Blood Double

Blood Double by Connie Suttle Page B

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Authors: Connie Suttle
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eyes, stopped me with a wave of his hand. He was tall, too, just as Griffin was—nearly six-six. Rylend, his great-grandson, bore no resemblance to the former King of Karathia. Ry gave a nod to me—he was King and ultimately in charge of whether I continued. I was grateful he didn't ask me to go on.
    "What do you know about your heritage?" Griffin asked. I did my best not to shiver. "My mother was serving a prison sentence when I was born. She gave me up for adoption. She had no idea who my father was."
    "It doesn't matter; she's not a Q'elindi, I'm certain of it. She has strong mind-reading ability or something. Perhaps some empathic talent as well. A Q'elindi would not stand there and cower as this one does. And she wears no veil. All the Q'elindis wore veils unless they wanted to read someone. Otherwise, the gift was too painful to baldly face everyone like that," Wylend Arden was certain in his judgment.
    I didn't point out that he'd made some very great mistakes in his past, along with a stumblingly terrible misjudgment that cost him love. Briefly, I thought about telling him it would take centuries before anyone would come to love him. I didn't.
    "I'm sure you know best," I said and turned to Erland. "I'd like to go back to Le-Ath Veronis now."
    "Are you sure you don't want a meal first?" he asked. I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say please give me decent food—vegetarian food—that tasted good and nourished me. I didn't. Shaking my head, I carefully examined the Queen's shoes that covered my feet. I wanted to get away from Wylend Arden and his only son as quickly as possible. Sighing deeply, Erland Morphis transported me home.
    * * *
    "I know you had your hopes up, but there's little chance she has any Karathian blood. You know as well as I that our warlocks never visit Earth. It holds no appeal," Wylend accepted a glass of wine from a servant.
    "I can't read her," Griffin shrugged. "But there's little chance she's anything other than a talented empath."
    "It would have been so useful to have a Q'elindi in my court," Rylend murmured. "Still, I may borrow her from time to time; Teeg has already benefitted from her talent."
    "Then do that. Borrow her. There's no need to support her in any way, after all. She's a new vampire and not allowed to take money for her services. A true Q'elindi always came at a great price."
    * * *
    "Boss?" Trajan stared at Ashe as Ashe studied his surroundings. "Why are we here?" Trajan continued.
    "We have to put up a shield, but we have to make it so it's not apparent," Ashe murmured. "Nobody here can fold in and out, so that's a blessing. We'll have to do damage control, though, if anybody who can fold space tries to get onto the planet."
    "You think Harifa Edus will be attacked." Trajan sighed as he studied the open field surrounding them. A forest lay in the distance, and Trajan knew it held deer and game in plenty, and was a favorite hunting ground on any full moon.
    "I don't think, Traje. I know."
    "Then we have to do it," Trajan nodded. "How close will they have to get before they know it's shielded?"
    "Very close. This is delicate business, and I can't leave any evidence behind that I was here."
    "Then let's get to it. How long will this take?"
    "About ten days. At the least. I have to build this, layer by layer, and make it look like somebody else had a hand in building it."
    "Subtle. I like it."
    "Yeah. Me, too." Ashe flashed a wide grin in Trajan's direction. "It'll be worth it, too. Too bad I won't get to see their faces—if they have a face, that is, when it's discovered."
    "Boss, I think you just scared holy heck out of me."
    "I hope it scares holy heck out of the one or ones looking to destroy it."
    "I guess we can't help the others, can we?"
    "No. It's a punch in the gut, but this is the best we can do."
    "Gotcha." Trajan hunched his shoulders and stared at the grass beneath his feet.
     

Chapter 7  
     
    Breanne's Journal
    "Don't take it as an insult," Erland Morphis

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