by Alana Melos
“I don’t know,” she said, looking a little defensive. “It’s a hand. Mechanical… but I don’t want it.”
“As I said before,” Alistair interrupted. “This is a city with resources to help me regrow your hand. After this is removed--”
“I don’t want a new hand!” she snapped. I glanced at Huraiva, who gave me a slight shrug. “I want the stump!”
“The magic isn’t hurtful,” Alistair continued, straining to look patient. It appeared to me they’d had this argument a few times. “Don’t you want to be whole?”
“I’m tired of things being done to me,” she said, halfway between sulky and snappish. “It’s a war wound. I took it. I want it. I’m keeping it.” She flexed the faux hand as if to emphasize. “I already am whole.”
Before Alistair could continue his side of the argument, I jumped in. “What are you doing here anyway? Isn’t this a place you hate? How did you know to come here?”
He switched his dark gaze from his girlfriend to me, a stern look on his face. I raised a brow. He was going to play that with me? I didn’t think so. “When Rebekah didn’t return that evening, I scried for her. That’s when I determined she wasn’t in Prime. When I called, you didn’t answer, nor did your vampire friend. Rory, however, was very upset. He couldn’t find you anywhere, and he had the message from Adira that you’d been taken. I expanded my search. It took some time, but… when I found where the three of you were, I traversed the dimensions.”
“How did you end up here? In the Empire, instead of the Reich?”
He canted his brows up in a skeptical look at my suggestion that he might have traveled to the Nazi stronghold. “The New Roman Empire has always been friendly to skilled mages.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But how do you know that?”
“I am a master of transdimensional magics, Caprice,” he said, his voice dry.
Fair enough. “So now you’ll take us home,” I said.
“It’s not quite that simple,” he said. “I’d like to remain here to help Rebekah remove that… thing and to grow a new hand.”
“I told you, I don’t want one,” she said, her voice tired.
“I could likely try in Prime, but here we have resources at our disposal that we wouldn’t have there,” he said. I could tell he was starting a whole new argument. When he opened his mouth again, I cut in.
“She said no, Alistair,” I said, my voice firm.
“This is not any of your business,” he said while Rebekah said at the same time, “I can handle it.”
“I know you can,” I said to Rebekah. “I’m just tired of dealing with a circular argument. If he’s not listening, we can make him listen.”
“She’s in this place because of you,” Alistair said, his voice turning cold with anger. “It’s your fault she’s got that thing on her.”
“Don’t bring me into this,” I snapped, putting one of my hands on the table. I readied myself to launch at him and throttle his skinny neck.
“She’s here in Axis because of you,” he insisted. “If she hadn’t gone on whatever fool’s errand you’re chasing now--”
“Fool’s errand?!” I said and stood up, drawing myself up to my full height. While there were people taller, I liked to think my presence filled a room and made me bigger than what I was. “First, it was successful, with a drawback, sure. But successful nevertheless. Second, she chose to come with me. You don’t tell her where to go or what to do.” I kept my voice even, but I trembled with anger. Where was his resentment coming from?
He stood as well, and he was taller than me so I had to look up slightly. He even had that same nebulous quality of presence, and was it my imagination or did the shadows deepen? “She was captured by that psychotic because of you,” he snarled. “If you’re not going to protect your people, then what good are you?”
“Stop it, both of you!” Rebekah snapped, jumping to her feet. I blinked and looked at her. Her petite doll’s face was set in a scowl, and she stared the both of us down like a drunken sailor spoiling for a fight. “Don’t talk over me! Caprice, I can take care of myself. You don’t need to argue for me. He’s my boyfriend.” She gave me a defiant look which had layers to it. I didn’t shrink back at it, but she knew Alistair and I had had our games. I almost felt bad, but the impulse passed a moment later.
Alistair’s eyes and mine met for a moment. He gave me a smarmy, superior look, but only until she turned to him. “And you! I’m not glass! I can take care of myself! We got captured, but it could have happened at any time! You can’t wrap me up and keep me safe! We are in this together, and you are going to listen to what I want!”
“I’m just--” he started, but she cut him off.
“It’s my body, and I will do with it what I wish! Now. Sit. Down.” Her words had a spoken finality to them which gave her an air of command. I hadn’t seen this side of Rebekah before. She’d always either been optimistic and cheerful, vulnerable and sad, or determined and distant. This was hot anger, tempered by experience. I finally saw why she had been a captain in the Reich’s army, even though she was so young.
Alistair responded to the command, though he took his time seating himself. He did love a dominant woman, and if push had come to shove, I would have just bullied him into shutting up. Instead, his woman did that for me, which was probably for the best anyway. When she turned her blue-green gaze to me, I nodded.
“Now that that’s settled,” I said as I sat down at my leisure. “What do you mean it was because of me?”
The mage cleared his throat. “So far as I know, no one has anything of Adira’s, save maybe for her former pack,” he said, glancing to Huraiva for confirmation. Huraiva glanced up to the ceiling as if in thought, then back to him, nodding once.
“More than likely, no,” she agreed. Her voice trembled. The hot emotions in the room had unnerved her. Waves of subtle fright came off of her. Adira’s human host needed to toughen up.
“I know Rebekah has left nothing behind because I’ve made sure of it,” he said. “After the business with Regulus and that night which the two of you ran around town, I cast a spell to gather anything which could have been used to scry her out. Thus, the only possible explanation is that someone had something of yours--whether that be a memento, a lock of hair, nail clipping, or what-have-you--to track you down. Hence, Richter found her because of you.”
I ducked his gaze, knowing he was right. Emily had found me for Richter, as I’d surmised before. I must have left hairs or something on Harry’s bed or in his shower drain after I’d killed him and washed up. That, or she’d scried out Harry’s watch that I’d taken for a trophy and broke into my place to find what she needed to find Rebekah.
“I know,” I admitted in a mutter. How long would that be viable? Were they used up in the finding? “It wasn’t him directly.” I went through the story quickly about Harry’s betrayal and his demise at my hands. Alistair had known Harry had betrayed me and I’d killed him for it… but not the method. This was the first time hearing story at all for Rebekah, Huraiva, and Adira. Huraiva looked sick at the mention of flayed flesh, while Rebekah put on her doll’s face, but not before I’d seen a glimmer of some kind of fear or disappointment in her eyes.
“What can I say?” I asked, huffing the question. I didn’t like the defensive note in my voice. “I don’t take betrayals well. Somehow, the three of them--Jorde, Richter, and Emily--found each other and joined forces.”
“Because of you,” Alistair muttered. Rebekah shot him a look and he held up his hands in a gesture of peace.
“You come out on top, you’re going to make enemies,” I pointed out. “It’s unavoidable. I’m sure you have your fair share too. The question is now: can they find me again?”
“I can fix it so they can’t,” Alistair said. “For a price. A hefty one.”
I grimaced at that, but hey, he had to make a living too. “Fine, so, that’s solved,” I said. “And later on, Emily and Harry will get a little surpris
e… but for now, I’d settle for just going home.”
“I do need to stay for a small while,” Alistair said. “There are spells of some kind woven in the attachment.” His dark eyes slid over to glance at her gloved hand. Following his gaze, Rebekah put her hand under the table on her lap. “I wouldn’t want to try to disentangle them alone, and the magi here have been generous in offering to help.”
“So, we’re stuck here for a while?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t say stuck,” came a masculine voice, lightly accented with Italian. “I would say, you’re our guests.”
We all turned at the same time to the door behind me only to watch an older, handsome Italian man walk in. He looked to be in his mid-forties with long black hair in a ponytail. A streak of grey went back from his temple and blended in with the rest. His light grey suit stood impeccable, the best of the best, and his face was lean and hungry. Kiandra walked in with him side by side, but I was so taken with his sudden appearance I barely noticed her.
All of us stood. It wasn’t because we were polite, but rather getting ready for action. Well… for most of us. Alistair was being polite. I took a few steps, closing the distance between the stranger and I, but he wasn’t a stranger to me. Older, perhaps wiser, but I knew this face. I knew this man. I knew him like the back of my hand. A rush of emotion filled me, and before I realized what I’d done, I’d thrown my arms around him and kissed him.
Chapter Thirteen
Our lips met, and, though surprised, he kissed me back. Our tongues touched for just a moment before my impulse faded, leaving behind a vague headache and a faint sense of embarrassment mixed with nostalgia. I stepped back as he leaned forward, bumping against the back of my chair. With the taste of him still on my lips, I flushed, but stood up straight. It had been a bizarre impulse from out of nowhere, but I owned up to my actions.
“Is this how you greet everyone on Prime?” he asked, his faint accent sounding wrong to my ears. It should have been… something else.
“It was just a sudden impulse,” I said, shifting away. The familiarity I’d felt with this guy had faded. “It won’t happen again.”
“I see,” he said, then flashed me a brilliant smile. “For the rest of you, welcome to the New Roman Empire. My name is Thomas Aquino. I am the representative of the Caesar, here to treat with you along with Kiandra, whom you have already met, sí?”
“Yes,” Huraiva said. “Thank you again for your hospitality.” She inclined her head to show her thanks, but both of them waved it off.
“No, no, it is nothing!” Kiandra exclaimed, her accent more pronounced than his.
“Please, forget about it,” he supplemented, just a hint of nasally Brooklyn in his voice. “Sit, sit, we will bring in food and we’ll break bread together and be brothers.” Behind him in the doorway stood people waiting with platters. As we sat down, with Thomas taking the seat by Huraiva and Kiandra the one by Alistair, the servers moved in and laid out a spread the likes I’ve rarely seen rivalled. Plate after plate of steaming hot food was set down in precise order. Jugs with various beverages including a couple different kinds of wines were laid down as well. Once they had delivered their bounty, the servers left, talking quietly amongst themselves.
“Please, eat,” Kiandra said, smiling her wide, white smile. It reminded me of Nosferatu’s smile and how wide it was when he wanted to freak people out. It didn’t dampen my appetite. Huraiva took her time choosing her food, but when she ate, it was with gusto. Alistair and Rebekah both picked at theirs, having just enough to be polite. I ate fast, not bothering to taste it. When you shoved food into you so often, tasting it lost any meaning.
As we ate, Thomas and Kiandra looked us over. “Where in Prime do you hail from?” he asked as he took out a cigarette and lit it.
I wrinkled my nose at the smoke, but didn’t say anything. It was their place, their customs. “Imperial City,” I said. “You’d call it New York.”
“I’ve been there before, but only briefly,” he said. “We don’t have many dealings with the Reich.”
“After the Great War, we went our separate ways,” Kiandra said. “We ignore them, they ignore us, everyone forgets about the Japanese, si?” She grinned.
“You make it sound so peaceful,” Huraiva said. “But I know it’s not.” She and Rebekah exchanged a look, and Rebekah nodded. Her voice quivered. “I remember tenseness, and a… firm hand.”
Kiandra smiled and waved it off, but Thomas nodded. “I am Italian, and so, there was no trouble for me. For the newer additions to the Empire, I remember my parents saying there were some riots and acts of terror, especially in the Middle East where I believe you are from?”
“Syria,” Huraiva replied, her voice soft and wet. “I remember a time of turmoil. People were angry. Our way of life was taken away.” She looked down at the plate, her hands twisting the napkin.
Kiandra opened her mouth to say something, but Thomas shook his head. She shrugged and took a drink of her wine as he spoke. “And were you angry about your way of life being taken away?”
Huraiva shook her head without looking up. “No. I was happy to hear it, when the last of the rebellions were put down. I was gone from there, but I think it was a good thing.” She paused, “I still do not want you to paint the Empire like it is… like nothing is wrong.”
“Ja,” Rebekah agreed. “Before I defected to Prime, I know the other officers were speaking of having to keep an eye on the home front, that diplomacy was breaking down.”
“In that, you are correct,” Thomas agreed. “But it was not because of the Caesar or our people.” He looked to Kiandra, “I like to think we brought health, wealth, and culture to our new friends, no matter how they became our friends.”
“So you’re telling me if Egypt, for example, decided they wanted to secede, you’d let them?” I asked, pointing at him with my fork.
He gave a casual shrug and stubbed his cigarette out on the plate in front of him. “Why would they want to?”
“Would you?” I pressed as I studied him.
“If they truly wished it….” he said, casting a glance up at the ceiling. “I cannot read the Caesar’s mind, but I would like to think he would grant such a request.” He turned his dark brown eyes to me. “Once the Caesar realized he needed the love of his people instead of their fear, he worked tirelessly to make their world better. The next Caesar, and the next as well. Our current leader has done much to preserve the culture of the old world, and press forward with the new.”
That was a line of propaganda if I ever heard one. “I see,” I said, pushing my food around on the plate. “Thank you for your help. What do you want for it now?”
Kiandra looked shocked--which was completely faked--but Thomas had the grace to shrug and smile. “That’s how the world works, bellissima. Even in a center of learning such as the world has never seen before, healing costs.”
I gritted my teeth together and cut a glance towards Rebekah. Kiandra laughed and shook her head. “Her? Oh, no, no. It’s for you! It’s a little cost, nothing to worry over, and you’ve healed so well!”
Rubbing my temple as if I felt a headache coming on, I shook my head. “I didn’t exactly ask for it,” I observed.
“Without it, you would have ceased existing,” Thomas said, his voice friendly, but a notch or two cooler.
“I would have died?” I frowned. I had been out for a few days, and I remembered the pain which had shot through my head. It’d been nothing like I’d ever felt. Yet I felt better now than I had in ages. No headache, no aches and pains from combat, and my telepathy was coming back in leaps and bounds. It couldn’t have been that bad.
“You would have ceased to be,” Thomas confirmed. The way he said it sent a chill down my spine. He wasn’t talking about death. “The task we wish is nothing for you and your skills. It’s a simple message.”
“A message to who?” Rebekah interjected.
He nodded towards Huraiva. “To your former leader, Nos
feratu,” he said. “He is currently in Russia. We believe he is organizing, hmm, resistance to the Reich. This is something we very much wish to support.”
“What?” Rebekah said, her voice shrill with shock.
“Nosferatu?” Huraiva asked, her face skewing towards skepticism.
“Why do you want to support the resistance, if there even is such a thing?” I asked, more to the point.
“Because the diplomacy between the Reich and the Empire has broken down. Because we wish to stop them from invading other dimensions,” Thomas explained. He smiled, but I knew it was a fake smile. He didn’t like answering these questions; he was under orders to. “The Shogun has no interest in any world but ours. The Reich continues to grow in power, spreading their disease over many worlds. Soon, we fear, they will turn inward and move to conquer this world in the name of ‘purification’.”
As he said that, Kiandra spat on the floor. “Filthy Nazis,” she said, somehow smiling while scowling. “No one likes them, si? We hate Nazis!”
I had to smile at that as it echoed what Gerard had said months ago: ‘Even villains like beating up Nazis.’ “Seems simple enough,” I conceded. “I take it you can’t be seen to be giving messages to a country which is supposed to be neutral, so you need someone you can write off.”
“As smart as you are beautiful,” Thomas said, his smile sparkling. “There is, however, one more thing.” He didn’t let the silence linger, but pushed right on before anyone could ask what it was. “The Russian witch, Baba Yaga, has sealed our dimension off. People can arrive--as you can attest--but no one can leave. Before you can get home, you will have to convince her to lift the spell.”
I wanted to groan. I wanted to flip the table in an old internet display of fury. I wanted to stab someone through the throat and watch them gurgle on their blood as they died, choking on their death rattle. I wanted to do all these things and more… but all I did was sit there with a small sigh escaping me. If one rule of thumb of this villainous life I lived was ‘There’s always a price’, then another would be, ‘There’s always a catch.’