"Please, sit." Gabron had already been served and was now attempting to get me seated in a chair next to his sofa. Other Council members were sitting here and there nearby, all within easy range to listen in. They all wanted to hear what I had to say. I just wasn't sure what or how much to tell them.
"You don't have to tell me where you're from, or how you arrived," Gabron said. "I only need to know if you will be able to help us when the time comes."
"Help you with what?" I asked.
"With Solar Red," he replied, sipping his drink. "Please, try this, it is very good." I sniffed my glass, couldn't get any scent off it except blood and wine, so I tasted it. It was good. I'd just have to be careful; I knew what alcohol did to me.
"It depends on what you want to do," I said. "I'm all for getting rid of them and the quicker the better. But I have to tell you, they may be in league with something terrible."
"The god."
"He might be posing as a god, but he's about as far from that as anything I've ever seen." I sipped more of my wine-flavored blood.
"You have seen this?" Gabron's eyes bored into mine.
"I saw him eat four priests because they didn't do what he wanted," I said. "And then turned his henchmen onto seven other priests. They didn't last long, either. I have it on good authority that he's not something you want to come anywhere near. We should concentrate our efforts on Solar Red and leave that thing to someone else."
"If we work on the priests a little at a time, when the night of the ritual arrives they will perhaps call their priests in from the other temples. I wish for every one of these criminals to be present for the event, allowing us to go against all of them at once."
"How many do you want out of the way?" I asked.
"I imagine it will only require a few deaths," Gabron ventured. "I believe they are worried already, and will seek to pull together if just a few more die under unexplainable circumstances."
"I can handle that, no problem," I nodded. "How many priests do you think are in other cities?"
"My informants in other cities give me a number roughly equal to four hundreds," Gabron drained his glass and held it up. One of the assistants came and poured out more for him, dipping his head in a little bow afterward. Well, Gabron was Wlodek's equivalent on Refizan. I wondered what his official title was.
"So, you think we need to get rid of a few priests discreetly, so the others will be brought in?" Gabron wasn't bad looking, I decided. I wondered what he was like when he fought.
"Yes. I have heard rumblings through my spies. That discussion is already taking place within the temple. Many highly placed priests want to bring the others in now, but that suggestion has been tabled temporarily. With merely a few more deaths among them, that proposal will be raised again and enacted. These assassinations must be accomplished within the next two weeks so priests from other temples will have time to arrive and fit in as reinforcements."
"I see," I said.
"Of course, Solar Red will be searching already for those responsible in the disappearances of their missing priests, and those efforts will be increased, once more of them begin to vanish."
"Of course they will," I muttered. "Do you have any idea what form these searches might take?"
"Every citizen of Refizan is expected to have gainful employment unless they are physically or mentally incapable. Do you have such employment, Lissa?"
"Nothing, other than priest removal," I said. "What will they do, start checking IDs or something?"
"In a manner of speaking. Solar Red is exerting their influence on purchased legislators. This law has not been strictly enforced, nor have the authorities instigated a search for many years, but it will be implemented soon, according to my sources. And citizens are required to report anyone they see that does not appear to be employed or have the proper implant on their wrist." He tapped the underside of his own wrist; it held what looked to be a square of raised skin on it.
"Crap," I said. I didn't have one of those and wondered if Dragon or Karzac knew of a way to get one for me.
"I can arrange this for you, if you wish," Gabron offered, a corner of his mouth twitching a little.
"Give me a little time," I said. "I may be able to do this myself. I'll let you know."
"Do it soon," Gabron told me. His gray eyes now held a warning. "And work must be arranged for you. I can place you on the payroll for our house upstairs."
"That might be the last place I'd want to work," I said.
"I would merely place you on the payroll, not expect you to participate," he offered dryly.
"If you knew my fiancé, even that's too much," I said.
"You are betrothed." He made it a statement.
"Yes. He's insanely jealous and I'm not about to lie to him," I said. "I really need to go. Do you have any other questions?"
"None, other than to ask you to meet me in my office in two days," he said.
"I'll do what I can," I said.
"Briden will see you out," Gabron nodded.
"How far underground are we?" I asked.
"Approximately seventy ticks," he replied. A Refizani tick was roughly equivalent to three feet. I could get through that easily.
"Briden doesn't need to see me out," I said, turning to mist right in front of Gabron and going straight through the ceiling of his library. The city looked so pretty and peaceful from high above it as I made my way slowly toward the apartment. Too bad Solar Red and the Ra'Ak had the planet in their grip. I didn't have time to do any sightseeing. And I needed to get one of those ID chips and a job, I guess. If Dragon didn't have any ideas, I'd have to go back to Gabron and I sure wasn't looking forward to that.
Even taking things slowly so I could think, the trip back to Dragon's apartment only took ten minutes. When I became solid inside the kitchen, I found Dragon, Karzac and Pheligar waiting on me.
* * *
"Do our records reflect anything such as that?" Elidek asked Gabron.
"No," Gabron shook his head. He'd only seen one Queen during his lifetime and her qualifications were that she wasn't susceptible to compulsion and was a decent fighter. "I have only seen one other vampire that could turn to mist and two who had mindspeech. I wonder if she has that gift."
"You are the only one I know who now has that talent and sadly there is no other with whom to share it," Elidek sighed.