“I’ve been told that, but so what?” Alex rubbed his temples. “It’s not like it’s real to me. I don’t remember any of that, and I sure don’t care about it.”
“You accept the truth of it, though?”
“Yeah. I suppose I do.”
“Very well. You must tell me, then,” Anastasia said. “Do you resent the extinguishing of your cartel and your family, now that you’ve been made aware of it? Do you harbor a grudge against me, or against the Martynova Family, for their deaths?”
“Why would I?” Alex replied. “I don’t remember it.”
“Don’t be flippant,” Anastasia said. “Your entire family was slaughtered in a single night.”
“I don’t remember any such family,” Alex said. “What difference does it make to me?”
“Memory is not the sum of human experience,” Anastasia said sternly. “You must feel some way about the unfortunate affair.”
“I feel like this has more to do with your dad than it does anything else,” Alex said. “I’m not mad about it, okay? I don’t care who you killed. I mean, okay, it makes me a little nervous to be around you, knowing that’s the sort of shit you got up to when you were, what, eight? Nine? That’s intense. Killing off entire cartels just because? Crazy shit. That’s all I’ve got to say about it, though. I’m not crying over people I don’t remember.”
Anastasia stepped closer and gave him a curious look.
“Are those your true feelings, or is this all the result of Eerie’s manipulations?” Anastasia wondered. “I know she encouraged a certain amount of passivity in you, even indifference, but this seems a bit much.”
“It seems about right to me,” Alex said. “Do you want me to be mad?”
“I certainly do. That is it exactly,” Anastasia said calmly. “You realize the light your attitude casts on my own current state of mourning? I lost my father, my brother, and my cousin, Alex, and I plunged the world into war without question. You lost your entire family, your name and your title, even your memory and identity, but you are unmoved. Are you trying to embarrass me?”
“That isn’t it at all! I do think you could make better life choices, if killing lots of people is a standard solution for all your problems, but losing your father and brother? That’s awful. I don’t know what I would do if that happened to me.”
“That’s the crux of the issue, isn’t it? That did happen to you, Alex.”
“Maybe, but that isn’t real to me. You all say it happened, so I guess it’s true, but…I mean, I do remember what you looked like when you were just a bossy little kid.” Mai frowned, her hands occupied with Anastasia’s hair, the line of her mouth stiffening. Katya locked eyes with Mai, shaking her head slightly. “If I feel sad about it at all,” Alex continued blithely, “it’s like grieving over characters in a movie. It’s a grim story, but I don’t remember any of it. I hardly remember the stuff that I know happened to me! My whole past was a lie, so why should I feel any different about this stuff? The bits and pieces I do remember feel like a dream. Even if everything you say is true, it’s not a big thing to me. It just doesn’t matter.”
“If you say you do not care, who am I to argue? Particularly when I understand so little of what you just said,” Anastasia said, her fan fluttering in front of the lower half of her face. “For my part, I bore the Rostov Cartel no personal animosity, and I have long regretted the necessity of their cessation.”
“Wow, Anastasia,” Alex said. “I had just started to forget how scary you can be, and then you go and…”
“I’ve never been satisfied with the resolution to the Rostov question,” Anastasia said, giving Alex a look that made him shiver. “My father chose to extinguish not only the family, but the cartel, absorbing their estates and assets into the Martynova family holdings. This was largely acceptable when it came to trade interests and territories abroad, but the seizure of the Rostov ancestral manor, and the termination of the associated Lordship went beyond the pale, in my opinion, and in the shared opinion of the other Great Families. My father wished to send a message, but he overlooked nuance in favor of blunt passion, and created a problem that I have inherited.”
“If I’m supposed to understand any of this, then…”
“I think the balance between us might not have been settled satisfactorily, cousin,” Anastasia said. “It goes without saying that debts must be paid, and all potential hinderances resolved. Fortunately, I have devised a solution that should rectify the issue.”
“Could you please just tell me what it is that you want from me?”
“I feel that my family wronged your family, regardless of extenuating circumstances. The Rostov Family had to be put in their place, but terminating the Lordship and the estate was a grave error, one that unsettled the Great Families of the Black Sun.” Anastasia frowned as Mai tugged at her hair. “I mean to correct that, and in doing so, send a message to the remaining Great Families. My vengeance in the name of my father will remind them to fear me, but at the same time, I wish to foster a sense of trust and mutual respect within the Black Sun. I plan to use the Rostov Cartel for that particular end.”
“This has to be a joke. You’re not really going to do this, are you?” Katya pointed at Alex. “He’s barely capable of following a conversation.”
“I think it only right,” Anastasia said. “And why not?”
“Why not what?” Alex gave them both pleading looks in turn. “What are you talking about?”
“There must be a Lord and a Lady Rostov at their ancestral seat. A restoration of that continuity will reassure the remainder of the Great Families of their own persistence, even in the worst circumstances, while demonstrating the Martynova family’s commitment to tradition.” Anastasia smiled wanly. “Since I have you here, cousin, an actual lineal descendent of the supposedly extinct family, why not take advantage of that circumstance? We have already established that you are indebted to me, personally, for my protection, and for the services of my assassin. I owe you, perhaps, for the affair you have forgotten. Why not settle both accounts with one grand bargain?”
“Oh, God,” Katya moaned, covering her eyes. “I can’t watch.”
“With all that in mind, shall we make it official?” Anastasia tapped Alex on the nose with the tip of her fan. “Consider yourself from this moment Lord Rostov, the head of a Great Family and a Lord of the Black Sun, with all the traditional prerogatives and estates that come with that illustrious title. If you ask very nicely, your cousin Katya might even acquiesce to becoming your steward. I am quite certain that you will need the help.”
Alex’s jaw dropped. Katya muttered under her breath.
“That’s…that’s not so bad, right?” Alex turned to Katya hopefully. “I mean, being a Lord or whatever, that could be, like, not bad?”
“Alex, you idiot,” Katya said, glaring at him. “Don’t you get it? She just made you a member of the Black Sun.”
Alex’s mouth hung open as he gave Anastasia a horrified look.
“I would have thought that would be obvious,” Anastasia said smugly. “Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on finally choosing a cartel. I told you some time ago that it was a foregone conclusion, but I’m happy that you have finally acknowledged it. In your own time, as I have come to expect.”
“Hey, look,” Alex said, wild-eyed and desperate. “I didn’t agree to anything yet, okay? I mean, I’m willing to do you a favor or something, but…”
“It is fortuitous, then, that I do not require anything more onerous of you. I have restored your title and returned your estates, and I have allowed my friend and servant to look after you and your interests,” Anastasia said. “For all that, I have asked nothing in return, save for the standard pledges of loyalty that come with the title. That is a bargain by any standard.”
“I can’t join the Black Sun!” Alex shouted. “I’m an Auditor, for God’s sake.”
“Trainee,” Katya amended. “Assuming they haven’t kicked us out
.”
“Right, but still…”
“Katya is an Auditor and a member of the Black Sun in good standing,” Anastasia said, hiding a yawn with her fan. “I am certain we can resolve any minor issues that might arise as a result of your new allegiance, should you choose to remain with the Auditors. I am equally certain that Emily Muir would be amenable to the new arrangement, if you would prefer.”
“Oh, God,” Alex said miserably. “I’m fucked, aren’t I?”
“Yeah,” Katya said, patting him on the back. “Now you’re getting it.”
Seventeen
Day Three
Emily smiled at him as she opened her door, but the smile faded when she saw the state of him.
“Jesus. What could have possibly happened in the time it took me to shower?”
“Anastasia fucking happened,” Alex said, rubbing his eyes. “That’s what.”
“You had better come in,” Emily said, pulling him inside her hotel room. “We have a few minutes before the apport. What did she do?”
Emily led him to the couch, and then sat down close beside him, her thigh resting against his.
“She knighted me or something, I think,” Alex said miserably. “Is Rostov, like, a place? Do you know? Because I think I own it now.”
“Oh dear,” Emily said, covering her mouth. “She’s made you Lord Rostov? You are…you are the Lord of a Great Family?”
“I guess so. How great can they really be? I mean, they are all dead, right?”
“What a fascinating development,” Emily said, looking a bit dazed. “I very much did not see that coming.”
“You aren’t the only one,” Alex said miserably, putting his face in his hands. “Do you think I’ll have to pay taxes? Do I have fields and serfs now? I mean, I think it’s in Russia, right?”
“The ancestral seat of the Rostov Family is in the Ukraine, I believe.”
“Same difference.”
“Not to the Ukrainians.”
“The Black Sun is like the fucking mob,” Alex wailed, putting his head in Emily’s lap. “I’ve joined the mob, Emily. I’m doomed.”
“There, there,” Emily said, stroking his head. “This will be fine. We will figure it out together. Look at the bright side. Maybe Anastasia will still let you marry Eerie. Eerie might be excited to be a Lady of a Great Family!”
“Eerie and I haven’t even gone on a real date yet, we aren’t getting…wait a minute,” Alex said, sitting up. “What did you just say?”
“You must realize that, along with those fields and serfs you mentioned, being the Lord of a Great Family comes with certain responsibilities, among them an obligation to get the approval from the head of the cartel to marry, divorce, or commit suicide. It’s mostly a formality, because most marriages in the Hegemony and the Black Sun are arranged at childhood. In your case…”
“I don’t know anything about getting married,” Alex said. “But I know Anastasia is not going to tell me what to do.”
“She will, of course,” Emily said. “If you stay in Central, you’ll have no choice.”
“What do you mean? I’ll just refuse,” Alex said, shrugging. “Anastasia doesn’t really seem to get mad about little stuff, you know? It’ll be fine.”
“She doesn’t get mad about little stuff, but she’s deadly serious about tradition. You either fall in line, or she’ll make you fall into line.”
“She can try,” Alex said. “I’m not so easy to push around these days.”
“Don’t joke. Anastasia is way out of your league.”
“I’m an Auditor! She wouldn’t—”
“She certainly would. Are you sure you’re still an Auditor?”
“I think…I don’t know. This is so bad.”
“The Auditors won’t protect you from Anastasia, and Eerie can’t, though I’m sure she would try,” Emily said. “The Black Sun is simply too powerful to oppose. It’s not as if Anastasia is hurting you, or attacking you in some way, so that you could demand restitution, or protection. She’s being generous, actually.”
“You’re right!” Alex said, burying his face in his hands. “I’m completely screwed!”
“Not completely,” Emily corrected, patting him on the back. “You still have one other option.”
“I do?” Alex peered out from behind his hands. “What do you mean?”
“I could intervene on your behalf,” Emily said, with a fond smile. “I could give you exile at the Far Shores. I don’t have that authority quite yet, but I assure you that the Director will recognize the strength of my position at the Far Shores just as soon as we have a chance to chat. It isn’t as if Anastasia plans to enforce her claim on your fealty until after this conflict is over.”
“Exile at the Far Shores? What are you even talking about?”
“Anastasia can’t just claim you, or she would have done it a long time ago. She’s made you an offer, and you have every right to reject it. That rejection would be a mortal insult to Anastasia, however, and she’d practically have to kill you for it. The easy way out of that conundrum is to have already sworn fealty to another cartel before she finds the opportunity to demand your loyalty publicly. How fortunate it is, then, that the Muir Cartel is presently recruiting. Anastasia won’t like it, of course, but I have the means to mollify her.”
“You want me to work for you?”
“Why not? You’ve done a capable job so far, and I think we have excellent rapport.”
“That isn’t it, though, is it?” Alex gave her a suspicious look. “You don’t want to work together. You want me to serve you.”
“I have no intention of acting the Great Lady, or compelling you to do anything. Alex, please calm down and listen to me. You know me, don’t you?” Emily looked him in the eyes. “I think we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. Have I ever made you do anything? Aside from holding me, I suppose,” Emily added, giggling. “I hope you didn’t mind terribly.”
Alex blushed and wrung his hands.
“You just watched me recruit Mitsuru Aoki. Did you witness anything sinister? Did I do anything to invite your suspicions?”
Alex shook his head.
“Ask Leigh, if you want, or Vivik. Ask anyone who works for me. I would be happy to be your boss, but I have no desire to be your master.”
“Even if I wanted to work for you, it’s more complicated than that. I agreed to take responsibility for Katya’s debt, so she could be free of Anastasia’s service. She wants to be an Auditor, and…”
“I’m certain that she just wants to look after you,” Emily said, touching his knee. “You are such an impulsive boy! Why would you make such a grandiose offer, when you have no means to pay?”
“I dunno. I think Katya’s pissed off about it, too, but I was just trying to help. I mean, she’s done a lot for me. I felt like I owed her that much.”
“I’m pleased that you were worried about Katya. You are most certainly in her debt, and I’m not sure that you would have even noticed that a year ago. That’s commendable progress! I do wish you had been a little less quick to play the hero, though. I approve of your altruism, but it would be better if you thought things through a bit more. You can’t volunteer to pay a debt when you are broke, no matter how good the cause.”
“I know it. I blew it. Like I said, even Katya’s upset with me.”
“I’m sure she’s just frustrated, because she’s trying to protect you, and you’ve imperiled yourself for her benefit. That’s the sort of behavior that might make your girlfriend swoon, but I’m afraid Katya takes a more pragmatic view.”
“I get it. I do.”
“Cheer up! This is a conversation I’ve been meaning to have with you, in any case. If we all survive the next few days, you’ll be receiving several offers of this sort. I know that you’re quite used to being in high demand, but I’m afraid the time for wavering has passed. Whoever is left standing will want you, Alex, and they won’t wait long for their answer. I had to make a pitch befo
re Ms. Gallow or Anastasia forced this issue.”
“I hate Central,” Alex said. “Everything turns political here.”
“Everything is political everywhere. We’re just more open about it in Central.”
“I didn’t think of you like that. I’m not sure what I thought of us, honestly, but I didn’t think it would be…”
“You don’t have to be so negative! There are any number of advantages to cooperating with me, rather than continuing to be an Auditor, or entering the service of one cartel or another. The issue of Eerie, for example.”
Alex’s expression darkened.
“What does Eerie have to do with this?”
“Whatever you decide to do next, Eerie will have to make the same decision if the two of you wish to remain together. You need to understand that no cartel will accept your relationship if she remains an unknown commodity, or chooses another allegiance entirely,” Emily explained gently. “Some may not be willing to accept her at all.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Alex said. “Why?”
“I really think that only you would ask that question,” Emily said, grinning at him. “Eerie is not human, she has strange abilities she cannot fully control, and she rarely makes any kind of sense. I do believe that you are one of the only people in Central who doesn’t find any of that to be problematic.”
“That’s wrong! That’s, uh, I’m not sure how to say it. How do you say racist, but against another…uh, whatever the Fey are.”
“You could say ‘speciest’,” Emily said. “I prefer xenophobic, however.”
“Okay. That.”
“I don’t think that’s the whole issue, but there’s certainly a retrograde slant to their opinions. That doesn’t change anything in terms of the difficulties she would face. Even if a cartel accepts her, they will expect her to do something productive for them. Administration will expect the same from her, should you remain an Auditor. There are no free rides in Central, I’m afraid.”
The Church of Sleep (Central Series Book 5) Page 42