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

"We didn't realize how bad off she was." Norian hung
his head.

"And yet you failed to ask. You were only interested in
what you consider your own gain, here. I warn you, this is a larger game than
even you realize. And on many levels. I am leaving. If I stay, my anger with
you will grow and you will die. I leave you with your lives. For now." Kifirin's
dark eyes were filled with stars. Norian knew that the god was passing judgment.
Kifirin folded away as Norian and Lendill stared.

* * *

"Norian, if you had grown six heads, I might have been
less surprised." Lissa glared at her mate. "And Lendill? Where the
hell did that come from?" Lissa paced inside her bedroom while Norian
watched.

"That wizard cares about Reah. We can't beat a confession
out of him and our treaty with Mandil prevents compulsion to force them to
confess, so we went in another direction to get information." Norian
realized he stood on unsteady ground with Lissa.

"So, instead of punishing the criminal, you punish the
innocent to get what you want?" Lissa stopped pacing for a moment.

"We thought the healer had taken care of
everything," Norian grumbled, sitting on the end of Lissa's bed.

"Norian, she was shot with a ranos pistol. Those things
can kill Ra'Ak spawn, remember? And then she was claimed by a High Demon. I'm vampire,
Norian, and I didn't get over those puncture wounds in my neck for days, even
with a Larentii's help."

"Your son did that," Norian defended himself with
what he knew.

"Yes. He's High Demon. I admit it. That's how they claim
their mates. That's how I have two sets of teeth marks in my neck, thank you
very much. If Lendill had investigated that stupid kid to begin with instead of
ignoring Reah, then people would still be alive and you'd likely have more information
than you do now. As it is, you have nothing. You don't know where they were
staying, where their supply is kept and who got them onto Tulgalan to begin
with. Don't point the finger anywhere except where it belongs, Norian
Keef."

"Lissa, if you were still working with me," Norian
was back to grumbling.

"I put in my time, Norian. Part of that was when I was
pregnant with Gavril. Gavin still has a fit over that. At least Ildevar allowed
me to serve twenty-five years instead of the original thirty. I'm done with
that, now. I have a planet to run, Norian. That's my job. Why don't you ask your
current Liaison, the King of Lavareal, if he'll go out and catch criminals with
you?"

"He wouldn't bother, and he'd be less than useless
anyway," Norian sighed, thinking of his current overseer. Norian had
gotten Ildevar Wyyld to agree to make Le-Ath Veronis the permanent base for the
ASD—it had better security than any other Alliance world and he preferred being
closer to Lissa.

The lot of Liaison for the ASD—although it was merely an empty
title in most cases—was assigned to rulers of Alliance worlds for periods of
thirty years. Lissa had been the only hands-on Liaison in Norian's lengthy
experience as Director, and since her life and the rule of Le-Ath Veronis had
been placed on hold for so long, Ildevar had shortened her tenure by five
years.

"Back to your treatment of Reah," Lissa came to poke
a finger in Norian's chest.

"We've done this before with quite a bit of
success," Norian defended himself. "We just didn't realize how bad
off Reah was. We were going to explain and apologize afterward—it has to look
real in every sense before we try to get a response from the criminal."

"Oh, that was real, all right. And maybe you can
apologize to Reah, but if I were in her shoes, I don't think any explanation
would be sufficient and I sure as hell wouldn't forgive it." Lissa stalked
out of her bedroom, leaving Norian to stare after her.

"Fuck," Norian muttered and got up to go find
Lendill.

* * *

"Torevik, do not force me to call Jayd to help restrain
you." Tory was blowing smoke, as was his father, Gardevik Rath.

"They nearly killed her!" Tory shouted at his
father—something he'd never done.

"Son, I realize the Thifilathi is speaking right
now," Garde worked to calm himself and his son. "Think on this for a
moment. You are to blame as well—she wouldn't have been so weakened if the
Thifilathi hadn't chosen to claim her when it did."

"That's still no excuse for dragging her out of bed and
then doing—
that
." Tory wanted to pound Norian Keef and Lendill
Schaff into pulp. "And they won't let me see her." The last statement
was nearly a wail.

"They're worried she'll have another seizure. Seeing you
when she opens her eyes could be too much of a shock."

"But you said it was important to apologize right away. And
to keep apologizing until she believes me."

"Son, she's really sick right now. We have to wait until
things are better where Reah is concerned. She isn't just suffering from the
claiming—ranos injuries usually kill. If Aurelius hadn't given her his blood,
we'd have a body instead of a live quarter-demon."

"Are they going to tell me when things are better, Dad? Are
they?" At least Tory had stopped breathing smoke.

"I hope they realize how important that is to both you
and Reah."

* * *

"Reah?" That voice I knew right away. Perhaps the
only real friend I had. Gavril was there beside my bed. I had to work to open
my eyes—I still felt dizzy and confused.

"Chash?" I wanted to reach out to him, but my hand wouldn't
obey my will. Gavril reached out and took it for me. My voice too, was dry as a
desert.

"Reah, you need to wake up and have lunch with me. Karzac
says he's going to put in a feeding tube if you don't wake up."

"What?" Now I was even more confused.

"Reah, just wake up, okay?" Gavril's dark eyes—his
father's eyes—were begging me.

"Chash, I can't move." Even speaking made me feel
tired.

"I'll help you—just let me know if I hurt anything."
Gavril had an arm beneath me, pulling me to a sitting position. I was shaking
and holding onto Gavril as he piled pillows behind me. He was stronger than he
looked.

"Mom says I'm the only person you might be glad to see
right now," Gavril brought me a small bowl of food. "Mom made
this—she calls it chicken and dumplings. She says its comfort food."

"Sounds good, Chash." I'm not sure how we ended up
that way, but Gavril was behind me after a while and I was leaning on him while
I brought the spoon to my mouth. He even helped a couple of times when my hand
shook too much. Was he only twelve? Twelve going on forty, I think.

"You'd do the same for me," he said, after he got me
back down on the bed.

"I would," I murmured, my eyes closing. The food had
been good—the dumplings were light and the broth seasoned just right. Lissa was
a good cook. Exceptional, even, for a vampire.

* * *

"Reah, baby, wake up." I knew that voice and it
frightened me. "No, avilepha, don't be scared." Tory, his dark blue
eyes worried, was at my bedside and lifting me up. "Dad says I have to
earn back your trust. Since I was the one who destroyed it." I discovered
I had enough moisture in my body to produce tears. "Baby, you need a bath.
I promise I won't hurt you. Ever again," Tory murmured into my hair.

I couldn't fight him—I didn't have the strength. Aurelius had
bathed me before; now Tory was doing the same, lowering me into a tub of warm
water after undressing me carefully. A puckered and sunken spot on my right
shoulder now marked the ranos pistol wound. The hole was closed, leaving a
mixture of red and purple bruises behind.

"Karzac says it'll go away," Tory soothed as I
stared at it in shock. "It'll just take a few weeks, I think, for your
body to regenerate." Tory was on his knees on the floor beside the tub and
I wept while he washed me, although he was careful with what he touched. "Baby,
you don't have to forgive me. I know I let it take over—I couldn't control it
after a while. I'm sorry, Reah. More sorry than I can ever say." He was
wiping tears off my face with a washcloth.

"Your hair is growing out," he rinsed it carefully,
allowing his fingers to wander down the back of my neck. "Is it tender? Does
it still hurt?"

"How about I stick my teeth in the back of your neck the
next time I turn," I snapped at him. His fingers stilled.

"You could do that. I give my permission," he kissed
my forehead gently then leaned me forward, kissing the back of my neck.

"None of that." Karzac arrived immediately, a
crackling aura of light around him and his hands on his hips. "I have
never struck anyone in my life, but that may change quickly, Torevik Rath."

"Karzac, I wasn't going to do anything," Tory
muttered.

"And you will not, until I give permission," Karzac
growled. Karzac waited until Tory lifted me from the tub and wrapped me in a
huge towel. "Now, we will check on things," Karzac said softly as he
ran his hands over me.

"Little girl, things are coming along—it is the High
Demon in you most likely," Karzac said after checking my neck and
shoulder. His hands brushed over my abdomen and more private areas, making me
blush. Tory was watching, and that made it worse.

"No, avilepha, Karzac won't hurt you," Tory held my
head against his wide chest.

"The wounds will be healed in another two weeks, I
think," Karzac washed his hands after the examination. "Reah, if
Shannon and Cleo were not pregnant right now, I would have them come and deal
with this immediately. As it is, we will be forced to wait for the healing to
come." I didn't know whom he was talking about and didn't want to show my
ignorance by asking.

"I'll put my girl to bed," Tory said after Karzac
left. "Karzac has a mental check on you, baby. If I get out of hand, he'll
be here with a baseball bat, I think."

"What's a baseball bat?" I asked wearily. The bath
and examination had worn me out.

"I'll take you to a game sometime—the vamps from old
Earth play it all the time. They have leagues and the competition is pretty
stiff."

"What does avilepha mean?" I had one more question
as he covered me up in my bed. They'd put me in the bedroom I'd had at the palace
before—Gavril said that Tory almost had a meltdown when someone suggested moving
me to my house. Gavril, too, had eventually convinced me that Tory was nearly
suicidal over what happened between us. It was the reason I'd tolerated Tory's
presence after the claiming.

"It is the High Demon's language—it means
my love
.
M'hala means
my heart
.
Hala avilepha, m'seidra camethei refieoru
is the declaration of love from the male High Demon to his female High Demon
mate. It means
my heart's love, you are mine
forever
." Tory
lifted my left hand to kiss it.

"What do you call," I shivered, almost unable to
voice the remainder of the question. I didn't have to.

"
Nelimalu
—the claiming," Tory kissed my hand
again. "It is violent, m'hala. I had already asked my father to do what my
uncle had done for his twin daughters—arrange for anesthesia and aftercare. The
Thifilathi took matters into his own hands. Reah, I never meant to hurt you—not
like that. I wanted to hurl myself into a wall or off a cliff afterward. It
almost made me crazy. Connegar arrived and put me under for a while, then Mom
had Ry watch me like a hawk afterward. I am so sorry, love. The Thifilathi will
never do that again. This is the way Kifirin made us—to claim our mates in
Thifilathi form. Dad says it ensures that all the babies a High Demon female
bears will belong to her mate and no other. Something in the Thifilathi saliva
makes changes in the female's body and it will only recognize his seed after
that."

"Tory, what are you saying? What about Aurelius?" I
was upset again.

"Aurelius knows, m'hala. In fact, he was demanding that
we find a way to keep you from suffering during this whole thing. We all know
how that turned out." Sarcasm coated Tory's words.

"Where is he? Are you sure that's true—that I can't have
anyone else's babies?"

"I shouldn't have said anything," Tory muttered. "I
should have known this would upset you. I can't say that for sure, love, since
you're not a hundred percent High Demon. I do know that the High Demon
females—all of them in the past—have only borne their mate's children. Aurelius
is on assignment—I can't say where because even I don't know. He belongs to the
Saa Thalarr and they keep that information to themselves. It's to protect them
in the long run. He might have told you if you'd been here, but you weren't. Even
if you knew, you wouldn't be able to say it to another person—knowledge of that
race protects itself."

"Tory, I don't know how I feel about this. Before—well,
before things happened, I think I cared about you and worried over what
Aurelius might think. Multiple marriages are allowed on Tulgalan, but mostly it
is the men marrying more than one wife. Rarely is it the other way around, although
it is allowed, just as the other is. I thought I was betraying Aurelius when I
felt something for you. But now," I sighed helplessly.

"Reah, it will take time. It does with every High Demon
female who is claimed. The pain and hurt have to go away, and the male has to
make amends and try to regain his female's trust. It is a long road, m'hala. Say
you'll take that road with me. Give me a chance, Reah. What you see in front of
you is the only thing that will touch you, now. I know how to be gentle,
avilepha. I will give you only pleasure from now on. The pain is over. My
claiming marks are beautiful, love, and a reminder that you suffered in the
claiming. The Thifilathi is satisfied. He will not harm you again."

"Tory, how do I know that? I only recently learned I am
part High Demon. I don't know your race." I tried to roll over and turn
away from him. What was I supposed to do? Just believe everything they said? Why
hadn't they warned me about this ahead of time? Why?