Blood Reunion Read Online Free PDF

in," Uncle Tony sat down later at Ry's desk inside his bedroom. "We had people trying to loot in two blinks."
    "Anybody in the pokey?" Tory grinned—he loved hearing Uncle Tony's descriptions of hauling in prisoners.
    "Sheriff Trevor hauled in about twenty, but you didn't hear that from me." Uncle Tony had black hair and gray eyes that twinkled when he smiled. His eyes were twinkling now.
    "Okay, we never heard that from you. But I do have a question for you—what do you think was the economic impact of Trell's destruction, as far as the Alliance goes?" Ry asked, flopping onto his bed. They were all in his side of the large suite he shared with Tory.
    "You might look into the taxes Trell paid," Uncle Tony said thoughtfully. "And you should look into who was allowed to join the Alliance shortly after Trell's destruction, to fill that slot. Find out what they're paying in taxes instead." Uncle Tony's grin widened.
    "Wow, I didn't even think of that," Tory grabbed his handheld comp-vid and started tapping in notes. His hands stilled when his mother walked into the room.
    "Are you two all right?" Queen Lissa came over to give Ry a hug and kiss on the cheek before going to offer Tory the same. "I worried about you the whole time we had to sort out that stupid Council meeting after the lights went out."
    Tory tossed his comp-vid onto Ry's bed, face down, and draped an arm around his mother's shoulders. "What happened, Mom? An earthquake? Have we ever had one of those before?"
    "Not since I've been here," his mother grumbled. "This is a first for all of us." Queen Lissa was five feet tall, with strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes. She turned heads wherever she went.
    "Are we going to check into this?" Uncle Tony asked, rising from Ry's desk chair.
    "We need to; I hope Kifirin comes in soon. If anybody knows whether there are problems with quakes, then he's the one to ask."
    "You think Uncle Kifirin might come?" Tory asked.
    "He might. He hasn't been here in weeks." Queen Lissa put an arm around Uncle Tony when he came to stand beside her. Tory looked at Ry over their mother's head. Kifirin. He was remote and frightening at times, though neither boy could truly explain why.
    "Lissa, are you all right?" Uncle Norian came rushing through the door.
    "I'm fine, Nori. I just wanted to check on my boys. I couldn't get away from the Council meeting before now. When did you get in?"
    "I heard the news while I was out, so I asked for a ride," Uncle Norian replied. Uncle Norian was another one you didn't want to anger. He wouldn't hurt Tory, Ry or anyone inside the palace, unless they tried to attack the Queen. Then you'd get to see the other side of Norian Keef. He was Director of the ASD—Alliance Security Detail—which was currently stationed on Le-Ath Veronis.
    "Can you stay for dinner?" The Queen smiled at him.
    "I can stay the night," Uncle Norian replied, smiling in return. The three adults walked out of Ry and Tory's suite, after the Queen hugged both her sons again.
    "Something's up," Tory flopped down on Ry's bed.
    "Yeah," Ry agreed.
    * * *
    Something about the quake had the elders worried. Toff could feel it, even if they weren't saying anything. Toff and a few others were finishing up with the cornstalks when the ground shifted beneath his feet. Many of the youngest were frightened and crying afterward. Father Willow, who wasn’t very good with the younglings, went to fetch Rain, who eventually calmed them down.
    Toff might have tried, but none of them wanted anything to do with him, either. Gren had seen to that. They were all too frightened to befriend Toff. Gren was telling them that they'd be hauled off to the Queen's dungeons, like Haldis and Sark. Gren was already spreading the rumor that Haldis and Sark's arrests were Toff's fault. Perhaps that was his plan all along. Toff had no way to reason with Gren's warped logic and since he no longer had the bruises to prove he'd been badly beaten, the others were all siding with