Demon Revealed (High Demon Series #2) (21 page)

They're brothers. Wylend has been hunting them for a while
now. Very powerful, too. Only the Hardlows could afford all of them together, I
think
.

I thought about asking for names, but held back. Maybe it was
better if I didn't know. It didn't matter—I ended up cooking breakfast for
everyone as soon as the meeting was over. Arvil was going to investigate Milus'
disappearance, but I could tell he didn't have much hope of finding anything. I
was hoping Milus was far away; I found him to be the least offensive of all of
Arvil's wizards. It made me sad, too—I'd liked and trusted Delvin at one
time—when he'd been working with Bel.

"This is very good," one of the warlocks told me. I'd
made coddled eggs for him and the others—with sauce and a few other
specialties.

"I'm glad you like it," I nodded respectfully to
him.

"My name is Astralan," he held out his hand. I took
it politely. He already knew who I was. Stellan, Astralan's brother, introduced
himself next, followed by Celestan and Galaxsan. Somebody's parents had been
star-struck, it seemed.

The table in the dining room looked like a hurricane had hit
it when Arvil, his wizards, the Hardlows and all four warlocks finished their
meal and left to tend to business. Teeg shrugged at me—he had to go with Arvil.
That left me with the kitchen staff, Ry and Tory.

I helped the staff carry dishes into the kitchen, but they
washed and cleaned everything for me. Tory, Ry and I went to The San Gerxon to
order supplies and have some of them delivered to the palace. I was going to
supervise the menu served to the Hardlows personally, if I didn't cook it
myself.

What do you think happened to Haral?
Ry asked mentally
while I went over food orders.

Ry, when I saw him, his head had nearly been severed from
the body and there were long, deep cuts across his chest and torso. There was
also
—I hesitated for a moment, trying to choose the proper words—
a cut around
his groin. Blood was
everywhere. It was hard to determine the extent of
the injuries, there was so much blood
. I didn't want to tell Ry that it
looked as if the genitals had been removed and destroyed—males seemed sensitive
about that and I was embarrassed to say it.

I just wanted to know so I could inform Dad and Wylend. We
also need to understand what we're dealing with here—in case whoever did this
comes after any of us.

Bro, that's such a comforting thought
, Tory broke into
our mental conversation.

You can make the cameras go fuzzy if you want—with your
talent?
I asked Ry but included Tory in the conversation.

It's one of the easiest things to do—interfere with
electronic signals. That's one of the first things Dad taught me. And then he
told me he'd mute my power for years to come if I ever did it within Mom's
palace
. Ry ducked his head to hide the grin.

So, you did it elsewhere, didn't you?

Oh, man
, Tory's laugh came through his mindspeech.

How's Aurelius?
I changed the subject.

Aurelius is fine. Why don't you send him mindspeech? I
think he's about to go crazy without you, and I think the Vice-Director still
may have Auri's fingerprints on his throat
. Ry was laughing mentally this
time.

I took Ry's advice. I was still going through the kitchen
comp-vid, ordering food and supplies.
Aurelius?
I sent.

Reah? Thank goodness. When Torevik sent the message saying
that someone had attempted to attack you, I nearly took the house apart
. Aurelius'
voice was warm inside my mind.

Love, I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner—I didn't know whether
you were busy or not.

Reah, my beautiful love, I am never too busy for you. Even
if I am in combat, I will get back to you as swiftly as possible
.

Auri, I wish I were with you. Right now
. I did—I hadn't
ever been so worried in my life. Even when Edan was beating me, at least I knew
it would stop for a while after he hit me. This was constant and completely
over my head. Aurelius always seemed so confident. I wished for a little of
that, right then.

Reah, you sound lost, love. Is there no way we can see one
another?

Auri, I'm afraid. I don't know what I'm doing and Lendill
wants me to stay here. Now, Arvil San Gerxon has named me one of his heirs and
I'm a target for his enemies or those who want to take what he has. What am I
supposed to do?
I was wiping tears off my face even as I entered amounts of
stock items into my comp-vid. Tory almost got up but Ry grabbed his arm and
dragged him back to his seat.

Reah, don't cry, love. We'll see one another soon
. Aurelius
broke off the mindspeech.

"Reah?" Kiasz's voice broke into my concentration. I
think everyone in the kitchen knew I was crying by that time. I hadn't meant
for that to happen—I should have waited until later to contact Aurelius.

Avilepha, hold your head up. We'll take care of this later
.
Tory's mindspeech had me wiping my eyes again. "She's all right," Yindu
was shooing the others away. "Go on, you'd do worse if somebody tried to
poison you." Well, that had gotten around fast. I brushed dampness from my
cheeks and went back to work.

* * *

"I heard you worked in Desh's kitchen, but I never
thought I'd get their yaris fish outside any of their restaurants. This is even
better than I remember." Wilffox Hardlow certainly liked what he'd been
served for dinner. Teeg hadn't said a word when he came in with Arvil and the
Hardlows—I had no idea what they'd been doing or what poor Teeg might have done
or witnessed. The warlocks were enjoying their meal, too. Arvil was smiling
from his place at the head of the table—his heir was making everybody happy
tonight, except herself.

I still felt depressed after my conversation with Aurelius. Tory
had done his best to reassure me with mindspeech, but Ry was keeping watch on
him—there would be no more touching, I think. It was too dangerous. I made a
point not to look at Ry and Tory as they stood guard in the kitchen; I knew
there was a gossip mill now and didn't want to feed it. Tory and Ry were served
in the kitchen; I got my dinner at the table with the others while my staff
served wine, plates of food and desserts.

"Sweetheart, no more crying in the kitchens, all right?"
Teeg pulled me against him after we made it to our bedroom and closed the door.
Honestly, I wanted to cry again, but I held the tears back. If Teeg knew, then
Arvil and the others knew. He'd think I was weak.

"Will he try to get rid of me?" I asked, looking up
at Teeg. I meant Arvil, and Teeg knew it. He led me to the side of the bed and
settled me on the edge.

"Reah, I know you're young. So young." His hands
cupped my face. "I know that not long ago, you didn't worry this much about
getting killed. Don't let that homicidal rapist hurt you like this." He
leaned in to kiss me. How could I tell him it wasn't just Haral that upset me? All
of it was weighing on me and closing in, like a windowless room. "Baby,"
he murmured, "I promise you, I'm not without resources. I'll protect you
as well as I can."

I knew Tory would do the same, only Tory probably had more
resources than Teeg could possibly imagine. So did I, but I always worried I'd
be caught unawares. Lendill had told me not to change. What was I supposed to
do, wait until they killed me to decide otherwise? Ry was strong as a warlock,
but could he stand against any one of those working for the Hardlows? I was
afraid to ask, in case the answer was no.

* * *

Lendill's hand automatically went to his throat when he saw
Aurelius coming. Aurelius didn't look happy. "Now what?" Lendill
decided to be practical about it and lowered his hands.

"Reah sent mindspeech. She was crying before it was all
over. That girl is frightened out of her wits, Lendill Schaff. And you're
forcing her to stay there." Aurelius' words were thick with anger.

"She's in a unique position to deliver the biggest
criminals in and outside the Alliance," Lendill pointed out the logic.

"She told me she's too inexperienced for this,
Lendill." Aurelius' golden-brown eyes were hard as they raked Lendill's
face.

"That's why I sent Ry and Tory. They'll take care of her."

Aurelius eyed Lendill's throat. Lendill put his hand there
again. Aurelius snorted and walked away.

* * *

Farzi, Nenzi and the others came in the following day. Nenzi
came to me expectantly, so I gave him the best hug I could. Farzi nodded to me
and smiled.

The moment Nenzi moved away, however, another reptanoid sidled
up. I hugged him. Eventually, they'd all gotten a hug, including Farzi. They
were hungry too; they'd come straight from the shuttle station. I had the
kitchen staff put a light meal together for them. They went to rest for a
little while afterward before meeting with Arvil and the Hardlows. I got the
idea that Farzi had found something for Arvil. Teeg and I ended up in the
meeting.

I'd arranged for snacks and drinks to be served during the
meeting. Arvil seemed to like that very much. Everyone was eating and drinking
as Farzi made his report. "We return from Zephili," Farzi nodded to
Arvil and both Hardlows. "Grish has crops being harvested now. He say we
can have those fields, for part of profits." Farzi continued.

"Did he say how much?" Arvil frowned.

"He not tell me." Farzi was upset over that, I could
tell. This Grish person probably didn't think Farzi was smart enough or important
enough. "He want to speak with you." Farzi nodded toward Arvil. "He
want to see you." Whenever Farzi was upset, his speech deteriorated
dramatically.

"Perhaps we should all pay Grish a visit." Wilffox
lifted a tiny seafood salad appetizer and ate it, smiling maliciously. I
wondered if he and Grish had some history. Wilffin agreed with his brother. "We
can go tomorrow if you'd like, friend Arvil."

"I'll have my assistant send the communication,"
Arvil smiled. "If we're lucky, Grish will die of old age while we're there
and we can take over. Zephili will be ideal for our enterprise, I think. Fields
are available there to replace all three of our lost crops."

* * *

"Reah, just pack your things." Teeg was frustrated,
I could tell. I'd grumbled when Arvil informed me I had to go. Teeg was staying
behind on Campiaa to run things for Arvil. At least Ry and Tory were coming to
Zephili with me. It might have been ideal if Arvil had left me on Campiaa. Wilffox
and Wilffin had requested that I go with them—they liked the cooking.

"Sweetheart, you'll be able to talk with me anytime—by
comp-vid communicator," Teeg watched me throw clothing into a bag a bit
harder than was warranted. I wanted to scream, if I were honest. At Lendill
Schaff. At Arvil San Gerxon. At Haral, Edan, the Hardlows, Delvin and just
about anyone else who came to mind. "Ry and Tory will watch out for
you," Teeg went on. "Besides, this will get you away from all the
gossipmongers on Campiaa."

"Of course it will," I snapped sarcastically. "What
are they saying about me now?"

"Reah, it's not important. Just finish packing. All
right?"

I stood there, staring at Teeg. "Tell me," I said. He'd
started this, saying what he did. Now he was going to explain it to me.

"Reah, ever since your hair started growing out and everybody
recognized you as a woman, the rumors have been flying. Especially after Arvil
got rid of his mistress housekeeper. At first, they said you were sleeping with
Arvil. That upset me until I found out differently. Now they're saying you're
sleeping with the Hardlows or their warlocks. Reah, you're beautiful. They see
that now. People are even placing bets on who you're sleeping with besides
me."

"That's it, I'm leaving." I dumped the armload of
clothing I held in the bag that lay open on the bed. I turned around and
stalked out the door, Teeg right behind me.

"Reah, where are you going?" Teeg grabbed my arm.

"Anywhere but here. All I have to do is make it to the
shuttle station. Tell Arvil I said no, thank you." I jerked my arm out of
Teeg's grasp.

"Reah!" Teeg was almost running after me, hauling me
off the floor while I flailed against him. I think a few blows actually landed
on his chest and shoulders as he carried me back to the bedroom. After tossing
me onto the pillows scattered across the top of the bed, Teeg growled and turned
away from me. I attempted to slide off the bed, but he caught me and threw me
right back. "Reah, listen to me!" Teeg was nearly shouting.

Too angry to say anything that made any sense at all, I folded
my arms stiffly across my chest and refused to look at Teeg. "Reah, I
shouldn't have told you that, but maybe it's better to hear it from me instead
of getting blindsided by it when you're working at one of Arvil's casinos. People
here gossip, Reah, and they gamble. The two go hand-in-hand, most of the time. They
get bored with the regular games, so they'll bet on anything."

"So they all think I'm going to bed with Arvil. Or the
Hardlows." I was shaking now, I was so angry and upset.

"Reah, they're even betting that you're sleeping with your
new guards." Those words hit too close to the truth. Tory and I hadn't coupled—we'd
only had direct contact during the claiming and that had been unwilling on my
part. Now, though, Tory and I—well, we were mated just as much as Aurelius and
I were. I loved him, just as I loved Aurelius and Teeg. Multiple mates were
recognized by the Alliance. I didn't know what the rules were on Campiaa and
didn't want to ask Teeg—if he were fishing for information, I wasn't about to
hand it to him. I did give him what I had, though.

"I'm not sleeping with my guards." And I wasn't. Not
yet, anyway, and it would only be one of them if I did. My voice was now
sullen.