"There's barely enough to satisfy the demand as it is," I informed him. "I used to manage the groves on one of the planets. It turned into a very lucrative business."
"So you decided to make ice cream with it?"
"I did. I took the slightly blemished fruit that we couldn't sell and made ice cream for the employees. They loved it."
"Sounds like a nice bonus for them," Rio said.
"They deserved it."
"Reah, this is Glendes Grey, of Grey House," Joey introduced a dark-haired man to me. He took my hand and kissed it.
"I'd pay whatever you asked, I think, if you'd come and make this dessert for a special occasion sometime," he smiled at me.
"Your house made my favorite knife," I said. "I'd do it, just for that."
"Reah, are you frightening Rio?" Franklin asked.
"I hope not," I said. "We were just having a great conversation with the Eldest of Grey House, here."
"Rio, you won't be able to repeat a single word of this outside this house," Franklin said, "and I'm sorry for that. Knowledge of our race protects its own."
"I won't be able to tell my brother?"
"Not unless he's here now."
"He isn't."
"Sorry. Reah, it probably isn't a good idea to tell him anything else. It may frustrate him when he finds he can't pass the information along."
"But am I included in that?" I asked. "I'm not one of you."
"The Larentii are taking care of you and the others tonight. It will all be the same."
"Rio, ask any question you want, and I'll answer it," I said. "But as Franklin says, the information will remain with you afterward."
"I don't mind, I've seen and heard a lot that makes me hopeful tonight," he said. "What is your race, Reah? Which one do you belong to?"
"At times, just the mention of my race conjures up the wrong image," I said. "Just bear in mind that some of us, not all, but some of us have gotten an erroneous reputation. I'll show you what I am." I turned to my smaller Thifilatha and Rio, poor soul, fell over in a faint.
Chapter 8
"Reah, sweetheart, he asked, you answered." I was wrapped in Edward's shirt inside Kiarra's kitchen, shaking a little while others revived Rio. "I'm so sorry," I said, reaching toward him when he opened his eyes.
"Uh, what did you turn into?" He asked while Franklin and Joey helped him up and offered him a glass of brandy.
"They call her kind High Demons," Teeg supplied the information. "And while the term demon on this world has a very negative connotation, where Reah is from, it is quite different. They don't come from the underworld," he added, grinning.
"Can I see it again? I wasn't expecting something like that," Rio rubbed his forehead in fading astonishment.
"I don't want to burn your shirt," I looked up at Edward.
"Then stand behind me, take it off and then turn," Edward suggested. "It won't hurt the baby to turn again that quickly, will it?"
"She's pregnant?" Rio's voice went up an octave.
"With my son," Teeg replied. "Go ahead, baby. Show him again."
I did as Edward suggested, going behind him, removing the shirt and handing it to him before I turned.
"Everything is gold, except the eyes and hair," Rio breathed. "Is it safe to touch?"
"It is now," I said. If I willed it, my skin wouldn't burn. I'd taken Teeg for a ride several times in the past, when he needed my larger Thifilatha to accomplish a task.
"Don't ever touch unless she says it's safe," Teeg warned. Rio came forward and with a shaking hand, touched my arm and then a wing.
"Gosh, her skin is so warm," Rio said in wonder.
"Reah is the only gold demon. The males are black when they turn, Queen Glinda is all white," Tory came in to explain. I still wasn't speaking to him, so I let him talk.
"You're a demon, too?" Rio asked Teeg.
"No. Tory, here, is High Demon," Teeg corrected.
"I don't recommend asking him to change," I said.
"Why not?" Tory sounded offended.
"Tory, you're scary," I muttered, hanging my head.
"Baby? You're afraid of me?" Tory held out a hand.
"Now may not be the time," Kevis intervened. "Perhaps we should go elsewhere and discuss this."
"Reah, are you ready to go?" Edward turned to me.
"Yeah. I think so," I said. "Rio, it was a pleasure cooking with you," I held my hand out to him. He surprised me by taking it and kissing it.
"Now, let's go to Campiaa and sort some of this out, I hope," Kevis sighed. Somebody folded us to the plantation.
"Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" Tory blew a cloud of smoke-filled frustration.
"Torevik, Reah was attacked recently. That included a vicious bite. Tell me how you claimed her the first time?"
Tory cursed. We were in the reptanoids' large family room, where there was enough comfortable seating for everyone. I still wore Edward's shirt and now sat squeezed between him and Teeg. I was cold and humanoid again. Edward gripped the fingers of my right hand in his, while Teeg held the left.
"She should know I wouldn't hurt her. Not like that," Tory fumed, pacing about the room. Everybody was there, including Farzi, Nenzi, Lok, Aurelius, Lendill, Nefrigar and Ry. Astralan had also come.
"She may know that logically, but not emotionally," Kevis said. "After all, you walked away from her when she needed you. How is that not harm? I realize you have your own trauma to deal with, and she knows that as well unless I badly miss my guess. The question comes down to this—do you still love one another? And if you do, what kind of commitment are you willing to make?"
"Dad always said she was just a quarter," Tory sat down hard next to Aurelius. "He always said he wasn't sure how our children would turn out since I was half."
I was standing and infuriated in seconds. I wanted to weep. I wanted to hit Torevik Rath. And then hit his father. They were looking down on me because I was only a quarter High Demon? I held every one of a High Demon's gifts and abilities, including some that none of the others possessed. Yet Gardevik wanted to split hairs.
"That's what this is about, isn't it?" I shouted. "The race isn't pure any longer. Fuck you, Torevik Rath. And fuck your father, for handing prejudice to his son. We're done. Get out. I never want to see you again. Get out!" When he didn't move, I was the one who skipped away.
* * *
"Nice work, bro." Ry stared at Tory. "And why haven't we heard any of this before? Is your father crazy? Reah keeps the race from dying, and he lets his prejudice show? Nefrigar, do you know where Reah is?"
"I do. She is fine but very upset at the moment," Nefrigar admitted.
Kifirin appeared with a sigh and a slight curling of smoke from his nostrils. "This is why I told Lendevik that his daughter must go to Jaydevik, Pendevik Rath's third son, instead of Gardevik, his firstborn." Kifirin stated. "Jayd had tolerance, while Garde had very little. I hoped that Garde would develop something of what he needed when he recognized Lissa as his mate, but that did not help Reah, did it?"
"You mean Dad might have been King, instead of Uncle Jayd?" Tory gave Kifirin a confused look.
"Yes. Your father would have been King if he'd been flexible and empathetic. He is neither. How long were you going to hold that secret inside? Reah was troubled from the beginning when you claimed her as you did and then never offered to make the marriage vows. Yet you couldn't wait to rush away and marry a full humanoid, at the first hint of an imaginary slight. I will give Reah time to come to a decision, but if she asks after that, I will remove your claiming marks."
"Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut? Why?" Tory buried his face in his hands.
* * *
"How much of a chance will your son have of getting a High Demon mate if Reah turns him away?" Lissa fumed. "There are no other High Demon women available—who aren't his daughters, that is. They're already promised to others, too—you and your brother saw to that," the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis went on. "Garde,
I never thought you to be so prejudiced. Are you that narrow-minded? Or is it just Reah that you're targeting? If so, I'd sure as hell like to know why."
Garde knew Lissa was furious, and his relationship with her was likely hanging by a thread. "I always wondered why Lendevik chose Jayd over me," he sighed. "Now I know."
"I send a gift to you and your race and you belittle it," the one who'd identified himself as Kifirin's parent appeared in a burst of light. "You stand to cheat your son out of the High Demon female meant for him. What else will you do to destroy your kind, Gardevik Rath?" The god disappeared quickly.
"Is that what you've done, Garde? Worked to destroy the High Demons?" Lissa folded away.
* * *
"Brother, I must resign my position. It seems I have to take time and examine my priorities," Garde appeared in Jayd's study.
"Why is that?" Jayd frowned at his oldest brother.
"My son repeated my words to Reah, and she no longer wants him for a mate," Garde sighed. "And he did not misrepresent or misinterpret anything. I belittled Reah for being only a quarter High Demon. Worried over how their children might turn out, since my son is only half-blood. I was just chastised by Kifirin's father, for misusing the gift he gave to us."
"What gift?" Jayd was worried.
"Reah, apparently. And when it looked as if my granddaughters would be all right and suitable for High Demon mates, I gathered them away as quickly as I could."
"And handed them to Glinda and me," Jayd nodded. "I should have known something was off, but we failed to question. We thought the gift had been given to us."
"The gift was given to you, and you snatched it away, never thinking to share. I hope you will recognize that sort of thing in the future, King Jayd." Kifirin appeared from nowhere.
"I have learned my lesson, High Lord," Jayd bowed respectfully.
"At least some still know to bow to me," Kifirin said and disappeared.
"I do not accept your resignation, brother," Jayd said. "Although I will accept the fact that you need to reflect upon your views of our race. Come to terms with this. I hope Reah does not turn your child away. All her children with him are females. I still hold hope that we will have more."
"I will go check the gishi fruit groves, then," Garde sighed. "I hear things are not going well."
"They need more money to operate, or so they say, and the new manager says we have to spray for insects. He does not know how Reah managed to keep them away."
"I will look into it," Garde nodded before skipping away.
* * *
Reah, where are you? This is scaring me. The mindspeech came from Edward. I was on Thiskil (again) when he contacted me. On the Southern Continent, this time, where a warmer ocean washed up on the beaches. Bits of old shells still littered the sands, but no new ones had come ashore for a very long time. Everything had died when Zellar drained the core.
"Did you mean to kill everything you touched, Zellar?" I asked the wind. Edward, I sent to him, I am safe for the moment. I will come back soon.
"I am being punished," Zellar's ghost stood before me. I blinked in surprise and took a step backward. I recognized him, however; his face was disfigured as it should have been, before he'd traded bodies in the many transferences he'd performed.
"How?" I asked.
"I will have no rest until all the worlds I killed or damaged are whole again. That will take a very long while, they tell me."
"They?"
"The ones who see to such things. I am not allowed to name them. They take me from one empty world to the next, so I can wander there, alone and lost. They call you the Lifegiver," he went on. "I beg you to bring life back to these worlds so I can move on to the next level of my recompense. Had I known what my actions would ultimately cost, I would have settled for a quiet life of charitable deeds."
"Hindsight," I muttered. Did Tory have that, too? It no longer mattered. I wasn't good enough to be his wife. He would have to look for another, now.
"Yes. Certainly that," Zellar agreed. "I should kneel at your feet and thank you for cutting my punishment in half on this level. You saved so many of the worlds I destroyed."
"I killed you," I pointed out.
"And if you hadn't, imagine what this would be if I'd continued on my destructive path. The ones who watch me now say I would have killed nearly everything in the end. One tile falling into another, until all had fallen. I was foolish. I know better now, since I am in a place where those things are visible to me. I see how one thing affects another, like ripples in water." Zellar came to sit beside me on the sand. "You glow, like some who watch me," he added. "Do you know what it's like to see others and crave their touch, and not be able to feel it? Their hands slide right through me. This is the most horrible of things, Lady Demon, and I understand I have a very long time to suffer through this."
"Did you take pity upon any that you killed?" I watched his face, scars and all.
"I didn't. Thought them beneath me. Now, I am the smallest of the small. You are the only one I've found who could hear me in my present state."
"I'm not sure how or why that is," I told him. "Shall I weep for you now, as I wept for those you killed? Somehow, it is in me to be troubled by any that suffer. That does not alter my opinion that your actions were reprehensible and caused terrible pain and suffering."
"I know. They tell me that kind hearts feel this. I never had a kind heart."
"It sounds as if you have lessons with these beings."
"I do. At times, their lessons are very difficult to learn."
"How long will you be here, on Thiskil?" I asked, unsure whether I wanted to be greeted by a ghost if I visited again.
"Is that where I am? Thiskil? How many died here?"
"Millions," I said, feeling sadness over that fact. "The Reth Alliance managed to move some away, but many died anyway. At the last, only those with a great deal of money were able to escape."
"All my fault," Zellar looked as if he were weeping, silvery traces of tears flowing down ghostly cheeks.
"At least you accept responsibility," I said.
"That was my first lesson," he wept.
"I understand responsibility all too well now," I said, rising. "I must go. Are you a danger to anyone in your present state?"
"No. I have no power, including showing myself to anyone. Except you, it seems. I thank you for speaking with me."
"Good-bye," I said. I wasn't going to give him any sort of absolution. I figured that someone else would have to do that. Zellar sobbed when I skipped away.
* * *
"Reah, where have you been?" Kevis was waiting for me, as were Teeg and Edward. The others were gone. Farzi and Nenzi were likely in the groves, checking on the harvest. It didn't matter where Tory was. I knew how he felt about me now.
"I won't tell you where I went; it’s a sort of sanctuary for me when I need some time," I replied.
"What were you doing? At least answer that," Teeg grumbled angrily.
"Talking to Zellar's ghost," I replied. Let him make of that what he would. "If you'll give me a moment, I'll get your shirt back to you," I told Edward. He was still wandering around bare-chested while I wore his shirt.
"Reah, you can do whatever you want with that shirt," Edward said. "I'm just glad you came back."
"That's a nice answer," I said. "You see how Teeg is just angry. He never says he's glad to see me." I removed Edward's shirt and handed it to him, standing naked inside the family room. "I'm going to get a shower. I feel tired and a little hungry." I walked past all three of them, down the long hallway and into my bedroom.
* * *
"How is it that every move I make is wrong?" Gavril paced in an agitated manner.
"It was the way things happened between you, don't you think?" Kevis asked. "When was the last time you told her that you loved her? That you were glad to see her, or acted interested in what she was doing?"
"I don't remember."
"Try."
> "I can't."
"You can't try, or you can't remember?"
"I can't remember, all right? I thought you were treating her, not me."
"The more I see of things, the more I think she's not the only one who needs help," Kevis pointed out. "How much do you hate Kifirin for doing what he did to you? How much do you blame Reah for being the cause of what Kifirin did to you? I realize you asked for what you got, but she was the reason you asked, was she not?"
Gavril stared at Kevis. "Is that what this is?" He blinked in confusion. Edward, who'd listened to the exchange, remained silent.
"I think it's possible that you blame her on some level. Admit it—nearly everything she does makes you angry."
"It does." Gavril raked fingers through dark hair. "What am I supposed to do? It isn't something I can turn on and off, I think."
"Either learn how to deal with it and let it go, or let Reah go. It's as simple as that. You can't keep torturing her for something you requested."
"You think I'm torturing her?"
"What do you think?"
"I think I'm afraid I'll lose her."
"What are you doing to keep her, then? Besides getting angry?"
"Not a damn thing, I guess," Gavril admitted reluctantly. "I tend to upset her most of the time."
"She carries your child. I'd think you'd be trying to keep her calm and happy," Edward observed. "If you'd noticed what I did when you first showed up to take her away from my home, you might worry a bit more about what's going on with her. She was pale to begin with, but she blanched when you appeared. Is that any way for a wife to react when the father of her child appears? Is there someone who can take me home, now?"
"I will take you, and Reah will come with you." Nefrigar appeared inside the room, a sleeping Reah in his arms. "I placed a healing sleep; I ask that you feed her after we arrive. I will shield your home and surrounding area, just as I have done with this one. My love does not need more violence," the Larentii added.
"Wait!" Kevis and Gavril both shouted as Nefrigar folded Edward and Reah away.
* * *
"Reah?" Fingers stroked my jaw when I woke. A view of gishi fruit groves, stretching for clicks met my gaze when my eyes opened. Now I knew the voice in my head—it had been Edward, all along. I wasn't sure he knew how much I was coming to love him.
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