"What's going on?" Jes had taken a chance and walked into the mansion.
"What the f**k are you doing here?" Norian went for Jes' throat as chaos erupted around them.
* * *
Farzi, Nenzi and their brothers stood quietly against the wall in Reah's room, weeping as the Larentii worked diligently to save Reah's life. Her tiny child was dead already—Teeg had tried to tell them what had happened but broke down in the middle of it.
Nenzi didn't understand any of it—someone had attacked their Reah with power, killing her baby and attempting to kill her too? And then, when the two women and the man appeared inside Reah's room, blasting the walls away, the Larentii sealed the fate of one of the female attackers, reducing her to particles as Nenzi turned to lion snake and sunk his fangs into the arm of the other. He recognized her immediately, as had his brothers.
Ardalin screamed as she stabbed Nenzi with a knife before dropping to the floor, dying from his poison. Nidris tried, using the power he'd gained, to reach the small woman lying on the bed. He hadn't counted on finding Larentii there, ready to separate his particles. Those he'd never have the power to overcome. Nidris cut his losses and folded away, leaving Ardalin dead on the floor, a lion snake bleeding out next to her, Yebri's atoms scattered somewhere and Jes held in a chokehold by Norian Keef.
"Don't let him die, it will kill Reah," Gavril shouted, struggling to get to Nenzi. Renegar, seeing the wisdom in Gavril's shouted command, knelt next to the bleeding snake and placed his hand over the wound.
Chapter 11
"You hired this as your personal physician?" Norian shouted in disbelief at Gavril. Jes sat in a chair, his wrists and ankles enclosed in zapcuffs. Jes couldn't escape—if he tried, Norian could send a killing jolt through the cuffs and Jes would die in mid-step.
"You seem to know him, why don't you tell me who he is," Gavril snapped
"Does the name Gergi Jarveston mean anything to you?" Norian paced in front of Jes' chair.
"The one who helped Marzi and Edan Desh kill Reah's mother?" Gavril's statement had Jes jerking his head up. He'd never heard the name of the child that had been born—he'd only seen her as a tiny baby when he'd handed the drug to Marzi—the drug that could cause hemorrhaging in a new mother. No names had been given—the money offered had precluded the need for information.
"That's the one," Norian snapped. Norian was in the foulest of moods and he had a headache. Not that he thought anyone would take pity on him and heal it—he was responsible for the death of Reah's daughter. Gardevik and the High Demon King hadn't been informed as yet and Norian didn't want to be anywhere near them when they learned of it. Reah's daughter was hope to them. Now, with Reah and Tory practically estranged, they might not get another child from that union and it could very likely be a boy if they did. Lissa and the others weren't going to forgive this. As it was, the Larentii were still working on Reah, pouring energy into her. According to Karzac, she'd been so close to death when Tory broke contact with Nidris' draining that only a blink later she would have died.
Tory had been placed in a healing sleep—Pheligar had forced him to return to his humanoid form and Karzac had been ready to place the sleep. Tory's Thifilathi had known, even if Tory hadn't—the baby was dead the moment he'd lifted her off the ground. Now, Jes was listening intently—Reah had been harmed? How had that happened? He ventured to ask the question.
"How-how is she?" He stuttered getting the words out.
"You don't know? I'm surprised—didn't you and Ardalin mastermind this?" Gavril shouted. He'd seen Ardalin's body—carried out of the room and tossed in the hall outside Reah's suite. Nenzi had killed her, as she'd stabbed the reptanoid. If Renegar hadn't saved him, Nenzi would also be dead.
"Ardalin wanted you," Jes snarled, lowering his gaze. "I only wanted Reah. Nidris promised to deliver if I could get him close enough. What happened to Yebri?"
"She thought to attack a Larentii," Gavril snapped. "It was the last thing she thought to do." Jes jerked back in fear; he'd never seen Teeg so angry. In fact, Teeg's eyes were red and were those—Jes huddled against the back of his chair.
"Didn't expect this, did you," Gavril hissed in Jes' face. "I was born vampire, you piece of shit. And if I'd listened to Reah, I'd have gotten rid of you long ago. Something wasn't right with you and she knew it. I just wasn't paying attention. And not only am I vampire, I'm a King Vampire. Do you know what that means?" Gavril's face was so close to Jes' now that Jes had wet himself; he was so frightened.
"N-no," Jes whispered.
"It means I can tell you to kill yourself—and you'd do it. I can tell you to kill yourself in the worst possible way and smile while you do it. Shall I do that, Jes?"
"Gavril, should I leave the room?" Norian asked.
"I say no—my son needs to get himself back in hand." Gavin Montegue stood inside the doorway, watching as his son threatened Gergi Jarveston, known to those in the Campiaan Alliance as Jes Wurfl, physician to Teeg San Gerxon.
"Dad, don't interfere," Gavril muttered.
"Son, the one thing that kept what little humanity I had left from slipping away is that I never toyed with my kills. If you're going to kill him, then do it swiftly and mercifully. I have a suggestion, however."
"What's that?" Gavril turned to look at his father.
"You may need additional information from him. Keep him alive—at least for a while. That's what the Council on old Earth used to do—hold onto them while the members considered and questioned. Then a sentence was passed. I don't think Norian will mind if we haul him to Le-Ath Veronis and let him sit in the dungeon for a while."
"I don't care what you do with the scum. He's managed to ruin any relationship I have left with Lissa. She won't be speaking to me after this and Garde will come for my head." Norian's future—from his perspective, anyway—looked extremely bleak.
"The Larentii are done and Karzac's hooking up an IV and feeding tube," Ry poked his head inside the door. "Bro, I was afraid I'd see that one's intestines draped around the room," Ry jerked his head toward Jes.
"You almost did," Gavril muttered angrily. "Dad talked me out of it."
"Thanks, Dad," Ry nodded to Gavin. Gavin and Aurelius had treated all three boys as their own during their childhood. All of them looked up to both former vampires.
"Has Wylend been informed?" Gavin asked Ry.