* * *
"Kifirin, I want to send the comesuli to Le'Ath Veronis. Just for a while," I said. "We need to make it look as if they've gone back to their own world, which I guess they will. We can put out the rumor that they insisted on it."
"It won't be a rumor—they are insisting on it," Kifirin leaned down to kiss me. I'd sent mindspeech and miraculously he'd heard me. We were standing on the lawn in front of the villa, and fireflies were winking here and there around us. It was so beautiful there on that mid-May evening. The scent of the grass was sweet and the flower gardens surrounding the villa were all in bloom. "When should I take them?" Kifirin asked, a bit of smoke trailing from his nostrils as he nuzzled my collarbone.
"In two days," I said. "Do you think they can be ready by that time?"
"They are prepared to go now," Kifirin said, smiling and taking my hands to kiss them. "There is something you should know, avilepha. There are eight hundred Croth and Drith who have thrown in their lot with the others."
"I thought that might be the case," I nodded, watching his hands as they gently massaged mine. "I want to get the comesuli out quickly so they won't suffer losses like they did before. Hardly any High Demons died—the good ones, anyway, but the comesuli died in the thousands."
"I know this," Kifirin agreed, sighing. "We will do this, love. I will do this for you."
"Thank you," I smiled up at him.
* * *
"Can you get me to the Black Ra'Ak?" Kyler answered my mindspeech and now she considered my question.
"I can get you to the King of the Black Ra'Ak," Kyler said, dimpling. I'd stretched out with some of my newly discovered talents, and learned that Kyler was instrumental in bringing the Black Ra'Ak (the few that still lived, anyway) on board when the Copper Ra'Ak attacked Kifirin before. They'd helped fight off their Copper cousins.
"Good enough," I smiled at my niece. She took me to see Youon, King of the Black Ra'Ak. He was in humanoid form and stood six feet tall, with light-brown hair and green eyes. He invited us into his library to talk. I stared at shelf upon shelf of books—in languages I would have to translate to read. I didn't think his Copper cousins bothered to read; they were too busy causing trouble and eating people. I laid out my best offer to Youon. He thought about it.
"If we can continue to take from the worlds not worth saving as we do now, to feed ourselves," he nodded. "We are selective—we always have been. We do not take young. That has always been against our code. We are also selective in the ones we take to turn to Ra'Ak."
"Like the vampires do?" I asked.
"Similarly—yes. We look for those with redeeming qualities. We also feed upon animals, as you know. We take humanoids six times in every cycle, and those are always criminals."
"Six times a year," Kyler translated for me. "They raise their own animals, otherwise."
"I can live with that, as long as you keep to those rules," I agreed. "How often do you reproduce?"
"We keep our numbers at a constant," Youon informed me. "We lose some to punishment, or one is killed upon occasion. We are powerful as you know, but we can be killed." He smiled at me as he said that. He and I both knew what I could do.
* * *
"Lissa, I don't understand this at all," Gavin paced while I watched. Drake and Drew had come, along with Shadow and Connegar. Erland Morphis had brought Gabron for me on the condition that he be allowed to stay. Tony had also come; I almost cried when he showed up.
"Gavin, you don't have to understand it. You just have to stand behind me on this."
"I will support Lissa," Gabron said.
"I also support Lissa," Karzac walked in. I hadn't seen him since I'd hauled him around as mist in a jungle.
"I support Lissa," Kifirin folded in; he'd brought Roff with him.
"I support my Raona," Roff said.
"I support my little rose," Connegar said, causing Gavin to turn sharply in his direction.
"I also support Lissa," Erland Morphis declared. I wasn't sure he had a vote but he acted as if he did.
"Lissa, I don't like you going back into this," Shadow said.
"I know, honey, but right now this is the best plan we have."
"We are about to go into cardiac arrest," Drew said, pointing to himself and his brother.
"If this doesn't work then we'll all be gone soon," I said. "I don't think any of them are holding anything back this time."
"You mean every Copper Ra'Ak in existence is going to be there?" Shadow asked, sitting down hard on a barstool. We were holding our meeting in the kitchen at the villa. "How many of them are there?"
"Nearly thirty thousand," Connegar supplied the numbers.
"May the stars be merciful," Shadow whispered.
"Those numbers do not include the High Demons that have allied with the Ra'Ak or the Elemaiya, both Bright and Dark," Connegar added.
"Honey, you're not helping," I pointed out gently.
"Lissa, baby, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Griffin folded in. I heaved a huge sigh. I wasn't sure I appreciated my father showing up, but I didn't say anything, choosing to answer his question instead.
"I think I do. We'll know soon enough."
"Then I can't stop you, sweetheart. Just bear in mind I can't lose you a second time. Don't ask that of me."
"I hope I'm not asking that of any of you," I said. "But we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
"Lissy, tell me you know what you're doing," Tony begged.
"Tony, if I don't, it won't matter anyway," I informed him gently.
I was still up two hours later—after most of them had gone off to argue further among themselves. I just couldn't deal with it anymore. The only two left now were Karzac and Griffin.
"I took Karzac to see Belen yesterday," Griffin said, setting a cup of tea in front of me. I was zoned out, staring into space and not thinking about anything, mostly. My mind had gone into overload and I had just shut it off. Tomorrow would go as it would.
"Why did Karzac need to see Belen?" Griffin's statement brought me back to Earth.
"I, uh, asked him for a M'Fiyah," Karzac muttered.
"Can you ask for those things? Conner told me they were set in stone before we're born." I searched Karzac's face—he was usually so strong and sure, but now his face held a bit of uncertainty. I was about to get my heart broken again, I just knew it.