I wanted to ask Milus about Arvil's family, but I didn't have to. Arvil told me himself. "My brother and his wife are coming home today, with my two cousins," Arvil announced as he rose from his chair. "Treat all of them as you'd treat me and watch them like a cat watches a bird. Reah, I'll be issuing a knife and a pistol to you. If any of my relatives threatens me—kill them."
"Yes, Lord Arvil," I nodded respectfully.
"See, that's how I should be treated. And I like the Lord Arvil. Much better than Master. Haral, since those blasts of yours cost us our fields on Reliff, perhaps you can go back there and find those two farmers. Make them dead for me, all right?"
"With pleasure," Haral stood and folded away.
That's how I ended up sending mindspeech while I cooked breakfast for the others. Lendill, a wizard named Haral is coming to Reliff to kill those two fictional farmers, I sent.
There really were two farmers, but the locals didn't report them to the ASD. We found the reports after we sent our team in. See, we do try to protect you where we can.
You're only protecting your information source. You don't give a damn about me. Yes, my last transmission was grumpy in the extreme and exactly how I felt. No doubt the ASD's esteemed Vice-Director would have something to say to me, or perhaps allow me to spend a day or two in a cell when I got back for getting snippy with him. At the moment, I didn't really care.
"Come with me." Arvil handed a knife and a pistol to me as soon as breakfast was over—Neele was expected to clean the kitchen. I was dressed in black leather again, with the knife clipped to the back of my belt and the pistol in a holster on the right side. Delvin was with us as we followed Arvil San Gerxon to his private transportation—a luxury hover-limo. Delvin and I sat in the back, across from Arvil as we made our way to the shuttle station.
"You could have gotten here sooner," Jazal San Gerxon snapped angrily as I lifted two of his bags. He wasn't saying it to Arvil; he was saying it to me, as if I'd had anything to do with it. It wasn't that uncommon—if you couldn't attack the one you were truly angry with, you found an alternate to vent your anger upon. Arvil was the head of the family; I wasn't sure Jazal had enough sense to run a sandwich kiosk. Jazal's wife, Anith, was only concerned about how she looked in public. She was applying lip color when we arrived, before smiling vapidly at Arvil. If she knew how Arvil truly felt about her and her husband, she hid it well.
Delvin pushed the overloaded cart filled with the other luggage, I carried Jazal's last two bags and still we were forced to hire a hover-taxi to carry the surplus. I rode next to Arvil on the way home; Delvin, since he took up more space, got to ride in the hover-taxi with the surplus luggage and Arvil's twin cousins, Kita and Lita.
Dinner that evening was strained—I cooked for Arvil, all the wizards except for Haral (who wasn't back yet) and Jazal, Anith, Kita and Lita. Kita and Lita weren't nearly as pretty as Anith, but then you can't choose family. You do choose your spouse. Anith was going on about their two moon-turn vacation while Arvil's eyes glazed over. I wanted to laugh several times as I served the soup course with Neele's help. Six more courses followed, including dessert.
"Your cook is now your bodyguard?" Jazal's voice sounded contemptuous.
"Reah is good at both," Arvil sounded bored.
"I find that difficult to believe, brother."
"She didn't miss a single thing she shot at the other night." Milus dipped into his cream cake dessert.
"Reah doesn't miss," Delvin agreed. "Cake's good, Reah."
"Thank you," I nodded stiffly at Delvin. If he thought I'd soften toward him over a compliment, then he was very wrong. I was polite, though. It always paid to be polite.
"I'll hire another assistant," Arvil sighed when dinner was over. Jazal and the relatives had gone off to the casino to play after their meal. They weren't held to the no-gambling resident's rule, it seemed. Arvil stayed behind to talk with his employees. I nodded at Arvil's words—Neele and I had been hard-pressed to serve that many people in Arvil's grand dining hall.
"Hire two, at least," the red-haired wizard agreed. "That way we can still get a meal if Reah has to go out and kill with us."
"Good enough. Reah, will it upset our cook to hire another?"
"No, and I think Xiri might like that job," I said. Xiri didn't like working with Kiasz very much.
"Good. Bring Xiri in and hire two more assistants." Arvil was feeling generous.
"Don't worry, I've already seen it. In the casino kitchen, no less," Xiri shuddered as I attempted to warn him about what he might see inside Arvil's palace. I wanted to ask Xiri how he'd come to Campiaa, but felt it might be a private matter. I left it alone. If he wanted me to know, he'd tell me.
Xiri had brought two of his night assistants with him, which no doubt angered Kiasz. Kiasz was going to have to look for a new night cook and two others—Xiri had just wiped out a third of the night staff. Arvil didn't seem to care—he expected his people to fill in the gaps until replacements were found.
We were making dough for dinner rolls and setting it to rise when Teeg walked in, followed by three carpenters—they were bringing in the new island they'd built at their shop. The wood behemoth was hauled in on its side on a wheeled transport. Teeg grinned at me as I watched his three helpers lift the island into place. The doors were added next, and then the stone top was brought in and laid down. A small sink was going into the island too, for prep purposes. Teeg did that himself, after sending the others back to his shop.
It was pleasurable, watching Teeg's legs and lower torso twist and turn on the kitchen floor as he hooked the water lines up after dropping in the sink. I think I smiled at him several times as he installed the faucet.
"Reah, want to meet me out front again?" he asked quietly after he finished wiping the countertop and sink.
"Yes." I didn't hesitate for even a blink. I'd missed seeing him every day.
"Well, girlie, that's a fine specimen," Xiri sighed when Teeg walked out the door. Xiri had learned I was female; I learned that Xiri liked men. I think I knew that already, I just hadn't realized it, yet. It made no difference to me. People were people. Why worry over who they loved?
"Let's get a drink." Teeg led me down the strip of casinos until we came to one not owned by Arvil San Gerxon. Only six of those existed on Campiaa. "There used to be a lot more that Arvil didn't own, but they hauled everything off to Le-Ath Veronis as soon as the permits were given." Teeg was giving me information as we sat at the bar inside the Sandstorm Casino. A huge, round aquarium had been constructed inside the circular bar, and fish of all kinds swam through it. A gaming screen was located at every seat at the bar, too. As employees on Campiaa, Teeg and I weren't allowed to play. A block was placed on our credit chips, preventing it. None of the casinos accepted any other currency.
"Reah, the servants' quarters are getting cramped at Arvil's. Xiri can have your space. Move in with me. I have an extra bedroom. You won't be bothered. Unless you want to be, that is." Teeg offered a wry grin.
"Arvil won't allow it." I hunched my shoulders. If I had the choice between living with Teeg or taking the chance that someone else might die in front of me at Arvil's, well, Teeg would win every time. There were other reasons, but I wasn't ready to face them yet.
"He will, I've already asked him. He thought he'd be forced to move you onto the family floor—he didn't want any of the others up there. I'm less than a quarter click walk from Arvil's palace. Come on, Reah. I'll feel better if I know you're safe while you're sleeping."
"It'll take five ticks to move," I ran a finger down the side of my wineglass, gathering up condensation—I'd asked for a chilled, white wine. "I think I have five outfits."
"And three pairs of shoes. Reah, eight-day is tomorrow. I'll help you move and then we'll find more clothes and shoes."
"Teeg, you don't have to run after me." I stared into warm, dark eyes.
"Reah, I've never found anyone else I wanted to run after." I watched his lips as he spoke—they were sensual and smiled crookedly at his statement.
My mouth was hanging open as I stared—Teeg reached over and lifted my jaw up with a finger to close it.
Teeg told me he'd come for me around nine bells, so I was standing in the kitchen the following morning, having a quick glass of juice and some toast when Xiri came to me. He'd been preparing breakfast with one of his assistants. "Reah, Neele's been sleeping with the housekeeper," Xiri whispered next to my ear. "You ought to say something to him—he'll get killed if Master Arvil finds out."
Mutely I nodded at Xiri—he was right. I only had a moment to ponder how Xiri had learned of Neele's indiscretion when Neele walked in, dressed only in pajama bottoms and looking rumpled. He snagged one of the breakfast pastries that Xiri's assistant had just pulled from the oven when Arvil walked in, dragging the housekeeper with him by her hair.
Neele died with a single ranos pistol shot to his forehead, a tart halfway to his mouth. The housekeeper, who'd started screaming, was flung on top of Neele's body and shot in the head as well. Blood gushed all over the new tiles when Xiri dropped to the floor in a dead faint. His assistant was curled up on the floor and shaking, a look of horror on his face. It most likely mirrored the expression on my face, to be truthful.
"You couldn't do this somewhere else?" Teeg drawled as he walked into the room. "I just had those tiles laid." Arvil lifted an eyebrow in Teeg's direction but didn't say a word. Instead, he stalked from the kitchen, shoving the ranos pistol into his belt.
"Reah, just grab your things and let's go," Teeg was herding me through my small bedroom as quickly as he could. "Let those wizards clean up the mess."
