"You think that was the reason so many died? Freak sandstorms that shouldn't even happen?" I blinked at Kiarra.
"It might explain a lot," she nodded wearily. "We didn't find a bit of skin or hair around the bones of those gryphons, and there should have been."
"All that got sanded away? That's horrible," I muttered.
"Belen has me worried, now," Kiarra sighed.
"Sweetheart, he'll get back to you. He always does," Adam said. "Come here. I'll hold you."
"It's his week," Joey said quietly next to my ear as Kiarra gripped the robe around her and went to Adam, who sat on an identical sofa on the opposite side.
"Huh?" I blinked at Joey as he healed a raw place on my arm.
"They get weeks. Each mate. It's a good system."
"Well, that might work if you only have three," I snorted. Joey laughed.
* * *
"Grampa, I hear she can read anyone in a matter of seconds. She has mindspeech, too. If they're planning to up their price, she can tell us that with very little effort. You can make an informed decision after that."
"I grow tired of this blackmail," Glendes Grey muttered as he rose from his desk to pace. "Forty years of payment, and still they threaten to expose us. Those spells were foolproof; I checked them myself. Yet here we are, bleeding Grey House to shut them up and to keep our other clients from losing faith in our work."
"Grampa, perhaps it's time we informed the other wizards. We've worked them mercilessly to make up for what Bexari takes from us." Shadow Grey offered the Eldest of Grey House an imploring look.
"I know as well as anyone that we're exhausting our wizards."
"And they have no idea why, Grampa."
"I know that, too. I chose to tell only the Master Wizards, thinking there would be no need to tell the others. Our original agreement with Bexari was for twenty years."
"That was before the King's brother died and left that thieving nitwit of a Prime Minister in charge," Shadow growled. "And now it seems he wants even more money. I believe Grey House has become Bexari's sole source of income, and we bow beneath that yoke, just to save our reputation."
"You're suggesting that we ask for a preliminary meeting with Vyris, and bring this girl with us?"
"She's not a girl, she's a modified vampire and Shadow and I have already discussed this," Raffian, Shadow's father, stalked into Glendes' study and flopped wearily onto a chair. "What do we have to lose, Dad? Gavin can command her to keep quiet—we don't even have to tell him what our problem is. We'll just say it's a sensitive matter and ask him to place compulsion for her not to speak about it."
"You're sure of this?" Glendes lifted an eyebrow in Raffian's direction.
"We are, Grampa," Shadow assured Glendes.
"How soon can we get her, then? I'll contact the Prime Minister and ask for a preliminary meeting," Glendes agreed.
* * *
Breanne's Journal
"This is Shadow Grey, of Grey House." Gavin made grumbling introductions. "And his father, Raffian."
Although I already knew who they were, it always paid to be polite. Gavin's politeness was forced, however. Shadow and Raffian Grey looked very much alike, with dark hair and striking features. Raffian's eyes were dark, whereas Shadow's were a clear, blue-gray.
"They require your assistance with a private matter, and I order you to never speak of this with anyone." Gavin's compulsion would have given anyone else a headache. I already had a headache and his compulsion was worthless with me. Just as always, I pretended that wasn't so. I'd been hoping for a day of relative quiet in the Queen's study so I could process comesuli requests and attempt to rid myself of the headache I still bore from Kalenegar's visit. That wasn't to be—Shadow and Raffian Grey had seen to that.
"Come with us; we'll fold you to Grey House first and then elsewhere as needed," Raffian spoke for the first time. I had my shields up again, otherwise I likely could have read what he and his son wanted from me. My head hurt so badly, however, I retained the shield in self-defense after lowering it briefly to see who they were. That had been a mistake and I'd slammed the shield up again quickly.
It was a good thing I was already showered and dressed, too, because Gavin just wanted to see me leaving as quickly as possible. Raffian folded us to Grey House.
* * *
"Can't you see how much pain she's in?" A furious woman waited for us inside an opulent study at Grey House. I'd dropped to my knees the moment we'd arrived—somehow, I realized we'd passed through a power barrier to get where we were and it brought my headache to an unbearable level. If I hadn't been shuddering in pain, I might have contemplated how to make Kalenegar die.
"Cleo, we're not healers," Shadow muttered.
"Mostly you're clueless men," Cleo grumbled in response before kneeling before me and taking my head in her hands.
I think I will be forever grateful to Cleo for the healing, and I blinked into her gold eyes when the pain miraculously disappeared.
"Thank you," I whispered my gratitude as I worked to hold back tears of relief.
"You're welcome." She patted my shoulder and helped me stand. I discovered I was barely an inch or two taller than she.
Help Daddy if you can
, she whispered mindspeech into my mind.
He thinks Kyler and I don't know. We do. We just can't interfere.
I'll do what I can—for you
, I nodded slightly. I had my reasons, and some of them she might never know.
Thank you
. Cleo inclined her head before stepping away. Lowering my shield, I got my first reading of Glendes Grey, Eldest of Grey House. He and the rest of the Grey House Wizards were being bled dry by blackmail, and the reputation of Grey House was on the line. I squared my shoulders—this was going to be difficult, perhaps—until I saw the blackmailer in person, I had no way of knowing if there were any way out of it. Grey House—and its reputation—stood to be destroyed.
Chapter 12
Prime Minister Vyris paced before the throne he'd taken for himself. He had no right to it, having no royal blood. He'd claimed the ornate chair, however, after he'd convinced the population that the only remaining heir—a distant cousin to the last monarch—wasn't fit to rule.
"Prime Minister, it is nearly time," his assistant suggested softly.
"They're going to stop payment," Vyris whined.
"We can destroy their reputation," Vyris' assistant pointed out.
"What if they no longer care?" Vyris muttered angrily. "We destroy their reputation; they retaliate by letting everyone know we blackmailed them. We have no exports—we've survived on Grey House money for years. Bexari will become destitute and isolated; you know what happened to Cloudsong."
"But what if there's something new to blackmail them with?" Vyris' assistant lifted an eyebrow.
"What are you suggesting?" Vyris was interested immediately.
"We'll need a sacrifice," the assistant smiled. "Someone we don't like, of course."
"Of course someone we don't like. Tell me your plan. Quickly."
* * *
"Yes, she is the Vhanaraszh, and a more inept and disappointing specimen I cannot imagine," Kalenegar muttered angrily.
"Strange, I've often thought the same of you," Hiragar eyed Kal speculatively. As eldest of the Wise Ones, Hiragar was much older than Kalenegar. "And you showed such promise when you were born. It has come to my notice that you continue to give punishment to the Vhanaraszh, for perceived infractions."
"Are you questioning my judgment?"
"Yes. I am. I would prefer that the Wise Ones take over the task of teaching her."
"You will not," Kalenegar snarled. "It is my duty to see that she understands her place."
"What is that place, then?" Hiragar seldom displayed emotion—it was unnecessary in most cases. The raised eyebrow, however slight, informed Kalenegar that Hiragar was very displeased. "The Vhanaraszh is not beneath you, Vhirilaszh. I ask that you remember that."
* * *
"Boss, Trajan's still pissed." Trace sat next to Ashe. Ashe had chosen one of the cliffs overlooking the small city located inside SouthStar. It housed all those brought from Star Cove in the past, in addition to a few others—Elemaiya that Ashe had gathered here and there, including many half and quarter-bloods.
"I know." Ashe kept his eyes on the small city beneath him. "I'd like to take it back, Trace, but I'm not that particular Mighty. Only one of us can
Change What Was
, and it's not me."
"You said it was the shining woman, and everybody knows she saved Ildevar Wyyld. Or at least the King of Serendaan and three of his wives." Trace shook his head.
"But very few realize she's likely one of the Mighty." Ashe turned star-filled eyes on Trace. "They have no idea—most of them. I worry that she is placing herself in danger. Luring those who want to destroy us in her direction. I thought she would be smarter than that."
"Then I guess it's a safe bet that she isn't the Mighty Mind, huh?"
"What did you say?" Ashe's eyes cleared and became their normal blue again.
"Just that she can't be Wisdom, if she's setting herself up as a target."
"Damn." Ashe wiped a hand down his face, leaving a deep frown behind.
"You think she's really in danger?"
"I was in danger," Ashe nodded. "I didn't know what I was for a while, and you saw how that almost turned out."
"What if it's the same for her—that she doesn't know what she is? What if she's fumbling along, just like," Trace didn't finish.
"You can say it, because it's true. I didn't have a clue for a while, Trace. I admit it. Sometimes, I still feel that way. I've wrecked whatever Trajan might have had, and now we're both miserable."
"Has Kevis been able to reach Kalia?"
"No. She cringes every time I come into the room. Bill manages to get her to eat, but that's it."
"Frank wants to kill Keef and Schaff."
"A part of me would allow it."
"Traje said something about a mind cloud. Could that be the problem?"
"Mind clouds don't work that way. They don't make a victim helpless. They convince the victim to do irresponsible acts at best and murderous acts at worst. Mind clouds cause damage, Trace, and this one—even I can't get to the root of it."
"That doesn't sound good, boss."
"It's not. That isn't all that's going on, either. Strange things are happening—things that have no logical explanation. Power has to be involved, but like I said, even I can't get to the root of it."
"Power gone crazy?" Trace's voice held concern.
"Yeah. That's a pretty good description."
* * *
Breanne's Journal
"Just tell us what you see in mindspeech, and whether you can determine what we might do to save Grey House." I sat in Glendes' study, with Raffian and Shadow Grey nearby. Glendes knew I'd already seen his difficulty in my reading, but he was counting on Gavin's compulsion to keep me from discussing it with anyone else. Cleo had left us when Glendes asked, but she wasn't happy that he'd asked.
"I'll do what I can—in exchange for Cleo's healing," I said.
"We have a preliminary meeting with Prime Minister Vyris on Bexari," Glendes rose from his seat and arranged the black robes he wore. "Shall we?" He nodded at Raffian. Raffian folded us to the palace on Bexari.
* * *
Lissa's Journal
"Look at this," Kiarra shook her head. Photograph after photograph of shapeshifting whales and dolphins dropped from her fingers. Their bodies littered the beaches of a world on the far edges of the Dark Realm. "There's not a sign of life anywhere on the planet, and this is the first world that came back to life.
"See these dunes?" I lifted one of the pictures, showing a mound of sand next to a pile of bodies. "I'd bet money that dune wasn't there before."
"I agree," Merrill held out his hand and took the photograph from my fingers. "I'd also bet that the sand isn't from that world, either."
"Look at this," Adam held out a comp-vid with all the destroyed worlds mapped out on it. "The storms began in the center of the Dark Realms. They've been traveling in a spiral ever since. If they follow the current pattern, Harifa Edus is next."
"What?" I snatched the comp-vid from Adam and stared at the worlds in the path of the storm.
* * *
Breanne's Journal
I stifled a gasp. The one who'd come to escort us to the throne room—a young woman of slender build—bore an obsession. I couldn't get to the root of the obsession, but I was watching her closely as we were led to Prime Minister Vyris. The girl was a pawn—there was no doubt in my mind, and I was on edge waiting to see what she'd been ordered to do. After reading Graegar, I knew how to erect a shield and was prepared to build one around us before anything could happen.
Watch the girl—stay away from her
, I sent to my three escorts.
Something isn't right here
, I added.