"There aren't any vampires on Vionn," I explained. "If there were, they'd likely have been hidden. Even on the worlds that recognize vampires as citizens, they don't mingle much with the general population. They're just too vulnerable during the day. No sense in inviting trouble, don't you think?"
"I understand that part of it," Solis said. He and Hardin were both armed with laser rifles and long, heavy steel blades strapped at their side.
"Have Drake and Drew offered to teach you to fight with two blades?" Just the thought of it made me smile.
"Yes, and we've started the training. We were also informed that they won't let us wear two swords until we're proficient." Hardin was smiling, now.
"Let me know if you need anything," I said, when Erland took my elbow to coax me away.
"We're fine," Solis called after us, and I was ushered into the dining room.
Adam, Merrill and Kiarra had come for dinner, which was served the minute Erland and I were seated. Gavin was seated on my right, so we would be going to bed as soon as he could get me there. "Tomorrow is our anniversary," Adam said, putting his arm around Kiarra. "So I'd like to invite all of you to the Chessman tomorrow night for dinner. I have a private room reserved." Well, he ought to be able to reserve it, since he owned the thing and all. Looked as though we were going to get dressed up and go to Casino City. Honestly, I hadn't been there since the first day it had opened.
* * *
"You know who I am?" Connegar and Reemagar blinked at the one who'd come to them inside Lissa's library. Lissa and her mates, including a few extras, had gone to The Chessman Casino in Casino City to celebrate Adam and Kiarra's anniversary. Connegar and Reemagar had been invited, but they had no desire to sit in the midst of such a crowd so they'd stayed behind, choosing Lissa's library to relax and talk instead.
"Of course. Many Larentii would recognize the Mighty Hand," Connegar bowed deeply and respectfully to the tall man.
"I have an assignment for you," the man said. Although he was tall, he was still three feet shorter than Connegar, who was nearly ten feet tall.
"We are honored to accept," Connegar bowed again. "What is it that you wish, Bright One?"
The Mighty Hand outlined exactly what he wanted from the Larentii, who readily agreed. After all, it would protect Le-Ath Veronis and thwart those who sought to bring harm to Lissa. Under normal circumstances, Larentii wouldn't be allowed to interfere past the protection of their mate.
"It will be done swiftly," Reemagar spoke for the first time.
"Thank you," the tall man said, offering a crooked grin. Connegar and Reemagar couldn't help but smile back.
* * *
"We were married in Vegas," Adam said. He'd been asked to tell the story by members of the Saa Thalarr. I could tell it was a favorite and one I'd not heard before. "Kiarra wanted no part of it," Adam added, grinning. "I had to force her to marry me."
"You should have seen the look on her face when we made her march down the aisle," Lynx snickered. "She wouldn't buy a dress, either, so the rest of us picked it out. Tiger and Wolf had to dress her. She wouldn't put the thing on."
I'd only met Tiger and Wolf that evening. They were retired, but both were members of the seven Saa Thalarr when I'd helped Dragon on Refizan.
"She didn't have a ring for me, either," Adam laughed. "I ended up getting a piece of her unicorn horn." He held up his hand to show me the pale, gold band. It matched the ones worn by Merrill and Pheligar, too, I recalled. She'd given them a piece of herself. That was amazing, in my book.
* * *
"Heathe, if I give you my blood, then you'll be able to go with us," I told him. I'd waited until the following afternoon to make the offer, so we could wade through a pile of work first. He'd sleep afterward, that was a given, so I had to time it right. Heathe was shocked out of his shoes, I could tell, when I offered him blood. Thurlow and Rigo had come immediately after I made the suggestion; I'm sure Thurlow had known this was about to happen.
"Will you allow one of us to hold you, while Heathe takes your blood?" Rigo wanted this, I could tell. Very much. After thinking about it for a moment, I nodded to Rigo. He pulled me against him and gestured for Heathe to approach.
"No climax, Heathe," I whispered, before reciting permission.
"Shhh," Heathe said, and breathed on my neck. Rigo held the back of my head cupped in his hand, my body tight against his as Heathe leaned in for the bite. He was careful and it didn't hurt much. As soon as Heathe licked off the last of the blood, Thurlow folded him to his suite. Rigo stayed behind. Grant cleared off the sofa in the corner and Rigo took me there to sit and recuperate for a while. Grant offered a bottle of blood substitute, but Rigo was already pulling his collar open.
"Come, tiessa, take from me," he offered.
"Honey, I don't know how to hold back the climax," I whispered.
"I am hoping that remains true," Rigo smiled. The corners of his eyes crinkled a little when he did that and I think I was lost, then and there. Well, I might have to talk with my mates. I sure didn't know what they were going to do if they had to add somebody else to the roster. Grant stole quietly from the room. "Come, tiessa, do not feel embarrassed or afraid," Rigo leaned in to kiss me lightly. "You are not obligated; still, I just want this one small thing from you."
"All right," I leaned my forehead into the hollow of his shoulder, right against the tattoo of the night flower on his neck. He didn't hurry me so I sat there, breathing in the scent of him for a while. If duty, loyalty and honor had a scent, I think it would smell like Rigo. I lifted my hand and slipped it around the back of his neck, placed a kiss of my own and bit. Rigo held me tightly against him as his body convulsed with the climax. Thurlow found us like that, still sitting together minutes later, neither of us willing to move for a while.
* * *
"You will take us with you, or we will report to the Alliance that you have allowed Solar Red to build temples upon Twylec," Ringolar held his humanoid shape, as did his brothers. If Tamaritha knew what it was that stood before her, she would have dropped to the floor in a faint.
Ringolar thought about eating her and taking her place, but she had a lover on Jhirnain and he had no desire to get involved. Tamaritha had plans to share rooms with her lover. Ringolar and the others could use the extra time to hunt meals while the Queen was occupied with sex. They had their own agenda and the pathetic mortals wouldn't survive anyway. Ringolar smiled at the thought.
Tamaritha frowned at the five that stood before her. "I can only take ten, and I need my bodyguards," she snapped. "Four guards are not enough, and I need my assistant at my side."
"Ringolar, take Farthis and Dalstone with you; Levecus and I will handle the other errand," Zethias smiled at Ringolar, nearly allowing the lengthy tongue to escape his mouth.
"Very well," Ringolar nodded in agreement with his brother. "That will leave you with six guards plus your assistant," Ringolar nodded toward Tamaritha. This was working out so well; the Vampire Queen would come to the Conclave, leaving Le-Ath Veronis vulnerable so his brothers could create havoc in her absence. Ringolar wanted to laugh at how simple it would be.
"We leave in three days' time; do not be late to board ship," Tamaritha whined.
Chapter 13
Erland sat on a corner of my bed as he directed two comesuli who were packing my clothing for Conclave. My Warlock had a list of events, parties and meetings, so it looked as if half my wardrobe was going with me. Giff's baby pouch was about to pop any day and she'd not been to work since her final two months had begun. I hoped Rolfe got in before the baby came, so he and Roff could both be there for Giff. Rolfe was off fighting spawn, as most other Spawn Hunters were.
Eight of us were going to Nemizan. In addition to Heathe and Grant, Thurlow, Rigo, Garde and Erland were going. Reemagar refused to be left behind, so he was going in disguise. He was identified as Larentii on the list I submitted to the Alliance Security Detail; he just wouldn't look like a Larentii to anyone else. We were obligated to give complete details on everyone we brought with us.
It was a first for Garde, too; this was the first time a High Demon had gone anywhere near the Alliance Conclave. Kifirin hadn't come to see me for several days and he wouldn't be interested in going to Conclave anyway. My twins wanted to go, as did Gavin and Tony, but Kiarra was sending them out regularly to take care of spawn. They grumbled about being left behind, but it just wouldn't work if they had to disappear in the middle of something. Rigo's Rith Naeri were staying behind to guard the palace. I wondered if there was going to be a problem with security at Conclave due to the price on my head, but I really didn't have time to worry about that.
Reemagar planned to fold us to Nemizan—we didn't have to take normal transportation. Grant had let the Alliance know that we were going straight to the hotel where we'd be staying, once we arrived. They didn't ask questions regarding our travel arrangements and we all breathed a little easier.
What also interested me was that the Founding Member, Ildevar Wyyld, and the Grand Alliance Council seldom made personal appearances at Conclave. They sometimes attended meetings through live vid-feeds, but they didn't feel the need to be there in person. I found myself wishing I could do that. Sadly, a personal appearance by the one in charge was mandatory. If the one in charge couldn't attend, a legal representative had to be approved weeks in advance by the Grand Alliance Council in order to vote on agenda items.
The whole thing was likely designed by the Conclave itself so that every five years, a different world received a windfall from the visiting members and the ensuing tourism surrounding the event. It was like the Olympics times one thousand, complete with political gymnastics.
* * *
"I have all of us shielded," Reemagar said quietly when we landed inside the hotel lobby on Nemizan. If the desk clerk thought to give Grant the cold shoulder, he should have thought twice about treating a vampire badly. Grant only had to give slight compulsion and we had keys to our suite right away. I learned immediately what being a new and unimportant member of the Alliance meant—we had the worst rooms in the place. I knew that because I misted through the other suites on our floor, just to check. Pointedly ignoring any personal or sexual activity, I focused on the amenities instead.
It was a good thing we didn't need the toilet, too, because ours didn't work. I laughed when Grant showed me that—he stood and flipped the switch over and over, trying to make it evacuate. Nothing happened. He and I high-fived over it, too—there wasn't any need to call maintenance and invite potential spies into our suite.
The royal family on Nemizan had been in charge of handing out the suite assignments, and it wouldn't do to snub any of their cronies. The other attendees all got better treatment and nicer suites. I, on the other hand, could be snubbed with impunity. Le-Ath Veronis had no allies, cronies, political bed-buddies or ass-kissers to look out for us.
Our suite was cramped, too, with three small bedrooms instead of the five larger ones requested. Well, we were lucky to have Reemagar with us—he fixed us right up, stretching out spaces and adding rooms with a blink of amazing power. What did it matter that our suite now extended thirty feet into what was previously empty space? Reemagar shielded the addition from prying eyes and the hotel looked as it always did to anyone who might cast their gaze toward the seventeenth floor.
The other rooms had everything from fresh flowers to food or fruit waiting, and some even had servants and escorts. Well, they didn't have a Larentii with them. I could have wallowed in expensive chocolate and bathed in champagne if I wanted; all I had to do was tell Reemagar and it would have been provided. As it was, I only requested shields and those had already been placed. Don would have smiled and called me a cheap date. I think Reemagar considered it, but Larentii seldom let their sense of humor show. In addition to Reemagar's shields around us, I put up some of my own and Thurlow did as well; I felt his powerful shields vibrating against mine when I set them.
"I think we should disguise our Queen when we leave," Reemagar said as we prepared to go out to dinner. We had a meet and greet scheduled in the morning at nine, but nothing before then. I figured the folks who already knew and liked each other would be getting together that first night, to eat, drink and carouse. I didn't know anybody and felt no need to schmooze. For my evening disguise, Reemagar gave me black hair and made me taller, causing me to blink at my new image in the mirror. It was more than strange—I'd never in my life colored my hair.
The hotel was huge—six hexagonal buildings set in a large complex. Each of the six rose in a tall, architectural statement constructed of steel, concrete and glass. The buildings were connected around a hexagonal courtyard and the complex resembled a honeycomb. I saw the lush courtyard and surrounding hotels as we rode a transparent elevator to the lobby.
Restaurants lined the lower floors inside each building, and we went through six before we found one willing to place us on a waiting list. While we waited for a table, I watched as numerous Conclave attendees waltzed in, with and without reservations, and were all led inside the restaurant quickly. Someday, maybe the restaurant staff would learn not to snub vampires. Rigo stepped up to the host and in ten seconds, we were led to a table.