"My darling, are you well?" Merrill reached out to Kiarra, who materialized on the steps between him and Adam. Adam was already running his hands over her, searching for injuries. Kiarra was mated to both Adam and Merrill, in addition to Pheligar the Larentii, who as yet hadn't made an appearance.
"What's that?" Merrill turned swiftly as Griffin appeared nearby. The retired Saa Thalarr wept and fell to his knees on the palace steps.
"Griffin? What's wrong?" Kiarra went immediately to Griffin's side, Merrill and Adam close behind her.
"Brother, what is it?" Merrill dropped to his knees beside Griffin, who was sobbing.
"I had to do it," Griffin wept. "I had to."
"Do what, brother?" Merrill asked gently.
"Bring her forward in time. She was the answer, Merrill. The only one. I killed her."
"Who? Who died?" Kiarra knelt to stroke Griffin's hair.
"Lissa," Griffin's voice held pain. "It was Lissa."
* * *
"Why didn't we remember?" Merrill paced angrily before Pheligar. Pheligar looked tired and out of sorts, and Larentii never looked tired and out of sorts.
"The memories were removed after she was brought forward in time," Pheligar replied stiffly. "None were allowed to remember her, so none could interfere. Kifirin made a mistake when he gave the ability to travel through time to the Ra'Ak. Three of those creatures managed to escape before our shield was placed. They will certainly carry tales back to the others—the four thousand Ra'Ak that died here today are only a small portion of their total population. Had the little Vampire Queen lived, they would hunt her through the timeline and destroy her for killing their Prince." Pheligar's gaze traveled over the devastation of Veshtul. Many had died, but Lissa had managed to save most.
"Had anyone remembered her in the past," Pheligar added, "she would have become a target while she lived. Many would have sought her death and it would have been meaningless when she died at their hands on Earth, just to prevent this from happening." Pheligar stretched out a hand—he and Merrill stood on the uppermost dome of the High Demon's palace to hold their private conversation.
"So, the memories were removed to prevent her from becoming a target—until today," Merrill muttered.
"Sadly, that is truth," Pheligar agreed. "The vampires on Earth no longer remember her—the memory was only given back to the Saa Thalarr and a few others."
"Yes, I remembered as soon as I heard her name, as did Wlodek, Radomir, Russell, Will, Weldon, Charles, Brock and the others who are now Saa Thalarr or Spawn Hunters."
"As she is now dead, it no longer matters that the others do not recall her. It is an injustice to the little Queen, I know," Pheligar admitted, raising a hand before Merrill could protest. "All her deeds wiped away and attributed to others."
"It wasn't only this world she saved," Merrill muttered. "Kifirin is the balance for all the worlds. Those copper idiots were about to destroy everything if they took it down."
"I know that well," Pheligar nodded. "It is the only reason the Larentii came."
* * Past * *
Merrill turned Kiarra's written message in his hands. A note coming from her surprised him greatly. Not that Adam and Kiarra didn't contact him often—they did. He'd expected to hear from Griffin, though; Merrill was waiting for his old friend to bring Lissa home.
The grounds surrounding the manor were wet from a brief rain and weak sunlight shone down as Merrill gazed through his study window. For fifteen hundred years, Merrill had walked in daylight. It was a gift that came with Griffin's blood. Merrill was powerful before as a King Vampire, but after receiving Griffin's blood, he'd become legend. Many hunted him through the centuries, and he'd taken all of them down. It was easy—Griffin made it possible, and all because Merrill helped Griffin kill spawn fifteen hundred years in the past. Merrill sighed and turned away from the window.
Wlodek also waited for Lissa's return—the Head of the Vampire Council was eager to make an official announcement to the Council that Lissa would be joining them (although they already knew; they'd seen the evidence for themselves). Lissa would sit with Wlodek at Council meetings as a Queen, and not just any Queen—the strongest and most talented that any of them had ever seen.
Instead of Griffin, however, Kiarra had contacted Merrill, asking for a meeting in the afternoon. It was three days after Griffin snatched Lissa away, claiming he needed her help. Merrill sighed—he and Wlodek had both attempted to stop Griffin. Who knew where he'd taken Lissa and why? Wlodek worried that she'd be offered a place with the Saa Thalarr, just as they'd offered with Adam Chessman. Chessman had accepted the invitation without a backward glance. The vampires needed Lissa on Earth—the Saa Thalarr could find someone else, Wlodek insisted. A knock came on Merrill's study door, interrupting his thoughts.
"What is it, Franklin?" Merrill had to tread carefully with his human child; Franklin lost his mate three weeks earlier and had wandered about the house listlessly since. Merrill had some making up to do with Lissa when she returned; he and Wlodek had made the decision not to give her news of Greg's death. Wlodek wanted her to remain focused on Xenides and the rest of his and Saxom's turns instead of grieving for a lost friend. Anthony was also fragile; Gavin had taken over Tony's teaching as his surrogate sire after the death of his cousin René. René's loss was a grievous one. He'd gone on many special assignments for Wlodek over the years and Wlodek certainly felt his absence.
"Kiarra, Adam and Dragon are here, father." Franklin opened the door to Merrill's study quietly, making sure Merrill was prepared to receive guests.
"Please, bring them in." Merrill was happy to see Kiarra anytime. Kiarra was ushered inside Merrill's study, followed by Adam Chessman and the former Falchani warrior, Dragon. Merrill had seen Dragon once before, prior to Saxom's death in Corpus Christi four years earlier. Merrill's eyebrows lifted when Kiarra walked in; there was something different about her—she seemed sad and troubled.
"You're right," Kiarra sighed heavily. "I am from the future, Merrill. Three hundred years in the future." There were tears in her eyes. Merrill quickly pulled a silk handkerchief from a desk drawer and handed it to her. Kiarra accepted it gratefully.
"Griffin was unable to come," Adam stated bluntly. Merrill went still.
"Is he all right?" Griffin and Merrill had been as close as brothers for more than fifteen hundred years. There shouldn't be any reason for Griffin not to come. Merrill held his breath.
"Griffin is well—physically," Dragon replied. He'd allowed Adam and Kiarra to sit in the two chairs before Merrill's desk. He remained standing, his expression shuttered and his dark eyes enigmatic.
Merrill didn't show his concern, but it was mounting. "What do you mean, physically?"
"What we mean is that Griffin is an emotional wreck," Adam said, his gray eyes revealing nothing. He could wear the vampire mask if he wanted; he'd been vampire before being chosen by the Saa Thalarr, after all.
"Tell me," Merrill whispered.
* * *
Wlodek's fingers shook slightly as he toyed with his favorite gold pen. He and Merrill had held a private meeting; Adam Chessman, the former Chief of Enforcers stayed to verify the information. Dragon transported Kiarra away; she'd been visibly upset and unable to stay. Merrill was completely numb over the news brought to him, and now he and Wlodek waited to pass that news to Gavin and Anthony. Charles and Radomir were also brought in—this news would be a terrible blow to Charles, and Merrill waited to place compulsion on Gavin and Tony. Wlodek feared it would be required should they become violent.
"You asked to see us, Honored One?" Gavin walked inside Wlodek's temporary office, followed by Tony. He'd taken Tony as his child and was training him as best he could. Gavin waited for Lissa's return, however, to teach some of their lessons simultaneously.
"Please, sit," Wlodek pointed to the chairs before his desk. He was still working out of Merrill's basement, but would return to his manor soon. Lissa had managed to eliminate Xenides and the remaining threat that he'd presented, so it was safe to return home. But that was before. Wlodek heaved a shaky sigh, making Gavin's head jerk up in alarm. Tony heard it as well and turned to his surrogate sire, fear crossing his features.
"Child, we will wait for the news," Gavin's mask dropped into place. Wlodek knew Gavin was afraid; he merely refused to show it. It was only going to get worse.
"I do not have good news," Wlodek announced. "You know what Griffin is. He took Lissa into the future with him; her help was needed three hundred years from now on a very distant world," Wlodek looked at his gold pen and not at the others in the room. "He knew, as did Kifirin, that something terrible would happen. We fear, too, that he also knew the price to be paid in order to make things come out right in the end." Wlodek found it difficult to understand Griffin's actions. How had Griffin made this sacrifice? Had he ever truly loved her? It was beyond Wlodek's comprehension.
"You have never seen the Ra'Ak," Wlodek went on, glancing at Gavin and Tony. "I have only heard them described. They are terrible monsters resembling giant serpents, and carry the deadliest of poisons. Adam Chessman informed me that more than four thousand of these attacked a world simultaneously, along with other creatures that held a might of their own. Griffin knew there was only one who might hold them at bay and keep that world from falling. Adam tells me that had that particular world fallen, all the other worlds would fall like dominoes stacked in a line." Wlodek wanted to shake his head in disbelief; he still could not bring himself to accept the news. And this was the greatest blow to the vampire race—they'd gained a Queen, only to lose her again.
"Lissa killed more than thirty-five hundred of the giant serpents by misting inside their heads and blowing them apart," Wlodek continued. "She also destroyed many of the other creatures in the same fashion. The final monster she killed required the last of her strength. When she blew her mist outward that time, she no longer held the power to call her mist together again. She, along with her enemy, is now scattered across the universe. Lissa is gone and will not return to us."
