Demon’s Dream (High Demon #6)(2)
Author: Connie Suttle

"If anyone can do this, it will be the Larentii," Ry said. "Look what they did for you, bro."

"But I just had some anger issues and holes in my memory," Tory pointed out.

"We’re here," Lok and Aurelius walked into Lissa’s library, where the meeting was to be held. Farzi and Nenzi were among the stacks, gabbling about the books on the shelves.

"Present," Lendill appeared with Norian close behind.

"Erland is managing the palace on Karathia for me," Corolan appeared beside Ry. "If there’s an emergency, he’ll send mindspeech." Ry knew why Cory had come. He loved Reah still and they’d all gotten the full brunt of the released mute around Reah. Corolan had cursed long and loudly over it.

"We may have extras coming," Aurelius announced, getting everyone’s attention.

"What extras?" Gavril looked about, worried that someone unbidden and unwelcome might appear. Farzi and Nenzi had come out of the stacks and settled on a sofa nearby.

"You know, extras," Drake said as he and Drew appeared, closely followed by Lissa, Gavin, Thurlow, Aryn, Winkler, Rigo, Tony, Roff, Connegar and Reemagar. Norian was already there, so only a few of Lissa’s mates were missing—most notably, Kifirin and Gardevik. Gavril sighed deeply and nodded with relief at their absence.

"Before we start on anything else, Ildevar has ordered that half the funds confiscated from the pirates go to Reah. And that’s turning out to be quite a lot," Norian said. "We’ve tapped into hidden accounts where the credits were dumped; Dantel Schuul had Matiss Meldrim acting as bookkeeper for Nedrizif and his Greater Demons. Meldrim was quite adept at hiding funds, but thanks to Rigo and Aryn, we got all the information from him before he was, ah, digested."

"Darletta was Dantel’s front for a lot of other things, too," Tory said. "He owned Stellar Winds and Starshine through her. Of course, Daddy’s little girl got everything she wanted."

"Including Daddy, or so I heard," Drew remarked dryly.

"I was never forced to watch the two of them together," Tory shuddered, his dark eyes filled with remembered pain and confusion. "And she lost interest in me over the last five years or so. She couldn’t wait to get rid of me at the end."

"Likely because you wouldn’t cooperate all the time," Lissa said. "She didn’t count on the fact that you weren’t human or mortal."

"Because she never knew," Tory agreed.

"But what are we going to do about Reah, if she comes out of this? Or even if she doesn’t? She’s still pregnant and it could take a while," Aurelius observed. All of them agreed that there’d been a breakdown of some kind.

"I don’t know about you, but I’d like to sit down with her quietly, maybe over dinner or something, and let her know how much I care about her." Corolan wasn’t waiting; he wanted everyone to know where he stood.

"I think one on one, or perhaps two won’t be so overwhelming," Aurelius said. "As soon as she’s up to it. Provided we can get past the Larentii."

"If he hadn’t been there today," Lissa shivered. Gavin reached out and lifted her hand, kissing it gently. Gavin was going to be a grandfather for the first time. He wouldn’t have been if Reah had taken one more step.

"We would like to give truth," Farzi stood, followed by Nenzi. "The King and his mate, they take Reah’s girls. Give them everything. Except they not give. Reah supports Kifirin with gishi fruit. She pay bills and make sure King’s palace and King have money. Reah supports those girls. King and his family live off Reah." Nenzi nodded the whole time Farzi spoke. Farzi and Nenzi sat down.

"That’s telling it like it is," Drake muttered.

"Nefrigar says to tell all of you that we will be able to visit Reah in five days. She is getting the best of care," Connegar announced.

"Where is she?" Ry asked.

"At first on the Larentii homeworld. After that, she will receive specialized care elsewhere. You may visit her then. He will keep you informed when her location changes."

"Is Reah all right?" Nenzi asked.

"He is keeping her asleep much of the time. She is still suffering from her ordeal on Stellar Winds and Cloudsong. She should have been placed under care when she returned, but she was not. The mute was still in place and nobody thought to do it," Connegar replied.

"I don’t know about the rest of you but I am angry with Kifirin." Lok wasn’t mincing words.

"Yes, but it sounds dangerous to be angry with a god," Corolan grumbled.

"He said to tell you that you’re all entitled to be angry," Lissa said. "And he knows I’m pissed as hell, too."

"We can be angry, we just can’t do anything about it," Ry nodded to his mother. "Honestly, if he felt he owed us anything, then he or his parent should help Reah. That would help the rest of us."

"I agree with my brother," Gavril nodded to Ry. "Kifirin put us and Reah into this mess and we almost lost her today. Who knows how long this is going to affect all of us?"

"I’d like to have her back here now," Lok said. "I feel as if I’ve been absent or asleep for the past twenty-five years." His remark had several nodding and agreeing around the room.

"We’ll just have to wait the five days, I suppose," Tory said. "And I have a higher mountain to climb than the rest of you."

* * *

"Kevis?" Karzac knocked on his son’s open study door.

"Dad! When did you get here?" Kevis looked up from his comp-vid—he was completing notes on a patient. He entered the last bit of information and stood to greet his father.

"Kev, I have a patient I’d like to put in your clinic," Karzac said, walking in to sit beside his son’s beautifully polished wood desk. Kevis, a physician for the past thirty years, ran a private clinic for patients with difficult mental problems.

"Dad, surely not one of the Saa Thalarr," Kevis sat down again and hit an electronic key on his deskcomp. Kevis looked very much like his father—nearly six feet tall with light-brown hair and green-gold eyes. He’d opened his private clinic twenty years earlier on Refizan, his father helping financially. Kevis was doing very well for himself.

"No. Not one of those. And I think when we get her, the Larentii will have already made a great deal of progress in her treatment. What we really need for her, I think, is peace and quiet, where there isn’t anyone troubling her with something that needs to be done. She hasn’t had a vacation in years, has been attacked and made very ill recently and there are other circumstances that have affected her. She almost killed herself three days ago."