Demon Revealed (High Demon Series #2) (7 page)

"Fourteen hands or so, in every direction," I said,
nearly breathless with shock.

"Enough for all of us, if needed," Alvis kept his
head down, trimming the Prince's nails carefully.

"We just need warning before they make their
attempt," the Prince muttered angrily. "Bel will do his best, as will
the others, but we are treading dangerous ground, my friend."

"Your father would have died quickly, had he faced
this," Alvis agreed softly. "He would have attacked these traitors and
they would have killed him immediately. We must lower our heads to them, making
them think we are feeble sheep."

"They are taking credit for destroying our enemy in the
desert, when it was Bel and his Rangers who performed that magic for us,"
the Prince huffed. "Does the High Commander think I do not see through his
lies?"

"His wizards are lazy," Alvis nodded. "They
have talent, yes. They do not have the stamina for the long road."

"Boy, what is your name?" The Prince turned to me.

"They call me Re," I replied.

"Re, this is Alvis, who once advised my father, the
Prince Royal before me. Now he advises me, disguised as my valet. We have been
setting ourselves against the High Commander and his drug-trafficking thieves
for a long while, now. It is my hope that we win this battle, else we may all
be dead and the High Commander will dance upon our graves."

"My Prince, I will work to see that does not happen."
I bowed to him.

"Boy, I hope your shield works, we may have need of
it," Alvis murmured without lifting his eyes from his task.

* * *

"Some of the old wizards are attacking the fields in the
desert—I want you to go out and take care of that problem." The High
Commander handed Bel his new assignment.

"Shouldn't be difficult," Bel replied casually. "Get
your things together," he ordered the Rangers. Tory, too, lifted a pack to
his shoulder.

"Where did that one come from?" The High Commander
gestured toward Tory. He'd skipped right past Ry, who now resembled the absent
Pell.

"Bodyguard—good with shields," Bel said. "Not
much good with other spells, though."

"Good enough." The High Commander just wanted Bel
and his Rangers to take care of the problem he was encountering in the
desert—they were losing crops and it was nearing time for the harvest. If the
few remaining wild wizards kept attacking the fields, the workers he'd sent out
to tend the crops wouldn't go out to pick. They'd be too frightened. The High
Commander needed as much drakus seed as he could raise. Their recent encounter
with an unexpected enemy had devastated some of his fields. Sweeping aside his
black robes, the High Commander stalked out of the meeting room, leaving Bel
and the others to tend to business.

"Reah has mindspeech. Do either of you have that talent?"
Bel swung his pack over a shoulder. Ry looked at Tory and then back at Bel, a
huge grin on his face.

* * *

"I wish I had your talent, my friend. Someday, perhaps,
you'll tell me how you came by it." Bel stood inside the walls of the
outpost where he'd served with Commander Aris. He still had no idea what had
happened to the man. He addressed Ry after Ry folded all of them to the
outpost.

"Perhaps someday, I'll consider telling you where that
talent came from. Is this where we're staying?" Ry studied their austere surroundings.

"For the night, at least." Bel, Hish and Max dropped
their packs inside the barracks they'd used before. "Pick a bunk. We'll
have to feed ourselves tonight. Some food—not much—is still inside the
keepers."

* * *

"Tell me again why we didn't bring Reah with us?" Hish
was doing his best to chew the meat they'd cooked.

"I think I should ask her to teach me a little of what
she knows," Ry was cutting his meat into tiny pieces, hoping that would
make it easier to consume.

"How do you know her, anyway?" Bel was curious.

"Reah is my mate," Tory was struggling to consume
his dinner.

"You're joking." Bel almost dropped his fork.

"No. But she has two. I'm the second one."

"She's only nineteen."

"We know," Ry admitted. "Tory and the other one
are recently mated to Reah."

"So, she wasn't just any conscript when she landed
here," Hish said, cutting into his meat with difficulty.

"Well, she was at the time. Worked in a kitchen for the
Alliance. It wasn't until she got back that the ASD latched onto her." Ry
was about to give up on his dinner.

"So, she has us to thank for all that battle experience?"
Max grinned.

"I believe that's true," Tory agreed.

"We have a cook where we're going—we'll stay in the
largest village. You'll get a look at the drakus seed fields while you're there.
The villagers the High Commander relocated spend most of their days pumping
water for the plants." Bel gave Tory and Ry the information they needed. Ry
had tiny cameras affixed to his clothing—nobody from Mandil would even think to
look for them—the technology was beyond them. The Director and Vice-Director
would be getting live feeds from Ry if he wore either of the two vests he'd
brought with him.

"Who guards the fields at night?" Tory asked,
sipping the wine he'd poured; they'd found a few bottles left behind after the
evacuation.

"Pell is there—he sleeps during the day and guards at
night. You'll take his place so he can go home to his wife," Bel nodded at
Tory. "Mind you, I don't want any of the attacking wizards killed—we want
to bring them in with us. We may need their help when the time comes. I figure
the High Commander will wait until the harvest is done before making his
move."

"What about the army?" Ry asked.

"Right now, the Station Commander is still loyal to the
High Commander. Evlif Gorth is a reasonable man, though. I'm hoping that when the
final push comes, he'll send his troops in the right direction. The High
Commander hasn't done much to make Station Commander Gorth respect him." Bel
shoved his plate away with a sigh and sipped his wine.

* * *

"She's no family of mine—I received the papers making
that a fact not too long ago." Addah Desh was rude to Vice-Director
Schaff.

"Then ponder this—let her identity slip, even in the
slightest way possible, and you and I will have a discussion with the local
magistrate over child labor law violations within your restaurants."

"What?" Addah Desh almost came out of his chair. His
face was turning slightly purple, too. Lendill wondered if he might be forced
to call Emergency Medical for assistance.

"I have all the records, Master Cook Desh. Your son did
not pay her properly and worked her long hours from the age of eight. No child
is to be employed in a service industry establishment that exists to bring in
income—not under the age of fourteen. At age fourteen, that child is only
allowed to work a maximum of three clicks per day. Your granddaughter was
forced to work for six to eight clicks per night, depending upon which night. The
money you sent to your son to pay her was funneled directly into his accounts
and not paid out. Not in the proper manner, anyway. He may have slipped her a few
credits now and then, but it would not have been sufficient. All his expenses
are accounted for. No salary was paid to Reah Desh. She may as well have been a
slave—he treated her as one. And beat her, as you know, whenever he was angry. A
trait gained from his mother, don't you think?" Lendill toyed with the
comp-vid under his hand—all the pertinent records were there if Addah Desh
wished to see them. "Your granddaughter—your flesh and blood—and you
allowed this to happen. What do you think will happen to your business if this is
leaked to the media?"

"You're saying that Edan raped her mother—at Marzi's
urging?"

"Yes, I have that confession on a vid chip. They were
quite eager to blame the other, in an effort to reduce their own charges. And
then Marzi paid the physician to slip a blood thinner into your youngest wife's
medication—it appears that Raedah learned that the baby might have been Edan's
and threatened to go to the constabulary after the birth of the child. Marzi
didn't want to be implicated, and at the time, she was protecting your
eighteen-year-old son. That is no longer the case. Marzi feels Edan has failed
her, since you have cut them out of your will. You suspected this all along,
didn't you, Master Desh?"

Addah Desh deflated. All his bluster and pompousness—gone. He
hadn't realized he might be included in the charges, alongside Marzi and Edan. Fes
was poised to take over Desh's number two, after Edan's arrest. Addah had no
desire to lose business because Edan and Marzi had gotten caught. Now, he might
be accused of knowledge of a crime, without reporting it. It could ruin the
entire family.

"I should never have married Raedah. I knew Marzi was
more jealous of her than any of the others." Addah sighed. "And then
she died, leaving me with a motherless child to raise. I had the tests run, so
I knew she wasn't mine. Yes, I had suspicions, but I chose to ignore them. I wasn't
aware that Edan was harming the girl and not paying her. I swear I didn't know
about that."

"Your granddaughter isn't a criminal. Someday, perhaps,
you'll learn what she truly is." Lendill Schaff stood and lifted his coat.

"Word will not come from me or any of mine," Addah
Desh voice sounded defeated.

"See that it doesn't—much depends on this," Lendill
Schaff walked out the door.

* * *

"We haven't gotten drunk together in a long time." Norian
looked at Lendill. They'd returned to Le-Ath Veronis and now sat in a bar in
Casino City.

"True. What did Reah say about not saving me?" Lendill
was half-drunk already.

"She said she'd think twice about saving your tight
ass."

"She said my ass was tight?"

"Those were her words." Norian was beginning to slur
his s's.

"You think she looked at my ass?"

"Well, that was the impression I had. I don't think she
knows you well enough to speculate on your spending habits."

"I saw the vid—they cut her hair again."

"I know."

"She doesn't like that."

"It's the only way she'll pass as a boy."

"You didn't treat Lissa like this."

"I know." Norian tapped his glass so the bartender
would give him a refill. "I just crawled right into her bed as the lion
snake one night." Norian hiccupped.

"I wish I could do that."

"Lissa would have your head."

"I wasn't talking about Lissa."

* * *

"You'll sleep here." I was given a closet next to
the royal suite. The Prince's bedroom was surrounded by those of his three
wives. Guards stood outside his doors and I was going to sleep in a closet. A
small cot had been brought in, but it didn't look comfortable. I'd had better
at the military station. Clothing, too, had been brought—a young boy's clothing
by the looks of it. Blue and gray, like the uniforms worn by the other servants.
I hugged myself tightly as I sat on the edge of my cot, surrounded by my meager
new wardrobe.

Auri?
I sent. He was far away and unlikely to hear. It
surprised me greatly when an answer came.

Reah? When did you gain mindspeech?

Yesterday
, I returned.

Reah, you sound lost, love
.

I am lost. Aurelius, they have me sleeping in a closet
.

Lara'Kayan, it will not always be so
.

I know
.
But it is small and closed in
. I
shivered, just thinking about it.

Love, I am only a thought away. If it becomes unbearable,
call out to me. I will help you get through this
.
Try to sleep, love. You
are still not fully recovered
. A promise lay in Aurelius' words—a promise
to get back at Norian Keef, somehow, for sending me out before the healer
thought I was ready.

I'll try
, I sent and crawled into my tiny bed. I was
nearly asleep too; I was more tired than I thought when another message came.
I
love you
was sent to me, and it was no voice I'd heard in my head before
that moment.

* * *

"Wake!" The side of my small cot was kicked, nearly
upsetting it. I stared in alarm at one of the Prince's wizards. "The
Prince wants something to eat. Get up and cook!"

There would be no sympathy and even less patience from this
one—he had a cruel mouth and disdain in his eyes. I rose, slipped into the
clothing I'd worn earlier and followed the wizard to the kitchens. I cooked. The
kitchen was well stocked and I was used to what Mandil had to offer already. Cutting
thin slices of fowl, I dredged them in flour, fried them quickly and made a
sauce to go with them, in addition to fresh fruit and sweetened cream. The wizard
and the Prince were both staring at me as they tasted their food.

"Where did you learn to cook, boy?" The wizard
demanded.

"My family taught me." I hung my head. I was telling
the truth.

"And why did they turn you out?"

"My father had many sons. I wasn't necessary," I
said. Well, it had actually been my grandfather—I knew that now.

"Then we will be glad of the surplus," the Prince
declared, eating the rest of his fowl with delight. The dessert was a plus—he
liked that very much. As did the wizard. I was allowed to return to my bed as
soon as the plates and utensils had been cleaned and put away.

* * *

"Re, wake up." The voice was whispering right next
to my ear, causing me to gasp and sit up in alarm. I was crushed against a
uniform I recognized. "Re, hush," Delvin held me tightly against him
so I wouldn't scream.

Chapter 4
 

"Little girl, be still," Delvin gripped me tightly
against him, whispering the words. "Come now, get dressed, the Prince
wants his errand boy."