"we didn't realize how bad off she was." norian hung his head.

"and yet you failed to ask. you were only interested in what you consider your own gain, here. i warn you, this is a larger game than even you realize. and on many levels. i am leaving. if i stay, my anger with you will grow and you will die. i leave you with your lives. for now." kifirin's dark eyes were filled with stars. norian knew that the god was passing judgment. kifirin folded away as norian and lendill stared.

"norian, if you had grown six heads, i might have been less surprised." lissa glared at her mate. "and lendill? where the hell did that come from?" lissa paced inside her bedroom while norian watched.

"that wizard cares about reah. we can't beat a confession out of him and our treaty with mandil prevents compulsion to force them to confess, so we went in another direction to get information." norian realized he stood on unsteady ground with lissa.

"so, instead of punishing the criminal, you punish the innocent to get what you want?" lissa stopped pacing for a moment.

"we thought the healer had taken care of everything," norian grumbled, sitting on the end of lissa's bed.

"norian, she was shot with a ranos pistol. those things can kill ra'ak spawn, remember? and then she was claimed by a high demon. i'm vampire, norian, and i didn't get over those puncture wounds in my neck for days, even with a larentii's help."

"your son did that," norian defended himself with what he knew.

"yes. he's high demon. i admit it. that's how they claim their mates. that's how i have two sets of teeth marks in my neck, thank you very much. if lendill had investigated that stupid kid to begin with instead of ignoring reah, then people would still be alive and you'd likely have more information than you do now. as it is, you have nothing. you don't know where they were staying, where their supply is kept and who got them onto tulgalan to begin with. don't point the finger anywhere except where it belongs, norian keef."

"lissa, if you were still working with me," norian was back to grumbling.

"i put in my time, norian. part of that was when i was pregnant with gavril. gavin still has a fit over that. at least ildevar allowed me to serve twenty-five years instead of the original thirty. i'm done with that, now. i have a planet to run, norian. that's my job. why don't you ask your current liaison, the king of lavareal, if he'll go out and catch criminals with you?"

"he wouldn't bother, and he'd be less than useless anyway," norian sighed, thinking of his current overseer. norian had gotten ildevar wyyld to agree to make le-ath veronis the permanent base for the asd-it had better security than any other alliance world and he preferred being closer to lissa.

the lot of liaison for the asd-although it was merely an empty title in most cases-was assigned to rulers of alliance worlds for periods of thirty years. lissa had been the only hands-on liaison in norian's lengthy experience as director, and since her life and the rule of le-ath veronis had been placed on hold for so long, ildevar had shortened her tenure by five years.

"back to your treatment of reah," lissa came to poke a finger in norian's chest.

"we've done this before with quite a bit of success," norian defended himself. "we just didn't realize how bad off reah was. we were going to explain and apologize afterward-it has to look real in every sense before we try to get a response from the criminal."

"oh, that was real, all right. and maybe you can apologize to reah, but if i were in her shoes, i don't think any explanation would be sufficient and i sure as hell wouldn't forgive it." lissa stalked out of her bedroom, leaving norian to stare after her.

"fuck," norian muttered and got up to go find lendill.

"torevik, do not force me to call jayd to help restrain you." tory was blowing smoke, as was his father, gardevik rath.

"they nearly killed her!" tory shouted at his father-something he'd never done.

"son, i realize the thifilathi is speaking right now," garde worked to calm himself and his son. "think on this for a moment. you are to blame as well-she wouldn't have been so weakened if the thifilathi hadn't chosen to claim her when it did."

"that's still no excuse for dragging her out of bed and then doing-that." tory wanted to pound norian keef and lendill schaff into pulp. "and they won't let me see her." the last statement was nearly a wail.

"they're worried she'll have another seizure. seeing you when she opens her eyes could be too much of a shock."

"but you said it was important to apologize right away. and to keep apologizing until she believes me."

"son, she's really sick right now. we have to wait until things are better where reah is concerned. she isn't just suffering from the claiming-ranos injuries usually kill. if aurelius hadn't given her his blood, we'd have a body instead of a live quarter-demon."

"are they going to tell me when things are better, dad? are they?" at least tory had stopped breathing smoke.

"i hope they realize how important that is to both you and reah."

"reah?" that voice i knew right away. perhaps the only real friend i had. gavril was there beside my bed. i had to work to open my eyes-i still felt dizzy and confused.

"chash?" i wanted to reach out to him, but my hand wouldn't obey my will. gavril reached out and took it for me. my voice too, was dry as a desert.

"reah, you need to wake up and have lunch with me. karzac says he's going to put in a feeding tube if you don't wake up."

"what?" now i was even more confused.

"reah, just wake up, okay?" gavril's dark eyes-his father's eyes-were begging me.

"chash, i can't move." even speaking made me feel tired.

"i'll help you-just let me know if i hurt anything." gavril had an arm beneath me, pulling me to a sitting position. i was shaking and holding onto gavril as he piled pillows behind me. he was stronger than he looked.

"mom says i'm the only person you might be glad to see right now," gavril brought me a small bowl of food. "mom made this-she calls it chicken and dumplings. she says its comfort food."

"sounds good, chash." i'm not sure how we ended up that way, but gavril was behind me after a while and i was leaning on him while i brought the spoon to my mouth. he even helped a couple of times when my hand shook too much. was he only twelve? twelve going on forty, i think.

"you'd do the same for me," he said, after he got me back down on the bed.

"i would," i murmured, my eyes closing. the food had been good-the dumplings were light and the broth seasoned just right. lissa was a good cook. exceptional, even, for a vampire.

"reah, baby, wake up." i knew that voice and it frightened me. "no, avilepha, don't be scared." tory, his dark blue eyes worried, was at my bedside and lifting me up. "dad says i have to earn back your trust. since i was the one who destroyed it." i discovered i had enough moisture in my body to produce tears. "baby, you need a bath. i promise i won't hurt you. ever again," tory murmured into my hair.

i couldn't fight him-i didn't have the strength. aurelius had bathed me before; now tory was doing the same, lowering me into a tub of warm water after undressing me carefully. a puckered and sunken spot on my right shoulder now marked the ranos pistol wound. the hole was closed, leaving a mixture of red and purple bruises behind.

"karzac says it'll go away," tory soothed as i stared at it in shock. "it'll just take a few weeks, i think, for your body to regenerate." tory was on his knees on the floor beside the tub and i wept while he washed me, although he was careful with what he touched. "baby, you don't have to forgive me. i know i let it take over-i couldn't control it after a while. i'm sorry, reah. more sorry than i can ever say." he was wiping tears off my face with a washcloth.

"your hair is growing out," he rinsed it carefully, allowing his fingers to wander down the back of my neck. "is it tender? does it still hurt?"

"how about i stick my teeth in the back of your neck the next time i turn," i snapped at him. his fingers stilled.

"you could do that. i give my permission," he kissed my forehead gently then leaned me forward, kissing the back of my neck.

"none of that." karzac arrived immediately, a crackling aura of light around him and his hands on his hips. "i have never struck anyone in my life, but that may change quickly, torevik rath."

"karzac, i wasn't going to do anything," tory muttered.

"and you will not, until i give permission," karzac growled. karzac waited until tory lifted me from the tub and wrapped me in a huge towel. "now, we will check on things," karzac said softly as he ran his hands over me.

"little girl, things are coming along-it is the high demon in you most likely," karzac said after checking my neck and shoulder. his hands brushed over my abdomen and more private areas, making me blush. tory was watching, and that made it worse.

"no, avilepha, karzac won't hurt you," tory held my head against his wide chest.

"the wounds will be healed in another two weeks, i think," karzac washed his hands after the examination. "reah, if shannon and cleo were not pregnant right now, i would have them come and deal with this immediately. as it is, we will be forced to wait for the healing to come." i didn't know whom he was talking about and didn't want to show my ignorance by asking.

"i'll put my girl to bed," tory said after karzac left. "karzac has a mental check on you, baby. if i get out of hand, he'll be here with a baseball bat, i think."

"what's a baseball bat?" i asked wearily. the bath and examination had worn me out.

"i'll take you to a game sometime-the vamps from old earth play it all the time. they have leagues and the competition is pretty stiff."