Blood Double (God Wars #1)(73)

*

Lissa's Journal

Kiarra was the first off her chair when Belen appeared. I'd never seen him when he wasn't glowing with power. This time, he was a dim light and I could see it had taken all his strength to come to Kiarra.

"What happened?" Kiarra began feeding him energy, but she didn't have enough to offer. I added mine to the mix, and at least twenty Larentii appeared inside Kiarra's kitchen, offering the same.

"I was trapped," Belen managed to get out. "We're in danger. All of us. But none more so than the Three."

*

"What can we do about this?" Kiarra glanced at me across the island. Merrill, Adam, Pheligar, Reemagar and Connegar sat with us. All three Larentii were drained, that was easy enough to see. They'd given everything they had to Belen, who'd eventually been fed enough power to call on someone much higher up. He'd disappeared in a cloud of light only an hour before, leaving the rest of us behind, drained and puzzled.

"This is more than frightening," I said. "This was a trap, that's easy enough to see, and we may have played into the enemy's hands. Were they just waiting for somebody to step forward, so they could determine who or where one of the Mighty could be?"

"I still think we should be wary of those sandstorms," Merrill sighed. "If the enemy can't easily flush out the one who helped Belen, and it's easy enough to see that it would take one of the Three for this, then these storms may begin again because our opposition hopes to draw them out a second time."

"Does this mean Harifa Edus is safe for the moment?" Adam asked. "I find myself hoping that Ashe leaves his shields in place."

"But that means nobody else gets on or off. What if they're watching for that, too?"

"This is so confusing," Kiarra dropped her head into her arms. Pheligar reached out and rubbed her back gently.

"The good news is that the Vhanaraszh may help," Connegar sighed.

"Vhanaraszh?" I lifted my head.

"You will learn soon enough, my love," he replied. "Quite soon, in fact."

"At least our fact-finding mission is over. We know what's killing off the Dark races, now," Adam observed.

"But Belen says not to return to Le-Ath Veronis until you are fully recovered, and all your strength restored," Kiarra reminded me. He did say that to me, just before he was enveloped in power and taken away.

"That will take a week or more," Reemagar pointed out.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I know."

*

Kay's Journal

Depending on how you might see it, today was either a good day or a bad day. Good for me, because Kalia decided to calm down. Bad for me, because she lurked just below the surface, waiting to take over again if her terror was provoked.

Kevis Halivar had returned and he reassured me—several times, in fact—that I was in a safe place and nobody would hurt me. Kalia had eventually settled down and allowed me to raise my head (and my consciousness) to acknowledge his words.

I'd said thank you in a voice that croaked from disuse. Kevis hid his surprise quickly—he hadn't expected any response. I couldn't recall when I'd last been lucid, so that in itself was a minor miracle. At least from his perspective.

"What would you like to be doing right now, if you could?" Kevis didn't try to ask the usual questions—he was trying a different tack today. It was working.

"I'd be eating gishi fruit," I replied.

"I'll find some for you," he said. Bill arrived in minutes, bearing a rather large bowl of gishi fruit ice cream. I wanted to moan in pleasure as I tasted it. I also ate the entire bowl, as unlikely as that might seem. Kevis smiled the whole time.

Afterward, when I was so full I couldn't move, Kevis began his real session. "Can you tell me about Q'Ind Ribalo?" he asked innocently enough. Kalia roared to the surface with a shriek.

*

"My love, I hear that many are gathering to celebrate a birth anniversary for one of the kitchen employees," Rathik took his favorite position, kneeling before Erithia.

"Do you suppose the cook will be there?"

"It is my belief that he will—yes."

"My love, you will be greatly rewarded if this is true. Where will this celebration take place?"

"In the Hurricane Casino tomorrow evening at seven bells," Rathik fawned over Erithia's knee.

"Make arrangements for me to be there. Use my alias' credit chip and secure a room."

"I will. May I come with you?"

"My darling, you know how dangerous that might be. You must stay here so I can be assured of your safety."

"I understand, my love," Rathik purred.

"Has anything further been planned for Ildevar Wyyld's death? Or for Teeg San Gerxon's? How is Kall doing with his plans?"

"Oh, those are coming along very well," Rathik rose and pulled a comp-vid from his jacket pocket. "The death of San Gerxon's assistant was only a decoy, my love. The obsession you placed on an obscure servant is still in place, and he is merely waiting for Kall's instructions to attack."

"That's strange—why have we not heard of the assistant's death? Is San Gerxon hiding this from the media?"

"I know not. I heard from Kall, who heard from his servant that the assistant's death was assured and the body was checked. He was most certainly dead from the Ranos pistol blast. Kall is still attempting to get someone close enough to Ildevar Wyyld, but so far he has not finalized those plans."