Hope and Vengeance (Saa Thalarr, book 1): Saa Thalarr, book 1 (32 page)

* * *

Joey's Journal

Merrill and I returned to his brownstone in New York.

He wasn't speaking to anyone.

Radomir reported to Wlodek on the events in Texas. He knew that Adam was dead and Merrill in deep depression.

Bearcat promised to come for me in two weeks.

Merrill wasn't the only one in mourning.

* * *

"I am the Ear," he said, causing Griffin to jerk his head up at the sudden appearance.

"How may I be of service?" Griffin bowed his head respectfully.

He and the others knew of the three messengers. Most had never seen them, including many in the Hierarchy.

"You will retire, effective immediately," the Ear commanded.

"But I am not," Griffin sputtered. This was the opposite of what he expected might happen.

"Wisdom cares not that you are not ready. He knows that you saw deaths and the capture of the children. You did nothing to prevent them. Belen and Thorsten have already been advised of your retirement. We will not interfere with your power—or your friendships. That may change, however, so do not press your luck."

The Ear disappeared, leaving a seething Griffin behind.

* * *

Joey's Journal

"Kee knew," Bearcat said beside me. "No challenge was issued—by her or by the Ra'Ak. A challenge neutralizes a Saa Thalarr's blood."

"So, because a Saa Thalarr's blood will kill anything that takes it without permission, the Ra'Ak that bit her died?"

"Exactly. She timed it right, too, because there was a slight delay—enough time for Adam to stab the second Ra'Ak with her horn. Both dusted at the same time. I didn't have shields strong enough to cover them and the rest of you, too. Their bodies were blasted to bits, being that close to the epicenter, so to speak."

"What about the hurricane? Everybody thought that would kill her."

"There's been some talk. Pheligar won't speak to anybody right now, so we didn't get the Larentii opinion on this. One of the more popular theories is that she kept hopping from lightning strike to lightning strike—so fast that none of them had time to affect her."

"That would require days of frenetic activity with no rest," I pointed out.

"And that's the argument against that one. Another theory is that she employed Adam's talent of turning to mist. A lot can go through mist without affecting it at all. Bullets, winds, you name it."

"That sounds more like it," I sighed.

"She stopped it, too, at just the right time. That took a lot of power. Didn't make any difference in the end, though."

"Yeah."

"All that time, too, the Ra'Ak were using the refinery as their hiding place. That was the deal Roy Cheek made with them—he offered them empty petroleum storage tanks as housing. They shielded those and we never suspected there were that many of them. It was in their plan all along to get the refinery shut down and Cheek and the workers out of the way. When Saxom showed up, he and Xavier used the administration building as their hideout."

"I thought there was only supposed to be one Ra'Ak—according to the rules." Yes, I remembered my lessons from Bear, Karzac and the others.

"That was a world not worth saving, remember? The rules get thrown out the window for the most part. It doesn't have anything to do with the blood, though. That holds true, no matter what."

Joseph?
The voice entered my mind like the softest velvet.

Nobody called me Joseph.

Cool hands came from behind and covered my eyes. Soft hands. Smaller than mine.

"What?" I turned swiftly and almost fainted from joy.

Kiarra grabbed my arm when I almost fell from my barstool.

Adam was the one who lifted me and set me on my feet.

I only managed one word before the tears came.

"How?"

* * *

"I can't tell you, because we don't know," I shrugged and accepted the glass of Scotch from Lion. When Kiarra and I appeared in her kitchen, surprising Joey and Bearcat, the news spread like wildfire. Everybody showed up, eager to learn how we'd survived.

The truth was—we hadn't. Both of us died. I know that, as does Kiarra.

Someone, or more than one, perhaps, in a much, much higher position, had taken an interest. Someone very powerful wanted us to live.

Therefore, we lived.

What I did know is this—Kiarra had been offered a promotion. She had taken an impossible situation and resolved it, at the cost of her life and her love.

She'd refused. Told Belen that she wanted to be where she was—First among the Saa Thalarr.

He said the invitation to join the Nameless Ones was open anytime she wanted to take it. She thanked him and we'd gone to find Joey.

Three weeks had passed since our deaths. I can't explain where we were in that time, because I have no memory of it.

What happened after our reappearance is this; Merrill was declared a friend of all Saa Thalarr and accorded special privileges. In fact, I'd invited him to dinner at one of my London restaurants the following week. He'd been overjoyed at our survival. I didn't lie to myself by believing he wasn't mostly overjoyed at Kiarra's resurrection.

"But what's this?" Dragon held a glass of Scotch in his hand as he came forward to examine me closely.

I didn't turn down the offer for my promotion. "Fourth, in Griffin's place," I nodded. "He retired, and I was offered his position."

"What's your fighting animal?" Lion asked, grinning hugely.

"I chose a black gryphon," I said. "Griffin held the brown and gold gryphon. I wanted black, to honor my Lion friend." I held up my glass to Lion.

I didn't think it was possible, but his grin widened.

* * *

Xenides studied the lists of names before him, while Saxom's last mindspeech played continuously in his mind.

Make them pay
, Saxom sent, just before his life ended. Xenides was resolved to obey his sire's command.

Epilogue

A year has passed since the incident on the Texas Gulf Coast. I've gone on assignment twice in that time. I'd only just returned recently, to find Kiarra waiting for me. Pheligar stood behind her when I arrived.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted when I went to embrace her.

"What?"

"Four months. Happened just before you left," she said.

"I thought we were sterile," I said, forgetting my manners and my good sense for a moment.

"We're supposed to be," she snapped, turning her back on me and walking away.

Adam, this is your child—something you never thought to get. What sort of fool are you?
Pheligar's mindspeech shocked me for a moment—he seldom bothers speaking to anyone.

He was right, though.

It's a boy child
, he added.

"My heart?" I stepped toward Kiarra, my hand held out in apology. "Is that Justin there?" I pulled her against me.

"Is that what you want?" She sniffled as she looked up at me.

"Yes. Please say we can name him after my brother."

"We can name him after your brother." She huddled into my embrace.

"We're having a baby," I breathed. "Does Joey know?"

She laughed.

The End

More information may be found regarding Xenides' war with the vampires and other races of Earth in the Blood Destiny series, beginning with
Blood Wager
.

* *

Information regarding Adam's first assignment with Joey can be found in the short story,
Tracking Merrill
, in the anthology
Other Worldly Ways
.

About the author:

Connie Suttle lives in Oklahoma with her patient, long-suffering husband and three cats. For information on forthcoming titles, please visit Connie's website at www.subtledemon.com, her blog at subtledemon.blogspot.com or find her on Facebook—Connie Suttle Author. She is also on twitter: @subtledemon.