Demon's Quest (12 page)

"Don't worry about it, Reah. You look shaken. I'll get someone to take you home." Wroth looked worried.

"I'll be fine," I said.

"Don't you want someone to go with you?" Edan actually seemed troubled. I couldn't reconcile that with the Edan I'd known before.

"What were you—when Kifirin came to take you?" I asked instead. "I don't know you. The other one I knew too well." Ilvan blinked at my words—he had no idea.

"Come." Edan steered me out of Wroth's office. "I was a pediatrician," he said, his arm around me, walking me toward the employee's entrance at the back of the restaurant. "I see he told you."

"I'm glad you got a second chance this time, but it has to be difficult, with the criminal record," I said, turning the knob on the back door. "I'll have to get used to the fact that your face won't be connected to physical pain from now on."

"Reah, I think if there were any way that I, or Kifirin or some of the others could take some of our mistakes back, we would. Instead, we have to go forward and try to put things behind us."

"I need time to think," I rubbed my forehead. I had a headache.

"Go home and lie down. Sleep if you can."

My head was throbbing so badly, I took the bus home. Of course, Lok was waiting outside the door to the Crown Apartments.

"The concierge wouldn't allow me inside unless you approved my visits," Lok grumbled.

"I have a terrible headache," I muttered, brushing past his wide shoulders. He followed me inside the building anyway.

"Ms. Silver?" The concierge had a question in his voice.

"It's all right," I waved a hand helplessly. Lok and I rode the elevator to the ninth floor.

"This is yours?" Lok looked around when I opened the door.

"No. It belongs to one of my mates."

"One of your mates?"

"Yeah. You'd think I'd have painkill around here somewhere," I sighed, heading toward the bathroom.

"What does this mate do?" Lok was still looking around—he'd followed me right to the bathroom.

"He's the founding member of the Campiaan Alliance."

"You're married to Teeg San Gerxon."

"Yeah. Anyway, that's what he says." I was going through drawers and cabinets. There wasn't any sort of medication anywhere to take for a splitting headache. "Why are you here again?" I looked up at him.

"I wanted your help on this investigation. There's information on the bracelet links you found in the alley."

"Fuck," I muttered. "There's a drugstore on the corner." I grabbed his arm and skipped us there. Lok stared while I attempted to read labels. "Damn," I sighed, pulling three different brands off the shelf and heading toward the self-pay chip reader.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Lok was still staring and cursing, now that we were back inside my kitchen. I poured water in a glass and took three times the recommended dosage. It would take at least that much to have any effect.

"What do you know about me?" I asked. "I checked your records, you're ASD. Active."

"Lendill said you were special. He just didn't say how special," Lok grumbled.

"Ah. Lendill. One of my other mates. Inadvertently." I wet a towel in the sink, squeezed the water from it and went to sit on the sofa, the cloth over my eyes.

"You're married to Lendill Schaff."

"Inadvertently."

"Fuck. The links are from a bracelet that girl wore—Andree Wirth," he said her name. "A boyfriend gave it to her. They found DNA on those links and they can't identify it."

"Probably Ra'Ak," I muttered. "I couldn't find anything on those other two girls. It's as if they were snatched from the air."

"I looked too—same thing."

"Did they talk to the boy?" I asked.

"He was home—his parents confirmed it. They said he'd given the bracelet to Andree."

"Did you talk to him?"

"Didn't see any need."

"Well, if we get the opportunity, I'd still like to question him."

"I know where he goes to school."

"Good enough."

"What else are you planning to do?" Lok asked.

"Before I was slapped into the past earlier, I was planning to go to Pridded."

"There's already an agent there."

"You think that'll stop me?"

"I see that was a stupid statement," Lok admitted. "When will you know if you're going and will you take me with you?"

"Are you a sadistic slave driver? Because I assure you I already have one of those," I pulled the cloth away to look at him. He smiled. Actually smiled. It was like the sun breaking through a cloud, just as I imagined it might be.

"Oh, now you want to be seen together," I snapped, slapping the towel over my eyes again.

"I do prefer taller women. With dark hair. I can change my ways."

"Don't bother. You've already fucked up the vision."

"What vision?"

"You're not going to shut up, are you?" I pulled the towel away again. "Let's go." I grabbed his arm and skipped us to Pridded.

Chapter 6
 

"This is it," Lok said. We'd arrived at a warehouse, with parts of it still in use. I could hear hovertrucks backing up for loading down the way. "These kids come here and trade prescribed meds after school," Lok added. "The one who was grabbed forgot her purse and ran back for it. They never found her."

I was looking around the area—I could see markings on the floor. "What are these?" I asked.

"No idea," Lok said. I walked around them—they were spaced evenly apart—in the form of an equilateral triangle. "Looks like something from those old witches' tales."

"Then let's see if we can get an expert's evaluation," I said.
Wylend?
I sent.

Love, what do you need?

I just need a little advice
, I returned.
Do you have someone who can come to Pridded?

Where on Pridded?

Shoordeed Warehouse in Parid.

Wylend and Erland both came ticks later, surprising Lok.

"Wylend, Erland, this is Lok, ASD," I introduced Lok to them.

"Love, I wish you would call me more often," Wylend pulled me against him and kissed my forehead.

"Can you do anything about a headache, and do you know what these are?" I pointed out the symbols on the floor.

"May the stars never fail," Erland said. "Who did this?"

"We don't know yet," I said. "But this is where one of those children disappeared."

"This is forbidden spellwork," Erland said, walking around the triangle of symbols. They'd been drawn on the concrete with colored chalk.

"What does it do?" I asked. Wylend put his fingers on my forehead, causing the throbbing to go away.

"It's a transference—you trade one body for another," Wylend said softly.

"Like Nidris did for his brother?"

"No," Erland shook his head. "That was a simple spell, making someone look like someone else. With this, you're moving a spirit into another body. You're trading souls around. It's called soul-shifting."

"That's not scary or anything," I said, feeling cold all over.

"It doesn't last long—both bodies begin to die quickly; that's why it's forbidden," Wylend said.

"What's the purpose in it, then?" I asked.

"It's the ultimate disguise," Erland told me. "If you're sitting in jail, awaiting execution, you trade off with your jailer, who's executed in your place. But in order for you to stay alive, you have to keep trading bodies before the one you currently inhabit dies. You leave a trail of dead behind you."

"Unless those dead are consumed by monsters who have a taste for flesh," I suggested. "Before they die, of course. Has anybody checked on those children we found on Bardelus?" Erland whipped out his comp-vid and punched keys.

"That's not good," Erland muttered. Lok was following the conversation, his usual scowl plastered across his face. "There's only one left out of the seven, and he's dying. They haven't managed to save any of them."

"This just gets worse as it goes along," I sighed. "Wylend," I dropped my head against his shoulder, "who would know how to do this?"

"Reah, I will have to do research and get back to you, love. Will you not come home with me now or visit soon?"

"I'll try to visit soon," I said.

Keep your promise
, Erland's voice sounded in my head.

"Tomorrow," I said.

"Good. Very good." Wylend leaned down to kiss me. Erland removed the markings with power and he and Wylend disappeared.

"Are you married to him as well?" Lok asked dryly.

"I'm only engaged to Wylend," I huffed.

"We have multiple mates on Falchan. It is rare to see the
ai yevu
."

"The single mate?" I asked, translating the phrase into common Alliance.

"Yes. The direct translation is
my only
."

"So," I said, changing the subject, "we have someone who's trading souls with child after child after child, possibly because the Ra'Ak has a taste for the young and tender," I almost gagged when I said it—it made me feel so ill.

"Sounds like a Karathian or something similar," Lok observed.

"Yes—something just like that," I sighed. "Is there anything else we need to see here?"

"I think we found more than enough."

Lok filed his report from my apartment; I sent one to Lendill as well. I got a response right away, in the form of Lendill Schaff.

"Reah, this is disturbing—are you sure of Wylend and Erland's information?"

"Lendill, ask them yourself—they weren't lying. They just didn't know right away who might be able to do this sort of thing. There's no doubt about those children on Bardelus, there's only one of the seven left."

"Fuck." Lendill flopped onto the sofa next to me. "Reah, do not stand in front of another bullet, I beg you," he put his arms around me.

"Honey, I sure don't want to do that," I muffled against his shirt.

"Good. Come to bed with me?" He murmured softly. We left Lok munching on a sandwich in the sitting room and closed the bedroom door.

"Reah, we only got the once," Lendill undid a button, placing a kiss. His mouth was warm as he nipped my collarbone. I remembered the time before with Lendill—in his office. This was our first time in a bed. He didn't disappoint. Whatever it is that he has, it comes through when he fucks. I was begging him, I think, before all was said and done. He gave me everything I asked for, and then some.

* * *

"Reah, I have to go," Lendill gave me a gentle kiss early the following morning. "Norian is here to take me back."

"How did you get here in the first place?" I asked sleepily.

"Larentii," he said. "I'll see you soon. Send mindspeech." He kissed me again and walked out of the bedroom. When I got up later to have my morning tea, I found Lok sitting on my sofa.

"Have you been here all this time?" My fists were on my hips.

"You have two extra bedrooms. I borrowed one. You have plenty of room; I'm thinking about moving in. It'll be easier to communicate."

"And you decided that."

"Yes."

"Unbelievable." I shook my head and went off to make tea.

"I don't have any Falchani black," I said, handing him a cup of my brand. It wasn't as strong as what the Falchani normally got.

"This will do; I have some black in my hotel room. I'll bring it when I move in."

"Uh-huh," I muttered. I ended up skipping Lok to his hotel room three times, to move his things, and then he had his cup of tea while I prepared lunch.

* * *

"What is this? It's very good."

"It's evil, that's what it is." It was; a sandwich made of ham and thinly sliced fowl, with a good white cheese in between, dipped in batter then deep-fried. I didn't make it often—I could hear arteries clogging just by looking at it. You could dust it lightly with confectioner's sugar if you wanted—I preferred mine with a bit of fresh jam.

"You call this the evil sandwich?"

"Yes, the evil, heart attack inducing sandwich," I agreed, taking another bite. Lok laughed at me.

"What are you doing?" I'd hauled out my comp-vid and went looking through dates of death for the six children on Bardelus, discovering that the seventh had died overnight.

"Look," I pushed it toward him, "these children died around three days apart. That means that the one doing this has to move on to a fresh victim every third day."

"Sounds logical," Lok stuffed the last of his sandwich in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, going over my research. "They all died around mid-afternoon," he observed.

"Shortly after school was out," I said, agreeing with his assessment. "This is the extra child that some witnesses are reporting—the one who's doing this, that is." I pulled my comp-vid back and sent a quick message to Plovel, telling him that we were dealing with the culprits in the Reth Alliance, now. Then I sent the same message to Lendill, asking if it were possible to warn all children to be wary of strangers approaching—including other children they didn't know.