Blood Alliance
Blood Destiny, Book 12
Connie Suttle
Copyright © 2018, by Connie Suttle
All Rights Reserved
Print ISBN: 1-63478-025-6
Print ISBN-13: 978-1-63478-025-4
eBook ISBN: 1-63478-024-8
eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-63478-024-7
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 imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
This book, whole or in part, MAY NOT be copied or reproduced by electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying or the implementation of any type of storage or retrieval system) without the express written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
Published by:
SubtleDemon Publishing, LLC
PO Box 95696
Oklahoma City, OK 73143
Cover art by Renee Barratt @ The Cover Counts
To Walter, Joe, Larry, Lee, Dianne, Sarah and Mark.
Thank you.
For the Bearcat
who lived twenty-two-and-a-half years before crossing the rainbow bridge. Remember to say hello to your brother and sister for me, and tell them I’ll be along eventually.
And for Erin Lavon Butler
Somewhere in the distance, your light is shining on us all.
Acknowledgments
As always, this book is the result of collaboration. If it weren't for the support of my editor, my cover artist and my beta readers, it would be less than it is. All mistakes, as usual, are mine and no other's.
About the Author:
Connie Suttle lives in Oklahoma with her husband and a conglomerate of cats. They have finally banded together to make their demands, which has proven disconcerting to all humans involved.
You may find Connie in the following ways:
Facebook: Connie Suttle Author
Twitter: @subtledemon
Website and Blog: subtledemon.com
Also by Connie Suttle
Blood Destiny Series:
Blood Wager
Blood Passage
Blood Sense
Blood Domination
Blood Royal
Blood Queen
Blood Rebellion
Blood War
Blood Redemption
Blood Reunion
Blood Recall
Blood Alliance
Legend of the Ir'Indicti Series:
Bumble
Shadowed
Target
Vendetta
Destroyer
High Demon Series:
Demon Lost
Demon Revealed
Demon's King
Demon's Quest
Demon's Revenge
Demon's Dream
God Wars Series:
Blood Double
Blood Trouble
Blood Revolution
Blood Love
Blood Finale
Saa Thalarr Series:
Hope and Vengeance
Wyvern and Company
Observe and Protect*
First Ordinance Series:
Finder
Keeper
BlackWing
SpellBreaker
WhiteWing
R-D Series:
Cloud Dust
Cloud Invasion
Cloud Rebel
Latter Day Demons Series:
Hot Demon in the City
A Demon's Work is Never Done
A Demon's Due
Seattle Elementals Series:
Your Money's Worth
Worth Your While*
BlackWing Pirates Series
MindSighted
MindMage
MindRogue
MindMaster*
Black Rose Sorceress Series
The Rose Mark
Rose and Thorn
Black Rose Queen
Queen of Thorns and Roses
Other Titles from SubtleDemon Publishing:
Malefactor
Transgressor
Underhanded*
by Joe Scholes
*Forthcoming
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 1
Earth, Past
Russian Embassy, Cairo
Ambassador Bespalov
Zaria,
I'm sorry I have not been able to find this information for you sooner. Many of my contacts and sources of information have either been arrested or have disappeared. I did finally speak with someone. He and his daughter worked as janitors at the facility you mentioned, regarding the one you name D'slay.
The father swears that D'slay disappeared and took Irina, his daughter, with him, shortly before the facility was demolished. He is still mourning her absence and says that if Irina were in control of her own senses, she would never have abandoned him.
If you wish to speak with him yourself, his name is Viktor. You said you only needed first names, and I hope this is still true. The government is sending me into retirement in only a few months, and it is my hope that it will not be the same retirement home as that of our mutual friend.
Sincerely—B.
Reth Alliance, Current
Queen's Palace, Le-Ath Veronis
Lissa
Lissa? Zaria sounded tentative, as if she thought I might scold her for not contacting me sooner. I knew through Ashe and Charles that she'd been more than busy tracking D'slay and his Sirenali bones, bone dust and a probable stash of the Lyristolyi drug.
Zaria? What do you need? I replied quickly.
Just to talk and run some things past you, she said, sounding weary.
Want something to eat while you're here?
That sounds nice. Can you feed four others besides me? Bleek, Tamp, Ilya and Edden are with me right now.
Of course. Do you want to talk to anyone else while you're here?
If Ashe and Breanne are available, then yes. If you can find Charles, also yes.
She didn't call Charles Father, or Daddy, or anything else. I figured those were names he hadn't earned and might never do so.
Like Griffin hadn't earned them from me, either.
Charles, Bree? I sent. Your daughter wants to talk to you.
Be right there, Charles answered first, with Bree's acknowledgement coming shortly after.
Ashe, Zaria wants to talk to us, I sent, knowing he'd come.
Damn, I wish they were this responsive whenever I wanted to talk to them.
Palace Library, Le-Ath Veronis
Zaria
"D'slay has turned into a problem," I said. "We," I indicated my mates who'd come to the meeting with me, "think D'slay bears a strong resemblance to V'ili."
"Does this mean he's related to the Prophet?" Ashe asked.
"It looks that way. Whether by natural birth or by genetic manipulation, they're likely related."
"Liron and V'ili, the malicious gifts that keep on giving," Bree shook her head.
"I doubt V'ili had enough talent to accomplish much of this on his own," I said. "He would never have created anyone to rival his narcissistic self. It was Liron's idea to create the Prophet—and D'slay, too, i
n all likelihood."
"You think D'slay has the same sociopathic tendencies as V'ili?" Lissa asked.
"We can't get close enough to him to tell for sure, but he certainly has V'ili's talents for criminal activity and the ability to hide it from everybody. So far, we've only been fortunate enough to follow in his destructive wake. Anyone who's seen him is dead. Quinn and I are sick to death of reading mutilated bodies to learn whatever we can, and that isn't much. He places obsessions before he kills."
"Is he supplying bones and bone dust to criminals?"
"Probably, but once that happens, we can't find them any longer. Plus, he may be handing out the Lyristolyi drug like candy, so criminals can change their appearances whenever they want."
"Do you think he has contact with the Prophet?"
"If he does it isn't much, and Randl agrees. So far, they've had their own agendas, and those plans may complement each other without their paths crossing very often."
"You think D'slay is running interference for the Prophet, don't you?" Charles frowned.
"I do, and he may be supplying the Prophet through back channels with anything he needs or wants to wage his war against us."
"Through other criminals, so we won't have a direct path to either," Lissa concluded.
"Yes. The Prophet hasn't squeaked from inside his rathole for a while, and Randl knows he's plotting something. I've told Randl to stay focused on the Prophet; he doesn't need to add D'slay to the Formidables' to-do list."
"Are you sharing information?" Ashe asked.
"Yes—constantly. Anything that comes up that could be relevant is passed along. Randl is getting his ships back together, and ah, we've built a spaceport for Sirena."
"We?" Charles lifted an eyebrow.
"The Larentii," I said. "They are the only race as a whole who know exactly where Sirena is. It was easier to ask for their help, rather than going elsewhere."
"It's not the first time the Larentii have helped build a spaceport," Lissa frowned at Charles. "They put most of Le-Ath Veronis' together."
"Randl offered them open access to the planet, so the curious ones can visit whenever they want. They found that to be adequate compensation, plus they enjoy the sunlight there. It's a pale shade of green, and they consider it a delicacy."
"What about you? Do you consider it a delicacy?" Bree asked.
"You're kidding?" Lissa made a face at me.
"Most Larentii have never eaten actual food. I have, and it's the closest comparison I can make," I shrugged. "It's somewhat exotic and a change from the ordinary."
"And nobody has to do the dishes afterward," Lissa smiled. "What can we do to help find D'slay?"
"We've been running from place to place, chasing rumors and investigating criminal activity," Edden told her. He was the diplomat among us, and the best one to speak of our attempts in this search. "It's as if they're baiting us and keeping us unbalanced, by striking here and there, with no clear pattern. What we need is someone to stay and continue an investigation on several likely planets, while others chase these phantoms that appear. Then, they can feed the information back to those on the planets in question."
"Do you have a list?" Bree asked.
"Yes," Ilya said. "These are particularly interesting, in view of the type of criminal activities reported, but once we get there, something else happens on another planet and we're forced to leave before we've done any real work."
"They are baiting you, then," Ashe agreed. "They probably realize that only a few are tracking them at this point, and with an extensive network of criminals in place, they can run you ragged looking for them. I think Bill and a few others from SouthStar might be interested in helping."
"Gavin can put a team together," Lissa said. "I figure Drake and Drew wouldn't say no to some investigative work. There are others, too, who can join either team."
"The Saa Thalarr can volunteer for this," Belen appeared with a beaming smile. "I'd suggest asking for a High Demon to accompany every team sent out."
"I can contact Reah," Lissa offered.
"She says she has someone ready to join my team," I replied. "I've already talked to her and Lexsi. They'll send as many volunteers as we want."
"They'd do anything for you," Breanne said. "You know why."
"They don't owe me anything," I argued.
"Well, it can't be because they love you, surely," she teased.
"I tried to tell them it could be dangerous, and they still want to send help. I said volunteers only, who know what they're getting into."
"Food is ready," Lissa announced. "Who's hungry?"
High Demon Palace, Kifirin
Denevik Lith
"Grandfather, I know Grandmother Breszca's death still troubles you," Reah told me. She and I sat in the kitchen, having a snack that she'd cooked for us. Not many were served by the Queen of Kifirin nowadays—she was too busy running the planet and barely had time for sleep.
She was right; Breszca had been gone for years, and still I felt an absence in my life. She was missing, and there was a hole—a gap in me where love belonged. Recently, I'd begun thinking about Baetrah, and giving myself to its flames to relieve the emptiness of my life.
I'm sure Reah and Lexsi had noticed; few things got past them. Therefore, Reah had invited me to share a treat with her in the kitchen, which was oddly empty of all servants at what should be a busy time of day.
"Lobster crisps are my favorite," I forced a smile as I bit into the tasty treat.
"I know. I have a favor to ask of you, Grandfather," Reah said. Lifting my eyes, I blinked at her sudden seriousness.
"What's that? Please tell me it's not another offer to sit on your Council. I've done that already, and it wearied me, listening to all the argument."
"I know that, too," she agreed. "I think this favor may be more to your liking, although I will warn you up front that it could be quite dangerous."
"Dangerous?" I almost agreed right then, without even knowing what it was. Dangerous sounded as if I could serve a purpose and forfeit my life in a better way than jumping into a volcano in humanoid form.
"Yes. Very, according to the one who is coordinating this search."
"What search is that? And who are we talking about?" I crunched into a second lobster crisp, its delicate pastry cooked to perfection, the lobster and cream sauce inside both savory and perfect on my tongue.
"The search is for one of V'ili's get—a Sirinali named D'slay."
I stopped chewing for a moment as I considered this information. V'ili had been next to impossible to track and kill. He and Cayetes, the master criminal he'd served, had left a trail of crime, bodies and dead or destroyed planets in their wake.
"That’s—certainly dangerous," I dipped my head in a half-nod. "You want someone who isn't susceptible to Sirenali obsession, I take it?"
"That is certainly my goal. We need several volunteers, but none more important than the one serving on this particular team."
"Which team is that?"
"The one who started the hunt for D'slay. Zaria."
"I'd say that Zaria deserves the best High Demon you can send, then," I said.
"That's why I want you to go with her. I've got others from the army who've volunteered to go out with other hunting parties. I need someone I can trust with my life to go with Zaria, because she is more than important to Kifirin—and the Crown."
"I haven't trained with the army in a long while," I pointed out.
"It will come back to you. When is the last time your full Thifilathi was set free?"
"Mostly, my smaller Thifilathi goes out on full moons," I confessed. "It became a habit because Breszca was terrified of the taller one."
"I doubt Zaria or anyone on her crew will worry about your full Thifilathi."
"Larentii are seldom worried about that sort of thing," I conceded. "When should I go?"
"Lissa is hosting Zaria and four of her mates at a meal right now. You can go and introduce yourself, if you want. You can take the rest of these crisps, too; you're not the only one who loves them."
"How long do you suppose the search will continue?" I asked as I rose from the small kitchen table.
"I don't know, but should it last for more than two years, then I beg you to stay until two years are up."
"Then it will be so, Granddaughter." I leaned down and kissed her cheek, making her smile.
"Crisps," she held the tray out to me. "Give them to Lissa, first. She adores these."
Queen's Palace, Le-Ath Veronis
Lissa
Grandfather is on the way, Reah sent. I've asked him to join Zaria's crew.
Denevik Lith is on the way, I informed Zaria. He's Reah's pick as your High Demon crew member.
Ah. I feel there's another reason for sending her Grandfather, and it's not only because she trusts him.
Breszca died years ago, and he's still in mourning, I said. Perhaps activity will break him out of that mood. I'm sure Reah is concerned that he's considering Baetrah to end his life.
That's a downer, Zaria sent a mental sigh.
"Queen Lissa, Reah sends her regards and ah, a half-tray of lobster crisps," Denevik appeared near my seat at the table and offered the tray of food.