Demon Revealed (High Demon Series #2) (11 page)

No, the wizard blasted him with flames and he burned to
death
, I sent to Lendill later when I could breathe normally again.
I
don't know what he did
.

We raided Birimera yesterday and burned a hundred drakus
seed fields
, Lendill returned. That made me swallow uncomfortably. If Arvil
remembered that he'd said that within my hearing, I could be next.
Reah,
that wizard can't harm you with his
power
, Lendill reminded me.

I don't have protection against a physical attack—you told
me not to turn
, I reminded him.

Reah, we said you could leave if they are about to harm you.
Make sure it is real harm—you've given us good information so far
. I wanted
to ask what he meant by real harm. Had his and Director Keef's little escapade
that caused my convulsions been classified as something other than real harm? I
was too afraid to ask.

I have to go to work
, I said instead, cutting off the
mental communication.

* * *

"We can't salvage this," Teeg said later as he
examined the cracked and burned tiles. "You don't have to tell me what
happened," he muttered softly. I'd knelt beside him so he could show me
the damage. My new assistant had cleaned what was left of the floor after the
body had been carried away.

"I didn't even know his name. Will his family be
notified?" I asked, focusing on Teeg's dark eyes.

"Re, people who work here generally don't have
families," Teeg stood and lifted me by grasping my arm in his fingers. "Eight-day
is tomorrow. Why don't you come by? I've been thinking about going up the
mountain for some fresh air."

The mountain was an artificial ski slope north of Campiaa City.
"Here's my address," Teeg flipped a card in his fingers before
handing it to me. "Come early."

* * *

 I was at Teeg's apartment shortly after breakfast. Thinking
of him had kept me awake the night before, and that hadn't happened to me often.
I considered sending mindspeech to Tory and Aurelius, but then Teeg thought I
was a boy. He wasn't one to be attracted to young boys or men—I don't know how
I knew that about him, but I did.

"Come on in—I'm almost ready." Teeg led me inside. A
snowboard leaned against the wall just inside the door, and a bag that held
clothing and equipment lay next to it. His apartment was nice too—it looked
comfortable to me.

"You do this often?" I looked around me as he
disappeared down a hall. The kitchen was small, but it would do for him. I got
the idea he didn't do a lot of cooking for himself.

"Whenever I get the chance." He was back with three
sets of dark glasses in his hands. "One of these should fit," he
settled one pair over my nose. "No—too big." He tried the others
before settling on the best pair. "Better." He grinned while I tucked
the offered glasses inside my jacket pocket. I usually wore a jacket if I
didn't have my cook's apron or coat on. My breasts were small, but my nipples
did show occasionally. That might be a giveaway if anyone were looking.

A shuttle ran every few ticks, hauling visitors up and down
the mountain. Teeg ran his chip over the scanner for both of us. The ride was
nice, lasting half a click. The tourists and locals on the shuttle were
chatting away while Teeg and I rode in companionable silence. I was busy
looking out the window—we'd taken seats so I could see the ocean. It sparkled
below us as I peered over the edge of the cliff running alongside the road.

"Didn't get to see the ocean much?"

"No." I chewed my lower lip as I turned in my seat
to look at Teeg. He seemed so familiar at times, but I knew that was silly—I'd
never met him until a few days before. I worried that Arvil might be asking him
to spy on me and was determined not to let anything slip. Arvil didn't need to
learn anything about me. Delvin already knew too much and he could easily get
me hurt or killed. That thought made me frown. He'd promised to protect me, but
then he'd betrayed Bel and the others. How could I trust that?

"You had such a frightened look on your face just then,
Re." Teeg leaned down to stare into my eyes. I wished I could have told
him my worries and fears. He seemed such a good man, but he was on Campiaa. Was
anyone on Campiaa good? Who intended to be there?

"It's nothing." I turned to stare out the window
again. The ocean had lost some of its sparkle.

"It didn’t look like nothing," Teeg murmured, but he
didn't push it.

I used my chip necklace to pay for ski rentals. This was
something I'd never done or ever dreamt of doing. I watched Teeg slip his feet
into the slots for his feet on the snowboard and go skimming down the
artificial snow. He appeared so agile as he made sweeping arcs, snow spraying
from the edge of his board.

The ones who'd rented the equipment to me had given me a brief
lesson, but that information was deserting me now as I gazed down the side of
the mountain. It looked steep from where I stood. Sighing, I hopped to the
edge, turned my skis and let myself drop over the side.

My ankles were unprepared. That was the excuse I gave to Teeg,
who was laughing when I reached the bottom of the slope. I'd fallen at least
six times before reaching the bottom, too. "Come on, you'll get the hang
of this." We took the lift back up the mountain and I watched with envy as
Teeg went down again. He must have done this hundreds of times. I was about to give
it my second try.

"Not too bad for a first timer," Teeg teased as I
returned my rented equipment later. My legs felt as if they were made of rubber
as we walked out of the rental hut. "Next time, we can go swimming." Those
words almost had me stopped in my tracks.

"I don't swim," I made the excuse. I knew it was a
lie. Teeg probably did too. "Well," I amended, "I don't like
wearing the suit—I have knobby knees."

"Ninety-pound weakling?" Teeg grinned again. I
didn't understand the phrase. "Never mind," he chuckled. "That
joke is a lot older than you."

"Thanks for inviting me," I said when we climbed off
the shuttle later.

"I'll walk you back to The San Gerxon," he offered. That
was the name of Arvil's casino—The San Gerxon. I knew I should refuse—any young
man would have done so. I didn't, and I hoped it wouldn't bring me harm later
on.

"I'll see you tomorrow—we'll finish up those base
cabinets. Then I'll get the stone cutters out to take measurements so we can
fit the countertops," Teeg promised as I reached for the door to slip
inside the casino. I thought I might stop by and see if Xiri was on duty before
heading back to my room.

"I need to go grocery shopping again tomorrow," I
said.

"That's fine; I'll be there before you leave." Teeg
sounded so confident. I wished I had a fraction of his confidence. I felt as if
I walked a knife's edge every moment I spent inside Arvil's palace. After I'd
seen his assistant burn with nobody to even care that a man had died, well—I
had truly seen why Campiaa had the reputation it did.

"Don't think about that," Teeg watched my face
carefully. "That's why I invited you out today—to get it out of your mind.
Don't fall into that pit, Re." Teeg turned away and jogged down the steps
leading to the casino. I wished I could forget. The poor man's screams still
echoed inside my head.

* * *

"Re!" Xiri was truly glad to see me, I think. Xiri
was tall and thin, and with the tall hat he wore as night cook, he looked even
taller and thinner. He had reddish-brown hair that curled around the edges of
his hat, making him look somewhat comical. When he threw out his arms in
greeting, he made me smile.

"We have an order for dessert for guest Wilffin,"
one of the assistants informed Xiri, interrupting our hug.

Xiri cursed softly and let me go.

"He is very difficult to please," the assistant
explained as Xiri turned toward the pastry prep area.

"Then let's give him an assortment," I said. We
ended up sending six smaller desserts on a single plate, including a generous
portion of the oxberry puff tart with sweet cream.

"Now we sit back and wait for the complaints," Xiri
fanned himself and sat down on a stool.

"Well, I need to go back—I went up the mountain today and
my ankles are angry now," I smiled at Xiri. "Some people are
impossible to please. Just remember that what makes them happiest is seeing the
misery of others. Don't let them win." I patted Xiri's arm and left the
kitchen. It was advice I should take for myself, but it was so hard at times. So
very hard.

"There's my cook." Arvil was raiding the keeper when
I trudged down the hall toward my small bedroom. It did have a decent bed, its
own bath attached and a tiny closet. There wasn't much space for anything else.

"Can I get you anything, Lord Arvil?" I asked
politely.

"Can you make a simple sandwich?"

"Of course." We walked back to the kitchen. Arvil was
served an ox-roast sandwich with all the trimmings. Delvin and two other wizards
who were with Arvil received the same. It made me wonder where the other five
were. I knew better than to ask.

"You know, that seed is coming right along on
Kliiver," Arvil said casually as I put clean dishes away. I didn't even
look up at his comment—his words were a lie. He was attempting to trap me,
somehow. I wasn't about to take that bait.

"Goodnight Lord Arvil," I said and walked toward my
bedroom. Oh, they'd been careful, going through all my things, but I had a good
memory and my only other pair of shoes weren't quite in the same spot inside my
closet. They did suspect me. I wondered if I should send mindspeech to Lendill,
and then decided against it. He'd just tell me to keep doing what I was doing
unless they tried to kill me. I wanted to skip away from Campiaa so badly right
then it made my head hurt.

* * *

"Would you like breakfast? Have you eaten yet?" I
asked Teeg when he showed up the next morning.

"I wouldn't mind," he said. He had a plate of food
sitting in front of him quickly. I'd poached eggs and served them over toast
points with sauce and shaved ham. Fresh fruit went with the rest, and Teeg ate
everything.

"That was perfect," he sighed, handing the empty
plate back to me. The cabinetmakers had finished their job, so we were the only
ones in the kitchen right then. I wanted to tell him what had happened the
night before so badly, and knew I couldn't. Teeg was loyal to Arvil, who was
paying him for his services. I was nothing to Teeg.

The dishwasher worked perfectly, I thanked Teeg for that fact,
wrote out my list and headed for the market, my new assistant right behind me. He
was only a few months older than I was—nearly twenty he'd said, and his name
was Neele. Neele told me about how he lifted weights in his spare time as we
rode the pub-trans to the market. Neele was two hands taller than I was, broad
across the shoulders and narrow at the waist and hips. I believed him when he
said he worked out. He had a scar over his right eye that I was determined not
to ask about. He turned many a female head as we shopped for our needs and
stopped to talk with two who seemed quite forward. Neele had a date before we
ever left the store.

"That turned out well—maybe I'll ask her if she has a
friend to bring for you, Re." Neele was grinning at me. "When's the
last time you had sex?"

"Not that long ago," I muttered, hauling bags up the
steps of the pub-trans. "And I prefer to make my own dates. Thank you for
thinking of me, but I'll find my own. Woman." Neele snickered at my
stumble. He thought I was embarrassed to admit I'd have a hard time finding a
date. I let him continue thinking that.

* * *

"This soup is exceptional." Arvil was asking for
more and we hadn't even gotten to the main course yet. The market had gotten
fresh shrimp so I'd bought some, although they were small. These were perfect
for soup or salads. The main course was redfish that I'd only seen imported
from three Alliance worlds. It made me wonder if Campiaa was doing business on
the black market with some of those worlds. I knew which ones supplied the
redfish, so I resolved to send that information to Lendill. He might yell that
it was unimportant. I knew where that opinion had gotten us before.

"We have a little errand to run after dinner," Arvil
was dipping up the last of his second helping of soup. "Delvin here tells
me you're a pretty good shot, Re."

"He doesn't miss," Delvin said, causing Neele to
stare at me. "We're having a problem with the same enemy we had on
Mandil," Delvin went on. "Our fields are under attack, so we're
taking you with us to see if we can't rid ourselves of that little
problem."

At that moment, I wanted to shout at Delvin. Scream at him and
beat on his chest. What was he doing, telling Arvil San Gerxon things like that?
He was determined to get me killed. I just knew it.

"Well, I normally don't go out with my wizards,"
Arvil smiled as I set a plate of fish in front of him first. "But after
Delvin said you were such a good shot, I had to see this for myself."

"I don't have suitable clothing," I said, placing
other plates around the makeshift table Teeg had brought in from somewhere.

"I got something for you this afternoon," Delvin
grinned. "Boots, too."

"Then I'll go," I said.

Cruel-mouth folded us. I had no idea what world we stood upon
when we landed, but it held the scent of plowed fields. I couldn't see trees
anywhere near and sprinklers were sending jets of water far out into the fields
in a circular pattern. In the moonlight, the mist off the water looked
spectacular.

"They're heading this way, Master Arvil," one of
three men approached us when we landed, and now bowed respectfully to Arvil.

"You have the ranos rifles ready?"

"Several for each of you."

"I will not be shooting, I will be watching," Arvil
snapped.