SpellBreaker: First Ordinance, Book 4 (19 page)

After we'd made love.

No, I didn't want to delude myself. This Ilya I was still getting to know. Some things were the same, others vastly different.

He loved me—that was the most important part.

"Don't let the new arrivals upset you," he breathed against my hair before folding away.

* * *

Bekzi met me in the kitchen; he nodded after I did, silently acknowledging that my night had gone well.

Breakfast had to be started, so we went about it, making preparations while our kitchen helpers set the simple spells for the stove and oven.

"Lord Hegatt has arrived, set another place at the table," Milar appeared inside the kitchen.

I'd jumped at Milar's sudden appearance, he was straight-spined and stuffy as always, although I could read in him that he hadn't expected Hegatt until the afternoon. Somebody had folded space, horse and all, for most of the trip, so he could come riding in for breakfast. Milar disappeared quickly; I assumed it was because Helsa sent mindspeech.

Or her father had.

How is he?
I sent to Ilya while Bekzi and I prepared another plate of food.

He wears a permanent scowl, so you'll have to judge for yourself
, Ilya replied.
Take care around him, my love. He may be of the rape and dismiss variety
.

I'll remove his cock if he tries
, I snorted.

I think I'd like to watch
, Ilya replied.
He comes. Let me know if help is required
.

Chapter 11

Le-Ath Veronis

Queen's Palace

Kell

Yes, I'd kept up with the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis. I never thought to meet her in the flesh, however.

Father, do not fidget
, Rigo instructed mentally as we stood inside the Queen's palace library on Le-Ath Veronis.

Mindspeech. He'd never had it until his mating with the Queen. If I hadn't understood before that she was more than powerful, the present evidence would have overwhelmed me.

Rigo grinned after the sending, letting me know how happy he was to see I was still alive and working for the good of Hraede from the shadows. As I had no mindspeech to reply, I merely dipped my head in acknowledgement.

"Kellik of Abenott, come forward," Queen Lissa commanded.

Surrounding us was a gathering of those handpicked by Rigo and the Queen to witness this event.

I had no idea why she was determined to do this.

I was determined, as a result, not to bring the slightest harm when I took her blood. I stepped forward as commanded.

No climax.
Lissa, Queen of all vampires, informed me in mindspeech as she tilted her head to expose the vein in her neck.

I wanted to argue. To tell her what she already knew, that the climax eliminated the pain of the bite.

"My blood is a gift to you, Kellik. You will take no harm from it," the Queen recited. "There are no bindings or conditions, it is freely given."

I sank my fangs into her throat as carefully as I could.

* * *

Karathia—Present

Quin

I wanted to ask Dorgus why they were moving us. I dared not. I had little to move after all, so I helped Dorgus pack Vardil's belongings.

He, Vardil, Daris and I were the only ones moving, too. Perhaps it was to ensure that at least one of the twins would survive if the other were killed.

Daris snapped at her servants to ready her things faster. It was something she could do herself with a spell; therefore, she chose to trouble her humanoid underlings with the task.

I watched as she swept down a hall with servants carrying heavy bags in her wake. I also saw in her face what I most wanted to know.

The move wasn't for safety; the plantation that held their largest drakus seed field needed additional supervision, and Vardil's employees required Vardil's presence in order to get things accomplished efficiently.

Also, housed in large buildings on a hidden corner of the same property were thousands of death machines, already manufactured and awaiting Ruther Kend's upgrades.

Deris and Daris intended a war against Karathia, and, as the machines could fire from any location while making the shots appear to come from another direction, the Karathian King's army wouldn't know where to send the spells.

These truly were death machines, and I worried that neither of the twins recognized what they might do if they were properly constructed.

Ruther Kend also wasn't aware that his wife had escaped. I still had no idea how that had happened—the driver who'd survived the crash couldn't recall what had happened, which resulted in his fiery death at the hands of Deris.

His screams and the stench from being burned alive still invaded my sleep and woke me with visions of the nightmares that had come.

Shivering involuntarily, I laid another carefully folded silk shirt in Vardil's heavy trunk and focused on my task.

By midday, we were on another world near its equator, where the rains and warm temperatures were ideal for growing drakus seed. My shoulders sagged at the first sight of this massive farm—as far as I could see the plants grew, tall and green while a light rain fell, giving life to the poisonous growth.

"Hurry, girl," Dorgus snapped. "We have to get him inside before he gets soaked."

He meant Vardil. Pulling a rainshield from the pouch of Vardil's hoverchair, I snapped it open and held it over Vardil's head while Dorgus guided the machine toward a massive plantation house.

* * *

"She can't speak," Dorgus informed the cook and her staff.

Unlike the cook who stayed on Karathia with Deris, this one had been forced to work for the twins, after they took over the plantation from one of their wealthy kidnap victims.

"Does she have dry clothes?" The cook glared at Dorgus.

"She has what she's wearing," Dorgus snapped.

"Do you pay her?" The cook's fists went to her hips. She wasn't heavy; she was tall and substantial, nonetheless.

"That is none of your business," Dorgus responded.

"Every mouth in this house is my business," the cook's voice rose. "Find clothing for her or I will."

"Fine. Do whatever you want. Dress her like a princess, if you like. It won't improve her face any."

He'd merely put into words what I'd known all along. Dorgus preferred what was pleasing to his eye. I, in my current state, was only good enough to serve him and Vardil, while staying out of his way the rest of the time.

"Someday, Master Vardil," the cook pointed a finger at Dorgus, whom she believed to be Vardil, "You'll learn that all are the same, no matter what they look like or where they come from. It's what's in their heart and soul that makes them different."

"Come." One of the cook's assistants, a young woman with a pretty smile, took my hand and led me toward the laundry. "I'll help you find something to wear."

* * *

Cook Janis nodded her approval when assistant cook Ela brought me back to the kitchen dressed in a young boy's clothing. "Gem's clothes fit her well enough," Janis turned away. I already knew that Gem was dead—he'd died while attempting to help his father when Deris and Daris arrived with the wealthy kidnapped owner in order to take over the plantation.

Gem, at fourteen, was a favorite with all the staff. His death angered them greatly, but they were helpless against the kind of power wielded by the twins.

Gem's death had been an example to them, too. Everyone else there feared for their lives as a result. Gem's father, grieving and hopeless, was taken away again while the staff was forced to bow to the whims of those who'd taken him.

Except for Janis.

She was wise, however, and understood she didn't have the strength or resources to fight those who'd taken over. It didn't mean she wasn't making plans to alert the authorities.

Every comp-vid and other forms of communication had been destroyed or locked away. She constantly searched for a key and watched for one of Vardil's employees to carelessly leave a device lying about.

Most of the household staff were watching with her.

"Don't speak, eh?" Janis said while kneading dough.

I shook my head.

"Can you read and write?"

Stepping toward her wide, wood-topped table, I hastily wrote
yes
in the flour surrounding the dough before wiping the word away.

"They don't know, do they?" Janis' voice was soft.

Again, I shook my head.

"Good."

Janis was determined to make this secret work to the household's advantage. I nodded. I, too, wanted it to work to our advantage.

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

Lissa

I had no idea why I hadn't thought of it before—giving blood to all the Rith Naeri, so Rigo could send them in any direction at any time. Yes, two would always remain on Hraede to command the small vampire army they'd built, but with their ability and experience, the Order of the Night Flower could boost Rigo's spy network in many ways.

And, if I gave them a few extras along with my blood, it could prove invaluable. After all, these vampires had stood against adversity for thousands of years, and not once had they been tempted by corruption.

Kellik, well, his return was practically a miracle in Rigo's eyes, who'd imagined his sire dead long ago.

Kellik, after all, taught Rigo and the other Rith Naeri. Most would call him the ultimate spy, as no record of him had ever been made and no sightings ever reported.

When he woke, he'd be able to mist and mindspeak. Those were my gifts to him for rescuing Barra Kend and countless others through the millennia.

Soon, I'd take care of the others, with Rigo's permission and supervision. It was time the Rith Naeri took on the Alliances and not just Hraede, to keep them from falling to what I called the new super-criminal.

Vardil Cayetes had been bad enough; Vardil combined with the Arden twins was fifty times worse.

"What are you thinking, Tiessa?" Rigo asked.

He sat on a comfortable chair in a corner of my private study while my thoughts consumed me.

"Something is bothering me," I sighed. "I think I want to pay that coffin in my dungeon a visit."

Rigo frowned. "You're not thinking of misting inside the base, are you? It could be a trap, my love."

"I'm not going inside it, but that doesn't keep me from worrying about what's in there. Zaria says there's a book and a ring. Damn, I should have asked more questions about that."

"I assume it is Wellend's book—I hear from Rylend that neither he nor his father were able to find that particular volume, although they diligently searched both family homes for it."

"I think that's what it is, too, but my concern is this—what did he write in it before he died? Did he change enough laws to give the twins a clear path to the throne?"

"You worry that all of Karathia will fall in line behind those two?"

"Karathia has always occupied the dividing line between the worlds of dark and light. Yes, the wall between the two has dropped, but you don't get rid of history by knocking down an invisible barrier. What if half the planet is predisposed to follow the darkness? Most of the population is more than a thousand years old. Only five percent have been born since the barrier came down."

"Can that be—that half or more would be attracted to the darkness? Surely not, my love."

"I'm not sure of anything anymore. The twins have had ample time to make a move, yet they waited until now. Why?"

"I cannot say. Perhaps I will ask my sire to help research this when he wakes. I look forward to showing him the light half of our planet." Rigo smiled.

"Take him drinking," I waved a hand. "He hasn't done that in a while, I think."

"There are many things he hasn't done in a while." Rigo chuckled, and that was a very rare sound.

* * *

Karathia—Past

Zaria

Hegatt Blackmantle not only provided the genetic propensity for Helsa's irrationality, he'd honed the inborn trait in himself as well as his daughter. I suspected that Helsa's mother, dead for more than one hundred years, died in self-defense against the two.

I'd only seen Hegatt from a distance as he shouted and ordered servants about while his things were settled in a well-appointed guest suite.

That meant I didn't see his face clearly until the following morning. What I learned from that brief, initial reading almost made me vomit.

When my gag reflex was under control again, I fired off a terrified mental message to Ilya.

Honey, Hegatt bought the plans for those death machines from someone in the Hraedan court
, I whispered, as if anyone could listen to my mindspeech.
He keeps them with him, in a hidden jacket pocket, and he intends to find someone to build those things in order to take the throne for his daughter
.

Ilya was stunned by the news, as it took him several minutes to form a reply.
He wants the throne for his daughter? Not his grandson?

His grandson isn't as malleable as he'd like
, I reported.
Nor as powerful as his mother
.
She's a very strong Fourth-level. He's not up to that
.
Besides, the twins haven't reached their majority. I think she's willing to hold the throne for one of them
.

We were told not to interfere with the coup
, Ilya sighed.
Wylend didn't know about this, did he?

I doubt he had a clue
, I retorted.
After all, he wasn't at the palace when things went down—he came in afterward, when everybody was dead and—wait. Who the hell took over the throne? They all say Wellend was here, and, as he wore the heir's ring, he was rightfully King. Who was at the palace, running Karathia? Nobody ever says that; they only say that after a few weeks, Wylend and his followers came in to take it back. Wellend refused to go with them and he ended up dying here—although nobody knows who killed him
.