Demon's Dream (High Demon Series #6) Read online

  "Yes. That is the name I use most often," I said, nodding at the doctor.

  "You go by other names?" His left eyebrow rose slightly.

  "I have several aliases, through the ASD," I said.

  "Ah." Doctor Halivar entered information into his deskcomp. Likely, the deskcomp was also recording the conversation, vid and aud, so he was making notes of some kind. It made me want to get up and see what they were, but I held back. I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate my curiosity in the least.

  "I hope these records will be kept private," I said.

  "I think sir Larentii there would separate my particles if I didn't," Doctor Halivar smiled. "This is just a preliminary meeting; I have a session scheduled with you later this afternoon. We'll talk more then. A room has been set up and I hope we have all your preferences correct on soap, shampoo and other personal items."

  "I'm sure it will be fine, I've learned not to be picky," I said.

  "You'll let us know if the bed and the accommodations are acceptable?"

  "Of course."

  "Good. Welcome to Sea Winds, Ms. Nilvas. Someone will show you to your suite now." Doctor Halivar pressed another button on his deskcomp. A nurse walked in. "Take Ms. Nilvas to the suite on the end, Ceerah," he said.

  "Yes, Doctor. Come, Ms. Nilvas." Ceerah's voice was stiff and unrelenting. Somehow, she made me think of Ardalin for a moment. She didn't look like Ardalin, though. Ceerah was prettier than that, with dark hair and green eyes. I watched her closely as she walked down the hall while I followed. I still had my strength and my skipping skills, in addition to being able to turn. If Nurse Ceerah bothered me, she would regret it.

  "This is pretty," I said, glancing around the spacious suite. Plexi windows lined one wall and provided a very nice view of the ocean roughly a quarter click away. I was on the second floor of the clinic and it looked more like an exclusive resort than a facility that treated mental patients.

  "I will go now," Nefrigar had to duck to get through doorways, and I think that irritated him.

  "Thanks, hon," I said, giving him the best smile I could.

  "Remember to contact me if there is any difficulty."

  "I'll try." Nefrigar disappeared, causing Ceerah to frown. She didn't like non-humanoids, I think.

  "You have a limited comp-vid, a vid-screen, access to almost any book and most news programs," Ceerah pointed out the comp in the sofa table and the vid-screen on a wall facing the sofa. The bedroom was close by, with more plexi windows and another pretty view of the ocean. Comfortable chairs were spaced evenly near the windows, allowing occupants to sit and watch the waves if they wanted.

  "By limited comp-vid, you mean?" I asked, turning back to Ceerah.

  "That some applications are blocked," she huffed.

  "Ah. Can't have that," I said.

  "Do not get smart with me. This room is normally reserved for our wealthiest patients. You are here as a favor to a friend." The claws were coming out, now.

  "Do you treat all your patients this way?" I asked, "Or only the non-wealthy ones?"

  "We had other rooms available. This one was requested for you, when we might have filled it with someone who could pay. Enjoy your stay, Ms. Nilvas." Ceerah stalked out of the room.

  "You know, I don't have to stay here now," I said. My bags were already inside the room, waiting to be unpacked. I lifted both of them and skipped away.

  * * *

  "You managed to lose her already?" Karzac stared accusingly at his son.

  "I asked Ceerah if she said anything. She can be somewhat abrupt at times," Kevis wanted to tug on his hair. The Larentii had been contacted; he was attempting to coax Reah back.

  "Then don't allow her around Reah again," Karzac said more gruffly than he intended. "Reah is an extremely special case, and I can get the truth out of your nurse if she is unwilling to offer it voluntarily."

  "Dad, don't. She's very efficient. I need that at times."

  "Reah needs a soft touch and soothing words. Not someone who will get snippy right away."

  "I'll see what I can do."

  "Good. If you have difficulties with Reah, let me know."

  "All right."

  * * *

  "Now, Ms. Nilvas, is running away something you do often?" Doctor Halivar appeared shortly after Nefrigar found me and hauled me back to the clinic.

  "Whenever I can," I said. "I skip therefore I am."

  "Skip?"

  "Didn't Nefrigar tell you I was High Demon?"

  "He did say that," Doctor Halivar consulted his handheld.

  "High Demons skip. We don't fold as the Larentii do. Someone explained it to me as skipping flat stones on water."

  "Ah. I don't believe I've met anyone with the talent before."

  "I can take you for a short hop," I offered.

  "Ms. Nilvas, I assure you that won't be necessary."

  "No, you just want to dig around in my head. Ask about my mother. That sort of thing."

  "How was she? Your mother?"

  "Dead. Shortly after I was born. Next question."

  "What did Ceerah say to you?"

  "That I was a charity case and this room should have been given to somebody who actually had money."

  "Really." He didn't make it a question.

  "I try not to lie unless I'm forced to do so," I said. "And I usually speak my mind. Why doesn't this suite have a kitchen?"

  "Why do you want a kitchen?"

  "I have a Master Cook's license. Do the math. I'm sure the food here is very good. Mine is probably better."

  "I'm told you tried to kill yourself recently."

  "I did. Almost jumped into a volcano."

  "Is that a real volcano or a symbolic one?"

  "A real one."

  "Why do you think you're here, Ms. Nilvas?"

  "A god fucked up my life. Go ahead, record delusional in your comp-vid." I rose to pace. I wasn't really sure what good all this was going to do me, but I promised Nefrigar that I'd give it a couple of weeks when he'd talked me into coming back.

  "I try to stay away from that term if I can," he said dryly.

  "Lie," I said. Doctor Halivar blinked at me.

  "I know when people lie. I knew Ceerah was speaking the truth when she said what she did. You can move me to another room if you want."

  "Reah, I'm not moving you. Someone close to me asked for this room specifically for you. Therefore, it is yours. Do not let Ceerah intimidate you."

  "She didn't. I skipped away to keep from knocking her through a wall. I'm not in a good mood right now."

  "Do you do that often? Knock people through walls?"

  "Not recently, but when seventy Greater Demons tried to attack me, my Thifilatha burned them to death. It wasn't pleasant to watch or smell. Burned flesh isn't a nice scent. Did they tell you I'm pregnant?"

  "Yes. I have that information. If you need extra food to keep from becoming ill, you only have to tell my staff."

  "I've only seen Ceerah so far and I'm not asking her for anything." Doctor Halivar frowned at my admission.

  "Now, these Greater Demons, where were they?"

  "I'm not at liberty to say. I don't think you have ASD clearance."

  "What if I were to get clearance?"

  "I'll only believe that if Lendill Schaff or Norian Keef shows up and says it's all right," I said. "Unless that happens, you get nothing."

  "Would you be more comfortable telling these things to another member of my staff?"

  "No. I'm not telling you any ASD business unless the Director or Vice-Director says it's all right." I went to stand beside the plexi windows. The water in the distance was beautiful, with a late summer sun hanging low on the horizon.

  "Why were these Greater Demons attacking you?"

  "Can't say."

  "What's the difference between High Demons and Greater Demons?"

  "I can't answer that, because I don't really know. Somebody told me they were Greater Demons after the fact. They can't skip, I know
that much. They'd have gotten the hell away from me if they could."

  "What makes a High Demon a High Demon?" Doctor Halivar was very curious.

  "I don't know. What makes you a male?"

  "I was born male."

  "I was born High Demon."

  "Point taken. What do High Demons do?"

  "Most of them do nothing, in my experience," I snorted. "The males turn to full Thifilathi once a month and go stomping around, roaring and beating their chests, mostly."

  "And the females?"

  "The females don't have to turn. Some of them can't, I don't think. I and one other turn."

  "Can you do this for me?"

  "I won't, because it burns my clothing away when I turn. I'd be naked when I came back to myself. Won't do that," I shook my head.

  "Ah."

  "Have you ever seen a High Demon become Thifilathi or Thifilatha?" I asked.

  "I'd barely heard they existed, so the answer is no. Are you comfortable talking about the attack?"

  "One of the Greater Demons did it during the full moon. They get pissy just like the male High Demons do. I had to allow it to get the information I needed for the case I was working."

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  "No."

  "About the god who fucked up your life?"

  "Kifirin."

  "Kifirin." He repeated the word.

  "Yes. Stay away from him if at all possible."

  "I'll do my best."

  "Don't patronize. You seem nice enough. Don't ruin it."

  "Tell me about Nefrigar."

  "He's the Larentii Archivist. I've only been to the Archives a time or two. I could get lost in one room and not come out for a century or two."

  "He has access to the information the Larentii store?"

  "He does."

  "What if I asked you to request a tour?"

  "Ask him yourself. I don't use my position in his life to influence him like that. Nefrigar makes up his own mind. Always."

  * * *

  "What do you have, Ceerah?" Jalan grinned at her supervising nurse. Ceerah and Jalan often pulled recordings of this patient or that and watched the sessions, although they weren't authorized to do so. Ceerah had the codes to get into the recordings; she just didn't have access to the doctors' private notes. Most of the staff lived on the grounds of Sea Winds, in a separate building. Ceerah and Jalan often had dinner together and watched the vids Ceerah pulled.

  "The new patient that Doctor Halivar accepted for free," Ceerah grinned. "She's pretty messed up." Ceerah cued the vid and let it play. Both nurses watched and laughed as the female claimed to be High Demon and an operative for the ASD.

  "At least she knows the word delusional," Jalan snickered at that point in the vid. "Do you know how much money we could make if we sold this to that reality show?"

  "The one that gets the embarrassing moments?" Ceerah smiled.

  "Yeah. They call it Temporary Insanity. Only this isn't temporary, is it?" She pointed to the woman in the vid. "And they can cover the faces so nobody knows who it really is."

  "Doctor Halivar never watches regular vids anyway. He's always got his head elsewhere," Ceerah smirked. "And since none of the other doctors are seeing this patient," she gave Jalan a conspiratorial grin.

  "Come on, let's submit this. This is too good to pass up." Jalan pulled the chip and slipped it into her comp-vid. Jalan transferred the information to the show's site, including information on where to reach both her and Ceerah for payment if the vid was used. "They probably won't use it, but it's worth a try. I've heard of submissions getting ten thousand or more."

  "What if we're caught? You know what the laws are on patient confidentiality."

  "Come on. We're treating her free of charge. Does she even have any rights?"

  * * *

  "So, Reah, what do you think of the food here?" Doctor Halivar was back after I'd had breakfast and lunch. The food was tolerable.

  "It was all right," I said, shrugging.

  "Only all right?"

  "Some of it barely. The scrambled eggs were runny. I hate that."

  "You're very particular about your food."

  "I am."

  "Tell me about these Greater Demons. What do you know about them?"

  "The ones who attacked and raped other women or just the one who attacked me?"

  "The last one."

  "I can't tell you his name. He figured he was going to have me, one way or the other. He had someone else chain me up and then he bit me and left." I wasn't going to tell Doctor Halivar about a shining woman who'd appeared to prevent Zendeval from raping me. That would constitute a really big section of notes, telling anybody how crazy he thought I was.

  "Was it painful? Did he hurt you?"

  "Yes."

  "How badly?"

  "He bit me. Somehow, he gave me an infection. I was sick for days afterward."

  "And you knew you were pregnant at the time?"

  "No. I found out shortly after."

  "And the child is healthy?"

  "As far as I know. Nobody says differently. Teeki and Neeki said they were shielding him."

  "Teeki and Neeki?"

  "Twins. They're Kifirin's assistants."

  "Ah."

  * * *

  The patient has been here six days, and still I have trouble getting through to her. Something is there, but I can't get anywhere near it, Kevis wrote in his private notes. Reah speaks readily of the attack and other things, but something is hidden. She displays anger and callousness over the treatment she received from her attacker. Refuses to tell me where it occurred or how she escaped from him. I have never heard of Greater Demons before. I must do research.

  Kevis' day had been full and it was very late. He'd not gotten to record his notes on Reah's sessions until now. He was quite surprised when two men appeared in his study, pistols drawn and both growling.

  "You came with the highest recommendation," Norian snapped at Kevis Halivar. "Yet I see Reah in a session on a vid program after my agents notified me. Her face isn't even hidden. We have the records of who submitted it; we've spent the last two clicks grilling that stupid fuck producer who aired it. He claims a technical glitch kept her face from being hidden on the program. I want to speak with two of your nurses, now. Where are Ceerah Kade and Jalan Wolk? They couldn't wait to send this in to that stupid program."

  "Here they are," two of Norian's agents hauled Ceerah and Jalan into Kevis' private study. Kevis stared angrily at both women.

  "Who are you?" Ceerah snapped at Norian, who still held a Ranos pistol in his hand.

  "Norian Keef, Director of the ASD," Norian snapped back. "You're both under arrest for violating the patient confidentiality laws."

  "There's no way that loony is ASD," Ceerah scoffed.

  "Shut up," Norian said pleasantly. "If you don't, I'll allow my Vice-Director here to remove your face."

  "What the hell is going on?" Gavril, Tory and Ry appeared all at once, almost causing Jalan to shriek. Ceerah stared. One of the three looked like Teeg San Gerxon, Founder of the Campiaan Alliance.

  Gavril was the one who spoke. He was seething and about to let his vampire run free. "We leave her in your care and a few evenings later her face is splashed across the Reth Alliance and she's made a laughing stock? The entire Alliance has seen those vids. They think she's completely crazy. What do you think will happen if Reah sees that? She's been betrayed enough as it is." Gavril was shouting, Tory was blowing smoke and Ry was about to place a spell on someone.

  "Ceerah, you managed to get past the private codes, didn't you?" Kevis glared at his head nurse. "How long has this been going on?"

  "I won't tell you." She turned her head away. She'd thought at times in the past that perhaps she could convince Kevis to fall for her. That desire had been a vain one.

  "Two years," Jalan hung her head. "Only we just sat and watched the funny ones until now. This one; we thought we wouldn't get caught."

/>   "Shut up," Ceerah hissed.

  "You broke into the records," Jalan snapped at Ceerah.

  "You submitted it to Temporary Insanity," Ceerah shot back.

  Norian watched the exchange with interest. No need for questioning if the information was volunteered freely.

  "I wish to ask for extradition," Gavril said, anger still in his voice.

  "Extradition?" Kevis asked.

  "To Campiaa. These two have violated a citizen's rights. I have the right by law to request extradition and place them on trial. Reah didn't give permission for her image to be used while under treatment. In fact, a responsible party should have been approached for permission. Was that done? I understand she only arrived at this facility six days ago."

  "Jalan, this is Teeg San Gerxon, from the Campiaan Alliance," Kevis said wearily and sat behind his desk. He felt as if he needed a stiff drink.

  "If they aren't extradited, I will certainly lodge a protest with the founding member of the Reth Alliance," Ry said.

  "And this is Rylend Morphis, newly crowned King of Karathia," Kevis wasn't even looking up from his desk any longer.

  "If I admit I signed off on it, will that keep me here?" Jalan asked. "I couldn't get the vid submitted unless I did. I signed that Nefrigar guy's name."

  "You forged documents, after this one broke into private patient records and handed them to you?" Kevis raked a hand through short, light-brown hair.

  "You forged a Larentii's signature?" Lendill stared at Jalan.

  "A Larentii? They don't exist," Ceerah laughed.

  "I altered my appearance only for her when we arrived," Nefrigar appeared, his height crowding the room. He wasn't altering his appearance now.

  "Oh, stars save us," Ceerah stared up at Nefrigar in horror.

  "Something may have to save you. Reah saw that program and has disappeared again," Nefrigar said.

  Chapter 2

  I'd only been to Avendor once before, skipping there more than twenty-five years earlier to learn how to grow gishi fruit. Now I was back and standing in a line of migratory workers who went from one grove to the next, offering their services to pick, pack, cull or ship the fruit. I was searching for a place that might hold peace, even if it did involve hard work. I'd always found picking fruit to be peaceful work; the trees held no judgment or betrayal. They never withheld information or love, either, with wind whispering through the leaves at times, giving silent thanks for the care they received.