to keep his voice as bland as possible.
The corners of Julia's eyes crinkled just slightly with good humor. She seemed a little bit looser than usual tonight; doubtless she'd already had a few nips out of that bottle of hers. "Ohhh, I think I may have hit the jackpot," she replied nonchalantly, flipping the data chip once more for emphasis. "Just some of the more interesting titles in Daddy's collection."
Alair boggled. "And you managed to get them all onto that?" In spite of the initial shock, Alair found himself quickly becoming rather intrigued.
"Uh-huh. I see those little wheels turning in your head already." Julia shot him a conspiratorial grin. "Am I good or am I good?" She pocketed the chip with an exaggerated sweep of one hand, rather like a magician. "There, there, little brother, no need to heap on the adulation."
"Do I really want to know what you've unearthed, Jules?" Alair raised an eyebrow.
"Pff. Of course you do." Julia laughed and began to steer Alair in the direction of the entertainment room. Curious and not sure what precisely to expect from his giggling and somewhat tipsy sister, Alair followed.