Demon Revealed (High Demon Series #2) (28 page)

"Very funny," I smacked him on the arm when I got up
and slid the last few blocks down.

Before the day was out, Farzi and his brothers were all
talking about buying ski equipment. They knew there was an artificial slope on
Campiaa and they wanted to do this again. I just shook my head in wonder. Teeg
got my neck in the crook of his elbow and was pulling me close to kiss the top
of my head when I turned my equipment in.

* * *

"I'm glad you had fun," I was laughing at Nenzi; he
was talking as fast as he could while helping me carry plates to the dining
hall.

When we arrived, Teeg was talking with someone on his comp-vid.
It was Arvil, asking Teeg to help him deal with a situation. Someone had killed
Arvil's assistant and things were looking grim on Campiaa for the moment. I
think my heart stilled momentarily and Nenzi stopped talking in midsentence. Stellan
was planning to take Teeg away immediately, and then stay on Campiaa in case Teeg
and Arvil needed someone with power. Somehow, I got the idea that Arvil's four
remaining wizards were implicated in all of this. I should have known better,
thinking that they'd be too frightened to do anything after Delvin and Carthin
were killed.

"Reah, everything will be fine, sweetheart." Teeg
rose from his seat, as did Stellan when Teeg finished talking with Arvil. Both of
them disappeared right before my eyes.

"Reah, sit down and eat," Astralan ordered as soon
as his brother had taken Teeg away. Nenzi gave me a swift look and he and I sat
down to eat. The reptanoids and I were stuck on Zephili with Wilffox and
Wilffin Hardlow, plus three of their four warlocks. I had no idea how that was
going to end, which left me frightened and feeling cold.

* * *

Vice-Director, Tory and I are on Campiaa with Arvil San
Gerxon. Teeg, Reah's other mate is here too, since those four idiot wizards belonging
to Arvil killed his assistant and tried to get into Arvil's main command-computer.
Tory got one of them when he tried to come after us; the other three got away
.
Ry was sending mindspeech to Lendill after a very busy and stressful afternoon.

Where are the other three wizards and where is Reah?
Lendill's
voice seemed more concerned than usual.

We think the other three are holed up in one of Arvil's
casinos down the street—the situation is somewhat grim I believe, since they're
holding guests hostage. When Teeg gets here, we're supposed to go down there
and take care of this. Reah is still on Zephili with the Hardlows and three of
their warlocks
.

Reah is with the Hardlows? Alone?

Yes.

I'll send mindspeech to her
. Lendill cut off
communication with Ry.

What did he say, bro?
Tory was fretting over Reah,
that's why Ry had contacted Lendill to begin with. Ry and Tory both were
belting on an assortment of weapons, preparing to go with Arvil and his army of
guards to do battle with Arvil's three remaining wizards.

He said he'd send mindspeech to Reah. Come on, bro, Teeg
just got here with Stellan
. Ry led the way out of his and Tory's quarters.

* * *

"If you'll provide the distraction; none of these can
carry themselves away, they don't hold the skills," Stellan said to those
gathered around the kitchen island in Arvil's palace, "then I can get in
there and take care of them while they're looking elsewhere."

"They can throw blasts at us," Arvil appeared grim
and angry. "So we should stay just outside their range while we
shoot."

"What about the guests?" Ry asked.

"Fuck the guests," Arvil growled. "They know
Campiaa is dangerous. They come here anyway."

"Let me try to get inside from the roof," Teeg
suggested. "Stellan can get in his way; I'll go through the hatch in the
roof. I have a key, after all," Teeg pulled an electronic key from his
pocket and dangled it in his fingers. "This fits all the emergency exits
in Arvil's buildings, in case the builders and maintenance workers have to get
in. Those three only think they have all the keys." Teeg's smile was
grimly determined. He also patted the ranos pistol he had stuck in his belt. "Between
Stellan and me, I think we can take them out if they're focused on your frontal
assault."

"They stole the keys to the emergency exits?" Tory
was amazed there was enough brain cells between the three wizards to even think
of that. Of course, the one he'd killed couldn't fathom why his wizardry hadn't
worked when Tory grabbed him by the throat and tossed him through a plate-glass
window from Arvil's office on the third floor.

"The stole all the keys except the one Teeg holds when
they broke into my office," Arvil growled. "They also got the codes
to all the accounts from my casinos and were about to empty all my funds. I got
that stopped before they could get too much out; I have the overriding code,
after all. They were hoping I wouldn't discover this treachery until they were
far from here. They had a shuttle waiting at the station. It's too bad Tory, Ry
and I got back sooner than they expected from our trip up the mountain. No
doubt that little emergency was hatched out by them as well." Arvil
checked the charge on his ranos pistol before jamming it into his gun belt.

"Everybody ready?" Teeg asked. They nodded. "Let's
go," he said and Stellan folded them to the casino down the street.

* * *

Reah?
Lendill's voice came to me as I was preparing for
bed.

Vice-Director?
I know, my mental voice sounded sullen. I
wasn't in the best of moods and frightened didn't begin to describe how I felt.

I hear you're there by yourself, with the Hardlows and
three of their warlocks.

I am. It's such a happy place to be
, I returned.

Reah, I don't think they'll hurt you, they're still too far
into this with Arvil San Gerxon. I think you'll be safe, breah-mul. Don't do
anything foolish, but stand up for yourself. These people will exploit any
weakness they see. Don't show it to them
.

I wanted to tell him it was easy for him to say that; he was
light-years away and most likely in a safe place at the moment. I had no idea
what the Hardlows might be like with nobody else around.
Fine
, I sent
instead.
Anything else you want
,
Vice-Director?

Nothing for now, keep me informed
. Lendill cut off the
communication. I finished brushing my teeth and walked out of my bathroom. Farzi
and Nenzi were already in my bed as lion snakes. Their brothers were guarding
the door into my suite. I think if anyone had walked in that first night while
I was so frightened, they would have bitten first and questioned later, while
their victims were dying, of course.

* * *

"Come out and I may let you live!" Arvil shouted
from behind a temporary barrier set up in front of The
Moontide Casino.

"You're crazy if you think we'll believe anything you
say," one of the wizards shouted back. "We have hostages. We'll let
them live if you'll stand back and give us safe passage to the space
station."

"No deal," Arvil shouted back. "You think I
care about any of them?"

* * *

True to his word, Teeg went through the emergency exit on top of
The Moontide
while Arvil shouted at the wizards below. Pocketing the
electronic key, Teeg stealthily made his way through the crawlspace next to the
electrical conduits. He knew where all the connections were. If he wanted to
plunge the entire casino into darkness, it would only take the flip of a few
switches. He was heading swiftly toward the control panel to do exactly that.

* * *

Stellan folded inside one of the casino restrooms. Any
remaining security inside the casino had moved the guests toward the back of
the building. All the casino's doors were electronically locked, thanks to the
keys the rogue wizards held. The windows couldn't be penetrated by the weapons
the guards held either—Arvil had ordered special glass because he didn't want
attacks from rivals to come in that way.

"No casualties if you can prevent it," Teeg had
instructed Stellan. Stellan nodded at Teeg and went to do his job.

* * *

Teeg held the knife he'd brought with him—it was the best he
could find and quite sharp. He still could hear Arvil shouting at the wizards
from outside as he crept toward the overturned gaming table the rogue wizards had
hidden behind while holding three female hostages. Teeg knew Arvil didn't give
a damn about the hostages, male or female. He would attempt to get them out
alive. Teeg could see Stellan on the other side of the darkened casino—the warlock
had taken short folding jumps from place to place, in order to sneak up on
their prey. Teeg nodded to Stellan to stay where he was; he was about to take
care of this himself.

* * *

"I'm about to start shooting," Arvil shouted. "You
think those glass windows will hold up against a ranos pistol? Do you?" Arvil
knew they wouldn't, just as the wizards did. Their hostages would only survive
one direct blast and then they'd be useless. "Fuck you, answer me!" Arvil
screamed.

"Stand down!" Teeg yelled from inside the casino. "We've
got them, they're all dead." To prove his point, Teeg walked out of the
casino, dragging one of the dead wizards one-handed. The wizard had been nearly
decapitated. Teeg's clothing bore bloodstains and he carried a bloodied hunting
knife in his other hand. Stellan followed, dragging the burned and blackened
corpses of the other two wizards, dumping them on the decorative flagstones
that fronted The Moontide. Teeg dropped his burden and wiped his brow with a
sleeve.

"How is everything inside?" Arvil almost hissed the
words as he kicked the body Teeg dropped at his feet.

"There's a blood trail on the marble, but that should
clean up," Teeg said. "All the guests are alive. Your wizards killed
four security guards before the others got out of the way. I've called for
medical personnel to come and tend to the hostages."

"How did you manage to do this?" Arvil was quite
pleased with Teeg and Stellan's efforts.

"They were too occupied with you, Master San
Gerxon," Stellan nodded toward Arvil. "That allowed us to sneak up on
them. It was easy."

"They were too stupid for words," Arvil muttered,
aiming another kick at the dead wizard. "Well, Teeg, this means I need a
few more personal guards. We'll put out notices tomorrow. Send my apologies to
Reah, but I'll be keeping Tory and Ry as my personal guards. Tory managed to
get one of those fuckers by himself. I like that kind of fearlessness."

"I'll let Reah know," Teeg nodded. "Now, with
your permission, I think I'd like to clean up. Stellan may want to do the
same." Teeg nodded toward Stellan, who also had bloodstains on his shirt.

"You're right, I would. I'll take us back to Arvil's
palace." Stellan disappeared with Teeg, when Arvil gave his approval.

"Well, young man, you'll be getting a raise in pay after
tonight." Arvil nodded to Tory. "Now, if you two will help me wrangle
my security and get rid of these bodies." Arvil swept inside his casino. Tory
and Ry exchanged a look and followed him.

* * *

"I know they were hired for you, sweetheart, but we'll
find other bodyguards for you." Teeg had wakened me early after I'd spent
a restless night. I worried that I'd kept Farzi and Nenzi awake with my tossing
and turning. They'd plopped off the bed and went into the other room the minute
I answered the comp-vid call from Teeg.

"Teeg, if I can keep Farzi and some of his brothers, I'll
be fine." I raked a hand through my short but growing hair.

"Baby, your hair is growing out, I can see it."

"My hair looks like shit right now. Admit it." He
was up and freshly washed and dressed; I'd seen that the moment his image appeared
on my screen.

"Sweetheart, you always look good to me in the morning."
Well, I didn't want to go there. With my limited experience with males, I think
any woman would look good to them in the morning.

"You'll be all right where you are for a couple of days. I
think Arvil will come back by then. Ry and Tory can be extra security for you
when they get back. In the meantime, tell Farzi and the others they have
permission to use any force necessary to keep you safe."

"I'll let them know," I sighed, feeling defeated.

"Reah, hold your head up, baby. We're counting on
you."

I wanted to tell him that his statement sounded foolish to me.
I didn't. "Good-bye, Teeg," I said instead and shut off the
transmission.

"Farzi, you and your brothers just got assigned as my
bodyguards, since Master Arvil took Tory and Ry," I told them after I'd
dressed and brushed my teeth.

"Then we will protect Reah," Farzi nodded.

"Farzi," I went to put my arms around him. I wanted
to cry, actually, but I was working hard to hold the tears back.

"Reah, not take this so badly," Farzi's arms were
around me and Nenzi was rubbing my back. The others crowded around to touch me,
somehow.

Later, when I got myself in hand, we went to the kitchen to
start breakfast. The reptanoids were served first, and they ate in the kitchen.
Astralan wandered in. I gave him a cup of tea while I fixed his plate. He
settled down at the island to eat just as the others had.

"I like this—having breakfast made to order when I get
up," Astralan sipped his tea with pleasure. I made it just the way he
liked it, with milk and honey. "Reah, I know how young you are," he
went on, causing me to jerk upright after pulling rolls from the oven. "You
don't need to wear that frightened look. None of my brothers are about to jump
you because you're here alone."

"Farzi and his brothers are here." I went back to
pulling trays of rolls from the oven. I served two to Astralan with some fruit
spread. He'd already had his eggs and sliced pork.