08 Blood War-Blood Destiny Read online

  BLOOD WAR

  Blood Destiny #8

  CONNIE SUTTLE

  For Walter and Joe, as usual.

  And for Lisa F.—all my best to you, always.

  Blood War, copyright © Connie Suttle 2012

  All rights reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents portrayed within its pages are purely fictitious and a product of the author's often warped imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental, so don't get your hopes up.

  Other books by Connie Suttle:

  Blood Destiny Series:

  Blood Wager

  Blood Passage

  Blood Sense

  Blood Domination

  Blood Royal

  Blood Queen

  Blood Rebellion

  Blood War

  Blood Redemption*

  Untitled*

  Legend of the Ir'Indicti series:

  Bumble

  Shadowed

  Target*

  Vendetta*

  Untitled*

  Chapter 1

  Ildevar Wyyld, founding member of the Reth Alliance, gazed out the window of his study, his hands held studiously behind his back as he examined the grounds around his palace. Three of the twenty members of the Grand Alliance Council, those who'd helped him create the Alliance in the beginning, sat inside his study. They'd all brought news and the news wasn't good.

  "So. Solar Red has been in hiding all along. Do you think they remember what forced them from our Alliance to begin with?" Ildevar moved away from the window and sat behind his desk with a sigh.

  "My spies tell me that many among them are long-lived, if not immortal. Of course, they remember. We all know, too, that revenge is in their blood. Even if they'd been ousted three thousand years ago instead of three hundred, they'd still seek vengeance. My informants also tell me that Solar Red has created an offshoot of their religion, called The Red Hand. This is gaining a legitimate foothold on many worlds, some of them ours," Diedrick, First Grand Alliance Advisor, muttered angrily.

  Farle, Nineteenth Grand Alliance Advisor, blinked at Diedrick. "You think they're torturing and killing already? Within the Alliance?"

  "They can't help themselves. And the more pain they can create before their victim dies, the greater pleasure they derive from the death." Nevarr, Fourth Advisor for the Grand Alliance Council observed. "Brother, what are we to do?" He turned to Ildevar.

  "We cannot reveal ourselves. We are the last of our race as it once was, and we will die if we are discovered," Ildevar shook his head. "I fear that these murderers have allied with our enemy and they will recognize our hand if we intervene. Others must wage this war for us. If we die, the Alliance dies with us and the peace we have worked so hard to create and maintain will cease to exist."

  "Who will wage our war, brother?" Diedrick asked. "Who among our Alliance holds the strength to defeat them?"

  "The one who defeated them before, brother," Ildevar replied. "She is stronger, now."

  "You have not heard my news," Nevarr sighed.

  "What news do you bring?" Ildevar lifted an eyebrow at his Fourth Advisor.

  "That Black Mist is conspiring with Solar Red. Therefore, they are also conspiring with The Red Hand and any other criminal faction that can put two murderers together. If Solar Red is seeking vengeance against the one who defeated them before, then Black Mist is likely taking on their cause—for a fee, of course."

  "Black Mist. Even we cannot find them, they are so cunning," Diedrick muttered angrily. "And they move about our Alliance at will. How many kings, queens and heads of state have they assassinated already?"

  "Too many," Ildevar agreed. "Any death can be bought from Black Mist, including that of those who have paid them in the past. They have no care for any, it appears. They only care for the money that murdering brings."

  "Is there anything we can do, then?" Farle asked. "We expect the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis to be our champion in this cause, but will we just sit on our hands while she protects us?"

  "The Five-Year Conclave is swiftly approaching, too," Ildevar agreed. "This is the first she will attend, and that can offer an easy target for any would-be assassin."

  "Find someone who can travel to Le-Ath Veronis soon. Someone who will be our eyes and ears there and report their findings to us. Admit it—even we do not know the full extent of her capabilities. We may be throwing an innocent before butchers if Black Mist is involved in this."

  "Black Mist is involved, I swear it," Nevarr said. "Money has already changed hands. One of my trusted Warlock spies handed the information to me yesterday."

  "They'll have difficulty reaching her on Le-Ath Veronis."

  "Not as much as you might think, brother."

  * * *

  Tiearan Briar studied Corent River, who sat nearby, lost in melancholy. They'd chosen the riverbank beneath the willows for their meeting, and Corent was so immersed in thought he ignored the willow branch that brushed his shoulders as the wind stirred. Corent was half-Green Fae, one of the rare half-Green, half-humanoids that lived in a secluded area on the planet of Vionn. The small race called themselves Green Birth, and they'd existed on Vionn for more than a thousand years.

  The Green Birth Fae had been ousted from one world to the next throughout millennia, until they'd become increasingly hemmed in. Their particular sect did not kill; they existed solely upon a plant-based diet and were restricted to living upon worlds that held the precious crystal—Indis-Banuu—holder of the sun.

  "We came here for the crystal, rare as it is," Tiearan sighed. Corent lifted the transparent crystal drop that hung about his neck and stared at it.

  All Green Fae knew the sun's light and power gave them additional strength to do their work. The crystal they employed held the sun's light and the Green Fae's power, often for days, enabling them to work in the evenings or on cloudy days when the sun did not shine through.

  "The Red Hand religion is an evil, Father Tiearan," Corent muttered. "They spread superstition and murder in the name of their god. They whisper the word magic as if it is a curse. How is this a curse?" He swept his hand toward the fertile fields about them.

  "When we first came, we took what none wanted—the most undesirable portion of Farus," Tiearan said. "Nothing grew here except stunted trees and weeds. None challenged when we paid what we could for the land and began to farm. Now that it is a rich and fertile garden, they desire it. They cannot buy it back from us now—we do not wish to sell and Farus' new King is too poor. His people are on the verge of revolt because he is taxing them too heavily. King Rindil, who has inherited a destitute country from his father, is now listening to the Pelipu in Ialus, who thinks of us as demons."

  "They will not understand that it takes our power and Indis-Banuu to keep these fields, orchards and vineyards alive," Corent snorted. "Traders seek us out for the excess that we raise."

  They wish to kill us anyway, because they have no understanding," Tiearan agreed. "We could leave—it is true—we have left many worlds for much the same reason. But no other world has given us the gift of children, as this one has," Tiearan sighed. "We did not know that mingling with the Vionnu who have come to live and work beside us would produce children. You and the others like you are a joy to us. Yes, we could Flash away from this world and start again elsewhere, but we would be forced to leave our half-Fae children behind. Your bodies will never survive the Flashing, my child. You would be left behind with the peaceful Vionnu and would become a target for a vengeful religion and a greedy King."

  "I know it is against our code to kill, Father Tiearan, but many among our Vionnu allies have offered to take up weapons, althoug
h their hearts are not in it."

  "They have no training for such," Tiearan huffed. "It would be as slaughtering innocent children. The Pelipu has spread his lies and now his followers believe it is our intent to bed their virgin daughters and produce demon children until all of Vionn is consumed."

  "They will torture us, before we die by their hand," Corent's voice held sadness.

  "Rindil has accepted money from the Temple already, and has begun building an army. The Pelipu will send seasoned troops to add to Rindil's. What do they think we will do against so many? We have no weapons and no desire to use them, should we have any." Tiearan focused on Corent's face. "I am grieved that things have come to this, child," he said.

  Corent gazed back at Tiearan. Tiearan was quite old, although he looked very young. Tiearan had the long, pale-gold hair of the Briar clan; Corent's hair was a light blue-green, which often turned a deep blue if he stood in the sun long enough. His mother always told him that his hair reflected water and sky, depending on whether he was in sun or shade.

  "What shall we do, then, father Tiearan?" Corent and every half-Fae child had grown up with their Green Fae mothers teaching them to call the older males father. And the older males treated the children as if they were theirs, teaching them small things, smiling often and handing out praise when it was deserved. Corent had known that love from the beginning. He was now in danger of losing that, in addition to his life.

  "Child," Tiearan sighed, "we are sick inside our hearts. We wish to leave, but we cannot take our half-Fae children off this world with us."

  "Do you regret our births?" Corent asked, studying Tiearan's expression.

  "We do not regret our children, only what may happen to them."

  "Shall we merely sit back while they take us, then?"

  Tiearan watched Corent. Corent's face reflected his mother's—Rain of the River clan. She was worried for her half-Fae son. Rain was the one who'd offered a suggestion and now most of the elders were considering it. They had gone as far as to approach a Karathian Warlock on a nearby world, but he was one of the mercenaries who traveled beyond Karathia's orbit and asked an exorbitant price, which the Greens couldn't pay.

  The Green Fae seldom dealt in gold or precious gems; they dealt mostly in trade—for metal objects and other goods, which they did not manufacture and had little desire to do so. What little they had in the way of riches (as calculated by the Vionnu) was garnered through trading. They traded away what others considered wealth for nails, hinges, glass bottles, corks, and other items that were needed. Most of the gold they received was paid to the crown as taxes.

  "We have come up with an idea," Tiearan finally said. Corent's attention was immediate. "I have not told you before, child, about some of the worlds outside our own. A world lies a few Flashings away where there are real magic wielders," Tiearan snorted. "And the Pelipu worries about us."

  * * *

  Winkler was having a second helping of ribs and grinning at me. "Do I have a bedroom at the palace, now?" he teased.

  "Honey, I think you can have just about anything you want," I replied, smiling like an idiot at my wolf. We'd been talking nonstop ever since he'd folded in. The wolf I'd seen in a carved box at his funeral had been made to look and smell exactly like him. It just hadn't been him, and he'd smiled and kissed me—several times—as I wiped tears away and described the service.

  I saw so much in his eyes, so many years that he'd experienced that I had no part in. We had so much catching up to do—and time enough, now, to do it. Even Gavin and Tony were having a decent conversation with Winkler—they'd seen him now and then while he'd still been the Dallas Packmaster.

  "Lissa, I'd like to ask a favor," Kiarra sat nearby, with Merrill and Adam right behind her.

  "What do you need?" I asked, watching as she brushed nearly white hair back from her face and smiled tentatively at me.

  "We might want to borrow Gavin and Tony sometimes, if that's okay. They have good experience with things like this, and we might need their help."

  "Help with what?" Gavin and Tony were both interested, but Tony was the one to ask.

  "With Ra'Ak spawn. These rogue Ra'Ak won't be following the rules and it's a sure bet they'll be making spawn as quickly as possible. The vampires we have can scent them just as well as the werewolves, so it's easy for them to locate spawn. With their enhanced speed, vampires have the easiest time killing them, too. If Gavin and Tony consent to freelance for us, we'll give them Folding and Looking capability."

  "You can do that?" Tony was very interested now.

  "We can do that, but you have to follow the rules as far as using those gifts go," Kiarra smiled at him.

  "I'm in," Tony declared.

  "If Lissa agrees." Gavin's response was more circumspect.

  "I agree, if you want to," I nodded at both of them. "I don't have a problem with it."

  "I'll come next week, then, and we'll take care of it." Kiarra was happy, I could tell. We folded home not long after that, Winkler pulled me into my bedroom and proceeded to lock everybody else out.

  "I've waited forever for this, and the good news is that I won't poison you if I nip a little," he grinned at me just before he lowered his head and gave me the best kiss ever.

  A woman told me long ago that werewolves were possessive in bed. I thought she was only talking about her werewolf. She wasn't. Winkler not only had me clawing on his back and moaning his name, he had me tucked against him and was nipping my shoulder if I tried to move while he napped afterward.

  * * *

  "So, what's the big brouhaha Council meeting about this morning?" Winkler asked. I was watching him dress the following morning and keeping my mouth shut while I did it—it's never attractive for the Queen to drool. Yeah, I would have watched Winkler all day. If I could have. Muscles rippled in his arms as he pulled on a dress shirt.

  "Oh, I'm supposed to talk now," I mentally pulled myself away from Winkler's physique.

  "Yeah," he grinned.

  "Well, we're pulling in all the vamps who have female vampire mates, just to make sure the female mate in question wants to be with the vampire and isn't under compulsion or duress. The idea is to make sure the mates aren't being mistreated."

  "I thought the bond had to be renewed every hundred years."

  "It was like that on Earth. Other worlds have less or more time, depending on their Council. However, if you think that Wlodek actually checked to see if the female—or male if that was the case—actually wasn't under compulsion, then you can likely think again. Most of those vampires on Earth belonged to the Aristocracy, and it was prestigious to have a female vampire among your many possessions. I don't believe for a minute they'd let that get away if they could help it. Part of today's meeting will be about making it unlawful to place compulsion of any kind on your mate. There's no need to hide anymore, so there shouldn't be any reason for it."

  "If you'd been susceptible to compulsion like everybody thought, you'd be stuck with Gavin only, wouldn't you?" he asked. I stood and went to help button his shirt. Winkler pulled me against him and kissed my forehead.

  "Yeah." I leaned my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat for a moment. "I missed you."

  "I tore down your house."

  "I don't care. I won't ever get to live there, anyway."

  "I get that." He tilted my chin up and rubbed my nose with his before kissing me. "And I'm getting mindspeech from Tony. He says all hands and the cook need to go to the Council meeting, in case we meet with resistance on the no-compulsion-on-your-mate thing."

  "Cheedas doesn't need to be anywhere near the Council meeting, so tell Tony to leave the cook out of it."

  "Will do." Winkler kissed me again before leading me from my suite and toward the dining hall.

  * * *

  The usual crowd was there at the table, plus a few extras. I was coming to accept it as normal—that people would just show up. What surprised me, though, was Dragon's presence. He was s
itting beside Gavin, having sausage and eggs with my irascible vampire mate. Dragon stayed and motioned for me to sit down again after the others left, including Winkler, Drake and Drew. Gavin and Tony probably wanted to go over procedure in case the Council meeting wasn't a peaceful one. Dragon moved to the chair next to mine.

  I watched his face—dark eyes examined my expression carefully while he wore his usual, inscrutable scowl. I waited for him to speak. "Lissa," he began, "I haven't failed to notice that you're not speaking to me." He looked away, as if that troubled him.

  He was right—I hadn't really spoken to him since we'd come back from Falchan after getting rid of the REHs there—the Ra'Ak-enhanced humanoids. He'd gotten upset when I interrupted him while he was laying down the law—in a Warlordy sort of way. He'd done some yelling at me afterward, about following the orders of a superior officer (or an approximation, anyway). Dragon was the leader of our little army of thirteen, although I hadn't officially signed up. I guess that made me a draftee—and a low-ranking one, to boot. He'd yelled at Drake and Drew, too, since they hadn't explained the chain of command thing.

  "You gonna yell about that, too?" I asked.

  Dragon sighed as he turned and focused eyes so dark they were almost black on me again. His boys—all three of them, had gotten his genes and good looks. All had dark eyes, black hair they kept braided down their backs and all wore dragon tattoos. "Lissa, we're family," Dragon sighed. "Your family. We pulled you out of here too fast, so you wouldn't have the opportunity to argue or turn us down. Belen said it was important to take you with us and we didn't have time to explain that."