A Demon's Due: Latter Day Demons, Book 3

by Connie Suttle

  Morgett and I knew better than to send Daris. If she left Deris' side for too long, she became mentally unstable.

  Morgett knew the family curse as well as anyone; his niece, Daris' grandmother, had borne that illness when she died, although it hadn't killed her.

  According to Morgett, Helsa died by the worst of spells—cast by Grey House wizards.

  He refused to say more than that, and Deris and Daris never spoke of their grandmother's death.

  It mattered not to me that those two were related to Karathian royalty. I had my own goals and plans; they merely had a part to play in this portion of them. Revenge was my ultimate objective; revenge for my home planet, destroyed long ago by the blue-skinned devils called Larentii.

  "V'ili, you must rectify this mistake," Morgett strode into the room after his bi-weekly feeding. At least he'd cleaned the blood from his teeth before speaking to me. "Go to Amterea and look for this confounded information—the scholar had to hide it somewhere."

  "As you say." I dipped my head while silently cursing.

  * * *

  Zaria

  "What are you going to do?" Lexsi asked, her blue eyes pleading with me to do something for Morwin. After we'd read the information and looked at the maps Morwin's father sent to him, the more confident we'd become that Morgett and the Blackmantle twins were behind this.

  They were still looking for the Metal Library.

  It fit well enough that Deris or Daris had approached Morwin's father for information on where the Metal Library may have relocated. In turn, Mardin had searched through many myths and legends on Earth to determine the likeliest places. He'd settled on legends from Australia, with Uluru dominating his attention.

  With Deris' penchant for making his victims suffer before they died, and with the amount of blood and evidence of a struggle in the scholar's study, I'd bet money the twisted asshole had done the murder himself—for the pleasure it brought him.

  I'd know it for sure if I saw him again—I'd read the evidence of it easily in him. As for V'ili—he had to be earlobe-deep in this somehow.

  Morgett, V'ili and the Blackmantle twins. A more than deadly combination. "I can disguise Morwin," I said absently. "Although I'm not sure how much good that would do. Besides, he may object; his strategy may be to draw the perpetrator to him, instead of hunting him in secret."

  Lexsi and I had excused ourselves and gone to the ladies' toilet for a private conversation; the others were still sitting with their drinks in the restaurant.

  They're calling our tour group, Kory's mindspeech reached Lexsi and me.

  "We'll work this out," I hugged Lexsi. "Somehow. Now, let's go see the Opera House."

  "What if they go back to Amterea to hunt for anybody who may have information about this—to get rid of evidence?" Lexsi whispered as we walked out of the toilet and headed toward the rest of our group.

  "There's a thought," I acknowledged. "I'll go after the tour—just to set up a disturbance spell—in Morwin's father's study and in Morwin's old quarters. If anybody shows up, I'll know about it."

  "That sounds really good," Lexsi breathed a sigh.

  "You're right," I said, although she hadn't voiced her fear aloud.

  "Huh?"

  "About this not being in the original timeline," I said. "Therefore, we have to keep this ripple as small as possible. Really terrible things can happen if we don't."

  I watched as she hunched her shoulders. Honey, don't worry until it's warranted, I sent. Enjoy your day. You have some strong people on Morwin's and your side. Never forget that.

  "Yeah."

  * * *

  Lexsi

  Eventually, as the tour took us through the Opera House, I let my misgivings slide while I watched Morwin's face; we took in the views, the stages, colors and sounds of the Opera House, its architecture and its decoration.

  It was everything I'd hoped it would be—made sweeter by the fact that Morwin was enjoying it with me.

  Kory had come because I'd wanted to see the Opera House; Morwin came because he loved the learning and the experience of it.

  Sometime in the future, I hoped he'd recall these moments. It was something else we could share that hadn't taken place in a teaching environment.

  I couldn't get Zaria's words out of my mind, however. They lurked there, rising to the surface often, while I repeatedly shoved them down again.

  She'd said I was right—about this not being in the original timeline.

  To me, that meant one thing; this history had already happened once.

  How many other times had it happened?

  I was afraid to ask, because I was afraid she'd have the answer. Our enemies were changing the timeline, and this time, they'd killed Morwin's father. I wanted to curse about how little I knew of Morwin's personal life, but Kory was correct on that front. Morwin wouldn't want to tell me those things in the future.

  It made me sad.

  I'm working on getting Morwin on the boat with us tomorrow, Zaria informed me as the tour guide led us toward the Opera House gift shop—our last stop of the tour.

  Oh, thank goodness, I replied. I was worried.

  I know. Will you mind if a few other friends join us? she asked.

  Not now, I admitted. Morwin was in danger. That fact took precedence over any embarrassment I might feel.

  Good. I've sent for Opal, Anita and anybody else who wants to come. If Morgett, V'ili and the twins are here, we may need as many allies as possible.

  We don't need another Peru, I agreed.

  Or even halfway like Peru.

  Chapter 3

  Sydney, Australia

  Opal

  I decided to stop worrying about how Zaria had pulled strings—or when she'd pulled strings—to get us all on the boat.

  Regardless, those of us who could come were now standing in line to deliver our bags to the collection area, so they could be loaded onto the boat.

  Farin and Tibby stood in line ahead of Kell and me, while Anita waited with Watson, Esme, Yoff, Sandra and Mason behind us.

  Zaria had also sent mindspeech, telling me she'd transported herself to Amterea shortly after the authorities were finished searching Mardin Quiffilis' home and study.

  She'd laid a shield—and a spell—about his home—and about Morwin's former quarters with the military, so she'd know if anyone breached those spaces. If the killer or anyone else came through, she'd identify them immediately.

  It was my hope that Mardin had withheld some information until payment was made, and it clearly wasn't. It was an old Amterean habit—not to provide the full record or research until money had changed hands.

  Surely Morwin knew that, too—that his father may have held something back. He also had information sent to him by his father, but there was no way to tell whether Mardin had sent him everything.

  Poor Mardin—in the previous timeline, he'd lived for another two hundred years, as Earth measured time. Amterean dwarves were notoriously long-lived, and Mardin had already reached nine-hundred-eighty years before his death this time.

  They'd gone to him because he had one of the best reputations on Amterea for scholarly research. He'd died for it, too.

  "I've never been on a cruise," Farin's excited voice broke into my thoughts. I turned to Kell, who lifted an eyebrow at me.

  I didn't tell her much, I sent to Kell, who nodded.

  She can't help but be bubbly, he agreed.

  Lissa calls them Triple-Ps, I said. Perpetually perky people.

  Kell stifled a laugh.

  * * *

  Lexsi

  "They're all on lower decks," I said. "Except for Morwin, Zaria and Klancy. They're two cabins down from ours and across the hall from each other," I told Kory. Zaria had left me with a list of everyone joining us on the ship, and where their cabins were located, in case of emergency.

  "She probably had to settle for what she could get," Kory leaned over my shoulder to look at the list.

  "Yeah. At le
ast Morwin is close enough that we can protect him if necessary."

  "I hope he's close enough that we can nullify the evil twins' spells," Kory breathed before pulling my hair back and kissing my neck. "If they show up."

  "At least evil Laurel, evil Dervil and evil Berke are in the slammer," I said. "I hope Jamie knows not to leave the San Rafael house without Jorden or Mason."

  "Evil Hannah is dead, don't forget that," Kory breathed against my neck before placing another kiss.

  "You have to thank Anita for that," I said.

  "Yeah—we were sort of missing in action there," Kory agreed, his voice soft.

  "Your mouth is a lethal weapon; you know that?" I turned toward him, making it easier for his lips to connect with mine. I wanted to avoid the conversation regarding why we'd been missing in action—and the pain that accompanied it. At least we were in the privacy of our cabin when heat and desire overtook us.

  * * *

  Rose Hiboux

  We were late arrivals, barely reaching port before the gangway was removed and the ship readied for sailing out of Sydney Harbor.

  That meant we were the object of many stares and conversations from passengers standing at the ship's rails. They thought their comments were witty—and unheard by my family.

  Sixteen of us. Safety in numbers—or so you might think.

  "It's the seven dwarves—times two, at least," someone at the railing above us joked. My mouth tightened; I gripped my cane harder and strode toward the doorway, passport in hand and my handbag slung over a shoulder.

  At two-hundred-seventeen, I'm not as agile as I once was. Were I younger, I might have considered shitting on the jerk's head later.

  "I'm shitting on his head later," my oldest son, Jim, grumbled behind me. I didn't bother hiding my smile.

  * * *

  Morwin

  "I was going to offer to disguise you—as a taller person," Zaria set a drink in front of me. She, Klancy and I had met in the bar before going to dinner. "But there's a problem with that, now."

  "What's the problem?" I asked, before sipping the amber-colored liquid in my glass. "Very nice—what is this?" I held up my glass.

  "Scotch," she replied absently. "The disguise was to lead the enemy away from you, should they show up here," I said. "The problem is this; including you, there are now seventeen potential targets for the enemy to hit on this ship."

  "Seventeen?"

  "Sixteen others who are close to your stature, are on board. Those sixteen can be mistaken—by those who don't give a damn—as people from your world."

  "So the enemy may think I formed a hunting party, instead of coming on my own?" I downed the rest of my drink in a single gulp.

  "That's my guess," Zaria sighed.

  "I will stay as I am, then. I have no desire to place others in danger," I held up my glass, signaling to a wandering server to bring a refill. I had to provide the card given to me when I boarded the ship, so he'd know the drink was already paid for—by Zaria's generosity.

  "Yeah," Zaria hunched her shoulders at my words. I could see that this presented a problem for her—already she'd vowed to protect my life. That protection had just stretched to cover sixteen others.

  Sixteen who had no idea what was happening and were completely innocent in all this.

  I silently cursed my father's killer.

  Again.

  * * *

  Lexsi

  "I'm starving." My stomach rumbled to indicate the truth of my statement. Kory, who'd fallen asleep with his arms around me, stirred.

  "Baby," he pulled me tighter against him.

  "Kory, please take me to dinner before we, uh, get back to it."

  One eye cracked open. An eyebrow lifted. A smile curved the edge of his mouth. He kissed my bare shoulder before pulling away.

  I sat up and stretched. I had no idea sex could be so pleasurable—or so tiring. If I hadn't stopped Kory after the sixth time, we'd probably still be at it. "Who gets the shower first?" I asked.

  * * *

  "I have six sisters and two half-brothers," I said as a plate of food was set in front of me. We'd shown up at the hostess stand without a reservation, and were now eating at a table with two other couples.

  Two curious couples, actually—one couple came from Brisbane, the other lived in London.

  "So, newlyweds?" One of the men smiled at Kory and me.

  "Yes." I struggled to keep my face from heating.

  "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" the man's wife asked Kory. He coughed into his hand while crafting a reply.

  "No sisters," he said truthfully. "I've lost count of how many brothers I have."

  They thought he was joking.

  He wasn't.

  One-half of the House of Weth consisted of his brothers. His parents were very old and quite prolific, if the history I'd read was correct.

  "We went to Greece on our honeymoon," the other woman said. "It was wonderful."

  "What made you decide to come on this cruise for your holiday?" her husband asked when I couldn't decide how to respond to his wife's statement.

  "It was a gift," Kory answered for me. "A very generous gift."

  "And so it was," the man smiled. "Here's to the newlyweds," he lifted his glass of wine to us.

  * * *

  Veshtul, Kifirin

  Li'Neruh Rath

  "You sent mindspeech?" I'd arrived as my smaller Thifilathi, choosing to meet with Queen Glindarok in her outer chamber.

  I'd surprised her—as I'd intended. She'd attempted to contact me nearly a moon-turn earlier. I'd waited until now to reply—by arriving in person.

  She was dressed according to her station—in rich fabrics that enhanced her beauty. That meant nothing to me. She took a moment to gather her thoughts—she never imagined she'd be speaking to me in person, or at all, judging by her demeanor.

  "I, ah, wanted to ask for something," she said, moving toward a tall window that overlooked the palace walls—and beyond them to the city of Veshtul. Dusk had fallen; twinkling lights began to appear across the vast city.

  "What do you want?" I folded arms across my chest.

  "I want children."

  "You have two daughters of your own," I pointed out. "And six others, that were not your own. Yet you took them anyway. Are you upset that Lexsi wasn't handed to you without her mother's consent, as Lexsi's sisters were?"

  "Kifirin did that," Glinda attempted to defend herself.

  "Yet all along, a small voice kept telling you it was wrong, what you and Jayd did."

  "Yes." She hung her head.

  "This is your punishment," I said. "You will not have more children."

  When she lifted her head, I saw her cheeks were wet with tears. "I'm sorry," she wept. "Please, there must be something I can do to atone for that wrong."

  I frowned at her for a moment, while my mind worked. "There may be something," I said.

  "Please—whatever it is, I'll do it."

  "You have no idea what it is, yet you agree?" I asked, while smoke curled from my nostrils.

  "I want children," she croaked, her voice rough with emotion. "I'll do anything, although I ask for your mercy."

  "In two moon-turns, I will come to you again," I said. "To tell you what you must do. The choice will be yours at that time. If you say yes, I will grant you and Jaydevik children. Say no, and you will be barren for the rest of your life."

  Glinda sobbed as I folded away.

  * * *

  Australian Waters

  Lexsi

  "You don't talk about your sisters much," Kory said as we sat in the bar later, having a glass of wine.

  "I know." I hugged myself at the thought. "You've probably seen more of them than I have. They never think of Mom and me."

  "I know Glinda and Jayd overstepped their bounds, forcing your mother to allow them to live at the palace," Kory said. "I still remember the rants my father had about it when he and I were alone. That was before your birth, m'
hala. Before I knew I'd be your chosen."

  "Mom doesn't like talking about those days," I said. "Uncle Teeg told me her living conditions were awful—all while Jayd and Glinda kept my sisters in luxury at the palace and Mom almost killed herself planting gishi fruit groves to save Kifirin."

  "I remember my father's specific rant about that," Kory grimaced while the barest curl of smoke drifted from his nostrils. "I think he wanted to grab Jayd by the scruff and shake sense into him."

  "Which would have gotten him killed," I pointed out.

  "It would have gotten us both killed, because I wanted to do the same," Kory's arm came around me and pulled me close. "I wish your sisters understood what it is that they missed—with your mother. And with you and your brothers. I see them at the palace often, though. More often than Glinda's own daughters, actually."

  "It's a mess," I sighed and leaned my head on Kory's shoulder. "I'm so glad I married you," I confessed.

  "You have no idea how glad I am that you married me," he chuckled. "Because I don't deserve you."

  "I disagree," I said, turning in his arms to grin at him. "I'm not sure I deserve you."

  If we hadn't been in public, he'd have kissed me right then. We both knew what would happen. That's why we almost ran for the elevator, and, since we were on it alone when the doors closed, Kory kissed me and skipped us to our cabin immediately.

  * * *

  Rose Hiboux

  "Mum, look," my daughter Emma touched my shoulder.

  I turned to see what she had, and found myself blinking in surprise. We weren't the only little people on the ship—another was sitting down to dinner across the dining room. He was joined by two others; both much taller than he.

  It appeared they knew one another, and weren't mere strangers thrown together by the ship's crew.

  "I wonder where he's from," my granddaughter Chloe asked.

  "He's a ginger. Chloe likes gingers," her sister Georgia snickered.

  "I do not," Chloe retorted. Yes, they were grown.

  Did they act like it?

  Not always.