"Go ahead—I won't expect them back until I see them again. If you wouldn't mind, though, would you make sure they both have everything they need and charge it to my personal account?"
"We must make sure the others from New Beliphar know where we are," Jeral rose from his chair, followed by Davan.
"I'll take you there first," Griffin said and all three disappeared.
"Sheesh," I dropped my face into both my hands.
"Is that any way to be?" Erland came to sit on the desk beside me.
"How should I be?"
"You can come to bed with me and I'll show you."
"Erland, you keep saying bed to me, like you can't get in bed with anybody else. We both know that's a lie." I looked up at Erland—he was frowning. Adam laughed out loud. "Erland, I don't think I could handle being a disappointment to the second most beautiful man I know," I swatted his leg.
"You have such a terrible opinion of yourself," he smiled at me.
"And you have such an inflated opinion of yourself," I snipped.
"Come to bed with me and find out," he was still smiling.
"She could come to bed with me, instead." Garde skipped into the room. High Demons didn't fold; they skipped, like rocks on a pond. One skip was all it took to get from Kifirin to Le-Ath Veronis.
"Garde, I have scars from one set of teeth already. I don't think I need any more," I said.
"My Thifilathi longs for it."
"I'm sure it does. Forget I said anything. Are you hungry? I was thinking about putting an apple pie together. I'm a little too restless to sleep right now."
"I'll definitely come to watch, and I'll eat anything you cook," Garde smiled. Word got out fast. Just about every mate I had, plus Garde, Erland, Adam, Merrill, Gabron, Frank, Shane and Tomas was in the kitchen after a while, waiting for eight apple pies to bake. They had warm slices with ice cream afterward.
"Lissa, this is exceptional," Gavin loved it, as did Tony. I hadn't realized they hadn't had my apple pies before. Winkler had loved them, too. I wanted to weep at that memory. Instead, I picked up half a pie in a pie plate. "I'll be back," I said and folded to Grey House. Shadow was completing a protection jewel when I arrived, so I didn't disturb him until he finished.
"Lissa?" He looked up at me.
"I made apple pies, so I brought some for you," I said.
"Great. There's ice cream downstairs in one of the freezers," he said and folded both of us to the kitchen. I had a small slice of pie and a scoop of ice cream with him and watched as he devoured the rest.
"This is so good, baby. Will you stay with me, tonight?" He kissed me and the kiss tasted like pie and ice cream.
"If there's more where that came from," I said, kissing him back.
"Yeah. Plenty. How much do you want?" He murmured against my mouth.
I had to send mindspeech to Gabron, saying I'd be back in the morning and let Shadow take me to bed.
* * *
"Hey, my two favorite misters." Henri and Gervais had come with Susila and Oluwa.
"Should we bow to you now?" Henri smiled.
"You do and you'll be in trouble," I teased. "What's up?" The daily meeting was about to start—with more questions about the entertainment district and Gabron's plan to build the brothels coming first. I'd rolled my eyes at breakfast when Kyler handed the agenda to me.
"We asked to come and see a meeting for ourselves. Susila gave permission."
"You're welcome any time," I said. "And I think we need a larger meeting room. It might not be a bad idea to allow some of the public inside. What do you think?"
"I think that is an excellent idea—many are wondering what goes on and they would not mind getting a closer look at you, my Queen." Gervais agreed with my assessment.
"Brock is forming baseball teams among the younger vampires," Henri informed me. "He is making different rules. Anyone hitting the ball over the fence will be considered out. The ball must remain inside the playing area. It is the only fair way, with vampires playing."
"I see," I said. "How many are interested?"
"Many. He had to bring in metal bats and cases of balls. Also, there are basketball leagues forming, football leagues forming, both American and European, as well as cricket, tennis and many other sports. Other communities are anxious to put their own sports leagues together."
"When they start playing croquet, I'm there," I teased. Oluwa laughed. "Do you know where Brock is at the moment?" I asked.
"I do not," Oluwa shrugged. I sent mindspeech. Brock, are you available?
I am.
Can you meet me at the palace for a minute?
I'll be right there. And he was. He appeared in less than five seconds.
"Brock, get with Kyler and take money to buy sports equipment," I said. "Get with somebody in every community and find out what they need. Tell them I will take it all away if they get into fights over this."
"You got it," Brock grinned broadly as he folded away.
"We'll need umpires and referees, now," I sighed and walked into the Council Chamber.
* * *
"It's not the same without hot dogs and sodas," I said, two evenings later. We were watching the first baseball game on Le-Ath Veronis. Brock was having a great time and Drake and Drew decided to get in on the action. There weren't any lights either—they weren't needed. Everybody had to pull back on their strength; a ball knocked over the makeshift fence was an out. The game was fun to watch and there was only one friendly argument—the ball had bounced and then rolled under the fence by only a fraction of an inch. It was settled after the benches emptied and vampires were on the ground, their faces pressed to the grass as they examined the position of the ball and the line of the fence. I buried my face against Gavin's arm and did my best not to guffaw.
* * *
"I don't care if they leave. We will take the property and put it to our own use. The gamblers will not desert us. They will remain loyal, as they always have." Arvil San Gerxon snapped at his assistant. Theos had fretted over bringing the news to Arvil to begin with. Arvil was so mercurial over these things. It could be much worse, however, if Theos failed to turn over the information that Le-Ath Veronis had submitted an application with the Alliance to build casinos there. That would mean that Erland Morphis' casino, as well as the one owned by the A & M Consortium, would likely leave Campiaa.
"My brother spent years trying to rid this planet of those two, and now they will leave us freely if this application is approved? I see that as a great day for the San Gerxon clan," Arvil snorted.
"As you say, Lord Gerxon. I merely wished to keep you informed." Theos bowed low and hurried from Arvil's private study. "Stupid vampires," Arvil muttered and turned to other matters.
* * *
"We're approved." Kyler stuck the letter from the Alliance in front of my face the minute I woke up. It had only taken the Reth Alliance three weeks to process our application to set up gambling on Le-Ath Veronis. Nearly everyone had anticipated our approval, so buildings and businesses were already going up.
"Did you tell Adam and Merrill?" I asked, trying to get my eyes open. Roff was snuggling against me, still. Even he didn't want to get up this morning. Two more days and it would be off-days.
"I spent the night with Flavio, so he knows," Kyler said. "And he sent mindspeech to Merrill, so he and Adam know, too," she smiled.
"Is that wily vampire good in bed?" I asked innocently.
"You know it. And stop digging, or I'll ask how Kifirin is."
"I have no complaints," I said and sat up. "Roff, we have to haul our asses out of bed." Roff smiled at me and sat up, getting one last kiss before sliding off the other side of the bed and padding off to the bathroom.
"It's nice just to get snuggled, sometimes," I said, as Kyler watched Roff walk away. Roff had gotten his bite when we'd gone to bed the night before; it was the second monthly bite he was allowed.
"I think those two Falchani women have discovered vampires," Kyler's
dimple was showing.
"Oh, you're kidding?" I watched her face. She wasn't.
"Baxter and Dmitri," she snickered.
"The Enforcers?"
"Yeah. Gavin and Tony had them up here for palace security. Those two women went to them like moths to a light bulb."
"Well, they might not want to go back to Falchan now," I said.
"I think that was a given the minute they showed up. Drake and Drew have had them up to the light side, so they could get some sun. We should consider sunlamps for the humanoid contingent," Kyler said. "I can fold away, but not everybody can."
"True," I agreed. "Let me get cleaned up so I can get to breakfast at a decent hour and we'll talk about that."
"Our application was approved, we'll be the next gambling planet," I said over breakfast later. I wasn't completely happy with the news, but the others certainly were.
"I have a stack of applicants for the brothels which are currently being built—the Belipharan vampires are well-versed on building things. Everything is going up quickly, once Adam, Merrill and the others got the supplies and building materials in." Gabron was in his element, now.
"And what do the applicants for the brothels put under experience?" I raised an eyebrow at my Refizani vampire.
"They don't describe their abilities in detail, if that's what you mean," Gabron sighed. He and I just wouldn't see eye to eye on this. "I would appreciate your talents in weeding out the unsuitable ones, however." He was going to make me look at those damned applications.
"Fine. And Drake and Drew can stand outside my office and fall in the floor laughing," I muttered. They were having a hard time keeping the laughter back even now.
"Are you going to hang signs up that say No Compulsion Allowed?" Drake couldn't hold back a snicker any longer.
"Compulsion should not be needed," Gabron huffed. He was frowning as the twins laughed helplessly.
"Well, meals around here are certainly never boring," I dipped into my oatmeal.
"Lissy, it'll be all right," Tony said. He was sitting next to me now. Well, it was his night, then. I was missing Karzac, though. A lot.
Karzac, I miss you, I sent. I didn't get a reply. And I had forever of days like this to look forward to. Fucking lovely.
* * *
I was depending on whether my skin itched or not while making decisions on the stacks of applicants. If it itched even slightly when I put my hand on the paper, it went into the "No" pile. Everything else went into the possible pile. Gabron could choose whom to interview from that stack. I sighed.
"Lissa, you placed two of my former employees in the wrong stack." Gabron was pulling those applications out and putting them in the other stack. I was too weary to argue with him over it. Nearly a thousand applications had been tested—and that was after the boring meeting, lunch, and then more boring meetings. There would likely be more applicants—on a daily basis if I guessed correctly. I wanted to bury my face in my hands and moan.
How had Le-Ath Veronis come to this? I had envisioned a tranquil and idyllic environment where the comesuli worked, played and raised their children while the vampires watched over them. I hadn't counted on those vampires wanting some of the things they'd enjoyed during their lives on other planets. They were bored, so of course something had to be done about that. We were building whorehouses. And casinos. Fuck. I moaned and misted away before Gabron could stop me.
* * *
It would have been easy to find me sitting on the roof of my own palace. I'd folded my mist to the High Demons' world and sat on top of their palace, instead. The newly arrived humanoids were doing their best to clean away the evidence of the previous occupants from Veshtul's streets. These looked as if they knew what they were doing. I hoped so—I was feeling guilty enough over the whole debacle already.
"Lissa." Garde came to sit beside me.
"How did you know I was here?" I grumbled.
"Glinda has wards up. She knew the moment you touched the roof. Otherwise, she'd never have felt you. You're sort of untraceable, you know."
"Lucky me," I said. I was depressed. Even I realized it. My chin was on my knees as I stared out at the world named after Kifirin.
"What's wrong?" His hand was on the back of my neck, moving the hair aside so he could rub my nape.
"Le-Ath Veronis is about to turn into the biggest commercialized piece of crap," I muttered. "There'll be neon everywhere, advertising whorehouses and gambling dens. People will walk the streets drinking and carousing. The noise will be continuous, Garde. They're already talking about the types of vehicles they want to import to provide transportation, which means navigable streets have to be built. You won't believe how many want to set up souvenir shops. Want a shirt that says, my friends went to Le-Ath Veronis and all I got was this lousy top?" I asked. "Pictures of my palace are going to be printed on coffee mugs. I wanted to build a university. I'm getting casinos, instead."
"And brothels," Garde nodded beside me.
"And brothels," I echoed. His fingers felt good on my neck.
"My claiming marks go here, just below Kifirin's." He was breathing on my neck.
"Uh-uh. Roff told me that you guys do that and make the woman sick for days. Nope, not going there. It was bad enough when Kifirin stuck his teeth in my neck. That hurt, but at least I wasn't ill afterward." Garde's hand had stilled on my neck.
"It is only the once, avilepha. I will be gentle and I will find healers for the illness if it comes."
"Hmmph."
"Glindarok loves my brother very much and he was far from gentle when he placed his marks upon her. He was angry at the time. She has forgiven him."
"And how long did that take?" I asked. His fingers were moving again.
"A while. Perhaps a month or two. But then Glinda knew beforehand what was coming and she endured it."
"Sounds like fun."
"You are being sarcastic."
"Duh."
"I was hoping you would find me worth the pain."
Oh, Lord. He was putting that on me? "Do you know how many males guilt their dates into sex by saying you don't love me? Do you?"
"I can see that was a foolish statement." Garde was still rubbing my neck.
"There's no other way with you people?" I asked. Did they ever forego that unpleasant little ritual?
"Not with the one chosen by our Thifilathi. We have to change at least once a month to keep it under control at other times. Mine howls for you when I change. I have to be far away when that happens, otherwise it might be persuaded to hunt you down."
"And yet I cooked for you for nearly two months and there was nothing."
"That is not completely true—I thought I was going mad, lusting after a comesula. That had never happened before and they have no way of having sex anyway—not in any conventional sense."
"Garde, why is my life complicated? I have a mate that I am terrified to have sex with. Another mate who prefers males in this particular cycle of his existence. One of my mates insists on building brothels on my planet. And I know this, because I Looked, that he used to train most of his employees. Tell me how to deal with that?"
"I don't know what to tell you," Garde was back to breathing on my neck. Yeah, I wouldn't mind going to bed with him—if it could be normal sex. And it might be, after a bite that made me sick. "Glindarok had a harder time with Jaydevik, because she was virgin for the sex later," Garde offered.
"Oh, Lord." I echoed my previous sentiment.
"We can do this now—I will take you to my bed and ask Jayd to place a guard so we will not be disturbed."
"Honey, I think I'll only consent to this if you knock me out first," I said, leaning away from him.
"I will do that for you, since Gardevik does not have the talent." Kifirin was there suddenly, placing fingers against my forehead. I only remember blackness after that.
* * *
"Be as gentle as you can," Kifirin instructed. Garde held the sleeping Lissa in his arms—Kifirin had
folded Garde and Lissa into Garde's suite. Kifirin watched as Garde placed Lissa on his bed and pulled her blouse away, exposing her nape. The Thifilathi was already threatening—he was blowing smoke from his nostrils as he leaned down to nuzzle bare flesh. He turned her onto her belly, allowing his smaller Thifilathi to manifest. Kifirin folded away. Garde's darkened skin made a sharp contrast against Lissa's lighter flesh as he sank his lengthened fangs into her neck.
* * *
"Lissa, avilepha, please wake." Those were the first words I heard and I ached. All over. My neck, though, felt as if it were on fire.
"Shhh, we will take care of this." I think I was moaning and crying at the same time, grasping sheets in hands that had grown claws, ripping them and possibly the mattress underneath, I was in so much pain.
"Lissa, pull your claws back or we will not come close." Karzac was issuing an order.
"Get the hell away," I hissed between my teeth. "Fuck, this hurts." I realized quickly that I was half-naked as I forced my eyes open. I was lying on my stomach on a bed—Garde's by the scent of it. I struggled to sit up; I had to pull in my claws to do it. Punctures covered the sheets and mattress. The fucker was going to have to get a new bed, at least. A trail of blood dripped over my collarbone and then farther down, nearly to my left nipple. My neck was on fire and Garde's Thifilathi had made me bleed.
"Lissa, we're here to take care of this," Karzac stood beside the bed with Frank, Shane and Tomas right behind him. Fuck cubed. Wasn't it lovely that they were all here to witness this? Garde stood right behind them, a huge look of guilt on his face. Well, he needed to look guilty. He and Kifirin, both.
"Since when do you respond to mindspeech?" I snapped at Karzac and got myself off the bed. I could barely move but I wasn't about to let them know that. "Where the fuck is my shirt?" I felt feverish as I jerked it off the floor where it had been tossed and misted away.
* * *
"That went well," Shane sighed.
"You will not find her now," Karzac said and sat down on the side of the bed. "When did she send mindspeech?" He had to go Looking to find the answer. "Ah," was all he said.
Blood Rebellion (Blood Destiny #7) Page 12