We walked through the palace, past more guards and others dressed finely, going this way or that. None seemed to see us or note our passage. Kifirin eventually led me to the top floor of the palace; there were many more steps to climb to get there. Kifirin then pulled me toward an arboretum.
Nearly circular in shape, it was huge and had a high glass ceiling with glass walls surrounding it. Only the back wall where it connected to the palace was squared off and straight. I went directly to the glass walls at the front of the arboretum; the view of the city from there was magnificent, with lights twinkling across an expanse of shops, homes and mansions in the distance. I thought about pressing my nose and hands against the glass so I could get the best view without any glare, but figured the caretakers wouldn't appreciate removing my nose and handprints later.
"I have wanted to meet you for a very long time." The voice was almost as beautiful as the man. Flavio was now the third most beautiful man I'd ever met in my life; I saw this when I whirled to see who'd spoken. Kifirin was now standing fifteen feet away, unwilling to interfere with this meeting for some reason.
"I am Erland Morphis," The man came forward, offering his hand. He had dark hair and darker eyes and his face was perfect if that were possible. He wasn't as tall as Kifirin, but that didn't matter. What I thought as he held his hand out to me was that he'd likely cause males and females to sigh happily as he passed, just from the sight of him. The vibe I got from him was that he preferred males, but wouldn't turn down a female from time to time.
"How do you know of me that you'd want to meet me for a long time?" I asked as I took his hand.
"Nearly three hundred fifty years ago, I watched a vid-article from the Refizani planet," Erland Morphis replied. "I found it fascinating. A Queen Vampire, someone so rare as to be nearly nonexistent, was fighting Ra'Ak with abandon and blinding them, allowing them to be killed by others. Many races saw this—the ones that had space travel, that is. That is how the images came to them. And to me."
"It may have been three hundred fifty years ago for you," I said, feeling confused and disoriented. "It was a month ago for me." Erland Morphis' scent was different from the others we'd found inside the palace. It held a powerful spice that I couldn't name.
"I am a Karathian Warlock," Erland informed me as if he were reading my thoughts. "I am eight thousand years old. My kind are nearly immortal, as many of the Wizards are."
"There are Wizards? Really? That is so cool," I said.
"Perhaps you should meet the Grey House Wizards, sometime," Erland smiled. Honestly, Helen had competition to launch ships now.
"Grey House Wizards?" I hadn't heard that before.
"They are the finest and most powerful of their kind," Erland said. "Different from the Karathians, as we dabble in some of the darker spells at times—we cannot help it, Karathia being on the boundary between the light and dark worlds, as it is."
"Do you dabble in the darker spells?" I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"Never to cause an unwarranted death," he smiled again. "That would be against my principles and many who associate with me now would not continue to do so had I done things of that nature. Therefore, I stay within the neutral area when it becomes necessary to perform anything other than a spell of light."
"Well, that's a relief," I said.
Kifirin walked over and stood next to me. "We must go soon," he said, taking my hand and interrupting my conversation with Erland Morphis. Erland offered me a smile that held sadness.
* * *
Do not give any message or indication, Kifirin sent mindspeech to Erland Morphis. She must not know so that things will proceed as they should.
My heart weeps because there is no way to save her, Erland Morphis replied.
Do you think that pain has not been stirred thoroughly in my own heart? Kifirin leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Lissa's temple. We will go.
Chapter 7
We left Erland Morphis standing in the arboretum, probably staring at the spot where we'd stood barely a blink before. Kifirin and I now perched on the edge of a volcano. Heat was rising from its depths but no lava was flowing.
"I have calmed it down somewhat; it erupted forty years ago," he said, his dark eyes gazing out over the caldera.
"Do a lot of damage?"
"Some," Kifirin admitted reluctantly. "I was angry at the time."
"What got your panties in a bunch?" I asked.
"It is not something I can discuss," he said.
"Big secret, huh?"
"Yes. Unfortunately."
"What do you call the volcano? Is it named after you too?" I smiled up at Kifirin.
"No, avilepha. It is called Baetrah, which means Fire Mountain."
"Roff said that the comesuli come here to ask you for favors."
"They still do. Sometimes I consider their requests." He'd said consider. He didn't say grant. I didn't push it—maybe it was one of those things you weren't supposed to know. "The High Demons come here when they tire of their life," Kifirin went on. "If they throw themselves into the fire while in humanoid form, they give up their lives. While they are in full Thifilathi, the fire cannot harm them. It is the way they were made."
"You did that, if I recall correctly," my fists were on my hips.
"Yes," Kifirin sighed. "I did that. I made the High Demons. At times, I wish I had created them with better memories, or with more focus toward their responsibilities. Come, m'hala, it is time to go."
Kifirin dropped me off in the living area of the guesthouse, seconds after we'd left it. "That didn't take long," Winkler drawled. Sometimes, Texas comes out in his voice. Sometimes. Kifirin left me there with both bottles of wine after a quick kiss. He just disappeared, as he always does. "How does he do that?" Winkler asked, rising and coming over to touch my cheek. Maybe he was checking to make sure I was real or something. Gavin rose, too, probably to make sure Winkler didn't get away with too much.
"He calls it folding space," I said.
"That's a theory that has been kicked around a bit, with variations on how it could actually be accomplished," Winkler observed. The genius Winkler was present, it seems. "Do you know how it works?"
"I have no idea, you're asking the wrong person," I said. "Maybe you should ask him yourself if you see him again."
* * *
"How did we miss this?" Griffin sat at a table inside a Falchani bar; Kifirin sat across from him. Two cups of untouched rice wine sat on the table between them. "All the Possibilities pointed in another direction. Now the Absolute shows up and it is disastrous." Griffin had fingers laced through his thick brown hair and he wanted to tug it out by the roots, he was so frustrated and upset.