High Demon 3 - Demon's King

by Connie Suttle

  "As long as he doesn't have a license, he shouldn't be allowed to practice medicine in the Alliance," Jayd said.

  "Should I find him," Denevik opened and closed his right fist.

  "Denny, don't. He isn't worth it," Glinda patted her brother's arm. "Reah, are you going to be able to do what Director Keef wants—repairing Tulgalan's core?" She changed the subject, steering us toward safer ground.

  I heaved a sigh at my aunt's question. "I hope so," I told her. "It drains me physically and even when it's under ideal conditions, I'm unconscious for clicks afterward. And then I'm exhausted for days. It was better this time, since Karzac helped me."

  "Reah, someone will be there with you," Aurelius stroked my hair. I'd left it loose—he liked it that way. I didn't point out that someone had been with me all three times I'd repaired cores and still I'd experienced unconsciousness followed by exhaustion.

  "Why didn't somebody tell me there was food?" Tory appeared between Jayd and Glinda, giving Glinda a kiss on the cheek.

  "Tory, I didn't invite you," I muttered.

  "Baby, you can't mean that," he said, picking up a bowl and helping himself to the stew. "Pass the bread, please." Jayd scooted the plate of bread in Tory's direction as Tory took an empty seat on Jayd's other side. Unwilling to get into an argument with him while the others were here, I stared at my half-eaten bowl of fish chowder.

  "Reah, finish your lunch, love," Aurelius coaxed.

  "Not hungry," I said.

  "Karzac won't be happy if you don't eat. I won't be happy if you don't eat. Come on, finish that for Em-pah." Denevik was tapping the edge of my bowl.

  "Reah, this is Torevik's child," Jayd said softly. "Allow him to be a father."

  Jayd's words made me snort. I hadn't seen much in the father department yet—all I'd seen was him going off with his brothers and taking Teeg's part in all this.

  "Why weren't we invited?" Ry showed up with Teeg. Well, that was it for me. My appetite was gone and now I felt nauseous. Slipping off my stool, I headed toward the small bathroom right off Aurelius' kitchen.

  * * *

  "Shit, she's losing her lunch," Tory was up in a blink and walking toward the bathroom with Gavril, Aurelius and Denevik right behind him. They found Reah crouched in the floor, dry heaving. She'd already lost everything she'd eaten earlier. "Get a wet cloth," Gavril ordered. Someone complied and Tory was kneeling in the floor next to Reah, pulling her against him and washing her face with the cool cloth.

  * * *

  "Tory, leave me alone," I sputtered weakly when he began washing my face with the wet cloth. "Go away. Go build the Campiaan Alliance with your brother."

  "Reah, stop talking like that," Tory sighed. "You have other mates. Aurelius doesn't get a monopoly."

  "Aurelius is the only one who cares about me." I bent over the toilet to heave again.

  "Shit," Tory muttered. "Baby, that's not true. You know it's not true. Now straighten up and come talk with Gavril and me."

  "Is that all you have to say?" I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and stared at him. "Straighten up and come talk to you? If I could skip away, I would, you poor excuse for a weed hen. Get away from me. Now!"

  "Reah, can you stand up, love?" Aurelius lifted me off the floor. Tory grabbed my arm. I tried to jerk it from his grasp. I was pounding on his chest as soon as he lifted me off the floor and carried me away from the bathroom. Teeg was right behind him; Aurelius followed, a puzzled frown on his face.

  Sitting with my arms crossed angrily over my breasts, I refused to look at Tory or Teeg as they did their best to explain to me that they had other things to tend to and couldn't—in Tory's words—ride herd on me every minute. I hadn't asked for them to do anything of the sort. In fact, Teeg needed to stay as far away from me as he could possibly get. "You don't need to be going off to Casino City on your own and you don't need to be sending your bodyguards away," Teeg decided to get in on this.

  "I'm not listening to you," I muttered.

  "Reah, you will listen. Farzi and the others are upset now that you just up and left them behind."

  "They're welcome here. You're not."

  "Reah, you are going to be the death of me," Teeg snapped.

  "I have three words for you, Teeg San Gerxon," I snapped right back. "Remove the chip."

  "Not likely," he almost shouted. "Forget that right now. I don't need to be combing the universe for a missing mate while I have other things on my mind."

  "Gee, how inconvenient for you. I'm not your mate. Don't want to be your mate. Take the damn chip out. You don't own me, Teeg."

  "I worked fifty fucking years for you. I'm not about to throw all that away because you think you don't belong with me!"

  "Don't I have anything to say about this?" I shouted. "The next time you and Kifirin cook something up together that involves me, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know!" I was crying and shaking now, my breaths becoming heaving sobs with the effort it had taken to yell at Teeg.

  "Enough of this," Aurelius was up and snarling. "We're not going to sort this out today and Reah is still recovering."

  "Fine." Teeg disappeared. Tory looked from me to the spot Teeg had previously held. He disappeared right behind his brother.

  "Are you sure that nephew of yours is High Demon?" Denevik looked at Jayd. They'd witnessed the entire argument and now I felt embarrassed—not only that they'd seen it all but that I was still sobbing in front of them.

  "He's half," Jayd muttered, as if that should explain something.

  "Reah, let's get you to bed—you're tired and out of sorts," Aurelius led me away.

  * * *

  Gavril was growling and stalking through his suite like a wounded lion. Tory and Ry watched him, unsure what to do. Gavril's communicator beeped. Pulling it out of his pocket, Gavril looked at the sender tag and answered the call. "Jes, where the fuck have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you. Dee is about to have a stroke."

  "I just wanted to be alone for a while," Jes' voice came through clearly on the comp-vid. "How is Reah? Is she all right?"

  "She's as well as can be expected," Gavril was still growling. "Where are you? Have you checked in with Dee?"

  "Yes—I'm at the palace on Campiaa now. I didn't mean for everybody to get so upset because I took a few days off."

  "Next time, check your messages," Gavril snapped. "And I may need you in a few days to help with Reah. I'll keep you informed." Gavril ended the call. "Fuck," he rubbed his forehead. "How upset do you think Reah is?" He turned to his brothers.

  * * *

  "Things are falling into place," Jes informed Ardalin later. "Teeg wants me to go help with Reah in a few days. That means we'll have both of them together to make this easy. Are you sure Nidris is ready to help?"

  "Yebri says yes," Ardalin's image nodded at Jes. "They're working on the spell that will make Teeg care only for me. I'm looking forward to getting what I want," she laughed. Jes didn't like the sound of her laughter but didn't say anything—he wanted what he wanted, after all.

  * * *

  "She's asleep—I had to call for Karzac when she wouldn't stop crying," Aurelius was as polite as he could be under the circumstances when Lendill dropped by.

  "Just tell her I came to visit," Lendill felt uncomfortable under Aurelius' stare.

  "I'll tell her if it won't make her cry again," Aurelius said, nearly shutting the door in Lendill's face. Lendill nodded and walked away. It had been a wasted trip. Lendill hunched his shoulders and strode toward the hovercar he'd borrowed from the ASD transport pool.

  * * *

  "I think I have information on Nidris and his family," Norian informed Gavril, Tory and Ry. "Lendill and I could use your help, I think."

  "I can bring Astralan and Stellan," Gavril offered. "They have no love for any of those. Nidris' family killed their father, Skye."

  "Then bring them. We can use the firepower, I think," Norian agreed. "We're targeting an area in the garden district near the equ
ator—most of the fruit and vegetables Tulgalan produces comes from there and it’s the least populated in this particular portion—the oceans where the tourists visit are hundreds of clicks away. The only ones living in that part are the plantation owners and their employees. We think the Hazlan clan have bought an old tomato farm and are producing just enough to keep them away from suspicion."

  "How did you find them?" Ry asked.

  "We looked for purchases of homes or land parcels in the right time period and coupled that with unusual events reported for the same time period. You know there's nobody with any sort of wizard or warlock abilities native to Tulgalan. We dug up report after report of the neighbors' dogs coming home unable to bark or not coming home at all."

  "Stupid," Gavril muttered.

  "And we're glad of it," Lendill said. "We might have taken longer to find anything on them," he added.

  "You think this is where the tapping originated?" Gavril asked.

  "Yes," Norian replied. "We'll take Reah there as soon as we clean out the nest. We have everything under surveillance and should be able to provide images soon of anyone coming or going. Who can identify them?"

  "My warlocks can easily identify them," Gavril offered.

  "Good. We'll get the images to you as quickly as possible. Now, since you're still bent on setting up the Campiaan Alliance, what are your plans for creating a unit to mirror the ASD?" Norian settled into the chair behind his desk and put the tips of his fingers together, waiting on the one who called himself Teeg San Gerxon to outline his plans.

  * * *

  "It's just a precaution—stop whining about it," Nidris cast the spell to make his brother Derdris look exactly like him. "Father says it's for the best."

  "Then why isn't Father casting the spell?" Derdris whined.

  "Because I have the resources to do this quickly," Nidris snapped. He'd tapped the core gently again, he just hadn't told his father about it. What was one more small tap? The core was already leaking power. "Just a little longer," Nidris spoke mostly to himself. "There. We're twins now." He lifted the mirror so Derdris could see his image.

  "I don't like this," Derdris muttered.

  "They won't know which one to shoot if it comes to that," Nidris smiled nastily at his brother. "It could keep us alive if we're found. Besides, I have plans to get us all out of here. Just be patient—we'll live like kings in no time."

  Derdris glowered at his brother. He'd heard that phrase before—on the night prior to a coup that left them in charge of Karathia for less than three days. Then, Wylend Arden, Erland Morphis and a stable of warlocks they hadn't even guessed at or calculated their power swept in and destroyed everything. They'd been hunted for so long afterward that now all Derdris wanted was to live his life in peace. He enjoyed farming—it was quiet. He could touch the earth and make it fertile. He'd found ways to keep the insects away from the crops and always volunteered to transport the crates of tomatoes to market, selling to upscale restaurants across Tulgalan. Desh's was one of his best customers.

  "You'll either save us or kill us both, brother," Derdris grumbled and used his power to fold away from Nidris.

  * * *

  "Aurelius, I don't want to do this." I looked at him as I dressed to go to Tulgalan. Norian wanted to get there early. Seven days early, to be exact. I was hoping to spend my time with Aurelius on Le-Ath Veronis. Norian still held my leash so I had to go.

  "Love, I hope to be here when you return but I may be sent out again," Aurelius closed the bag I'd packed.

  "No," I whispered, going to him and wrapping my arms around his waist.

  "My love, it cannot be helped," he kissed my forehead. "Come, I am receiving mindspeech from Tory. They are waiting for us at the palace."

  "All right." I moved away from Aurelius. Ry, Astralan and Stellan were going to fold us to a plantation on Tulgalan temporarily housing ASD operatives. Norian wasn't taking any chances on letting Nidris and his family escape. The plantation was far enough away from the farm the Hazlan family supposedly ran that Nidris, as a power-seeker, wouldn't detect any of the warlocks with us. As soon as we had the Hazlans in custody, I would be sent out to heal the core.

  Aurelius folded me to Norian's office inside Lissa's palace. Lendill was there, as were Teeg, Ry, Tory, all eight reptanoids and Astralan and Stellan.

  "We will take our Reah's bag," Nenzi stepped up right away, so Aurelius handed it over.

  "Nenzi," I hugged him tightly. I'd issued an invitation for him and the others to stay with me and Aurelius but they hadn't come. I blamed Teeg for that.

  "Our Reah well?" Farzi got the next hug.

  "I'm all right," I assured Farzi as the others came forward to get hugs as well.

  "Reah, I'll see you soon," Aurelius leaned down to give me a kiss before disappearing. Without him, I felt I was in enemy territory. Only Farzi, Nenzi and their brothers would be any comfort at all. If I were truthful, I felt cold and abandoned. I had no desire to heal Tulgalan and wished I could wait until after my daughter's birth. Just the thought of it made me rub my belly.

  "Reah well?" Farzi repeated his question.

  "I'll be fine," I lied to reassure Farzi.

  "We're ready," Norian nodded to Ry, Astralan and Stellan. We were folded away quickly.

  * * *

  "Tory and I will be trading nights," Teeg said the moment I was shown to my bedroom. Both of them, in addition to the reptanoids, had followed me. Nenzi still carried my bag.

  "No," I turned and glared at both of them.

  "Reah, this is the way it's going to be," Teeg snapped. "One of us will be with you at night and Farzi and the others will be in the bedrooms on either side. Get used to it!" I was just about to tell Teeg what I thought he could do with his high-handedness when Lendill walked in.

  "I'd like a night, too," he said.

  "No. Absolutely not," I almost shouted. I only held back a little—he was still my superior, after all. In fact, he shouldn't be trying to push himself on me. He and Norian would be lucky if they ever saw me again the moment my time as a conscript ran out.

  "If either of them get to trade nights, then I demand time as well." Lendill had his arms crossed angrily over his chest. All three stood there in identical poses, almost, all glaring and snarling. I wanted to tell them to get out but there wasn't any chance they'd listen. They never listened. Every time, it was what they wanted. They got their way, too, every single time. Suddenly, I was too tired to fight with any of them.

  "Nenzi, will you help me unpack?" I turned to my friend.

  "Nenzi help," he nodded eagerly. He and the others had my bag on the bed and unpacked in very little time.

  "Reah, baby, Norian wants one of those fruit and rum drinks," Tory poked his head inside the door. I just stared helplessly at him, all the fight gone out of me. Forces outside my control had decided my fate and I had no more strength to do battle against it. I walked wearily out of the bedroom, brushing past Tory and heading toward the kitchen to put drinks together.

  * * *

  "Reah, that was wonderful as usual," Astralan complimented me on the meal. I said nothing, gathering plates from the table instead. The reptanoids had helped me as much as they could with dinner. Now they would help me clean up. I hadn't been included in Norian's meeting with the others while they planned their assault against the Hazlan family in a few days. I was there to cook and do cleanup afterward.

  "Reah not feel good," Farzi was rubbing my back as I huddled on a barstool at the island later. We'd cleaned the dishes and the kitchen, leaving me worn out afterward. Perhaps I was depressed. That might explain the feeling I had of a terrible inevitability stretching before me.

  "Aren't you done yet?" Teeg stalked into the room, drawing to a halt a few feet away. "What's wrong with her?" He demanded. My head was buried in my arms at the island and I hadn't sat up when he walked in.

  "We not knowing," Farzi was still stroking my back.

  "Sweetheart, I can get Jes here in no t
ime," Teeg had come closer.

  "No. Keep him away from me," I muttered, still not lifting my head.

  "Reah, if you don't sit up and come to bed with me, I will have Galaxsan bring him immediately." I sat up. "See," he said, holding his arms out. "Problem solved." If I'd had any energy, I'd have punched him in the gut for his arrogance.

  "Come on, you don't have to do anything. Just let me love you," Teeg was nuzzling and kissing. He'd insisted that I not wear pajamas to bed. I wanted to push him away. I didn't have the strength. At least he was gentle. I think I wept while he loved me; I couldn't hold back the tears.

  * * *

  "What's wrong with her?" Wylend demanded the moment he'd folded in with Erland. Tory didn't want to argue with his grandfather and kept quiet. As it turned out, Tory didn't have to argue with Wylend—Gavril decided to answer.

  "She'll be fine after we get this over with," Gavril unfolded his arms and picked up a small sculpture that adorned the desk inside the plantation's study. "She doesn't like that Norian's forcing her to do this. Karzac says the baby is fine—I don't know why she's balking like this."

  "Right now, you're all riding over her—as if what she wants doesn't matter." Wylend didn't like it either—he understood Reah's position better than the others might think—he was in the early years of a female cycle. With Karathians, the cycles ran around a hundred years. Erland's was currently in a male cycle—Wylend's and Erland's tended to be opposites.

  "Don't say that—we'll make this up to her when this mess is over," Gavril set the sculpture down again. It was a stone carving of a tiny Skycatcher.

  "So, you don't care that she's miserable right now. Is that it?"

  "You make us sound like unfeeling louts," Tory muttered.

  "Well, aren't you?" Wylend glared at Tory now. "If I understand correctly, that little girl she's carrying may help revive the High Demon race. I think your father is none too happy with where Reah is at the moment."

  "Yeah, don't remind me," Tory sighed.

  "And since we're taking turns—you never should have told Rylend, by the way," Wylend was still glaring at Tory, "then I demand a night too. I wish to take Reah to dinner while she's here."