Demon’s Quest (High Demon #4)(47)
Author: Connie Suttle

"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.