"Thank you, Colonel. We'll be there in ten minutes."
* * *
Lexsi
"What's this floating in the water?"
It was Kory's voice, saying something strange. I almost opened my eyes, realized I must be dreaming and allowed sleep to capture me again.
"Ground oatmeal," came the reply, as if it were from far away. I ignored it and went back to sleep.
* * *
Kordevik
Kell's eyes met mine; he sat at the other end of a rectangular pool, cross-legged, as if he'd been meditating. "Why ground oatmeal?" I asked. Yes, it was difficult for my Thifilathi to form the words, but not impossible.
At least my back, arms and chest were no longer on fire, although I could still see the dark indentations left by the fire net on my skin—when the layers of oatmeal parted, the water was clear enough to make them out.
Lexsi lay against me in the crook of my arm, her forehead resting in the hollow between my neck and collarbone.
Her net marks were more pronounced, since her Thifilatha was silver and the net burns were black. I was grateful they weren't crusted with blood; someone had likely seen to it that the pool filtered all that out of the water before filling it with ground oatmeal to help with the burns.
Lexsi had slept most of that time, until I'd almost wakened her when I spoke.
Fire net burns were serious. Fire nets could kill. Somehow, the enemy had gotten one, when that shouldn't have been.
Those in existence were closely guarded by the High Demon army on Kifirin.
Except this was Kifirin in the past, I reminded myself. A time when both Croth and Drith Houses were in full flower. Many of them were in Kifirin's military, and long before Jaydevik and Glinda took the throne.
Fuck.
Croth and Drith had almost destroyed Kifirin. Would almost destroy Kifirin, in less than three hundred years from when I currently was.
Have you identified the warlocks or the Sirenali? I sent to Kell. Hell, he was a mister. Made sense that he could also be a mindspeaker.
No identification on them, Kell's mental voice was clear. Impossible to tell from where we are.
True, I allowed my eyes to close as I breathed a weary sigh. Earth wasn't even aware that there were vampires and werewolves living among humans, let alone know that there were other planets with other races living upon them.
Where are the bodies now? I asked.
Opal sent them to a guarded facility for examination, Kell replied. The Secretary of Defense is helping her as much as he can. The President and Secretary of State have their heads up their posteriors, he added.
No surprise. I breathed against Lexsi's damp hair, hoping she didn't feel cold in the water. The pool wasn't heated. As far as the burns went, that was a good thing. Cool water was the best solution for a net-burned High Demon.
When she woke, I intended to thank her for getting the net off me so fast. If she hadn't, I could have died. She couldn't have turned to mist to get me out of it, either. The net burned into the skin and had to be ripped out at times, just to separate it from the High Demon in question.
Legend had it that Kifirin himself designed fire nets. If that were true, I was ready to curse his ingenuity. Certainly, no High Demon that I knew could manufacture them. They were practically indestructible, from everything I'd heard in the past about them.
What happened to the net? I asked.
Ask Opal. She knows. I wasn't there when she had the thing removed. As you've probably guessed, the warden was obsessed. He and many underlings are now imprisoned for this attack on a government official.
I hope it's buried deep, wherever it is. I never want to see another of those things touch Lexsi's skin or scales.
I never wish to see another touch either of you. Opal told me I couldn't have extricated you from it by turning you to mist—that it had already burned into your scales and skin. Turning you to mist would mean turning it to mist, too.
Yeah. I get that. Lexsi burned her hands pulling it out of my skin.
We will see that the young one receives the best of care. You, too. Without your particular talents, the warlocks would have gotten away. The Sirenali were determined to kill all of us; it makes me think that they may have been young, too, and had obsession placed by an older one. During the entire debacle, they never spoke.
Check to see if they still have their tongues, I snorted, watching the smoke I'd breathed drift away on the cool air. At least the pool was enclosed, even if the wood and brick structure around it wasn't heated in any way. It kept Lexsi and me away from prying eyes.
If you are well enough in a day or two, we will return to California. I believe Anita has been calling the Director every half hour to check on you and Lexsi.
Tell her we're fine. Lexsi's sleeping and I don't want to disturb her. While she sleeps, she heals, I said simply. It was an old High Demon saying, and a very, very true one.
* * *
Lexsi
I'm hungry. The words formed in my mind before I recalled that others could hear them.
"Baby, we'll feed you if you'll open your eyes," Kory's lips grazed my ear. "Tell us what you want and we'll do our best to get it for you."
My eyes opened; I blinked several times so I could bring everything into focus.
Kory and I—we were in a swimming pool filled with what looked and felt like oatmeal.
"Better for you to heal with," Kory's warm breath informed me before pulling away. I realized then that he'd been keeping the rest of me warm; cold water rushed in to replace his warm body against mine.
I wanted to pull him against me again and cling to him like a barnacle on a rock.
"Where did the fire net come from?" I asked instead, my voice rough as I shivered in cold water.
"Baby, we don't know. The four that brought it in are dead, so they can't answer any questions," Kory said, standing and stretching before pulling himself out of the deep end of the pool.
Water dripped from his wings and body as he accepted a very large towel from someone.
"If you can climb out, now's the time," Opal said behind me.
My Thifilatha's silver scales couldn't show embarrassment. If I were humanoid, my face would be flaming. Kory stood above me, completely naked, while I huddled in the pool, just as naked.
Instead of attempting to climb out of the pool, I dropped my face into my hands. The pain that surged through me had me yelping and dumping both hands into the water again.
They hurt—as if they were still burning.
That's when the tears came.
"Baby, no," Kory was back in the water, getting wet again just because I couldn't behave like an adult and not cry at the state of my hands. "Sweetheart, it'll take time—you handled that net, over and over, to get it off me. Your hands will heal, it'll just take time." Kory rocked my body against his.
What if he were wrong?
What if I could never cook again?
I wanted to wail louder at the thought. Instead, I sniffled and shook against Kory, while he tucked hair behind my ear and kissed the top of my head. I knew I looked a mess, my hair and wings draggling in the water while Kory did his best to stop the tears.
"Kell, we'll have to feed her; her hands are so bad she can't hold anything to feed herself," I heard Opal say.
"We will feed her for as long as it takes," Kell's voice answered.
I felt helpless as I collapsed against Kory and sobbed.
* * *
"This is a natural, aloe-based gel," the werewolf physician informed me as he wrapped my Thifilatha's hands later. Kory had fed me soup and a sandwich; I was still Thifilatha to ensure a faster healing. And, as he was Thifilathi for the same reason, the soup bowl was a large, stainless-steel bowl with a half-gallon of chicken noodle soup in it, while the sandwich was a large French loaf cut in two, lengthwise pieces and piled with ham and turkey.
"Soup and sandwich, High Demon style," Kory called it and fed me with the largest coo
king spoon Opal could find.
Then the werewolf physician arrived, assessed the situation and opted to wrap my hands with the healing gel and gauze. He said our other burns were healing quickly on their own and with one or two more sleeps, we should be well enough to go back to humanoid.
"Leave your hands wrapped," the physician said. "I'll allow a bath tomorrow. We'll remove the gauze then, check the burns and re-bandage, as necessary."
"Baby, will you let me comb your hair?" Kory asked, once the physician packed his things and left.
"I feel like a mess," I hung my head. "I can't even brush my teeth or anything."
"We have mouthwash for now," Kory gave me a lopsided grin. "Teeth brushing is for later."
It took more than an hour for Kory to comb out my hair, which still held bits of oatmeal in it. He was so gentle during the process that I fell asleep after the first half hour.
Chapter 6
Kordevik
"Her hands were burned repeatedly, when she pulled that net out of my skin and scales," I explained to Anita. Lexsi was asleep in her bed and had been since we'd arrived home an hour earlier. "Some of those burns went to the bone," I added.
We were back to humanoid, although Lexsi's hands were still wrapped in the healing gel provided by the werewolf physician in New York.
"That hurts, just thinking about it," Anita grumbled.
"How's Watson?" I asked.
"Hmmph," Anita snorted.
"Please tell me he's not still hung up on that fucking, two-faced girlfriend," I said.
"I don't know what's up with him. I just cook and clean around him, that's all." Anita tossed up a hand as if to say she'd given up on him.
"I can rip an ear off—or blister it when I yell," I offered.
"Don't intervene on my behalf," Anita said. "If he doesn't wake up and smell the bacon frying after a while, then we're done."
"How's Sandra?"
"Sandra's fine. She and Mason are getting along like a house on fire. Sorry. Didn't mean to use that particular saying," Anita winced.
"No problem. Just don't say fire net, okay? That's what caused the problem. Ordinary fire is nothing to a High Demon. Tell me about Sandra and Mason. I need a good, cheerful story." I lifted the bottle of beer I'd hauled from the fridge after getting Lexsi settled in bed. The cold liquid felt good as I swallowed it.
"Not much to tell, yet, but there have been lots of long conversations between those two, followed by plenty of glances and sighs, if you know what I mean. If her now-deceased husband weren't so deceased, Mason would probably deal with that problem himself."
"I see." I took another swig from the bottle. "What about Farin and Tibby?"
"Tibby's in constant training mode because this is a championship fight. Farin follows him to the gym every day and stays until he's done. Most of the time, that's late. Two more cousins and Tibby's brother have joined Diego in providing bodyguards for both Farin and Tibby. After that debacle you had with the opponent's fight promoter in D.C., they're making sure nobody approaches Farin that they don't know."
"Good for them," I said emptying the bottle and rising from my barstool to get another. "The way I feel right now, I'd probably kill Charlene Devangi if I saw her. Tibby's family can keep her away from all of us."
"Tibby's abuela is coming to the fight. I hear that's a big thing with all the rat shifters."
"Maybe she's a legend or something in their community."
"Maybe." Anita pursed her lips and considered that for a moment. "Tibby's never said her name—he just calls her Abuela."
"Have you looked him up by his real name?" I asked.
"Everybody knows Tiburon Snark Demonio Diaz. You don't have to look him up."
"Maybe somebody mentions his mother in all that. If that's true, maybe you can go backward and get to his grandmother."
"You know, you're pretty good for a thickheaded High Demon," she pointed a finger at me.
"Wow. That's faint praise if I ever heard it." I popped the top off my second bottle of beer and drank a third of it in two swallows.
"Sunset in two hours," Sandra walked into the kitchen. "Any more of that?" she nodded at my bottle.
"Plenty. Somebody restocked," I said.
"Mason went shopping last night—I gave him a list," Anita said.
"Good for him," Sandra sighed and headed for the fridge.
"We can't let people starve while Lexsi is recovering—especially Lexsi," Anita said. "She needs good food to get better."
"I hear that," Sandra agreed as she bent down to search the rows of bottles at the bottom of the fridge. "I'm a decent cook, but I've never seen anybody who can turn food into a masterpiece like she can."
It made me chuckle as I considered telling Anita that I'd fed Lexsi's Thifilatha soup from a large, stainless-steel bowl, to get enough food into her. I decided to save it for later—when I could tease Lexsi with it.
"What about the three prisoners in New York?" Anita asked, changing the subject.
"Petty criminals, exchanged for bigger and badder," I said. "They should be in jail, just not on life sentences," I added. "Opal and Kell took care of it after the warden and a few guards were arrested."
"Sick," Anita shook her head. "I hope they're not thinking about asking either of you to go to another prison. Ever."
"They're not. Opal says they have to come to us from now on, at a place of our choosing and they won't know the location until ten minutes before they arrive."
"Good. No more of this attack shit. If I had my hands on Laurel Rome, I'd," she pounded the kitchen island with a fist.
"I feel exactly the same," Jamie walked in wearing sweats and a T-shirt. The T-shirt was soaked in sweat—he'd been working out.
"Tibby and his family hauled equipment to the house. Said we could make use of it, as it was cluttering up his gym," Jamie shrugged. "Treadmill, weights, that sort of thing."
He'd done it for Lexsi and me, because that's how we exercised, for the most part. I was glad others in the house were getting some use out of it, too.
"Keeping yourself busy?" I asked, holding up my bottle and silently asking Jamie if he wanted a beer. He nodded and took a stool beside Anita. I rose to get him a beer.
"I'm busy enough. Checking stocks and investments. Winnowing out good from bad. This way, when I can access the money in my hidden account, I can build up my portfolio again. Laurel destroyed what I had."
I popped the top off the bottle and set it in front of him. He nodded his thanks and drank.
"Was that letter you got the insurance check for your Jeep?" Anita asked as I took my seat again.
"Yeah. I guess I'll go out and find something new," I shrugged. "I'll need something besides Lexsi's TinyCar to get around in."
"I'd like to go with you, if you don't mind," Jamie perked up.
"No problem, man," I said.
* * *
Lexsi
The last four days had settled into a new routine. I slept until my growling stomach woke me. I'd be forced to let Kory feed me, because my hands were still swathed in gauze. Then I'd let someone remove my bandages, take a shower, get re-bandaged and go back to sleep.
At least while I slept, I didn't worry about not being able to use my hands, which still looked awful. Instead, I dreamed of my family. Of Bel Erland, my Karathian warlock half-brother, who'd somehow gotten himself engaged to a winged woman.
At least he was engaged in my dreams. I had no idea whether it was real or not. I'd spent my last year on Avendor before the wedding date at SouthStar. Nobody gets in or out of SouthStar without the owner's permission. An impenetrable boundary lay about SouthStar's groves and without the owner's or the Second's permission, nobody could get through, no matter how strong or talented they were.
I'd guessed that Mom and the others knew I'd try to run, so I'd been hauled from EastStar to SouthStar the year before the wedding without any warning beforehand.
News had been spotty as a result. I admit that I co
uld have sent mindspeech to Mom, Dad or Uncle Edward, but I was pissed at all of them and didn't try. I still got my training from Uncle Sal at SouthStar—his best friend owned those groves, after all, although he was seldom there for anything, including meals and harvests.
Shoving covers aside with bandaged hands, I headed for my closet to find a robe. Fixing rumpled hair was out of the question, so I shrugged into the robe and left it loose over my pajamas before skipping into the kitchen.
Kory was having a beer with Jamie and Sandra while talking to them and Anita. "Baby, sit, I'll find something for you to eat," Kory rose from his seat.
I wanted to tell him I wanted steak and pasta, but there probably wasn't anything in the house to make either.
"Yeah." I held up my hands, frowned at the thick bandages and allowed Kory and Anita to herd me toward Kory's barstool.
"Here," Anita set a glass of juice in front of me. Kory lifted it to allow me to drink. Enough, I sent after a few swallows. Kory set the glass down.
"What do you want for dinner, onion?" Kory asked.
"Steak with mushroom sauce and pasta," I sighed, lowering my forehead to the granite island and letting it settle there. My hands were useless. If I were whole, I'd already be working on what I wanted. Nobody here knew how to make what I wanted.
"I think we have T-bones, will that work?" Anita stood at the fridge with the door open while she turned back to ask.
"Good enough. What about mushrooms?"
As it turned out, we had everything we needed. I had to walk Anita, Sandra and Kory through the making, though, while Jamie watched. After a while, when the scent reached Watson wherever he was in the house, he wandered in.
"You need your furry tail pulled," I snapped as he sat beside me.
"I probably do," he agreed. "Is there more beer? Please say yes," he said.
* * *
Peru
Laurel Rome
"What do you mean, they're all dead? All four of them?" I narrowed my eyes at Berke. I hadn't told him, but I was beginning to regret that he had Jamie's body. The Berke I'd fucked early on had a younger body. Now, he only had a younger brain.
A Demon's Work Is Never Done: Latter Day Demons, Book 2 Page 8