"I believe Kay has seen his twin, and it sent her right back to the terror she experienced before," Ashe leveled star-filled eyes on Norian Keef. "How many criminals have you turned Director Keef away from?" Ashe went back to grilling Q'And Ribalo.
"Many, I don't keep count," Q'And shivered. Had he ever thought to come to the attention of a god? The simple answer was no.
"Tell me, what would you be doing now, if I hadn't intervened?"
"I'd be reporting Kalia's whereabouts to Hordace. He wants her dead."
"Why?"
"She can recognize him and many of his associates."
"Is that all? That she can point them out?"
"Yes."
"Has she ever engaged in criminal activity?"
"No. She and the others like her could only do as they were told or they were killed. There were always more available where she came from, after all."
"And where was that?" Ildevar asked.
"I was never told. My brother may know, but I didn't ask." Q'And cowered when Ashe's power rage ramped up a few notches.
"I can't interfere with this, Keef, for personal reasons." Ashe's eyes had gone as dark as they might go and stars exploded in their depths when he turned to Norian. "I suggest you get to the bottom of this. Quickly."
"I don't take orders from you," Norian began as Ashe took a step in his direction.
"All right, I'll work on that," Norian backed up.
* * *
"Right back where we started," Bill grumbled as he spooned oatmeal into a bowl for Kay. "All that work, gone, because that asshole Keef can't leave the innocent alone."
"Seems to be his modus operandi," Trace agreed, biting into a strip of bacon. "I'd like to beat him senseless. After I beat that Ribalo asshole senseless."
"You don't want to know what Ashe wants to do," Trajan flopped onto a barstool beside his brother.
"Where have you been?" Trace asked.
"Mom and Dad's. They're overseeing the pruning down on the south end."
"Had breakfast?" Bill asked.
"Not yet." Trajan reached out, lifted three strips of bacon off the platter on the island, stacked them together and bit off the ends.
"Wanted to talk about Breanne, didn't you?" Trace cut into the eggs on his plate.
"Yeah. Mom said if she's mine, things will come around. I don't know whether to believe that or not."
"I hope it's true," Bill set the bowl of oatmeal, a tiny bowl of brown sugar and a glass of milk on a tray for Kay.
"She seemed so happy that day, talking to Bill and me," Trajan growled before biting into his bacon again.
"You're not the only one who wants to see her again," Bill lifted the tray and stalked out of the kitchen.
"What the hell?" Trace stared at Trajan.
* * *
"I demand representation, Keef," Q'And Ribalo hissed as the door to his cage closed. Norian had ferried Q'And to Le-Ath Veronis, where Gavin, Tony and Aryn waited. All four men escorted Q'And to Lissa's dungeon.
"I'll allow you to send a message, but I warn you, vampires aren't easily swayed by lies or idiocy. Besides, did you not confess before Ildevar Wyyld? He says he'll be happy to provide testimony at your trial." Norian disliked many things, and betrayal by one of his own was high on that list.
"I still want representation. I'll be damned if I'm sentenced to death on that penal planet you call Evensun." Q'And clung to the bars of his cage and glared at Norian Keef.
"You should have thought of that before you fucked the ASD," Norian shot back. "We'll question you further when you get your representative lined up and arrange to have him present." Norian laughed as he stalked away from Q'And's cell.
* * *
"Rathik, my darling, what have you found for me?" Erithia smiled at Rathik's face on her comp-vid.
"My love, I am ready to return to you," Rathik cooed at Erithia's image. "I managed to learn everything we needed by merely placing compulsion on two royal servants."
"And what did you learn, my lover?" Erithia smiled.
"I'm unsure of the spelling of the word," Rathik began, "but both servants say the woman responsible for your brother's death, and it was vicious, that death, named herself van-uh-rash."
"What? Rathik, I didn't catch that phrase. Will you repeat it for me, please?"
"Van-uh-rash, my dearest. That's the closest I can get to what I was told."
"Vhanaraszh?" Erithia's voice had gone hard as flint.
"Perhaps. Yes—it did sound like that."
"Rathik my dear, I will send someone to bring you back to me. Did you get a description of this woman?"
"Yes. She has dark hair and is somewhat slight, according to my sources. Her eyes, they tell me, are what will identify her best, however. They said her eyes are an unusual blue, and they appear able to bore through anyone. I hear she not only saved a monarch long thought dead, but rescued Grey House in some obscure and extraordinary way."
"If this is the true Vhanaraszh, then that would not be out of the question," Erithia muttered to herself. "Was there any word on where this woman might be found?"
"None. They didn't know where she came from, only that she appeared with a handful of Grey House wizards."
"Striking at Grey Planet is ill-advised," Erithia considered the idea. "Rathik, my sweetest, we must contemplate this. If this woman is who they say she is, she is more than dangerous to us. We must locate her and determine how she might be killed."
"I will do whatever you desire, beloved," Rathik's image bowed to Erithia.
"I will send transport quickly." Erithia terminated the communication.
* * *
"Hordace, there is no other answer. My spy said King Cildis lives again, when he was no more than a lifeless husk adorning the throne room in Bexari's palace. I hear Cildis killed the Prime Minister himself, after that woman murdered my brother."
"What about the Larentii?" Hordace watched Erithia closely—as long as he worked willingly with her, she'd agreed not to place an obsession with him. That was something he wished to avoid. Without an obsession, Hordace wasn't drawn to her, and he had no desire to be enthralled by her, as so many others were. He had his pleasures, after all, and Erithia was much too old for his tastes.
"What about the Larentii? Did we not attack them successfully once before? On their homeworld, no less?" Erithia's voice held contempt.
"They had their revenge, or so I hear," Hordace muttered. "We have another problem as well, and this requires immediate attention, before he is fully questioned."
"Who?" Erithia blinked in surprise at Hordace.
"Q'And Ribalo was discovered."
"No. Where is he? We must deal with this immediately," Erithia hissed, her visage changing.
Hordace hated when Erithia's façade cracked. Sirenali weren't pretty when they transformed. "The last I heard, he was imprisoned in the Queen's dungeon on Le-Ath Veronis."
"This will not be easy," Erithia's face returned to its humanoid form.
"Nevertheless, it must be done. You say yourself that you wish to take down the Queen. Perhaps you will find a suitable target for an obsession at the same time."
"Perhaps—yes. I will approach a suitable representative, and make arrangements for Q'And's escape. I am not without resources, after all."
Hordace remained silent. He knew better than anyone that Erithia had a small stable of powerful Ra'Ak ready to answer her call. It was no secret to him, either, that her kind could easily get past the shields surrounding Le-Ath Veronis. "Q'And must be rescued before he succumbs to questioning," Hordace ventured.
"Hordace, darling, of course that will happen. We both desire this one to live, do we not?"
"Yes. Q'And's brother is quite valuable to me, and that may not be true if we allow his twin to perish. Q'Ind might cause a great deal of damage before we could get him under control again."
"I understand completely. Let me know if there is anything further. I must return to Le-Ath Veronis—there are s
o many things I must plan." Erithia rose and disappeared.
"See that you plan them successfully," Hordace muttered.
* * *
"We'll let him sit in the dungeon for three days and then question him," Gavin tossed his comp-vid onto the table next to Tony and sat down with a sigh. "I am more than thankful that we have a short break between Council meetings. I have three days in which I won't have to worry with that disobedient turn."
"What if the prisoner wants his representative brought in?"
"I don't care. He's allowed, and it won't do him any good in the long term. Besides, we can always arrange to have his representative questioned. After the fact, of course."
"That's not exactly legal," Tony pointed out. He'd come to the Queen's library after Gavin sent mindspeech to meet him there.
"Then forget I said anything."
"Why did you ask me here, then?"
"I grow tired of Rigo and the Falchani twins defending my turn. As if they have anything to say regarding her training or punishment."
Tony lifted an eyebrow in surprise at his surrogate sire. "There are laws protecting a turn, Gavin," Tony pointed out. "They have rights, too."
"They didn't in the beginning. Not on Earth, anyway."
"They do now, and there's a reason for it. I have to go," Tony rose and stretched. He also worked to keep the concern from his expression as he walked away from Gavin. The Gavin he knew was quite strict in most respects, but this—this worried Tony. He'd never seen anything like this before.
* * *
"I got her to eat a little, but it took an hour and her food was cold by that time," Bill settled onto a chair next to Ashe's desk.
"I appreciate that," Ashe nodded before tapping his comp-vid off. "Bill, that's not why I asked you here."
"Then why did you ask me?"
"Look, Traje is mad enough at me as it is. I don't need you mad at me, too, for the same reason."
"I can't control how I feel about that," Bill huffed, turning his head away.
"Why didn't you say something before now?"
"Because I don't stand a chance against Trajan, that's why."
"Bill, the Alliance—both Alliances—recognize multiple mates. Can't you share with Traje, if it comes to that?"
"He'll have to coax her back to us first, and it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. Now does it?"
"You could go ask."
"Trajan will have to ask, and I believe you may have to grovel, first."
"Look, Bill, I'm sorry. Really sorry. I don't know if inviting her back right now is a good thing. I was worried about Kay when I did the yelling, and we could still mess this up if we're not careful. What if bringing somebody else in ruins our chances with Kay forever? I can't let that happen. If you and Trajan want to see this woman, you should go to her."
"Because she's not welcome here."
"I didn't say that. When Kay is better and we can explain everything," Ashe didn't finish.
"Yeah. I get that. I understand the chain of command and all that." Bill rose from his chair.
"Bill, I didn't say that."
"You don't have to."
"Bill," Ashe covered his face with both hands. "Look, I appreciate what you're doing for me. With Kay. Nobody else can get her to eat. She seems to trust you more than anyone else, here. I wish I could convince Frank to come and stay, but he's running things at NorthStar while the others are gone. If he were here with you, maybe we could bring Kay back from wherever she goes when she's upset. Damn, this is such a mess." Ashe rose abruptly and went to stand at the window-lined southern wall of his study.
Made completely of floor-to-ceiling glass, Ashe gazed through the wide window at miles of gishi trees below. Somewhere at the edge of his vision, lay the city he and Renegar had built for the refugees from Star Cove. Until things were safe for them, they could never leave SouthStar.
"Ashe, we'll get Kay back. I feel it. What I'm not so sure of is ever getting Breanne back."
"Is that her name? Breanne?" Ashe turned back to Bill, whose head was bowed with worry. Ashe knew it wasn't like Bill to allow his emotions to take over like this.
"Yes. Her name is Breanne, and if what I hear is right, she isn't being treated very well."
* * *
Reah's Journal
"My love, you were having another nightmare."
"I keep dreaming of dying worlds," I muttered, scrubbing my face with a shaking hand. Aurelius held me against him, rocking me gently. He'd convinced me to lie down earlier and sleep until dinner, but I'd ended up having another horrible dream when I'd fallen asleep.
"Reah, you must allow someone else to handle things. You cannot do everything yourself," Aurelius took my hand in his and kissed it carefully.
"Auri, I feel it—the beginning of the God Wars," I closed my eyes against the images I'd seen in my dream.
"Hush, you mustn't dwell on that. Don't upset yourself or your child." Golden-brown eyes gazed into mine and he smiled before lifting my top and leaning down to kiss my slightly swelling belly.
"Has anyone heard from Lissa or Kiarra?" I asked before Aurelius leaned in to kiss me, effectively keeping me from talking. What came next shoved my thoughts away completely.
* * *
Lissa's Journal
"They're underground. I don't know how they knew to dig, but that's where they are," Merrill sighed. He'd Looked to check on the werewolf population on Harifa Edus. We'd discovered that we couldn't get through a very strong shield, and I wondered at that. Had Ashe done this without telling me? Perhaps it made sense—should any of the Mighty trust any of us, when it came down to so many lives?
Harifa Edus was the most populated of the Dark Worlds, after all. Reah, Weldon, Martin Walters, Winkler and I had worked together the past fifteen years, collecting werewolves from other worlds, much as I'd gathered vampires in the beginning, and now there were nearly two million werewolves on the planet. Most of those who'd come were either being persecuted where they were, or already living on similar worlds. Those who were getting by on technologically advanced worlds generally chose to stay where they were.
"Do you think everything they've built will be destroyed if those shields don't hold?" Merrill stepped up beside me. Somehow, he knew what I was thinking.
"I hope not," I hugged myself to keep from shivering. "It has taken this long for them to lay foundations for their cities and towns. They have a rudimentary government, but if that's destroyed, this will land them right back at the beginning, with very little to work with. The game and their herds might be wiped out, too—and that could be disastrous."
"We'll have to wait this out—we saw how effective we were against it last time," Merrill shook his head.
"Has Kiarra heard from Belen?" I was almost afraid to hear the answer. Of all those who could call upon him, he answered more readily to Kiarra's mindspeech.
"No." Merrill's answer was clipped. I hugged myself tighter and wished for the warmth and reassurance of my mates.
* * *
"This waiting is interminable." Kifirin snarled at Li'Neruh Rath.
"Then you have never known patience," Li'Neruh responded. "Let this be. Find something else to occupy your time. Go teach your High Demons manners."
"They have manners."
"Not nearly enough for my liking, and I cannot spend every moment with you, listening to you whine. I have things to accomplish, just as you must. Rebuild some of those worlds that have been destroyed. That will be a useful purpose and will serve to fill your time."
"You demand this?"
"Demand? No. Prefer? Yes."
"I would be foolish not to realize I am being watched," smoke curled from Kifirin's nostrils.
"Then perhaps that should influence your decisions."
"Perhaps." Kifirin disappeared. Li'Neruh sighed and disappeared as well.
* * *
"Gavin already approved a visit from Ribalo's representative," Tony handed a comp-vid to Drake. Drake and Dr
ew were in the kitchen, getting a late breakfast after a lengthy sparring session with their father and their uncle Crane. "He wants us to be discreetly present while the representative visits," Tony added.
"Sure. He wants us to take care of his business," Drew muttered. "We're army, remember? Not palace guard."
"Look, he's my boss, any way I look at it," Tony pointed out. "He's in charge, and unless I want the chain of command to collapse, I do what I'm told."
"When?" Drew took the comp-vid from his brother with a sigh.
"This afternoon. Five bells."
"Fine."
* * *
Breanne's Journal
The pile of comesuli requests had been reduced to merely overwhelming, as opposed to the impossible, which it had been two days before. At least I hadn't been interrupted by Gavin the Terrible or his ungrateful, overbearing, insufferable son, Teeg San Gerxon. I also hadn't seen Kalenegar the Awful during that time, but I wasn't about to believe I was safe or immune to any one of my tormentors. I'd used my time away from them to the best of my ability, working through the requests during day hours and wandering through Casino City at night, hoping to catch another glimpse of Erithia Cordan. At least I knew she and others of her kind could die—I'd killed her brother, after all.
I still felt a few qualms about handing him his death, but what else could I do? He threatened too many people, and that frightened me. Had Gavin been a reasonable sire, I might have gone to him and explained what I'd seen and done, but Gavin and being reasonable had never been properly introduced—at least where I was concerned.
"I just sent another batch of requests," Heathe poked his head inside the Queen's study. He had the grace to appear ashamed that he was piling on more work, but I had absolutely no authority and less recourse, had I wanted to argue with him about it.
"Thank you," I said instead and kept my eyes lowered. No need to read him further—I knew everything I needed to know already.
"Off-day tomorrow," he called out as he walked away. He was finished for the day—my work wasn't even half done. Sighing, I hunched my shoulders and scrolled to the next request on my comp-vid.
* * *
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