"How old were you?" Toff put an arm around Nissa.
"Eight," she said, leaning into his embrace.
Trik chuckled at Nissa's admission. "Some of Belancour's best wizards couldn't do that," he proclaimed.
* * *
Gren backed up against sharp, uncomfortable rock as he stared at the ocean far below. Tandias stood on a narrow ledge nearby, waiting for Gren to tap the core. Gren's feet barely had enough room; he'd felt ill when Tandias first placed him on the small shelf of rock. Any wrong movement might send him plunging into the waters below. Waves crashed and boomed into the dark base of The Tooth.
"Get on with it, whelp," Tandias growled. He didn't like the location any better than Gren. Gren breathed a shaky sigh and reached out with his power.
* * *
Lissa's Journal
"Here." Gavin handed a glass of pineapple juice to me. I'd chosen to sit on the western balcony of my beach house so I could easily keep an eye on the kids. Gavin settled on the wide chaise beside me after I accepted the drink he'd asked the kitchen staff to prepare.
"Thanks," I sipped the juice before leaning my head against his shoulder.
"They're still sitting in a circle on the sand," Gavin observed, lifting an eyebrow as he watched the young ones below us.
"They're talking, and I think they did that to give Trik a rest. He can walk, now, but that doesn't mean he's up to a marathon." I leaned back and wrinkled my nose at Gavin.
"Cara mia, if we weren't babysitting," he growled, leaning in to rub my nose with his.
"We are babysitting," I reminded him. "There's always later," I added, wrinkling my nose again. "Besides, it's almost lunchtime. Did you ask Web to have towels ready? They'll be tracking in sand, too."
"Web informed me that all has been made ready," Gavin's mouth tugged upward at the corner. That always makes me want to melt in a puddle. I think he's figured that out, too.
"If I weren't pregnant, there would be some time bending right now," I whispered before leaning in to kiss Gavin. Just as his lips closed over mine, the beach house shook. And then continued shaking.
* * *
"What the hell?" Drake gripped the doorframe tightly with strong fingers—he and Drew had just finished blade practice with some of their elite troops and intended to shower inside the barracks before joining Lissa and the others at the beach house for lunch. Another earthquake had taken them by surprise, and this one looked to be stronger than the last.
"Where?" Drew shouted over the noise of falling bricks and toppling furniture.
"To the west," Tony folded in, almost falling as his feet settled onto an unsteady floor. The tiles were threatening to buckle beneath them.
"But there's nothing but water to the west," Drake's voice wobbled as he replied.
"Fuck!" Drew shouted. "Sound the alarm. This will cause a tsunami, and those people in Sun City will be swept away!"
"Lissa's at the beach house," Drake turned frightened eyes to his brother.
"Let's go, there's no time to waste," Tony said. All three disappeared just as the ground seemed to be settling down.
* * *
Roff had taken to the sky as soon as he'd gathered Trik, Nissa and Toff in his arms. Tory had grabbed Ry's arm and skipped his brother to the beach house already. Flapping determinedly toward the second-floor balcony, Roff watched in horror as the ground beneath shook harder and trees toppled.
"The floors are cracking," Lissa pointed out as Roff landed on the balcony. Tory and Ry were already there and Gavin was prepared to fold everyone away. Lissa was correct—the marble beneath their feet was splitting and roof tiles were breaking and falling to the ground.
"I'll take Roff and the kids, Gavin, bring Lissa and the comesuli," Drew appeared on the balcony beside Roff. "Drake and Tony are sounding the alarm in Sun City, but Drake's sending mindspeech, saying the tourists and gamblers are just standing on the beach, staring at the receding water."
* * *
Lissa's Journal
I'd never seen Drew looked so frightened, and I'd watched him stare down a fifty-foot Ra'Ak before. I'd never felt so helpless, either. Karzac warned me—scared me, even—about using any power during pregnancy. The rush of power through the body could easily kill an unborn child. If I weren't pregnant, I could gather the entire population of Sun City inside my mist and haul them to higher ground. I'd already Looked—a huge wave was coming and it would drown everything in its path.
"Lissa, do not even contemplate this," Karzac appeared beside me, his green-gold eyes quite stern as he gazed at me. "I will carry you to safety, and Drew and Gavin will bring the others. If those fools in Sun City choose to ignore the sirens instead of running for their lives," he didn't finish his statement, he merely lifted me in his arms and we disappeared.
* * *
"Run for your lives," Tony place compulsion on a knot of tourists walking toward the beach instead of away from it. They turned immediately and ran.
Here it comes, Drake's mindspeech rang clearly in Tony's mind. The epicenter was only a few miles out, and the crowd here is beginning to see the wave. Now they're running, Drake added. Get away or you'll be run down.
Going now, Tony replied and folded space.
* * *
Drake stood apart and watched as screaming people ran away from the high wall of water descending upon them. The narrow strip of sand lying in front of Sun City's most expensive casinos and hotels would be engulfed—there was no doubt of that. As a member of the Saa Thalarr, he was forbidden to interfere. Never had he regretted it so much. Waiting until the last moment, he folded away. Water roared through the streets and alleys of the city behind him, drowning out the cries for help.
* * *
Lissa's Journal
Three hundred seventeen people died. Three hundred seventeen, most of whom had been drawn to the beach out of curiosity instead of heeding the sirens blasting all over Sun City. Was I upset and depressed? Of course. I could have saved them. Instead, I chose to save my child.
"Lissa, please stop moping." Karzac pulled me against him. We were on the bed in my suite while comesuli and vampire work crews crawled through the palace, repairing cracks and breaks throughout.
News crews were hovering over the remains of Sun City, reporting on the deaths caused by the tsunami. In between, journalists were showing the last vid images recorded from casinos and hotels, depicting tourists who were flocking toward the danger instead of running away. Sound recorded with the images clearly indicated that warning sirens were wailing throughout the city. Those who died had paid for their curiosity with their lives.
"It is not your duty to save everybody," Karzac whispered against my ear. "Perhaps a few might have died anyway, had they heeded the warning. The numbers would have been drastically reduced, however, had that happened. Do not accept the blame for this."
"I picked the worst possible time to be pregnant," I muttered, covering my eyes with a shaking hand. I had a headache, too, on top of everything else. I was just too tired and depressed to ask Karzac to heal it. An empty feeling lay at the pit of my stomach—one that threatened to bring on a bout of nausea.
"We will not stand for that," Karzac murmured gently as he touched my forehead first, taking away the headache. Then his hands wandered toward my belly and the nausea disappeared. "I have asked Drew to order something from the kitchen for you—you've barely eaten in the past two days."
Yes, it was two days since the tsunami and I still felt ill. Emergency stations had been set up in Casino City. Casino basements had turned into temporary morgues and a flock of vampires volunteered to arrange travel plans for those tourists affected by the disaster. Others had signed up to contact families of the deceased and help get bodies shipped to their home worlds. Donations were pouring in from wealthy vampires, so no family was forced to pay to have their loved ones returned to them.
Aurelius and Bryan had approached me for an interview to send out to the Alliance the evening after the t
sunami. I'd done the interview, although I felt like weeping the whole time. It was difficult to get through some of the information, before telling everyone about the emergency stations, where to go for help or information and that travel and shipping costs would be covered by donations from private citizens and the crown.
Kifirin was noticeably absent, and I was too weary and despondent to send mindspeech to him. I did receive communication from Ildevar Wyyld, however, and he'd sent a large amount from a personal account to help defray costs, along with condolences and a healthy dose of concern for me. Somehow, I suppose through Norian, he'd learned of the pregnancy. Ra'Ak or not, Ildevar Wyyld was a very decent man.
"Lissa?" Connegar and Reemagar appeared inside my bedroom, followed by several other Larentii. Renegar and Pheligar were among the nine tall, blue Larentii now inside my suite.
I'd only met Graegar and Garegar of the Wise Ones before. Now, all five Wise Ones stood at the foot of my bed. I knew their names, and marveled that they'd arrived without their protectors. Who was I to question them, though? Hiragar, Meligar, Tenigar, Graegar and Garegar carefully examined me with lifted eyebrows as I extricated myself from Karzac's embrace.
"We have news," Graegar announced. Was it me, or did he sound sad?
"What we have to tell you will not be easy, and coming after such a tragic event," Garegar added.
"I am Tenigar, eldest of the Wise Ones," one of the others spoke. He was roughly the same height as Pheligar—eight and a half feet, and his blue eyes held the depth of countless millennia. I was guessing he might be as old as Ferrigar, who was three million years old. It made me want to sigh. He'd seen everything, most likely, during his long life.
"We have uncovered the source of these earthquakes," Tenigar said. "It is not natural, as you and the others may have assumed. You did not Look for their source, assuming they were such. That is not the case."
"What?" I snapped. Karzac attempted to grab me but I slid off the bed too quickly.
"Tapping cores does not always result in earthquakes. It is only thus when an untried power attempts the tapping, and they fumble about while tearing into the power of the core. The young one who escaped from your dungeon is the one responsible for this, and we fear he did it at another's bidding."
"But Gren couldn't have caused this one," I stared at all five Wise Ones. He had. I could see it in their faces. "How did he return?" I whispered. Karzac caught me before I dropped to the floor in shock.
"Ra'Ak," Pheligar replied. "An unusual one, of a race we thought long dead. With that kind of power behind him, he will be difficult to detect and able to get through almost any shield." Pheligar and Ren had been waiting patiently beside Connegar and Reemagar, and hadn't spoken until now.
"I had to search diligently for the power signature, it is so muted." Pheligar continued. "As Liaison for so long for the Saa Thalarr, I have become quite sensitive to any activity from the Ra'Ak, and it was the tiny bit of that power which alerted me and pointed me in this one's direction. Because of what he was before he was turned Ra'Ak, it will be difficult for anyone to make note of this one. He has much experience in getting in and out without causing a stir."
"A Ra'Ak brought that murderous brat back, just to tap our core again? Oh my gosh, this means Le-Ath Veronis is dying." I struggled in Karzac's embrace. He ignored my struggles with stoicism, displaying a strength I didn't realize he had.
"We believe that the drain will not be extremely detrimental for the next five months, after which you will be able to make the repairs yourself," Tenigar took up the conversation again.
"But it will be detrimental," I said, giving up my silent battle with Karzac and settling against him.
"Yes. Any drain on a core's energy will be harmful. In our experience, crime will increase, deaths will increase, suicides will increase," he didn't finish, I held up a hand to stop him.
"In other words," I said, "Draining the core is like draining the heart out of people. And with a planet full of vampires, that can cause a big problem."
"Yes. If they decide to commit a crime or create havoc," Graegar agreed.
"Fucking lovely," I muttered.
"And since Le-Ath Veronis is a victim of multiple tappings," Tenigar began.
"The crime, deaths, suicides and other chaos will happen faster, is that what you're saying?" I lifted an eyebrow at him as I finished his statement.
"In a word, yes," he nodded.
"How many times did that little creep tap the core?"
"It's not the number of times, it's the number of locations that really matters," Renegar replied. "He tapped it from three locations."
"Fucking wonderful," I sighed. My headache was officially back. "Karzac, how quickly can I repair the core after the baby comes?" I turned in his arms and studied his face. His green-gold eyes were thoughtful as he contemplated my dilemma. Yes—it was my dilemma—the Larentii couldn't interfere, although they likely held the power to repair a planet's core. It also made me wonder about the race they'd mentioned—the one they'd assumed was dead.
"I would wait at least a month after the baby's birth, to get your strength back," Karzac admitted, lowering his eyes.
"So, six months, then, before we can fix this." I wasn't happy about that, and it frightened me that Le-Ath Veronis would likely be thrown into chaos during that time. "What about the crimes and the depression and everything else?" I asked Pheligar. "How long will it take for all that to go away?"
"It will not disappear overnight," Graegar answered for his Larentii grandfather. "It could take months—or years, even—for all of it to subside."
"And in the meantime, we have to deal with the additional crime, mental illness, what have you," I moved away from Karzac and tossed up a hand in helpless resignation.
"We believe that all this is a concentrated effort to harm you and your planet," Garegar offered. "If you allow this to upset you, then your enemies are winning already."
There's nothing like stating the obvious. I already knew Zellar was involved with Gren and Gren's disappearance, now I knew the how. The Larentii hadn't told me what race this Ra'Ak had belonged to, and I wondered at that. There was more to the story here, but they didn't want to tell it. We didn't know how old this Ra'Ak was, anyway. He could have been turned before his race died out, and he was the only one left. That was what I hoped for, anyway.
"Looks like I have two jobs waiting, then," I huffed. "First, to repair Le-Ath Veronis' core, and then to hunt down Zellar, an unusual Ra'Ak and Gren." I watched as all nine Larentii breathed a group sigh of relief—I hadn't asked them about the former race of this Ra'Ak and they seemed mighty happy that I hadn't.
* * *
Lissa's Journal
"Lissa, this will be the perfect time to return to Grey House. Trik will be going through the rite, and I hear that Toff would love to come for a visit." Shadow was good at wheedling, I'll give him that. "Besides," he added, "it will take you away from your worries here." Shadow had shown up, his dark hair cut and styled, dressed nicely in black and looking quite handsome. It was the arsenal he used in his attempt to lure me back to Grey House.
He knew, just as all the Inner Circle did—Le-Ath Veronis' core had been tapped, criminals were on the loose and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about any of it for at least six months. Those fool Larentii had gotten away without telling me who the baby's father was, too. Frankly, the question hadn't even entered my mind, I was so stunned at the other news they'd brought.
"Look, we'll have the monthly family dinner, just as we always do, and the rite comes after that. You didn't come for Nissa's rite. Trik needs as many familiar faces around him as he can get—being ousted from your family can be a trying experience, Karzac says so." Shadow was still pleading his case, his gray eyes begging. He was doing a damn fine job, too, of making me feel guilty. Yes, I felt guilty because I hadn't been there for Nissa. I'd feel guilty again for not being there for Trik.
"Shadow, I've had a headache since th
e tsunami, did you know that?" I blinked into his gray gaze, my fingers gripping the end of my braid. We were inside my study; I sat on my sofa there and Shadow knelt at my feet. I'd come to my study to try to get work done, but Shadow had shown up shortly after. I had to make a decision quickly, too; the rite was scheduled for the following day.
"Come on, baby. You can come. I'll be with you every second, and you can punch Grampa in the face if you want." Shadow's last statement was accompanied by a lopsided grin, so I knew he was teasing.
"I've considered punching him before, you know," I huffed.
"I know. I think Dad, Grampa and I all know that," he nodded and rose to slide onto the sofa beside me.
"Are they all going to talk and whisper when I come?" Yeah, the hormones were probably doing the talking, because I sure as hell felt paranoid about the whole thing.
"I'll turn them into toads." Shadow was grinning again.
"You will not," I attempted to brush away the arm he placed around my shoulders.
"I will," he ignored my attempts to push him away and leaned in for a kiss. "How many shall I tell them to expect?" He pulled away to smile gently at me.
"Trik, for sure," I sighed. "Tory, Ry, Toff, Roff. And me."
"Yes!" Shadow's answer said it all.
Chapter 15
"We're all going?" Toff's eyes were wide as he stared at his father.
"We're going. Lissa, too," Roff chuckled at Toff's excitement. "When we finish checking these bottles, I'll take you to Casino City to pick out something to wear. Family dinners at Grey House are formal."
Toff grinned at his father—Roff's honey-brown eyes gleamed with excitement—he wanted to go just as badly as Toff did. "Child, not many are invited to Grey House. Their offices are located on another planet, and that's where their clients come. Very few outsiders are allowed on Grey Planet. For any reason. Normally it's family only who get to witness the rite, too. This is an honor." Roff ruffled Toff's dark hair.
"Can we sit with Nissa?" Toff asked in a shy voice.
Blood Reunion Page 22
