by Patti Larsen
He nodded slowly. “Something is wrong,” he said. “But we have to talk to Leader.”
“From what we've gone through so far,” I said, trying for concern and diplomacy, “if we do track down this Leader of yours, it's likely we'll be putting him in danger. And if this rebellion is that important to you, I don't think we should risk it.”
Oh, Syd. Ulterior motives. But I had a job to do.
Ram didn't say anything for a long time. When he finally nodded, amber eyes meeting mine, there was sadness in his gaze.
“As much as I wish it were different,” he said. “I think you're right. I can't figure out what's attracting the Guards. Neither of us is doing it on purpose.”
“You think we've been tagged somehow?” That made sense, in a sick way.
“No,” he said. “If that were true, we'd have been caught long before now.”
“Someone in your group has access to all the rebellion's information,” I said. “It's the only explanation. Do you have a way to communicate that doesn't involve mental connection?”
He looked at me funny, a frown bringing his brows together. “Of course we do,” he said.
Right. Stupid question.
“That has to be it,” I said.
Ram adjusted our heading, pointing to the twinkling lights in the distance, beckoning from the silvered darkness. “Nunaresh,” he said. “Is Ameline there?”
A burning happiness filled me as I tested the pull.
“She is.” This had to end. If only so I could get back to Ostrogotho, clear my name and help Dad put an end to the rebellion. As sad as it made me, no one would benefit from civil war. And considering the delicate balance the Node required, how would such a war affect it? I had no way of knowing and really didn't want to find out.
***
Chapter Twenty
Nunaresh approached at a rapid pace, the large transport's increased power traveling much faster than our smaller ride had been able to accomplish. I sat back and watched the tiny lights grow to towering buildings reminding me more of a human city than any of the others I'd visited here on Demonicon.
“Why isn't Nunaresh on the official tour?” I caught Ram's scowl before he answered.
“It's the only independent city on Demonicon,” he said, voice level, but hands tightening on the sides of the control panel. That, paired with his frown, told me this was a major bone of contention for him. “The aristocracy can't be bothered with the lower plane cities, let alone one run by its own council. Your grandmother tried many times to coerce the rulers of Nunaresh to accept royal control, but she never convinced them and wasn't willing to start a war over it.”
“I'm amazed she let it grow at all.” The city fell away to my right as Ram banked around the outskirts. “Ahbi was such a control freak.”
“By the time she discovered it had grown so big, it was too late to stop us without a fight,” he said, bringing us in for a landing nowhere near the towering city center. “I don't know if you've noticed, but fighting is frowned on.”
So much sarcasm. “You could have fooled me,” I said.
“Really?” He released the control panel as we settled to the ground, turning to meet my eyes. “The formulaic challenge process isn't fighting, Syd. It's a theatrical joke meant to keep us in line and under control.”
“Don't you think that's a good thing?” I shuddered a little, skin popping up gooseflesh as I remembered how I felt when I'd drained Cypherion. “Your race seems to get just a wee tad out of control when you're allowed to cut loose.”
The bubble of shielding collapsed as Ram stood and offered me his hand. “Our race,” he said softly as I rose to face him. “And yes, of course. You're right. But the days of barbarity are behind us. Our people stagnate, unable to grow, to evolve, because our true nature is suppressed.”
“If I didn't think you'd all go up in flames,” I said, moving past him to the edge of the hull, “I'd agree with you, Ram. But even if you're right, if demons have developed past the need to fight for fighting's sake, all it would take is one to go a little too far and you'd have a monster on your hands.” I turned back to him. “Trust me. I've been that monster.”
Ram's shoulders twitched as he struggled internally. “We're not perfect,” he said. “But we deserve the chance to find out for ourselves and not be regulated in every single thing we do by some Ruler who has only the advancement of her family in mind.”
Wow. That was a slap in the face. Maybe I felt it more because I was carrying Ahbi around with me, but I doubted it.
“My family,” I said with as much chill as I could manage, “has kept your people safe for generations. My grandmother,” I ground the words out while my blood boiled, “gave up her entire life to guide and serve Demonicon.” Definitely Ahbi talking, but I agreed with her. I'd grown up with the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. Ram had no freaking clue what that felt like. “And what did she get for it? Power?” I laughed in his face, bitter, harsh. “What good is that kind of power if you can't even be yourself, not even for five minutes?” Ram backed up as I advanced on him, one finger jabbing his chest as my anger rose, sparks flashing between us. “You think you can do a better job, smartass? You and your little rebellion with your Leader who just wants some of that power? Yeah, go ahead then.” I turned from him, disgust rising like bile in my throat. “Good luck with that.”
I hopped over the edge of the transport, refusing to look back, my fury cooling a little as I stomped my way toward the city. The soft thud of his landing and the crunch of boot falls behind me told me he was at least keeping pace. Not that I cared.
The more I thought about his excuse for the rebellion, the angrier I became. He reminded me of me when I was sixteen, fighting the system, unwilling to shoulder the load necessary to do what was right. Whining about it.
I had myself worked up into such a froth by the time I passed under an arched gateway and onto a long bridge leading to the city center, when Ram grabbed my arm I spun on him with my magic flashing.
He met my eyes, his calm, steady. Not challenging as I expected. Which cooled me off enough I didn't kill him.
For the time being.
“Let's find this false demon,” he said. “We'll talk politics another time. Agreed?”
“Whatever.” I punched him in the arm, the act enough to diffuse the rest of my temper, partly because I hit him hard enough he flinched. And grinned. Punched me back.
Tried to. My next punch would have landed him on his ass if we weren't interrupted.
Ram's eyes went flat, head bowing as I felt a hand fall on my shoulder, turning to find we'd been quietly surrounded. The rush of the water under our feet, running dark in the low light of the moons and my own preoccupation with my anger had been enough to distract me.
“Rebels, I take it.” I glared at Ram who didn't answer. “You freaking turned us in again, didn't you?”
“Your Highness.” A tall demon with a no-nonsense expression on his angular face bowed slightly to me, long hair swinging over one shoulder in a ponytail that hung to his ankles. “If you would please come with us, Leader would like a word with you.”
I shrugged, threw my hands in the air. “Lovely. Fine. Okay. Great.” Scowled at Ram. “Creep.”
My lean escort ignored my last shot, one large hand gesturing for me to precede him. And while I knew I could escape him and his gang of rebels, doing their obvious best to look oh-so-casual and failing miserably, I figured once I met this Leader of theirs, they'd finally leave me alone.
And if the Guards showed up and kicked his ass? Not my problem.
I strode off at my fastest pace, unsurprised my escort kept up with me, though from the scrambling sounds of the foot falls behind we outpaced the others. At least the pull of Ameline's presence was still loud and clear. She was in Nunaresh, no doubt about it. And while I longed to run off and do my worst, I forced myself to be polite.
As polite as I could manage.
“Nice city you have h
ere,” I said to my escort.
“We like to think so,” he answered in his low, soft voice, totally ignoring the peppering of sarcasm.
“I take it you have a name?” He almost floated beside me, a demon panther, expressionless but polite. I wondered how dangerous he was.
“I do,” he said. “This way, Your Highness.”
My, and friendly, too.
My tall guide escorted me to a platform where demons waited for a chance to catch one of the moving sheets of metal gliding between our point and the street across. A giant gap looked down over the next level of the city, and over the next, Nunaresh descending below into the underground while, as I looked up, it climbed in similar fashion above.
“How many demons live here?” I thought Ostrogotho was big. This place rivaled it in size, no question.
“Many million,” my guide said, one hand reaching for me, not touching, just to encourage me as he stepped onto the floating rectangle, through the tingle of the protective shielding. The moving walkway sailed off in a smooth motion, without a breath of hesitation and though my brain screamed about the drop, I found the experience exhilarating.
“What plane designations does Nunaresh cover?” Pagomaris and Sassafras filled me in on the other four cities when I was here last. It was pretty easy from the almost circular design of the other places which level was which. Maybe the underground areas were lower ranked.
“None,” my guide said with such coldness I looked up at him. His expression hadn't changed, hands clasped behind his back, but he continued in his same chill tone so I knew I'd offended him. “Nunaresh is a free city, Your Highness. We don't use status for gain here.”
Interesting. “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings,” I said. “I'm new to this, in case you didn't know.”
His chin dipped, eyes meeting mine a moment, a tiny smile finally ghosting over his thin lips. “Forgive me, Princess Sydlynhamitra,” he said. “We are proud of our autonomy here and will defend it to our last breath.”
Ahbi's power hummed unhappily. Warning received and accepted.
We stepped from the pad and onto the next platform, heading west. I caught sight of Ram to my right out of the corner of my eye, still downcast, and started to forgive him. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. I might be able to help Dad's case as well. If I could talk the rebel leader down somehow, I could move on Ameline without so much disruption to deal with.
My guide paused at a tall and elegant house, the towering doorway already gaping open.
“Your Highness,” he said. “After you.”
Four stairs decorated with elaborate greenery and bluery and redery—seriously—led me up to the arched front door. I passed through, prepared for the worst, expecting to be drugged or attacked or something.
Paranoid? Who, me?
But when I entered the cool dimness of the interior, a large entry welcoming me inside, I instead found a small group of demons waiting. The front-runner stood huge and imposing, as big as Ahbi had been, with four turns to his horns and hair as silver as the jewelry he wore.
Why did he look familiar? The line of his jaw, the way he smiled, the width of his shoulders, how he carried himself... he spread his hands in greeting, closing the gap between us, coming to tower over me as I gaped up at him with a growing sense of realization rising to the surface.
“Sydlynhamitra,” the demon who could only be Leader said. “I've been looking so forward to meeting you, my beautiful granddaughter.”
***
Chapter Twenty One
“My lord,” my guide broke my gaping silence for me, “Her Highness must be ravenous.”
Leader—my grandfather—nodded quickly and took my arm, linking it through his as he led me, unresisting, under a wide archway similar to the front door and into a long, narrow room, seating me himself in a massive chair before sitting beside me at the head of the table. My quiet guide gestured and the others in the room joined us, though I noticed he remained, silent and watchful, at my grandfather's shoulder.
“You seem surprised to see me, Sydlynhamitra.” Leader—Grandfather—I'd heard his name before, hadn't I?
“I thought you were dead or something.” Way to mumble yourself into embarrassment, Hayle.
Grandfather laughed, a deep belling sound, and his followers joined him. All but his protector who held as still as ever. And Ram, beside me.
“Whoever told you I was dead? Your grandmother?” He shook his head, helping himself to a mug of nectar, which I rejected when he tried to fill my glass. “That would be like Ahbi.”
Come to think of it, no one ever said what happened to Dad's father. And I'd not pushed the matter, either.
“Not her fault,” I said, struggling with my composure as I met the eyes of the man who'd once ruled Demonicon with Ahbi. “I'm new around here.”
He nodded slowly, the concerned elder, one large hand patting mine as he pulled his best loving granddad routine. He was so much like Ahbi I almost laughed, feeling the soft pressure of his magic, observing the polished way he performed for me. Wasn't buying it. But he didn't need to know that.
“I was delighted to hear you and your sister were finally able to return to your home plane,” he said as a slim, young demon set a plate of food in front of me. I dug in, starving again, figuring if they planned to drug me they would have done it by now. “Though I am saddened by the circumstances of your homecoming.”
“I bet,” I said around a steaming mouthful of mushroom-shaped vegetables tasting of steak and maple syrup. “Having me kidnapped must have broken your heart.”
The barest flicker of anger passed through his amber eyes. “I took the risk to your life much more seriously than your father,” he said. “You have me to thank for your safety.”
I sat back from my half-empty plate and glared at him. “No,” I said. “Actually, if you took even a moment to find out anything at all about me, your little liberation act put your whole rebellion at risk.” I leaned forward, letting my grandfather feel the edges of the power I had at my disposal as his eyes widened a fraction. “You have no idea who I am, Gramps. And I'm tired of your little foot soldiers getting in my way.”
He sat back himself, a tight smile pulling against his lips. He really was a handsome old demon, my father reflected in his rugged face. “There are larger things at stake here, girl.”
“You bet your red behind,” I snapped. Guard boy wavered just a bit, eyes locked on me, but I ignored him. Just let him try anything and I'd have Shaylee's earth magic rearrange his body parts. “Like the safety of Demonicon.”
“Your grandmother put our way of life at risk by perpetuating an unjust regime,” Grandfather said.
“And was killed by an evil witch who wants to steal the power of your Node for herself,” I shot back.
Well now. That got his attention. Grandfather paled slightly, breath catching as he leaned closer again. “What are you talking about?”
Before I could answer, a young female demon, the tiniest demon I'd ever seen, rushed into the room, eyes locking on me, a tall and stunningly beautiful female entering behind her.
“Henemordonin,” the tiny demon said, hurrying toward us, as the wheels in my mind clicked over and my grandfather's name finally came back to me. “You promised you'd tell me when she arrived.” The doll-like female stopped in a rush at my chair, barely taller than I was sitting as she stood there, beaming down at me, so much hope in her face, with her petite hands clasped to her chest, I lost my animosity and smiled hesitantly back.
“I am Avenesequoia,” she said in her high-pitched but lovely girl voice. “Please,” she went on, near to tears, lower lip trembling though she smiled, “can you tell me how my brother is? How is dear Sassafras?”
Sass had a sister? “He's fine,” I said. Weak, Syd. Give her more than that. “He's here on Demonicon.” In Ostrogotho. If she was a rebel, that wouldn't do much to help her.
But Avenesequoia beamed at me, leaning forward to kiss my cheek with her de
licate lips before hugging me around the neck.
“Thank you,” she said. “We'll talk of him later?”
I nodded as she let me go, turning to take a seat quickly vacated on the other side of my grandfather. Her companion slid into her own place, smiling at me with hooded eyes. Grandfather first patted the girl's hand, gazing at her with what seemed like real affection as she helped herself to a mug of nectar before nodding to the stunning demon next to her.
“Sekaniphestat,” he said. “You've returned from Ostrogotho.”
“Only briefly, my lord,” the female said. “There is still much to do before our victory can be seized.” She continued to smile at me. “Your forgiveness, Sydlynhamitra,” Sekaniphestat said. “I was only acting on orders, you understand.”
Sorry? “What orders?” I turned to my grandfather with a sick feeling in my stomach as I realized how much Avenesequoia, Sassy's sister, looked like the woman beside her.
“Mine,” Grandfather said. “We had to get you out of Ostrogotho. And making you look guilty of Ahbi's murder facilitated that.”
My eyes locked on Sekaniphestat as absolute rage flooded my body. Only sheer will power and my vampire's steady whispering kept me from flying over the table at the still-smiling demon.
“You're Theridialis's former mate,” I said, proud through my haze of fury how level my voice was. “Sassy's mother.” My demon squirmed for freedom, roaring for her blood. “You lied to the tribunal.”
Grandfather squeezed my hand, drawing my attention. “As I said,” he refused to let me go even when I applied pressure. “An unfortunate necessity. There was no way we'd be able to protect you in the higher levels of the Seat. We had to manipulate the facts to save you.”
Such. A. Liar. “And destabilize Dad so he'd be in the perfect position to fall.”
Grandfather had the good grace to flinch. Just a little bit. Only enough I saw it around his eyes, the tightness of his mouth. “Indeed,” he said. “Now,” he leaned forward, as though this revelation was nothing of any consequence. “Tell me about this threat you mentioned. The Node is in danger?”
