High Demon 3 - Demon's King (29 page)

Just in case you thought he might be humanoid. I think my father allowed him to take this job just to keep an eye on me
, Lendill added.

"Should I bow or kneel?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"No," Willem laughed. It was a good laugh, with no contempt mixed in it for those of lesser importance. "If Ildevar were here, he would make a proclamation that Reah Nilvas Schaff should never bow to anyone."

"But why?" I wasn't sure what was going on. Lendill had a warm and comforting arm about me, refusing to say anything.

"Anyone who brings worlds back to life by repairing the core—something that only a god or Larentii might do otherwise, should never bow or kneel. I don't care how important the other person thinks they are." Willem was grinning widely. He was handsome in his own right, with dark-brown, wavy hair trimmed to his shoulders and deep blue eyes brimming with good humor. I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"I was going to Cloudsong before Lendill found me." I hung my head. I'd allowed his words to distract me for a time.

"Come, I'll walk with you to Lendill's suite. I've prepared rooms for our lion snakes as well." Willem included Farzi and Nenzi in his smile.

"I brought clothing for you, when Lendill informed me that you were coming with him," Willem led me to a closet inside Lendill's suite. Lendill kissed the top of my head as I found an entire side of his closet was now filled with clothing in my size.

"But, I can't," I said, wanting to cry. Nobody did things like this for me.

"Shh," Lendill said softly, his lips next to my ear.

"Reah, Ildevar signed off on all your awards. This is the least we can do for you. Come. Look." Willem led us toward a spacious sitting room, and then into a study. Behind the desk were all sorts of gold certificates with Lendill's name on them. On an adjacent wall were others.

"All these are yours, I put them up this morning," Willem informed me, pointing to the adjacent wall. "This one is for single-handedly bringing down the drakus seed trade. This is for handing some of the most wanted criminals in the Alliance to ASD officials. This is for the arrest of six assassins. Need I go on? There isn't one important enough for saving entire planets. Ildevar is working on that problem now."

"You don't need to—tell him to stop," I sighed. "This is nice, but I'm glad to be out of the ASD."

"I know. I grieve for your loss," Willem said. Somehow, he knew about the baby.

"As do I." I was wiping tears away and very close to sobbing my heart out.

"Was it that bad? Truly?" Ildevar Wyyld appeared next to his assistant. "Were your years in the ASD so horrible?" His voice was gentle, and he expected some sort of answer. I gave him the truth as I saw it, as painful as it was.

"Every one of them," I sobbed and skipped away from the Founding Member of the Reth Alliance.

* * *

"We tend to push the ones with special talents and abilities." Norian admitted over dinner. Farzi and Nenzi, left behind by Reah when she'd left so abruptly, were sitting with Lendill on one side of the table while Norian Keef sat on the other. Ildevar Wyyld sat at the head; Willem sat at the opposite end.

"Do we not provide any sort of treatment for those agents in need of it?" Willem asked. "For emotional problems? Don't you test them before accepting them into the ASD?"

"Not in Reah's case," Lendill shot a glance at Norian.

"When she, ah, fell into our laps after her stint on Mandil, there wasn't time to do it before sending her out on the drakus seed thing. And then, when that turned out as well as it did, we, ah, didn't." Norian busied himself with his plate of food. "Corners are cut in the interests of the Alliance," he added. "Sometimes."

"Child, perhaps you should rethink your policy improvisation from now on," Ildevar said quietly. "Do we know where she might be? I had no intention of upsetting her so badly."

"Deonus, she lost her child. What can you expect?" Willem offered Ildevar a glance across the table.

"When did this happen? Did someone forget to tell me?" Ildevar was shocked.

"I, uh," Norian mumbled.

"You didn't tell him?" Even Lendill sounded upset.

"You treat her bad," Nenzi stood, pointing a finger at Norian. "She ask you to wait for the baby to come. You force her. I want to leave." Nenzi stalked away from the table.

"I'll get him—we probably should take him to Gavril," Lendill stood and slapped his napkin on his seat. Farzi rose right behind Lendill and followed.

"Child, what have you done?" Ildevar stared at Norian.

"Reah lost Torevik's High Demon daughter," Willem stated. "I see and hear things, Deonus. I was waiting for Norian to report this to you."

"I can't take it back. I wish I could." Norian rose from his seat.

"Norian, don't let this mistake take you down," Willem said, rising as well. "Ildevar is correct—review your practices. Don't let this happen again. Be strong, Norian. Everybody needs you to be strong."

"Why didn't you hand that pep talk to Reah, Willem? Why?" Norian folded away.

"Willem, I know not what to do," Ildevar gazed sadly at his assistant.

"Deonus, at times, things remain outside our control. We know this. A higher hand stirs the waters and we are left to deal with the ripples."

"Spoken as a true Seer, Willem," Ildevar agreed.

* * *

"It will take a connection to six stars to pull enough energy without damaging any of them." A Larentii came to sit beside me. I was already in full Thifilatha and towered over him, although he was at least eight-and-a-half feet tall in Earth measurements.

I'd been thinking of Aurelius and using his archaic methods to gauge heights seemed appropriate. Evening had fallen on that area of Cloudsong and the stars were beginning to appear overhead. I'd originally planned to do this during the day, but events had prevented it. At least something was going right, since Renegar said it would take energy from six stars to make repairs.

"Renegar?" I smiled—I couldn't help it—he'd come to Cloudsong. "You haven't come to talk me out of this, have you?" The others had. I expected nothing else, although I might listen to Ren before I listened to anyone else. According to Lissa, Ren had fathered a Larentii Wise One, and was grandfather to another. I wouldn't discount anything Ren said.

"I am here to monitor your efforts," he smiled up at my full Thifilatha. "I knew I would find you here. Shall we begin?"

"Are you helping?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"I will only tell you when you have pulled enough energy from each star, so you may switch at the proper time," he said. "I cannot help by pulling the energy, but there is nothing to prevent me from sharing information."

"Oh." I nodded at his words and turned back to the stars, selecting my first target. Altogether, it took the better part of six clicks, one click per star. Renegar did as he'd promised, giving me the proper time to change. I was exhausted afterward and wishing I had my tent and basket of food. Both would have been welcome.

"That is also why I came," Ren watched as I changed back to myself and reached tiredly for my clothing. He helped me dress. "I will take you to Beliphar; Graegar asked me to do this. There is a place on that deserted world where you might stay, unless you wish to go to one of your mates, tonight. Or to more than one of them."

"They don't need me and I don't think I want them," I sighed.

"Little one, your first statement is not true. I only hope that eventually the second will not be true as well. Meanwhile, Beliphar awaits." He folded me to the abandoned world.

* * *

"Everything here is in stasis—you may use it as your own," Ren informed me as I wandered through the huge kitchen. The cold keepers hummed—the solar collectors still operated. Food was in the keepers and cabinets that I could prepare if I wanted, or I could nibble on fresh fruits and vegetables if I were too exhausted to cook.

"Do you know if Farzi and Nenzi are all right?" I asked. I'd worried over them as soon as I'd skipped away from Wyyld.

"They are well—Lendill contacted Gavril Montegue and they have been taken to Campiaa."

"Good." I heaved another weary breath. "Thank you for your help," I nodded to him.

"It was the least I could do, little demon." He inclined his head briefly and folded away.

I truly felt too tired to cook, but forced myself to do it anyway. I had a broiled steak, seasoned just right, with a salad and two glasses of wine. The dishes could wait until I woke—I found a bed not far away from the kitchen and huddled into it, too tired to cry, even, over the turns my life had taken.

* * *

"Will you be able to conceal them?" Lersen Strand waved a hand to encompass the army of Giffelithi mercenaries. Giffel was a sister planet to Liffel, and they were still angry that Liffel had been destroyed by the Reth Alliance. They had no love for any part of it, and looked to profit from anything that might bring about its downfall.

Lersen and his cousins had paid top credit for this army, and then spent another fortune equipping it. Few had ranos pistols or rifles—those were extremely difficult to come by since Teeg San Gerxon had taken over. That was about to change. Giffel didn't want to be under San Gerxon's thumb any more than the Strands, but they wouldn't refuse the money the Strands offered.

"I can easily conceal all of them," Nidris smiled at Lerson's question. Once he tapped into Campiaa's core, anything might be accomplished. He looked over the assembled army of Giffelithi dwarves. Nidris had no idea how the Strands managed to put funding together to hire five hundred mercenaries, and cared even less.

He'd do his job, the Strands would have Campiaa, wealth would be his and he'd find another crime family to hire him. No sense in staying around for the Strands to connect him to Campiaa's tapped core. He recognized the three warlocks Lersen Strand had hired—Zellar had trained them but hadn't taught them how to tap cores. That he'd reserved for the power finders. None of the three held that talent.

"Good," Lersen Strand smiled at Nidris' reply. He, his three cousins and Nidris stood on the catwalk overlooking the floor of the warehouse. The other three warlocks would transport the army; Nidris would conceal it when they landed on Campiaa. Then, when all the visiting dignitaries were in one spot, signing up for membership in the Campiaan Alliance, Lersen and his army would strike. Nidris chuckled.

"Why do you laugh?" Lersen frowned at his newest warlock.

"I would like very much to see the look on San Gerxon's face when he dies."

"I will describe it to you. In detail," Lersen promised.

* * *

"Fes, he's working on the pastry," Aldah muttered.

"And he's doing a good job. Why do you care, brother—you hate making pastry." Fes stared at his younger brother. "You like making desserts better—handle that."

"You don't see it, do you," Aldah accused. "He'll try to take this away from us."

"Relax, he'll not get away with anything. Father has already cut him out of the will. Didn't I tell you?"

"You said that, but what if Addah changes his mind?"

"He won't. You worry over nothing. Use Edan as much as you like. He's the lowest-paid cook we have at the moment. Revel in that, brother. Desh's number one is on top and will not lose that spot. Ever. We will make sure of this. Go back to work—we are booked up tonight. Make that chocolate crème cake you are so fond of."

"All right, but do not forget that I warned you," Aldah walked away in a huff.

"Paranoid," Fes sniffed and went back to his accounts.

* * *

Spring brought rains to the High Demons' world, named after Kifirin the god. Veshtul was awash in small rivers, the water flowing down cobblestone streets paved with multicolored stones. Gardevik Rath walked through those streets accompanied by Denevik Lith. They'd destroyed half the palace, now they sought an architect who might help rebuild that part of it. Garde had thought of approaching Adam Chessman, but the Saa Thalarr were quite busy with Ra'Ak spawn cropping up in too many places.

The Ra'Ak were hiding for some reason, reluctant to do more than send their young turns out in an attempt to make others such as themselves. Garde shook his head. Denevik worried about his granddaughter. He'd gone looking for her, too, on several occasions. Had even been on his way to Wyyld when he'd heard she was there, only to learn she'd skipped away at an ill-placed comment from Ildevar Wyyld.

"I forgot about the rains," Denevik lifted the collar of his jacket. Jusef had offered to come. Denevik had told his dwarf companion that there wasn't any need for both of them to get soaked. Garde seemed determined to punish himself in whatever way possible. Denevik felt numb on the best of days. Still, the cold spring rain wasn't helping his mood any.

"Every year, the rains come," Garde grumbled. "This architect better be worth his weight in Tiralian Crystal."

* * *

"She was on Reliff for a short time. Healed the core there—we found the residual power," Corolan gave the news to Wylend. Wylend stood, half-dressed, inside the suite Gavril had given him in San Gerxon palace. "Lendill Schaff pulled her to Wyyld, but she was only there for a brief time—less than a click—when she became upset and skipped away. Now, we hear through channels that Cloudsong's core has also been repaired. I have no idea what kind of energy she had to pull to accomplish that." Corolan was shaking his head. Garek still had trouble believing what he'd seen when they'd landed on Cloudsong. Somehow, a rain had come and he and Corolan both felt the rumbling of growth across the dead world.