by Jasmine Walt
Marcus replied with a question. “Is there incest when the female half of the species cannot procreate? Surely you must have considered that my grandfather—”
“Don’t say it,” I warned, standing and taking several steps away from Marcus.
“—is your great-grandfather through Set—”
I clapped my hands over my ears and closed my eyes, chanting, “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”
“—and the same, only a little further removed, through your mother. Why, that would make us—”
Turning around, I blurted, “Okay! I get it . . . loud and clear.” I think I’m going to be sick.
“I don’t think you do,” Marcus said, stalking toward me. I stood my ground. How had he gone from tender and caring to such a vicious creature in a matter of seconds? “You’re disgusted. You want me, but now you’re conflicted. You’re concerned with human social norms. Well guess what, Lex? You’re not human. You’re Nejerette. Get used to it and keep Dominic off your bed.”
“Fine,” I agreed, and he actually looked surprised. “But you have to stop ordering me around.”
Raising his hand, Marcus gently stroked the side of my face with the backs of his fingers. Before I could lean into his touch, he clamped his hand around my jaw and clenched his own. “Fine.”
25
Do & Damn
I grew up in a middle-class, apple-pie-with-vanilla-ice-cream, American home. On Christmas, a holiday that had no religious significance to my family aside from the worship of one exceptionally jolly, exceptionally fat man, our tree always sheltered a moderately generous cache of presents. Frosty and Max, our family cats, would play with any ornaments they could reach, adding new scratches to those left over from years past. We didn’t buy new, perfect, and shiny baubles to decorate the tree every year, and we didn’t give each other everything we could ever want. We couldn’t afford to. And in a sense, it was something I appreciated—not being handed every little thing I wanted gave me something to work toward.
I was sitting alone on an unbelievably soft, beige leather couch on one of Marcus’s huge, super-luxurious private jets. Marcus had abandoned me to pace while he carried on a heated phone conversation with somebody important, not that I knew who.
While staying at the Heru compound, I’d managed to trick myself into thinking of the chateau and its outbuildings more like a resort than a private residence. But I couldn’t ignore Marcus’s obscene wealth when it was shaped like a metal tube and was hurtling me through the air at breakneck speeds. One of the few things seers were always allowed to look for in the future At was a means to make money. Playing the stock market, investing in business ventures, gambling—it was all Council-approved so long as it bettered Nejeret-kind.
Briefly, I wondered if Alexander was anywhere near as well-off as Marcus, and if he was, why Grandma Suse didn’t live in some opulent mansion. Unless . . . maybe she didn’t want to? Grandma Suse was a proud, honest woman—a human woman—and I could easily imagine her rejecting Alexander’s money as soon as she’d learned the truth about him and how he gained it . . . however he had gained it. She probably considered it cheating . . . an unfair advantage over “normal folks” or something like that.
“I’m sorry I woke you,” Marcus said as he settled beside me, draping his arm over my shoulders.
I rested my head against his chest. “It’s okay.” After a moment, I said, “I didn’t know you could use cell phones on airplanes.”
“Ah . . . our plane is different.”
When he didn’t explain further, I glanced up at his face—his lips were pressed into an unusually thin line. “What’s wrong?”
He sighed. “All of the people on your list are accounted for and are being monitored . . . except one.”
“Who?” I asked. I could feel Alexander’s eyes on me from a dozen feet away.
“Your sister.”
I glanced at Kat, who was sitting beside Alexander. “Jenny’s missing?” My brain instantly tried to come up with possible explanations. “She could be . . . maybe she’s just—”
Marcus held me more tightly against his side. “We have finders looking for her current location in the At. We’re doing our best to figure out where she is and if something has happened to her.”
“Something . . . ? Like, if she’s been hurt . . . or . . . or killed?” I asked, horrified.
He exhaled bitterly. “That is unlikely. She’s useless to Set dead.”
My chest felt like it had been pulverized by a meat tenderizer from the inside out. “He has her, doesn’t he?”
After kissing the top of my head, Marcus released me and I sat up straight. “I think so. Otherwise we would have been able to find her in the At by now.”
“Can I use your phone?” I asked, holding out my hand.
“No, but you can use your phone,” he said, placing a shiny new iPhone in my waiting palm. “It’s already programmed with all of our people as well as everyone on your list.”
I didn’t need pre-programmed contacts to call Jenny, but my hands were shaking so badly that I had to dial her number four times before I got it right. It went straight to voicemail.
“Shit!” I hissed before the beep. “Jenny, call me back as soon as you get this. It’s important, like life-or-death important. There are some things about you and me that I have to tell you. I love you, J.”
As soon as I hit “end” I was dialing another number.
“Hello?”
“Mom—”
“Hi, sweetie!” my mom exclaimed. My chin began trembling at the sound of her voice—an involuntary reaction from all the times she’d comforted me growing up.
“Hey Mom, do—”
“I thought you were flying out today,” she interrupted. “Are you already in Egypt?”
“Uh, yeah, just landed,” I lied. “But—”
“How was it? I always hate those long flights. My legs get so achy.”
“Yeah, it was . . . long. I’d love to talk, but I really need to know how to get ahold of Jenny. I promise I’ll call you back when I’m settled in.”
“Oh, of course, sweetie. Are you going to try to meet up with her?”
“What?” I asked, instantly confused.
“Jenny. You know, since she’s in the same neighborhood as you?”
What? “Yeah . . .”
“I bet she’s having the time of her life cruising around the Mediterranean with that new boyfriend of hers.”
Something in my chest clenched. Please let her new boyfriend not be who I think he might be, I thought frantically. “Yep, sounds awesome,” I said. “But, uh, she forgot to give me a way to reach her.” Liar, liar, pants on fire . . .
“Oh good! You girls will have so much fun together. It’s just what you need to mend things. Now let’s see . . . I know it’s around here . . . hmm . . . did I put it . . . ah, here it is. Are you ready?”
“Yeah, Mom,” I said, accepting a pen and small notebook from Marcus. I jotted down the numbers and then repeated them back for confirmation. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll call you soon. Be safe.”
“That’s my line,” she said, laughing softly. “Be safe, Lex. And have fun!”
“Love you, Mom.” I didn’t want to end the call; I wanted to keep talking to her forever.
“I love you too, sweetie. Bye.”
“Bye,” I said and listened as my mom fumbled with the phone, trying to disconnect the call on her end.
Taking a long, deep breath, I dialed the unfamiliar combination of numbers. It seemed to take hours to connect, but finally it rang once . . . twice . . .
“Hello, my darling girl.” It was the last voice I wanted to hear. I’d suspected, all the while hoping desperately to be wrong, that Jenny was with Set . . . her new boyfriend. That is so wrong . . .
“Where’s my sister?” I asked icily.
Set chuckled. “She’s a pretty little thing, isn’t she? She lacks some of your . . . hmmm . . . severity. I wonder if Heru is so drawn to you bec
ause your eyes are the color of his favorite thing.”
Marcus was as still as a statue beside me, and Alexander joined us, sitting on my opposite side.
“And that would be . . . ?” I asked.
I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Blood, as it thickens and dries. Do you really know so little about him, daughter? Perhaps I’ll enlighten you when I see you next.”
Ignoring his taunts, I repeated, “Where’s my sister? If you’ve hurt her . . .”
“We need not be enemies, my—”
“Oh, I think we need be,” I said, cutting him off. “Where’s Jenny?”
“Sunning on the deck,” he answered pleasantly. “And if you call again or try to contact her in any other way, I’ll cut her throat.” He hung up.
I dropped the phone on the floor and stood. Numbly, I hurried past a handful of Nejerets to the large bathroom in the rear of the jet, locking myself inside. As soon as I looked at the toilet, I fell to my knees and vomited. My stomach heaved until it was empty, and then dry-heaved a few more times for good measure.
Still crumpled on my knees, I flushed the toilet, trying to get rid of the smell, then searched the drawers and compartments in the bathroom until I found what I needed.
I took my time, brushing my hair, rinsing my face with cold water, and cleaning my teeth with enthusiasm. I remembered the thousands of times I’d gone through similar morning and nighttime routines, shoulder to shoulder with Jenny as we shared the sink in our bathroom. We’d been so close when we were little girls. How did we let ourselves drift so far apart?
Suddenly, I felt overwhelming determination to find my sister . . . to save her from Set. I had begun mending things with her over the holidays, and I wouldn’t let her die without finishing what I’d started. She was my sister—if Set hurt her, I would do my damndest to make him pay.
I emerged from the lavatory with a plan. Marcus was waiting for me just outside, leaning against the opposite wall. I blinked in surprise, then grabbed his hand and pulled him into the rear bedroom cabin and closed the door, shutting out dozens of sets of prying eyes. I led him to the foot of the bed, then sat down. He followed suit.
Reaching behind me, he began rubbing my neck, somehow knowing I was developing a monster of a headache. I slouched, letting his fingers work their temporary magic and murmuring, “Mmm . . .”
Minutes later, I gathered my courage and pulled Marcus’s hand away from my neck. I held it to my lips, kissing each fingertip softly. “Thank you,” I whispered, pressing my lips against his palm. Impulsively, I met his gaze at the exact moment that I gently bit the meaty part of his palm and watched his eyes burn gold and black with desire.
I had no idea why fortune had favored me with this aphrodisiacal power over such an imposing and undeniably desirable man, but I relished it. It was intoxicating—his responses drove me wild with lust. The fates, it seemed, believed in fair play, because his power over me was equally potent.
“I’m going into the At,” I said against his palm before releasing it, “to look for my sister. If she’s really with Set, then I may be the only one who can find her, and I have to find her. He’ll use her against me, threaten her again, and”—my chin quivered—“Marcus, I don’t know if I can resist.”
Jaw clenched, Marcus said, “Going into the At is unwise. If Set finds your ba while it’s in an echo . . .”
I stood and started pacing in the small space. “I know. He could hurt me . . . maybe even trap me. It’s really stupid. But”—I turned to face him, wrapping my arms around my middle—“I’m doing it anyway. I have to.”
Something in my eyes convinced Marcus that I couldn’t be dissuaded. “Then I’m going with you.”
I shook my head, sincerely wishing he could accompany me. “It was harder to enter the echo at the fertility clinic when I had you or Alexander tagging along, and I knew that echo. I think the only way I can find Jenny is if I’m alone.”
In an instant, Marcus was standing before me and his hands were on me, caressing my face, my neck, my shoulders, my hair. “Don’t do this, Lex. We’ll find another way . . .”
Pressing my lips against his, I kissed him long and tenderly. “I’m going,” I whispered. “The only question left is—will you watch over my body while I’m gone?”
“Of course.” His voice was rough.
I smiled a weak, miserable smile. “Thanks.”
I stood, surrounded by the horizontal whirl of colors, amazed at how much easier it had been to enter the placeless When—as opposed to the timeless Where—of the At than it had been during my finder test with Alexander. I focused on the time of my phone call with Set, the only concrete hold I had on him. But instead of Set, I focused on Jenny, searching the recent past for her.
The colors shifted, flying by like they were stars and I was in a spaceship in hyperdrive. Abruptly, the motionless shifting of the At ceased. Glaringly bright, the sun shown down on sparkling, sapphire water, and gulls squawked overhead. An arrhythmic tap-thud-slap, tap-thud-slap, tap-thud-slap repeated endlessly. I was on Set’s yacht.
It was beautiful, though in a totally different way than Marcus’s private jets. Marcus preferred tasteful and reserved décor, usually of grays or blacks, while Set veered toward gaudy and extravagant. He wanted to shove everyone’s face in his wealth and power. The disparity between the two men intrigued me, considering how close they had once been.
I recalled Marcus’s admission that they had even “shared lovers.” What the hell does that even mean? Had they participated in a bunch of ménage-a-trois . . . or ménage-a-more-than-trois?
Shaking my head, I focused on my fear for Jenny . . . on my devastation at the thought of losing her forever. If I let my mind stray, it would be too easy to accidentally relocate myself in the At and end up watching one of the ménage-a-whatevers, which I really didn’t want to do. Finding Jenny was what was important.
I turned away from the gemstone ocean and scanned the deck. Sure enough, Jenny was sprawled lazily in a purple bikini near the bow of the boat, and no matter how badly I wanted to warn her of the danger she was in with Set, she wouldn’t hear me. I was viewing the past, and she wasn’t really there.
Strong hands settled on my shoulders and began a slow, deep massage.
Smiling, I admonished, “I thought I told you to stay . . .” I trailed off, realizing the person behind me didn’t smell a thing like Marcus. Instead of exotic and sweet spices, I was surrounded by a subtle, cool mint, almost like a mojito. “Set!” I hissed.
“I wondered if you would come . . . though I thought it would take you longer,” Set said, smooth-voiced. “You don’t waste time. Has my dear cousin benefited from this element of your character?”
“What I do with him is none of your business,” I snapped, acutely aware that this was the first time I’d spoken to Set face-to-face, so to speak.
He spun me around to face him. “On the contrary, daughter. What Heru does with my property is every bit my business.”
His property? “Fuck you!” I spat.
Set smiled—a simple baring of teeth—and scoured my body with his eyes. “It’s a little unconventional, even for Nejerets, but if that’s what would sway you to my side, I’m sure I could oblige.”
“Ugh! No! What’s wrong with you?” I tried to shove off his hold, but he was far stronger than me.
“Hmmm . . .” He cocked his head to the side. “I don’t want us to be enemies, Daughter. What can I say to ease your antagonism toward me?”
“Nothing. Your actions have spoken loud enough.”
“What evil deeds have you assigned to your loving father?” he asked pleasantly.
“Joe Larson is my loving father and he’s done nothing evil,” I said, verbally slapping Set. “You, on the other hand, stalked me throughout my life—probably hoping to kidnap me—assigned a man to drug and rape me, broke into my apartment with a group of your cult followers, and then kidnapped my sister and threatened to kill her.” I glared
, trying to stab him with my eyeballs. “Don’t you think that’s enough?”
Set’s grasp on my shoulders tightened painfully, but I didn’t do anything to indicate my discomfort. I was too worried it would please him.
“I am your father. Without me, you wouldn’t exist. Don’t forget that, girl. And did you consider that perhaps I was just watching you as you grew to keep you safe? And that idiot, Mike, kept lathering on the drug-laced lip balm until you nearly overdosed. He was supposed to use it to lower your inhibitions only enough that you’d willingly share his bed. And pretty Jenny came with me willingly. She thinks she’s in love with Seth McDougal,” he explained, puffing up.
His excuses were crap and I told him so. “What about the men who broke into my apartment?” I asked, and he shrugged.
“Like I said, actions speak.” I watched as something darker than the inky black of his irises—possibly his sanity—slid around in his eyes, sometimes filling them, other times leaving them wild and vacant. Holy crap, I thought, terrified of the man before me. He really is insane.
“How about these actions,” Set said softly. “Your beautiful Heru spent over two millennia hunting down and killing my offspring. The blood of my children—your siblings—pours from his hands, but you would damn me for merely threatening the life of your sister. You should be damning him!”
“You lie!” I cried and kneed him in the groin as hard as I could. As he crumpled to the ground, I fled back into my body.
I was lying on my back on the bed in Marcus’s private jet. Opening my eyes, I raised my head and stared at his broad shoulders, at the chorded tendons and muscles snaking up his neck and the line where night-dark hair met golden-honey skin. He sat in the same position he’d been in when I first closed my eyes, just beyond my feet at the end of the bed.
“I found her,” I said quietly, but Marcus didn’t turn. I sat up.
“And . . . ?”
“She’s with him, but she’s not hurt. He said she’s in love with him.” I watched closely for a reaction.