Demon’s Dream (High Demon #6)(26)
Author: Connie Suttle

"We will be traveling the timeline today," Belen announced, drawing everybody’s attention. He stood next to Lissa and rubbed her back absently while he spoke. Kifirin blew a bit of smoke but didn’t say anything.

"I don’t like this," Garde muttered.

"But you will come," Kifirin snapped.

"Ready?" Belen asked. When nobody spoke, he transported everyone through time.

"You will not be seen or heard," Belen said as they all stood in the gishi fruit groves on Kifirin. Reah, eight months pregnant with a black eye and swollen face, attempted to loosen a bolt on a hovertruck’s solar collector. The bolt was rusted in place and she was having difficulty with it. Lissa drew a sharp breath at the state of Reah’s face.

"What happened to her?" Gavril growled while Reah continued to jerk the wrench on the bolt, trying to loosen it. A replacement collector sat in packaging nearby, waiting to be installed. Reah was doing the repairs herself.

"One of the disabled that Gardevik sent to her was mentally damaged. Without medication, he would turn violent at times. He hit Reah," Belen said.

"When is this?" Jayd asked. He was unable to gauge the proper time.

"A little more than twenty years ago. Reah is pregnant with her last set of twins, Dara and Sara." Belen watched as Reah continued to work on the bolt.

"No," Nenzi moaned. Reah had positioned herself so that her weight might be used to work the bolt loose. Doing so was dangerous in the extreme; if the bolt came loose suddenly, she could fall.

"You may not approach," Kifirin held Nenzi back. Reah jerked the wrench, the bolt came loose and she fell with a cry, flat on her back in the dirt between rows of gishi fruit trees. That’s where the truck had broken down and she’d had no good way to move it.

They all watched in horror as Reah rolled over to rise stiffly before raising a hand to her head. Every breath she took after that was a bone-shaking sob. That went on for several minutes before she moved, pulled the broken solar collector off and replaced it with the new one, wiping tears the entire time.

"Now, we go," Belen moved them. They stood in Garde’s study inside the palace.

"Garde, she needs the procedure or her baby will die," Reah was pleading someone’s case in front of Gardevik Rath.

"Reah, we can’t hand out money every time one of your workers needs something," Garde blew a curl of disgruntled smoke.

"But the baby will die," Reah was nearly in tears.

"Babies die all the time, Reah. You’re not responsible for them and neither is the Crown." Garde was done with the conversation. Reah skipped away. Belen followed her. Reah stood inside her bedroom at the tiny house in the groves. Carefully, she lifted a carved wooden box from a bottom bureau drawer. Lifting the lid, she drew out a necklace of diamonds and rubies. Touching the stones gently before shoving the expensive jewelry in her pocket, Reah wiped her cheeks, checked her appearance in the mirror and skipped away. Belen followed her.

They’d landed in a secondhand jeweler’s shop. Rows of jewelry were displayed in plexi cases beneath the counter. Reah waited while a woman and her husband bought rings before approaching the desk.

"What might I sell you today?" The proprietor asked. Nearly bald, he only had the leavings of thin hair over his ears. His eyes were a washed-away blue and the wrinkles around his mouth traced a constant frown.

"I don’t want to buy, I came to sell." Reah drew the necklace from her pocket.

"Ah. This looks quite expensive," the man held the jewelry up to appraise it. "Might I ask if it was acquired, ah, legally?"

"It was a gift," Reah said stiffly.

"I might be willing to offer top credit," the man said, turning his eyes on Reah, "If you’ll agree to spend the afternoon in my bed." Aurelius growled at the proprietor’s words. The necklace was snatched away from the man so quickly he hardly realized it had left his hand.

"I’ll go elsewhere," Reah’s voice expressed her anger and frustration. "And I’ll make a stop at the magistrate’s office afterward," she snapped.

"No! No, no," the man was pleading, holding out a hand. "It was in jest, I assure you. I will pay what the necklace is worth. Secondhand, of course."

"Of course. Give me your best price or I will leave and will still visit the magistrate," Reah warned.

"I will," the man whined and named his price. Reah almost walked away. He upped it, and then upped it again. When the right amount was spoken, Reah nodded her head. She also pulled a comp-vid from her pocket to check the credit chip before leaving the store.

"Where did that necklace come from?" Tory asked.

"I gave it to her," Aurelius grumbled.

"We will go," Belen said.

Their next visit was to a hospital, where Reah spoke to a doctor.

"The baby will live now," the physician said. "If she had waited any longer, that would not be the case."

"Good," Reah sighed. She was dressed very poorly, Gavril noted. Lissa glared accusingly at Kifirin, who merely looked grim.

"Didn’t she have better clothing than this?" Glinda asked, horrified that Reah would appear in public this way.

"Shall we check her closet?" Ry gave the Queen of Kifirin a nasty smile.

"No. I know what we’ll find. No," Glinda held up a hand.

"And this is surely while you were stealing from her," Lissa glared at Radolf and Ilvan. "If she’d had the funds from the restaurant at least, she wouldn’t be selling off her jewelry to pay for something that Gardevik should have at least looked into." Garde was the next one to receive Lissa’s angry stare.

"We go," Belen said and they were gone again. This time, they appeared in the rotunda of the High Demon palace. Reah had skipped in, dressed as well as she could be under the circumstances.

"Ah, lady Reah," a servant walked over and nodded to Reah. He was tall, thin and dressed much better than Reah was.

"Randik?" Reah turned to the humanoid servant.

"If you’re looking for your daughters, they are not here," Randik sighed patiently. "Master Aurelius came and took them for ice cream. They have not returned as yet." Reah’s shoulders sagged at Randik’s words.

"Did he say anything about coming to visit the groves afterward?" Reah asked.

"No, lady. I believe he told Princess Raedah that he had to get back after their trip for ice cream."

"Oh. Well, thank you, Randik. Tell them I’ll be here tomorrow evening." Reah skipped away. Belen followed her. Reah was wiping her eyes as she prepared a meager dinner afterward and washed clothing by hand after that.