Blood Rebellion (Blood Destiny #7)

by Connie Suttle

  "Eighteen comesuli exist who will become winged vampires, but there may be a nineteenth sometime soon—I think Giff will have a child within the next year and many of the others have not had a first or second child, yet. There could be many, eventually."

  "Flavio says that Gavin and Tony will come to me soon to teach me how to fight."

  "Well, that's a good skill to have," I agreed. "Every vampire should know how to fight. All the vampires I know fight very well."

  "Do you fight, Raona?"

  "I do." I nodded. "When I have to."

  "I should go; they are expecting me at the winery." Roff stood and shook out his wings.

  "It was nice talking to you," I said. I felt like weeping when he leapt off the dome and flew away.

  * * *

  "Father, something strange happened today."

  "What is that, child?" Flavio looked up from the reports he was going through on his microcomputer.

  "I found the Raona sitting on top of the large dome of the palace as I was flying over, so I stopped and spoke with her. She was very nice."

  "There's nothing strange about that—Lissa is nice most of the time."

  "But Father, I got an erection while I spoke with her and I was worried that she would learn of it."

  "Child, getting an erection near a lovely woman is quite natural—there is nothing wrong with that. It merely means you might like to bed her. It can be controlled, as you most likely discovered."

  "Yes, but it was somewhat uncomfortable."

  "Your clothing is sometimes restricting and it is quite rude to make adjustments in public."

  "You explained that to me before, but it was never necessary until now."

  * * *

  "I am fully trained."

  "No. No employee of mine is fully trained unless I say so. Come. When you please me, then I will consider your training complete." Gabron held the door open to one of the pleasure rooms. The new pleasure worker shook her hair and stalked past Gabron, heading for the bed. Gabron closed and locked the door behind him.

  * * *

  I went to check on the werewolves on Harifa Edus on my second off-day. They seemed to be doing well. I'd brought them soap and other toiletries—most everything available was safe for the environment. They were happy to get the supplies and the airtight containers I'd purchased for flour and other staples. I thought insects might be a problem.

  Afterward, I went hunting the Ra'Ak-enhanced again. When I sent mindspeech to Kiarra, however, she told me that everyone she had was engaged. "Not to worry," I said and went to get them myself. It took hours, in energy form, to cover the entire planet and rid it of more than fifteen thousand infected humanoids, burying them in mass graves in uninhabited lands. I felt sorry for the ones who would be missing family members, but these were no longer the loved ones they knew. They were programmed, somehow, to pass on the DNA. Their family wasn't safe from infection. Nobody was.

  I cleaned out the nest, I sent to Kiarra. She sent a thank-you in return.

  Another five days went by, filled with dull and dreary meetings as the rainy season started on Le-Ath Veronis. I didn't know Le-Ath Veronis had a rainy season, but it did. Kifirin came to explain it to me while the newly hired meteorologist was explaining it to the rest of the population. It didn't stop the gamblers, the shoppers, or the visitors to the brothels. I still hadn't heard from Gabron and I was at a loss as to what to do about that, so I went to visit my grandfather.

  "Granddaughter," Wylend smiled at me and invited me to have a drink with him in his private quarters. Of course, Erland showed up, beaming a beautiful smile and sitting down with us to share a glass of wine. I wondered where he'd been but didn't ask.

  "Em-pah, I came to ask for advice," I said.

  "That makes me feel loved," Wylend said, handing Erland a glass of wine. Erland accepted and sat next to me. He put an arm around me, too, pulling me against him on Wylend's sofa. "What advice can I give?" Wylend asked. Erland kissed my temple and his breath against my ear was comforting.

  I twisted Gabron's ring on my finger. That was the only clue I needed to give to my grandfather.

  "He has not come to you, or offered an apology, has he?"

  "No, Em-pah."

  "And you find this unacceptable."

  "Yeah. There's a chasm between us now and I no longer want to build a bridge across it."

  "He has no respect for my granddaughter, or her position as Queen," Wylend huffed. "Imagine how I might feel if I had a mate who insisted to me that her brothels were legitimate businesses, and then insisted that her training of all her employees was purely business. While that might be true on the surface of things, it makes you seem less in others' eyes that you accept it because you are desperate to keep his love and affection. If my mate did this to me, I would end our relationship, Granddaughter. I will not have my subjects laughing at me behind my back, because my mate does this to me in such a public fashion."

  "Em-pah, I don't think the public is laughing at me."

  "No, Granddaughter? You have not been watching the vids on other worlds. You only pay attention to what is produced on Le-Ath Veronis and the ones who run your news network care for you too much to publish what others are running away with."

  "Erland, what is he talking about?" I turned to my Karathian Warlock for an explanation.

  "Lissa, I can show you, but it will be painful." Erland's beautiful face was set in a frown. That statement had me drawing in a breath and closing my eyes. I nodded. Wylend had a vid screen hidden in a table inside his library, where we sat. It rose when he flicked his hand—who needed a remote control when you had that kind of power?

  "I learned of this one's presence a short while ago—I still keep spies on Campiaa to watch Arvil San Gerxon," Erland said as Wylend flicked his hand again, causing the vid screen to display images. "She works in San Gerxon's private stable of call girls that he hands out to his best gamblers. She came to Le-Ath Veronis three weeks ago, to work in one of Gabron's pleasure houses." Erland took my chin in his fingers and turned it toward the screen. I watched in shock and horror as Gabron taught this woman how to put her mouth on a man. He was shouting at her when she didn't do it to his satisfaction. Somehow, a hidden camera had recorded this for the universe to see.

  "There are other images too—images of his training her in other ways. These images are now being shown all across the Alliance, Lissa. This spy for Arvil San Gerxon is seeing to that. She has managed to record these lessons and now your name is being sullied and ridiculed, because Gabron remains mated to you." Erland flicked his fingers, stopping the images. His dark eyes held a great deal of anger. On my behalf.

  Stunned was too small and meaningless a word. I had no idea this had been happening and I couldn't even cry, I was so numb. Wylend flicked his fingers again and other images were displayed on the screen. I remembered the gossipmongers from the television programs three hundred years earlier. Those people had nothing on what was happening now. These so-called journalists ripped into me, calling me stupid, oblivious and desperate, all while showing clips of Gabron and his training sessions. I couldn't believe this. I'd trusted him, once. Fought alongside him and helped save his home planet. Accepted his proposal and his ring. One of his employees had tried to kill me and almost killed Roff. Now, Roff was without his memories of me. Gabron had not attempted to apologize.

  "Em-pah, what do I do?" I moaned.

  * * *

  "This letter came for you," Heathe handed the heavy cream envelope to Gabron. It bore the claw crown—Lissa's royal seal. Gabron glanced up at his assistant.

  "Do you know what this is?" he asked.

  "No, sir. It came just a few moments ago and I was instructed to bring it directly to you."

  Gabron broke the seal on the envelope and lifted out the note.

  Raona Lissa requests your presence, tonight at eight of the evening. Dress is casual. Gabron reread the message aloud so Heathe would know.

  "What do you think
she wants?" Heathe asked.

  "I think I may be a single vampire, after tonight," Gabron replied stiffly.

  Heathe watched his employer. He'd wondered, over the past several months, why Gabron had not gone to the palace to speak with Lissa. That was the proper thing to do. He dared not argue with Gabron, however.

  "Would you like for me to lay clothing out for you?" Heathe asked instead.

  "One of my black suits, Heathe."

  "Of course."

  * * *

  "Lissa, this will be over quickly." Gavin attempted to reassure me. Every one of my available mates was there, including Connegar and Reemagar. Connegar waited to place a healing sleep afterward, if things went badly. I had to get through this. I had to. Griffin and Wylend had come and both looked so angry they could have chewed nails into tacks, I think. Flavio had also come, accompanied by Kyler. Kyler wanted to strangle someone, I think.

  Gavin had gone into a cold fury when he'd seen the footage that Wylend brought. They'd all seen it; all my mates had. Erland was now watching me pace inside my library. The vid screen on the wall there was huge—Gabron would see all of it—his secretly recorded sessions and then what the Alliance media said about me as a result. I planned to have a talk with Bryan in the next few days. I intended to ask him to expand the media on Le-Ath Veronis to include feeds from the entire Alliance. I never wanted something like this to happen again.

  Gabron arrived a few seconds later, nodding to everyone present. "Lissa, why did you ask me here tonight?" he inquired.

  "Sit down, Gabron. Would you like a drink?" I asked as politely as I could.

  "No, thank you," he refused. Just as well, I didn't want to give him another thing.

  "You have an employee named Desire working for you?" I asked.

  "I do—she needed instruction when I hired her, but things are better with her now." His answer was stiff—as was his body. He suspected. He just didn't know what it was he suspected. I doubted he'd watched any vids, just as I hadn't. He'd carefully groomed himself and dressed formally for this occasion; he'd armed himself as well as he could. Well, he should have dressed in steel for what was coming his way.

  "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Gabron. She's a spy for Arvil San Gerxon. Did you know that?"

  I stood before him, my arms crossed over my chest to keep my hands from shaking. I didn't want him to see how upset I was. Gabron sat on a sofa, blinking up at me. "I was not aware," Gabron replied tautly. "Are you sure this is not a product of your overactive imagination, Lissa? I know how you feel about my girls."

  I wanted to shout at him, then. Tell him what kind of fool he was and what kind of fool he'd made of me. I didn't. Wylend did his little trick and the vid screen powered up. Gabron sat and watched image after image of his instruction of Desire. And then other articles were shown. Gossipmonger after gossipmonger. Laughing at me while the vids of Gabron and Desire played behind them. Calling me all sorts of unkind things. One even pointed out that the camera angle could have been better, but he wasn't going to complain—Desire could do that for him, any day. He then went on to say that I must have been cold and unimaginative in bed and deserved all the mud being slung in my direction.

  "Your ring, Gabron," I handed the envelope to him when Wylend cut off the images after a while. "Desire is in a cell in my dungeon. You have passage booked to Refizan tomorrow, and a note of deposit will be handed over to you when you leave. The amount has been increased to cover the fair price for all your brothels. You may take any or all of the workers with you." I stalked out of the room.

  * * *

  "You have made my granddaughter a laughingstock across the Alliance," Wylend stared at Gabron. "Whether this was your intention or not, I do not know. This will follow her for years, vampire. I very much want to kill you, but she forbids it. What have you to say for yourself?"

  Gabron folded the envelope carefully in his fingers. "Tell her I am sorry," he said and rose from his seat. Tony and Gavin followed him, to make sure he left the palace. Additional guards fell into place as Gabron walked away.

  * * *

  Arvil San Gerxon strode into his study the following morning, reading a few messages on his microcomputer. Therefore, he was unprepared for what he found sitting behind his desk. Desire, the spy he'd sent to Le-Ath Veronis, sat naked in his chair, her wrists and feet bound and tape across her mouth. A sign hung around her neck. Try this again, it read, and your death will be swift.

  * * *

  Gabron boarded the starship docked at the space station orbiting Le-Ath Veronis. A private compartment had been reserved for him, with enough space for twenty more people. He was alone. A valise had been handed to him when he'd arrived and he didn't bother to check the contents. Sitting heavily in one of the well-padded seats, he stared at the vid screen mounted on the wall before him. Images of Lissia were being shown. A statue of Lissa, erected in the main square had been defiled. Whore Queen had been painted across the base in tall, white letters. Other graffiti ridiculing Lissa marred the bronze surface.

  "She is not the whore," Gabron whispered softly. "I am."

  * * *

  Flavio wanted to speak to every Council member before the meeting, but knew he couldn't. There wasn't any way to protect Lissa. None at all. The media had also arrived in great numbers. Lissa said to open the wound and let it bleed. She was suffering and there wasn't a damn thing anybody could do about it. The Larentii had to place her in a healing sleep at night. She wasn't allowing any of her mates into her bed and Karzac threatened to administer transfusions if she continued to refuse meals. She disappeared for two hours after waking every day and none knew where she went.

  The meeting went quietly for the most part and then Lissa, flanked by Gavin and Tony, went out to speak with the media.

  * * *

  "Are you angry? I thought vampires killed over things like this." A tiny microrecorder was shoved in my face.

  "Our laws prevent that kind of indiscriminate killing," I replied. I felt weary. Bone tired. It probably showed in my face. I no longer looked at my image in the mirror; I allowed Giff to have her way with my hair and clothes and ignored it all.

  "Didn't you want him dead? Where is he now?"

  "I didn't want him dead and he was sent home."

  "Where is home?"

  "I will not reveal that; he has a right to privacy." Gabron's right to privacy had been violated in the ugliest possible way. No, I wasn't going to take him back. He'd had a chance—a good one—at making amends. He hadn't taken it by failing to come see me, talk to me or offer an apology after Roff was attacked. Instead, he'd chosen the brothels over me. Not surprising, that's all he'd known for thousands of years. I was the upstart. The latecomer. I snorted at the thought. Whatever I was to him, I hadn't been important enough.

  "How does this make you feel?" The reporter stood behind those pressing against the barrier and had to stretch to make himself visible.

  "You want to know how I feel?" I snapped. He swallowed uncomfortably and nodded. "I feel betrayed by a man I loved," I said. "That's how I feel. I feel as if I've been punched in the stomach and then kicked a few times. I can't sleep and I can't eat. That's how I feel. A former mate is splashed across all your vid screens while he's screwing one of his employees and you call me the whore. You laugh at me because I was foolish enough to trust him. To believe in him. To think that he cared about me. Well, as you all have so eloquently put it, too many times to mention, in fact, I was gullible. That's how I feel. Gullible. Dumb enough to love somebody. And stupid enough to stand there while he threw it back in my face. That's all for today." I turned and walked away from all of them.

  * * *

  "They're reappearing on many of the worlds we've cleaned out already." Kiarra wanted to tug her hair out by the roots. "Where are they coming from? How are they getting there? This is driving me insane."

  * * *

  "Roff, shouldn't you be at home?" I was sitting on the domed roof of the palace, t
oo tired to get off. He'd flown past and then circled around to land and sit near me.

  "Flavio says you are harming yourself." His honey-brown eyes displayed concern.

  "Flavio means well, I know. But there's no way I can act differently right now."

  "What would make this stop for you?"

  "Unless you can turn back time for three hundred years or so, I don't think there's anything."

  "I can fly you down, if you'd like. Perhaps you will consent to have a bottle of blood substitute with me. There is a lounge nearby, owned by my sire."

  "A lounge?"

  "Flavio calls it that. It is a place vampires go to socialize while having their evening meal. Or they go there if they need more blood. They stock blood substitute, warm or chilled. And they serve food there, if some of the comesuli come with their vampires. You may even order blood substitute mixed with alcohol if you want, but Flavio says I cannot do that unless he is present."

  "What do they call this place?" I smiled for the first time in a long time. Flavio had owned El Diablo on Earth and it was pretty much the same thing. This was a good idea, I think.

  "He calls it New Fangled."

  That made me laugh. Leave it to Flavio to come up with something like that. "If you feel up to flying me there, then I'll go," I agreed, still smiling. Roff gripped my arms tightly as he lifted off the roof. It wasn't like flying as mist; Roff's wings lifted and lowered us as he flapped along through wind currents. He set us down right outside New Fangled just as rain sprinkles came. New Fangled was spelled out in red and purple neon across the building's facade and the business was quite tastefully constructed. The interior was even nicer, with tables in the center or more private, circular booths lining the walls. The place was nearly full and there were comesuli there, accompanied by vampires. They were eating and talking with the vampires while the vampires drank bottles of blood substitute.

  "This is my favorite seat," Roff led me to a booth near the kitchen door. Comesuli were inside the kitchen, chattering away while they filled food orders or made drinks. "I like to listen in," he grinned and jerked his head toward the kitchen door. A vampire waiter sidled up discreetly to take our order. We both asked for a bottle of blood substitute.