Demon's Quest (24 page)

"I know," he growled miserably.

Chapter 11
 

"There's a note with the flowers." Lok was sitting beside my bed after hauling in a huge basket of blooms. As security, he'd already checked them over, searching for listening devices or anything dangerous. Experiencing a bit of sadness over the fact that things had come to that, I accepted the card from Lok's fingers. No expression lay on his face, but his black eyes were narrower than normal as I plucked the note from his fingers. His touch brushed against mine briefly as I took the card.

Lok has beautiful hands, even if they are scarred from holding blades, in and out of battles. His fingers are strong and calloused. At times, still, I wanted to know what those fingers might feel like if they held mine, or if they touched me with something other than indifference. Sighing, I lifted the square flap of the envelope—it was the palest pink. While everything else was paperless, cards were still around and expensive, because of their plant-based origins.

Reah, many of us in the family held our breath when you were attacked, and breathed a relieved sigh when we learned you would survive. I know this may be difficult for you to believe, but some of us truly do see things differently now. We greatly appreciate the gifts we received, and they will be utilized to support the family. It is an inevitability, I believe, that all six Desh's will be forced to close. Many of our best recipes were kept in Addah's memory, and number two and number three were already failing when he died. I suppose it is fitting, and perhaps justice for you that things are happening in this way. I watched the vid copy of Addah's visit to Dee's, especially the part where you told Fes and Aldah that they had a good mother and they didn't appreciate her enough. Now I know why Fes called me shortly after that meeting and told me that he loved me. I continue to hope for a swift recovery for you, and wish to express my apologies for years of abuse and indifference on the part of the family. Sincerely—Farla Desh.

I was stunned. The note and the flowers were something I never expected to receive from my former family. I was still weak, but strong enough to write. Farla had included a comp-vid code at the bottom of the note. "Lok, can you get me a comp-vid?" I asked.

Lok didn't reply, he pulled his own from a jacket pocket and handed it to me. He'd come in from outside, just to deliver the flowers and note to me. Now he watched me carefully, betraying no emotion as I took the comp-vid and punched in the code to send text messages only. I was wearied and only wanted to sleep afterward, but I'd written out eight of Addah's most prized recipes on the comp-vid with a short note to Farla.

I worked these out several years ago
, I informed her.
Since they were Addah's, I was never able to use them in any commercial manner—they were for my private use and for my own enjoyment. If you have trouble reproducing them, please let me know and I will be happy to come once I am released from the physician's care, to
demonstrate how to make them. I regret not knowing my family better in the past, but those opportunities have slipped away and left us all in a sadder place—Reah.

* * *

"Fes!" Farla shouted. "Fes!"

"Mother?" Fes had just risen—he'd been released from the hospital before Addah's funeral—the hospital staff had been amazed at his near-miraculous recovery. He still tired easily, however, and wouldn't return to work for at least two Eight-Days.

"Fes, I sent flowers and a note to Reah," Marzi exclaimed excitedly. "I told her about the family's situation and that Desh's was likely to close because Addah left us the way he did without giving up his secrets. Look at this, Fes—Reah wrote me back!" Fes still didn't understand until he accepted his mother's comp-vid and stared at the first recipe for yellowfish in wine sauce—Reah had written that one and seven others.

"Mother, I want her to come. I want to watch her cook," Fes declared, sorting through the recipes. "Look—here's the sliced beef in bittersweet sauce!"

"That always takes forever to cook and Addah wouldn't let anyone in the kitchen," Farla reached for the comp-vid. "I want her to come, too. I want to see this."

"Then answer her—there's a code listed here," Fes scrolled down to the end of the message.

* * *

"Reah my love, what is the meaning of this?" Lendill was wiggling my comp-vid in his hand and frowning at me.

"Is that where it was? I had to borrow Lok's earlier," I grumbled, reaching out in an attempt to snatch it away. A message waited for me; I could see it on the screen.

"Now see, if you were in better shape, you'd have had this in your hand and I'd be staring at an empty palm," Lendill was teasing me with it still.

"Lendill, please shut up and hand me that," I muttered in irritation. I was sitting precariously on a stool in the huge kitchen, where Radolf had served up a better-quality broth this time, with onion, a hint of spice and bits of beef. I kissed him for his efforts after my first bite. He was going back to Le-Ath Veronis just as soon as he fed me—Ilvan was busy doing prep work in Lissa's kitchen and Edan was already in Karzac's medical classes.

"Here," Lendill gave me a kiss when he handed my comp-vid over. I leaned against him—Lendill has a scent that no other man has. Perhaps it was his Elvish roots or something. I hadn't gotten close enough to his father to see if he smelled the same.

"Reah," Lendill whispered softly, "I'll crawl into bed with you if you keep that up."

"Karzac said no sex for six more days," Radolf reminded us, forcing Lendill to pull away. Farzi and Nenzi were staring, too. They weren't about to allow anyone else into the bed if it might damage me as a result. I checked my comp-vid message while my cheeks heated up.

Reah
, it read,
I can't say how much we appreciate what you sent to us. And if there is some way for you to come and show us how to prepare these recipes, we would be more than grateful. Fes is quite excited over the prospect. We will ensure your safety, but please bring your own guards if it will make you feel safer—Farla.

I'll try to come in ten days,
I sent back
. If anything changes, I'll let you know
.

"Honey Snake," I said to Farzi, "will you and my sweet man take me back to bed?" I was exhausted. Farzi stole a kiss while he carried me to my suite, Nenzi right behind him.

* * *

"She calls him honey snake?" Radolf had an eyebrow lifted quite high.

"You should know by now that those two consider themselves Reah's mates. They just can't have sex; they were neutered when they were young." Lendill snorted.

"I'm packing up the rest of this, and there's chicken broth, too, if she wants something different for dinner. I have to go before Ilvan tears my kitchen apart." Radolf laid his apron on the island and disappeared.

* * *

"Farzi, Nenzi?" I heard Lendill's voice. It had to be the middle of the night—I was sound asleep with both lion snakes. Wise of Lendill to let them know he meant no harm. I had a tough time opening my eyes—I'd been sleeping comfortably surrounded by the reptanoids.

"What is it, Lendill?" I asked, struggling to sit up. Farzi changed first and helped me.

"Reah, we need you to come—don't worry, someone will carry you. There's a new site on Boodreatis. They've attacked an entire college, there. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this when we go through the place." Lendill told me not to worry, but there was more than worry in his words—he was frightened.

"Farzi, Nenzi, will you come with me?" I asked.

"We come with Reah," Nenzi, now humanoid, was padding across the room to snatch up his clothing. Farzi was already getting dressed. I hadn't realized it, but Lok had come in with Lendill. He found shoes and socks for me while Lendill helped me into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Out of habit, I looked around for my knife.

"You won't need a weapon, this is investigation only," Lendill said as Lok lifted me up. "And this is the first time I've attempted taking others with me when I fold, so be prepared."

"You fold?" The words were torn from my lips and left behind on Tulgalan, taking my stomach and my equilibrium with them. We landed safely, thank the stars, in the middle of a gymnasium that direct hits from lightning bolts might have treated kinder.

"I've discovered latent talents," Lendill murmured at my question. I'd forgotten it at the vision that met us. The gymnasium was filled with local constabulary as well as ASD agents. The horrible thing? The place was also filled with bodies, some piled several deep.

"It was a college handball match—the regional championship," Lok whispered softly against my ear. Farzi and Nenzi stood guard on either side of us—it was late afternoon where we were—light filtered through a very large hole in the tall ceiling over our heads. "All the students were expected to attend—classes were let out for this event," Lok went on. "They're all dead."

"How many?" I wanted to weep, my hands and body shaking at the sight of students, professors and attendees littering the floor and surrounding elevated seating.

"More than a thousand," Lok murmured, kissing my temple gently.

"Lok, let me stand," I was thankful my voice only quavered slightly. Lok lowered me to the floor, what little there was of it not covered with bodies, so I could turn around and survey the scene.

"Were there any in the bathrooms or outside, getting a drink of water or anything?" I asked. This was a small, private college, much like one I might have attended had Addah allowed me to go.

"I don't know," Lok answered, placing a hand under my elbow, in case my knees gave way.

"Where you think those things are—bathrooms?" Farzi gazed down at me. He and Nenzi were almost of a height—roughly two hands taller than I.

"Farzi, I think they might be toward the back of the gym. Maybe down some steps or something," I was improvising.

"Then we'll go check." Lok was humoring me, I think. I wasn't sure he or Lendill expected this sort of devastation. We stepped around and over bodies as we made our way toward a doorway at the back of the large gym.

"This it—I smell water," Nenzi affirmed, once we passed through the door. I nodded and gave Nenzi an encouraging smile—the best I could muster under the circumstances, anyway.

We found a set of bathrooms with showers for the athletes. Nenzi was correct; I heard the occasional drip of water from a small shower cubicle off to the side. Looking up, I saw that the ceiling was lower than that outside—it consisted of rectangular, fiber tiles set in a grid. A few holes had been punched through, here and there. No holes, however, were around the concrete walls of the room. I crooked my finger at Farzi and Nenzi. Without saying a word, both came.

"Can one or both of you make your way through one of those holes up there?" I whispered as softly as I could, pointing to the holes in question. Restroom stalls stood against one wall while the showers lined the other. Benches stood against the wall in between.

Both reptanoids nodded at me before their clothing dropped to the floor. Lok and I watched in fascination as they chose a restroom stall, lifted up and climbed on top of cubicle walls. Then, rising gracefully again, they chose a hole in a ceiling tile overhead and slipped inside it. Screaming and shouting began immediately, as six frightened students, anxious to escape the newest threat, fell through the ceiling tiles over the benches.

"Stop there!" Lok held a Ranos pistol in his hand, pointing it at the students. I sent frightened mindspeech to Lendill, who appeared at our side, just as Farzi and Nenzi came down. I handed their clothing to them and held the restroom cubicle door shut while they dressed again. No need to expose them to students, whom I'm sure had just escaped certain death.

"Who are you?" The young man's voice wasn't steady as he stared at Lendill and Lok.

"I'm Lendill Schaff, Vice-Director of the ASD," Lendill snapped. "How in the name of the daystar did you escape that carnage out there?"

We'd found four young men and two young women, and not so surprisingly, they'd sneaked up into the tiled ceiling and sat atop the concrete wall that rose past the ceiling grid so they could pass around a small bag of halucidust. Lendill cursed under his breath; he wasn't sure any of them had seen anything—enough to describe it, anyway.

Lendill and Lok were herding them toward the restroom door when we heard the shrieks from outside. I wanted to shout in frustration—it had been a trap. "Lendill, fold them out of here!" I shouted, indicating the students, Lok and the reptanoids. They wouldn't stand a chance against a thousand other students, professors and the attending locals who'd been bitten by Ra'Ak and then placed in stasis by a sick and twisted warlock.

"Reah!" Lendill shouted behind me, but my adrenalin was already pumping. I had no weapon with me except my Thifilatha, and I sent mindspeech as quickly as I could.

Em-pah, there are spawn
, I shouted the mental message, even as I turned, the effort to become full Thifilatha almost bringing me to my knees. Lendill, who asked Farzi and Nenzi to guard the still-humanoid students, came up behind me, shooting as quickly as he could with his Ranos pistol, Lok doing likewise on my other side.

What do you do when more than a thousand spawn turn in your direction, running over one another, almost, attempting to get to you? I wept, I think, realizing that I was too weak to fight off that many at once. What touched me would burn, but Lendill and Lok would be overrun. I knew it as surely as Boodreatis' sun shone overhead. I batted an attacking spawn away; it had almost reached Lok, who was firing methodically into the oncoming mass of former students, their flesh now housing the worst kind of monsters.