Roff had also taken them flying a time or two, when their mother wasn't around. Tory and Ry knew their mother would be frightened to death to know her boys were taken up so high without her knowledge.
"Is your mother pissed?" Erland Morphis sat in the empty chair next to Ry.
"A little. With Uncle Shadow." Ry whispered low, though he knew his mother still might hear.
"No surprise." Erland Morphis dropped a napkin in his lap and accepted a glass of wine from one of the comesuli servants. "I heard there was some excitement earlier."
"We had an earthquake. Or what felt like one," Ry grinned at his father. Erland pulled Ry against him and kissed the top of his son's head before letting him go.
"That's for coming in late for your lessons," Erland laughed at Ry's embarrassment.
"Let me guess, you were late, too." Gardevik Rath sat next to Tory.
"I was." Tory didn't lie to his father. For any reason. Both boys knew not to attempt to lie to their mother. Uncle Tony always said she could smell a lie a mile away.
"Did Morwin give you extra work?" Garde sipped his wine.
"No, Dad."
"Then you're getting more inventive with your excuses."
"Maybe." Tory was trying to hide a grin. "Dad, I need to go shopping. Sissy's birthday is almost here."
"I think your Aunt Glindarok wants to go off-planet. Your Uncle Jayd said he'd take her. Do you want to go when she goes?"
"Yeah. That will work out great. Thanks."
"I'll let her know. She'll contact your mother."
"I want to go, too." Ry interrupted.
"Why would I ask Glinda to take only one of you, when I know you can't bear to be apart?" Gardevik reached across Tory to tousle Ry's hair. "You're worse than twins."
Ry grinned at Uncle Gardevik. He liked his High Demon uncle quite a bit. The only trouble was, Uncle Garde, with his dark hair and good looks, didn't appear different from any other humanoid, most of the time. You'd never know he was High Demon until he became angry and smoke curled from his nostrils. Ry hadn't seen Uncle Garde go Thifilathi, but Tory had. Uncle Garde had forced the turn for Tory, so he could see what he might be someday. Tory said that it would be frightening to anyone who didn't know what they were seeing.
Ry had seen all the life-sized sculptures of High Demons in Full Thifilathi inside King Jayd's palace, too. Unlike the smaller Thifilathi that all male High Demons had, only Full Thifilathi likenesses lined the marble halls of the High Demon palace on Kifirin. Yes, the whole planet was named after Uncle Kifirin. Ry and Tory were still trying to piece that puzzle together. All those statues at the High Demon palace stood around sixteen feet tall and depicted horns, lengthy canines and scale-covered torsos. Ry shuddered at the memory.
"Honey, are you all right?" Ry had drawn his mother's attention.
"My son is fine," Erland rubbed Ry's back before turning to smile at the Queen.
"Erland Morphis, he's my son, too," the Queen grumped.
"I know that," Erland was still smiling at Lissa. The Queen wrinkled her nose at Ry's father and went back to talking with Sissy.
* * *
"We think something's up, and I'd give anything to be in that Inner Circle meeting right now," Tory informed Sissy. They sat on Tory's long bed—the palace staff had brought in a larger one when Tory hit six feet. Sissy had light-brown hair—a mix of her father and mother. She had her father's gray eyes, though, and someday she would be a beauty. Anyway, that's what Tory's father said. Sissy kept her long hair in a braid most of the time, otherwise it curled furiously and she hated that.
"What are they talking about?" Nissa asked. "Tory, have you been eating in bed again?" She pointed to a stain on the edge of the coverlet.
"That's grape juice. I was hoping it would blend in," Tory muttered, flushing with embarrassment. He was hungry most of the time. Uncle Tony said it was because he was growing so quickly.
"Purple doesn't go with brown," Nissa teased.
"Could have fooled me," Ry tried to tickle his little sister.
"I think they're talking about the quake and the power outage," Tory wasn't getting in on the rumpus. "Uncle Tony said they hauled twenty tourists off to jail in Casino City. He didn't say, but I think they're worried that those people were expecting something like this. Uncle Tony said that people were trying to loot immediately. I wonder how Niff's managed."
"Niff's is fine; they have backup generators for all the freezers," Ry said, letting his sister go. She stopped giggling and settled into the crook of Ry's arm.
"You want to go see the two in the dungeon?" Tory changed the subject.
"There are two in the dungeon?" Nissa almost squeaked the question.
"Yeah. Both seventeen. Beat up a boy in the Green Fae village. Almost to death, that's what we heard," Ry nodded knowingly. "We went to see the boy yesterday, because we knew those two downstairs were lying when they said the other boy started it. If you saw him, you'd know just by looking that he didn't start anything. He said as much, but he also said that one of the Half-Fae put those two downstairs up to the whole thing. Tory and I think he may be right." Ry squeezed Sissy's shoulders and dropped his arm. "Want to go see? Uncle Drake and Uncle Drew are in the meeting, and Uncle Gavin and Uncle Tony are in there, too."
"But how are we going to get past the guards?" Nissa looked at both her brothers. She wanted to see this for herself, but knew she'd be in trouble if they got caught. Their mother didn't want them to go anywhere near the dungeons.
"I'll skip us in after bro here checks things out," Tory grinned. "That's what we did the last time."
"Let's go." Nissa liked intrigue just as well as anyone.
* * *
"Why do all the vids show dungeons as dark places with water dripping somewhere?" Nissa whispered as she followed her brothers down a well-lit corridor and past cells lining one wall. Each cell had a sink inside, in addition to a narrow bed made of spelled wood. The wood couldn't be torn apart to make any kind of weapon. The sheets and blankets were clean, too, as were the floor and walls.
"Those vids are just to frighten you," Ry whispered back. "People ought to be more afraid of losing their freedom."
"Practicing philosophy again?" Tory elbowed Ry.
"That's what Em-pah Wylend said. He's the philosopher," Ry poked Tory in the ribs. Tory's rubber-soled shoes squeaked on the stone floor as he attempted to get away from his brother.
"Will you two settle down?" Nissa hissed at her brothers. "We could get caught, you know."
"We'll behave," Tory said, slapping Ry on the back of the head.
"Hey," Ry went after Tory again. Nissa stopped still in the middle of the corridor and put her hands on her hips.
"Sissy, that's just scary—I thought you were Mom for a minute," Ry teased.
"Come on, those two are down at the end," Tory came to take his sister's arm.
"Leave us alone." Those sullen words greeted Ry, Tory and Nissa as they reached the proper cell. Nissa stared at the two boys inside.
"They're both seventeen, although the dark-haired one is slightly older than the blond," Ry said, pulling Nissa back from the bars.
"How big is the one they beat up?" Nissa looked up at Tory.
"About your size," Tory answered.
"Didn't your mothers teach you not to hit the smaller ones?" Nissa had her hands on her hips again.
"Leave our mothers out of this," the dark-haired boy hissed. "Leave us alone or Gren will make you sorry, I promise."
"Now, that's the truth—as he sees it, anyway," Tory nodded.
"How will Gren know to make us sorry?" Ry asked.
"None of your business." The blond boy finally spoke.
"Who is Gren, and how will he make us sorry?" Nissa weighed in on the questioning. Her arms were tight across her chest and Tory and Ry knew this was upsetting their sister.
"Why should we tell you?" The dark-haired one snapped. "He'll get that little eunuch first, though."
"What d
id you call him?" Tory took a step closer to the bars.
"He's a eunuch. Don't you know what that means?"
"I know what that means," Tory huffed. "But that's not what he is, or why he's missing—well, certain things."
"I suppose you're going to tell us? You being so smart and all," the blond taunted.
"Tory, the guards are coming!" Ry hissed. He'd gotten a hit on his perimeter shield. The two prisoners blinked in surprise as all three children who'd come to visit disappeared suddenly.
* * *
"That boy in the Fae village needs our help." Nissa insisted for perhaps the fourth time. Tory had skipped them to the arboretum, which was located on the top level of the palace. Huge and mostly circular, the arboretum was built of curved glass walls all around, except for one flat side that backed up to the palace at the rear. All three children sat at the front of the glass, cross-legged on the floor and staring out the thick window at the capital city of Lissia. The city had been named for their mother, after all.
"But Sissy, we've already been late to class once this week. Dad found out. He didn't do anything this time, but he might if I'm late again." Ry glumly toyed with a shoelace.
"But I only have tomorrow to do anything," Nissa complained.
"What are you going to do?" Tory looked down at his little sister.
"I have this." She pulled a necklace from beneath her tunic that had a gray jewel strung on it.
"A protection jewel?" Ry sounded surprised.
"I made this myself, when nobody was looking," Nissa whispered. "I can key it to someone else. I think that boy needs this."
"His name is Toff," Ry nodded, getting on board with Nissa's suggestion.
"If we hurry after blade lessons tomorrow morning, we might be able to do this." Tory considered the possibilities. "Meet us in the sword room in the barracks. We'll go from there."
* * *
Toff was digging in the likeliest place he could find for the clay Mother Fern demanded. She'd only given him the barest of instructions on how to find it and left him in a deserted spot just inside the boundary Father Tiearan erected around the village. Fern had instructed him to go to the old streambed and dig. That was the extent of his teaching. Toff had two large canvas bags to fill with clay—if he could find any.
Toff jerked backward and sat down with a thump on a damp patch of ground when three people appeared before him. The two boys he knew, but they'd brought a girl with them, this time. She was right at Toff's height, with a slender build. Toff imagined they could wear the same clothing, they were so close in size.
"We didn't mean to scare you," the one named Ry held out a hand to help Toff off the ground. Toff accepted the offered hand and allowed Ry to pull him up and get him steady on his feet. "This is our sister, Nissa," Ry introduced the girl. Toff nodded shyly at her.
"We came to give a warning, and to bring you something," Tory said. "We don't have much time, so we'll make this quick. We went back to the dungeons last night to see those two who hurt you, because Sissy wanted to go." Tory nodded at Nissa, who seemed embarrassed to be called Sissy in front of Toff.
"Those boys said that somebody else wanted to get back at you," Nissa pulled a necklace over her head. "I've already rekeyed this, so all you have to do is put it on and it will tune itself to you." The gold chain with the dark-gray jewel was offered to a gaping Toff.
"It's a protection jewel," Ry said, when Toff continued to blink at them in confusion. Nissa took Toff's hand and dropped the necklace into it.
"Wear this at all times," she said. "Even when you're bathing. You never know when your enemies might strike."
"Keep it inside your shirt—you don't want to let anyone know you have it. Once it keys itself to you, it's worthless to anyone else. It will only protect you from now on." Tory offered Toff an encouraging look.
Toff looked around him—he was hidden well enough in the copse of trees that grew along the old streambed. He'd been sent out alone, too, but he always suspected Gren of having him watched.
"There's nobody close enough to see or hear," Ry reported. He'd already checked. He didn't want tales going back to his parents of how they'd all sneaked away to do this. The protection jewel that Toff was getting—many kings and monarchs across the Alliance couldn't afford what Nissa handed to Toff. Toff slowly slipped the long chain over his head, trying to comprehend the gift he'd been given. He had no idea of its worth, but if it could protect him, then he might feel a bit safer around the others.
"It won't protect against words or disease," Ry seemed to be reading Toff's mind. "You'll still have to deal with that. And since this is Sissy's first protection jewel, we don't know how strong it will be. If somebody tries to attack you, do what you'd normally do."
"What I normally do is run, unless they catch me and hold me, like last time." Toff tucked the gray jewel inside his oatmeal colored tunic and patted it against his chest.
"I put the best spell I could make on it," Nissa said with a modest shrug. "I hope it helps." She reached out and patted Toff's arm. Toff blinked at her in surprise. Nobody touched him. Not because he didn't want them to—it was because they didn't want to touch him. Redbird and Corent hugged him sometimes, but that was all.
"We have to go," Tory insisted. "I'm sorry we can't stay longer and talk." Toff's visitors turned to leave.
"Wait—will you come and see me again?" Toff blinked hopefully at Nissa as he asked the question.
"I train at Grey House so I can't come very often, and Tory has to bring us or we'll be found out," Nissa offered Toff a sad look.
"But when can you come again?" Toff pleaded.
"Toff, I only get to come home once a month, on an off-day," Nissa said. Toff nodded, disappointment showing in his face.
"Thank you for the jewel," he lowered his eyes. When he looked up again after only a moment, the three were gone. Toff turned back to searching for the elusive clay Mother Fern demanded.
* * *
"How did he end up there?" Nissa asked the moment Tory skipped them back to his bedroom. Ry and Tory were busy gathering comp-vids before rushing off to class.
"Don't know. We'll talk later." Tory opened the door and he and Ry raced down the hall, leaving the door open and their sister staring after them.
* * *
"Mom, what will happen to those two boys in the dungeon?" Nissa knew she wasn't supposed to know about those two boys, but the comesuli did tend to gossip inside the palace. She could have come by the information in any number of ways.
"Honey, I'm going to stop trying to figure out how you three know about anything," Queen Lissa gave her daughter a hug. Nissa sat next to her mother at a private lunch inside the arboretum.
"You're not going to tell me?"
"We don't know yet. Everybody is still discussing this." Nissa's mother sighed and stared out the tall, glass windows overlooking the city of Lissia. A table had been set up and lunch had been served only minutes earlier, just for the two of them.
"You're not going to send them to Evensun, are you?" Nissa worried about that. Sentencing a criminal to Evensun was often a death sentence.
"I don't know, baby." The Queen's blue eyes were worried about that, too, Nissa decided. "With the ones who are already on Evensun, those two boys won't last a day. The final decision on this rests with the Council, and I only have one vote in that. I'm trying to find a place where they can't cause trouble for a while and their parents can go with them, if they want."
"Their parents will still face judgment, when the time comes." Kifirin appeared, blowing smoke from his nostrils.
"Honey, calm down," Lissa stood and took Kifirin's hand. "Nobody's trying to get around that."
"Avilepha, I grow tired of this. They should have turned the boy over to you when he was injured. Yet they did not. How can they think this will improve their lot in my eyes?" Kifirin was darkly handsome and Nissa watched him closely. She, like her brothers, was wary around Kifirin, though he wore an angel's face.
Nissa didn't think Kifirin would harm any of them, but there was a dangerous edge about him that couldn't easily be defined.
"Little one, you should not be frightened." Kifirin turned his nearly black eyes on Nissa.
Nissa was too frightened to speak, so she nodded at Kifirin instead. She wondered if Kifirin would stand by his statement if he learned she'd given a protection jewel to Toff. She assumed he was the boy Kifirin meant.
"I was thinking about suggesting we send those boys to the southern continent on Harifa Edus," Lissa found another chair for Kifirin and shared her plate with him. There was more than enough food.
"Wolves are there, now," Kifirin remarked as he dipped into the lasagna Cheedas had made for them. "If that is the Council's decision, I will not help them if they are attacked."
"I don't expect you to—I was thinking about placing a boundary around their farm."
"You will build a farm for them?" Kifirin was back to blowing smoke.
"I don't think those two were the only ones involved in the attack." Nissa looked up sharply at her mother's words, and then quickly dropped her eyes. She should have known—not much got past her mother.
"Yet the others have made a vow of nonviolence." Kifirin drank from the Queen's glass. Kifirin liked to eat—when he did eat.
"That's what worries me," the Queen grumped. "It's hard to pinpoint something like this."
"Yes." Kifirin agreed around a mouthful of food.
Kifirin didn't stay long—he ate, discussed the disposition of the two young prisoners a little longer and then left, disappearing just he always did. Someday, Nissa would be taught to fold space, but that wasn't allowed until a wizard was at least twenty, achieved Fifth-Tier status in their training and been certified by Great-Grampa Glendes, who was Eldest of Grey House.
She felt a twinge of jealousy at times because Tory was allowed to skip. That's how the High Demons got around—it was a series of jumps—like skipping rocks on a pond. Tory had been able to skip since he turned twelve. Now, everybody was waiting to see if Tory could turn Thifilathi. Uncle Gardevik was practically holding his breath over it. That ability, or lack of it, would determine much of Tory's future upon the High Demon planet named after Kifirin.
Blood Reunion Page 4