Demon Revealed (High Demon Series #2) (30 page)

I'll do it,
I grumped mentally. I didn't tell him that
I'd be searching for a way to get the reptanoids out of the way, too. I wasn't
about to let them get killed or captured.

Keep up the good work, special agent Nilvas. I think I can
get you a promotion and a pay increase
. Lendill was gloating. Well, that
was easy for him—he wasn't neck deep in the middle of it.

On a personal level, I merely wanted to come out of this alive
and intact. I also wanted Farzi, Nenzi and their brothers to get out of this
alive as well. I wondered if I could skip them away somewhere, just so they
could be free for a change. I grabbed my comp-vid after setting the dough to
rise again and started looking for likely places that would be safe for them.

* * *

"Reah, you look tired." Teeg held my face in his
hands when Astralan folded me to Campiaa to pick up the wine and arrange for
the kitchen staff and servers. Kiasz was going to help me out with my mission. He
even offered to come and help out on Zephili, but I told him he was needed
where he was. I didn't want any more friends' deaths on my conscience. Kiasz
looked disappointed, but I gave him a hug and hoped he'd get over it. He was
far safer where he was, although Campiaa wasn't very safe to start with.

"Teeg," I bumped my head against his chest.

"What's wrong with my baby?" His fingers stroked my
jaw and neck before he bent down to kiss me. Tory, Ry, Astralan and Stellan
were with us in Teeg's new study; he'd set it up inside Arvil's palace, not far
from Arvil's office.

"Boss, do you want us to take care of that problem over
at SG-2?" Stellan asked. I lifted my head—Stellan had called Teeg boss. Apparently,
there was a problem at The San Gerxon II, Arvil's casino on the opposite end of
the curving strip of sand that housed all of Campiaa's casinos. Of the
thirty-eight casinos on that quiet bay, Arvil owned thirty-two of them. Word
had it that he took payments from the other six owners for the privilege of
having a casino on Campiaan soil.

"I'll come. Astralan, take Reah back to Zephili for
me."

That was it? Take Reah back to Zephili? What was going on? Tory
couldn't even offer me a shrug as Astralan came to haul me away. I hadn't
gotten any mindspeech from Tory either—was he afraid to tell me something? I
went cold for a moment, worried that there was indeed something more happening
than I realized.

"Come along, short one. You can drool on the boss later."
Astralan took my arm and folded me away.

* * *

"Reah, will you fix lunch?" That was Arvil's
greeting to me the moment Astralan landed us inside the main kitchen. Therefore,
it was justice, perhaps, that I was set to preparing lunch for Arvil, the
Hardlows, three of the four warlocks, all three of Arvil's newly hired wizards
and my reptanoids. I hugged Farzi, Nenzi and the others who jumped in and
helped with sandwiches while I put soup and a fruit dessert together. Fruit and
rum drinks were also served—I didn't like how grumpy the new wizards seemed to
be.

"Lack of female companionship," Astralan jerked his
head toward the three wizards when I set his plate in front of him. Giving the
barest of nods, I went to serve Celestan and Galaxsan next. Arvil and the
Hardlows had been served already. I didn't want any of them upset over who was
served first.

"Don't worry," Celestan whispered as I handed his
plate over, "we're instructed to fry them if they lay a finger on you."
He gave me a crooked grin as I lifted an eyebrow at his comment.

"Reah, this is excellent," Galaxsan was already
sipping his drink.

"Then you should only have one; I put a double shot of
rum in there," I replied, wrinkling my nose at him.

Nearly everyone was finished eating when Farzi, Nenzi and
their brothers sat down with me to eat lunch. Only Astralan and one of the wizards
were still at the island, lingering over their food. I sat between Farzi and
Nenzi while we ate. I was almost too exhausted to eat and knew I'd have to
start dinner soon if we were going to have rolls and something for dessert.

"Reah, you teach us more so we be more help for you,"
Farzi dipped into his soup. Our meal was a quick one, with pasta and vegetables
added to seasoned broth.

"You've been a big help already," I rubbed Farzi's
back affectionately.

"I'll pay if you'll put your hands on me," the wizard
pushed his plate toward the center of the island.

"I'll kill you if you say anything like that to her
again," Astralan examined the fingernails on his right hand. "Master
San Gerxon has already issued that warning. I will make sure it is
enforced."

My food had suddenly gone tasteless. Arvil's wizards were
criminals, it was easy enough to see, but for someone to die over a comment? I
wasn't sure how I felt about that. Paltis, the wizard, gave Astralan a dark
look and stalked out of the kitchen.

"Farzi, make sure someone is with Reah at all times,"
Astralan went on. "If any one of those fuckers makes a move toward her,
kill them. Bite first, ask questions later. Arvil was in too much of a hurry to
hire replacements." Astralan rose from his seat at the island. "Lunch
was good, Reah. I'll look forward to dinner."

Farzi and I just stared at each other after Astralan left the
kitchen. I couldn't even put words together to say how I felt. Puzzled and
afraid were the two emotions closest to the surface. Slipping off my barstool,
I headed toward the door that led to the back of the house and the pool area. Farzi
and his brothers were right behind me. I kept walking until we were halfway
between the plantation and the barn. Stopping there amid a profusion of
tropical plants, I turned to Farzi, Nenzi and the others.

"Farzi, if I ask you to do something sometime, will you
do it and not ask questions?"

Farzi blinked at me, completely puzzled. Eventually, he nodded
his head. "Reah, I know this is trust. We do this, because you ask."

"Good." I hugged Farzi, then Nenzi and each of the
others. "I love you. All of you, and I worry about how things are going to
turn out."

"We worry, too." Nenzi gave me a second hug. I held
onto him for a while.

* * *

"We'll have the reception around the pool—the weather is
too nice to have this indoors," Arvil informed me after dinner. He'd
called me into his temporary study; he looked at home there already.

"Of course, Lord Arvil," I agreed. "I think I
saw extra tables in the shed near the barns. I believe Grish did this sort of
thing before. All we need are some nice tablecloths and napkins to go with what
we already have. Grish only bought the best dishes and crystal." Arvil was
expecting a hundred guests or so to show up. I'd already brought in menu
comp-vids for each table. The main unit would be stationed inside the kitchen
and each table would be registered with the proper items. The staff that
Astralan and the others would fold in already knew what they were doing—I was
bringing them from Arvil's casinos.

"Teeg will stay on Campiaa and make sure everything there
is running smoothly during the event. You can give him updates as soon as the
whole thing is over." Arvil was smiling. "I hope you have something
nice to wear, Reah. I'll be introducing you as one of my heirs."

"I have something." Teeg had made sure I had
something. He'd bought the midnight-blue gown himself, along with a necklace
and bracelet. Arvil must be paying him generously. I hadn't even had time to
look at my credit chip; I'd been so busy. But that gave me an idea. As soon as
Arvil was done discussing plans for the reception and tour of the fields, I
picked up Chazi and Hirzi, who were waiting outside Arvil's study. We went
toward my suite where the other reptanoids were already gathered to go to bed.

"Farzi, take this," I said, handing over my credit
chip bracelet.

"What is this?" He looked at me in alarm.

"Just in case you need it for anything," I told him.
Farzi's face was troubled as I walked into my bathroom to clean up and dress
for bed.

The next three days saw the biggest burst of activity. Tables
were hauled in from the shed and the reptanoids and I worried over their placement
in the pool area. The flagstone base was large but still required tactical
decisions on where everything should go so that none of Arvil's guests would
feel crowded. A bar was set up and stocked so the staff wouldn't have to run to
the kitchen whenever a guest asked for a drink. I showed the bartenders how to
make the rum and fruit drink at Arvil's insistence. The wizards Arvil employed
all came to test the results. They were quite drunk afterward. I hoped Arvil
didn't need them for anything.

Arvil was busy arranging for his personal stable of courtesans
to be brought from Campiaa—I heard that Teeg was instrumental in making those
arrangements. I got mindspeech from Tory twice, but both times I'd been so busy
I'd barely had time to talk to him. He was only making sure I was all right
anyway. Hoping that Lendill and Director Keef knew what they were doing, I kept
up with my work, making sure that Arvil and the Hardlow's guests enjoyed what I
hoped was their last meal outside captivity.

* * *

Barely a breeze was blowing as we covered tables with
beautiful, champagne colored cloths and set out napkins to match. Crystal
champagne flutes and water glasses were added, in addition to polished silver
place settings. Plates and chargers came next—Grish's place settings would
impress just about anyone. I wondered briefly what the warlocks had done with
his body. Ignoring that thought, I rushed to get ready after the last table had
been dressed and the menu items and appetizers checked in the kitchen. I barely
arrived on time at Arvil's elbow as he greeted his arriving guests.

* * *

The Hardlows stood opposite Arvil, greeting guests just as we
were. My head was swimming with names as Arvil took hands, slapped backs and
did whatever he could to make them feel welcome. Some names were familiar—names
that had been spread across the Alliance as the worst criminals the ASD hunted.
If the Vice-Director could pull this operation off, it would be the biggest
arrest he'd ever made, more than likely.

"Reah planned everything and these are her recipes,"
Arvil boomed to the guests who sat at our table. The yaris fish was such a hit
that some were sending back to the kitchen to get a plate after they'd ordered
one of the other dishes. Couples were sharing what they had—half of the ox-roast
for half the fish or fowl dishes. The staff didn't even blink, bringing out
extra plates and serving utensils to make the exchanges. Drinks were flowing
and Arvil was extremely pleased. I was shaky, if I were honest with myself. The
warlocks were scattered through the crowd—Astralan ate at the Hardlows' table;
Arvil's three wizards were on the perimeter. I hoped they knew what they were
doing in case someone caused trouble. The courtesans were paired with the
single males Arvil designated.

The moment everything slowed down, Arvil invited his guests to
the waiting luxury hoverbuses and they climbed aboard, evening gowns and all, for
the trip to view the drakus fields. The first fifteen fields had been harvested
already and the crates shipped to the station. Lendill hadn't given me any
update on that but I figured the addresses had been copied and the seed
confiscated. No doubt, the ASD agents would be arriving at those addresses
quite soon to make arrests.

We were driven out to a preselected field—a deck and walkway
had been built so expensive shoes wouldn't sink into watered soil. A separate
bar had also been set up so more drinks could be served. Nenzi was driving the
bus in which I rode—Farzi and his brothers loaded into the back with me. Arvil,
Wilffox, Wilffin and most of the guests were in eight other buses headed toward
the fields.

"Farzi," I whispered to him and his brothers as the
last of the six guests riding with us got off, "I want you and your
brothers to go back to the plantation now. Take one of those other vehicles the
farmhands use."

"What you want us to do then?" Farzi was nodding at
me.

"You know what I look like when I change." Farzi and
the others nodded. "Wait for me to come back like that. I'll take you somewhere
safe."

"Reah not get hurt?" Nenzi was worried.

"I'll try to make sure of that," I leaned in to kiss
his cheek. "Don't worry. Any of you. Be discreet when you leave."

"We will." Farzi was already laying out mental plans;
I could see it.

I got off the bus and walked toward the knot of guests who
surrounded Arvil and the Hardlows. Arvil was already describing the shipments
and the harvesting of drakus seed. Figures—staggering figures—were mentioned,
while eight reptanoids turned and slithered away from us, heading toward a
vehicle that was almost obscured in the distance.

* * *

"I have work to do, why don't you two take the night off?"
Teeg nodded toward Ry and Tory. "I can make do with the security around
the walls."

"Are you sure? We can stay within shouting
distance," Tory offered, though he was itching to get away. Lendill had
already told him and Ry that this was the night Zephili would be taken. The
Vice-Director had instructed both his special agents to fold or skip away at a
designated time. They'd been recalled to Le-Ath Veronis; Lendill and Norian
already had plenty of agents in place to take the drakus seed fields and arrest
Arvil's guests. Not all of them came with powerful warlocks, as the Hardlows
employed. Lendill and Norian's hopes rested on a fast strike and the element of
surprise.

Ry and Tory nodded to the gate guards as they left Arvil's
palace behind, walking toward The San Gerxon I. "Time to get the hell out
of here," Tory muttered as they walked through the casino's doors. Both of
them headed toward the men's bathroom located near the front. As soon as they
were inside, both disappeared.