Blood Redemption (Blood Destiny #9) (6 page)

"We have been unable to determine by any means available, just what has caused so much devastation on Twylec." The journalist was standing in front of the Solar Red temple I'd destroyed. "While the former Queen received payment from Solar Red to set up this temple under a false name, many local residents were not deceived."

"My brother was tortured—he's in the hospital now," a teary-faced young woman spoke to the camera. "We all knew what this was the minute they set up and people began to disappear. They were protected by the crown."

"Tamaritha made a mistake," Satris, the newly crowned king of Twylec declared to another journalist. "But the religion was so firmly entrenched when I came to the throne that I knew it would be next to impossible to rid ourselves of it. I received death threats from them if I didn't cooperate, as did many of my staff."

"Did you notify the Alliance Security Detail?" The journalist asked. Satris went into a coughing fit, and his assistant waved the camera off. The feed cut back to the original journalist standing outside the remains of the temple.

"The locals are preparing a low-key celebration over the demise of Solar Red and the legitimate religions are assisting in this. They also continue to search for any records concerning the hundreds of citizens who have been reported missing since Solar Red came to Twylec. This is Jandel Santiz, reporting for news twenty-two."

"I hope they have someone ready to take Satris's place when he croaks," Mack muttered, his dark eyes expressing anger. He was Martin Walters' son, through and through. Not just in looks, but temperament, too. He wanted fair treatment for everyone, just as his father did.

"Have you seen the news, Lissa?" Jeral folded in with Aurelius. They'd become very good friends and spent a lot of time together, when they weren't on assignment. Jeral had taken quickly to dispensing justice for the Saa Thalarr. Aurelius, too, was helping him through Davan's death. I wanted to sigh as Davan's image appeared in my mind. I missed him terribly.

"Uncle Jeral, how are you?" I asked. He came to stand beside me, bending slightly to give me a peck on the cheek. Aurelius did the same, and he offered a smile with the kiss. "And I just saw the news, if you mean the whole thing with Twylec."

"I did. I understand all the security cameras became fuzzy when my niece went a little crazy." Jeral grinned widely—a very unusual display of emotion for him.

"I can't have them seeing
that
. They'll all be on my doorstep tomorrow, wanting something similar or calling for my head, depending on how you look at all this," I teased. "The only good thing about Solar Red or Red Hand is that all the criminals congregate together, so I can kill them all at once."

"Nice of them to do that," Drew hugged me—I'd sat between him and Drake to eat my breakfast. Gavin was giving me looks, though. I think he wanted to haul me out of there as quickly as he could. Maybe he'd settle for a stint in the hot tub—I still felt cold. "And we'll all settle for a little time in the hot tub, I think." Drake grinned at me and then at his brother. He'd read my thoughts—I hadn't shielded them.

"No sex for a week," Karzac laid down the law.

"Honey, you enjoy that, don't you?" I wanted to throw an uneaten piece of toast at my Refizani physician mate. Karzac threw the term sex around as if it didn't embarrass me in the least. With as many mates as I had, I suppose it shouldn't embarrass me. It did.

"I do not wish to be forced to heal the debilitating headache afterward," Karzac grumbled at me. "And you do not wish to have the headache either—be honest."

"Fine," I muttered. If I were honest, as Karzac said, I was still feeling shaky.

* * *

The hot tub was where Rigo and Thurlow found me later, only seconds after my posse and I had gotten into it (all naked, of course). Then new guy showed up, just as Rigo and Thurlow were shucking clothes to get in, too. I slapped a hand over my face.

"I am sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier; I am Norian Keef, Director of the ASD," new guy said and started shucking his clothes, too. Well, he might fit in, after all. He slipped into the water on the other side of Thurlow. "This is nice," he said. "Why didn't I know about this before?"

"Uh, Lissa, your new assignment for the Alliance is working with the ASD Director, here," Tony jerked his head toward Norian Keef.

"ASD—Alliance Security Detail?" I asked, my voice almost a squeak. "How the hell did that happen?"

"The Founder and twenty members of the Grand Alliance Council always choose who works as Liaison, and the Liaison's world always houses the ASD for a period of thirty years," Norian cracked a smile, as if his current circumstances pleased him in some way. At least he was calm and relaxed today. Not only was he relaxed, he was naked, sitting in hot water up to his nipples and smiling.
Nice
. "Don't worry," Norian held out a hand, "we're paid by the Alliance, and our housing costs are reimbursed. I've already worked that out with Kyler—I understand she's your niece?"

"Yes." I wasn't thrilled with her father at the moment, however. I still wanted to slap Glendes and Raffian through a wall. "The Founder and Twenty Charter members decided?" My question was flat and resigned. It was one of those things—you don't show up for the meeting, you get the assignment. Didn't matter that I'd been separated—body and spirit—at the time. The assignment and Norian's words brought worries and suspicions to my mind, but I shoved them aside before any of my mates picked up on them. This was my concern, and I didn't want to trouble the others with it. I'd just wait and see how it all played out.

"They haven't lost sight of what happened on Refizan three centuries ago, even if the others haven't studied their Alliance history," Norian said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"The Governor of the Realm on Refizan hasn't forgotten," Karzac muttered.

"I have copies of that footage, now. I didn't know what they were talking about—wasn't sure it was possible, even. I know differently, now." Norian lifted his head and stared at me.

"Don't make me place compulsion not to spread that around," I grumbled.

"Don't worry," Norian held out a hand. "I'm just looking forward to the next time. I sent out my agents this morning. I'll be getting information within days."

"Lissa will not be going out again for at least two weeks, and that may be pushing it," Karzac glared at Norian.

"Calm down, I was planning to ask when she might be able to help out," Norian replied. "And I'll depend on you to give me status reports in the future, if our Queen isn't up to these activities. I wasn't looking forward to this when I was notified of the assignment to Le-Ath Veronis. After yesterday, my heart rate and my stress level dropped dramatically. Not that they won't rise again," he offered a brief, roguish grin, "but for now, things are so much better."

"You might ask
me
if I'm prepared to go off with you," I huffed. "Difik." I misted right out of the hot tub and into my suite.

* * *

"Not a good idea to press those buttons," Drake and Drew said together. Norian's eyebrows lifted in surprise. These twins were identical, except for the color of ink on their dragon tattoos.

"She called me an idiot, didn't she?" Norian grinned.

"That is the closest you can get to a direct translation," Garde agreed. He lifted a hand from the hot water—his fingers were wrinkled. "I'll go check on Lissa," he said and skipped away.

* * *

I was standing in my closet, wrapped in a towel when fifteen males, all in various stages of dress, trooped into my bedroom. I don't know how Norian thought he rated just walking in with the rest of my mates plus Rigo and Thurlow, but he was there, too. I'm not sure they'd even noticed he'd followed them.

"Lissa, tell me what you intend to do," Karzac spoke first.

"I was going to see Cheedas," I muttered. I was tired and wanted a nap right after I got something to drink. And I wanted to ask Cheedas to find somebody who could take Giff's place. I'd gone
Looking
while I searched for something to wear. I knew how things stood on that front, now. Giff's permanent defection was one more blow in a long line of others.

"What did you want to see Cheedas for?" Roff was working his way through the others.

"Honey," I was wiping my face, now, "I know Giff doesn't want to come back and I know she doesn't ever want me to see the baby. I was going to ask Cheedas if he knew somebody who could take her place."

"
Fuck
," I heard Tony mutter off to the side. Roff stopped three feet away from me, a stricken expression on his face.

"I'm not mad at you," I stifled the sob that came. "I just need to see Cheedas." Right then I might have had thoughts of just dropping to the floor and sobbing. I didn't have my wizard and I didn't have Giff. And I wasn't going to get to see her baby. Ever. My life since waking had been nothing but crap. I jerked a shirt and jeans off hangers and slammed the bathroom door behind me. I did my best to straighten myself up while I dressed, and then stomped out while fifteen males watched.

Rolfe was standing guard outside the door to my suite, so I made a huge production of slamming that door, too, before anybody had a chance to come out behind me. I think I heard the thick wood crack as I ran down the hall. That meant I was breathing heavily when I made my way into the kitchen, my breaths coming in gasps and sobs. Cheedas stood patiently while I rushed toward him, threw myself into his arms and wept.

  If I'd thought to worry whether Cheedas might be uncomfortable while I cried, then my worries would have been unfounded. Honestly, I was wishing we didn't have an audience right then. Cheedas was doing his best to stop my tears, but that was easier said than done. He murmured nonsense to me and rubbed my back while everybody else watched silently. I was shaking by the time Cheedas sat on a barstool and pulled me onto his lap. A glass of juice was handed over and he helped me drink. When I got myself under control after a while, I wiped my face with unsteady fingers and looked up at Cheedas. "I need somebody to take Giff's place."

"I know this," he sighed. "There are two who would fit well and I think you should hire both."

"Where are they? I think I should talk to them soon." I scrubbed my face with a shaking hand.

"I will have them here tomorrow morning. I do not think you should worry about this for the rest of the day. Have one of your mates take you to your room, Raona. You should rest. I will fix something good for your lunch and someone will bring it to you."

"Cara, come with me." I buried my head against Gavin's neck when he lifted me away from Cheedas. Gavin didn't use his new folding skills very often, but he used them now. I was back inside my suite in a blink. My clothing was pulled off and I was dressed quickly in warm fleece instead—Gavin saw to that.

"Let us lie here and talk," Gavin settled my head on his shoulder—we had a dozen pillows piled around us on the bed, making a comfortable nest.

"Why did they do this to me, Gavin? What did I do to them?" I watched his dark brown eyes as I asked the question, hoping for an answer in their depths. He kissed my forehead carefully before offering a reply.

"Shhh, cara, you did nothing wrong. There is no good purpose behind any of this. Shadow still loves you—he is being mistreated, just as you are. This could well have waited, or another method could have been found. I find this senseless, my love. And Giff's fears are irrational. Giff is a new parent and is frightened for her child because Toff's taking was such a blow. It is my hope that this will work itself out. Rolfe holds this hope as well, because he finds it difficult to choose between two that he loves."

"He needs to stay with Giff. If we need to find another guard, then we'll find another guard." I sniffled—Rolfe was like the North Star for me—always at his post unless his position as Spawn Hunter for the Saa Thalarr called him away.

"No, cara," Gavin whispered against my hair. "Rolfe will not stand for that and even Giff knows not to ask. Giff needs to think this through rationally one day and she will discover that without you, she would not enjoy the life that she does. Rolfe would have been kept from her, if you had not come to rule Le-Ath Veronis."

"I don't want anything from her if she's not willing to give it," I muttered. Yeah, I was wallowing in self-pity.

"Cara, try to let this go for now. These are undeserved blows and it grieves me to see them aimed at you."

"What am I supposed to do, instead?" I watched Gavin's face—a muscle worked in his jaw—an emotional response he seldom displayed. His eyes weren't full of stars, either, as Kifirin's often were, but there was love and concern there. For me.

"Do you know why I was so worried about your walking into the sun, so long ago, cara? Why Aurelius was drawn into a trap so easily, when Xenides' whelp lied to him, telling him that one of his was injured by walking into the sun?" I blinked up at Gavin. I'd wondered about that—many times, in fact. It had seemed so incongruous, at the time—Gavin had been sent by the Council to eliminate me, but he'd begged me not to kill myself by walking into sunlight. I'd never figured that out.

"Tell me," I sighed.

"Aurelius made a female vampire, two centuries after René and I were turned. Her name was Lucia." I blinked at Gavin in shock and wondered if anyone else had heard this story. "We were all a little in love with her, I think," Gavin went on. "Lucia was barely nineteen and left for dead by travelers who'd been attacked by bandits. Aurelius attempted the turn and like a miracle, it worked. I think she must have had Elemaiyan blood, just as you do, cara. Else she would probably have died her final death. She lived with us for seventy years before giving herself to the sun." He shook his head sadly at remembered pain.