"I'm still coming after your ass," Lissa muttered.
"Mom, we're trying to make this into a good thing. Give us credit for that much, at least," Gavril begged. "We're cleaning it up as quickly as we can."
* * *
"Reah? Reah, wake up for me, sweetheart." I knew that voice. Couldn't reconcile it with where I'd been for the past three moon-turns.
"Karzac?" I opened my mouth before opening my eyes. Didn't want the disappointment of not seeing my friend and healer when I did.
"I'm here, sweetheart. Open your eyes for me. Can you do that?" I blinked up at Karzac's face. "There she is. Little girl, you need to take better care of yourself and that baby. I think Garde has her named already."
"Baby?" I was about to panic. Who said anything about a baby? Karzac had to be wrong. Had to be.
"Tory's daughter," Karzac said.
"Nooo," I moaned.
"Baby, it'll be all right. Your Em-pah will help take care of her," Lenden was there. "Little squirrel, I really am your Em-pah. I'm Denevik Lith, baby. If you don't believe me, ask Gardevik. He knows. Jayd and Glinda are on their way. I haven't seen Glinda in fifteen hundred years or more."
"Reah, do not faint again," Karzac muttered. "Do not place more on her right now. Do not," he snapped at the others. The healer had spoken and everybody else was backing off.
"Aurelius?" I was nearly in tears, now.
"They're trying to get him back—he's off on assignment. Jeral offered to take his place so he could come see you, baby," Tory put an arm beneath me and helped me sit up.
"I removed the birth control implant—it was completely drained," Karzac said, handing me a drink. Now I knew why they'd been shoving those things at me for weeks—they'd all known I was pregnant and neglected to tell me.
"Where are Farzi and Nenzi?" I demanded.
"Here, our Reah," Farzi and Nenzi came to stand behind Tory. "All here. We not leave."
"I don't suppose any of you would bite Teeg for me?" I wiped tears away. Of all the betrayals, that hurt the most. How had he done this? How could he be Gavril? I couldn't call him Chash. Would never call him that. Ever. How had he been in two places at once? It made my head hurt.
"No. He save us. Like Reah save us," Nenzi said softly.
"Karzac, when will I feel good again?" I covered my eyes with a hand.
"Not for a few days at the least," Karzac pulled my hand away. "Reah, don't let this bother you. Lissa has sent mindspeech; this involves Kifirin, somehow. Do not blame Gavril overmuch. Wait and talk to him before you worry over this."
"Keep him away from me," I muttered.
"Kifirin?"
"Gavril."
* * *
"She's asleep," Tory spoke softly as Wylend and Lendill entered the bedroom. They'd put her in Tory's bed. It was his baby. He was trying to come to terms with the fact that he'd fathered a child.
"That's only natural, son," Gardevik followed Lendill inside. He'd read his son's mind easily.
"I need her up as quickly as possible—my father is demanding that I marry her on the family grounds," Lendill sighed, sitting heavily on the side of the bed. "She looks so pale." He stroked Reah's hair carefully.
"Your father? I didn't know you had one," Wylend smiled at Lendill.
"Oh, I have one, all right. He makes his presence known upon occasion."
"Not wake Reah," Nenzi called from a corner of the room.
"Is that?" Lendill peered into Nenzi's corner. Nenzi and Farzi were still humanoid, the others that came forward with them were all lion snakes.
"They, uh, won't leave. Karzac said she needed to be watched over so they are her self-appointed guards."
"We guard Reah since before she marry Teeg." Farzi pointed out.
"We'll have to get used to that," Wylend sighed. "Who gave him that name anyway?"
"No idea. Ry's coming in—he and I want to wrestle with our little brother," Tory said.
"I wouldn’t try too hard—I think Teeg San Gerxon might show all of you a thing or two," Garde pointed out.
"No try to harm Teeg. He will show you," Farzi said.
* * *
"Norian, I know you can fold," Gavril argued. "Mom did that for you when Ildevar Wyyld let her out of being Liaison ten years ago. We'll go, check to see whether the core has been tapped and come back." Lissa, Gavin, Tony, Norian and Lendill were all inside Lissa's study, with Astralan and Stellan. Galaxsan and Celestan were preparing Gavril's suite. The reptanoids had refused to budge from Reah's and Tory's suite. Denevik was talking with Jayd and Glinda over a late meal.
"You can tell that quickly? About the core?" Norian asked. He'd had to use sensitive scientific equipment that could take days to determine if the core was weakened.
"We know what to look for," Astralan replied. "It's a power leak and we can feel it."
"Then let's all go," Lissa stood. "I don't want my son out of my sight so soon, even if he does look a little different and a lot older than he did before. I don't know how Tory and Ry failed to see this." She ran fingers through Gavril's hair.
"Mom, they weren't looking for this. I was safe at home the whole time they worked with me. Remember?"
"I'm still kicking Kifirin. I don't care how good his motives were," Lissa grumped.
"Mom, there's something else."
"What's that?" Lissa looked up at her son, who was now as tall and broad across the shoulders as his father.
"I had a chip implanted in Reah's collarbone. It keeps her from skipping and sending mindspeech. That's how I kept her with me the past three months. I don't want to remove it until she's comfortable with all this. I don't think we need to go hunting for her after she skips away because she's pissed at me. Not while she's pregnant, anyway."
"So, that's how you did it. Gavril, I'm not sure how I feel about that. Aurelius may pound you and I can't say that I'd blame him."
"Aurelius?" Stellan asked.
"Former vampire. Works with a different race, now," Gavril sighed. "You don't want to tangle with any one of those. They can beat your head in if you harm their mates."
"Not to mention that he's my sire," Gavin spoke for the first time. He'd been content to listen while he attempted to come to terms with his son being what he was.
"That's not complicated or anything," Astralan snorted.
"Oh, we haven't gotten to the complicated part," Lissa smiled. "Wylend will be asking the moment the ASD lets Reah go, and Lendill will be marrying her as quickly as possible."
"Vice-Director Schaff?" Astralan lifted an eyebrow.
"That would be the one."
"Has Reah consented to all this?" Gavril asked.
"No idea," Lissa said. "Maybe you'd like to ask her?"
"Mom, I think she wants to kill me, right now. And when she discovers I don't want the chip out, well, that'll make it worse."
* * *
"Glindarok, he didn't tell me what he planned," Denevik swore. "Tarevik said he wanted to make father see sense—that he or Brenevik could rule if he'd only find a mate for them. That was all I heard. Then Tare asked me to go to the Southern continent to check on our cane farms. That's when he put his plan into action. When I got back, all I could see was the devastation. I had to ask Bren what happened. When he told me, I called him and Tarevik fools. I was ready to kill them both, but they'd kill me first and I knew it. I skipped off the planet and I haven't been back since."
"Rorevik had those two put to death and it wasn't pretty," Garde joined the small group in Lissa's arboretum. "If Kifirin hadn't come to tell us that you weren't involved, I would have killed you the moment you showed up."
"I know." Denevik ran a finger down the glass of wine he'd been served. "I ask that you treat my granddaughter well. She doesn't know anything about any of this."
"Denevik, you are the last of my kin," Glinda placed her hand over his, surprising him into meeting her eyes. "You have no blame in this. Come to Kifirin with us—we will find you a place there."
&n
bsp; "My place is with my granddaughter," Denevik sighed.
"She may be joining us—I don't like the idea of a High Demon female being born anywhere except on Kifirin," Jayd said.
"Is Norian Keef going to release her from the ASD? She still has two months' service owed," Glinda pointed out.
"No idea," Garde raked a hand through his wealth of dark-brown hair.
* * *
"Farzi, we won't get into trouble, I promise." I was hobbling through Lissa's palace on my way to the kitchen. I wanted something to eat and didn't intend to allow anyone to stop me. Farzi, Nenzi and all their brothers followed me. They'd taken their humanoid shapes again—we didn't want to frighten the guards.
"But Reah needs to rest," Farzi muttered. He didn't like doing this in a strange place. If we'd been on Campiaa, he wouldn't have said a word.
"Farzi, this is where I live," I pointed out. "They won't yell at you, they'll just gripe at me for getting out of bed." We turned the last corner, finding ourselves in Lissa's enormous kitchen. If I'd had more energy, I'd have made sweet rolls. Instead, I put crepes together, stuffing them with fresh fruit and sweet cream.
"This very good," Perzi was eating his portion happily, as were his brothers.
"What is this?" Drake and Drew walked in. I'm sure the palace guards had notified them somehow.
"Crepes—want some?"
"Lissa will kill us and Karzac will kill you," Drew said. "But before that happens, we'll take some." They were served quickly and I climbed back onto my barstool before Karzac came thundering into the room.
"Karzac, I was hungry," I said, trying to turn his wrath aside.
"You may be hungry and someone else may cook," he had his arms crossed angrily over his chest.
"But nobody makes these like this," Drake closed his eyes in pleasure after taking a bite of his dessert.
"There's three more," I lifted a plate in Karzac's direction.
Karzac, curmudgeonly physician that he was, found a place at the island and settled down to eat his crepe. Lissa and Gavin showed up shortly afterward, getting the last two.
"I know we should be upset, but I want to eat this first," Lissa sighed.
"Farzi glad she hungry," Farzi said. "Reah much sick, lately."
"Glinda was, too, when she was pregnant." Garde showed up. He helped Lissa eat her portion. "Every High Demon female I've ever known has had a hard time the first four months."
"It might have helped if somebody had bothered to tell me that's why I was sick all the time," I muttered. "I thought it was because I wasn't fully recovered after the bomb blast."
"I didn't realize we'd find a crowd." Teeg walked in, followed by all four warlocks.
"I'm going to bed," I slid off my stool.
"Reah, you can't ignore me," Teeg said. "We're married, remember?"
"Did you hear something?" I asked Farzi. "If I could only skip, I could get away from the noise." I hobbled toward the wide door that led into the kitchen. Farzi, poor soul, didn't know what to do. He looked from me to Teeg and then back again.
"Stay there, Farzi. I can find my own way." I waved Nenzi back to his seat as well. Teeg was Lissa's son and he had a place here. Tory was also Lissa's son and Teeg's brother. I wasn't about to call Teeg Gavril. He didn't deserve that name. My friend was gone forever, leaving a stranger in his place. As soon as Aurelius arrived, I was going to ask him to take me away from here. I no longer belonged.
* * *
"She has two months service left," Norian pointed out to Lendill.
"But she's pregnant. We've let others go early if that happened."
"It's not an official rule," Norian said. "I want them to build up her strength and then have her heal Tulgalan. As soon as that happens, I'll sign the discharge. Not before. Tulgalan is home to seven billion people. Reah can keep them safe."
"Are you prepared for what may happen when you demand this?" Lendill snapped. "Torevik may kill you."
"I'll give him some incentive not to snap me like a twig," Norian huffed.
"And what would that incentive be?"
"I can promise not to bring charges of any kind against his brother."
"I thought you already promised that when you agreed to the meeting. Besides, Lissa will have your head if you charge Gavril with anything."
"Well, maybe this needs a little work, but I still command Reah, pregnant or not. She's going to heal Tulgalan, one way or another."
"Norian, you're going to damage my relationship with her, aren't you?"
"As my Vice-Director, you're obligated to uphold my decisions."
"I haven't disagreed with you until now."
"You want Tulgalan to die?"
"No."
"Then Reah does what I tell her to do."
"Norian?"
"Lendill?"
"I may want to kill you."
* * *
"Look, she already despises me—this will be the last time she has to do anything for the Alliance," Norian snapped. His decision, presented to Lissa, Gavin and two others, hadn't been met with cheerful acceptance.
"It exhausts her," Lissa said. "That can't be good for the baby."
"Karzac said the baby was fine," Norian grumbled. "Besides, we're talking about billions of people here. What's a few days of exhaustion compared to that many lives?"
"Norian, I understand your stake in this, trust me," Lissa held up a hand. "But that poor girl hasn't made a decision for herself her whole life. Now, you're going to do this to her. There's no compensation for this, Norian."
"The ASD and the Alliance owns their conscripts, Lissa. They do as they're told and they go where we send them. It's as simple as that." Norian was frowning at his mate.
"That sounds like slavery and not conscription," Flavio said quietly. He and Aryn were the other two invited to the meeting. Norian had asked Lissa not to include Gardevik—he would see this as an attack upon a High Demon female and her female child—both rarities on Kifirin. Norian and Garde had certainly disagreed on Reah's service to the ASD. Garde had suggested repeatedly that Norian discharge Reah. Argued that Reah was related to royalty. Norian had flatly refused. "The rule is wife, consort or heir to the throne. Reah is none of those things," Norian pointed out bluntly.
He and Lendill had gotten good service from Reah over the years. She could do things not many of the others could do. Norian found himself wishing he could convince her to reenlist. He realized that wasn't likely to happen—Lendill wanted to further his claim, as did Wylend Arden. Reah would be consort to the King of Karathia if Wylend had his way. And if Gavril managed to hammer out the Campiaan Alliance as he proposed, well, Reah figured into that as well.
* * *
"Reah, where are you going?" Tory stood in the doorway to our shared suite as I was about to leave. Getting dressed had nearly worn me out but I was determined to take Farzi, Nenzi and their brothers to Niff's for ice cream.
"I'm taking my friends to Niff's," I said stiffly, trying to get around Tory's wide body.
"Reah, all you have to do is ask—we'll bring you ice cream." Tory was frowning at me.
"Tory, I don't want it brought to me. I want to go to Niff's. Go play with your brother." Yes, I was angry. With all of them. I wanted to do something I wanted to do without having to ask for permission. Teeg had kept me confined—now I wanted my freedom back.
"Reah, you can't just," Tory raked a hand through his hair.
"Torevik Rath, don't tell me what I can or can't do. Teeg's done that enough for the past three months. Go away."
"His name is Gavril, Reah. He's your best friend. You've said that often enough."
"That is not my best friend. I don't know who that is. Go away." I pushed my way past Tory. I felt sorry for Farzi and his brothers—they'd had to stand there while Tory and I argued. They followed me out of the suite, though, while Tory watched us go.
"Always dark here?" Farzi looked around as we stood at the bus stop outside the palace wall.
"Yes
," I sighed. "I'd take you to the light half of the planet but they'd come get us for sure."
* * *
"Bro, I'm still trying to get used to this," Tory gestured at Gavril's appearance. "But you did something to Reah. She won't call you anything but Teeg and it's usually with contempt in her voice." Tory had sent mindspeech to both his brothers to meet him in the arboretum.
"Look, she's just going to have to deal with this. It can't be helped." Gavril wasn't in the best of moods. Dee had contacted him earlier, telling him that Jes had disappeared and he couldn't locate the physician anywhere, although guards had been sent out to comb through Campiaa City.
"You could have let us know," Ry was still grumpy over the whole thing. Mostly he was angry with himself for not seeing Teeg San Gerxon as anyone but a stranger. In addition, three months of suffering, wondering if Gavril and Reah were still alive rankled quite a bit.
"Back to Reah," Tory snapped. "She's not even supposed to be out of bed, yet she took those reptanoids into Casino City for ice cream."
"You're joking?" Gavril was on his feet in less than a blink.
"Not. She snapped at me and took off with all eight of them trailing along behind her."
"Come on, let's make sure nobody tries to get close. I have no idea what Farzi or the others will do if they think Reah is being threatened." Gavril folded both his brothers to Niff's.
"Bro, maybe you should have warned us that you can do that," Tory was trying to get himself back in hand after Gavril set him down inside the sweet shop.
"It's not something I do often," Gavril muttered, searching the crowd inside Niff's for Reah and eight reptanoids. Spotting them in a corner at one of the larger tables, Gavril forced his way through the crowd with Ry and Tory right behind him.
* * *
"This very good, Reah," Nenzi loved his chocolate cookie sundae.
"I like it too," I smiled at Nenzi, although it took an effort to do so. The reptanoids were enjoying themselves, although we received several stares from tourists.
"Reah, what the hell are you doing here?" Teeg had managed to sneak up on me without my noticing. I'd been keeping an eye on the door but I'd missed him, somehow.
High Demon 3 - Demon's King Page 13