The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (5 page)

Day Two

Lariah Dracon kissed her eldest son lightly on top of his silky head, then handed
him to Garen who accepted the precious bundle with the sure hands of an experienced
father.  She couldn’t get over how much their sons looked liked their fathers.  Straight
blue-black hair, sturdy bodies, and just a hint of the defined bone structure they
would one day have beneath their cinnamon tinted skin.  She found it interesting,
but not surprising, that Saxton had Garen’s golden eyes, Paxton had Trey’s blue-green
eyes, and Marxton had Val’s deep gray eyes.  The same was true of their daughters,
though aside from eye color, they were small replicas of her with red-gold hair, fair
skin, and delicate, petite builds. 

“We just got a message from Olaf Gryphon,” Trey said, holding his hand terminal in
one hand while cradling Pax in the other.  “They request a meeting between all Clan
Consuls and their Arimas to take place in thirty days from yesterday in the Hidden
City.”

“Do they say why?” Garen asked as he rocked Saxton gently while walking back and forth
across the nursery.

“He says that Aisling is working with Elder Vulpiran to extract the data from the
memory crystal they retrieved from Rathira.  She needs thirty days to review the data
her father collected so that it can be
compared with other data
.  His words.”

“Is there any mention of the oraculum?” Garen asked.

“No, not unless that’s the
other data
he’s referring to,” Trey replied. 

“If so, why not tell us?” Val asked from the changing table.  He lifted a freshly
changed Marx from the table and kissed his forehead before carrying him to another
rocking chair and taking a seat. 

“Olaf won’t mention the oraculum in an unsecure message,” Garen said.  “I doubt he’d
do it in a secured message, all things considered.”

“We could speed-travel over there and ask him,” Val suggested.

Garen took a seat in yet another rocker as he thought about that.

“I don’t think you should,” Lariah said.  All three of her men looked at her in surprise. 

“Why not?” Trey asked.

“I think that if they’d wanted to tell you, they would have speed-traveled here and
done so,” Lariah replied.  “They didn’t.  If you go over there and ask, he’ll tell
you because you’re the Prince.  If you trust the Gryphons, I think you should let
them do this their way.”

“You’re probably right,” Garen said.  “We’ll let it be.  Trey, contact the council
and set up the meeting, then let all of the Consuls know.”

“Speaking of messages,” Lariah said, “I got one from Hope a little while ago asking
me to come visit her.”

“Good,” Trey said.  “You haven’t been out of the house much at all since these little
guys arrived.  It’ll be good for you.”

“Trey’s right,” Val put in.  “There’s no reason for you to be here every minute. 
Between the three of us and the nannies, we can handle things just fine without you
for a little while.”

Lariah hesitated.  She’d barely left the house since the birth of her sons, so it
felt almost wrong to consider it now.  Then she rolled her eyes at herself.  Her men
could take care of the babies as well as she could, and there were three nannies as
well. 

“You sure you guys don’t mind?”

“Of course not,
sharali
,” Garen said.  “Would you like one of us to speed-travel you over there?”

“Actually, I’d like to fly,” Lariah said.

“All we ask is that you fly low, and that you vox us before returning,” Garen said.

“Of course,” Lariah said.  There’d been a time when restrictions on her movements
had grated on her, but with the birth of her daughters three years earlier had come
a change in her viewpoint.  “I’ll check on the girls on my way out.”  She bent to
kiss each of her men, and her sons, before leaving the nursery by the garden door.

She was very pleased with the new nursery, which was actually an entirely new wing
of the house which extended along one side of the garden.  It consisted of the baby
room set up specifically for infants, and several new bedrooms on two floors that
the babies would eventually move into when they got older.  The girls shared another
large room next to the nursery set up for toddlers, but they would soon graduate to
new bedrooms upstairs. 

There’d been some changes made in the garden as well.  It was much deeper now, and
Pater had moved a lot of the plants and flowers to the far end, clearing an area just
off the patio for a playground.  They’d brought in white sand and installed swings,
teeter-totters and a big jungle gym with slides and a little playhouse built into
it. 

“Mommy! Mommy!  Watch me!” Tani yelled the moment Lariah stepped outside.  Lariah
smiled as she watched her youngest daughter hook her legs in one of the rings on the
jungle gym, then swing back and forth while hanging upside down.

“That’s very good!” Lariah said, laughing as she watched Tani reach up, grab the ring
and flip herself around.  Lariah shook her head at the obvious strength it took to
perform such a feat, yet Tani took that in stride, thinking nothing of it.  It never
failed to amaze her how mature her daughters were, both physically and developmentally. 
They seemed more like five year olds than three year olds to her.  The Dracons had
told her it was normal for Jasani children to mature quickly, which made her a little
sad.  She was in no hurry to see her children grow into adults. 

She felt a light nudge at her hip and looked down into Tiny’s intelligent eyes.  “Hello,
Tiny,” she said, scratching his ears the way he liked.  “I see you’re keeping an eye
on the girls.”

She felt a slight buzzing sensation in her mind and smiled.  “Yes, they are precious,”
she said.  “I’m going out for a little while, so please keep a close eye on them for
me.”

Tiny pressed his head against her hip again and wagged his tail. 

“Just down to visit Hope Bearen and maybe Saige Lobo,” she said in response to another
buzzing. 

Satisfied, Tiny went back to his favorite spot on the patio, which gave him a clear
view of the entire garden and the young princesses, and laid down.  Lariah sent him
a mental hug, then stepped off the patio.

“Are you going somewhere, Mommy?” Salene asked from the top of a slide.

“Yes, I am,” Lariah said.  “I’m going to go visit Hope Bearen for a little while. 
I won’t be gone long.”

“Can we come, Mommy?” Rayne asked. 

“Not today, love,” Lariah said.  “I’m going to fly.”

“Can we watch you shift, Mommy?” Salene asked hopefully.  “Please?”

“Yes, of course you can,” Lariah replied.  She walked around the sandy area and down
a stone walkway until she was a safe distance from her daughters.  She watched as
the girls gathered near the swing, then she took two running steps and jumped, shifting
quickly into her fifteen foot long, leopard spotted dracon, her twenty foot wide wings
snapped out and within seconds she was climbing into the sky. 

Remembering Garen’s request that she fly low, she resisted the urge to soar among
the clouds and instead circled the garden just above the house. She looked down at
her daughters, smiling inwardly as they jumped up and down in excitement.  She knew
that they wished they could fly, and she’d been worried there’d be some jealousy from
them when they discovered that their new baby brothers shifted into dracons regularly. 
Instead they had thought their brothers very lucky, and clamored to hold them every
time they shifted.  Lariah didn’t think she would have handled it as well as her daughters
did.

After circling the garden once more she turned and flew toward the Bearens’ home which
was two miles away.  She loved that Hope and Saige lived on the ranch with their children. 
The ranch was big enough for them all to have their own homes with plenty of space
for privacy, yet still be close enough for visits. 

Lariah flew slowly, enjoying herself, but even so she arrived at the Bearens’ in just
a few minutes.  Seeing Hope out in her garden with the boys, she landed just outside
the gate and let herself in. 

“Good morning, Lariah,” Hope said, getting up to greet her.  Lariah hugged her, liking
Hope very much even though she hadn’t known her very long. 

“Good morning, Hope,” Lariah replied.  “You look good.  Pregnancy seems to agree with
you.  How you feeling?”

“I feel great,” Hope replied.  “I just wish my guys would quit treating me like I’m
sick.”

Lariah grimaced as she bent down to pick up her eldest nephew.  “I know what you mean,”
she said, giving Harlan a kiss on the nose.  “It’s annoying, isn’t it?”

“Yes, to say the least,” Hope replied, watching as Lariah set Harlan back on the lawn,
then knelt to greet Matt and Weld before standing up.  “You got any advice for me
on that?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Lariah said.  “Although, now that I think about it, they were
better during the second pregnancy.  Maybe the key is just to get pregnant a few times
until they get used to it.”

“I think I have to see how this one goes before I can commit to that,” Hope said as
she led Lariah to the patio and offered her a seat.  Lariah poured herself a cup of
coffee from the pot on the table and sipped it with a sigh of pleasure.  She never
got tired of coffee. 

“I take it you got my message?” Hope asked.

“I did,” Lariah replied.  “What’s up?”

“You know that Berta’s niece traveled to Jasan with Aisling on the
Kontuan
, right?” Hope asked. 

“Yes,” Lariah replied.  “And I know she arrived yesterday.  Have you met her yet?”

“Not yet, but I’m going up to Arima House for lunch to meet her,” Hope replied.  “Berta
came down this morning to give me a message that her niece brought from Aisling, and
she invited me.”

“A hand delivered message?” Lariah asked in surprise.  “Why not just vox you?”

“That’s what I wondered, until I read it,” Hope said, reaching into her pocket and
removing a thin metal envelope.  She opened it and removed a sheet of paper covered
with actual hand writing.  “It’s easier if you just read this for yourself.”  She
slid the paper across the table to Lariah.

Lariah picked it up, frowning worriedly. 

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” Hope assured her.  Lariah’s brow cleared and she
unfolded the sheet of paper and began to read.

Dearest Hope,

I’m sending this message with Honey because it’s the only truly safe method of communication
at this time.  Even so, I can’t tell you all that I’d like to tell you right now. 
Partly for the sake of security, and partly because I made a pact with my Rami.  Therefore,
I ask that you please trust me, and accept that what I ask of you, and the other women,
I ask for a reason that cannot be divulged just yet.

Olaf will send a message to the Dracon Princes requesting that a meeting be called
between all of the Clan Consuls and their Arimas, to take place in thirty days.  That
should give me enough time to review my father’s data.  Hopefully there will be insights
and information on the Xanti that will be of help to us in making the decisions that
must be made at the meeting.

What I ask of you, and all of the other Consul Arimas, is that you very seriously
consider the subject of war with the Narrasti.  Discuss the matter with each other,
and with your Rami.  I do not ask that you come down on one side or the other, or
that you convince your men to change their views.  I ask only that you give it serious
thought before the meeting in thirty days. 

On second thought, I ask one other thing.  Please review the Jasani Prophecy, and
the words spoken by The Nine, the last paragraph in particular.

On a personal note, I have just learned of your joyful news, and I am very happy for
you all.  I look forward to seeing you in thirty days.

Please give the boys hugs and kisses from Auntie Aisling, and tell them I love them,
as I do all of you.

Aisling

“Interesting,” Lariah said when she was finished.  She refolded the paper and returned
it to Hope while considering what she’d read.  “I wonder why she wants us to discuss
that issue in particular.  It seems to me that war between the Jasani and the Narrasti
is inevitable.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought too,” Hope replied.  “Do you remember what the Nine said? 
The Bearens told me about it, but I never heard the entire thing.  I never heard the
entire prophecy either.”

“I’ll send a copy to you,” Lariah said.  “The last paragraph is, I believe, the part
where they warned that if the Triad wasn’t listened to, there would be dire consequences.”

“The Triad being you, Saige, and Summer Katre, correct?”

“Yes,” Lariah said.  “I remember Saige telling me that one of the first things Riata
told her, after she died, was that troubled times were coming for the Jasani, and
that if the wrong choices were made, the Jasani might be destroyed.”