* * *
Lissa's Journal
"Roff, why don't you offer to let him help out at the winery in the afternoons? Corent said Toff has helped with that before. Mostly the crush, but he understands the basics." I took Roff's hand and pulled him down to the sofa beside me. Roff allowed his wings to loosen—his way of resting them, before he allowed the one nearest me to unfold completely and wrap around my shoulders.
"Raona," Roff breathed as he leaned down and kissed me.
* * *
Lissa's Journal
"He has not had sufficient teaching in geography or history, and nothing at all in Alliance Studies." Morwin gave his report to me later. "He is very bright and is good with basic mathematics, as far as his instruction has gone, anyway."
"Can you bring him up to the proper levels?" I looked across my desk at the best private tutor in the Alliance. I felt lucky to have Morwin—many couldn't see past his race, all of whom thought that the bushier and lengthier your eyebrows, the more knowledgeable you were. Knowledge was highly prized by the Amterean race, and information often brought more riches than gold or jewels. As curiosity went, they were nearly on a level with the Larentii. Morwin's eyebrows wiggled as he considered my question. I'd learned not to snicker when he did that.
"I think he will come along quickly, as long as he applies himself. I worry about the stress that such a move will cost him, however." Morwin was pointing out one of my own fears. Toff's background with the Green Fae was vastly different from life in the palace or any other place on Le-Ath Veronis. That would affect anyone, I think. We would all be watching Toff closely, to make sure he was adjusting to his new environment.
"I'm hoping that spending afternoons at Roff's winery will help with that," I sighed. "Please keep me informed if he needs help in adapting. I want him to be as comfortable and happy as we can make him."
* * *
"We still make the oxberry wine by hand." Roff was showing Toff through the winery. "It's the most expensive wine we sell."
Much of the winery was automated, but Toff was amazed at the number of comesuli there, all busy as ants at one task or another to get barrels and barrels of wine made. "More than likely we did the crush at the same time you were doing it at the village," Roff went on. "The fermentation is going on with this year's crop and we'll be bottling and corking some of last year's press soon." Roff led Toff past stacked wine barrels.
"This is overwhelming," Toff stared up at the tall racks that held several barrels, one on top of another.
"I don’t want you to feel that way," Roff placed a hand on Toff's shoulder. "We can start you out on the floor and allow you to work your way up if you want. And if you decide that this isn't for you, just let us know. We'll find something else. Something that you want to do."
"No, I want this," Toff breathed. "It's just so different from what I'm used to."
"I know. When I started out, we did it all by hand—my father, brother and I. My oldest child came along and helped after a while."
"Where is he now?"
"My oldest child is dead." Toff knew by the tone of Roff's voice that this was a painful subject. Toff nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
"All our power is from the sun—the collectors are on the light half of the planet," Roff showed Toff the control room where all the power lines were monitored. "The workers are paid a very good salary and receive four weeks' vacation every year. When you work, you will be paid for your work. It won't be much in the beginning, but your salary will increase as you gain experience."
"I've never had money. Someone will have to teach me about that." Toff hunched his shoulders. There was so much to learn, and the weight of it troubled him at times.
"Morwin will show you that, and you can ask anyone if you don't know about something. We realize this is a large step for you, and we want you to be comfortable." Roff patted Toff's shoulder to offer comfort and encouragement.
Toff wanted to ask Roff why he was being offered a new home, an education and work that he liked, but held back. What if the answer was something that frightened him? Redbird's words came into his mind more often than not, although he hadn't seen anything that might make him think she'd been correct on any of it. Toff resolved to wait and see. Meanwhile, he enjoyed spending time with Ry and Tory, and if Nissa were there, he liked it even better.
Chapter 8
"Toff, I have to go back to Grey House tomorrow." Nissa sounded depressed. Toff sat beside her in the arboretum. Nissa had grabbed his hand after dinner and led him up several flights of broad marble steps until they'd reached the top level of the palace. There, Toff found the most wondrous garden—it was lit with solar lamps and multitudes of plants and foliage grew inside, all of it lush and full. Small waterfalls and fountains placed here and there provided soothing sounds while visitors enjoyed the garden.
"I don't want you to go." Toff took a chance and put his arms around Nissa. Surprisingly, she leaned her head against his shoulder as they stared through the windows at the capital city of Lissia. Toff had learned about Lissia from Morwin only that morning.
"Daddy won't let me stay, and since they know I made two working protection jewels, they'll step up my training."
"Don't they ever let you take a break? Roff told me that his workers get four weeks of vacation time." Vacation time was a new term for Toff, and he'd asked Morwin about it during one of his lessons. Morwin had explained it completely. There was so much that Toff didn't know and he was determined to learn as much as he could as quickly as possible. He missed Corent, but was surprised to discover that he didn't miss Redbird very much. He certainly didn't miss any of the others, except for Father Willow.
"I'll be back in four days—it's my birthday," Nissa said softly. Toff tightened his arms around her.
"How old?" Toff thought about kissing Nissa's cheek but held back.
"I'll be twelve."
"You look more grown up than that."
"Thanks." Nissa smiled at Toff. "And we do get summers off, but that's when Ry goes to train with his dad on Karathia. Tory spends a lot of time on Kifirin, too, which means we still don’t get to see a lot of each other."
"I'll be here." Toff surprised himself by saying it.
"I know. We'll have to see if Mom will let us spend time at the beach house, or go work at Niff's in Casino City."
"The beach house?"
"It's on the light side, right on the ocean."
"I've never seen an ocean." Toff had learned about them—there were three on Le-Ath Veronis. One stretched so far into the dark side of the planet that most of it was covered in ice.
"Hey, you two," Ry and Tory skidded into the arboretum. It looked as if they'd run up all the stairs to get there. "We want to ask Mom if we can go to Niff's for ice cream."
Nissa had Toff pulled off the bench immediately. "Come on," she grinned at him. "I want ice cream."
"Mom's in her office signing papers," Tory said as they all clattered down the endless steps to the first level of the palace. Toff was running to keep up with Tory's long-legged strides. Ry and Nissa were nearly trotting, so Toff didn't feel so bad. Eventually they made their way to an elaborately carved door that stood open on the first floor.
"Mom," Tory said first thing as they made their way inside a spacious room that Toff could only stare at in amazement. It was furnished in beautiful fabrics with rich paintings hanging on the walls. The Queen sat behind an ornate desk that looked as if it had gold trim around it.
"What is it, honey?" The Queen looked up from a paper she held in her hand.
"We were just wondering," Ry managed to get out before Toff clapped his hands over his mouth to keep the shriek from escaping. A huge snake lifted his head over the top of the desk and stared at them.
"Don't worry," Nissa's hand rubbed Toff's back as he stared at the snake in fright. He'd never seen a snake that large and this one had to be poisonous—its head was a triangular shape and lengthy fangs were visible when it open
ed its mouth. The creature was rising higher, now, right beside the Queen. Toff was terrified she'd be bitten.
"It's the full moon tonight, I forgot," Tory turned to Toff. "That's Uncle Norian. He's a shapeshifter, and that's his lion snake. He won't hurt you unless you decide to attack one of us."
Toff was still staring in shock. He'd seen Norian earlier at dinner. Now he was a snake? "Nori," the Queen said, reaching out to run a gentle hand down the snake's neck and body. "You're scaring Toff." Toff watched in amazement as the snake turned his head and looked at the Queen, his slitted eyes blinking at her.
"He understands everything, just as he does in his humanoid form," the Queen reassured Toff. "Do you know about the ASD?"
"What does that mean?" Toff asked. He recognized the letters, but there appeared to be another meaning to them.
"Alliance Security Detail," Nissa supplied the information. "They keep the Alliance safe from criminals and other factions that are unlawful inside the Alliance. Uncle Norian is the Director of the ASD."
"I've never seen a shapeshifter before," Toff breathed, lowering his hands.
"Too bad Uncle Winkler isn't here," Nissa hugged Toff. Toff wasn't sure about Uncle Winkler but he was sure about the hug he got from Nissa.
"We wanted to go to Niff's for ice cream," Tory was back to their original mission.
"Let me find someone to go with you," the Queen said, standing up and stretching. Norian slid his body onto the top of the desk, showing Toff his full length, which was twelve feet. Black and gray patterns ran the length of the scaled body. "Bring some back for Norian and me, too," the Queen smiled at the snake.
* * *
"Uncle Norian loves ice cream," Tory said as they followed Drake and Drew toward the entrance to the palace. "We get to ride tonight. I love riding to Casino City."
A tall man waited outside a metal carriage at the bottom of the palace steps. "This is Radomir, an old friend of Mom's," Nissa whispered to Toff as they climbed inside the vehicle. The seats were soft and comfortable; Tory rode in the front seat with Radomir and Drake and Drew rode in the back, facing Ry, Nissa and Toff.
"What is this called?" Toff asked as Radomir did something to start the carriage and then steered it away from the palace steps.
"A limousine, young one," Radomir said over his shoulder.
"Radomir hears everything, just like Mom does," Nissa patted Toff's hand. "And Uncle Gavin, Uncle Tony, Uncle Winkler, Uncle Aryn and Uncle Rigo. Don't say anything anywhere around them that you don't want them to hear."
"We're going fast," Toff marveled as the vehicle picked up speed along a smooth road.
"We'll have to stop at the checkpoint at the walls, but we'll be at Niff's pretty quick after that," Ry said. "Have you had ice cream before?"
"I didn't know what you were talking about, but I wanted to go with you anyway," Toff admitted shyly.
"You'll like it," Nissa assured him and sat back in her seat to enjoy the ride.
* * *
Zellar, I'm in the Queen's dungeon. Gren's mental voice couldn't hold back the whine. He'd never been imprisoned before and there was something surrounding the dungeon itself that prevented him from using any of his power. A dampening field had been placed around his cell. Gren's connection to the planet's core had also been cut off and he felt that absence like an addict kept away from his drug of choice.
Energy from the core had kept Gren confident and feeling powerful. Now he had no control over his power and he hated the Queen for doing this to him. Hated Toff for forcing the issue. The baby should be dead and Gren should be basking in Zellar's compliments. Instead, he was inside a bare cell with few comforts.
What have you done, you foolish imbecile? Zellar's mindspeech was scathing. You will not breathe a word of your connection to me when they come to question you, do you hear me? Not one word! Idiot. Pathetically hopeless. Zellar went off on a rant, speaking in several languages that Gren didn't understand. Zellar finally spoke again in one that Gren understood. I will kill you myself if you tell anyone about me. Do you hear? And your death will be a slow and painful one. Zellar cut off the communication. Gren slid down the whitewashed wall of his cell and wept.
* * *
"Zellar, where are you going?" King Kenderlin of Cloudsong stood in the doorway to Zellar's suite. He'd come to confer with the warlock, but he found the warlock packing instead. Zellar turned his face toward the King, showing Cloudsong's monarch the scarred and sightless side of his face.
"I am going to someone who may be able to help us," Zellar replied. He failed to interrupt his packing, as he should have done out of respect for the King. "I am prevented from going to Le-Ath Veronis, but someone I know may be able to travel there. If we find a way, then things will go much smoother for Cloudsong," Zellar closed the lid of his packed trunk and locked it with power.
"Get everything you can from that witch," King Kenderlin snapped, his voice wavering slightly. Kenderlin was nearing the end of his years and his reason was not what it once was. He was soft clay in Zellar's hands and Zellar had his own agenda to pursue with the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis. Zellar was draining every bit of what remained of Cloudsong's wealth as well as the power from its core in order to exact his revenge. Cloudsong was expendable. Zellar's vengeance was not.
* * *
Toff was speechless. Casino City was brightly lit and people were everywhere. All kinds of people. All colors of people. Dressed in ways he might never have imagined, too, and all of them laughing, talking and patronizing seemingly endless streets of shops and restaurants. There was a line to get into Niff's when they arrived. Chasing lights outlined a Niff's Sweets and Goodies sign over the shop's door. Inside, the store was huge, with glass-walled counters through which you could see tubs of frozen treats in many colors. There were also plates and plates of pies, cakes and something called brownies.
"I can't decide whether I want strawberry ice cream or a brownie sundae," Nissa stood on tiptoe to see everything from her place in line.
"I'll get whatever you do," Toff decided. If Nissa liked it, it had to be good. Radomir stood beside Tory at the head of their little group, Drake was beside Toff and Nissa while Drew stood behind them with Ry. The desserts were worth the wait when they finally got to the counter and ordered; Toff moaned in pleasure the minute he tasted his brownie sundae.
"If Uncle Roff brings us, he's always swamped by people admiring his wings," Ry said. "He likes to come here, but not when there's so many people around."
Three giggling girls passed their table as they ate. "Did you see? I asked him to bite me and he smiled!" One of the girls was nearly breathless as she held an ice-cream dish in her hand.
Toff stared at the girls as they rushed out the door.
"Fangers." Ry said the word with disgust. Toff didn't understand the term and was about to ask but Nissa offered him a paper napkin, so Toff ignored it for the moment.
* * *
"Mom, there was a big crowd at Niff's," Tory handed the box of ice cream to his mother inside her study. Norian was still there in snake form and Queen Lissa pulled out a dish of ice cream and set it in front of him. Toff stared as the snake dipped into the ice cream, eating it with seeming pleasure.
"He really loves ice cream," Lissa smiled at Toff. "I hope this doesn't frighten you. I know you're not used to this." Toff found himself smiling shyly back at the Queen.
"I'll get used to it," he said. Nissa reached over and took his hand. Toff would get used to shapeshifters and anything else if he could see Nissa now and then.
"Now, young ones, it's off to bed. Off-day tomorrow and the day after. If you have reports, off-days are good for that," Drake shooed them out of the Queen's study.
"We have to finish an assignment for Morwin," Ry grumbled as they walked down the hall toward the residential wing.
"He gave me a report to do, too," Toff agreed. "I've never written one, so he showed me some samples and gave me a comp-vid to look things up."
"W
hat did he ask you to do?" Nissa was still holding Toff's hand and he didn't want to let her go.
"He assigned a report on a Faldaran battle six hundred years ago that involved a branch of Fae and the humanoids who lived there. He wants me to write what the impact of the battle had on the current conditions of the planet."
"Sounds interesting," Ry grinned.
"Or not," Tory was grinning, too. Ry gave Tory a sideways kick. Tory retaliated with a shove.
"They always do that," Nissa muttered beside Toff.
"Looks like fun," Toff murmured back.
* * *
Toff felt depressed. Nissa had been whisked away right after lunch. Tory and Ry weren't happy either.
"She'll be back in three days for her birthday," the Queen came to hug Toff's shoulders. Toff knew the Queen was misty-eyed, too.
"At least Uncle Shadow released her mindspeech so we can talk," Tory said.
"You have mindspeech?" Toff stared at Tory.
"We do, but it was muted until Sissy came up missing."
"And it will be muted again if you misuse it," Queen Lissa gave her tallest son a hug around the waist.
"But what if I want to send a message to Nissa?" Toff blurted.
"We'll let you use more conventional methods," Queen Lissa squeezed Toff's shoulders after letting Tory go. "Write her notes and I'll see they get delivered."
"You can do that?" Toff allowed his hopes to rise a little.
"Of course. Ry can even send them, if you ask," Tory swatted Ry on the back of the head.
"In the meantime," the Queen glared an admonishment at the two Princes, "I'd like to go with Tory's Uncle Jayd and Aunt Glinda offworld to shop for Nissa's birthday. Want to come along, Toff?"
Toff stood rooted to the floor, he was so stunned. He nearly stuttered when he found his voice again. "Roff said he'd pay me for my work at the winery. Can I borrow against that so I can buy something for Nissa too?"
"Honey, you'll receive an allowance for a few chores in the palace, plus whatever Roff pays you," Lissa reached out to touch his cheek. "Just pick out what you want to give Nissa and I'll take it out of that."
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