Blood Double (God Wars #1)(78)

Of all the people I'd met on Le-Ath Veronis, only one had offered shelter. I worried that his life might be in danger because of his offer. Had Gavin and Teeg meant to display so much hate with their desire to take my life? Hunching my shoulders, I forged my way through the crowds as I passed casino after casino.

So many times in my past I'd wondered exactly what I was wondering now—what had I done to warrant so much hate, spite and animosity? Had I done so much evil in a former life that I'd be destined to spend this one paying for past sins? Those thoughts had to be shoved aside—the brunt of my reaction to Gavin's desire to kill me was settling on my shoulders and it was nearly unbearable.

The cloud on his and his son's minds troubled me, too. Shaking morose thoughts aside, I concentrated on what I should—Erithia Cordan and her obsessed contingent, but more specifically, her and Rathik Erwin.

*

"I've sent Astralan for Dee, Dad. He'll be here in a few minutes," Gavril sighed. "Go home if you want—I know you want to see Mom, even if she is going to have a fit. Tell her I'll visit as soon as I can get time away from all this mess."

"I'll wait until Dormas arrives," Gavin muttered, staring out Gavril's study window. Darkness was falling on Campiaa, and smoke could still be seen in the distance.

Gavin knew by Looking that the rescue team's search through the rubble of CSD Headquarters would yield only bodies, most of them in pieces. None would be whole. A part of him realized that he might have been in the midst of that rubble with his son. Somehow, Breanne had known to pull him, Rigo, Tony, his son and the Starr brothers out. He should be grateful. Instead, he felt resentment and he had no explanation for it.

He'd already sent Tony and Rigo back to Le-Ath Veronis. Rigo looked as if he wanted to fight Gavin when he and Gavril threatened Breanne. Tony hadn't been happy either, and both vampires looked to be a problem in the future if this wasn't sorted out soon.

"Perhaps I should have listened to the Falchani," Gavin muttered. "I should have allowed someone else to take her. Teach her. I know nothing about her," he turned back to Gavril.

"I want to hit her, every time I see her," Gavril admitted, nodding to his father. "I can't really explain that."

"You accomplished that at least once," Gavin nodded.

"Yeah. By telling somebody else to do it. I shouldn't feel proud of that. Something in me is happy about it, though."

"Makes no sense," Gavin shook his head.

"Yeah."

"Child?" Dee said the moment Astralan dropped him in Gavril's study.

"I'm fine, Dee. All those others at Headquarters aren't."

"I heard that on the newsfeeds."

"I'll be going now. Send mindspeech if you need something," Gavin said.

"I will, Dad. Tell Mom it's partly my fault. Maybe she won't yell so long at you."

"Son, your mother will yell as long as she wants—at both of us." Gavin disappeared.

"What was that about?" Dee asked.

"Dee, it's a family matter," Gavril shoved Dee's question aside.

*

Breanne's Journal

Somehow, my feet had automatically carried me to the Comet's Tail Casino, Erithia Cordan's business. I'd never walked through the front door before, and there, on a pillar right inside the front door, was a holo-memorial for Erithia Cordan, the (supposedly) deceased owner of the Comet's Tail.

I read the photograph easily. The poor woman in the display wasn't Erithia—she'd had the misfortune of being captured by the real Erithia, underwent extensive surgery to make her look like Erithia, and had made her way (legitimately) to Le-Ath Veronis to act as Erithia's front. Until she'd become an inconvenience and a target for Rathik Erwin, vampire. He'd been brutal in his attack on an innocent, and he deserved to be punished for that.

Turning away from the holo-image, I surveyed the crowd in the casino. I saw everything from the blissful to deeply despondent in my reading. It amazed me that such opposites could exist side by side. Pulling in a deep breath and holding it for a moment before releasing it, I strode forward.

*

Ashe's Journal

Everything is unstable. I feel it. As if the universe has hushed for a moment, waiting for an outcome before choosing a direction. It was the ball poised on a tall, steep tip of a pyramid. Who might guess which way it would fall?

Kalia—Kay—will only allow Bill near her. For some reason, she doesn't find him threatening and I can't explain that. If Trajan or I come close, she withdraws even more than she already has. She seldom speaks and many times I have asked Franklin to come to help with her, but he is in charge of NorthStar in his parents' absence and can't really accommodate my request.

Franklin and I both realize our responsibilities, but I watch Kay when she doesn't know, and it breaks my heart. Somewhere in the future, she and I are together, and we will do amazing things. At least that is what I know at this particular moment. With the instability I feel, so many things might change in a blink, and I might have little or no authority to stop it. That frightens me more than I can say. A single drop of water can cause the bucket to overflow, and I felt we were all waiting for that drop to fall.

*

"Cayetes is now our enemy. He has revealed us, I know it," Erithia hissed, not bothering to disguise her teeth. The needle-like projections would frighten even the strongest, but those before her were already obsessed—they would willingly die for her should she even suggest it.