Blood Alliance

by Connie Suttle

  Travis

  "Bro, there's something we have to do," Trent said.

  "What's that?"

  "We have to find Tedri Clurk."

  "Oh. I forgot about that. His daughter's on Sirena."

  "Vik and Zanfield are bringing her to Murazal."

  "Sounds good," I agreed.

  "I've done some research. This won't be a happy ending," he shook his head.

  "Then we'd better get going," I sighed.

  Temporary State House, Murazal

  Vik

  "Zanfield, so good to see you again," President Ylisis greeted him first. "Who have you brought with you?" He turned to Sharal Sawin, who stood between Travis and Trent.

  "Tedri Clurk's daughter, Sharal," Zanfield said. "Tedri works in your Water Purity Department. Will you call him in, please?"

  Ylisis was on his communicator immediately, asking for Clurk's presence in the President's office.

  "Oh," Ylisis jumped when Opal and Kell appeared from nothing.

  "This is Opal Tadewi; I am Kell Abenott, Vice Directors of the ASD," Kell introduced Opal and himself. "We're here to take custody of Tedri Clurk."

  Sharal gasped; Ylisis was stunned momentarily.

  "Tedri Clurk, sir," a receptionist opened the door to allow Tedri inside the office.

  Tedri's eyes grew wide when he saw his daughter, who shouted "Papa," and ran to him.

  We waited for the tearful reunion to settle, before Kell stepped forward and pulled Tedri away from Sharal.

  "You are under arrest, Tedri Clurk, for providing the poison that killed Prime Minister Fallah of Corez," Kell placed power cuffs on Tedri, whose mouth hung open in shock.

  "What? How?" Ylisis demanded.

  "A year ago, do you recall that someone attempted to poison the water supply to the State House here on Murazal?" Opal's seldom-blinking eyes locked with Ylisis'.

  "Yes, but that poison was destroyed."

  "It wasn't," Opal disagreed. "Mr. Clurk, who has nurtured an anger against all Alliance leaders for his daughter's supposed death, made a deal with someone on Corez. That someone wanted Fallah out of the way; Tedri, here, wanted you out of the way. The one he dealt with was supposed to arrange both murders. You're lucky to be alive—twice over, I think."

  "Who?" Ylisis was now furious. "Who committed this heinous crime against Fallah?"

  "Three women," Tedri's lip curled in a sneer.

  "We need Zaria," Opal whispered. "Now."

  Zaria

  I'd ghosted through the Archives for weeks, trying to come to grips with what had happened, and what had yet to happen.

  Opal's mindspeech reached me there. We need you on Murazal, she begged.

  Without an answer, I folded space.

  "Well, that explains a lot," I said after studying Tedri Clurk for only a moment. He'd been directly involved in Fallah's murder.

  "Who?" Opal asked.

  "Three Sirenali women," I sighed. "The same ones I saw on a pirated Murazalian ship. One of them is still in Lissa's dungeon."

  "Good luck on getting an answer out of her, then," Kell hissed.

  "I figure they passed some of their poison to Ethan Looms," I continued. "That's how he got it, I think. Then, he attempted to kill Queen Ilise and her mates."

  "This is all starting to make sense now," Opal said. "I'd still like to know who was with that vampire who tried to assassinate the King of Hraede."

  "That may be a while in coming," I said. "Anyone who knew him is probably obsessed."

  "Was it worth it?" I turned on Tedri Clurk. "The punishment for direct involvement in the assassination of any world leader is Evensun. You wanted revenge for your daughter, who, as you can see, is alive and thriving. Things are not always as they seem, you know."

  "Sometimes they're worse," he snapped at me.

  "Most certainly," I agreed. "And sometimes, we've brought those things on ourselves. Is there anything else you need?" I asked Opal.

  "No."

  "Let me know if that changes." I folded back to the Archives, which were so quiet I understood that even Nefrigar was away.

  Are you finished blaming yourself, yet? I jumped as Tenigar's voice startled me.

  "What? How?" I demanded.

  Was I fooling myself? Dreaming, perhaps?

  Neither of those things, he informed me. We have been together for a while, you know.

  Can Larentii be ghosts? I asked, feeling foolish for asking. I'd never heard of a Larentii ghost before.

  I'm not a ghost. Tell me, what is the last memory you have of me?

  "Gold sparks, disappearing through a time tunnel," I said aloud.

  Pull the image into your mind. Magnify it.

  At first, I didn't want to; I'd been trying to block that memory for weeks, now. It was far too painful for me to dwell on it.

  Do it for me, he cajoled.

  I pulled up the memory and displayed it in a three-dimensional image before me. With tears filling my eyes, I enlarged the image of gold sparks until I sobbed.

  Those weren't gold sparks.

  Every spark was a miniature gold plate.

  The Metal Library.

  For so long, I'd carried Tenigar with me, as the Metal Library. I sobbed again, although now, the tears that fell were tears of joy.

  There now, stop weeping, niece. Meligar and I are related, you know. From now on, you only have to consult your ancient Uncle Tenigar for advice. As for Zarigar, he and I have been conversing for a very long time. I knew exactly when Wisdom arrived to take your embryo from Meligar, and I consoled him with the news of what you would become, and what great things you'd accomplish as the Vhanaraszh. Zarigar as my chosen replacement did not go amiss, either. Meligar and I—we have been blessed beyond imagining.

  "Dearest?" Valegar arrived, noticed I'd been crying and wrapped his arms around me. "What has made you sad?" he asked.

  "It started out sad, and then became happy," I reached up to caress his face. "Did you know that Tenigar is my uncle?"

  "Ah. Father suspected, but he could not say for sure," Valegar smiled and leaned down to kiss me.

  Nefrigar may be the wisest one of all, Tenigar said, then went silent as Val lifted me in his arms and folded us to mountain sunlight above a beautiful valley. There, Meligar and Zarigar waited for us. Meligar held Eliagar in his arms.

  Val set me down; the child reached for me the moment my feet touched the ground.

  "How's my little Eli?" I took him from my Larentii father and smiled when he laughed.

  The End

  Randl Gage and the Prophet's story will continue in MindMaster, BlackWing Pirates, Book Four, coming spring, 2019.

  Rajeon Dare and the Formidables' continuing saga begins with Buffer Zone, Future Wars, Book One, now available.