Chapter 9
"You want her to do what?" Aurelius was up and shouting at Norian Keef. Lendill had remained silent the whole time Norian informed me that he wanted me to heal Tulgalan's core. Too stunned to argue, I sat staring at the Director and Vice-Director while Aurelius yelled. In the end, it did no good whatsoever. Norian said that in two weeks I would be taken to Tulgalan where I would do whatever it is you do, he'd snapped, to heal up the weakening core.
Aurelius seemed to be my only champion in this cause and he was waging a hopeless war. I'd learned over the years that when Norian and Lendill made up their minds, you weren't going to change them. Perhaps it made them good at their jobs, but on a personal level, those attitudes could be devastating for their individual agents. The Alliance still owned me—Norian hadn't softened that reality for me.
Lendill still hadn't said anything and now he wouldn't even meet my eyes when he and Norian folded away. What was I going to do? Norian was going to wring every remaining tick from me until my six years were up. Right then, I think I truly hated him and Lendill both.
"Auri, I wish I were anywhere but here right now." I moved to his side, bumping my forehead against his shoulder.
"I know, love. Is there somewhere else you want to go? I'll take you."
"There isn't any place out there that really appeals to me. Nowhere I can go to get away from them. Do they want to make me miserable? Is that what they want?" I felt like crying. Aurelius knew it.
"Love, perhaps I should ask for the healer to come," he said softly, tucking my hair behind an ear. Aurelius must have sent out mindspeech; Karzac was there and cursing under his breath in moments.
"Reah, the baby is fine at the moment—it is still tiny and difficult to harm," Karzac informed me after settling me on Aurelius' wide bed. "Still, I have the urge to bash in the Director's head—he should not be doing this to you. Surely one of the other High Demons has this ability."
"Kifirin says they don't," Lissa folded in. "Norian just wants to flex his ASD muscle." Lissa didn't like this any more than Karzac or I did. "While I realize that billions of lives are at stake on Tulgalan, surely it could have waited another six months."
"I would be out of the ASD by that time," I grumbled.
"Yeah." Lissa nodded as Karzac healed up little aches and pains for me.
"Keep eating good meals," Karzac said. "Don't skip any. Is the nausea subsiding?"
"I think so; I haven't felt queasy in the past few days."
"Good. Let's hope that's a thing of the past," he smiled. "If you feel up to it, I'll allow sex."
"Karzac, stop embarrassing her," Lissa took his arm and folded him away.
"How do you feel?" Aurelius pulled me against him. "Karzac says no biting while you're pregnant, by the way."
"I'm okay," I said, using one of Lissa's slang terms. Aurelius smiled, lifted me up and settled me on his bed.
* * *
"Dee, what have you found?" Gavril paced inside his suite while talking with his assistant via communicator.
"Nothing, Teeg. Word has it that Ardalin managed to get off-planet too, before we could stop her. I'm still trying to work out how she managed that."
Gavril cursed at the news. "Any idea where she was headed? We can have someone go after her."
"None. Sorry. She was more slippery than we thought she could be."
"What about that female rogue—Yebri? Anything new there?"
"Nothing. It's as if she vanished without a trace. We're still looking, though. Any chance you might send one or two of the warlocks back?"
"I'll send Galaxsan and Celestan," Gavril said. "Maybe they can pick up the trail on Ardalin and Yebri. We're about to leave for Tulgalan—that idiot Nidris has tapped into the core there. I'm hoping he hasn't left yet—that would make my life a bit simpler. Keep looking for Jes—he was upset when I wouldn't bring him with me. Perhaps he's in a snit and just decided to go away for a while without saying anything. Keep trying to reach him on his communicator."
"Will do, boss." Dee terminated the call from his end.
"Fuck," Gavril muttered. "If it isn't one thing, it's another."
* * *
"Tory, why are you here? Reah probably needs reassurance from you right now." Garde gave his son a concerned look.
"She's with Aurelius," Tory grumbled. "She didn't even tell me he'd come back—we were afraid she'd disappeared on us until Auri sent mindspeech."
"Well, she doesn't have mindspeech at the moment—have you thought about that?"
"Ry pointed it out to Gav, but he didn't say anything. He doesn't want to remove the chip yet because he's afraid she'll run. We might not find her if she does."
"I don’t like this even a little," Garde said, holding his anger in check. "Reah doesn't have any way to call for help or to defend herself in that way."
"But Dad, we're here—we can do that for her."
"You're here. Reah isn't," Garde pointed out the obvious. "Jayd wouldn't leave Glinda's side unless she was well-guarded by High Demons. That's a High Demon female child, son. What are you doing to keep her safe?"
"Ah, I was hoping to find you here," Norian folded in. "I just wanted to let you know that Reah will be healing the core on Tulgalan in two weeks."
"No!" Tory and Garde said at the same time. "Tell Reah this is foolish. We can't risk the child," Gardevik was blowing smoke.
"It isn't Reah's decision to make," Norian snapped. "She's still ASD property. I told her she had to. She likes it less than you, I think."
"You're forcing her?" Garde lunged at Norian. Norian defended himself by folding away.
* * *
"At least he had the balls to come tell you himself," Lissa attempted to calm Garde and Tory down. They'd folded straight to her study after Norian had gotten away from them. "Have you talked to Reah?"
"We haven't," Tory grumbled. "We've been too pissed off."
"Where is Gavril? Has he been told yet?"
"Don't have the answer to that either. He's up to his chin in Campiaan Alliance shit," Tory was blowing smoke again.
"I don't know what to think about all this," Lissa said. "My son, fifty years older than he was when he left three months ago. Kifirin hasn't shown up again, the coward."
* * *
"Father, it couldn't be helped," Lendill was whining to Kaldill Schaff and he knew it. His father had said to bring Reah the moment she returned and he would perform the marriage ceremony. Now, Reah would slam the door in Lendill's face if he proposed such an idea. Why couldn't Norian have let her go so this could be done? His father would never have asked if it weren't important.