Blood Reunion (28 page)

"All of you, gather here in four days. The circle will convene and we will repair this blight. Go now and prepare. Charge your crystal and be ready." Tiearan dismissed them with a sigh.

* * *

"It doesn't hurt," Nissa smiled at Trik. For the first time in his life, Trik had walked with the others to the beach, closely watched by Roff. Lissa and a few others had chosen to stay on the balcony overlooking the private stretch of sand attached to the beach house. It wasn't really a beach house, although that's what everyone called it. The structure was actually a smaller palace, suited to its location near the beach on the light half of the planet.

"What can you tell me about the rite?" Trik asked. He, Nissa, Roff, Ry and Tory were all sitting on the sand after playing in the surf for nearly an hour. Roff stood farther down, looking westward over the sea.

"Grampa Glendes usually does it," Nissa began. "He takes you head in his hands and everything goes dark. You won't remember anything past that until you wake up, but Daddy says that Grampa described it once. He said it's like looking at a star field at night, when Grampa looks into your mind. The more stars there are, the more powerful the wizard will be. Grampa will wake the wizard's talent with a little power of his own, and Daddy says that all the stars, which were only pinpoints of light before, will shine like the sun after that. You'll be able to tap your power after Grampa Glendes wakes it up."

"Nobody ever described it to me at Belancour Manor," Trik huffed. "They all said I didn't need to know."

"They were wrong to ignore or mistreat you," Toff muttered angrily. He could identify with Trik easily.

"I wish you were coming, too," Nissa nudged Toff's shoulder with her own. Toff made sure to sit beside her when they'd all flopped onto the wet sand.

"Me, too," Toff admitted. "I always wanted what the others around me had. Even the halves had a lot of power, but I didn't have anything."

"It's hard, growing up in that environment," Trik nodded. "They all flaunt what they have and there you sit, thinking you'll never have anything."

"Dude, you'll have it now," Ry grinned at Trik. "I think Dad might show you a trick or two, after you go through the rite."

"You think so?" Trik offered Ry a hopeful glance.

"Yeah," Ry replied with a shrug. "Dad knows all kinds of stuff."

"Grandfather was always jealous of the Karathian Warlocks. Said they hid their talents and wouldn't let anybody know how they did anything," Trik said.

"Dad's not like that. He showed Sissy how to cast illusions," Ry grinned at his sister.

"I can cast really good illusions after Uncle Erland showed me how. Daddy said I couldn't do it anymore inside Grey House, though," Nissa grumped.

"After you made the kitchen staff think they were getting attacked by a dragon," Tory snickered. "Because they were cooking liver for dinner."

"I was grounded for three weeks," Nissa mumbled, her face turning pink. "Uncle Erland taught me how to add sound to the illusion, and dinner sort of got ruined that night."

"How old were you?" Toff put an arm around Nissa.

"Eight," she said, leaning into his embrace.

Trik chuckled at Nissa's admission. "Some of Belancour's best wizards couldn't do that," he proclaimed.

* * *

Gren backed up against sharp, uncomfortable rock as he stared at the ocean far below. Tandias stood on a narrow ledge nearby, waiting for Gren to tap the core. Gren's feet barely had enough room; he'd felt ill when Tandias first placed him on the small shelf of rock. Any wrong movement might send him plunging into the waters below. Waves crashed and boomed into the dark base of The Tooth.

"Get on with it, whelp," Tandias growled. He didn't like the location any better than Gren. Gren breathed a shaky sigh and reached out with his power.

* * *

Lissa's Journal

"Here." Gavin handed a glass of pineapple juice to me. I'd chosen to sit on the western balcony of my beach house so I could easily keep an eye on the kids. Gavin settled on the wide chaise beside me after I accepted the drink he'd asked the kitchen staff to prepare.

"Thanks," I sipped the juice before leaning my head against his shoulder.

"They're still sitting in a circle on the sand," Gavin observed, lifting an eyebrow as he watched the young ones below us.

"They're talking, and I think they did that to give Trik a rest. He can walk, now, but that doesn't mean he's up to a marathon." I leaned back and wrinkled my nose at Gavin.

"Cara mia, if we weren't babysitting," he growled, leaning in to rub my nose with his.

"We are babysitting," I reminded him. "There's always later," I added, wrinkling my nose again. "Besides, it's almost lunchtime. Did you ask Web to have towels ready? They'll be tracking in sand, too."

"Web informed me that all has been made ready," Gavin's mouth tugged upward at the corner. That always makes me want to melt in a puddle. I think he's figured that out, too.

"If I weren't pregnant, there would be some time bending right now," I whispered before leaning in to kiss Gavin. Just as his lips closed over mine, the beach house shook. And then continued shaking.

* * *

"What the hell?" Drake gripped the doorframe tightly with strong fingers—he and Drew had just finished blade practice with some of their elite troops and intended to shower inside the barracks before joining Lissa and the others at the beach house for lunch. Another earthquake had taken them by surprise, and this one looked to be stronger than the last.

"Where?" Drew shouted over the noise of falling bricks and toppling furniture.

"To the west," Tony folded in, almost falling as his feet settled onto an unsteady floor. The tiles were threatening to buckle beneath them.

"But there's nothing but water to the west," Drake's voice wobbled as he replied.

"Fuck!" Drew shouted. "Sound the alarm. This will cause a tsunami, and those people in Sun City will be swept away!"

"Lissa's at the beach house," Drake turned frightened eyes to his brother.

"Let's go, there's no time to waste," Tony said. All three disappeared just as the ground seemed to be settling down.

* * *

Roff had taken to the sky as soon as he'd gathered Trik, Nissa and Toff in his arms. Tory had grabbed Ry's arm and skipped his brother to the beach house already. Flapping determinedly toward the second-floor balcony, Roff watched in horror as the ground beneath shook harder and trees toppled.

"The floors are cracking," Lissa pointed out as Roff landed on the balcony. Tory and Ry were already there and Gavin was prepared to fold everyone away. Lissa was correct—the marble beneath their feet was splitting and roof tiles were breaking and falling to the ground.

"I'll take Roff and the kids, Gavin, bring Lissa and the comesuli," Drew appeared on the balcony beside Roff. "Drake and Tony are sounding the alarm in Sun City, but Drake's sending mindspeech, saying the tourists and gamblers are just standing on the beach, staring at the receding water."

* * *

Lissa's Journal

I'd never seen Drew looked so frightened, and I'd watched him stare down a fifty-foot Ra'Ak before. I'd never felt so helpless, either. Karzac warned me—scared me, even—about using any power during pregnancy. The rush of power through the body could easily kill an unborn child. If I weren't pregnant, I could gather the entire population of Sun City inside my mist and haul them to higher ground. I'd already
Looked
—a huge wave was coming and it would drown everything in its path.

"Lissa, do not even contemplate this," Karzac appeared beside me, his green-gold eyes quite stern as he gazed at me. "I will carry you to safety, and Drew and Gavin will bring the others. If those fools in Sun City choose to ignore the sirens instead of running for their lives," he didn't finish his statement, he merely lifted me in his arms and we disappeared.

* * *

"Run for your lives," Tony place compulsion on a knot of tourists walking toward the beach instead of away from it. They turned immediately and ran.

Here it comes
, Drake's mindspeech rang clearly in Tony's mind.
The epicenter was only a few miles out, and the crowd here is beginning to see the wave. Now they're running
, Drake added.
Get away or you'll be run down
.

Going now
, Tony replied and folded space.

* * *

Drake stood apart and watched as screaming people ran away from the high wall of water descending upon them. The narrow strip of sand lying in front of Sun City's most expensive casinos and hotels would be engulfed—there was no doubt of that. As a member of the Saa Thalarr, he was forbidden to interfere. Never had he regretted it so much. Waiting until the last moment, he folded away. Water roared through the streets and alleys of the city behind him, drowning out the cries for help.

* * *

Lissa's Journal

Three hundred seventeen people died. Three hundred seventeen, most of whom had been drawn to the beach out of curiosity instead of heeding the sirens blasting all over Sun City. Was I upset and depressed? Of course. I could have saved them. Instead, I chose to save my child.

"Lissa, please stop moping." Karzac pulled me against him. We were on the bed in my suite while comesuli and vampire work crews crawled through the palace, repairing cracks and breaks throughout.

News crews were hovering over the remains of Sun City, reporting on the deaths caused by the tsunami. In between, journalists were showing the last vid images recorded from casinos and hotels, depicting tourists who were flocking toward the danger instead of running away. Sound recorded with the images clearly indicated that warning sirens were wailing throughout the city. Those who died had paid for their curiosity with their lives.

"It is not your duty to save everybody," Karzac whispered against my ear. "Perhaps a few might have died anyway, had they heeded the warning. The numbers would have been drastically reduced, however, had that happened. Do not accept the blame for this."

"I picked the worst possible time to be pregnant," I muttered, covering my eyes with a shaking hand. I had a headache, too, on top of everything else. I was just too tired and depressed to ask Karzac to heal it. An empty feeling lay at the pit of my stomach—one that threatened to bring on a bout of nausea.

"We will not stand for that," Karzac murmured gently as he touched my forehead first, taking away the headache. Then his hands wandered toward my belly and the nausea disappeared. "I have asked Drew to order something from the kitchen for you—you've barely eaten in the past two days."

Yes, it was two days since the tsunami and I still felt ill. Emergency stations had been set up in Casino City. Casino basements had turned into temporary morgues and a flock of vampires volunteered to arrange travel plans for those tourists affected by the disaster. Others had signed up to contact families of the deceased and help get bodies shipped to their home worlds. Donations were pouring in from wealthy vampires, so no family was forced to pay to have their loved ones returned to them.

Aurelius and Bryan had approached me for an interview to send out to the Alliance the evening after the tsunami. I'd done the interview, although I felt like weeping the whole time. It was difficult to get through some of the information, before telling everyone about the emergency stations, where to go for help or information and that travel and shipping costs would be covered by donations from private citizens and the crown.

Kifirin was noticeably absent, and I was too weary and despondent to send mindspeech to him. I did receive communication from Ildevar Wyyld, however, and he'd sent a large amount from a personal account to help defray costs, along with condolences and a healthy dose of concern for me. Somehow, I suppose through Norian, he'd learned of the pregnancy. Ra'Ak or not, Ildevar Wyyld was a very decent man.

"Lissa?" Connegar and Reemagar appeared inside my bedroom, followed by several other Larentii. Renegar and Pheligar were among the nine tall, blue Larentii now inside my suite.

I'd only met Graegar and Garegar of the Wise Ones before. Now, all five Wise Ones stood at the foot of my bed. I knew their names, and marveled that they'd arrived without their protectors. Who was I to question them, though? Hiragar, Meligar, Tenigar, Graegar and Garegar carefully examined me with lifted eyebrows as I extricated myself from Karzac's embrace.

"We have news," Graegar announced. Was it me, or did he sound sad?

"What we have to tell you will not be easy, and coming after such a tragic event," Garegar added.

"I am Tenigar, eldest of the Wise Ones," one of the others spoke. He was roughly the same height as Pheligar—eight and a half feet, and his blue eyes held the depth of countless millennia. I was guessing he might be as old as Ferrigar, who was three million years old. It made me want to sigh. He'd seen everything, most likely, during his long life.

"We have uncovered the source of these earthquakes," Tenigar said. "It is not natural, as you and the others may have assumed. You did not
Look
for their source, assuming they were such. That is not the case."

"What?" I snapped. Karzac attempted to grab me but I slid off the bed too quickly.

"Tapping cores does not always result in earthquakes. It is only thus when an untried power attempts the tapping, and they fumble about while tearing into the power of the core. The young one who escaped from your dungeon is the one responsible for this, and we fear he did it at another's bidding."

"But Gren couldn't have caused this one," I stared at all five Wise Ones. He had. I could see it in their faces. "How did he return?" I whispered. Karzac caught me before I dropped to the floor in shock.

"Ra'Ak," Pheligar replied. "An unusual one, of a race we thought long dead. With that kind of power behind him, he will be difficult to detect and able to get through almost any shield." Pheligar and Ren had been waiting patiently beside Connegar and Reemagar, and hadn't spoken until now.