“I couldn’t scrub it off.” My voice sounded defeated.
He sat all the way up and glanced at his hands with distain. “I know. I look like I beat up the Jolly Green Giant. The grass is under the skin. It’s actually under the surface.”
Any time was a good time to egg on his contamination fears. Mean, but oh-so fun. “You’re lip is a little green, too.” I had a growing smile until he spoke.
“You find that funny? You’re much more radioactive looking than I am.”
It was a fact I’d been trying to ignore. That’s what you get when you do things out of spite. Time to change the subject. “Are we ready to leave?”
“Yes,” he said, quite relieved. Standing, he moved to the kitchen door. There was a slight pause as he slid on a pair of aged black Diesel Evers, which looked a lot more masculine than they sounded. I was beginning to suspect he bought out the entire line. Gabriel turned with a sigh. “I owe you information. It’s important.” I had almost forgotten. “Your sister’s husband, Nick, is Nickolas Grant?”
“The Nicholas Grant I met? The Nicholas Grant?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to act shocked, which I was, but after the dips and turns in my life recently, was it really that unbelievable? Shrugging, I said, “That sounds about right.” And then we left to meet the Members for another glorious evening. Hopefully the party favors wouldn’t kill us.
Chapter Eighteen
We drove instead of flew. It was a definite improvement. The drive was at least an hour and a half. I had no idea if it was because it was farther out of town or because we’d started farther away. None of the roads looked familiar. To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with much outside of town.
When we pulled up to the end of a long driveway, a tall, skinny house sprouted from the earth. It may have been light green, but it was hard to tell in the shadows. Great, there was a ninety-nine percent chance our skin matched the house. I was really starting to dislike green.
Gabriel parked the car and turned the engine off. After unbuckling his seatbelt, he turned to face me. “When we go in, do not talk. Do not make sudden movements that could seem threatening. And, most importantly, do not touch anything flammable.”
“But that’s, like, everything,” I said, not meaning to sound so winy.
“Exactly. Although I expect fire safety standards to be pristine, try to be non-threatening.”
A little too forcefully, I said, “I am non-threatening.”
He let out a scoff that abruptly ended when he exited the vehicle. I followed. An elderly maid with silver hair answered the door and flagged us toward what resembled a modern sitting room. The house was completely electrical, no candles or torches to be found.
The Members stood to greet us. However, their actions were choked when they glimpsed our beaten appearances. I quickly noted the fireplace was barren of anything flammable, and I could have sworn it had been recently dampened. Where was the trust?
The vampires looked the same as the night before. Well, different clothes, same stiffness. Alarmed, the larger man stepped forward. “What has happened? Have you been attacked?”
Before thinking, I answered, “No. The house is so nice, we’re green with envy.”
I thought it was funny.
Gabriel almost melted from embarrassment. His voice was as presentable as his face. “It was a learning experience.”
“What kind of learning experience?” the vampire demanded.
“A hands-on method.”
I couldn’t help but jump in and explain. Every time you see someone start to struggle in a conversation, it’s just irritating if you can’t jump in to fix it. “More like communing with nature. Go green!” I’m sure my point would not have been lost if Gabriel hadn’t kept tripping over it.
“A therapeutic exercise of sorts.”
“Like a game.” After I said game, he gave me a death glare.
“Not a game. A conduit to express her emotions.”
I had to help again because, come on, it was fun to watch Gabriel squirm. “Like being a tree in a windy hurricane.” Okay, maybe my tree analogy wasn’t working, but it was amusing...to me.
Gabriel gave me that nice shut-the-hell-up look again, but the vamp in front of us didn’t look like he was buying any of it. He was rather disgusted, actually, like finding a wet, dirty dog on your five-hundred-dollar rug next to a really big pile of crap.
“You’re both green! Can you explain this or not?”
Wasn’t he listening? I didn’t even give Gabriel a chance to answer. I could take care of it. “Sometimes that’s what happens when you experiment with nature. It has a tendency to throw up all over you and then it just won’t come off, no matter how hard you scrub.”
The look on Gabriel’s face let everyone know he was unmistakably disgruntled and quite uncomfortable. He took a step forward, blocking my view of the other Members.
The inquisitor spoke low and authoritative to him. “What is this? You are her acting bodyguard. This behavior is unacceptable and crude.”
Gabriel spoke in that low tone people use when they want to appear discreet, but don’t really care. “She needed to work out some frustration before the meeting, which she refused to miss. I thought it would be better if she didn’t arrive angry. I used my active judgment and thought it the best choice.”
The Member pondered Gabriel’s response. He may have even experienced a flashback to the night before, because his attitude dramatically shifted from outrage to understanding. “Very well. I trust your motive. Miss Clyne, would you please make yourself comfortable by taking a seat?”
“Sure.”
Was the man insane? All the explaining, and Gabriel wins him over with one semi-honest statement that makes him look like a scholar, while I came across as the crazy one.
I sat as far away from the fireplace as I could. The chair was stiff, like the rest of the motif. Gabriel remained standing, though he moved a little closer to my position. The head Member sat in front of me, surrounded by the rest of the happy entourage.
It was a stupid policy that the Members couldn’t share their names. I hated not knowing his name. I could always rename him, at least in my head. Bob sounded good. His name would forever after be Bob.
“I apologize for what was most likely a long drive. Under last night’s circumstances, however, we found many of our human council members to be rather unaccommodating with the use of their homes.”
My chance to make amends presented itself. “I’m sorry about last night. You can tell your council associate that I will pay for all the damages and for the costs of a rental home while the house is being...rebuilt.” It did sound psychotic when I had to say it out loud. I burned a woman’s house down. A stranger’s house! But she’d helped rat me out, so how bad did I really want to feel?
“Thank you. I am sure she will appreciate your gesture. Now, I would like to give you a chance to speak freely about this situation you and your sister created.”
“I didn’t create a situation. I fixed a problem before it got worse. My sister is the one creating a mess. And there’s something that’s been bothering me. Do you think things have gotten so out of hand that you had to use last-resort tactics?”
“How do you mean?”
“Does the dirty business of the Mass in my home ring any bells?”
“Yes. It was poor judgment. The stability of the situation was unsure. Had we known Gabriel was up to the task, the intrusion never would have taken place.”
“Did you ask him?”
“He had already offered to act as your bodyguard. It seemed inappropriate to ask such an undertaking of him. But when the others failed, Gabriel took action. This negotiation could not be rescheduled.”
“He offered to play bodyguard?” I stared dumb struck at Gabriel. He offered? It wasn’t the right time to ask why, so I shut my mouth.
Gabriel stepped closer and addressed me quite formally. “I decided to take the chance when they failed.
The Mass has a tendency to be senselessly brutal. I thought they might cause you serious harm if given another chance. If that had happened, the negotiation would have suffered and we would not have the answers the Members seek.”
Turning my attention back to Bob, I asked, “Did any of you ever think to send an invitation or make a phone call to get me here? An email or text message would have been acceptable, too.”
The room was silent. The vampires exchanged glances of discomfort. Bob spoke again. “I am afraid we did not consider those options.”
“Well, next time, please do.” And just to drive my point home, I added, “It could save a house.”
“We certainly will keep that in mind. Is there anything more?”
I moved so that I teetered on the edge of the uncozy chair, barely on it. A pow-wow on the floor would have been better. “Why did you send my sister’s husband to see me?”
“It was a test. We thought you would know exactly who he is.”
“I did. I do. He’ll be a very important man.”
“You could learn those particulars yet fail to discover his personal details, such as who he is married to? That is what heightened our concerns as to your abilities to act as the true Cypher.”
“I search the bigger picture. I don’t probe their personal lives. Sometimes I catch a random glimpse by accident, but do you realize how many twisted things I would subject myself to if I purposely focused on intimate details?”
“Understood.”
“I would hope so. Can I see my sister tonight?”
“Possibly, if temperaments remain controlled.”
“That’s a yes, because my temper was left smeared across the lawn.”
He fought an odd expression, wishing to smile but thinking it a bit too un-Member like, perhaps. Well, how hoity-toity of him. He motioned to one of the women. “I think we have come to an understanding. The true Ellenore may enter now.”
The tall woman left the room without hesitation. A moment later she, Ellenore, and Ellenore’s bodyguard entered the quaint sitting room. My sister was wearing a moderately fashionable orange and pink dress, fitting without being too tight. It trailed to mid-calf. Ellenore was always such a girl.
I didn’t fail to notice she sat on the other side of the room, close to the Members. The vamp bodyguard stood behind her.
Our mediator spoke yet again. Was Bob capable of zipping it? I didn’t think so.
“Ellenore, would you like to address your sister? We are allowing open conversation this evening.”
Her eyes roamed over my cuts and scrapes with distaste. She settled on glaring at me and spoke in a bitter tone. “Yes. If your intentions are so pure, why won’t you agree to the ceremony? Why are you doing this?”
“Because we had our own agreement. If I go along with the ceremony, it breaks our deal. I want my soul when I die. Which, if you stop to think about it, will probably be long after you’re already dead and don’t need it anymore. It’s not fair for you to have two and me to have none. Those were your words. Why is it so different now?”
“Because you’re not my sister anymore. You’re the Cypher.”
That stung. I felt heat flush my face, but it wasn’t anger. It was the heat right before tears scald your cheeks. Everyone else in the room tensed, waiting. I was sure Gabriel and the vamp standing behind the shell of my sister were not so much waiting: rather, they were trying to decide if they would have to intervene. It made sense to refrain from belligerence. I was just plain sad.
“Why can’t I be both, Ellenore?”
“It’s no longer possible.”
My voice had risen, but remained steady. No yelling. Yet. “Why?”
Even Bob, a bad, bad vampire, looked on with curious eyes like my sister was quite possibly the only monster in the room. When he caught me looking, the indifference returned.
“You’re not part of the human world anymore, Myranda. Not really. But I still have a chance, and I’m not going to let you take that away from me.”
“Oh, I must have been mistaken when I traded futures with you. I thought I was giving you a chance to live like a normal human. I didn’t realize that trading fates—working at your job every. Damned. Night—would cramp your style so much. I’m damn sorry about that. I should have stopped to really consider your feelings.”
“Don’t taunt me. I know what you gave up. But you didn’t really give it, did you? You’re not willing to give it to me. It’s just a loaner. Well, I’m not satisfied with the deal anymore.”
I reminded myself to control my temper when I snapped, “Tough. I already said I’ll carry on as the Cypher, but you can’t get everything you want. And that’s a completely, utterly human fact. How does it feel to get ‘human’ answers?”
“You bitch!”
The Members became restless as my sister’s temper really started showing.
“I’m the bitch?”
“Worse. I will have a soul. The Members already promised me yours. You don’t really have a say in it, anyway. This whole ‘negotiation’ means nothing. It was just a means to get you here.”
Once Ellenore stood, Gabriel moved to my side. Her poor bodyguard leaned over the couch, ready to detain her if the occasion called for it. He did seem young.
My sister glowered as she spewed, “Your soul is already mine, Myranda. And that’s all that matters, isn’t it? What you may be is important, but who you are isn’t.”
I had fibbed a little to the Members about Nick. I hadn’t realized he was my sister’s husband, but I had picked up on a lot of hurt and personal turmoil someone would cause him. I was betting it was my sister, and I blurted it all out. “Do you know how Nick’s soul felt about you? It was scared. It loathed you. It felt like you taint everything you touch. It also felt relieved at the thought of being free of you. That’s your future, with or without a soul. So you’d better think if you’re really doing this for the right reasons. If it’s for Nick, don’t bother. If it’s just out of selfishness, you’ve already lost him and it won’t change what you’ve become. You don’t need my soul to be heartless.”
“You think you’re the only one with a secret? Mom and Dad don’t—” Ellenore looked positively stricken. “Never mind.”
She had almost given away her secret in the heat of anger, but it was enough to set me off. I needed to know if Mom and Dad were okay. They don’t think what? Did they know we switched places? I figured they had come to the conclusion, only because they were the only two people who could tell us apart. No one else bothered to pay that much attention. I willed her to tell me.
I willed myself not to beg.
Chapter Nineteen
Ellenore just stood there. It was almost like she’d opened her big mouth on purpose to give me just enough to worry about. But I knew it was by accident because she had a big mouth when her temper was hot. Whatever the motive, it worked. I was too curious to let it go. But proudly, I didn’t beg. I boiled.
“Tell me.”
“No!”
I jumped out of my seat and stood across from her. Gabriel and Ellenore’s bodyguard were immediately at our sides. The Members just sat and observed.
My voice rose. “Tell me!”
Her tone matched mine. “No!”
I couldn’t help but take a step closer. Gabriel also stepped closer and put his hand in front of me, respectfully making me take back that step. He was right. I was trying to be non-threatening, but it was so hard, given the shrew standing in front of me. I took a moment to inhale and exhale a few times. “I’m calm. I’m at peace. I just want to know what she’s hiding about my parents.”
Ellenore took another step closer. Her bodyguard was not doing so well with her temper. He didn’t know whether to grab her, shield her, or save himself. She took one more step before he loosely rested his hand around her arm.
“You don’t need to know anything about my parents, Myranda.”
I was reaching my limit again, fast. It would have been worth all the m
oney in the world to reach out and punch her once. Gabriel rested his hand on my shoulder and started mumbling oh-so quietly, “I like green beans. I like green beans. I like green beans.” I didn’t think Ellenore could hear it, but nothing gets by the satellites on the Members, who were, most likely, confused.
As stupid as it was, it was working. If I could control my temper, it left a good impression on the Members. I wasn’t on the best terms with them after the night before, if you could imagine.
Ellenore smiled, thinking she’d defeated my calm. “I know you want to hit me. Do it. Just do it and get it over with.” She braced herself, looking as pitiful as she was able to in front of the Members.
“I’m fine.” I wasn’t, but I was catching on to her games. If I could keep talking in a soothing manner, she would lose at her own game. “I’m fine. I just want to know if anything has happened to Mom and Dad. I’m worried.”
“I already told you that’s none of your business. Are you going to go mad again? Feel like burning anything?”
My body started shaking ever so noticeably. I tried to get it to loosen up, to let each muscle relax, but every time one did, the rest would ball up again.
“I’m fine. Let’s try this question a different way.” Through gritted teeth, I asked, “How are your parents?”
Bob intervened. “Her question is not unreasonable. She shows restraint and patience. Does this not warrant courtesty?”
Ellenore’s face crinkled to a pout as she listened to Bob’s wise words. For once his big mouth was being helpful. Ellenore felt compelled to offer some answer, though she made it clear that Bob’s interference was unappreciated. “My parents have nothing to do with you, Myranda.” She smiled sweetly when she added, “By choice. But they are in good health. In fact, I spend a lot of time with them when they visit every month.”
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