Reah, you have to stay or Arvil will think you're weak, Tory sent mindspeech later. Arvil had tied all five women to the rail fence Astralan and I had sat on only the day before, and then blindfolded them. He'd then accepted a ranos pistol from one of the warlocks and shot each of the women in the head from close range. A ranos pistol from only a hand or two away will blow a large melon into microscopic fragments. Every one of those bodies was slumped against the fence, headless and bloody, when Arvil was done.

If his remaining wizards had any thought as to their potential sentence if Arvil found them guilty of conspiracy with Delvin, they were all gulping nervously now. I knew they knew about it, I just didn't know how much they knew or how far they'd gotten involved. Even if Arvil didn't know, I think the Hardlows and their warlocks did.

"Reah, baby," Tory's hand was cool against the back of my neck as I vomited the contents of my stomach in my bathroom shortly after the executions. Ry was standing nearby, handing me a cold, wet cloth. Of course, my comp-vid was going off right at that moment. Tory moved back and Ry handed it to me. Teeg was calling again.

"Teeg, I'm a little busy right now," I managed to gasp before dry heaving again.

"Reah, I've gotten communication from Arvil so I know what happened."

"You didn't see it happen, I did," I muttered.

"Sweetheart, come on. Wash your face and stand up. You can't show them any weakness."

"Teeg, go away," I moaned.

"Reah, get up and walk out of there now. You can't do this."

"Teeg, someday we'll have a talk about this, all right?" I hit the terminate call button and the screen went blank.

"Come on, he's right." Tory came back and lifted me off the floor.

I'm going to slap Lendill Schaff into next eight-day, I sent the mental grumble to Ry and Tory before rinsing out my mouth and stalking out of my suite.

I cooked dinner as if nothing had happened. The only good thing to come from all this was there were fewer to cook for. Farzi was watching me closely, however. Nenzi, too, as were their brothers. Arvil wanted another sit-down with me after dinner. I wanted to huddle in my room. Even though the courtesans had all been trying to kill me, their deaths were too horrible to contemplate.

"Reah, I haven't failed to see how Farzi and the others act around you." That had me jerking my head up to stare at Arvil. What was he getting at? Was he accusing me of something?

"Reah, what I'm saying is that I want Farzi and the others to act as your bodyguards. I'm taking Tory and Ry."

"That's fine," I said. It was, although I'd miss Tory at night. Tory and Ry could watch out for Arvil and listen for his deepest secrets. Honestly, if Lendill Schaff and the ASD didn't have an inescapable grip on me, I'd have skipped away and Arvil would never have found me after the killings earlier.

Tory and Ry replaced Delvin and Carthin in Arvil's suite later; he had three bedrooms inside his suite. Tory and Ry got the rooms leading up to the nice, large one belonging to Arvil. Farzi, Nenzi and the other reptanoids moved into the two smaller bedrooms inside my suite. If I worried about spending my nights alone, I shouldn't have. Farzi and Nenzi crawled into bed with me as lion snakes.

"You should not worry that we try to couple," Farzi told me the second night. "When we were made, we were neutered."

"When we not turn out like they want," Nenzi added sadly.

"Nenzi, I am so sorry." I pulled his head against mine.

"We learn to deal with this," Chazi said. He never talked much, like most of his brothers.

"I still love Reah." Nenzi had his arms wrapped around me.

"And I still love you." I kissed Nenzi's cheek. "I think we have a lot in common, don't you?"

"Yes. We know Reah different when we see her first time," Perzi nodded his head.

"And we keep secrets," Farzi said.

"I know." I placed a hand around the back of Farzi's neck and bumped his forehead with mine.

Two days later, Nenzi drove me to the city, accompanied by Farzi, Yanzi and Perzi. We saw what the two warlocks had done when we arrived. Entire housing districts had been burned to the ground. The warlocks had hit a centralized natural gas station that still supplied fuel to an ancient portion of the city, none of which had been upgraded to solar power. The resulting fire had spread swiftly, and some residents hadn't made it out before the fire swept through. So many homes burned at the same time that the outdated fire departments nearby had been unable to handle it.

I'd heard some of the news vids—they were blaming the fire on a huge gas explosion, with no explanation as to the cause. If Celestan and his brother had found a way to do that so that fingers wouldn't be pointed in their direction, I had to marvel at their efficiency. Just because Zephili belonged to the Alliance didn't mean they couldn't have crime or uprisings. I was surprised that Lendill hadn't sent anyone in to investigate. Or perhaps he had and left me out of that loop.

"They knew where to hit this, didn't they?" Lendill examined the crater that formerly housed the hub where natural gas was pumped in and then sent through smaller pipelines into an older housing district. This one still had natural gas lines instead of the upgraded solar power relays. The pipes were insulated well—they should have been impervious to anything short of a very large bomb blast. Of course, nobody had factored in powerful warlocks when the thing had been designed.

"Yes." Norian crunched over blackened rubble. Surprisingly, only fifteen people died in the explosion and subsequent fires. But we'll hold off on the true cause of all this until we finish this with San Gerxon and the Hardlows, he added mentally. We'll just say our findings are inconclusive and we're still investigating.

Lendill nodded, not sending a reply. He considered sending mindspeech to Reah but held back. His last communication with her hadn't gone very well. Had he known it, Reah was less than half a tick away from him at that very moment.

"We worry about two fields," Farzi informed me as we selected fruits and vegetables to buy for the plantation.

"Why?" I turned to him while sniffing a melon. I could always tell the ripe ones if I did that.

"They dry out—plants look brown though we water often," he said.

"You don't know why it's happening?" I placed the melon in a basket Nenzi held out.

"We have not the explanation." Farzi was eyeing the potatoes. I gathered several large ones and added those to the basket.

"I'll bake these for you," I promised, getting a smile from Farzi. We picked up butter and plenty of sour cream, all the vegetables and fruit we needed, plus several kinds of meats. The only thing truly missing here was good, fresh fish. Frozen could be had readily, but what they passed off as fresh fish wasn't. I bought some frozen shrimp, though. It was probably a good idea to keep Arvil as happy as we could and the soup he liked might be a good start.

"Can I come to the fields with you tomorrow?" I asked Farzi. He seemed to be Arvil's expert on growing crops.

"Of course," Farzi seemed pleased that I'd asked. I wanted to see these plants for myself. Perhaps there was some sort of blight, insect or animal that was responsible. If nature could give a helping hand in taking out the drakus seed crop, all the better.

"Farzi, what do you know about what we're growing?" The time had come to find out.

"Powerful drug. Should not be used," Farzi muttered. "Arvil wants, so we do. He give me home on Urdolus after first successful crop. I hope then he leave us there to live. Not to be," Farzi sighed. "Now, all gone."

"I'm sorry you lost your home, Farzi," I hugged him. We'd lost more than that. Xiri had died there, as had Arvil's remaining family.

We were unloading our purchases into the kitchen later when I learned that Arvil had been folded to Campiaa to take care of business. Astralan, who'd moved Arvil, Ry and Tory to Campiaa, had brought Teeg back with him as Arvil's replacement.

You didn't even give me a warning? I sent mindspeech to Tory. I could feel his mental shrug.

No time, it just happened, Tory replied. Teeg stood in the doorway to the kitchen, a huge grin on his face as I cut off the mindspeech with Tory. Honestly, multiple mates definitely had its downside.

Farzi, Nenzi and my other reptanoid bodyguards stood aside as Teeg swept me up in his arms and kissed me breathless. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my head against his shoulder. Farzi and Nenzi would have to sleep in the rooms with their brothers while Teeg was there.

Chapter 13

"This steak sauce is exceptional." Stellan was fond of steak, it appeared. I'd found some thick cuts at the market that looked fresh and tender, so we were serving those with a sauce and Farzi's baked potatoes, plus a green vegetable and a nice dessert.

"I'm glad you like it," I said, cutting into my steak. I'd cooked a smaller portion for myself. Teeg was busy eating—I think his mind was on what he intended to do as soon as he could get me away from the table.

"Planning to get me drunk?" I asked. Teeg held a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands when he slipped into my bedroom later. I think the kitchen had been cleaned in record time. I'd showered and dressed in my nicest lingerie while I waited for Teeg to have a brief meeting with the Hardlows and their warlocks.

"Absolutely," Teeg gave me a heart-stopping grin. "This is nice," he trailed a finger along the black lace covering my breasts.

"You picked it out."

"I have exceptional taste." We didn't even open the wine; it wasn't needed. Teeg's hands are strong and firm and he takes his time at first until he makes me crazy. After a certain point, I want him so badly that he could do anything he wanted with me and it would be all right, including nipping my inner thighs. That gave me a climax, all by itself.

"I know what my Reah wants," Teeg whispered against my mouth as his body slid over mine. He did. As much or more than Aurelius or Tory.