"Are you saying they had some rational sense left at the beginning of all this?"
"Yes. Opportunities presented themselves. They were ignored."
"You've been watching this for a while?"
"Yes."
"I heard Glinda asked for a favor, and that your price was for her to step down."
"The price would have been nothing had she asked me the proper question, at the proper time."
"What was the proper question?"
"To remove the blinders from Reah's daughters, so they'd recognize their mother. Glinda was selfish in the matter, and rather than acting as a loving aunt, she chose to keep those six for her own."
"You could have done that." I stared at the shelves of bottles behind the bar and lifted my glass to drink.
"And I would have, gladly, had she asked."
"What if Reah asked?" I didn't take my eyes off the bottles, although I considered refilling my glass with power.
"Reah will not ask for anything that is not freely given. She wants her daughters to love her because she is their mother, without anyone's interference. She knows they see Glinda as their mother. Therefore, she will not ask."
Pulling the proper bottle off the shelf and floating it to my hand, I lifted it to let the bartender know to charge me and poured more alcohol in my glass. "I'd have destroyed something or someone if my son didn't recognize me as his father," I confessed.
"I know this." Li'Neruh filled his glass a third time.
"So you stood back and allowed Kifirin to disintegrate," I said, slurring my words.
"I allowed nothing. Those who ruled Kifirin failed to do anything about it. They could have asked. I would have answered."
"For a price."
"Depends on the question." Li'Neruh drank again.
"You're right. You did say that," I nodded. "Kifirin would have demanded a price."
"Because he was foolish enough to put the non-interference rule into play at the beginning. I laid down no such restrictions. If the question or favor is a selfish one, then yes, I will demand a price if I choose to answer or grant it."
"Ah." In my drink-fogged brain, that made sense.
I think.
"I have a question. It's not a selfish question," I held up a hand.
"Lord Morphis, I have no doubts about that." Li'Neruh refilled his glass.
"What will happen to those on Kifirin—the uh, High Demons, who will undoubtedly attack the innocents among them. High Demon and humanoid." I ended the question with an embarrassing hiccup.
"Ah, warlock," Li'Neruh dropped a hand on my shoulder. "Wait and see, my friend. Wait and see."
A credit chip dropped onto the bar as Li'Neruh and the bottle disappeared. I considered at that moment who would be at the palace that might consider taking me home.
I shouldn't have worried.
"Have you had enough, yet?" Warlend clapped a hand on my shoulder. Wellend stood on my other side, rustling red-feathered wings at my drunken condition.
"Who—shent you?" I warbled.
"Zaria."
"Good. Where are we going?"
"Avii Castle until you sober up," Wellend sighed.
* * *
Adelaide, Australia
Opal
I hoped Zaria would arrive before Morgett did. Kell and I were stationed at one end of the tunnel, which provided the easiest access. On the opposite end were Anita, Sandra, Esme and Watson.
Anita would send mindspeech if Morgett showed up there first.
Were you worried? Zaria dropped inside my shield as if there were nothing there.
Why no, I replied without holding back my sarcasm.
And that's why I love you, she hugged me.
Where are Lexsi and Kory?
I'll bring them if it's necessary. Things haven't gone so well for Lexsi in the future.
What happened?
Her father killed her grandfather, and then himself, she said.
I was too shocked to respond. Who'd seen this coming? Had Zaria seen it? Lissa and her other children had to be devastated, too.
Morgett is approaching, Kell interrupted my thoughts.
Here we go, Zaria said.
Showtime, I agreed.
* * *
V'ili
Tall, dry grass, rocks and dirt impeded our journey toward the tunnel entrance. Morgett didn't have a guide to this hiding place the Library had chosen.
He'd instructed all of us not to use power unless we were attacked. Therefore, we traveled on foot up a hillside, searching for the thing Morgett wanted most. Deris tripped on a loose rock and cursed, causing Morgett to round on him with a glare.
Deris raised his hands in silent apology to his uncle, but once Morgett's back was turned, Deris' face contorted into a hate-filled sneer.
Daris reached out to rub Deris' back in a comforting way. Both of them—utterly contemptible and not worth the effort to torture before killing.
There, Morgett's sending interrupted my thoughts. I looked ahead. A round, blasted-out tunnel, half-covered with rusting iron bars and choked with rock and weeds waited. That was our destination?
Perhaps this is what the Library intended—after all, a volcano hadn't kept us away. Nobody would expect it to hide behind this sort of ugly, wasted mountainside.
V'ili, take the lead, Morgett commanded.
Anger filled me, but I stalked ahead of him anyway, prepared for whatever lay in wait.
* * *
Southern Continent, Kifirin
Lexsi
"Onion, we have to go," Kory sat beside me. I'd chosen a slatted, wooden bench between gishi fruit trees to sit and grieve. Somewhere in the groves, Mom and Kifirin walked and talked, and sometimes, Mom wept.
I couldn't bear it any longer, so I'd chosen my bench and asked Kory for some time alone.
"Why?" I knew my eyes and nose were red and my face splotchy from intermittent weeping.
"Because Jayd's sending some of his troops to attack Foth Castle. They need us, baby. They're outnumbered, and you know the humanoids are just fodder to be trampled by attacking Thifilathi."
"Some or all?" Mom and Kifirin appeared nearby, but it was Mom asking the question.
"Aldavik didn't know. All he said was that Full Thifilathi could be seen in the distance, stomping their way toward Foth Castle."
"Then we have to go. Honey, are you prepared for this?" Mom turned to me.
"Yeah. I am," I nodded. More than you know, I added silently.
The Library had promised a source of fire if needed.
I might need it.
Chapter 15
Mutitjulu, Northern Territory, Australia
Morwin
"This is Susan. She's a hen when she changes," Rose introduced the tall, plump resident of Alice Springs to me. Blonde hair was tied in a bun atop her head, and there was a curious cast to her gaze—much like that of a chicken as it examined something or someone new.
"A free-range hen?" I smiled and took her hand.
"A Buff Orpington, and as often as possible," she laughed.
"Susan can help," Rose said. "She can place those bombs in our claws before we take flight."
"Wise," I nodded to Rose. It would take more time if only Yoff and I were there to arm sixteen owls before taking off ourselves. Mutitjulu was quite close to Uluru, and in placing ourselves there, we had a decided vantage point to launch an attack against whatever came our way.
"The air feels so heavy," Chloe came to my side.
She was right; it did feel heavy. Like a thick blanket draped over me when it wasn't needed. The hot air of the Australian outback was stifling, although the sun was setting in the distance.
"Does this happen every time?" Rose asked.
"I can't answer that; I've never gone to war against Ra'Ak or High Demons," I replied. The skirmish in Adelaide was just that—it wasn't even a small battle. An ambush, perhaps, that hadn't turned out the way the enemy intended.
"Can we fly in this?" Ch
loe asked.
"I'm concerned," Rose added.
Their voices sounded thick and slow to my ears.
This isn't caused by High Demons or Ra'Ak, a small voice informed me.
"Yoff," I turned with effort toward the winged wizard.
"On it," he said, his words dragging.
He'd barely gotten us away, the shifter hen included, when the ground we'd occupied erupted in a terrible blast of earth and rock.
* * *
Adelaide, Australia
Opal
Morgett knew he'd been had, and he hadn't even reached the decoy Library. The tunnel and the hillside around it was blasted with his Ra'Ak's power and his giant serpent roared as the rain of rock, dirt and debris cascaded down the hillside.
Zaria had shielded us from the blast, and then sent her request for me to place a protective shield over nearby homes before disappearing.
Yes, we'd all felt the blast at Uluru—it sent shockwaves across the entire continent. Morgett's superior had played him, just as Zaria suspected, and now the grounds around Uluru were under attack.
I imagined that a rogue god had helped.
I'm sure that thought was foremost in Zaria's mind, too.
"What can we do?" Kell asked when I set us down in Esperance, more than thirteen hundred miles away from Adelaide.
We're safe in Alice Springs, Kiarra sent mindspeech. Something terrible is going on at Uluru, though, and we can't get past the power barrier.
"We're going to Alice Springs," I told Kell before gripping his hand and folding space.
* * *
Alice Springs
Morwin
"The Library is protecting Uluru and holding off the Ra'Ak Prince and his allies—for now," Zaria walked into Susan's kitchen, weariness etched across her features. "I have no idea where Morgett and his evil mini horde are."
"Thanks to V'ili, no doubt," Anita grumbled. She, her cousin and two others had arrived shortly before Zaria did. I was more than grateful that Susan's home was outside Alice Springs—the Larentii had enlarged it with power to accommodate all of us.
"It's on the news," Rose informed us as she and Susan joined us in the kitchen. Lifting a remote control, she turned on the small television on a kitchen counter.
"We have no idea, and it is more than frightening," a statesman with aboriginal ancestry told a reporter. "Nobody can get close, and there were a few hikers in the area that are unaccounted for."
"Do you think this has anything to do with the attack on Adelaide?" the reporter asked.
"I have no idea. Certainly no demands have been made. I will say this; my people are very concerned, as this is a holy place to us. The Prime Minister has asked for assistance from surrounding emergency departments, but I fear for Uluru's safety and that of those peoples living near it. We haven't been able to contact them since the explosion. Attempts to fly over result in blank images recorded, or the loss of the aircraft involved."
"Just like Peru," Opal sighed.
"Is it a standoff, then?" Anita asked.
"The Library isn't just going to let them walk in unscathed," Zaria said. "Remember the volcano?"
"What are you not telling us?" Opal frowned at Zaria.
"Something Papa Neff told me," she sighed.
"What's that?"
"That the Library is a record of everything—every person, planet, rock, tree, you name it. That's why it's constantly changing. Nefrigar thinks that rather than allowing itself to fall into the wrong hands, the Library may destroy everything."
My breath caught. How much power did this Library have? Father, did you know this? I sent a silent message into space.
"I really need to go to Kifirin," Zaria sighed. "I'll keep tabs on things here, but I have an idea that things here won't change—at least for a while."
"Need help?" Opal asked.
"Maybe," Zaria said.
"Then take some of us with you."
"All right. Morwin, would you and the owls like to come?"
"I want to go," Susan said. She had no idea what she was volunteering to do, but if Rose went, she wanted to accompany her.
"That's awesome," Zaria nodded to Susan. "Come on, I'll take you. Kiarra can handle things here for now."
"Madame hen," Tamp and Ilya appeared as if called. Tamp dipped his head to Susan. "You will come to our time. In the future."
I swear Susan squawked when she was folded away.
* * *
Foth Castle, Northern Reaches, Kifirin
Kordevik
I won't lie and say I didn't breathe a sigh of relief when Zaria, Opal and several others appeared in the castle courtyard.
In the distance, perhaps a mile away, Jayd's High Demon troops roared in Full Thifilathi.
"They're waiting on more troops to join them—Jayd wants to kill and trample everybody inside these walls," Zaria came toward me.
She looked tired.
"What's going on in Australia?" Lexsi joined us, with Reah right behind her.
"A standoff for the moment, between the Library and Liron's pet Ra'Ak," Zaria said. "Liron is likely in the middle of it, too, and I can't do anything about that without destroying the timeline."
"That doesn't sound good," Reah breathed.
"It isn't," Zaria agreed. "But there's nothing to be done there for the moment. We have to deal with this, first."
"My family," I blurted.
Zaria blinked at me, as if that had just occurred to her, too.
"Give me a minute," she said and disappeared before Opal could protest.
Warde and I wouldn't be the only ones on Kifirin with a death sentence already levied—Zaria would bring my Father and my brothers. Jayd would have a fight on his hands when he attacked.
"Pap's coming with the others," I informed Warde, who'd joined us.
"Good. We need them," Warde nodded. "Lady Reah, are you well?" he asked.
"I'm well enough," Reah sighed. "Lexsi and I will get past this—in time."
"If you wish to talk, I will be available," Warde offered with a slight bow.
"Thank you, that's very kind."
I considered that Kevis Halivar was one of Reah's mates, and would likely know best what comfort to offer.
She didn't say no, a tiny voice informed me.
Warde had offered; Reah hadn't said no.
Shaking off the tendrils of speculation, I clapped Warde on the shoulder and asked him to follow me. Morwin had come with the others, and he and I needed to plan an attack with the Amterean troops that had come earlier, courtesy of ASD Director Kooper Griff.
* * *
Morwin
"Master Morwin," Salidar DeLuca acknowledged me.
I hadn't gained that title. Hadn't even begun to work on it yet.
"Don't worry about it," Kordevik's hand dropped onto my shoulder. "What we have to do now is plan an attack, with your Amterean troops hidden in the tall grasses surrounding the castle."
"All armed with ranos pistols and rifles, I see," I responded.
"It's for the best, as you know," Salidar said.
"Yes. I do know."
"We need to pick off as many of the frontrunners as we can," Kordevik explained. "Jayd won't expect an attack outside the walls. We'll surprise them. He'll give orders to take the castle. There are probably enough High Demons out there to crawl over the curtain walls and parapets like swarming ants. I want to whittle those numbers down as much as possible before they get that far."
"We can certainly help with that," I said. "The troops are dressed in camouflage for the terrain, and have water and ration packs if needed. They know to move out of the way when the time is right, and how to survive in the wilds, if necessary, until the ASD arranges transportation afterward."
"Stay alive," Kordevik said. "Lexsi will take you inside her mist and drop you in strategic spots."
"Ready?" Lexsi appeared at Kory's side.
"Ready," I nodded. "Troops, remember your training. Shoot to kill. Protect your b
rothers."
"Yes, Commander." they chorused and thumped fists against their chests.
Pulling both ranos pistols from the holsters of the camouflaged gear I'd been given, I nodded to Lexsi.
We were airborne in an instant.
* * *
Lexsi
I dropped Morwin's troops, six at a time, at the locations Kory and Warde indicated earlier. They fanned out quickly, in an arrow pattern, so their comrades wouldn't be in the line of fire.
I dropped Morwin and five others last, at the farthest point from the castle walls. Those six were now our front line of defense.
Stay safe, I sent mindspeech to Morwin, hoping he'd hear me.
If this Morwin died, too many things could go wrong.
We're here, Zaria sent as I misted toward the castle. A shiver went through my mist as I passed over the Amterean troops, hidden here and there amidst the tall grasses. It was too much to ask, I think, that all of them would survive.
* * *
Zaria
"We were prepared to help before. Let us help now," Rose stood stubbornly before me, arms crossed over her chest.
"They can help," Tamp said as he gripped my shoulders from behind. "Their owls are so small to a High Demon; they won't be seen as a threat."
"Mother Rose, you know this isn't your country or your fight," I reminded her.
"We know that, but if it weren't for Kory, Lexsi and the others, we could be dead already." Rose wasn't budging an inch.
"Fine. Same plan as before, except Morwin won't be with you," I relented.
"I'll go with Yoff," Esme volunteered. "To carry extra grenades."
"Good. Make them count," I sighed. "Go. Get ready. The moment they reach the wall, you fly. Morwin's troops will be out of the way by then."
"Susan," Rose turned to her friend. "Let's get this thing going."
I watched those two walk away—it was an unusual friendship between a hen and an owl, but I wasn't about to quibble.
* * *
Li'Neruh Rath
Jaydevik stalked back and forth before me, while I stood firm, a close, heavy shield surrounding me. Like him, I'd chosen my smaller Thifilathi for this meeting.
Smoke poured from his nostrils as dark eyes with fire in their depths narrowed in disgust.
He hadn't expected me to come.
"Stop this now, admit it is wrong and Glindarok may return to you," I said. "Use what wisdom you have left and save lives."
A Demon's Due: Latter Day Demons, Book 3 Page 20