Demon's Dream (High Demon Series #6)

by Connie Suttle

  * * *

  "There is business to take care of, so Astralan will provide protection," Teeg informed me after breakfast. "Kevis also has things to attend to. You will be here with the three healers and Astralan. Try not to skip away from them?" Teeg begged.

  "Fine. There shouldn't be any reason to worry. If I want to go somewhere, I'll ask Astralan to take me."

  "Good enough," Teeg said and walked away, leaving me swinging in the hammock near the pool.

  "That looks comfy," Astralan grinned as he settled on a chair nearby.

  "You should try it sometime," I smiled at him. Besides Ry, whom I hadn't seen for days, Astralan might be my favorite warlock. If I asked him questions, even personal or sensitive ones, he always answered them patiently.

  "What are we doing today?" Joey, Norton and Franklin all appeared and sat near Astralan.

  "I think I want to visit Avendor," I grinned. Astralan lifted an eyebrow speculatively before grinning back.

  * * *

  Gavril was shocked. Kifirin transported him, Kevis, Aurelius, Tory, Lok, Farzi and Nenzi to Le-Ath Veronis, where they were met by Lendill, Norian, Ry, Garde, Jayd, Glinda and Lissa. Two others were there, seemingly against their will. Radolf and Ilvan stood together, and both appeared quite sullen.

  "We will be traveling the timeline today," Belen announced, drawing everybody's attention. He stood next to Lissa and rubbed her back absently while he spoke. Kifirin blew a bit of smoke but didn't say anything.

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

  "But you will come," Kifirin snapped.

  "Ready?" Belen asked. When nobody spoke, he transported everyone through time.

  "You will not be seen or heard," Belen said as they all stood in the gishi fruit groves on Kifirin. Reah, eight months pregnant with a black eye and swollen face, attempted to loosen a bolt on a hovertruck's solar collector. The bolt was rusted in place and she was having difficulty with it. Lissa drew a sharp breath at the state of Reah's face.

  "What happened to her?" Gavril growled while Reah continued to jerk the wrench on the bolt, trying to loosen it. A replacement collector sat in packaging nearby, waiting to be installed. Reah was doing the repairs herself.

  "One of the disabled that Gardevik sent to her was mentally damaged. Without medication, he would turn violent at times. He hit Reah," Belen said.

  "When is this?" Jayd asked. He was unable to gauge the proper time.

  "A little more than twenty years ago. Reah is pregnant with her last set of twins, Dara and Sara." Belen watched as Reah continued to work on the bolt.

  "No," Nenzi moaned. Reah had positioned herself so that her weight might be used to work the bolt loose. Doing so was dangerous in the extreme; if the bolt came loose suddenly, she could fall.

  "You may not approach," Kifirin held Nenzi back. Reah jerked the wrench, the bolt came loose and she fell with a cry, flat on her back in the dirt between rows of gishi fruit trees. That's where the truck had broken down and she'd had no good way to move it.

  They all watched in horror as Reah rolled over to rise stiffly before raising a hand to her head. Every breath she took after that was a bone-shaking sob. That went on for several minutes before she moved, pulled the broken solar collector off and replaced it with the new one, wiping tears the entire time.

  "Now, we go," Belen moved them. They stood in Garde's study inside the palace.

  "Garde, she needs the procedure or her baby will die," Reah was pleading someone's case in front of Gardevik Rath.

  "Reah, we can't hand out money every time one of your workers needs something," Garde blew a curl of disgruntled smoke.

  "But the baby will die," Reah was nearly in tears.

  "Babies die all the time, Reah. You're not responsible for them and neither is the Crown." Garde was done with the conversation. Reah skipped away. Belen followed her. Reah stood inside her bedroom at the tiny house in the groves. Carefully, she lifted a carved wooden box from a bottom bureau drawer. Lifting the lid, she drew out a necklace of diamonds and rubies. Touching the stones gently before shoving the expensive jewelry in her pocket, Reah wiped her cheeks, checked her appearance in the mirror and skipped away. Belen followed her.

  They'd landed in a secondhand jeweler's shop. Rows of jewelry were displayed in plexi cases beneath the counter. Reah waited while a woman and her husband bought rings before approaching the desk.

  "What might I sell you today?" The proprietor asked. Nearly bald, he only had the leavings of thin hair over his ears. His eyes were a washed-away blue and the wrinkles around his mouth traced a constant frown.

  "I don't want to buy, I came to sell." Reah drew the necklace from her pocket.

  "Ah. This looks quite expensive," the man held the jewelry up to appraise it. "Might I ask if it was acquired, ah, legally?"

  "It was a gift," Reah said stiffly.

  "I might be willing to offer top credit," the man said, turning his eyes on Reah, "If you'll agree to spend the afternoon in my bed." Aurelius growled at the proprietor's words. The necklace was snatched away from the man so quickly he hardly realized it had left his hand.

  "I'll go elsewhere," Reah's voice expressed her anger and frustration. "And I'll make a stop at the magistrate's office afterward," she snapped.

  "No! No, no," the man was pleading, holding out a hand. "It was in jest, I assure you. I will pay what the necklace is worth. Secondhand, of course."

  "Of course. Give me your best price or I will leave and will still visit the magistrate," Reah warned.

  "I will," the man whined and named his price. Reah almost walked away. He upped it, and then upped it again. When the right amount was spoken, Reah nodded her head. She also pulled a comp-vid from her pocket to check the credit chip before leaving the store.

  "Where did that necklace come from?" Tory asked.

  "I gave it to her," Aurelius grumbled.

  "We will go," Belen said.

  Their next visit was to a hospital, where Reah spoke to a doctor.

  "The baby will live now," the physician said. "If she had waited any longer, that would not be the case."

  "Good," Reah sighed. She was dressed very poorly, Gavril noted. Lissa glared accusingly at Kifirin, who merely looked grim.

  "Didn't she have better clothing than this?" Glinda asked, horrified that Reah would appear in public this way.

  "Shall we check her closet?" Ry gave the Queen of Kifirin a nasty smile.

  "No. I know what we'll find. No," Glinda held up a hand.

  "And this is surely while you were stealing from her," Lissa glared at Radolf and Ilvan. "If she'd had the funds from the restaurant at least, she wouldn't be selling off her jewelry to pay for something that Gardevik should have at least looked into." Garde was the next one to receive Lissa's angry stare.

  "We go," Belen said and they were gone again. This time, they appeared in the rotunda of the High Demon palace. Reah had skipped in, dressed as well as she could be under the circumstances.

  "Ah, lady Reah," a servant walked over and nodded to Reah. He was tall, thin and dressed much better than Reah was.

  "Randik?" Reah turned to the humanoid servant.

  "If you're looking for your daughters, they are not here," Randik sighed patiently. "Master Aurelius came and took them for ice cream. They have not returned as yet." Reah's shoulders sagged at Randik's words.

  "Did he say anything about coming to visit the groves afterward?" Reah asked.

  "No, lady. I believe he told Princess Raedah that he had to get back after their trip for ice cream."

  "Oh. Well, thank you, Randik. Tell them I'll be here tomorrow evening." Reah skipped away. Belen followed her. Reah was wiping her eyes as she prepared a meager dinner afterward and washed clothing by hand after that.

  "She didn't even have a washer?" Glinda kicked Garde.

  "I didn't know she needed one," Garde muttered angrily.

  "I guess she was out of jewelry and her profits from the restaurant were going elsewhere,
" Lok shot angry looks at Ilvan and Radolf.

  "Remember, we are giving a broad cross-section only. This is by no means inclusive of everyday trials," Belen said. "We will visit one other place." He transported all of them away.

  * * *

  "I'll give you half the profits if you'll consider this," I said. Edward sat beside me in the western grove. The fruit was halfway harvested, to the best of my estimation. Joey, Norton and Franklin were examining the harvested trees while I sat on a narrow bench between Astralan and Edward.

  "Reah, I'd give you all the profits if you'd marry me." Edward rubbed my back gently. I stared up at him, shocked by his proposal. Yes, I'd felt a connection to him the moment I'd met him, but I had too much baggage dragging behind me. He didn't need to be exposed to that.

  "I'll settle for half to start," I said. I'd made gishi fruit ice cream for him inside his massive kitchen and watched while a slow smile spread across his face when he tasted it. Astralan and the three healers had gotten a dish of ice cream, too, and they were just as excited. Edward and I were now discussing a gishi fruit ice-cream plant to be placed on part of EastStar's property, using the slightly blemished fruit that couldn't be shipped with the rest of the crop. Edward either sold it to local vendors or used it for seed for future plantings. I was offering an alternative for the blemished fruit.

  "How quickly do you think we might get started?" Edward asked. "I have contacts in exclusive shops everywhere. They already carry my gishi fruit. It won't be a stretch for them to carry the ice cream."

  "I think we can be up and operating on a limited level in four eight-days," I said. "We can set up in one of your empty buildings near the barns while we build another facility. We can clean up, install the ice-cream machines and get the inspectors out. As soon as they pass us, then we can begin making ice cream. We'll see how well it sells."

  "How much do you think we can charge for this?" Edward hugged my shoulders. Astralan surprised me by taking the hand closest to him and squeezing my fingers simultaneously.

  "I think we can get one hundred credits for a tink, wholesale," I said. "I believe your vendors can sell it for one-seventy-five, retail." A tink was close to a half-gallon, in Aurelius' measurements.

  "And since it's frozen, it'll keep a lot longer than gishi fruit," Edward chuckled. "Let's try this. I'll get a crew on one of those buildings this afternoon. I'll send a message when everything is clean, whitewashed and ready to go. Then we'll go looking for ice-cream machines and set up an inspection. I'll make arrangements with a dairy for the milk and you can look for suppliers for the other ingredients. I want this to work, Reah. That ice cream was incredible."

  "I think we can turn a good profit on it," I agreed. Edward leaned down to kiss me. Did I wonder where the magic had gone? Edward wasn't fooling around, I could tell. I blinked up at him. He was wealthy, had everything he might ever want and more, yet he'd asked me to marry him. And there I was, pregnant with Teeg's child. I didn't know what to do.

  "Don't worry, I'll settle for a date first, if you're willing," Edward smiled. "Just don't forget about me, all right?"

  "All right. You have my comp-vid code. Let me know what's happening on your end, and I'll go looking for spice and sugar suppliers."

  "I will. And you can visit anytime. If I'm in a meeting, those people should be prepared to get thrown out."

  "How about we get together in a couple of days and make a few tinks of ice cream for your vendors to sample? We'll whet their appetite a little," I smiled at Edward.

  "That sounds perfect. I'll get some packaging put together and we'll look good when we take it to them," Edward agreed.

  "Wonderful. I'll be back in two days," I said. Astralan and I gathered the healers and folded to Campiaa.

  * * *

  "Boss, you're not going to let that little girl get away, are you?" Keedan gave Edward a shrewd look moments later.

  "I have no intention of doing so. I just have to convince her that adding me to that stable of men she has is a good idea." Edward was grinning wider than Keedan had ever seen.

  * * *

  "I've missed this," Astralan sighed, swallowing his first bite of fish. Mathilde had offered to cook lunch, but I told her to sit down and take a break while I did it.

  "Oh, my, this is wonderful," Mathilde sighed. "If I ask, will you help me work out a few glitches in recipes once in a while?"

  "I'd be happy to. Your pot roast is the best I've ever had," I added. "The cooks have to stick together."

  "And we will," she assured me, cutting into the fish again.

  "This is incredible," Franklin piled sauce onto a bit of fish with his knife. "And that gishi fruit ice cream? Best ever," he stuffed the bite of food into his mouth.

  "We could get Reah to do the dessert for your mother's birthday," Norton said, staring at Franklin.

  "Your mother?" I lifted an eyebrow at Frank.

  "The Unicorn. Kiarra is my mother," Franklin grinned.

  "Oh, gosh. And I smeared blood all over her," I sighed, my cheeks burning.

  "And we didn't have to do a darn thing to neutralize poison," Joey pointed out. "Usually, if one of them gets hit, we can neutralize most of it, but it takes longer and they're weak for several days, at least. This was an instant fix," Joey tossed up his hands.

  "I'm glad, even if I did traumatize her," I said. "I'll be happy to make dessert for your mother's birthday. Just let me know when."

  "It's next week," Franklin grinned.

  "How many will be there?" I asked.

  "Probably forty or fifty," Joey laughed.

  "I can do that; I'll just have to ask Edward for gishi fruit."

  "I think he'll give you anything you want," Norton observed dryly.

  "Teeg back yet?" Dee folded in with Stellan, Galaxsan and Celestan.

  "Not yet," Astralan shook his head.

  "Who do we have here?" Celestan and Galaxsan were staring at Joey, Norton and Frank.

  "Joey, Norton and Frank," I pointed out the proper healer at the proper time. "Healers," I added.

  "For the Saa Thalarr," Joey was grinning again. I think I expected to see sparks any moment between the healers, Celestan and Galaxsan. The two warlocks were in a female cycle, according to Astralan.

  "You boys want to go to the mountain and snowboard this afternoon?" I asked innocently.

  "There's snowboarding?" Joey was already standing.

  "We'll show you, if Dee can do without us," Galaxsan grinned.

  "I can make do with Stellan," Dee agreed.

  "Come on, we'll rent the equipment," Celestan offered before they all disappeared.

  "Ask Teeg to contact me as soon as he gets in," Dee said. "Reah, I think you need that nap."

  "Yeah, I was going to go back to the hammock as soon as the kitchen's cleaned up."

  "I'll take care of that, go get some sleep," Mathilde smiled.

  "Come on, shortness," Astralan pulled me off my barstool. "There's something you should consider before you marry that man," Astralan said as we walked toward the hammock.

  "What's that?" I stopped and looked up at him. He and his brothers all had dark-brown hair and dark eyes. Enough to turn many a head, I knew. Franklin and the others had certainly been taken by Galaxsan and Celestan.

  "That I saw you first," Astralan replied. I got a kiss from Teeg's number-one bodyguard warlock, who went one better, using power to settle both of us in the hammock. "Comfy?" Astralan's arm pulled me close so my cheek rested against his shoulder.

  "I'm getting that way," I sighed and closed my eyes.

  * * *

  "Oh, no." Ilvan knew what was coming if the rest of them didn't. They'd landed inside Edan Desh's office at Desh's number two on Tulgalan. Edan's anger radiated off him as he flipped through record after record on a comp-vid.

  "Reah's father, whom she still believes to be her brother, has gotten notice that Addah Desh, his father, may have discovered that he is siphoning funds away from the business. He is moving credi
ts around to cover the missing amounts," Belen offered information, giving Ilvan a hard look. Ilvan quailed before those eyes, filled with stars as they were. Edan came to some sort of decision, slapped the comp-vid into a desk drawer and rose, trailing past his invisible audience and slamming the door behind him. Belen led the crowd out of the office behind Edan as he stalked through the busy kitchen, snatching up a heavy steel ladle as he walked.

  Gavril drew back and stopped but Kifirin, who brought up the rear, forced him forward. Reah was there, her back turned to Edan Desh as she rolled out pastry at a table. Too short to reach the top comfortably at age ten, she stood on a short step stool to work. Her clothing didn't fit and hung loose about her, likely hand-me-downs from an older brother, her hair hung in a long braid down her back and she was completely focused on her work, using the wood pin to roll out a flaky crust.

  The first hard blow from Edan's ladle hit her between the shoulders and she cried out, falling from the stool. He then proceeded to hit any part of her he could. Face, hands, back, ribs, legs. When she fell in the floor and curled up in a ball, the blows still rained down.

  "I think she's dead," one of the kitchen helpers, never thinking to intervene, finally said.

  "Really?" Edan snarled. Tossing the ladle into the nearby sink, Edan lifted a foot and stomped down on Reah's ankle, crushing it.

  Kevis wanted to weep, kill Edan Desh and then weep again. Lissa was staring in horror at what she'd seen. Belen was rubbing her back again. This was very similar to the treatment Lissa had received at the hands of her stepfather. A younger Ilvan had stood on the other side of the table, watching Edan deal out his anger against a helpless child. "Call an ambulance," Ilvan said to one of the assistants.

  Gavril watched, his anger seething as Reah was loaded onto a gurney and hauled to the nearest emergency facility. Belen got his company there as well. Edan showed up shortly after Reah arrived, pulling the head of surgery and the hospital administrator aside.

  "Six months of free meals at Desh's, if you say this is an accident," he offered. Lissa cursed under her breath when both hospital employees agreed. Reah was treated for broken bones, her crushed ankle was reassembled using a surgery robot and then taken to a room while still unconscious. Bruises were everywhere, cracked and broken ribs were bandaged and casts were on the ankle and a wrist.