"The actions of a warped and twisted mind cannot be interpreted by logical means," Gavin said. "It is useless to attempt it. All we might do is prevent them from happening, if we can."
"Where are Tony and René?" I asked.
"They've taken Mr. and Mrs. Alford out to dinner," Winkler replied. "The Alfords are leaving tomorrow, so they're spending the evening together."
"Oh," I said and sighed. I hadn't talked much with Tony's mother. That hadn't kept me from wondering what she knew or where Tony had come from. I felt sure that Charles had already done research into medical records and that sort of thing. I wondered what he'd found. Poor Tony. I had a feeling his birth mother had given him up because she wasn't prepared to take care of him, somehow.
"Gavin, may I borrow your laptop?" I asked. I hadn't emailed or talked to Franklin and Greg in days. Merrill, either, for that matter.
"Of course, cara." Walking into our bedroom, he returned quickly with the case in his hands. Gavin emailed Charles or Wlodek often. He even had Wlodek's personal email account. I didn't have that. I'm sure it had to do with secret stuff that nobody else was supposed to know. Gavin opened up his Mac and settled it on my lap.
"I only want to email Franklin and Greg and Merrill," I said, entering Merrill's email address. I wrote that I was fine. I told Merrill what had happened in the last few days, but I was sure Wlodek already informed him since he was in the house, now. In Franklin's email, I asked how Greg was doing. I was hoping Greg wouldn't read Frank's email; I didn't want him to think I was going behind his back. My email to Greg was as upbeat as I could make it. Shutting Gavin's laptop, I handed it back to him with a sigh.
Sara's body had been mauled after her death; Dominic was sitting in a cell at one of the Council's holding facilities. There wasn't anything I could do for Sara, but I should have told Dominic before he left that I'd been in his situation a couple of times myself.
Gavin took the laptop back after I was done, and while he was up, Roff came in and sat down next to me. "Two more days," he said and smiled.
"Two more days?" I didn't understand. Roff pointed to his neck. Now I knew. He wanted another climax. "You poor thing," I put my arms around him and leaned my forehead against his shoulder.
"I am extremely fortunate," Roff informed me. "I am the comesula to the Queen."
"You will not repeat that word outside this room," Gavin warned Winkler. He'd walked in just as Roff was letting the cat out of the bag.
"What word?" Winkler feigned innocence. "I didn't understand it anyway. Did you say comma sula?"
"It means companion," I said. "And it's one word—comesula. Roff's not local." I didn't point out that Gavin referred to the term Queen and nothing else.
My statement caused Winkler to frown at me. "What do you mean, not local?"
"I am from the High Demon's planet," Roff smiled. "Before that, my kind were native to Le-Ath Veronis."
"Come on," Winkler said, smiling.
"It's true," I grumbled. "Le-Ath Veronis means Heart of the Vampire, according to my sources."
"There was a werewolf planet, too," Roff said. "Although I do not know its name."
"It is empty now, just as Le-Ath Veronis is," Kifirin was there suddenly, examining an abstract sculpture on the small kitchen island. He really did have an ear tuned to certain words. We'd said Le-Ath Veronis and Kifirin appeared from nowhere. He was prepared for Earth, too, dressed in jeans, a yellow polo and nice boots. Kifirin's dark hair was neatly styled and his lips curved slightly as he turned the small sculpture in his hands.
Winkler was out of his chair in a blink at Kifirin's sudden appearance. "Where the fuck did you come from?" he demanded.
"I cannot give information regarding where I came from originally, it has no name," Kifirin replied with a shrug. "Recently, I came from the planet named after me. The werewolf planet was named Harifa Edus. In the language spoken there, it meant Hunter's Eyes." Kifirin set the sculpture down, his dark eyes focusing on Winkler instead. "There were six moons orbiting Harifa Edus; therefore there were six nights to hunt every month, which lasted twenty days."
"Geez, Winkler, that was werewolf heaven," I said. Winkler was still giving Kifirin the eye. He warily sat down again when he saw that neither Gavin nor I were upset at Kifirin's presence.
Kifirin came to sit beside me, so Gavin had to settle for a nearby chair. "Avilepha, you are correct—I am listening for certain things—always. For now, you are upset because the ephu has taken the lives of your kin?" He placed an arm around me. Roff moved over a little to give Kifirin more room.
"Ephu?" Gavin asked.
"Evil one; devil perhaps," Kifirin offered. "One who brings harm intentionally? I came to see if Lissa wished to travel with me tonight, to steer her thoughts away from these things."
"Where?" I asked.
"I would like to take you to see the High Demons' planet," he smiled down at me. Honestly, that smile could induce orgasms. "We will not be gone long. In Earth time, that is."
"Good. I was feeling depressed and homesick, maybe this will take my mind off that," I said.
"That is as I'd hoped," Kifirin nodded and folded me away.
Twilight was falling on the High Demons' planet; Kifirin set me down in the middle of a street in the market district. "This is Veshtul, the capital city on Kifirin," Kifirin informed me.
"The planet really is named after you?" I asked. He smiled his angelic smile at me and nodded.
"I will make it so you will temporarily understand the language here," he said.
There were comesuli everywhere, locking up their shops for the evening, calling out to one another about evening plans or shouting for children who'd rather continue playing with friends. I looked around me; it seemed such a peaceful place. The streets were paved with square bricks in many colors; the shop fronts were just as colorful, with none being more than three stories high. Even in the last light of day, it was something to see.
"If you wish to buy, you must do so now," a dark-haired comesula was ready to close his shop door.
"This is where they sell the best oxberry wine," Kifirin told me softly. "We wish to buy two bottles," he called out. The comesula came back with two bottles of wine and Kifirin handed over two gold coins. The comesula thanked him and trotted back inside his shop, closing the door for the evening.
"That is Roff's son, Toff," Kifirin said. I drew in a breath.
"Really? And you waited until now to tell me?" I hadn't gotten a scent off the comesula, but I hadn't questioned it—until now.
"He cannot know what you are," Kifirin said. "And I shielded his scent so you would not recognize him and give that knowledge away. I have brought you here while Roff and Giff are also here. I took them from a month in the future," Kifirin explained. "Things would become complicated if they saw you now."
"You are too weird for words," I said.
"It depends upon the language you use," Kifirin chuckled. "High Demons often use my name when they curse. Every bit of my anatomy has been described in erroneous detail when they are angry."
Kifirin carried the wine in the crook of his left elbow, while draping the other arm over my shoulder. "We will walk to the palace," he announced. We walked to the palace. I didn't see it until we came to the end of a street and made a right turn. There it was, shining in the moonlight. The street we'd turned on was broad and led straight to the palace steps. The place was huge and beautifully designed, with many pillars leading up wide steps, and there were domes and spires everywhere, all of it lit and shining in the twilight. It looked like something from a fairy tale or a science fiction story.
"The one who designed this palace was vampire," Kifirin explained. "He was brought from Le-Ath Veronis to draw up the plans and oversee its construction. Sadly, the High Demons forgot over the years that the vampires helped them many times in the past. They failed to provide assistance to any of the Dark Worlds when it was sorely needed."
"Yet here they are, enjoying a good life, while the rest of
the dark worlds lie wasted," I sighed.
"True," Kifirin acknowledged. "I am taking you to meet someone inside the palace. I cannot introduce you to the Raona and Raoni; I cannot have them remembering you."
As information goes, that was certainly cryptic, but I didn't argue with Kifirin. I was feeling too calm and happy to be able to walk leisurely down a street in such a beautiful city, toward a palace designed by a vampire. "What was his name? The vampire that designed the palace?" I asked.
"Tybus," Kifirin said. "He was quite talented." I nodded in silent agreement.
The steps that led to the palace were many and wide, fashioned of pale marble with blue and gold veins running through it. The whole thing was beautiful beyond words. "You like this?" Kifirin asked.
"It's amazing," I said. Someone must have emptied the entire planet of that marble; it had taken so much of it to build the steps and the columns at the front of the palace.
"They nearly did use all of it," Kifirin agreed, reading my thoughts. We walked into the palace through wide doors that led through a huge, oval entry. Guards were stationed outside those doors and I got their scent. It was something I'd never smelled before, but I would know it from now on. The guards paid no attention to us; it was as if they hadn't even seen us. Kifirin smiled.
We walked through the palace, past more guards and others dressed finely, going this way or that. None seemed to see us or note our passage. Kifirin eventually led me to the top floor of the palace; there were many more steps to climb to get there. Kifirin then pulled me toward an arboretum.
Nearly circular in shape, it was huge and had a high glass ceiling with glass walls surrounding it. Only the back wall where it connected to the palace was squared off and straight. I went directly to the glass walls at the front of the arboretum; the view of the city from there was magnificent, with lights twinkling across an expanse of shops, homes and mansions in the distance. I thought about pressing my nose and hands against the glass so I could get the best view without any glare, but figured the caretakers wouldn't appreciate removing my nose and handprints later.
"I have wanted to meet you for a very long time." The voice was almost as beautiful as the man. Flavio was now the third most beautiful man I'd ever met in my life; I saw this when I whirled to see who'd spoken. Kifirin was now standing fifteen feet away, unwilling to interfere with this meeting for some reason.
"I am Erland Morphis," The man came forward, offering his hand. He had dark hair and darker eyes and his face was perfect if that were possible. He wasn't as tall as Kifirin, but that didn't matter. What I thought as he held his hand out to me was that he'd likely cause males and females to sigh happily as he passed, just from the sight of him. The vibe I got from him was that he preferred males, but wouldn't turn down a female from time to time.
"How do you know of me that you'd want to meet me for a long time?" I asked as I took his hand.
"Nearly three hundred fifty years ago, I watched a vid-article from the Refizani planet," Erland Morphis replied. "I found it fascinating. A Queen Vampire, someone so rare as to be nearly nonexistent, was fighting Ra'Ak with abandon and blinding them, allowing them to be killed by others. Many races saw this—the ones that had space travel, that is. That is how the images came to them. And to me."
"It may have been three hundred fifty years ago for you," I said, feeling confused and disoriented. "It was a month ago for me." Erland Morphis' scent was different from the others we'd found inside the palace. It held a powerful spice that I couldn't name.
"I am a Karathian Warlock," Erland informed me as if he were reading my thoughts. "I am eight thousand years old. My kind are nearly immortal, as many of the Wizards are."
"There are Wizards? Really? That is so cool," I said.
"Perhaps you should meet the Grey House Wizards, sometime," Erland smiled. Honestly, Helen had competition to launch ships now.
"Grey House Wizards?" I hadn't heard that before.
"They are the finest and most powerful of their kind," Erland said. "Different from the Karathians, as we dabble in some of the darker spells at times—we cannot help it, Karathia being on the boundary between the light and dark worlds, as it is."
"Do you dabble in the darker spells?" I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"Never to cause an unwarranted death," he smiled again. "That would be against my principles and many who associate with me now would not continue to do so had I done things of that nature. Therefore, I stay within the neutral area when it becomes necessary to perform anything other than a spell of light."
"Well, that's a relief," I said.
Kifirin walked over and stood next to me. "We must go soon," he said, taking my hand and interrupting my conversation with Erland Morphis. Erland offered me a smile that held sadness.
* * *
Do not give any message or indication, Kifirin sent mindspeech to Erland Morphis. She must not know so that things will proceed as they should.
My heart weeps because there is no way to save her, Erland Morphis replied.
Do you think that pain has not been stirred thoroughly in my own heart? Kifirin leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Lissa's temple. We will go.
Chapter 7
We left Erland Morphis standing in the arboretum, probably staring at the spot where we'd stood barely a blink before. Kifirin and I now perched on the edge of a volcano. Heat was rising from its depths but no lava was flowing.
"I have calmed it down somewhat; it erupted forty years ago," he said, his dark eyes gazing out over the caldera.
"Do a lot of damage?"
"Some," Kifirin admitted reluctantly. "I was angry at the time."
"What got your panties in a bunch?" I asked.
"It is not something I can discuss," he said.
"Big secret, huh?"
"Yes. Unfortunately."
"What do you call the volcano? Is it named after you too?" I smiled up at Kifirin.
"No, avilepha. It is called Baetrah, which means Fire Mountain."
"Roff said that the comesuli come here to ask you for favors."
"They still do. Sometimes I consider their requests." He'd said consider. He didn't say grant. I didn't push it—maybe it was one of those things you weren't supposed to know. "The High Demons come here when they tire of their life," Kifirin went on. "If they throw themselves into the fire while in humanoid form, they give up their lives. While they are in full Thifilathi, the fire cannot harm them. It is the way they were made."
"You did that, if I recall correctly," my fists were on my hips.
"Yes," Kifirin sighed. "I did that. I made the High Demons. At times, I wish I had created them with better memories, or with more focus toward their responsibilities. Come, m'hala, it is time to go."
Kifirin dropped me off in the living area of the guesthouse, seconds after we'd left it. "That didn't take long," Winkler drawled. Sometimes, Texas comes out in his voice. Sometimes. Kifirin left me there with both bottles of wine after a quick kiss. He just disappeared, as he always does. "How does he do that?" Winkler asked, rising and coming over to touch my cheek. Maybe he was checking to make sure I was real or something. Gavin rose, too, probably to make sure Winkler didn't get away with too much.
"He calls it folding space," I said.
"That's a theory that has been kicked around a bit, with variations on how it could actually be accomplished," Winkler observed. The genius Winkler was present, it seems. "Do you know how it works?"
"I have no idea, you're asking the wrong person," I said. "Maybe you should ask him yourself if you see him again."
* * *
"How did we miss this?" Griffin sat at a table inside a Falchani bar; Kifirin sat across from him. Two cups of untouched rice wine sat on the table between them. "All the Possibilities pointed in another direction. Now the Absolute shows up and it is disastrous." Griffin had fingers laced through his thick brown hair and he wanted to tug it out by the roots, he was so frustrated and upset.
&
nbsp; "Only disastrous for the one," Kifirin blew a curl of smoke from his nostrils.
* * *
Tony sat next to René at the linen-covered table where they'd eaten their meal, sipping the last of their wine. The dinner was excellent, but Corinne Alford had the saddest expression on her face. Tony glanced briefly at his vampire sire before turning back to his mother.
"Mom, you'll always be my mother, no matter what," Tony reached across the table and took his mother's fingers. "I mean that. Nothing will ever come between us. You raised me, you and Dad," he nodded at Lucas. Lucas had done as much or more for him than most fathers Tony knew. He'd never been treated differently or slighted in favor of Deryn. They were brothers, too, even if they weren't blood kin. "Mom, I know," Tony said. "I know I'm not Everett's. Or yours by blood. I'm yours because you wanted me."
Corinne Alford blinked across the table at her son before the tears fell. "How did you find out?" Corinne wept, her voice thick with emotion.
"Mom, I worked for National Security," Tony replied. "Don't cry. I've known for years, now. I went digging through the records. Somebody fixed the birth certificate, but there are no doctor or hospital records. I don't care who my birth parents are. They're not real to me. You are. You and Dad. Don't ever think I don't love you, because I do."
"I was pregnant by your father but that ended in a miscarriage," Corinne wiped tears away. "I went out running with the others three months afterward. Your mother had you in the woods, baby," Corinne sniffled. Lucas put his arm around her. "She left you. I scented the blood while on the run. I had to force the turn so I could pick you up and carry you out of there before the others found the scent."
"They would have torn me apart," Tony nodded his understanding.
"George Chapman helped me get the papers pushed through," Corinne named the Grand Master before Weldon Harper. "I wasn't about to give you up, Anthony. I think we had a bond the minute I picked you up."
"Old George did a good job; I almost didn't get past the records he paid for, they were so well done," Tony said. "Mom, that doesn't matter. René is a parent but you'll still be my parents. That's what I'm trying to say. René isn't going to stop me from calling or communicating with you, since we are what we are."
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