Demon Revealed (High Demon Series #2) (9 page)

"As you will it, my Prince." I bowed and walked out
of the suite. The Station Commander came half a click later, and I escorted him
to the Prince Royal's suite.

"We move now," the Prince was standing and dressed
as if he were going to do battle. A lot had happened in half a click, it seems.

* * *

"Re, stay steady." Delvin had come and dropped two ranos
rifles into my hands. The Prince's palace was now prepared for a siege. Several
of his servants had been arrested and escorted to the holding cells at the
military station. Two hundred soldiers and officers now knelt behind windows,
doors and any other opening, waiting for the High Commander and his wizards to
return. I sent mindspeech to Tory and Ry, sounding hysterical, I think. I had
no idea things would happen this quickly.

We already have the message from Bel—Delvin informed him
the moment the Prince called for him and the Station Commander
, Tory
replied.
Reah, don't do
anything foolish, avilepha
.
We will be
there shortly
.

* * *

"I didn't expect it to happen this quickly," Norian
grabbed the jacket to his uniform and bolted through his office door, Lendill
right behind him. Ry had sent the message to Norian as soon as he'd gotten notice
through Bel's mindspeech.

"They'll attack the palace first thing, to get to the
Prince." Lendill was racing down the hallway behind Norian.

"Are you ready?" Norian shouted to his six
handpicked operatives. They were all armed and ready as Norian burst into the
meeting room. They'd been watching the live feed from Mandil, just as Norian
and Lendill were.

"Ready, Director," his senior officer replied,
shifting a laser rifle onto his shoulder.

"Let's go." Few knew that Norian could fold if he were
forced to do so. This situation called for that talent. That particular gift
had come from Lissa—it was something she could give should she desire it. She
had given it to protect Norian after she was released as Liaison for the ASD. Norian
used the gift sparingly.

* * *

Even now, I may never know exactly who alerted the High
Commander, and the Prince wasn't aware that Arvil had brought additional troops
with him when he'd come to Mandil. Some of those troops were wizards, I
discovered, and any one of those seven power wielders were capable of alerting Arvil
to the Prince's troops, all of whom were armed and waiting for his return to
the palace.

Arvil and his allies folded in, the wizards with him sending
out blasts as they landed. Delvin stood beside the Prince and Alvis, pretending
to hold up a shield. I was the one protecting the four of us as blasts and
poison gas spells were hurled in our direction.

The troops the Station Commander placed around the palace were
being killed by the dozens; they had no protection other than their rifles. Those
still alive were making inroads against the non-wizard attackers, until they
drew the attention of Arvil's wizards. The wizards would carelessly toss a
spell in their direction, and they had no hope of surviving those blasts.

Bodies, none of them whole, littered the palace and
surrounding courtyard. The High Commander and Arvil were now surrounded by all
seven wizards, and were being shielded by one of them—Delvin shouted that
information over the din and chaos that continuously erupted around us.

We now fought in the courtyard before the Prince's palace;
there were fountains and elaborate stonework there, all of it being blown to
bits as each blast landed. Bel, Hish, Ry, Max and Tory finally came, and to my
surprise, Director Keef, Vice-Director Schaff and six others armed with laser
rifles were with them.

Bel had brought some of the hedge wizards from the desert, but
all of them immediately moved to protect the Prince's regular troops, who were being
slaughtered. Ry was hurling blasts of his own at the seven wizards, attempting
to get to the High Commander and the one called Arvil. That divided the
attention of the High Commander's wizards; half of them turned to fight off the
new threat. Tory was providing a shield to his group, just as I was shielding
mine. Hish was forced to help whenever huge chunks of stone and other debris
blew upward and then rained down around us—I wasn't any good against a physical
threat—only the magical ones in my current form.

Don't turn!
Tory's voice sounded in my head—somehow
he'd known I was thinking about it. Fleetingly I wondered why—I couldn't see
that either side was winning this fight and my Thifilatha would certainly turn
the tide in our favor. Tory, too, could turn and do the same. A large,
decorative fountain was hit right after Tory's mindspeech came and the Prince, Alvis,
Delvin and I ducked as water and chunks of stone blasted toward us. An arm came
around my waist and I was physically pulled away from the Prince's side.
Delvin's hand came over my mouth as he rushed me toward the knot of wizards
surrounding the High Commander. If Delvin hadn't held me in the tightest of
grips, I'd likely have been left behind. As it was, my Thifilatha still trusted
him at that moment and I was jerked—not folded,
jerked
—so far away from
Mandil I couldn't have said where we were when I landed.

* * *

"Reah," Delvin's voice whispered in my ear as I saw
others land around us—all the wrong ones. "Reah," Delvin repeated,
"Don't give yourself away." The High Commander, Arvil, the seven wizards—all
of them surrounded me. "I swear I'll protect you. I
swear
,"
Delvin whispered again before letting me go. I jumped backward, knocking into
Delvin again as Arvil pulled a ranos pistol from his belt and shot the High
Commander in the head. Delvin's fingers closed on my shoulders once more.

"You won't fail me again," Arvil snapped at the
headless torso. The ranos pistol he held had obliterated the High Commander's
head, and blood and bits of bone were scattered everywhere. I could only stare
in horror, my gaze darting from the High Commander's body to Arvil and then
back again.

"At least one part of the plan went well," Arvil placed
the pistol back in his belt and moved closer to run his eyes over me. "You
belong to me now,
boy
. You'll be put in my kitchen—my last cook met with
an unfortunate accident."

My mouth was open in surprise, I know, as I twisted in
Delvin's grip and stared up at him. Bel suspected one of his, but he hadn't
suspected this one. Delvin knew I felt betrayed—he could read it in my face.

* * *

"Where the fuck did they go?" Norian was shouting as
his six, Bel and the remaining wizards corralled what was left of the High
Commander's cronies.

"Campiaa, where else?" Tory was blowing smoke as Ry attempted
to calm his brother. "They took Reah!" Tory shouted at the sky.

"Send her mindspeech—tell her to cooperate with
them," Norian issued orders quickly. "This is our opportunity to see
who is involved!" The Director was in charge and he was seeing the
possibilities.

"What if they hurt her?" Tory was coming after
Norian, his hands clenching and unclenching while smoke poured from his
nostrils.

"Tell her if they are about to harm her, to get away. Otherwise,
I want her to stay!" Norian wasn't backing down.

"Tell her your fucking self!" Tory shouted.

"I'll tell her, she already hates me," Lendill
offered. The Prince Royal, with his trusted advisor Alvis, watched the exchange
with interest.

"Bel, take your wizards and fire those fields," the
Prince issued the command.

"As you will it, my Prince." Bel bowed quickly and
gathered his remaining Rangers and wizards. Delvin had betrayed them, taking
Reah with him and the others. Bel was hoping that Delvin still had a decent
bone in his body and thought to protect Reah, since he'd been the one to grab
her before they'd disappeared.

* * *

Don't change, Reah, don't fight them and stay where you
are—we need intelligence from your current location
, Vice-Director Schaff's
mental voice was loud and frightening in my mind. I jerked when I received his
mindspeech—I was terrified with Delvin and the others surrounding me. All but
Delvin still thought I was a boy.
Reah,
did you hear me? Answer me!

I think I whimpered aloud before I answered Lendill Schaff's
mindspeech
. I hear you,
I returned as best I could.

Reah, if they hurt you, you have permission to come away
from there. If they do not, you are in a position to hand all of them to us. We
need names, Reah, and anything else you can get for us. Do this, Reah. It's
important. Remember the oath you took, when you came to the Alliance. You swore
to protect it. Protect it now, Reah. You are duty-bound
.

I shivered at his words. He expected me to stay and funnel
information to him.
Are Tory and Ry all right?
My mental voice was
sullen.

They are well. This is an order, Reah. Send information to
me or to Director Keef—he can send and receive mindspeech, just as I can. If
you desert your
post, you will be committing treason
.

He threw his trump card in my face. I was already considered a
criminal by the Alliance. Now I might be guilty of treason if I didn't stay
among these thugs and listen for what little I might glean while working inside
Arvil's kitchen. I wanted to weep for being in so far over my head in all this.
I couldn't. I could only stand in front of Delvin and shiver.

"I'll take the boy to the kitchen," Delvin gripped
my arm so hard it hurt.

"He can have the sleeping quarters next to it,"
Arvil waved a hand. "Go ahead, but get back here quickly—we have to make
plans to pull the seed from our fields on Birimera, instead."

* * *

"They'll expect breakfast when they rise, but that
varies," Delvin said as he dragged me down a dark hallway. "This is
Arvil's private home," he added. "And it's a fortress with guards
around it at all times. Hop when he tells you, Reah, and cook as well for him
as you cooked for us."

"You've been here before," I muttered, refusing to
look up at Delvin's face.

"Yes. I have been here before."

"I regret cooking for you," I said.

"Reah, don't," Delvin hissed. "It was hard
enough to do this to Bel and the others—they don't have a chance against what's
coming. Keep your head down and don't aggravate Arvil. That will keep you alive
just as well as anything I can do for you. I swear I'll protect you as much as
I can."

I wanted to yell at him about empty words and false promises,
but I didn't. I was stuck on Campiaa for the moment and had to fit in as best I
could.

"This is the kitchen," Delvin hauled me inside. It
was smaller than I thought it might be—the parts of Arvil's private home we'd
gone through to get to the kitchen were much more spacious and better
furnished.

"This is a cesspit," I moaned as I looked around me.

"He doesn't spend where he doesn't think he has to,"
Delvin snapped. "Reah, don't fight me or Arvil San Gerxon over this. Make
do with what you have. Your sleeping quarters are next door," he pointed
to the left of the kitchen. "At least your suite has its own bath. I'll
try to find clothing for you. Be ready to make breakfast in the morning." Delvin
left me standing inside Arvil San Gerxon's nearly archaic kitchen while tears slipped
down my cheeks.

They said they were going to pull seed from Birimera
, I
sent. I was still wiping tears off my face as I made my report.

Thank you.
Lendill's reply was curt as he cut off the
communication.

* * *

"She's crying," Lendill sighed. "Don't tell
Torevik. I think he'll take both our heads."

"I'd stay away from Aurelius too, if that sort of thing
worries you," Norian observed. "Let's help the others burn drakus
plants."

* * *

"Father, I am having enough trouble with my son over this.
You need to stay here and help us convince him to wait." Gavin hadn't been
on this side of things before. Aurelius had always been the reasonable one. Now
his vampire sire wanted to go haring off to Campiaa to rescue Reah. Gavin would
have done the same in Aurelius' place, but Gavril was panicking over Reah's
abduction, too.

"Director Keef is leaving her there—she has already
gotten vital information for them. In fact, one of the planets where they are
growing drakus seed is the one on which you fought demons last." Aurelius
jerked his head up at Gavin's words.

* * *

"At least we don't have to wake our cook." Arvil
grinned as he led his contingent of wizards into his kitchen about a click
later. "We'll have a decent meal tonight."

"Possibly not, Lord Arvil," I bowed to him as
respectfully as I could. "Your thermostat is broken on your oven, Lord."
I pointed to the digital readout on the outside of the oven, and then, using a
mitt, pulled the thermometer from the oven. The reading was very different.

"Also, four of the six units on top of your stove do not
work, I am sorry to say." I led him to the stove and showed him that only two
were glowing red while the others were dark, although all were turned on. "These
floor tiles are loose and crumbling," I toed one with my shoe,
"because the dishwasher line is leaking. The dishwasher is also inoperable
for other reasons. You have hard water here, Lord." I pointed out the
calcium deposits around the base of the sink faucet. "I will serve you the
best meals possible, Lord, but I must have decent equipment to work with in
order to do so."

I was risking my life, I felt, telling him these things, but I
would rather be killed over this than serve up poor food.

"Why do I not have a decent kitchen?" Arvil must
have been in a good mood; he was smiling and tossing a hand in the air. "Come,
boy, we will walk to my casino next door and you will use their kitchen tonight.
I will see about getting these things replaced and repaired."