"I don't know how I feel about that. We really don't know that much about one another."
"If you could see anyone you wanted right now, who would it be?"
"I'd like to see my mother," I said. "Since we never got to meet."
"Does that bother you?"
"Of course it does. Wouldn't it bother you? And bother you even more if you learned that somebody killed her? Yes, it bothers me. Fills me with some of the impotent rage you've already recorded."
"I see. Who would you like to see that is actually alive?"
"Let's see," I searched my mind for an answer. "Edward," I said. "He seems like such a good person. I think I'd like to sit down and have tea with him. I'd say a drink, but that's out of the question right now. We could talk about his gishi fruit harvest. How that went. How Keedan is doing, and his other supervisors."
"So, you found someone who has common interests."
"I guess."
"What would you like from any one of your mates at the moment?"
"I think I'd like for one of them to come and lie down beside me, without any expectations, and rub my belly and tell me everything was going to be fine."
"Even Tory?"
"I'm not sure Tory has that in him," I replied. "I'm not really sure any of them have it in them, except for Aurelius, maybe." I suddenly felt like crying, and knew it was likely because of the pregnancy. The fourth month always turned into an emotional one for me. I told Kevis that. "This is likely the pregnancy speaking. I always get emotional around this time. The last time, I recall that Garde showed up on a bad day and he just threw his hands up and walked off. I think I skipped to the house and cried my eyes out after that."
"Some men don't know how to handle things like that. I understand that a surrogate birthed his son, so there wasn't any way he might have dealt with that issue with his own mate."
"Yeah, I get that about him."
"Tell me about the claiming marks on your neck."
"I really don't want to," I said. "Everybody else got anesthetic and physicians immediately afterward. I didn't."
"I've heard that the male apologizes to the female, continuously, afterward."
"Tory tried, I'll give him that. But it all came out of nowhere and happened so fast. And I'd just gotten shot in the shoulder when he turned and skipped me away. I was unconscious there at the end because it was too much."
"Is anything ever easy with you?" Kevis asked in a resigned voice.
"You didn't know I was the worst project you could ever take on, now did you? I bet you're pissed at your dad because of it."
"Reah, I wouldn't have accepted the case if I didn't want it. And I don't discuss my notes with anyone."
"No, your nurses just break into the records and then sell them," I snorted. Kevis winced at my accusation. Our session ended shortly after that, so I went to the groves, Joey, Franklin and Norton right behind me.
"So, this is how it's done," Franklin, his hands encased in gloves, placed the lemons he'd picked into the dividers inside a crate.
"Yes. This is how it's done. Don't they smell wonderful?" I held a lemon to my nose and sniffed it.
"If you say so. I prefer to get my lemons at the market, I think." He grinned mischievously.
"You think they just sprout at the store?"
"Don't they?"
"Stop playing hopeless, I know you're not," I said.
"Reah, the doctor says you've been out long enough. You should come back, eat something and have a nap before dinner." Tory, driving one of the larger carts, stopped beside me. The cart would hold all of us if we scooted tightly together. We finished filling our crate, left it in the proper place and squeezed onto the cart.
"You know, as tall as you are, you wouldn't need a hoverstep to harvest most of the fruit," I told Tory, who blinked at me in surprise, most likely because I'd spoken to him voluntarily.
"I'll keep that in mind," he said, winding his way through the groves toward the plantation, the hovercart making its quiet whine as he drove.
"Don't plan anything for tomorrow." Kifirin appeared in the kitchen while Teeg discussed an upcoming meeting with Dee. Tory, Lok, Aurelius and Kevis were seated at the table, having coffee while Reah slept.
"Why not?" Kevis didn't appreciate Kifirin's appearance and apparent command.
"Because we're taking a trip." Belen appeared beside Kifirin. "My Dark brother and I are going on a fact-finding mission; I believe you'd call it. We'll bring others along as well. Meet us here directly after breakfast. Reah could use some time alone, I think."
"I'll have Astralan stay with her," Gavril frowned.
"Very good. Bring the warlock. He will watch over her quite well, I think," Belen's smile almost blinded Gavril before the Nameless One disappeared.
"What's that all about?" Tory grumbled.
"Don't ask questions, young Demon. Just show up." Kifirin disappeared as well.
"A fact-finding mission? With gods? That doesn't bode well," Kevis sighed.
"There is business to take care of, so Astralan will provide protection," Teeg informed me after breakfast. "Kevis also has things to attend to. You will be here with the three healers and Astralan. Try not to skip away from them?" Teeg begged.
"Fine. There shouldn't be any reason to worry. If I want to go somewhere, I'll ask Astralan to take me."
"Good enough," Teeg said and walked away, leaving me swinging in the hammock near the pool.
"That looks comfy," Astralan grinned as he settled on a chair nearby.
"You should try it sometime," I smiled at him. Besides Ry, whom I hadn't seen for days, Astralan might be my favorite warlock. If I asked him questions, even personal or sensitive ones, he always answered them patiently.
"What are we doing today?" Joey, Norton and Franklin all appeared and sat near Astralan.
"I think I want to visit Avendor," I grinned. Astralan lifted an eyebrow speculatively before grinning back.
Gavril was shocked. Kifirin transported him, Kevis, Aurelius, Tory, Lok, Farzi and Nenzi to Le-Ath Veronis, where they were met by Lendill, Norian, Ry, Garde, Jayd, Glinda and Lissa. Two others were there, seemingly against their will. Radolf and Ilvan stood together, and both appeared quite sullen.
"We will be traveling the timeline today," Belen announced, drawing everybody's attention. He stood next to Lissa and rubbed her back absently while he spoke. Kifirin blew a bit of smoke but didn't say anything.
"I don't like this," Garde muttered.
"But you will come," Kifirin snapped.
"Ready?" Belen asked. When nobody spoke, he transported everyone through time.
"You will not be seen or heard," Belen said as they all stood in the gishi fruit groves on Kifirin. Reah, eight months pregnant with a black eye and swollen face, attempted to loosen a bolt on a hovertruck's solar collector. The bolt was rusted in place and she was having difficulty with it. Lissa drew a sharp breath at the state of Reah's face.
"What happened to her?" Gavril growled while Reah continued to jerk the wrench on the bolt, trying to loosen it. A replacement collector sat in packaging nearby, waiting to be installed. Reah was doing the repairs herself.
"One of the disabled that Gardevik sent to her was mentally damaged. Without medication, he would turn violent at times. He hit Reah," Belen said.
"When is this?" Jayd asked. He was unable to gauge the proper time.
"A little more than twenty years ago. Reah is pregnant with her last set of twins, Dara and Sara." Belen watched as Reah continued to work on the bolt.
"No," Nenzi moaned. Reah had positioned herself so that her weight might be used to work the bolt loose. Doing so was dangerous in the extreme; if the bolt came loose suddenly, she could fall.
"You may not approach," Kifirin held Nenzi back. Reah jerked the wrench, the bolt came loose and she fell with a cry, flat on her back in the dirt between rows of gishi fruit trees. That's where the truck had broken down and she'd had no good way to move it.
They all watched in horror as Reah rolled over to rise stiffly before raising a hand to her head. Every breath she took after that was a bone-shaking sob. That went on for several minutes before she moved, pulled the broken solar collector off and replaced it with the new one, wiping tears the entire time.
"Now, we go," Belen moved them. They stood in Garde's study inside the palace.
"Garde, she needs the procedure or her baby will die," Reah was pleading someone's case in front of Gardevik Rath.
"Reah, we can't hand out money every time one of your workers needs something," Garde blew a curl of disgruntled smoke.
"But the baby will die," Reah was nearly in tears.
"Babies die all the time, Reah. You're not responsible for them and neither is the Crown." Garde was done with the conversation. Reah skipped away. Belen followed her. Reah stood inside her bedroom at the tiny house in the groves. Carefully, she lifted a carved wooden box from a bottom bureau drawer. Lifting the lid, she drew out a necklace of diamonds and rubies. Touching the stones gently before shoving the expensive jewelry in her pocket, Reah wiped her cheeks, checked her appearance in the mirror and skipped away. Belen followed her.
They'd landed in a secondhand jeweler's shop. Rows of jewelry were displayed in plexi cases beneath the counter. Reah waited while a woman and her husband bought rings before approaching the desk.
"What might I sell you today?" The proprietor asked. Nearly bald, he only had the leavings of thin hair over his ears. His eyes were a washed-away blue and the wrinkles around his mouth traced a constant frown.
"I don't want to buy, I came to sell." Reah drew the necklace from her pocket.
