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“Yeah.” He sighed as we got out of the elevator and headed for Moira’s cell. “And, as much as I hate to admit it, I know he’s brilliant. He’s also a pain in the ass. But, and I really hate admitting this, he was right about being in charge. It’s been helpful.”
“It’ll probably be more so. But that means he’s got a big target on him now, too.” The worry crashed over me like a tsunami.
“Nice to know you care.”
I stopped walking. The others continued on. “That wasn’t fu
Martini sighed. “I know. And I know you’re worried about all of us, not just him. I’m trying with the jealousy, okay? It’s just . . . they all want you.” He looked lost and lonely.
“Jeff, what’s wrong?”
He pulled me into his arms. “I think we’re missing something, and it’s going to cost us. Like we missed what was going on and James almost died.”
My brain kicked, hard. “Oh, my God. That’s it!”
“What? What’s it?”
I pulled out of his arms and ran to catch up to the rest of our crew. “Alexander, Renata, were any of you in Las Vegas, New York, or Los Angeles in the last day or so?”
They looked at me as if I were insane. I was so used to that look by now that it didn’t even faze me. “No,” Alexander said slowly. “We only arrived a short while before you captured us.” Queen Renata nodded.
“Renata, would you say Kyrellis has more restraint than Moira?”
She gave a bitter chuckle. “Hardly. Kyrellis is the leader of the dissidents. She has no restraint whatsoever.”
“So it would be hard for her to enter a room full of men, while pretending to be a man, and not hurt them?”
“It would be impossible for her to be around a man and not kill him,” Queen Renata said dryly. “I wish it were otherwise. But she was the head of our armed forces before she believed God was guiding her.”
“Alex, you set off the light show on your home world, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you do the one here?”
“No.” He sounded confused. “I assumed one of His Majesty’s retainers had done so.”
“Jeff. My name is Jeff. You can call me Mister Martini, Martini, or Jeff. Even Jeffrey. If you call me or refer to me as Majesty, Highness, or Your Royal anything, I will kill you with my bare hands.”
“I told you, he’s really not into the royalty thing. Okay, so no one from our Interstellar Dirty Dozen set off the light shows over the past year or impersonated Christopher. Kyrellis and Moira wouldn’t have been able to enter any A-C facility without going all Kill Bill, and I don’t credit either one of them with the stealth involved to impersonate the Catering department so they could drop off the bugged pineapple.”
“Kyrellis is more . . . straightforward, yes,” Queen Renata confirmed.
“So, who pretended to be me, then?” Christopher asked. “We can’t identify anyone out of our own people.”
I thought back. “They’ve been here a year. A year of working as spies. And what do spies do in a foreign country?” I didn’t need Chuckie here to answer that question. “They do their best to blend in. They don’t wear the Armani Fatigues. They don’t act like A-Cs. They look and act like any other hot guy.” I felt stupid and somewhat offended.
“Who are you talking about?” Martini asked.
“Remember those two good-looking guys at THEhotel who were smiling at me? One held the door for us, probably because he’d just gotten back from New York via his personal floater gate. The other was coming from the elevators, probably after having delivered the food and interstellar pineapple to Chuckie’s room.”
Martini closed his eyes. “I can’t really remember much about them. I was trying to ignore them.” He shook his head. “I didn’t notice their heartbeats, one way or the other.”
“I saw them again at a craps table when James and I were heading out to go shopping. And one of them knew I was there, even though his back was to me.” I wondered if he was an imageer-empath combo, or if they’d just been keeping a watchful eye out. Figured we’d probably end up finding out, one way or the other.
“Could just be coincidence,” Martini said doubtfully.
Chuckie didn’t believe in coincidence and neither did I. “Trust me, they’re the actual spies for the Alpha Four royal family. And they’ve been here at least a year, maybe longer.”
“If so, I don’t know about them,” Alexander said. He wasn’t lying. But he did look worried. “I don’t know if Gregory is aware of them or not.”
“I’m actually betting not. Because he’s been stupid, and I doubt he wants the king or the Chief Councillor to know.” And I was betting at least one of them, if not both, knew. Another thought occurred. “Alex, why did you land your ships where you did?”
“We assumed we were supposed to—traditionally, the light display indicates where visiting dignitaries will sit to observe the royal nuptials. The one peak was quite difficult.”
“Hatchet, yeah, it would be.” So, someone had suspected a coup of some kind was coming at least a year ago—or had been pla
“Are you sure?” Queen Renata asked. She sounded worried.
“She’s strapped down and I’m not without the skills.”
“She’s strapped down and if she wasn’t, she’d break Kitty’s neck, but, yeah, let her in. Baby, please remember that you are not up to taking her, okay?”
“Fine, fine. Need in, now.” Security opened the door, and I trotted inside. The door was shut before I realized six of the Poofs were inside with me. I realized it because they all started growling, softly, but with great menace. “Yeah, I don’t like her either, Poofies.”
Moira stirred. “You. Has my mate destroyed yours yet?”
“No. We’re giving her time. How long did you watch us before you tried to kill my friend, the one you thought was my lover?”
She looked at my shoulders. “What are those?”
“No idea what you’re talking about. How long did you watch us?”
“They are staring at me. Growling.”
“No idea what you mean. How long did you watch us?”
“I watched you all arrive. Why are they on your shoulders?”
“Nothing on my shoulders. How many of us arrived?”
“Your lover and his other lover and another man,” she spat the words. “Then two beautiful women with six beasts. Then you and him,” she looked at Martini. “We will kill him, all of them.” The Poof growling increased. “Why don’t they like me?”
“What are you talking about? So, what did you do, after we all arrived?”
“I waited. My mate knows how to destroy a more numerous enemy.”
“I’ll bet she does. So, you waited and then what?”
She gave a drugged giggle. “Then you and your lover came out. It was so clear he was the one you loved the most, and he loved you most, too.” She looked right at me and smiled. “It was so easy to follow you. But to watch him paw you and see you enjoy it, to see him dress you like you were his whore, to see you fawn over him—that was not easy. I enjoyed hurting him. I made him think I was his other lover. I attacked him in that hideous form. He thought his other love was jealous and was the one who killed him.” She smiled beatifically.
I’d heard people say that something made them so mad that they saw red, but I’d always thought it was just a saying. It wasn’t. Moira’s joy in letting Reader think it was Gower who’d tried to kill him made me feel as if my head were going to explode from rage. The room looked red, and all I could see was her throat and how easy it would be to rip it out.
The Poofs jumped off my shoulders and turned large and in charge. To a one they were growling and had all their teeth bared. Moira looked at them and started to scream in terror. “They want to devour me!”
“They do, don’t they?” I forced myself to calm down, at least somewhat. “Where was your mate while you were watching us? Tell me, and I won’t let them eat you.”