Demon's Revenge (High Demon Series #5) (27 page)

"I give you chance after chance, year after weary year, to step up and act as a king should act. You have failed to do so at every turn. You, my oldest, would torture your people just the same as you tortured Lendill. Therefore, you have no power, now. I suggest you learn to live without it. Make yourself useful to your brother and it might be restored one day. Now," Kaldill straightened his clothing, "Kneel, Lendill Schaff, and the Alim'deru will be passed to you."

"But he doesn't have any power," Reldill whined. "Father, you have fucked up one time too many." Faldill drew in a breath at Reldill's insult against his father.

"You h s">& one ave permission to teach your older brother a lesson," Kaldill said gently to Lendill. Lendill looked down at his fists—they'd clenched tightly the moment Reldill had leveled his insult. Opening his hands, Lendill held only one out. Light blasted from it, knocking Reldill against the wall next to Naldill, who was still slumped there, unconscious.

"Now, you see what your youngest brother can do, only one-handed?" Kaldill said with satisfaction. "Kneel, Lendill, and I will pass power to you." Lendill knelt, and with words in an ancient language Norian didn't understand and light glowing around Kaldill and Lendill, Lendill was made Prince-Heir of the Elves.

"I will keep watch over Gaelar N'Seith until the time comes when you weary of serving the Alliance," Kaldill slapped Lendill gently on the back later, after a thousand-year wine was served. Naldill had been carried out earlier by waiting elves and Reldill was revived and escorted away, leaving only Kaldill, Lendill, Norian and Faldill, who seemed too stunned to speak. Lendill, numb and feeling crowded with power he'd never held before, worked up the courage to embrace his father before folding away with Norian.

* * *

"So, Prince-Heir of the Elves, eh?" Norian slapped Lendill on the back much harder than Kaldill had when they landed inside Norian's study. "Still feel like a drink, old friend?"

"Yes. Definitely a drink," Lendill said. "Yes."

* * *

"Are the shields going to hold?" Corolan was worried and it was coming out in his voice. He'd put everything he had into the shields around the palace. Six warlocks and three witches had spoken out against Rylend Morphis' selection as heir, and when Wylend handed the throne to him and left, they'd started their campaign immediately, saying Ry's birth wasn't natural, he wasn't a true Karathian and therefore was ineligible to hold the throne.

Ry knew that if the palace fell, all nine dissidents and their followers would fight amongst themselves over who would sit upon the throne afterward, likely splitting Karathia into factions and sending it straight into civil war.

Gavril had already offered to send Regular Campiaan Army, but Ry had asked Gavril what he thought regular troops might accomplish against power wielders. Gavril had seen the sense in his brother's argument and offered to come himself, whispering a few well-placed words into Ry's mind. Ry had grinned at the suggestion and he and Gavril had started a mental planning session. Now, all they had to do was keep the shields up for just a bit longer.

* * *

"I'm doing interviews for an overseer for the groves," Garde threw out a hand when Jayd asked if anything had been done. "Only one or two have come forward who worked for Reah; the rest are demanding that we get Reah back. I have several from off-world, claiming experience and clamoring for the job. That doesn't include the complaints I'm getting from the disabled." Garde sat heavily on a chair beside Jayd's desk.

"The Council is demanding we do something soon—they're all worried the income will evaporate," Jayd remarked dryly.

"We have three months, maybe, before the next harvest," Garde sighed. "But in that time we apparently have to prune, weed, fertilize, plant and mulch. Whatever that means."

"If we had someone reliable, then Torevik's land could be planted," Jay sed, before td pointed out. "Since we no longer have to worry that his former wife might take any of it."

"We could. It will take five years for the trees to yield, and they have to be tended. We'll have to hire more people for that, obviously," Garde grumbled. He wasn't looking forward to more interviews, since he didn't really know the proper questions to ask.

"Find someone and soon, brother. We can't let this go much longer." Garde nodded at Jayd's words, staring at his hands instead of his brother.

* * *

"You are not progressing as well as we'd like; we think the pregnancy is holding you back," Teeki had returned with Neeki. "Therefore, we will do some healing. You must be strong when the move comes."

I stared at both of Kifirin's helpers. "Do you know where they'll move us?" I asked, including all the other girls who would be put up for sale in my question.

"We cannot say," Neeki replied, placing hands on my body. "You would send mindspeech to your mate who helps run the ASD, and he will have troops waiting. That is too much interference. We cannot involve ourselves in that."

"Goodness, no," I muttered as Teeki began to help. I had four hands running over my body, paying special attention to my abdomen—they seemed fascinated with the baby for some reason.

"We cannot reproduce," Teeki said when I asked him about it. "So of course we find children fascinating."

"He is a bit obsessed," Neeki grinned.

"You wouldn't be if you'd gone through labor," I grumped.

"Why do females always grumble about that?" Teeki sighed as he made me feel better.

"Come see me when this one is born," I snapped back.

"Perhaps we will come; it will be a new experience," Neeki agreed. "In the meantime, this will help. You must be strong when the time comes."

"Sure. Be strong, he says. Have you ever been ill?" I stared at Neeki while his brother worked.

"No. It is not permitted."

"You have to have permission to be ill?" I found that disturbing.

"Just for the experience. We would have to beg."

"Trust me, once you're involved, you'd be begging to not be ill, I assure you."

"It seems somewhat tedious," Teeki said. "Waiting such a long time to conquer illness."

"You make it sound like a military campaign," I groused. "I can assure you, if I could fight this thing in a fair fight, it would be gone already."

"They'll move you soon. You should be ready. Do what must be done, child of Kifirin," Teeki drew his hands away, as did his brother.

"I don't claim Kifirin as a father. Not anymore," I said. "Don't ever say those words to me again." Teeki glanced nervously at Neeki before both disappeared.

* * *

"We have to prepare the dessert for several in Miss Schuul's penthouse; she's having a private rush," Perdil and Zendeval woke me later. Wanting more than anything to berate both so bin M of them and then squeeze their throats until they choked, I made an annoyed sound in my throat as they helped me off the bed. I felt like slapping Zendeval's hands as he helped me dress, including underwear. I didn't like it when strange hands wanted to dress me in panties and a bra. Zendeval kissed my hipbones and my breasts as he worked. I wanted to heave. Perdil finally cleared his throat when the petting threatened to escalate.

The trip to the kitchens came next, and I was able to stand and get the ingredients put together for the cake and ice cream. The oxberry tart was also requested, so that came next. I worked as efficiently as I could, economizing my efforts so I wouldn't be weakened after Teeki and Neeki's healing. Perdil and Zendeval both watched as I worked, utilizing the kitchen assistants as much as possible.

Finally, the desserts were finished and hefted onto a tray, bound for Darletta Schuul's suite. I cursed her, her father and all the other sick, sadistic and twisted persons involved in the entire mess. I vowed, too, that many of them wouldn't live past the next few days if I had anything to say about it.

It no longer mattered whether Lendill and Norian wanted to question any of them. I intended to kill, plain and simple. They were placing my life, my child's life and the lives of countless others in jeopardy, and there was no telling how many they'd raped or killed already. I could only guess at that. I wanted to berate Perdil and Zendeval Rjjn, too, before anything else happened to them and I missed the opportunity.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow evening for the sale," Perdil informed me as we rode up the elevator. Lendill was likely watching and listening, so he was getting the information he wanted, we just didn't know where the sale would be held. He'd be tracking me, though, so wherever we went, he could have ships in the area quickly. Unless Dantel and Faldin had some final, engineering miracle in reserve. With the way things were going, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

* * *

"They'll be shipping the cargo off Stellar Winds tomorrow evening, if my source is correct," Lendill paced in front of a room filled with ASD starship commanders. "I want your troops ready for anything, since we don't know yet where we're going or what we'll face when we get there. It's likely that they're well equipped, wherever they are, so we may have a battle on our hands before we can even get to the site. Once there, we have captives to consider. These are kidnapped women, bound for the slave trade. Most of you have been briefed that we are dealing with slavers. As you know, you were examined, too, when you walked into this room. The few who were shunted aside, well, let's just say they're having a bit of impromptu surgery to rid them of a device known as a controller." Lendill snapped the remote in his hand, pulling up images on a screen behind him. Those images illustrated what the controllers looked like and where they were placed—in the neck at the base of the brain.

"Some of us have been controlled, and unless we stop the ones responsible now, it's very likely that in only a few moon turns, all will be under the control of a few masterminds. We cannot let this happen, and our physicians and scientists are working feverishly to produce a tiny disruptor that can be injected into the body, likely in the collarbone, which will negate the effectiveness of the controllers. Each of you will have one of these before you leave tonight to board your ships. We are using every one of the prototypes developed in the last few days, and your troops are now getting them as well. Only they think they are being immunized against a chemical agent."

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Physicians waited at the doors into the meeting room at ASD headquarters, armed with injectors, ready to give each commander the necessary disruptor. It was their hope to keep these men under the control of the ASD instead of Dantel Schuul and his small band of masterminds, who were bent on controlling both Alliances.

* * *

"Bro, it won't be the greatest loss," Gavril reminded Rylend. "They're out there, killing your loyal subjects without asking questions or considering the matter. It's either do them in now, and in the worst possible way to get the others to back off, or it will be civil war for who knows how long. You know I can do this. And, since the regular army can't handle this, well, I'm the commander in chief. It's my job."

"Then get Aklus and Chimbl first; they're killing everybody, including children. We've beaten them back a little, but they still have murder in their hearts. They want to cleanse the entire planet of any Karathian who might oppose their rule, and unfortunately, that's just about everybody," Ry raked a hand through his hair. Erland and Corolan stood nearby, impassively listening to the exchange between brothers.

Gavril had warned Ry that it might come to this. He held the ability—because he was who he was and his parents were who they were. Gavril could go undetected if he wanted, and that was ideal for this situation. If Aklus and Chimbl fell, the others would likely fall to their knees and ask for clemency. Gavril didn't like messy, but he could do it. After all, his mother had done it before him, just under different circumstances.

Ry had sent images of children to Gavril, their bodies tossed carelessly onto the streets of Karathia, in Aklus' bid for power. He'd done that to terrorize the population. Chimbl wasn't any better. He'd committed heinous acts of his own. Now, Gavril and Ry were about to show them what Lissa's children were capable of doing. Tory, too, was due any moment. He was the wild card. As a High Demon, no warlock or wizard could hurl spells that might harm him.

"I'm here." Tory skipped in, ready to skip again at Ry's command.

"Get us here," Ry pointed to the spot on the vid-image map. "It's Aklus' stronghold. He and Chimbl are holed up in Wylend's old summer palace. He hasn't used it in centuries, so it's a good place for them to hide."

"I'll get you there," Tory nodded to Gavril and Ry. "And I'll turn Thifilathi as soon as we arrive. Gavril, I assume you'll go in as mist and keep me mist as well?" The plan was that Tory would stay beside Ry—as mist, while Ry looked to be immune to any power thrown at him. Gavril could force anyone to remain mist, once he turned them if he so chose. Gavril would then proceed to lop off a few heads, making it appear as if Ry were effortlessly killing his enemies while they hurled their worst at him.

"Yep. They'll never know we're there," Gavril nodded.

"Take me as well," Erland stepped forward. "Corolan can disguise himself to look as I do. He can stay here at the palace, making it look as if I'm protecting it. I want in on this, son. This is ours to do. We will succeed or fall, together."