chapter 5
"Belen has given permission to try this," Karzac announced to all the healers for the Saa Thalarr. "This is a delicate situation, as you might imagine. Reah is pregnant, a recent victim of an attack on Stellar Winds and an attempted suicide not long after that. Kevis is currently treating her, but he needs an assistant. Someone who might feel a bond with Reah in some way. We're going to take you to her while she's sleeping so we won't upset her. If you don't want to be a part of this, then you'll be excused. We want a healer who is willing to walk a few extra miles for someone who more than deserves the time and trouble."
"We'll go," Cleo spoke for all present.
"Then let's go," Karzac said. They folded to Campiaa.
* * *
"She's pregnant? She's so frail," Cleo said.
"Has she lost weight? She's very thin," Jeff remarked.
"There's no color in her cheeks," Norton pointed out. Nefrigar had come, making sure Reah was in a healing sleep before allowing any of the healers to touch her. Blankets were lifted back; ankles, feet, hands, heart and the recent bullet wound were examined. Nearly all of them placed their hands on Reah's belly, checking on the child. The child was healthy; Reah's health wasn't nearly as good.
"What problems are you encountering?" Franklin asked Kevis.
"She's defensive and argues with me at times. Not that she doesn't have cause," Kevis held up a hand.
"And she's a cook, too?"
"Probably the best I've ever seen."
"I think I'd like to try," Franklin said. "Anyone else interested?"
"I'd do it if nobody else wanted to," Norton volunteered.
"As would I," Joey said.
"Why don't all three of you move in?" Gavril walked in, finding his mother, Karzac and twelve other healers in Reah's room. "She might not agree to any one of you, so you'll have to be prepared for that."
"We're up to the challenge," Joey grinned. "Besides, maybe we can distract her with video games. I've got something new I'm working on."
"And Norton and I wouldn't mind help with our sauces," Franklin smiled. He and Norton both loved to cook.
"Fine. We'll throw all three of you at her. See how she reacts," Kevis huffed out a breath. "Let's hope this works, everybody."
"It'll be fun, I haven't stayed on Campiaa since Erland owned a casino there," Joey grinned.
* * *
"Re-ahhh," the voice was soft and coaxing, almost a whisper. "Re-ahhh, dinner time."
"Go away," I moaned, unwilling to open my eyes.
"But that little baby bump is hungry, too," the voice said.
"Who are you and how would you know?" I cracked an eye open, finding a blond man leaning over my bed, grinning at me. Granted he had a nice smile, but I had no idea who he was. And that was only the beginning. Two other men stood behind him, one dark-haired and quite handsome, who had his hand on the other's shoulder. The last one had brown hair, kind eyes and also smiled encouragingly.
"I'm Joey Showalter, healer for the Saa Thalarr," the one who woke me said. "And this is Franklin," he pointed to the dark-haired handsome one. "And this is one of my mates, Norton." He slipped an arm around the tall, brown-haired man. Joey was shorter than the other two and he was taking my hand, attempting to pull me off the bed.
"Healers for the Saa Thalarr? Do they have any left?" I quirked an eyebrow at all of them.
"They have a few," the one called Franklin assured me. "And we can always fold away if there's an emergency. Right now, we're here for you."
"That doesn't sound sufficient to warrant three healers," I grumped, sliding off the bed.
"But this is a vacation for us," Norton smiled. "So get that tiny butt of yours into some clothes and we'll go have dinner."
"Do you treat all your patients this way?" I asked, scooting around him to get to the closet.
"Only the ones with tiny butts," he laughed, following right behind me. "No, don't wear that," he pushed the brown blouse away. "This is good," he held up another. It was red. I didn't like wearing red and said so.
"But you'll look beautiful in this. It's a nice contrast to the color of your skin and hair."
"And these are too pale," Joey brushed a thumb over my right cheek. "We have to get some color back in those."
"See, you look great in that," Norton nodded when I came out of the bathroom later, fully dressed in the red blouse and gray slacks. "Shoes or just socks?" he asked.
"Socks are fine," I said, feeling overwhelmed. I couldn't recall being dressed by committee before.
"Come on, let's go see what's for dinner," Franklin grinned. We all trooped down the long hallway lined with bedrooms until we came to the dining area.
"This is an improvement," Teeg, Tory, Aurelius and Lok were there, sitting with all eight reptanoids and Doctor Halivar. Four spaces were left for us. I sat between Joey and Kevis Halivar.
"You don't have a problem with this?" I wiggled a finger at the three healers that had mysteriously shown up.
"Not at all," Kevis' mouth twitched a little, as if he were about to smile and then thought better of it.
"Hmmph," I sighed, looking up as a server set a glass of water and some fruit juice in front of me.
"I love pot roast," Joey smiled as a plate was set before him. I liked it, too, but it generally wasn't something people went to fine restaurants for. I made it for myself when I wasn't worried about cooking for others so much.
"Trade your onions for my carrots," Franklin grinned at me from his seat on Joey's other side.
"I love carrots," I said, passing my plate over. Franklin had the exchange done quickly.
"Call me Frank if you want," he passed my plate back with an extra serving of carrots instead of onions on the side.
"This is great," I smiled at the first bite. The meat was tender, the vegetables cooked just right and the gravy was wonderful. "Tell Mathilde this is amazing," I told the server, who was setting fragile gravy bowls on all four sides of the table. The server, a young man, smiled and nodded.
"See, we don't have to convince her to eat," Norton observed, cutting another bite of pot roast and stuffing it in his mouth.
* * *
"I get some time," Aurelius pulled me away from Joey, Frank and Norton right after dinner. Joey wore a disappointed look.
"I was going to show her the new video game I'm working on," he said.
"You can do that later. Reah and I are going to sit down somewhere," Aurelius said, pulling me away. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to go with Aurelius or with Joey right then, as I was worried over what Aurelius might have to say. I blinked up at him. His shoulders were just as wide as they'd always been, his golden hair falling to brush those shoulders. Brown eyes searched my face before tucking my hand in the crook of his arm and walking me toward the back of the house.
"Farzi had these brought for you," Aurelius said, settling me onto a covered swing. A comfortable-looking hammock swung in the breeze not far away.
"That was nice of him," I said, leaning back against the cushion of the swing. The fabric covering was soft and expensive, I could tell by the feel of it.
"Reah, do you remember when we first met?" Aurelius lifted one of my hands and kissed it. He held onto it, too, when he lowered it again. I stared at his fingers entwined with mine. Of course I remembered when we met. I thought he was someone else at the time. He was posing as Commander Aris on Mandil. He'd been sent there by the Saa Thalarr to eliminate invading Ra'Ak spawn.
"I remember," I sighed, looking away from him. The sun had just gone down over Campiaa, leaving streaks of red, gold and purple on the horizon. I knew that less than fifty clicks to the west of us, the sunset would be burning over the waters of Campiaa Bay.
"The way I felt then is the way I feel now. My love is right in front of me and I can barely touch her because something stands between us. Please don't let us go, Reah. I realize that you've been treated badly for a very long time, and I wish it weren't partly my fault at some level. I should have realized something was wrong and gone to Belen or one of the others about it. I just didn't."
"What would Belen have done?" I'd only heard the light god's name a time or two. They called him a Nameless One, because to name one of his kind was impossible. He seldom made appearances, I think.
"At least he wouldn't have ignored the problem, like the rest of us did."
"Aurelius, stop trying to blame yourself for something that is mostly Kifirin's responsibility. You don't see him here, attempting to apologize, do you?"
"This has robbed all of us." Aurelius leaned down, resting his cheek on my hair.
"When did you see the girls last?" I asked. They called him Daddy. At least they had. Now that Tory was back, I'm sure they were in complete confusion.
"I went to see them this afternoon. I received mindspeech from Raedah; she was a bit upset."
"About what?"
"That neither she nor her sisters could remember what your favorite foods were, or what jewelry you liked."
"It's a little late for that now, don't you think? They're all grown." The rest of my words were unspoken. Not one of them had bothered to visit after the Baetrah incident. That told me how important I was in their lives.
"Love, I know what you're not saying. They know it, too. We all do."
"And they haven't bothered to even send a message. I'm not their mother. Glinda is their mother." I dropped Auri's hand and stood. "They all got what they wanted, didn't they? More female High Demons, to perpetuate the race. My daughters have a King and Queen as parents; Kifirin arranged that. Where are Jase and Jehrie, Auri? Glinda's daughters? I seldom see them at the palace. Did they think their place was usurped as well?"
"Reah, they visited, you just weren't at the palace at the same time."
"Or at all, at least for the past two years. Since Dara and Sara went to study off-world. Tell Glinda that she can have the children herself, next time." My anger was back and I skipped away without thinking about it.
* * *
There I stood, upon Thiskil. I was Queen of a nearly dead planet; Ildevar Wyyld had proclaimed it himself. The planet seemed the same as I—both of us struggling to come back from years of emptiness. As usual, it was mostly weeds and barren ground. Bones of trees and animals littered the forest where I stood. I skipped to the ocean, which still piled its waves on the shore but there were no tiny birds running in the surf, searching for sea creatures as a meal. No kelp or seaweed washed up along those shores, either. Everything had died, including most of the people. The Campiaan Alliance hadn't been conceived when the planet died at the hands and power of Zellar. I'd killed him too swiftly, I think.
"Cloudsong still looks much the same as this." Griffin stood beside me. I wondered how he'd known to find me. Generally, only the Larentii could locate me.
"I know what Cloudsong looks like." I'd been there not long ago, after all. I hadn't thought to go back to it, either. Not since I'd fought off pirates, slave traffickers and Dantel Schuul and company.
"Yes, I know you do." Griffin huffed out a sigh. His breath blew out in a cloud; it was quite cold where we stood, and the sighing of the ocean was the only sound around us. I hadn't realized how much I might miss other sounds until they were conspicuously absent.
"I saw Amara not long ago; she was visiting Lissa," I said.
"I know. I hear things, mostly after the fact. She's avoiding me. Has been for a long while."
"I'm very familiar with that particular experience," I agreed.
"You know Lendill is Prince-Heir of the Elves now?" I looked up at Griffin when he said those words; he was staring out at the ocean.
"I heard." I had. I'd dreamed it and knew it to be true. I also heard in my dream some of the things Kaldill had said to Lendill, just before he'd made his selection and passed over some of the power from the Elven lands. Kaldill said that Lendill had used those under him to achieve the necessary goals.
Oh, he'd put it in more flowery terms than that, but it came out the same in the end. I'd been one of those underlings that Lendill had used. As had Teeg and Norian. But the worst offender of all had been Kifirin, by his own admission. Griffin, too, had used his family without mercy. He'd ultimately paid the price, with the death of his son and the loss of his mate. I rubbed my belly absently and sent a silent I love you to Garwin Wyatt.
"Lissa says she found a great-uncle, on her mother's side," I said, when Griffin didn't say anything else.
"I know. I heard that, too. I'm not sure he understands all his connections to the Elemaiya as yet. It gets tricky determining more than half yet less than full. So many Elemaiya donated eggs or sperm to create half-Elemaiya children, which they intended to harvest later to serve as soldiers in their long war. Edward Pendley was one of the few to survive, though."
"He seems like a decent man."
"He is. Much more decent than most, as it turns out. Why are you here, little Demon?" Griffin asked.
"I had to get away," I said. "Now that everybody conveniently remembers that they love me, or so they say, they're all anxious to go right back to what they consider normal. I don't know what normal is or what I feel about them anymore."
"Understandable. Getting ignored for a quarter century and then suddenly they're back, acting as if nothing's happened." Griffin Pulled a jacket from nowhere and settled it over my shoulders. I murmured my thanks. The air was very cold around us and I was grateful for the warmth the jacket provided.
"How long do you plan to stay here, little Demon? Rain is coming, and you will become even more chilled than you are already." As if in answer to his prediction, a few drops hit me, pattering on the suede leather of the jacket. "It was Wyatt's. The jacket," Griffin said. "One of his favorites. Keep it."
I nodded, not answering. "I'll go back," I sighed, turning away from Thiskil's northern ocean and skipping away.
* * *
"Thank goodness." Joey, Franklin and Norton were waiting inside my bedroom. Joey was the one who spoke. "All your mates are tearing their hair out, I think."
Slipping the jacket off my shoulders and wandering into my closet to hang it up, I thought briefly about telling all my mates that I wanted a separation. From all of them. I couldn't decide if that would improve matters or not, so I left it alone.
"Come along, tiny butt. Let's go face the music," Franklin took my hand and led me from the bedroom.
"Reah!" Nenzi did look as if he had tugged at his hair. He, along with the others, had likely been planning a raid on every place I might possibly have gone. Lendill was there, armed to the teeth, Lok had come with both blades strapped to his back and Aurelius looked as if the claws and fangs might come out at any moment. Teeg had a Ranos pistol strapped to a thigh and my knife—my Grey House knife—clipped to his belt.
"That's mine," I went straight to him and jerked the knife from his belt.
"I'm not sure you should keep that within easy reach," Kevis said dryly.
"Really?" I pointed it at him. "I've been looking for this for years. Try taking it from me now."
"All right," Kevis backed up a few steps, his hands up in a form of surrender.
"Don't worry, all of your behinds are safe," I muttered, wondering where I could put my knife so that nobody would take it again.
"I will place it in the Archives, and Reah may have it back anytime she wants," Nefrigar appeared, holding out a hand. Worrying my lip as I gazed up at him, I reluctantly placed the knife in his hand. He sent it straight to the Archives; it disappeared immediately.
"I wish I could do that," I said, studying my toes for a moment.
"Reah," Teeg stepped in front of me. "I want to clear the air a little. Go ahead. Yell at me. Yell at everybody else here. Get it out of your system. I don't know if I can take much more of this disappearing shit."
"Like you didn't disappear? Jerk," I snapped at him. "How many times did you tell Dee to call me because you were too much of a coward to do it yourself? How many times was I dragged here to play dress up and act stupid for heads of state? Hello, I'm Reah San Gerxon and I don't have a brain in my head," I mimicked, smiling a vapid smile. "I never got to go to college and earn multiple degrees and start an Alliance," I went on. "Addah Desh wouldn't spend a penny on me if he could help it. I never got the choice of whether I wanted to go to school or not, beyond what was required by law. And then the conscription notice came and I became Alliance property. Where was my life in all of that, Teeg San Gerxon? Where? Kifirin saw to it that I was kept pregnant for a while, and Gardevik Rath saw to it that I was trapped on the Southern Continent of Kifirin. I hear my girls don't know a damn thing about me, now, and isn't that a slap in the face?"
"Geez, Reah, I didn't mean to open the floodgates," Teeg rubbed the back of his neck, a deep frown on his face.
"No? Want to hear more?" I asked. "Aurelius and Lok asked for extra spawn hunting duty so they wouldn't have to talk to the old ball and chain. Aurelius came and took my girls out for ice cream many times and didn't bother to stop in to talk to me. Didn't think I knew about that, did you?" I stared hard at Aurelius.
"Lendill had his nose parked on the ASD grindstone, and it was just too much trouble to come see Reah unless he wanted something. Farzi and Nenzi didn't have ready transportation and they were too busy trying to keep Campiaa in fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course, Kifirin's little interference didn't help one damn bit in all of that. If you don't count Nefrigar or the past two months with Ry, I think I've had sex four times in the past three years. Doctor Halivar, I hope you got all that. I really don't want to repeat it later." I stomped away from all of them.
* * *
"I always thought someone else was taking up the slack," Gavril muttered, a cup of coffee in his hands at the kitchen island. Mathilde had dumped coffee, tea or soft drinks in front of the others, a grim expression on her face. Joey, Franklin and Norton had gone out to the pool area where Reah was sitting, her pants rolled up to her knees and her feet soaking in the hot tub.
"How we get her back? How we make up with her?" Farzi was miserable; it was echoed in his voice. Nenzi was sitting very close to his brother and more miserable than that, if it were possible.
"She's hitting back at all of you for twenty-five years of pain and neglect," Kevis pointed out. "I realize it wasn't intentional for the most part, but that doesn't make any difference to Reah. To her, pain is pain."
"Mom gave me copies of all the messages she and Reah sent to me when the girls were born," Tory sighed. "And the last one said she almost bled out with Dara and Sara. Who was with her, then? Anybody know?"
"I was, as was Renegar," Nefrigar said. He'd altered his height to sit on a barstool at the island with the others. "Three sets of twins in six years were hard on her, and she'd been in the groves working until her labor began. Gardevik Rath has much to answer for."
"Kifirin, too, but good luck on that," Ry folded in to join the conference. Mathilde placed a cup of tea in front of him.
"Is there room for us?" Jayd, Garde and Glinda skipped in. Nefrigar enlarged the island with power, and three more barstools plunked down, manufactured out of air, most likely. The Larentii could command atoms when they wanted.
"Reah wasn't happy that Raedah sent mindspeech to me, upset over the fact that she couldn't remember important things about her mother," Aurelius blew out a frustrated sigh.
"At least they call you Daddy." Tory blew an angry cloud of smoke from his nostrils.
"I have it on good authority that love can't be forced," Jayd said, looking at those gathered about him. "But that doesn't mean it can't be coaxed back to life. Granted, it looks as if those embers may be dying, but we have to find a way to rebuild the fire of it. Kara says that she loved her mother and wanted to hug her while they were together, but the moment Reah was out of sight, it was as if she forgot. Most likely as the rest of you did."
"We should have kept her at the palace. We could have found someone to work with her and tend to emergencies at night. Reah could have skipped to the Southern Continent every morning, and taken a day off at least once a week. I understand that didn't happen," Glinda pointed out.
"Dad, aren't you going to say anything?" Tory looked at Garde, who'd remained silent.
"I f*cked this up, son," Garde admitted.
"Yeah? Dad, she has my claiming marks on her neck and she won't let me touch her. You're not the only one."
* * *
"Do you ever wear your hair down?" Joey pulled the length of my braid through his hand. Braided, it hung below my waist.
"Once in a while," I said. Ry had asked for it down a time or two. I'd done it for him.
"It's beautiful, even braided," Franklin sat on my other side. I was sandwiched between them, their shoulders rubbing mine. Norton sat on the other side of the rectangular spa, listening to the rest of us. Somehow, they'd cooled the waters, allowing me to sit in it.
"I probably should have it trimmed, but there hasn't been any time," I said.
"We can take you," Franklin offered. "Conner has someone who does her hair and nails. We can set up an appointment."
"That sounds nice," I said. "I've gotten my hair done by those people Teeg hires, but they always look at me like I'm a project, with long hair that has to be piled up on my head in some ridiculous and exotic way."
"Maybe trim it to here?" Joey drew a finger across the small of my back.
"Yeah, that would be a good length, I guess."
"And cut the bangs. Just a little," he grinned, leaning down in front of me. "Oh, shit," he said.
"What?" He, Franklin and Norton were standing in a blink.
"The Saa Thalarr are getting attacked. We have to go."
"I'm coming too," I said, grabbing Joey's arm before he could fold away.
* * *
"Stay back," Franklin shouted at me. What met my eyes when I was tossed onto the dry grass of a winter field in the middle of nowhere was nothing less than total chaos. Sixteen Ra'Ak and at least a thousand spawn were there, fighting with the Saa Thalarr who were available to come. I saw Lok and Aurelius appear not far away. Their focus was on the spawn—they didn't even see that I'd come. Drake and Drew were already engaging one of the monster Ra'Ak while their father, Dragon, dealt with another. I saw a huge, white Unicorn, a Black Gryphon and a beautiful Snow Leopard.
Over our heads screamed a giant white Eagle with black wingtips. Then, if that wasn’t enough, another twenty Ra'Ak came. Aurelius had told me over the years that the Ra'Ak that remained were likely hiding, sending their spawn out to create more of their kind. Now, many had chosen to appear at once. Dragon was attempting to fend off four of the creatures and Drake and Drew had more to deal with as well. The Eagle overhead was popping heads off spawn, but the moment she came close to one of the Ra'Ak it leapt at her, snapping its poisonous teeth.
"No!" Joey screamed as a Ra'Ak scraped its teeth against the side of the Unicorn. Dragon, too, roared in pain and frustration as he was nicked by one of the four he fought. There wasn't much time. I was High Demon. I and my race had been created for this. King Lendevik had conveniently forgotten that, but I hadn't. Turning quickly to my larger Thifilatha and pulling energy from the stars over our heads as I ran, I raced to take on the Ra'Ak.
My gold scales were shining like a yellow sun by the time I arrived, and the Ra'Ak attempted to get away when they realized I was among them, but I wasn't having it. I was filled with energy from the stars, glowing with it, pulsing with it. They had no ability to escape me in my present state; I made sure of it. No power worked while I was such. Even the Saa Thalarr were backing away; their folding skills wouldn't work until they got quite far away, actually.
With the precision of a laser pistol, I pointed fingers and released what I'd gathered. Ra'Ak exploded before me, barely able to shriek before they died. Did the spawn think to attack me? They fizzled out of existence upon coming into contact with my scales. Like tiny, flying predators that burn against an insect lantern, they winked into sparks and blew away.
Only three Ra'Ak remained and I killed them leisurely, almost, screaming at them. "Did you think to escape me?" I cried out, scalding tears dripping down my scaled cheeks. Had I realized I was crying? Not until then. "You will never harm again, I promise it," I wept and killed the last two before dropping to the ground and curling in upon myself.
"Reah, we have to go! Dragon and Kiarra have poison in their systems!" Norton shouted up at me. I barely heard him over the sounds of my sobs.
"No," I moaned. Dragon was lying on his side, still in dragon form, but the Unicorn had become someone I recognized—Kiarra of the Saa Thalarr. Her head lay in Joey's lap and he was trying to help her, but the rake she'd received was a severe one. I knew the Ra'Ak poison was running through both of them. Using the short fangs I had while Thifilatha, I bit into my own hand, opening a wound on the palm. High Demons were immune to every poison, including that of the Ra'Ak.
Skipping to Dragon's side, I slapped my hand over his wound, allowing my blood to mingle with his. I knew when the poison was neutralized; it didn't take long. "He's all right now," I said, before going to the woman.
"Here," I became humanoid and knelt, completely naked in a winter field, shivering and placing a bleeding hand over Kiarra's wounds. I smeared my blood from one end of the wounds to the other, going by feel again until I knew the poison was neutralized. Joey stared at me when I finished. "You should be able to work your mojo now," I said. "I got rid of all the star power."
"Is that what it was?" Joey blinked at me in confusion.
"Yeah. It's cold here, did you know?"
"Here." Kevis wrapped a blanket around me and lifted me from the ground. My feet were completely frozen, I think, and it wouldn't take much to snap them off. "I'll meet you back at the house; Dad's about to have a fit." I stared at Kevis Halivar as he folded—yes folded—me somewhere.
Karzac was waiting as Kevis settled me on a stone floor inside a beautiful kitchen, and when I saw Kevis and Karzac next to one another, I knew exactly what was going on. "I ought to punch you," I poked a finger in Kevis' chest. He was Karzac's son. I saw the resemblance with them so close together. "No wonder I never saw you in the same room together." A sandy-blond man that looked very much like Adam Chessman snickered behind Kevis.
"Reah, you're naked," Kevis pointed out. My blanket had dropped to the floor.
"Yeah? I thought you were a doctor. Surely you've seen this before," I snapped, poking him in the chest again.
"Reah, it's a little undignified, arguing naked in my mother's kitchen," Kevis sounded embarrassed.
"You were the one who brought me here," I reminded him, lifting the blanket and wrapping it around me. "I'll go home now." I started to skip away.
"No!" Karzac and Kevis shouted in unison.
"Young one, you most certainly will not skip away until we have examined you and determined that what you just did harmed the child in no way. And your hand is bleeding," Karzac grumped.
"I had to bite it to neutralize the poison in the others," I huffed.
"And Dragon is very grateful. Kiarra is still in shock, I think."
"Is she all right? They didn't hurt her too badly, did they?" Now I was worried.
"She is fine, she just had no idea who you were at the moment; she was in too much pain. She also had no idea where you came from or why you were naked and smearing blood all over her stomach. I had to send someone to explain." Karzac was almost tapping his foot with impatience.
"Why don't you go help her?" I turned back to Kevis. "It sounds as if she's scarred for life, now." The sandy-haired man laughed out loud when I said that.
"Come along, you," Kevis lifted me off the floor and hauled me down a lengthy hallway. Karzac, trailing behind us, slapped the door shut when at least three other people attempted to get inside. I didn't recognize any of them, although the sandy-haired man was one of the three.
"Now, Reah, you will sit there while I examine you and the child. Honestly, what kind of stunt was that anyway?" Karzac was muttering his displeasure as he placed his fingers on my hand first, healing up the wound. Kevis found a cloth and wet it in a small sink in the corner of the room to wash off the blood. Looking around me, I decided the room was a doctor's office. Supplies and equipment were stored inside—not that any of it was needed—except for the cloth Kevis used to clean blood from my hand. Karzac placed a hand over my bare chest. "Does anything hurt?" he asked quietly, acting as if he were listening to my heartbeat.
"My feet are freezing," I said. "And I'd really like to make sure my toes won't snap off when I kick Kevis' ass."
"Reah, I get that you're the toughest woman on the block and all that," Kevis said. "Hush now, Dad and I are checking on the baby." I rolled my eyes as two sets of hands went to my belly.
"Must not be anything like the Saa Thalarr. The baby's fine," Karzac sighed, straightening up.
"What does that mean?" I asked. "I changed the whole time I was pregnant before. I had to in order to get the insects out of the groves."
"Reah, you should probably stop talking now before Dad has a stroke." Kevis gave me a level look with the gold-green eyes he'd inherited from his father.
"Karzac, don't have a stroke," I mumbled, ducking my head and suddenly feeling ashamed.
"Little one," Karzac lifted my face, "I will not have a stroke. But it was a very close thing this time," he gave me a small smile. "I know not how you did what you did, but I had visions of a miscarriage. I am most happy to see that will not be the case."
"Where is she?" The door banged open and Dragon, with Norton and Franklin almost hanging off him, strode into the room.
"Don't tell me you're having a stroke, too?"
"I may have worse. Is she all right? Is the child well?" Dragon demanded.
"Everything is fine; it seems she's done this sort of thing throughout all her pregnancies," Karzac released a long-suffering sigh.
"To clear insects out of the groves," Kevis added, almost in an identical tone to his father's.
"It keeps everything organic," I huffed, crossing arms angrily over my chest. What were they so upset about? I shook my head in confusion.
"Reah, you reached your fourth month of pregnancy two days ago. Saa Thalarr women cannot change or use their power after four months or they will miscarry," Karzac said.
"Obviously I'm not one of them," I pointed out while nobody in particular paid any mind at all.
"How is she otherwise?" Dragon asked.
"Fine, except for the," Kevis tapped his head with a finger.
"You know, I think my feet are warmed up enough now," I threatened. "Is this how you handle all your crazy patients?"
"No, just the short ones who can turn to something with scales, wings and stands around fifteen feet tall afterward," Kevis grinned.
"You—I have no words," I said, sliding off the table I'd been dumped on. Tugging my blanket tighter around me, I marched out of the room with as much dignity as I could muster before skipping away.
* * *
"Dad, do you think all that scar tissue on her womb will affect the baby?" Kevis asked after Reah skipped away.
"I hope it won't, but I worry that it may not stretch as normal tissue might," Karzac shook his head. "I don't want to mention it, in case it doesn't turn into a problem—she has enough to worry about as it is and so far the baby is fine. Just keep examining her often, and tell the others not to alarm her over this. It may be nothing, after all."
"All right. I need to go after her, anyway." Kevis sighed and folded to Campiaa.
* * *
"Where have you been?" Teeg was close to shouting when I arrived on Farzi's patio. He and Nenzi were peering around Teeg, worry in their eyes.
"I just went with Joey, Norton and Franklin," I said. "Some Ra'Ak showed up. They're all dead now."
"And you killed them." Teeg tossed up a hand in frustration.
"Most of them," I nodded. "I zapped them. Like a zap oven." I walked behind Teeg and put my arms around Nenzi's neck. "Nenzi, I'm tired. Can I go to bed with you and Farzi?"
Nenzi didn't say anything; he merely hauled me off the ground and walked as fast as he could toward the house.