"Don't worry, all of your behinds are safe," I muttered, wondering where I could put my knife so that nobody would take it again.
"I will place it in the Archives, and Reah may have it back anytime she wants," Nefrigar appeared, holding out a hand. Worrying my lip as I gazed up at him, I reluctantly placed the knife in his hand. He sent it straight to the Archives; it disappeared immediately.
"I wish I could do that," I said, studying my toes for a moment.
"Reah," Teeg stepped in front of me. "I want to clear the air a little. Go ahead. Yell at me. Yell at everybody else here. Get it out of your system. I don't know if I can take much more of this disappearing shit."
"Like you didn't disappear? Jerk," I snapped at him. "How many times did you tell Dee to call me because you were too much of a coward to do it yourself? How many times was I dragged here to play dress up and act stupid for heads of state? Hello, I'm Reah San Gerxon and I don't have a brain in my head," I mimicked, smiling a vapid smile. "I never got to go to college and earn multiple degrees and start an Alliance," I went on. "Addah Desh wouldn't spend a penny on me if he could help it. I never got the choice of whether I wanted to go to school or not, beyond what was required by law. And then the conscription notice came and I became Alliance property. Where was my life in all of that, Teeg San Gerxon? Where? Kifirin saw to it that I was kept pregnant for a while, and Gardevik Rath saw to it that I was trapped on the Southern Continent of Kifirin. I hear my girls don't know a damn thing about me, now, and isn't that a slap in the face?"
"Geez, Reah, I didn't mean to open the floodgates," Teeg rubbed the back of his neck, a deep frown on his face.
"No? Want to hear more?" I asked. "Aurelius and Lok asked for extra spawn hunting duty so they wouldn't have to talk to the old ball and chain. Aurelius came and took my girls out for ice cream many times and didn't bother to stop in to talk to me. Didn't think I knew about that, did you?" I stared hard at Aurelius.
"Lendill had his nose parked on the ASD grindstone, and it was just too much trouble to come see Reah unless he wanted something. Farzi and Nenzi didn't have ready transportation and they were too busy trying to keep Campiaa in fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course, Kifirin's little interference didn't help one damn bit in all of that. If you don't count Nefrigar or the past two months with Ry, I think I've had sex four times in the past three years. Doctor Halivar, I hope you got all that. I really don't want to repeat it later." I stomped away from all of them.
"I always thought someone else was taking up the slack," Gavril muttered, a cup of coffee in his hands at the kitchen island. Mathilde had dumped coffee, tea or soft drinks in front of the others, a grim expression on her face. Joey, Franklin and Norton had gone out to the pool area where Reah was sitting, her pants rolled up to her knees and her feet soaking in the hot tub.
"How we get her back? How we make up with her?" Farzi was miserable; it was echoed in his voice. Nenzi was sitting very close to his brother and more miserable than that, if it were possible.
"She's hitting back at all of you for twenty-five years of pain and neglect," Kevis pointed out. "I realize it wasn't intentional for the most part, but that doesn't make any difference to Reah. To her, pain is pain."
"Mom gave me copies of all the messages she and Reah sent to me when the girls were born," Tory sighed. "And the last one said she almost bled out with Dara and Sara. Who was with her, then? Anybody know?"
"I was, as was Renegar," Nefrigar said. He'd altered his height to sit on a barstool at the island with the others. "Three sets of twins in six years were hard on her, and she'd been in the groves working until her labor began. Gardevik Rath has much to answer for."
"Kifirin, too, but good luck on that," Ry folded in to join the conference. Mathilde placed a cup of tea in front of him.
"Is there room for us?" Jayd, Garde and Glinda skipped in. Nefrigar enlarged the island with power, and three more barstools plunked down, manufactured out of air, most likely. The Larentii could command atoms when they wanted.
"Reah wasn't happy that Raedah sent mindspeech to me, upset over the fact that she couldn't remember important things about her mother," Aurelius blew out a frustrated sigh.
"At least they call you Daddy." Tory blew an angry cloud of smoke from his nostrils.
"I have it on good authority that love can't be forced," Jayd said, looking at those gathered about him. "But that doesn't mean it can't be coaxed back to life. Granted, it looks as if those embers may be dying, but we have to find a way to rebuild the fire of it. Kara says that she loved her mother and wanted to hug her while they were together, but the moment Reah was out of sight, it was as if she forgot. Most likely as the rest of you did."
"We should have kept her at the palace. We could have found someone to work with her and tend to emergencies at night. Reah could have skipped to the Southern Continent every morning, and taken a day off at least once a week. I understand that didn't happen," Glinda pointed out.
"Dad, aren't you going to say anything?" Tory looked at Garde, who'd remained silent.
"I fucked this up, son," Garde admitted.
"Yeah? Dad, she has my claiming marks on her neck and she won't let me touch her. You're not the only one."
"Do you ever wear your hair down?" Joey pulled the length of my braid through his hand. Braided, it hung below my waist.
"Once in a while," I said. Ry had asked for it down a time or two. I'd done it for him.
"It's beautiful, even braided," Franklin sat on my other side. I was sandwiched between them, their shoulders rubbing mine. Norton sat on the other side of the rectangular spa, listening to the rest of us. Somehow, they'd cooled the waters, allowing me to sit in it.
"I probably should have it trimmed, but there hasn't been any time," I said.
"We can take you," Franklin offered. "Conner has someone who does her hair and nails. We can set up an appointment."
"That sounds nice," I said. "I've gotten my hair done by those people Teeg hires, but they always look at me like I'm a project, with long hair that has to be piled up on my head in some ridiculous and exotic way."
"Maybe trim it to here?" Joey drew a finger across the small of my back.
"Yeah, that would be a good length, I guess."
"And cut the bangs. Just a little," he grinned, leaning down in front of me. "Oh, shit," he said.
"What?" He, Franklin and Norton were standing in a blink.
"The Saa Thalarr are getting attacked. We have to go."
"I'm coming too," I said, grabbing Joey's arm before he could fold away.
"Stay back," Franklin shouted at me. What met my eyes when I was tossed onto the dry grass of a winter field in the middle of nowhere was nothing less than total chaos. Sixteen Ra'Ak and at least a thousand spawn were there, fighting with the Saa Thalarr who were available to come. I saw Lok and Aurelius appear not far away. Their focus was on the spawn—they didn't even see that I'd come. Drake and Drew were already engaging one of the monster Ra'Ak while their father, Dragon, dealt with another. I saw a huge, white Unicorn, a Black Gryphon and a beautiful Snow Leopard.
Over our heads screamed a giant white Eagle with black wingtips. Then, if that wasn’t enough, another twenty Ra'Ak came. Aurelius had told me over the years that the Ra'Ak that remained were likely hiding, sending their spawn out to create more of their kind. Now, many had chosen to appear at once. Dragon was attempting to fend off four of the creatures and Drake and Drew had more to deal with as well. The Eagle overhead was popping heads off spawn, but the moment she came close to one of the Ra'Ak it leapt at her, snapping its poisonous teeth.
"No!" Joey screamed as a Ra'Ak scraped its teeth against the side of the Unicorn. Dragon, too, roared in pain and frustration as he was nicked by one of the four he fought. There wasn't much time. I was High Demon. I and my race had been created for this. King Lendevik had conveniently forgotten that, but I hadn't. Turning quickly to my larger Thifilatha and pulling energy from the stars over our heads as I ran, I raced to take on the Ra'Ak.
My gold scales were shining like a yellow sun by the time I arrived, and the Ra'Ak attempted to get away when they realized I was among them, but I wasn't having it. I was filled with energy from the stars, glowing with it, pulsing with it. They had no ability to escape me in my present state; I made sure of it. No power worked while I was such. Even the Saa Thalarr were backing away; their folding skills wouldn't work until they got quite far away, actually.
With the precision of a laser pistol, I pointed fingers and released what I'd gathered. Ra'Ak exploded before me, barely able to shriek before they died. Did the spawn think to attack me? They fizzled out of existence upon coming into contact with my scales. Like tiny, flying predators that burn against an insect lantern, they winked into sparks and blew away.
Only three Ra'Ak remained and I killed them leisurely, almost, screaming at them. "Did you think to escape me?" I cried out, scalding tears dripping down my scaled cheeks. Had I realized I was crying? Not until then. "You will never harm again, I promise it," I wept and killed the last two before dropping to the ground and curling in upon myself.
"Reah, we have to go! Dragon and Kiarra have poison in their systems!" Norton shouted up at me. I barely heard him over the sounds of my sobs.
"No," I moaned. Dragon was lying on his side, still in dragon form, but the Unicorn had become someone I recognized—Kiarra of the Saa Thalarr. Her head lay in Joey's lap and he was trying to help her, but the rake she'd received was a severe one. I knew the Ra'Ak poison was running through both of them. Using the short fangs I had while Thifilatha, I bit into my own hand, opening a wound on the palm. High Demons were immune to every poison, including that of the Ra'Ak.
