Blood Double (God Wars #1)(75)

"You'll kill all of us," Rathik growled back, his eyes turning red and tips of fangs showing. "Wait for Erithia. She has her own on Campiaa. This difficulty will be resolved. Hold your minions back before everything is destroyed."

"Fuck you," Hordace snapped and terminated the conversation.

*

"Come," Erithia crooked her finger at Cheedas, whose eyes went blank immediately. "You will do everything I ask from now on, won't you?"

Cheedas, once comesula and more than six hundred years old, dropped to his knees before Erithia to swear undying devotion.

"Good," Erithia smiled over Cheedas' bowed head. "You'll kill the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis for me. I hear stakes work well for that task. You are dismissed." Cheedas rose and walked unsteadily away. Erithia watched until he'd gone through the kitchen door to rejoin the party outside.





Chapter 15


Breanne's Journal

"I sent Dee to Ry's house up the mountain," Teeg informed his father. "He didn't like it, but I worry about his disappearance. He doesn't remember a thing about where he was during that time," Teeg added.

I'd stood out of the way while Teeg greeted his father. Astralan, Stellan, Tony and Rigo watched Q'And Ribalo while father and son talked. I wondered, too, why they were discussing Dee's disappearance in front of a known (and confessed) criminal.

Wanting to send mindspeech to both of them to shut the hell up, I turned my head instead and gazed through a large window behind the desk in Teeg's study. Too many times I'd seen the inside of that study, and I'd usually been too exhausted to appreciate the furnishings or the view outside the window.

Neither Stellan nor his brothers acted as if they knew me and that was certainly Teeg's doing. Someday, he and I might have words over that. You don't do that to your friends or family, and the Starr brothers were both those things to him.

My brief reading of Teeg when I arrived ensured that I knew what he'd called me only a short while earlier, and that rankled. I also wondered what he'd do if I Changed What Was and made him twelve again. Maybe it would do him some good to grow up a second time—the right way.

"Let's get our criminal to the holding cells at CSD Headquarters," Teeg sighed. He hadn't said anything to me, which was fine. At least he hadn't called me bitch to my face.

*

Lissa's Journal

"You're telling me this? This is awful." Drake and Drew had taken a chance and come to visit me at Adam's ancestral home. They'd been informed by their father that I was there, and I didn't have a problem with that. Belen said our project was concluded—we'd apparently lost this round.

"I don't know what's going on with him, but he's worse than I've ever seen, and I've seen him plenty grumpy before. This goes beyond that." Drew pulled me against him while Drake stroked hair away from my forehead. "Baby, you look tired," he added.

"I am tired."

"But you can't tell us why," Drake said.

"No, honey. I can't. Not now, anyway. Maybe later. Don't tell the others, either. I'll tell them myself when I get home."

"We won't," the twins said together. "Travis and Trent are waiting to go to Falchan," Drake grinned. "I can't wait to hear they've been taken down a notch or two."

"Is Bel still going with them?"

"Yeah. I think he'll do better—at least at first. He isn't so full of himself he's tight from it," Drew chuckled.

"Back to Breanne," I sighed.

"We watch as much as we can, but we can't be there every minute. Rigo has been helping, but it's the same with him—he's really busy. I think he has a ton of stuff for you to look at when you get back."

"Fucking lovely," I sighed, covering my eyes with a hand.

"Baby, stop worrying. We'll handle this somehow."

"I'll be sure and kick Gavin's ass when I get back."

"We were hoping Kiarra would have a thing or two to say to him. Something like, oh, I don't know, maybe get the hell out of the Spawn Hunters, or something similar?" Drew huffed.

"Drew," I lowered my hand and frowned at him.

"He needs a kick in the ass." Drake took his brother's side. "He told everybody Breanne was there to take your place, and the palace comesuli took that and ran with it. They've all been treating her like shit, and she doesn't deserve that."

"What?" This just ramped up my worry to a brand-new level.

"Look, we probably should have waited until you got back to tell you this, but it really bothers us. With Gavin in charge of the palace, we can't gainsay his authority without you backing us up."

"I won't need to back you up. I can kick his ass myself when I get there," I muttered. Gavin might be sleeping alone for a very long time after I had my say.

*

Breanne's Journal

I was beginning to wonder why Gavin felt it necessary to haul me to Campiaa. Nobody spoke to me, unless it was a snarled "out of my way," or "stand against that wall and don't speak." I did both without saying anything. I watched while Q'And Ribalo was processed by CSD agents and then led to a holding cell. Q'And only answered what was necessary—they'd put shock cuffs on him the moment he was hauled into CSD Headquarters. I could tell by my readings that Q'And didn't like pain. Not even a little. He didn't want those shock cuffs activated, so he answered questions readily.