"I don't blame her," Kiarra snapped. "Merrill, if you'd bothered to tell me you were going to her alone; I would have told you it was a mistake. You should have taken Pheligar or Renegar with you. Preferably both of them, as she doesn't seem to hate the Larentii."
"Connegar is hers." Pheligar hadn't spoken until then.
"You're kidding? Why haven't I heard this before?" Kiarra stared at her Larentii mate.
* * *
"How can I get her back?" Gavin paced before Flavio's desk. Flavio watched Gavin's restless wandering before him, attempting to remain dispassionate over the entire thing when he wanted exactly the same—for Lissa to come back to him, the Council and the vampire race as a whole. She could do so many things; things they didn't have the talent or the resources to do. They still had their misters and mindspeakers, but no new talent had been discovered since Anthony's turning.
Flavio didn't know what to do. He wanted to approach Lissa and beg her to help him and the Council when needed. She was protected however, and Merrill and Wlodek informed him that two Spawn Hunters for the Saa Thalarr, one of the giant Larentii and even a powerful Wizard were all courting her. He didn't know how to break that news to Gavin.
"I have removed his jealousy," a dark-haired male appeared suddenly in the room. Gavin recognized him immediately.
"Kifirin," Gavin begged, "help me win Lissa back."
"That choice is hers," Kifirin lifted a gold ingot from Flavio's desk—Flavio once used it as a paperweight. Now it sat on a corner of his desk, mostly forgotten. "Bear in mind," Kifirin set the gold bar down, "that others now hold a place in her heart. You will not be alone there, vampire. The Queen's Inner Circle is forming. You must use your imagination if you wish to be included in their number."
"Inner Circle?" Gavin stopped pacing and stared at Kifirin.
"The governing body upon Le-Ath Veronis. Only the comesuli upon the High Demons' world are now calling it Le-Ath Veronis Imperea, which means Heart of the Vampire Queen. The rumors are flying among them, now, that they were saved by our Lissa. They are asking for the return to their ancient home. They wish to live and work among vampires once again. How would you answer their plea, Gaius Livius Montanus?" Kifirin spoke Gavin's original Roman name.
"What will it mean for Lissa?" Gavin answered Kifirin's question with one of his own.
"It means Lissa must choose whether to accept the throne—and the rule—of Le-Ath Veronis, and then work to bring in vampires from the worlds where they are now scattered. Some will not be eligible for that journey, as they will not be of sufficient character. Those whom she leaves behind will die. It is my promise to her and to the worlds of light where they now reside."
"Are you saying our days on Earth are numbered?" Flavio rose from his seat, staring at Kifirin.
"Do not fear, Sanguis Rex. There will be many cities upon Le-Ath Veronis. I believe Lissa will be more than happy to place you in a position of power. Imagine all the vampires on Earth occupying an entire city; one created solely for them? That is what awaits you if Lissa takes the rule. All hinges upon her, you know."
"Does she know this?" Gavin watched Kifirin, speculation in his eyes.
"Not yet. I will tell her soon if she does not discover it for herself."
"Tell me about this world," Flavio sat down again.
"It spins on its side," Kifirin gestured with his hands. "The southern half of the planet is in constant twilight. Think of what this means, vampire. You will be able to wake and sleep as you choose instead of having to deal with the sun's dictation of those events. Comesuli would provide blood to the vampires—at least in part. I believe their numbers would have to be subsidized with blood substitute; there aren't enough comesuli to cover the demands. Fresh blood would be available often, regardless. The comesuli, when they are turned, become male or female as their temperament dictates. On Le-Ath Veronis of old, the numbers of males and females were nearly equal."
"There would be more females?" Flavio had hope in his eyes. He had mates and the sun's rising and setting no longer held sway over him. This, however, would be a true blessing for the vampire race as a whole.
"Yes, as the comesuli were turned when deserving."
"This sounds too good to be true," Flavio lowered his eyes but not before Kifirin saw the glimmer of hope in them.
"There may be a period of adjustment—so many vampires coming together to live upon a single world instead of many. That is why each world's vampires will have a city to themselves. Earth's population is one of the largest."
Flavio knew they had Wlodek, Weldon and Merrill to thank for that fact, and for their willingness to forge peace with the werewolves when they did. And they had Lissa to thank as well, for keeping the peace when it was threatened. There was now an official count of two hundred fifteen thousand vampires on Earth. An entire city where they could live appealed greatly to Flavio. With no need to hide, they could walk freely as they willed, no longer needing to conceal what they were. Their race would belong.
"Your race would belong," Kifirin drew the thought from Flavio's mind. "Your Council here could be the governing body in your city and you could help draw up the new laws governing the planet."
"The Queen's Inner Circle?" Gavin asked, forming the question.
"All her devoted lovers," Kifirin answered before Gavin could finish his question. "Find a way to bring her back to you, vampire. You would serve well with her." Kifirin folded away.
"Honored One," Gavin turned to Flavio, "I wish to contact Wlodek as quickly as possible."
* * *
"How is little Toff?" Glinda rocked Roff's child in her arms and cooed to him. He grinned at her, showing most of his teeth. Comesuli were born with a full set of teeth, which they lost at age eight or thereabouts, growing a new set rapidly. They ate animal protein from birth, hence the need for teeth. Their parent had no way to suckle them, having no breasts.
"Glindarok, Gardevik and I must speak with you," Jayd stalked into the room, looking a bit rumpled. Glinda was worried the moment she saw Jayd's face.
"What is it?" she asked, handing Toff over to Giff—Roff was away, getting their midday meal from the kitchens.
"Come with me; your meal can be delivered in the meeting hall," Jayd said. Glinda knew it was serious if they were calling a meeting in the meeting hall. Jayd lifted Glinda up and walked out of her suite amid protests from his mate that she could get herself to the meeting hall just fine.
Glinda was settled at the table fronting the room, between Jayd and Garde. She breathed a worried sigh; the Captains of the Guard were all present, as were the heads of all the High Demon Houses including what was left of Croth and Drith. The ones present had been carefully questioned and vetted before they were allowed to take up their Houses once more. There was a scant handful who'd proven to be honest.
"We made a second journey to the Southern Continent," Garde began, "taking only High Demons with us so we could skip in and out, avoiding the ash that covers a great deal of the area. We found, quite far south, evidence that many of our enemy High Demons sheltered there, avoiding capture. There were fallen tents, debris and rotting food when we arrived. We estimate there are as many as eight hundreds."
"Where are they now?" Yurevik Weth asked.
"We asked for help and thankfully received it to determine that," Jayd spoke. "My sources tell me they have skipped off the planet—for the time being. It is my worry that they will find other allies as they did before and come against us a second time."
"What can they hope to gain? Kifirin is awake now; surely even they know this."
"Perhaps they are counting on his vow of noninterference," Glinda snorted.
"What about the Vampire Queen?" Lord Nedevik Weth rose. He was patriarch of the House of Weth and oldest among all High Demons.
"We cannot count on that help again," Jayd stared at the tabletop.
"Will she not come to protect her commons?" Lord Aldavik Foth stood. His words caused Jayd to glance shar
ply at Garde over Glinda's head.
* * *
I got three gates that day. The numbers of Flakkar were getting smaller, thank goodness. I was eating a late lunch after returning to the villa when the twins came to find me. "Come ski with us," they said. Yeah, they were asking me to ski. Visions of tall pines I would have to mist through to avoid mutilation came to mind.
"Come on, you won't know until you try it," Drake lifted me and tossed me over his shoulder. Feather, Mack's daughter, came to get us, folding us to another world where skiing and winter were both present. I had to be outfitted at a shop there and felt terrible that the twins were spending so much money on me. The whole thing seemed to be a wasted effort. Feather, with her mates Christi and Kerry, all watched as Drake and Drew haggled with the shopkeeper over my outfit plus skis, poles and goggles.
"Baby, I don't think you know how to have fun," Drew said, rubbing my shoulders at one point. I wondered if he was right. Eventually I was fixed up, the twins paid and somebody folded us to the slopes.
"You're just going to push me down the side of the mountain?" I gulped, staring down the steep incline. Immediate misting came to mind as I contemplated my fate otherwise.
"Watch us," Drake grinned, pushing himself off the top. He was making short, sweeping turns with his skis, going down quickly and skillfully. Kerry went next, closely followed by his two ladies, Christi and Feather. They also skied very well and I started sweating.
"You go first, I'll come along and pick up the pieces," Drew teased.
"Oh, sure, laugh why don't you?" I swatted at him. "I end up with a broken leg and you'll just say turn away from the tree next time."
"Lissa, baby, you'll do fine. Show me those vampire reflexes."
"Uh-huh," I eyed him skeptically. "My vampire reflexes are for getting me out of trouble, not getting into it in the first place."
"You're not afraid are you?" He was still grinning.
"Are you kidding? My knees are knocking. I don't know why I let you two convince me this was a good idea," I snipped.
"Come on, Lissa-love, just try it." Drew coaxed.
"Okay, but on my tombstone I want you to put that I thought this was a bad idea." I shoved myself onto the slope. I learned quickly that going down in a straight line is a terrible idea. My shrieks could be heard for miles and probably caused an avalanche or two as I hurtled down the steep side of the snowy mountain.
"Turn, baby!" Drew shouted as he made his way down behind me. I was shocked I could hear him over the sound of my own screaming. "Turn your body, Lissa!" Drew yelled. He'd seen the pile of rocks, just as I had, and I was skiing straight toward it. I turned—skidding for yards and flinging snow up in cascades as I slid down the slope. And then I flopped over in the snow after coming to an eventual stop. I lay there in cold, powdery snow, panting and shivering. I'd get myself up off the snow. I would. Someday. Drew came to a neat stop beside me.
"Need a hand?" he asked, pushing his goggles up and leaning down to get a look at my face.
"I need a stick," I said tartly.
"A stick?"
"To beat you and your brother with," I snapped.
"But you did pretty well for your first time. The turn was almost classic when you made it."
"Yeah? A classic lapse of good sense," I grumbled. "It ranks right up there with sticking forks in toasters and taking baths with hair dryers." Drew snickered. I started laughing. "Come on, you," he lifted me up, dusted most of the snow off me and we started again. "Turn your body from side to side," he was trying to get me to do things properly. Sometimes that worked. Sometimes. At other times, I went hurtling down the mountain in a straight line, shrieking, turning and falling. Thankfully, no trees were involved by the time I reached bottom.
"You think this is funny?" I lifted an eyebrow at Drake, who was waiting at the bottom with the others, trying not to snicker. He bellowed with laughter. "You could have started me on the bunny slopes but nooo, we had to prove our point, didn't we?" I glared at him. He laughed harder and the others were laughing, too. "Unbelievable," I grumped. Ignoring all of them, I turned myself to mist and went flying straight back up the mountain. It was better the second time, and by the sixth time I almost had the hang of it. I paid no attention to the others; they were going up and down with the greatest of ease. I had catching up to do.
"If I can't move tomorrow, it will be your fault," I pointed an accusing finger at the twins as we were folded home later.
"Come on, Lissy baby, you can't be mad at us forever," Drake hauled me over his shoulder and folded us to the hot tub. He removed our clothing with a thought and dumped me into bubbling water. I huddled between Drake and Drew when Crane, Dragon, Devin, Grace and Karzac all showed up later, getting in with us. Drake grinned. Maybe he was used to parading around naked in front of his parents and everybody else—I wasn't. I intended to mist out of the hot tub and see if they could track me down later.
"Lissa learned to ski today," Drew grinned.
"I did not learn to ski today; I learned not to kill myself while those contraptions were strapped to my feet," I said sarcastically. Devin laughed.
"She doesn't know how to have fun," Drake observed.
"You could have taken me bowling," I grumped. Grace laughed out loud. Karzac turned his head but I heard the snicker. "Don't laugh, you may have to fix my bruises later," I informed him. That did make him laugh—something that didn't happen very often.
"I'm going to bed, I'm tired," I announced a few minutes later.
"I can fold you to bed," Drew offered.
"I can mist myself to bed," I counter-offered.
"I'd prefer we both folded you to bed," Drake threw in a third option. He didn't wait for a reply; he went ahead and did it. He landed us in the floor instead of in the bed while we were still wet.
"My baby's tired." Drew Pulled in a huge towel and started working it over my body. I was tired—and achy, too—if I were honest. Killing Flakkar had worn me out and I didn't get my nap afterward before going to the ski slope.
"Come on, you just need to sleep," Drake said, pulling me toward the bed. "Karzac will beat our heads in if we try anything else. He's still sending me mindspeech, telling me how tired you look."
"Let me get my PJs," I said, going toward my closet.
"No," Drew said. "Don't put anything on, baby. I want the feel of your skin against me in the night." He had his arms around me, nuzzling my neck. Drake disappeared and Drew crawled under the sheet with me. "Go to sleep, love," Drew murmured against my temple. I fell asleep in his arms.
* * *
Anybody with mindspeech would have been tossed out of bed that night when Spawn was shouted mentally. Drew was out of bed like a shot, Pulling leathers and blades in with barely a thought. He was going off to battle Ra'Ak spawn, and he was leaving me behind. I shouted as he disappeared. Well, it was time to see what I was made of. I threw on clothing as quickly as I could, Looked to see where Drew went and then working up the nerve, I folded for the first time ever. I landed in an open field on a world I couldn't name. I saw Drake, Drew, Charles and a multitude of Saa Thalarr, waiting for the approaching army of spawn.
Before, Dragon and I had only battled a few dozen. These numbered in the thousands. "What the fuck?" I muttered to myself as I stared in disbelief.
"An entire planet deemed not worth saving, taken by the Ra'Ak and a good number of them turned," Radomir settled beside me, with Devin at his side. "The Ra'Ak find this amusing, transporting armies of their spawn to innocent worlds to wage war against us, hoping to injure or kill any one of us," he added. "We cannot allow a single one to escape, as even one can destroy the population."
"They've hidden Ra'Ak warriors in their midst at times, too," Devin sighed, shaking her head at the approaching spawn. They were a quarter mile away, and the fields around us were seething with their mass. We were being surrounded. "They hope to take us unawares, and they've nearly succeeded, many times," Devin added.
"Fuckers," I
mumbled. Two huge birds flew over our heads—one a dark gray, the other white with black-tipped feathers.
"Crane and Gracie," Radomir nodded toward the birds. "They'll pop heads from spawn using their claws."
"Sounds good," I nodded grimly. "I'm going to mist. See ya." I misted away.
It was only seconds before the spawn attacked. The giant birds screamed overhead as they swooped in, taking heads. Drake, Drew, Dragon and three other Falchani warriors unsheathed blades and began lopping heads. A giant Snow Leopard snarled and leapt. A Black Gryphon screeched and attacked. A nine-foot Unicorn ran her deadly horn through anything that came close. I, claws forming only, swept through the advancing army, removing heads and leaving spawn to dust behind me.
"Baby, how did you get here?" Drew was running hands over me while Drake looked on, waiting for his brother to say whether I was injured. It had taken four hours to destroy the spawn army.
"Hey, I tried folding. It worked. I'm okay," I did my best to reassure my Falchani.
"Young Falchani, take your mate home," Karzac growled beside us. "She needs rest."
"We're going, then." Drake must have folded us; Drew lifted me up and I didn't argue—I was tired, just as Karzac said. I fell asleep in the shower while the twins cleaned me up—I couldn't keep my eyes open. And I slept most of the next day, too, before Drew woke me with a kiss.
"Dad says we're getting leathers for you and a tattoo if you want one," Drew gave me a lazy smile and kissed me again.
"No on the tattoo," I mumbled, thinking I probably looked like hell.
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