Hours later and only mildly more relaxed, Telal showered and threw on a fresh button-down satin shirt with black slacks. He went into his office, pleased that at least Kearnyn was already there and ready to go. At least something today would go the way he liked it—normal and easy.
“Rosa Medina signed the contract to enspell the weapons.”
“I figured as much. I want you to oversee the project. I'd do it, but it seems I have a trip to plan now.” And Lily Bellum was actually the least of his problems at the moment. Odd.
Kearnyn paused for a moment then nodded.
Telal didn't miss the unusual beat. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Not at all,” he answered readily.
“Good, now let's plan this out. The last thing I'd expected was to make a trip into the rift.”
He grabbed a flat paper map of the earth which showed the lines where the rifts were and took a seat at his desk. Not only did he have to decide on the right point of entry which wouldn't get him immediately killed, but he had to plan on seeing his family—if they were alive—for the first time since the war. What would they say or think? He'd abandoned them to live atop the rift, though Tobius 'the bastard' Kulev had lied to him. He could still feel the burn of deceit after all these years.
When he'd agreed to help Tobius close off the rift, it was under strict understanding that only the lower levels would be closed off. He went along with it because his people would be allowed, as they always have, to travel on the earthen-realm freely; and the extra protection offered by the newly formed Atal Warriors would help to keep the idummi and deadly jaheera demons at bay. Or so he thought. Never could he have guessed his decision would lead his people into a hundred-year long war.
He didn't learn until the last minute when the Atal Warriors charged through the rift's barrier, that that wasn't what the Commander had planned at all. He was going to lock all of them under the rift. He could still remember the smirk on the bastard's face as he'd turned to him and said, “Don't worry; you're safe for all the help you've given us.”
He could have stayed below in that suffocated realm without a chance of leaving lest he meet his fate from one of the Atal Warriors, but he’d seen his chance at freedom. His decision was purely selfish but years later he realized he had made the right one, because if he hadn't left when he did then there would be no one to champion for his people's right to those who hold the power over them.
The day Tobius en Kulev and his mate were murdered by rogue demons was a day he'd celebrated. In traditional demon fashion, he'd ordered the finest alcohol in the city, invited all of his friends, though they were really mere acquaintances, and drank, danced, and fucked for a solid week. It happened ages ago but it still felt like yesterday.
Kearnyn and Telal poured over maps and ideas until they chose the ideal location. A part of the rift some ten miles away from the main rift city of Harumina. He remembered playing in the fields outside the city as a child with his brother Alrik. Trees of dark brown branches with fluffy pink and white flowers filled the grassy field with bright colors until it almost looked like a painting. At the time he'd taken it for granted, had never really appreciated the beauty of it. Yeah, he didn't do that until after he was gone and couldn't look at it again. Life was cruel like that.
He'd hike, hopefully uninterrupted, to the castle. His father's guards used to keep watch, so he'd have to get past them first and into the throne room. He'd wait and see what kind of welcoming he'd receive. Hell, he didn't even know if his father, mother, or brother were alive. If they were, then they hated him. That much he knew for certain. His father always had a cruel streak, quick to punish, quick to hurt and, as he got older, he stopped seeing his mother protest his treatments until, eventually, she joined in.
When he was young, he'd taken it upon himself to watch over his little brother. Telal never wanted to be king, but Alrik would be perfect for it. When his father died, Telal would be put in charge, so he saw to it to teach his younger brother so that he could hand the kingdom over to him. Alrik had a fair heart and a sight for justice, but even Telal had seen the effects of his father's 'grooming' over him. His opinions had started to change, to mimic his father's. Secretly, Telal would take him through the prisons or outside the castle’s walls to show him the non-royals—the prolitare.
The class injustice had always rubbed him raw. Even after he left the rift, he continued to see the same pattern in humans for hundreds of years. For a long time he thought it was just the way life worked. Though today he didn't believe it; he believed it could be changed.
As they finished mapping out and planning his course of action he went through the pros and cons of this trip. The pros—to see the kingdom and another true demon for the first time in a thousand years. The cons—seeing his family, if they were alive. If his father still carried the throne then he might toss him into a prison to rot for a thousand years while rats ate his flesh. Or worse, his brother was dead. His heart constricted at the thought like a fist squeezing it. He'd never loved anyone like he loved his brother. With any luck, his brother had heeded his advice and ran a kingdom where the prolitare were treated equally.
Too bad he wasn't lucky. His gut told him a different story. The chances of his brother turning out to be what he wanted were near to nil. The chances of him being alive were even less.
His thoughts were interrupted when the office door swung open and Lily Bellum sauntered in wearing a flowing white dress with blooming pastel flowers on it that fell just above the knee with a flat pair of black sandals. Her hair was pulled back with a tie that showed off her slender neck.
She's just a beautiful woman. Not even that beautiful. You've seen many before and will many, many more before you die.
“Hey fellas, what's going on?” She hopped onto the desk, crushing the map and papers he'd been making notes on and wrinkling their perfectly flat surface. He ground his jaw until it popped.
“Working. Get out.” He debated again throwing her out, but damn, he couldn't do it. She'd go to the law. This woman went after things like an eighteen-wheeler barreling a hundred miles per hour down the highway. Having the police breathing down his neck while he was this close to getting his people freed wouldn’t do. And if he were to admit it, he knew he owed her father Frank. He'd helped him get set up on this realm when no one else would even glance his way. Shit.
She smiled at him and he swore her eyes twinkled. She crossed her legs and started kicking the top one. His eyes fell to the smooth skin. Kick...kick...kick. A jeweled bracelet on her ankle chimed with the movement.
His chair slid harshly across the floor as he stood and planted his hands on the desk, leaning over her. “I said get...out.” He kept his voice low and deadly, every bit the threat he meant it to be.
She just smiled at him like he amused her. God dammit, she made him want to pick up his chair and throw it through a window.
She looked down at the papers on his desk. “Oh, planning your trip to the rift, huh? I hope you're making that a trip for two, because I'm going.”
He laughed, he couldn't help it. Her statement was the epitome of absurd, besides it felt good to laugh in her face. “No way in hell.” He glared at her to shove his point home.
“I'm going one way or another.”
He looked at Kearnyn for guidance or something but he only lifted a big shoulder in a shrug and discretely left the room. Telal's eyes narrowed on the closing door and he mentally made a note to cut the vampire's wages.
She hopped down from the desk and ran her hands over her hips then gripped the bottom of her dress and swung it side to side in a little dance. “Like my new dress?”