* * *
"Has my granddaughter done anything to prepare for this hearing?" Wylend looked pointedly at Erland.
"No. She hasn't discussed it with any of us, either. I have no idea what she's going to do and frankly I am concerned."
"Not least from the fact that she can demand the profits from your casino," Wylend muttered.
"My monarch, if that was all that concerned me, I would shut my doors tomorrow and walk away," Erland snapped. "They cannot touch what I already have, and I have enough—not just to support myself, but to support Lissa and my child as well. I will not desert Lissa, just because the imbeciles on Cloudsong have ventured far into the realm of unreason."
"Do you think it will make a difference if her grandfather and her mate from Karathia come to show support?" Wylend asked.
"If I were Cloudsong, I would be concerned," Erland nodded.
"Then we will certainly go. My meetings for that day can be canceled. Let Cloudsong sweat when the King of Karathia shows up in their Hall of Hearings."
* * *
"Director Keef." Norian stared at the image on the vid screen. Norian was speaking with Ildevar Wyyld, High Chancellor of Wyyld and Founder of the Reth Alliance. Lissa and Lendill had gone out to find something to bring back for dinner, so Norian was alone at headquarters when the call from the Founder came.
"Deonus Wyyld," Norian dipped his head to Ildevar. "How may I be of service?" Norian raised his head to gaze at the ruler of the founding world for the Alliance. Ildevar was old—much older than the Alliance itself if the rumors were true, and still looked very young, except for his eyes. Ildevar Wyyld's eyes held the depth of a very long life.
"I wish for you to be present at Queen Lissa's hearing upon Cloudsong. If the judgment goes against her in this proceeding, I want you, as a representative of the Alliance, to let Cloudsong know that they will never be welcomed into the Alliance for perpetrating this injustice. We have no sway over the legal systems of any non-Alliance world, but we do have the authority to deny any membership—in perpetuity. If you are forced to supply this information, I give permission to leak it to the media as well. I suggest that you have a hidden camera on your person, so the proceedings may be recorded. I wish for a direct feed to be funneled to me as it happens."
"Of course, Deonus." Norian nodded his head respectfully.
"Carry a communicator in your ear, in case I wish to send information," Ildevar added.
"It will be done, Deonus."
"Very good. I know I can always count on you, Director Keef."
"Thank you, Deonus." The vid screen went blank and Norian breathed a sigh of relief. Ildevar Wyyld and The twenty Charter Members who made up the Grand Alliance Council all knew what Norian was, but that secret remained with them and Norian was grateful.
* * *
"Lissa, I have been instructed to attend the hearing with you, as an Alliance representative," Norian informed me when Lendill and I returned with mutton stew and thick pieces of bread to go with it. Lendill had found a little restaurant in one of the older neighborhoods of Xindis, which served good, plain fare. We warmed our drinks in the small zap oven in the tiny kitchen afforded by the Alliance—the cups of tea had gotten cold on our brief walk back through the snow and freezing temperatures.
The snow had continued off and on throughout the night and part of the day and now was nearly six inches deep. My feet were nearly frozen when we returned to headquarters. Norian hadn't wanted to go in the first place, because of the low temperatures.
"So, you want to be there when all this happens on Cloudsong, huh?" I wasn't looking forward to any part of this. Not at all. If I were honest, I was frightened that I might lose my temper, and bared claws and fangs in a public place was never a good idea. I sure didn't want to give away any of my casino owners' money, either—Cloudsong had no right to that. When this debacle was over, we were going to call a special meeting of the Council and have a discussion about the original contracts, rewriting the parts where I could commandeer the profits if I saw fit.
We should have placed wording there to begin with, saying that I could only do that if I found the owners guilty of breaking the law or in violation of some rule or other. As it stood, I had complete control over that, for any reason. Cloudsong had exploited that so they could reap the benefits. It didn't surprise me that the Alliance was sending Norian—this could cut into the taxes paid to them by Le-Ath Veronis.
"Lissa Beth, you are staring at nothing and not eating," Norian pointed out after a while. "Your food is getting cold." We all sat at the small, round table in the tiny kitchen area. Lendill grabbed my mug of the Trellian version of tea and went to warm it again. I'd dumped plenty of sugar into it at the beginning, just to make it taste better. Trellian tea was bitter with a capital B.
* * *
"I can take us quicker," I muttered through chattering teeth as Norian and I stood beneath an awning, waiting for a train to take us to Rezael. The city lay two hours away by train, and Norian and Lendill suspected a Solar Red temple was under construction there.
"Shhh, let me handle this," Norian muttered. We were standing in the freezing weather, surrounded by other Trellians taking the trip with us. At least the crush of bodies kept the wind off us and Norian paid extra for a private compartment so we wouldn't be crowded inside the train. It pulled up just as I was considering grabbing Norian, folding him to Rezael and letting him pitch his fit when we got there.Norian had to scan the chip in his wrist to get into our compartment, so nobody else could get in with us. Our compartment had comfortable seats that could fold into beds, a small table and a private bathroom. I didn't need it, but Norian might.
"Come on Lissa Beth," Norian patted the side of his wide, nicely padded seat when I was about to settle into the chair opposite his.
"Norian, what do you want?" I sighed.
"I want you to get me warm, I'm freezing," he muttered.
"Yeah? Whose idea was this, anyway?" I wasn't sure that I shouldn't just let him sit there and shiver.
"I want a nap, and this is the best way to get it. I love train rides," Norian said, slipping out of his heavy coat and setting it aside. "Come on; help the Alliance out a little." He patted the side of his seat again.
"I've been helping the Alliance out. A lot."
"You can do this—it won't hurt at all."
"Uh-huh." I went to sit on the edge of his seat.
"Let's get this off." He pulled my coat off and piled it atop his before pulling me against him and wrapping his arms around me. He did feel chilled. "Now," he said after he'd gotten comfortable, "tell me a story."
"What?" I pulled away to stare at him.
"Please. The sound of your voice will help me sleep. It doesn't matter what it is," he added, pulling me against him again.
"Fine," I grumped. "Have you ever heard The Legend of the Three?"
"Never heard of it," he mumbled, closing his eyes.
"Only a few of my kind know it," I said with a sigh. "It goes like this: In the beginning, the One created the Three. Those three were Wisdom, Strength and Love. The Three had many others beneath them eventually, at many levels of power and ability. The Powers That Be and the Nameless Ones are at the lowest levels beneath the Three." Norian snuggled closer.
"One day," I continued, "the One and the Three discovered a blight had infected their ranks. Some of those in many levels had banded together and turned against them, seeking to destroy what had been created. The Three were given the task of pursuing those destroyers and finding a way to turn them back to the Light, or devising a way to destroy them. Not an easy thing to do, since the ones they hunted were not only immortal and powerful, but were recruiting allies among the created races. The Three began to choose their armies carefully—part of their duty is to seek out and right many wrongs in their pursuit of the invasive evil. Among those who recognize them, the Three are called The Mighty. They are commonly known as The Mighty Mind, The Mighty Hand and The Mighty Heart."
"So what happened?" Norian blinked sleepily at me.
"The battle is still going on," I shrugged. Norian yawned and closed his eyes again. He was asleep in ten minutes and we made the entire, two-hour trip just like that—with Norian wrapped around me and breathing softly against the side of my neck. I was awake the entire time and thinking. About the upcoming hearing and judgment on Cloudsong. About how wrong it all felt. Then I did some Looking, trying to decide what to do about it all. I patted Norian's cheek when we pulled into the station.
"No, love, don't move yet," he mumbled against my neck.
"Norian, everybody else is getting off."
Norian cursed softly and opened his eyes. I helped him stand; he grabbed our coats and herded me sleepily toward the doors so we could get off. I smelled one of our rats the moment we exited the train, and that's what saved us. I had Norian turned to mist instantly while the laser pistol fired right through us.
* * *
"Now, tell us everything you know," Norian smiled unpleasantly at our would-be murderer inside a tiny ASD office in downtown Rezael. I'd already placed compulsion on the creep to answer all of Norian's questions. Creep wasn't much to look at, with a narrow face and a long nose. Thinning hair and a sparse moustache rounded out the picture. His dark eyes followed me nervously while he answered Norian's questions.
"Seturna Odnard ordered me to kill you as you exited the train. We had information that you boarded in Xindis."
"Seturna Odnard, of Solar Red?" Norian bared his teeth. I could only imagine that he'd be hissing if he were the lion snake.
"We are to call ourselves Brothers of the New Dawn," our creep, whose name was Pebrus, whined.
"So, Pebrus, Brother of the New Dawn, where might Seturna Odnard be found? Who gave us away? Do you have a name?" Norian suspected a mole and he was doing his best to grind this guy down to get a name.