Zellar stared at Tandias. Now he understood why Viregruz had found this particular Ra'Ak so valuable. An obsession—that ability was extremely rare and difficult to perform. Only a few among Tandias' former race might have been able to accomplish such a feat. An obsession placed by one of that race could convince the most unwilling to tell all their secrets or happily commit murder.

Whereas compulsion would force the recipient to act as a vampire commanded, it was limited to specific commands. Obsession left the victim willing to volunteer their deeds if they thought the one placing the obsession might be pleased by their actions. Victims fawned over their new master and craved any encouragement. Zellar found himself wondering how many assassinations had been carried out by those closest to the victim, after an obsession had been placed.

Shaking himself to dispel those thoughts, Zellar turned back to Tandias. "I assume you have an itinerary?"

"I know where the Queen is likely to be. That should be enough." Tandias' pointed teeth gleamed as he laughed.

"You can keep the old one if you want," Nissa held out the new protection jewel to Toff, who seemed reluctant to remove the old necklace, although the jewel had been emptied when Gren attacked. "This one will key itself to you when you put it on." Nissa smiled her encouragement to Toff, who shyly accepted the gift and slipped it over his head. The gray jewel was carefully hidden beneath his shirt, right beside the first one.

"I have something for you, too. Papu helped me pick it out," Toff's cheeks pinkened slightly as he pulled a small box from a pocket. "Then Uncle Drew made it the right size," Toff added as Nissa accepted the box and opened it. Nestled on a bed of satin lay a gold filigree ring.

Nissa stared at Toff. "This is so pretty," she fumbled with the ring, pulling it from the box. "I don't have any rings," she added. "I have necklaces and bracelets, but that's all." She slipped the ring on her finger—it fit.

"I know, that's why Papu suggested it," Toff grinned impishly. "It looks good on your hand."

"Thank you." Nissa hugged Toff enthusiastically. Toff wrapped his arms about her and hugged her back.

Lissa's Journal

We'd gone to a restaurant for lunch first, before venturing out to buy shoes and clothing for the kids. Tory ate two ox-roast sandwiches while Nissa smiled at her brother. Rigo was at my elbow as we watched Trik try on several pairs of shoes and boots in a shoe shop later. Shadow demanded that sturdy shoes or boots be worn in his and Raffian's workshops—it was lucky that the two pairs of boots Trik ruined were thick leather—the spelled liquid resin usually burned whatever it hit. That stuff only became neutral after it hardened and accepted a protection spell. Trik's boots had spared his feet, as Shadow had known they would.

"Honey, if you like those, we'll get them," I said as Trik attempted to choose half of the four pairs he'd set aside.

"I like all of those," Nissa nodded as Trik glanced her way. I didn't want to say anything, but my daughter already had two admirers—Toff and Trik. When she turned sixteen, I might have to sit down and have a talk with all of them. I think Shadow already knew to keep a watchful eye on our daughter.

"I just never had anything new before I came to Le-Ath Veronis," Trik mumbled, stacking boxes of shoes neatly. I wanted to cry at his admission, and then add happy tears for the fact that he was now using both hands. He was walking very well, too, and Morwin kept me updated on his progress (and Nissa's) almost every day. I'd hugged Morwin when he reported that Trik and Nissa were happy. Nissa finally had someone to confide in at Grey House, and Trik was happy that he felt wanted and needed for the first time in his life.

"Mom always takes us to Barat's for clothes," Tory whispered to Trik as we walked into a shop that carried clothing. It also had a separate, very popular electronics store inside, which sold comp-vids and other supplies children might need for the classroom. As a result, Barat's was a chain that had shops on nearly every Alliance world.

"Can Tory and I look at mini comp-vids?" Ry pleaded as soon as they were inside the door. I wasn't surprised by his request—they loved that part of the store and it was often harder than finding teeth on a rooster to keep them away from it.

"All right, but don't wander away," I cautioned. Tory was so tall he would likely intimidate anyone who had nefarious thoughts and Ry was talented enough to blast someone through a wall if he wanted. He'd inherited all his father's gifts plus a few extras, I think, and Wylend predicted he'd be a First-Level warlock—the highest level attainable—when he was grown.

"We'll be back when you get to the jacket department," Ry promised as he and Tory walked swiftly away. Toff, who'd been content to stay beside Nissa, watched them go. He was torn, I could tell, because he probably wanted a new mini comp-vid just as Ry and Tory did. A new version had been released recently by Schuul Enterprises, and everybody wanted one.

Get a mini comp-vid for Toff, Nissa and Trik, too, I sent to Ry, who sent a yippee back.

"She'll scent us if we're not shielded properly," Zellar growled at Gren, who watched Toff from a distance. Gren and his companions stood in a dimly lit corner of the store, watching with eager malice as the Queen and a handful of others looked at clothing. Zellar worked to shield Tandias, too, although Gren and the Ra'Ak failed to cooperate. The Ra'Ak, like Gren, was anxious to reach his target—Queen Lissa only had one vampire mate with her and he could be easily dispatched, once Tandias became Ra'Ak.

"We'll get there soon enough," Zellar hissed as he added another layer to an already thick shield, his hands weaving as he muttered the required spells.

Lissa's Journal

Rigo, I'm feeling itchy, I sent to my oldest vampire mate.

"Tiessa, what do you sense?" Rigo's mouth was near my ear as he whispered the words.

"I can't tell, it keeps appearing and then disappearing. This is really weird," I mumbled back. Nissa, Toff and Trik were going through a rack of shirts nearby and laughing at the slogans printed across the front. They couldn't hear us and I was thankful for that.

"Have you experienced anything such as this before?" Rigo asked softly.

"No, and it's really confusing," I replied. "It's like somebody is turning a tap on and off." I raised my eyes to Rigo's face—he was certainly concerned.

"Has anyone been able to hide anything from you before, love?" Rigo's worry was increasing, if the furrowing brow was any indication.

"Only that idiot Viregruz, and," I lifted a shaking hand to my mouth. "Oh. My. God. Rigo, we're in trouble," I gasped. We were already too late—the blast knocked out half the walls and plunged the store into darkness.

Zellar realized his mistake quickly—he couldn't see in darkness any better than Gren could. He wasn't sure about Tandias—Ra'Ak kept any weaknesses to themselves, just to prevent them from being exploited. At least part of his plan had worked flawlessly; every humanoid shopper inside the store was now unconscious.

"I need light," Gren hissed. He'd kept his eyes on Toff—until the lights went out.

"Do it yourself, I'm busy holding the shields," Zellar snapped. "I have an outer shield on the whole store—she won't be able to send out mindspeech; it'll just bounce back. Tandias, can you see anything?"

No reply came from Tandias—he'd already turned to Ra'Ak and was slithering through the spacious department store. Gren, who caught a glint of light gleaming on copper scales, followed in Tandias' wake while Zellar cursed behind him and remained where he was.

Lissa's Journal

I sent hasty mindspeech to all my mates, but trouble was already in front of me and only Rigo and I could see it coming. My mindspeech echoed back to me in my mind; it hadn't gone out. That meant one thing to me—Zellar was shielding everything inside the store. He'd blocked Viregruz's presence in the past after tapping a planet's core. He'd obviously learned how to do the same with mindspeech. Every humanoid inside the store had fallen, too; all of them rendered unconscious from one of Zellar's tricks, no doubt. I felt terrified and queasy at the same time, and it was an effort to push those feeling aside. I hadn't felt this helpless since I'd been human.

"Kids, get behind me," I hissed as I watched the Ra'Ak slither his way toward us.

"Mom? What's going on?" Nissa fumbled her way toward me, Toff and Trik each gripping one of her hands tightly.

"Come." Rigo pulled all three of them forward and gently placed them behind us. All that stood between us now was a few minutes and a vampire who had no experience fighting Ra'Ak.

"No big deal, bro," Ry whispered to Tory. "I can make light without thinking about it. I think Mom and the others are in trouble, though." Ry pointed a finger at the floor, creating the barest hint of light. He and Tory made their way toward the department where their mother had been when they'd last seen her, navigating their way through overturned shelves, racks, broken walls and unconscious shoppers.

Lissa's Journal

A decision lay before me. Sacrifice my unborn child to save the others, or hope that Rigo could delay a Ra'Ak, a power-mad warlock and an evil apprentice while the rest of us attempted to escape. Yeah. Right. The odds of our escaping went into negative territory and Rigo would likely die. We'd all likely die, actually. Zellar had made his plans carefully; somehow, he'd discovered where I would be and had taken full advantage. On Le-Ath Veronis, there were too many around me and I'd be better protected. Now, on what was reportedly the safest world in the Reth Alliance, I was under attack by one of the worst criminals the Alliance had ever seen.

"Holy crap," Ry muttered. The Ra'Ak either hadn't seen him and Tory, or he was ignoring them in favor of a better target—their mother.