"If that's what you want."
"I do. Something bothers me about all this."
"Something bothers me about it, too." I didn't add that it wasn't the same kind of being bothered. Kooper wasn't the one going to places unknown, to witness horrific things about to happen. He didn't mind sending me, though.
Fuck.
"I'll keep you posted on our progress—in both," I said.
"See that you do." Kooper terminated the conversation.
"Well, we have our orders," I studied Zanfield and Vik. "How did Perri's training go this morning?"
"It went well," Vik said. "Travis came to help, and we went through the care and cleaning of blades, followed by beginning stretching. I'm glad Travis was there to tell her that this is how training has been done on Falchan for thousands of years. She wanted to pick up a practice sword first thing."
"Good. Let me know when it gets to the point where Zan and Perri can practice together."
"I will."
"Can you make yourself available after the midday meal? Looks like we have another coin to examine."
"Yeah. I'll be there."
Queen's Palace, Le-Ath Veronis
Kooper
"Our instructor would hit us on the head if we let our minds wander or talked during meditation," Crane, Dragon's brother, informed me.
"How old were you?" I forced myself not to be angered by his words.
"Four. You have a lot of catching up to do. Your comp-vid is being watched by a reliable assistant, who will rush in if the universes implode. Now, clear your mind and begin again."
Here we were, in the Queen's arboretum, while I attempted to contain my thoughts and my temper. Crane chose the area because we were surrounded by plants and trees, and nearby, a fountain made soothing water noises.
Soothing to him, perhaps. I just felt aggravated.
"Honey, just close your eyes." I jumped when Breanne appeared at my side, already folded into the proper pose for meditation.
My first thought was to pull her into my arms. The look in her eye and lift of an eyebrow told me to stay where I was. "I'll give you enough to get you relaxed," she told me. "After that, you really need to try for yourself. This will do a lot of good, if you'll stop telling yourself that you don't have time for it."
Stop behaving like a shedding snake, she told me in mindspeech.
They're half blind when they do that, and it makes them grumpy, I defended snakes everywhere.
You're not blind so you're over-compensating on the grumpy part. Now close your eyes and I'll send you what you need.
All right.
My breath caught as the first wave of love hit me—not as strong as she could send—not even close, mind you, but it was just enough. It helped me relax immediately.
We begin, Crane's mindspeech sounded pleased.
BlackWing XIII
Randl
"Dragon and Crane insisted on teaching Kooper how to meditate, after he kept putting it off," Vik grinned. "Mom sent mindspeech. He tried to wriggle and talk his way out of it today, too, but Bree showed up and things are going better, now."
"At least it's good news," I said, eyeing the pile of coins which had lain, undisturbed, on my desk since the last time Vik chose one.
Would someone need our help again? Would I meet another that Vik wouldn't see? I carried the coin I'd received the last time in my pocket, which was tightly buttoned. It felt right that I should carry it, somehow—as if it were safe with me.
Why it needed protection I had no idea, but I wasn't going to have an argument with myself over it; I had no facts to support either side.
"Ready?" Vik asked, his hand hovering over the pile of coins.
"I suppose," I said and watched as Vik lifted a disc of gold away from the others.
Founder's Palace, Campiaa
Wyatt
Opal and Kell stood in Dad's study, waiting with me. Dad hadn't come back from a meeting with the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of the Campiaan Alliance, or FVGCA. I didn't know which was harder to say when pressed to say it quickly.
Jett was on his way, too, but he'd been in a meeting with security from the member planets across the Campiaan Alliance. None of them wanted what happened to the Reth Alliance world of Ru'beq to happen on their worlds. Jett was forced to give advice on how to increase security, at a time when the Prophet was almost unstoppable if he targeted someone.
If we had that sort of information, we'd have employed it to keep him from nearly destroying Campiaa.
Opal and Kell had done some reconnaissance on the shipyard destroyed on the small planet of Gis. They'd gone in undercover, of course, while Kooper and Jett got Randl and BlackWings X and XIII there as fast as mundanely possible.
I had no idea what their information was, but I asked them to wait until Dad and Jett arrived, so they wouldn't have to tell it twice.
"What do you have?" Dad walked into the office faster than most people ran.
"Kooper asked us to represent him in this meeting," Kell said. "We have some disturbing news."
"What's that? Ah, Jett, good," Dad said when Jett folded in.
"We found that Stone Wicke caused the original destruction of that shipyard," Kell reported. "We tailed a few employees after our arrival, and we're almost certain that they all have new obsessions. Our supposition is that the Prophet came looking into the matter, shortly after it happened."
"Not good news," Dad shook his head.
"Oh, there's more," Opal said. "We found out who Stone Wicke works for."
"Who?" Jett demanded.
"Mebbers." Kell's voice held anger.
"We thought him long dead," Dad frowned.
"Evidently not," Opal sniffed. "It appears that the owner of the shipyard was invited to one of Mebbers' famous dinners, when he refused to hand over his inventory without payment. We found a servant who ran when the blood and guts started flying, so he escaped the obsession placed on the others who stayed behind."
"Is this information reliable?" Jett asked.
"I placed compulsion. It's reliable," Kell growled as his eyes narrowed.
"Not to worry, I believe you," Jett held up a hand. Kell was possibly the oldest living vampire, next to Tybus. Compulsion placed by either was as fool-proof as you could get, unless the subject had an obsession in place or a King Vampire at their elbow. Had an obsession been in place, Kell would have gotten no information at all.
"Then we need to get Randl there as quickly as possible," Dad said. "We should fold the ships in, rather than waiting for regular space travel to get them there."
"I agree," Opal said. "But there's a problem."
"What's that?"
"I tried to reach Randl in mindspeech. When he didn't answer, I contacted Travis. Travis says Randl went into split-time with Vik earlier, at Kooper's command. He hasn't returned, yet."
"Fucking hells," Dad rubbed his forehead.
"With your permission, I'll ask Travis and Trent to get the ships there and wait for Randl and Vik to arrive."
"Will they know where to go?" Jett asked.
"I think Randl focuses on the ship, so I hope that's the case."
"I don't know whether we should risk it," Dad said. "We don't need to fuck this up by moving too quickly."
"Then I'll tell them to stand by until Randl returns," Opal agreed.
"Thank you," Dad told her.
BlackWing X
Travis
"How long have they been gone—in our time?" I asked Dori.
"More than two hours," she said. She'd come to X to have a private conversation with us.
"Sending the ships ahead and letting him catch up was discussed," I began.
"I will claw whoever made that suggestion myself if we're ordered to leave this space without him," Dori growled.
"I get that," I held up a hand. "It was just a suggestion, and it was shot down."
"Good." Her arms were now crossed tightly, as she glared at Trent and me. I understood without a
sking that she didn't like Kooper's orders in this matter—that Randl examine the coins, which would send him into split-time. She had no idea where Randl would end up, or whether he was in danger, even with Vik at his side.
"Randl ought to be able to make his own mind up about these things," Trent sighed.
"Exactly," Dori said quickly, unwinding her arms to point a finger in Trent's direction. "Kooper doesn't have a clue what's waiting, and he just sends him anyway." She tossed out the same hand in a gesture of frustration. The other hand now rested on her hip; a dangerous position for any man to be near.
"We understand what you're saying," I attempted to calm things down. "It almost made us crazy when the Prophet took Sabrina."
"That was only once," Trent took up the narrative. "I have no idea whether we'd be sane if she kept disappearing."
"Are you saying I'm not sane?"
Now you're in trouble, Vik grinned as he and Randl landed inside the captain's cubby.
"Dori, it's okay," Randl held up a hand. "We had to deliver merpeople to a compatible ocean, and that took time."
Randl
"Kooper said to transport the ships two hours out, and make our way in under normal means," Travis informed the crew in our meeting. "We're underway, now, so be prepared for anything once we arrive in Gis' orbit."
"Merpeople? For real?" David asked. We were back to the split-time trip Vik and I had taken.
"For real, dude," Vik answered the question. "Randl had to take them and their tank of water so they wouldn't suffer shock, and it gave us time to analyze the water and look for the closest thing we could come to it. Turns out, it was the Eastern Ocean on Avendor."
"Were they in danger? Like the others?" Perri asked.
"Man," Vik shook his head and lowered his eyes. "First time we've had to fight our way in; the guards were packed so tight around that aquarium tank there was no other way. The tank was what they used to hold them, until Ra'Ak and rogue gods could have seafood for dinner."
"Holy shit," Dori hissed beside me.
What we hadn't told them yet was that we'd fought while invisible. The enemy couldn't see us to fight back properly. I wasn't worried about killing innocents—all of them were tainted and served their masters willingly.
I also didn't mention to anyone—even Vik—the one who'd appeared to me before I lifted the merpeople and their tank away.
Another man coalesced the moment we reached the tank; I felt a connection to him like the one before, only this one tossed a small bag containing several coins to me.
His message was much like that of the first man's—a variation of you'll figure it out. I wasn't sure about that. All I had was a growing list of questions, while answers were as rare as a speeding inky-sloth.
Speeding or not, inky-sloths were extinct—just as the answers I sought could be.
P'loxett
V'dar
The spheres clicked at a rapid pace in my left hand as I considered my next move. I could transport myself to Mebbers' homeworld, but I preferred to take my workers and engineers with me, to dismantle Mebbers' compound and bring it back. That included Mebbers' ships and whatever information they could gather, which could take time.
Besides, I had to determine who had taken Varok and Jiles. They'd disappeared from Lee'Qee, and my connection to Varok had been broken, somehow. I could no longer determine his location.
That angered me.
I needed Mebbers' warlock—that was more than evident. He and Mebbers had recently raided and destroyed shipyard on Gis. I'd gone with a few of my people to get information shortly after. We'd gotten everything the remaining employees could give us, so I left them with obsessions to keep that knowledge from anyone else.
The best information was this, however. Mebbers had more than one warlock, although the one I wanted most was the strongest of the three who'd attacked the shipyard. Mebbers had walked in after the theft and destruction, like a Lord surveying his conquest.
I wanted that, too. Powerful warlocks or wizards under my command would convey how powerful I was. Why hadn't I done this before?
Besides, I could pull names of others from Stone Wicke—I felt confident of it. Ensnaring more of his kind held much appeal.
With power wielders working on where my missing slave could be, I would surely find Varok.
And I would kill his captors.
Chapter 15
Queen's Palace, Le-Ath Veronis
Lissa
"I only see the fog of obsession," Quin sighed. We could easily see the warlock and the other two captured in Lee'Qee. We on the other hand, were shielded from their sight and hearing.
"I imagine they're important to the Prophet," Erland said. He held the sight-and-sound dampening shield around us, while Quin examined the captives in my dungeon.
"You know he sent them to find out what the recent disturbance was in Lee'Qee," Kooper said.
"How long had they been there before we arrived?" I turned to Erland.
"Seconds," my handsome warlock mate shrugged.
"Do you suppose the Prophet saw anything?"
"No idea. I hope it was unexpected; Jiles certainly wasn't strong enough to detect the net I placed."
"Then I hope he doesn't know where to come looking for them," I said. "I don't need obsessed vampires."
"This gives me the shivers," Quin said, turning toward me.
"We can't put them in a normal facility—the Prophet will have them back in a blink, and destroy anybody in his way while he's at it," I said. "We have plenty of shields around this place, but we don't have shields around the people outside the palace or in any of my cities."
"We can't even feed them to a Ra'Ak without assuming that their obsession will be transferred to the Ra'Ak," Kooper sounded grim.
"That's—terrifying," I said after a moment's hesitation.
"It's like a virus, isn't it?" Quin asked.
"Yeah. It is." My shoulders sagged at the thought. "The universes are getting infected with all of this, and we don't have a cure. We don't even have the idea of a cure, or where to start on one."
"Do you think that's the ultimate goal—to infect everyone with the Prophet's disease? It can be transmitted through sex, blood, body fluids, the concrete we stand on and now ingested by eating something tainted with it."
"We've never put it together like that," I said. "Your statement is true, of course, but we've been fooling ourselves about it all along. What it could come down to, is that everyone except the very powerful could be affected, and pass it to their newborn children, too. All the Prophet would have to do is crook a finger, and anyone would do whatever he wanted."
"Fucking hells," Kooper hissed through clenched teeth. "What good is the Hierarchy, when even we can't control this?" He folded space before I could attempt to calm him down.
I'll find him, Bree sent.
She'd have to; I had plenty to consider, and little to help me do it. Kooper might need a babysitter, but I had babies of my own, the Prophet's minions in my dungeon, Le-Ath Veronis to protect and a way out of this to consider. I couldn't spare him any more of my time.
"I worry the Prophet will turn his sights on Karathia," Erland shook his head.
"We may all be in the Prophet's sights, we just don't know it yet," I countered.
"We'll find a way," Quin whispered, as she stared at the space previously occupied by Kooper. "We have to."
Gis
Randl
The man shivered in my presence. Kell laid compulsion on him to answer questions truthfully; this was the only employee of the shipyard to escape the Prophet's influence.
The others obsessed by the Prophet's command had been rounded up already, although the CSD and the Governor of Gis were negotiating their fate. I didn't want to be Jett in that scenario; he had to convince the Governor that those men were a danger to anyone else, should the Prophet decide to command them further.
"You have nothing to fear," I told the man standing before me. He was ter
rified of Kell, Travis, me and anyone else in the room. That included Mak and Jak, who stood behind me as usual.
"Aren't you going to ask me anything?" He stumbled over some of his words out of fear.
"I don't have to," I held up a hand. The initial murder scene at Mebbers' table—the one that sent him running—still haunted him. Perhaps someday he'd be grateful that his mind was still his own, but it probably wouldn't be this day, or any in his near future.
"You were right to run," I added. "It saved your life and your mental health. Someday, I think you'll appreciate it, but not now. I understand that."
"I didn't do anything wrong," he dropped his eyes.
"I know that, too. I think we should keep you safe, however, since you're the only real survivor in all this mess."
"But there are others," he argued.
"They are not themselves, and may never be themselves again," I explained. "Do you have family here?"
"A son. My wife died two years ago."
I'd seen that in him already—living on a non-Alliance world meant he couldn't afford the medical procedures that would have saved her life.
"Where should we take them?" Kell asked.
"He's a good father," I said, causing the man to jerk his head up to stare at me. "Queen Lissa is placing orphans. Perhaps Cheel, here, would be willing to help. He could apply for Alliance membership and change his name, too, if he wants."
"How did you know to call me that?" Cheel asked. Cheel was his nickname and not his given name. At least he hadn't said the obvious—that I was blind, like everybody else I'd met.
"It's a gift," I shrugged. "Kell will take you and your son away from here, in case Mebbers or any of his crew come looking for you. He doesn't want anyone who doesn't work for him to recall seeing him, you understand."
"I know." His shoulders sagged in a helpless gesture.
"The Alliances aren't so bad," Kell said. "Come, we will find your son, gather your things and transport you to Le-Ath Veronis. A home will be found for you, once it's determined where those orphans will go."
"Where are they from? The orphans?" Cheel asked.
"We don't know," I said. "And that's the truth. They don't even know Alliance Common, so we're having to teach them."
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