"I heard you were almost killed anyway."
"Norian, don't go there," I shivered at the memory.
"Not your fault, breah-mul." He was behind me, rubbing the back of my neck carefully. "Come on; let's see if we can pick up the same scents elsewhere."
Three more apartments were on the list and I picked up the scent of two from the first place at all three of the others. There were seventeen scents in all—the last place turned out to be a condo, with all three apartments side by side. Nearly all the individual scents held some sort of taint, with the exception of two. I only smelled the blood of those two at the last place. Norian wasn't surprised when I told him.
"Do you think they died here?" he asked, as we stood in the bare living area. All furniture and clothing had been carefully removed from each place.
"I don’t smell their deaths here," I answered, looking around. The walls in this area were white, but all three bedrooms had been painted a red so dark, it was nearly black. To hide blood spatter, no doubt. I showed Norian where the blood spots were and he made a call to someone, asking them to come in the following day and take samples.
"We'll soon know whether we can ID anyone by the blood," he sighed. "I can usually scent blood, but I have to be in my other form."
"Do you do that a lot? Change to investigate a scene?"
"No. Too many chances of being seen," he replied. "Is there anything else here?"
"No."
"Then let's get dinner and turn in. We've had a long day."
* * *
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Viregruz stared at his two most powerful warlocks. "We know she's away from Le-Ath Veronis. Those comesuli of hers should learn not to gossip."
"We hear that even her mates can't find her," Zellar grumbled. "My informants tell me she has come up missing several times and none have been successful at tracking her. Except the Larentii, perhaps, and you know we're not going anywhere near them. There's no way I want my atoms separated." Viregruz merely nodded at Zellar's assessment—even he knew not to approach the Larentii.
"Keep working on this—I'll pay a very generous bonus if you can get any useful information. I want this kill myself, if possible." Viregruz tapped the ends of his fingers together, letting his claws slide out a bit. "Bring me something young for my meal," he added. Zellar and his fellow warlock hurried to obey.
* * *
Norian chose the restaurant and asked for a serving of prime rib—rare. I think he and Winkler would get along very well in the food department. Do all shapeshifters have a high metabolism? I sent to him as I dipped into my chicken dish.
"I think so," he answered aloud. It made me wish he had mindspeech—it might be more comfortable for him. I could give it to him—I held that ability—but that was a step I wasn't ready to contemplate, yet. Norian watched me carefully as he consumed his meal. He ate what I couldn't finish, too.
The snow was thicker, wetter and colder when we left the restaurant, so Norian asked me to get us back to ASD headquarters the quick way. After we left everyone behind who might see us, I did.
The cold doesn't bother me much, but I didn't like slogging through wet snow and Norian liked it even less. I discovered that Norian doesn't like being cold, period. His snake crawled right into bed with me to warm up before he slithered back to his own cubicle to sleep later. I was glad I could hear Lendill snoring the entire time.
* * *
"Dad, she didn't force me away from Le-Ath Veronis and she didn't yell at me." Shadow raked a hand through dark hair as he looked at his father. They were sitting in Glendes' private study and Glendes was watching his grandson and his son. "But if this goes badly on Cloudsong, I think I can forget ever being with Lissa again." Shadow sighed and stood. Glendes had one of the few southern-facing windows cut into the mountain that held Grey House, and Shadow moved toward it to stare down at the valley beneath the mountain. He could see it as it truly was—past the shrouded cloaking spells that presented a blackened hulk of an asteroid to anyone without a very strong wizard's talent to see.
"We can present our case to the crown's legal counsel, but it isn't likely they'll listen to the facts that Lissa isn't legally bound to Grey House. They only see the monetary value in this." Glendes echoed his grandson's sigh. "All the worlds that we do business with are non-Alliance, and they are watching this closely to see if we honor the contractual obligations. If we don't, then this will definitely affect our business dealings in the future. The others will not care whether Le-Ath Veronis is impacted legally. Many of them see it as a gambling world only—they aren't willing to look past the surface to understand that the comesuli and most of the vampires who live there have nothing to do with the casinos." Glendes toyed with an ancient inkbottle on his desk.
"They'll negotiate for the number of years—fifty is unreasonable and they know it," Raffian added. "Five is much more likely, but even that will not sit well with anyone from Le-Ath Veronis. Adam and Merrill are already looking into this. They can weather this storm, but other owners may not. Some will lose all their investment if they have to pay out even a year's worth of profits."
"How can they even be connected to this?" Shadow tossed up a hand.
"Because the crown owns the land the casinos are built on," Glendes replied. "If Lissa had sold the land and all rights to it in the beginning, we wouldn't be worrying over casino owners. There is a clause in the agreements with the owners, stating that Lissa can commandeer all the proceeds from those casinos if she sees fit, as ruler of Le-Ath Veronis. It was meant as a stopgap in case any of the owners or investors turned out to be corrupt. She can seize the casino and distribute proceeds to injured parties, in addition to forcing the owners off Le-Ath Veronis. This has proven to be the legal loophole that Cloudsong has grasped in their greedy claws. Lissa can legally demand all the profits from the casinos for the amount of time Cloudsong requires."
Shadow cursed under his breath. "You know what Melida was doing this morning, Grampa? Do you?"
Glendes knew how angry Shadow was, and he didn't want to stir that anger any more than necessary. "What was she doing, child?"
"Swooning in front of Selkirk at the breakfast table, telling him she felt ill and needed to stay in bed. Selkirk didn't want anything to do with her and when Cleo tried to get close to see if she could find any problem, Melida took off toward her suite like a frightened grouse. She doesn't want Cleo near her for some reason, although Cleo is better than any healer anywhere."
"Perhaps Melida is aware that Cleo is Lissa's niece," Raffian suggested.
"She probably knows that Cleo and Kyler are both Lissa's nieces," Glendes agreed. "And she likely knows that both my daughters hold a great deal of power. She doesn't want anything to happen to this baby. The child will keep her alive, if her father learns what she truly did." Glendes had spoken with Ferrigar. The Larentii Wise Ones had looked into the matter and then provided information to Ferrigar, Head of the Larentii Council, who'd then brought the news to Glendes. Ferrigar was connected by ancient blood to Grey House—Ferrigar's daughter had married a Grey and helped him form Grey House millennia before. Ferrigar still lived; his daughter had given up her life when her husband died.
"This still doesn't do anything for Lissa, except penalize her for even being with me," Shadow growled. "Our name isn't being dragged through the muck over this whole mess, but hers is."
"She's a high-profile Queen from the Reth Alliance," Raffian pointed out.
"You think she wanted that? Do you, Dad?"
"No, son, it's just the way things are. Tamaritha of Twylec didn't get that much attention, though she was swallowed by a Ra'Ak on a live vid feed. The picture didn't go fuzzy until afterward. Nobody saw what Lissa did to the others. Even we don't know what she did. All we know is that she left her body behind for a few weeks."
"Drake and Drew said that the Ra'Ak pooled their strength to destroy Nemizan's sun. Lissa managed to move Nemizan and its sister worlds to another sun." Glende
s' eyebrows rose at Shadow's explanation. He might have doubted Shadow's words, except he knew Drake and Drew couldn't lie. None of the Saa Thalarr, their Spawn Hunters or Healers could.
"Has she done anything to prepare for her defense on Cloudsong? The hearing is in two days," Raffian pointed out.
"Nobody knows anything and that ASD Director has hauled her off to Trell to take care of Alliance business there. When has she had time, Dad?" Shadow huffed at the question.
"Do you think she's just going to show up and take whatever is handed out?" Glendes had his own legal counsel—several fifth-level Grey House Wizards handled his legal affairs. They had all sorts of paperwork and arguments at the ready, not least of which was that Melida and Marid hadn't been completely honest or forthright when Melida had come to them, already pregnant. Glendes' contract specifically stipulated Grey House heirs and no others.
In Grey House's opinion, that violated the contract in the beginning and weighed heavily toward a writ of detachment. Either way, as soon as Cloudsong's judgment was passed, Melida would be shipped back to Marid and no further dealings would occur between Grey House and the Wizards of Belancour.
* * *
"Has my granddaughter done anything to prepare for this hearing?" Wylend looked pointedly at Erland.
"No. She hasn't discussed it with any of us, either. I have no idea what she's going to do and frankly I am concerned."
"Not least from the fact that she can demand the profits from your casino," Wylend muttered.
"My monarch, if that was all that concerned me, I would shut my doors tomorrow and walk away," Erland snapped. "They cannot touch what I already have, and I have enough—not just to support myself, but to support Lissa and my child as well. I will not desert Lissa, just because the imbeciles on Cloudsong have ventured far into the realm of unreason."
"Do you think it will make a difference if her grandfather and her mate from Karathia come to show support?" Wylend asked.
"If I were Cloudsong, I would be concerned," Erland nodded.
"Then we will certainly go. My meetings for that day can be canceled. Let Cloudsong sweat when the King of Karathia shows up in their Hall of Hearings."
* * *
"Director Keef." Norian stared at the image on the vid screen. Norian was speaking with Ildevar Wyyld, High Chancellor of Wyyld and Founder of the Reth Alliance. Lissa and Lendill had gone out to find something to bring back for dinner, so Norian was alone at headquarters when the call from the Founder came.
"Deonus Wyyld," Norian dipped his head to Ildevar. "How may I be of service?" Norian raised his head to gaze at the ruler of the founding world for the Alliance. Ildevar was old—much older than the Alliance itself if the rumors were true, and still looked very young, except for his eyes. Ildevar Wyyld's eyes held the depth of a very long life.
"I wish for you to be present at Queen Lissa's hearing upon Cloudsong. If the judgment goes against her in this proceeding, I want you, as a representative of the Alliance, to let Cloudsong know that they will never be welcomed into the Alliance for perpetrating this injustice. We have no sway over the legal systems of any non-Alliance world, but we do have the authority to deny any membership—in perpetuity. If you are forced to supply this information, I give permission to leak it to the media as well. I suggest that you have a hidden camera on your person, so the proceedings may be recorded. I wish for a direct feed to be funneled to me as it happens."
"Of course, Deonus." Norian nodded his head respectfully.
"Carry a communicator in your ear, in case I wish to send information," Ildevar added.
"It will be done, Deonus."
"Very good. I know I can always count on you, Director Keef."
"Thank you, Deonus." The vid screen went blank and Norian breathed a sigh of relief. Ildevar Wyyld and The twenty Charter Members who made up the Grand Alliance Council all knew what Norian was, but that secret remained with them and Norian was grateful.
* * *
"Lissa, I have been instructed to attend the hearing with you, as an Alliance representative," Norian informed me when Lendill and I returned with mutton stew and thick pieces of bread to go with it. Lendill had found a little restaurant in one of the older neighborhoods of Xindis, which served good, plain fare. We warmed our drinks in the small zap oven in the tiny kitchen afforded by the Alliance—the cups of tea had gotten cold on our brief walk back through the snow and freezing temperatures.
The snow had continued off and on throughout the night and part of the day and now was nearly six inches deep. My feet were nearly frozen when we returned to headquarters. Norian hadn't wanted to go in the first place, because of the low temperatures.
"So, you want to be there when all this happens on Cloudsong, huh?" I wasn't looking forward to any part of this. Not at all. If I were honest, I was frightened that I might lose my temper, and bared claws and fangs in a public place was never a good idea. I sure didn't want to give away any of my casino owners' money, either—Cloudsong had no right to that. When this debacle was over, we were going to call a special meeting of the Council and have a discussion about the original contracts, rewriting the parts where I could commandeer the profits if I saw fit.
We should have placed wording there to begin with, saying that I could only do that if I found the owners guilty of breaking the law or in violation of some rule or other. As it stood, I had complete control over that, for any reason. Cloudsong had exploited that so they could reap the benefits. It didn't surprise me that the Alliance was sending Norian—this could cut into the taxes paid to them by Le-Ath Veronis.
"Lissa Beth, you are staring at nothing and not eating," Norian pointed out after a while. "Your food is getting cold." We all sat at the small, round table in the tiny kitchen area. Lendill grabbed my mug of the Trellian version of tea and went to warm it again. I'd dumped plenty of sugar into it at the beginning, just to make it taste better. Trellian tea was bitter with a capital B.
* * *
"I can take us quicker," I muttered through chattering teeth as Norian and I stood beneath an awning, waiting for a train to take us to Rezael. The city lay two hours away by train, and Norian and Lendill suspected a Solar Red temple was under construction there.
"Shhh, let me handle this," Norian muttered. We were standing in the freezing weather, surrounded by other Trellians taking the trip with us. At least the crush of bodies kept the wind off us and Norian paid extra for a private compartment so we wouldn't be crowded inside the train. It pulled up just as I was considering grabbing Norian, folding him to Rezael and letting him pitch his fit when we got there.
Norian had to scan the chip in his wrist to get into our compartment, so nobody else could get in with us. Our compartment had comfortable seats that could fold into beds, a small table and a private bathroom. I didn't need it, but Norian might.
"Come on Lissa Beth," Norian patted the side of his wide, nicely padded seat when I was about to settle into the chair opposite his.
"Norian, what do you want?" I sighed.
"I want you to get me warm, I'm freezing," he muttered.
"Yeah? Whose idea was this, anyway?" I wasn't sure that I shouldn't just let him sit there and shiver.
"I want a nap, and this is the best way to get it. I love train rides," Norian said, slipping out of his heavy coat and setting it aside. "Come on; help the Alliance out a little." He patted the side of his seat again.
"I've been helping the Alliance out. A lot."
"You can do this—it won't hurt at all."
"Uh-huh." I went to sit on the edge of his seat.
"Let's get this off." He pulled my coat off and piled it atop his before pulling me against him and wrapping his arms around me. He did feel chilled. "Now," he said after he'd gotten comfortable, "tell me a story."
"What?" I pulled away to stare at him.
"Please. The sound of your voice will help me sleep. It doesn't matter what it is," he added, pulling me against him again.
"Fine,
" I grumped. "Have you ever heard The Legend of the Three?"
"Never heard of it," he mumbled, closing his eyes.
"Only a few of my kind know it," I said with a sigh. "It goes like this: In the beginning, the One created the Three. Those three were Wisdom, Strength and Love. The Three had many others beneath them eventually, at many levels of power and ability. The Powers That Be and the Nameless Ones are at the lowest levels beneath the Three." Norian snuggled closer.
"One day," I continued, "the One and the Three discovered a blight had infected their ranks. Some of those in many levels had banded together and turned against them, seeking to destroy what had been created. The Three were given the task of pursuing those destroyers and finding a way to turn them back to the Light, or devising a way to destroy them. Not an easy thing to do, since the ones they hunted were not only immortal and powerful, but were recruiting allies among the created races. The Three began to choose their armies carefully—part of their duty is to seek out and right many wrongs in their pursuit of the invasive evil. Among those who recognize them, the Three are called The Mighty. They are commonly known as The Mighty Mind, The Mighty Hand and The Mighty Heart."
"So what happened?" Norian blinked sleepily at me.
"The battle is still going on," I shrugged. Norian yawned and closed his eyes again. He was asleep in ten minutes and we made the entire, two-hour trip just like that—with Norian wrapped around me and breathing softly against the side of my neck. I was awake the entire time and thinking. About the upcoming hearing and judgment on Cloudsong. About how wrong it all felt. Then I did some Looking, trying to decide what to do about it all. I patted Norian's cheek when we pulled into the station.
"No, love, don't move yet," he mumbled against my neck.
"Norian, everybody else is getting off."
Norian cursed softly and opened his eyes. I helped him stand; he grabbed our coats and herded me sleepily toward the doors so we could get off. I smelled one of our rats the moment we exited the train, and that's what saved us. I had Norian turned to mist instantly while the laser pistol fired right through us.
Blood Redemption (Blood Destiny #9) Page 12
