"Has Kifirin been notified?" Kiarra asked, staring up at the Larentii Archivist.
"Messages have been sent," Connegar folded in. "We are waiting for a reply."
"He knows," Belen appeared, accompanied by Thurlow.
"We are here," Teeki and Neeki appeared. "But we have not good news. The rogue Ra'Ak that remain have allied with those two bad brothers of Lendill Schaff. They are all hunting Reah. The bad brothers want her dead. They blame her for Lendill becoming Prince-Heir. They seek her death. The rogue Ra'Ak want her dead, too, for killing those they sent after the Saa Thalarr. The bad elf brothers have promised these rogue Ra'Ak joint rule of Gaelar N'Seith and other worlds, if they help to kill Reah and the Saa Thalarr. Things do not look good," Teeki shook his head.
"I don't believe this," Kiarra rubbed her forehead.
"Were the elves the ones who shot her?" Lok asked.
"Yes. With an old weapon they should not have. One outlawed by the Alliance long ago. They still have that and others—they are collecting them. Now, they seek to harm the Lifegiver."
"Are you calling her that because she is pregnant?" Nefrigar asked calmly.
"No. Reah is the Lifegiver."
"What does that mean?" Grace asked.
"It means that Reah can heal more than cores," Kifirin folded in. "She can bring those dead and dying worlds back to what they were before they were drained. Much faster than you might believe. She has not yet discovered this particular talent, however."
"It will be similar to what we can do when we manipulate atoms," Pheligar nodded, "only Reah can do it with living things. She will be able to import the building blocks of life and accelerate the process. Several records on this prophecy are stored in our Archives," Pheligar smiled at Nefrigar.
"I had not realized you'd read them," Nefrigar nodded to Pheligar.
"It interested me early on," he said. "We might manipulate those things, but we do not have a specific talent for it."
"You were a curious child," Nefrigar smiled. "If our father were still alive, he would be very proud."
"I still can't believe you didn't tell me you had a brother," Kiarra stared at Pheligar and then at Nefrigar. "For centuries I believed my Larentii was an only child."
"Yes, we are brothers, although he is much younger. He comes when he will, and we talk. His nephews show him what is new in the Archives," Nefrigar offered Kiarra a smile.
"I can't believe Pheligar didn't just sprout from the ground," Merrill laughed.
"That would be quite difficult. Larentii have never accomplished that feat," Pheligar huffed, causing several snickers around the kitchen.
"Father, I love you," Renegar embraced Pheligar. Pheligar grinned and hugged his son.
* * *
"Reah, my love, we have a meeting." Nefrigar was using power to dress me. Was that strange? In the strangest of ways. Clothing slithered over my body and fastened itself swiftly, and my hair was braiding itself.
"Who are we meeting?" I asked as my Larentii lifted me off the bed.
"You will see. Do not fear; you will be in no danger. They hold no power over you, and even if they did, I would separate their particles. You look very nice. We will go."
* * *
Ra'Ak in humanoid shapes. Six of them waited upon a deserted world not far from Kifirin, as it turned out. This world was not dead like those Zellar and his trainees killed. This one held plant and animal life in abundance. Trasindelim, Nefrigar's voice whispered in my mind. Their ancient world.
"Reah Nilvas," one of them stepped forward and bowed. I nodded politely in return. Nefrigar stood at my back, as witness and protection, I think.
"I do not know your name," I said to the one who'd addressed me.
"I am Maldak, Copper Prince," he introduced himself. "And I requested this meeting with you. Except for the rogues still among the worlds, the Copper Race wishes to sue for peace. We want you to broker that peace. We have watched you, Ms. Nilvas. You are the best candidate to act as liaison between the Saa Thalarr, our dark cousins, the Black Ra'Ak and us. We wish for things to go back as they were in the beginning, with a few exceptions. Then, we were subjected to the Black Ra'Ak and compelled to do their bidding. We wish to be a separate and equal people and recognized as such. We will police our own, as our dark cousins do. We will gladly accept help from them and the Saa Thalarr to hunt down any rogues or criminals among us. In the meantime, we will follow the rules that the Black Ra'Ak set for themselves. We will draft a treaty with representatives from the others, and if there are disagreements, we will work through those to the benefit of all."
He wasn't lying. Maldak was completely truthful in everything he said. "Very well," I told him. "I will carry this back to the others and a date will be set. Meanwhile, do you have information on the whereabouts of the remaining rogues?"
"We do not. They have been hiding from us for quite some time, willing only to send their youngest children out to create havoc among the worlds. I find this repugnant—they transformed humanoids without thought to their character, and then forced them out to be killed by the Saa Thalarr or some other faction capable of doing so. You do not send your children out to be destroyed in such a way. They must be carefully taught so they will know not to kill."
"You are not from this time, are you?" I said, watching him carefully.
"No. I brought these forward from long ago, to escape those who thought to destroy everything. I looked for an appropriate time to re-establish ourselves. A time when the threat against us would be in measures we could handle. Now, all we need is the proper candidate to bring us together with our lost cousins and those created to hunt the rogues of our kind. If we may meet here in three days, that will suit us very well."
"I'll do what I can," I replied, nodding to Maldak. He smiled.
* * *
"He said they came from the past, to get away from the rogue faction that was taking over," I said. We were all inside Lissa's library on Le-Ath Veronis. "They want to inhabit Trasindelim again," I said. "And I have a suggestion."
"I'm agreeable," Lissa said. The suggestion I'd made was to allow the Ra'Ak, Black and Copper, to feed twice a turn from Evensun. I knew that every prisoner was sterilized before they went, so there were no children. The youngest would be sixteen or older, I knew that, and all certified as adults. Only the worst of criminals were sent to Evensun. "And limit the take to one day for each hunt," I said.
"Where will they get their new children?" Kiarra asked.
"Shall we ask Ildevar?" I suggested. Lissa sent a message to Norian, who contacted his patron. Ildevar appeared, walked straight to me and hugged me warmly.
"Little Reah, are you well?" he smiled at me.
"As well as can be expected," I said, asking him to sit with us. We were in a circle in Lissa's library. "Do you know why we're here?" I asked.
"Willem informed me that this would come. It is a glad day," he replied. "And I think that we will form a committee. Worthy citizens' names from across the Alliances might be suggested, and we will choose from that list when they are dying. The Ra'Ak will limit their numbers, as they always have. They will replace what is lost only, once the full complement of our kind is reached. Then they will look to replace what is lost when the time comes. The committee will decide and then take suggestions to the Ra'Ak, who must also agree. The King of the Black Ra'Ak and the Prince of the Copper race will make final decisions from the list submitted. And then the ones suggested make the final choice. It is only fair."
"I agree with that," I said. "Some may not want that sort of life. The final choice should be theirs."
"And I want Reah on that committee," Ildevar smiled at me.
"If you'll do it with me," I said.
"I would be honored," he nodded.
"Jerigar and I will also be on that list," Willem and Jerigar, the only white-haired Larentii I'd ever seen, appeared. Jerigar came over and lifted me up, placing a hand over the baby.
"He is quite fine, but
his mother needs to gain weight," he said.
"We need one more member," Willem announced. "Edward Pendley should take that spot."
"Edward Pendley will do it, as long as Reah is there," Edward was folded in by Aurelius.
"Good enough," I sighed. "And the first person I want to put on that list is Flyer from Falchan."
"Yes!" Lok stood and shouted his approval, something so unlike him. Dragon and Crane were pounding Lok on the back. I just shook my head in amazement.
"Flyer is ill," Jerigar whispered in my ear. "They should take him soon."
"There is a vacancy with the Black Ra'Ak now," Youon appeared. Someone had likely called him.
"Lok, do you, Dragon and Crane want to go to Flyer?" I asked. "To see if this is what he wants?"
"Wait," Belen appeared. "We owe a debt to Reah. Several, actually. Reah, we will hand Flyer's life to you. We will make him like Lok and Aurelius, immortal with a bit of power, with an invitation to join the Spawn Hunters. He will not become Ra'Ak. Is that what you want?"
I didn't even have to think about it. "Yes," I said. Flyer had been more of a father to me than most other men in my life.
"We will go," Belen said, and every Falchani in the room disappeared with the Nameless One.
"Now I'm back to looking," Youon sighed.
"Then go see Plovel on Bardelus," I said. "He was a good policeman and investigator. I hear he's retired, now."
"Good choice," Jerigar smiled at me.
"I will go with Youon," Ildevar Wyyld said. "And with Willem." Those three disappeared.
"I like it when I get instant results," I sighed.
* * *
"Reah, I have it on good Larentii authority that you should eat more and rest more," Kevis was ordering me to bed as soon as I finished dinner.
"And which Larentii would that be?" I asked, dressing in pajamas.
"Renegar. Remember, you said you loved him."
"I do," I said.
"Do you love me, too?" Ry appeared in the bedroom.
"I do. I was wondering what happened to my warlock King." I wrapped my arms around Ry's neck as he lifted me off the floor. I waved for Kevis to go away as Ry started kissing me. And when he loved me, it was gentle and perfect. I went to sleep in his arms afterward.
* * *
"I think Ry just made it around all the bases," Teeg sighed and swallowed his bourbon. Kevis had joined Teeg, Tory, Aurelius, Lok and Lendill for a drink at Edward's kitchen island. Edward had taken the reptanoids out to the groves to look for whatever was chewing on gishi fruit trees in the eastern grove. Teeg stared when they brought the dead predagator back. The reptile was nearly twelve feet long and not native to Avendor. An omnivore, it loved small mammals and fruit trees, chewing the bark off the lower portion of the tree and killing it that way. They also built dams similar to beavers.
"I can't imagine where it was planning to live," Edward said, examining the creature with the others. "These things require ponds, lakes or rivers. The nearest river is fifty clicks away."
"Planted?" Teeg asked.
"Undoubtedly. I grow tired of these pranks by my neighbors," Edward sighed in frustration.
"Buy them out," Lendill suggested.
"Do you think there are more of these out there?" Tory asked.
"Possibly. I've lost nearly fifty trees in the past six days."
"Then I'll go out. They won't stay anywhere near a High Demon. Reah would do it for you, if she were awake. Since she's not," Tory finished his drink and made ready to hunt predagators.
"Which one of you did this?" Teeg grinned at Farzi and Nenzi after examining the dead predagator.
"I do this," Nenzi was quite proud.
"Nenzi, you are definitely the man," Teeg slapped him on the back. "Come on, let's all go looking for predagators."
No less than sixty were rounded up and set on the neighboring gishi fruit groves. Terrified of Tory's Thifilathi, they couldn't get away fast enough.
"You think that might drive down the price?" Teeg laughed as they watched the reptiles rush away.
"Can't hurt to check," Edward nodded.
* * *
"Lord Kifirin?" Farzi stared at Kifirin, who stood inside the bedroom he and Nenzi shared at Edward's manor. Nenzi, who gaped at the god, wondered why Kifirin had come to them.
"I wish to give you—and Reah—a gift," Kifirin said. "It will not hurt in the least. I know it was painful when you experienced it in the beginning. This will be a return of what is rightfully yours." Light formed around Kifirin.
* * *
"Ry, you get more handsome every time I see you," I pulled his head down to kiss him. He'd wakened me with a smile.
"Just what I wanted to hear from my future Queen," he said and kissed me again. We were late getting to breakfast. I was weeping in no time when a very young-looking Flyer was sitting at the table, having his first meal as an immortal. He was up from the table immediately, hugging me.
"How is my daughter?" He held my face in his hands and kissed my forehead.
"I am better, seeing you," I wiped tears away. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you. My customers missed your cooking," he grinned. "It took years to bring them around again."
"That's not true," I said, hugging him. "Come on, finish your breakfast."
* * *
"You told me those things would stay in EastStar's groves," Crorver Ride cursed at Erbrin Dondl. Their groves bordered EastStar's on the western side only. Mountains bordered EastStar on the eastern side and SouthStar bordered all of them to the south and west, stretching toward the jungles protected by law. Those jungles consisted of rainforests that helped sustain Avendor. Crorver and Dondl's groves were surrounded by SouthStar and EastStar, and they didn't like it. They had no trouble expressing their displeasure with the owner of EastStar in ever-creative ways, but they were terrified of SouthStar's owner and his grove manager.
"They usually don't travel far if they find a food source," Erbrin whined about the reptiles they'd loosed on EastStar. The predagators had found their way back to their groves, somehow. "It's egg laying season, too," he went on. "I found a wallow and an egg cache right next to a broken sprinkler line this morning. We'll have to hunt the creatures down."
"Those things are difficult to find and harder than that to kill," Crorver snapped. "This was your idea. I suggest you get your employees to my property and hunt them now."
"My staff is committed to protecting my own trees," Erbrin argued. "Hunt them yourself." Crorver cursed louder.
"A letter—for each of you," Crorver's assistant appeared with two expensive paper messages.
"What's this?" Crorver opened his first. "He wants to buy me out?" Crorver cursed again.
"And me as well," Erbrin sighed. "You know, I'm almost willing to hear what he's offering."
"Shall we go together, and then throw his offer back in his face?" Crorver grinned.
"Yes. That sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon; ridiculing your neighbor and rival."
* * *
"Want to invest in gishi fruit, my love?" Merrill smiled down at Kiarra. They'd spent most of the morning in bed. "I hear Edward Pendley is looking to buy out his two neighbors. According to Avendoran law, he can't hold the title to all three groves in his name only. I figure he'll put Reah on, but if she marries him, that's just shy of breaking the law."
"You think Adam would like to invest in that?"
"He says yes," Merrill pulled the sheet down, uncovering a breast. He didn't talk for a few minutes. "I can't tell you how long I dreamed about this," he said.
"After four hundred years, you still dream about it?" Kiarra smiled at him.
"All the time. And we have Glendes Grey willing to invest, with Dragon, Crane and Lissa."
"You like making a deal almost as much as you like sex," Kiarra kissed him.
"Sex with you," Merrill grinned.
* * *
"Wow," I said, repeating one of Teeg's favori
te phrases. Edward's patio was crowded with people, and his staff was moving among them, serving drinks and finger food. Even Farzi and Nenzi were there, with Teeg and Ry. Dragon and Crane had come, with Kiarra, Merrill and Adam. Glendes Grey of Grey House was also present, along with Lissa and her Grey House mate, Shadow Grey. I seldom saw him, so that was a surprise. Crorver Ride and Erbrin Dondl walked in with Edward. I think the crowd shocked them as well.
"We want to make an offer on your groves," Merrill was brokering this deal, looked like, with Adam Chessman right behind him.
"You don't have enough money," Erbrin snapped.
"Hear us out, first, and then decide whether we have enough," Merrill smiled. "Now, I know your family is fighting among themselves already, positioning for a better portion of what you'll leave behind when you die," he said to Crorver, who was aging. "While you have everything sorted out in a will, I can guarantee that your heirs will fight over the money anyway and ignore the groves, letting them go to waste while they destroy one another. Is that what you've built these groves up for? To let them die while your heirs fight over the proceeds? Be honest, do they care about the trees?"
I watched Merrill, blinking in amazement. This man was a shark when it came to business. He turned to Erbrin Dondl next. "Your trees need better care than they're getting. You can't seem to hire the employees you need at the price you want to pay. They let the sprinklers go untouched for days, while some trees drown in leaking lines and the rest dry up. Your shipments have dwindled for three turns running; I checked those figures myself. Perhaps if you'd turn your attention to working your fields instead of destroying your neighbor's trees with imported reptiles, your profits would rise again."
"That was not me!" Erbrin insisted.
"No? I have records here, showing that you paid a ship to make the delivery. The Campiaan Security Detail is looking into illegal animal smuggling against the ship's captain now. Predagators are not allowed in any portion of either Alliance where they are not native already. That smuggling trail will lead right to you and the fine is five hundred thousand credits per predagator, plus months of prison time. I understand one hundred of those creatures were shipped, according to the logs. How much does that come to in time and credits?" The corner of Merrill's mouth twitched. If I were ever in a business deal again, I wanted him with me.
Demon's Dream (High Demon Series #6) Page 18
