House of Cards

by W. J. May

  Luke gave Sandy a hand command and Sandy sat, but not before another growl gave warning to Rae.

  Rae didn’t bother checking his arm for a tatù. There wasn’t one there. She would have absorbed it already.

  “I don’t have one.” Luke didn’t try to pull his arm free. He did not resist.

  Rae let go of him and stepped back. She switched to Jennifer’s tatù ready to run and risk being noticed in public if it meant saving herself. “What do you want from me?”

  Luke gave her a sympathetic look. “Your friendship. Honestly, that’s it.” He grinned sheepishly. “Maybe a little more than friendship, but I’ll start with that.”

  She blinked. What the heck is going on here?

  “Will you give me a chance to explain?” Luke held his hands up. “We can just walk Sandy at the park. You can listen and just leave if you don’t like what I have to say. I’ll never bother you again if you want. I promise.”

  It only took Rae about five seconds to decide that listening and gathering information was better than storming off angrily without any. She just didn’t have to be nice about it. She started walking again. “You have one bloody chance. I’ll freakin’ beat the crap out of you if this is some kind of set up.”

  Luke jogged to catch up to her, Sandy right at his side. “It’s not.”

  “How do you know?”

  “About you? Or about…” He glanced toward her lower back.

  “Me. And that.”

  They reached the park. The lab waited patiently for Luke to free her from her leash and the moment the metal clicked, she took off running over the open fields. “Don’t you go chasing any rabbits,” Luke called out quietly after her. As he watched the dog run, he said, “I honestly didn’t know about you when we met.”

  Rae thought back to that day. Could someone have been at the train platform who knew about Devon and her? It was possible. Not really believable but possible. “Really?”

  “I didn’t. It wasn’t till the night in the club I realized. The friends I was with actually told me who you were. They have tatùs.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did they go to Guilder?”

  Luke shook his head. “No. We work together.”

  Rae shook her head. What was he talking about?

  “I work for the Xavier Knights.”

  She stumbled and nearly fell. “You have got to be joking!” He worked for the enemy? This day couldn’t get any worse. She tossed her melting, uneaten ice cream in a garbage bin nearby.

  Luke shook his head. “That’s why I know about tatùs. I heard about you, but didn’t realize you were the Rae Kerrigan.”

  “So what’s your plan? Earn my trust and then stab me in the back?” Rae’s hand clenched into a fist.

  “No! Crap!” He brushed his fingers through his hair. “I just wanted to tell you that I knew about tatùs. That I didn’t care.”

  “But you know I go to Guilder and about the Privy Council.” She didn’t admit she worked for them, just in case he didn’t know yet. If he worked for the Xavier Knights he could be friends with Kraigan. He could be setting her up right now.

  “That’s why I wanted to tell you. It’s not a big deal.”

  She scoffed. “Not a big deal? What do you know about Kraigan?” She reached for his hand and switched to a tatù she had never used before, Carter’s. “Don’t move.”

  Luke stood still, his eyes wide.

  She flashed through his memories knowing Luke could see them as well. She ignored his “What the heck?” She didn’t know how to hide the intrusion the way Carter did. He could search through someone’s memories without them even knowing. Kraigan had taught her how to block him from searching, but this side of the ability she had never used before.

  She watched Luke at the Twisted Cork when his friends bugged him after she left and teased him about who she was. She saw him convince them not to say anything. Could the vision of the past be trusted?

  Rae blinked and let go of his hand, only to grab it again and try to search further back. She saw glimpses of kennels in the countryside, him working in a large office on his own. Nothing to show he had been assigned to her. His job was problem solving, cleaning up messes, trying to hide other mistakes made by the tatù people he worked with. She let go of his hand. He didn’t know Kraigan. She was sure of it.

  “That’s freaky.” Luke whistled and Sandy came racing back. “I’ve seen different tatùs in action, but never like this. I think I know what you were trying to find.”

  Rae’s heart sped up. Did he know about Kraigan? Had she been that obvious?

  “You were trying to find out if I knew about you before the café, weren’t you? I didn’t. Honest.” Luke pulled a tennis ball out of his pocket and threw it. “What other kind of things can you do with your tatù? I heard it’s got loads of abilities.” He grinned and winked at her. “I’d ask if you would show me it, but that’s kind of inappropriate… being in a public park and all.”

  Sandy picked her already furious pace up a notch. She caught the ball mid bounce and came trotting back to Luke, her tail wagging like mad. He tossed Rae the ball and nodded at the field. Sandy barked to hurry her up.

  Rae added a zing to her throw with a tatù. The ball flew across the field. “Oops!”

  Luke laughed as Sandy chased after it. “That’s some arm. I should hire you to walk her.” His face turned serious. “What are your plans when you graduate?”

  “Work.” She couldn’t believe he wasn’t mad that she had just searched through his memories. He seemed completely cool about it. Rae, on the other hand, felt so freaked out that it seemed a miracle she wasn’t yelling.

  “With the Privy Council?”

  “Of course.” She looked at him.

  “What about working with the Xavier Knights?”

  She snorted. She was pretty sure he was clean, but that didn’t mean she had to trust him. “Would you trade sides and come work with the Privy Council?” It’d be like giving up Coke for Pepsi, or vice versa.

  “Touché.”

  Rae watched Sandy, judging Luke based both on what she had seen in his memories and the happy, loyal dog trotting back their way with a ball in her mouth; and decided to push the red tape. “Are we supposed to be enemies?”

  Luke shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

  “Then I don’t get why there has to be two sides.” She shook her head. Everything seemed to either be super secretive or somehow political. “You say you want to be my friend. If we can get along, why can’t everyone else?”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Why can’t it be?”

  Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “Xavier sees things differently than the PC’s. You guys are old school.”

  Rae rolled her eyes. She let her guard down. Luke had no intention of hurting her – at least not tonight – and she was worn out trying to maintain a façade of strength. “Really? You think we’re old school?” She realized she now had an opportunity to see inside the Xavier Knights. Why would she throw it away?

  Luke grinned. “I don’t think you’re old school, just the company you work for. For example, I know all about tatùs and I’m not inked. Would the PC’s ever hire someone like me?”

  “Probably not.”

  “So they want all inked to only associate with themselves? Like a cult?”

  “No.” She thought of something to argue back with. “What’s the motto of the Xavier Knights?” It had to be something similar to the PC’s. Imperfect and flawed, but full of good intention.

  Luke looked skyward for a moment. “Secret Society of Investigators. The company acts as private investigators.”

  Rae grinned. She had him. “A secret society? And you want to call the PC’s a cult group? You’re basically the same thing!”

  Luke raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak. Nothing came out. He closed it and shook his head. “Beauty, an awesome tatù and I keep forgetting the darn br
ains. Must be too distracted by the other two.”

  She nudged him with her elbow. “Don’t try diverting the subject.” She had to admit, she liked that he didn’t care about her tatù. She couldn’t imagine herself in the future, married to someone who didn’t know the ink on her back gave her a unique ability. An image of Devon appeared in her head. She tried to push it away. While Luke wasn’t Devon, he was nice.

  “I just think you would enjoy working for the Xavier Knights.” He bent down to give the patiently waiting Sandy a good rub. “You don’t seem happy… I mean, you are happy, I just think you’re guarded and protected about everything. It shouldn’t have to be that way.”

  “You don’t know anything about me.”

  From his kneeling position, he raised his head and looked her straight in the eye. “I’d like to.”

  Rae held her breath. That was a loaded statement and she had no idea what to respond to it with.

  Luke seemed unphased by her lack of response. “I’ve read the reports about your father. I’ve heard all the stories, but always kind of figured they were just tales. Your father may have started the Xavier Knights but he sure didn’t finish it. His vision was nothing of what we are today.”

  “What?” Her sharp response startled Sandy.

  Luke straightened. “I don’t believe his intentions for the Xavier—”

  “My father started the company?”

  “Yes. It’s no secret.”

  Rae shook her head. Would her father ever stop surprising her?

  “I’m sorry. I assumed you knew.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “See? I told you the PC’s were backwards in their thinking!”

  The wheels in her brain started churning fast. If her father started XK then she was willing to bet Kraigan was involved with them. Luke might be her way in. He might hold the key to the door that could trap Kraigan. “It’s not the PC’s fault. I haven’t mentioned you to them.”

  “So you’re keeping secrets from them?” He grinned, his eyes twinkling.

  “No! Well, I guess, maybe. I don’t know.” She threw her hands in the air. “I didn’t realize you were a threat! There was no reason to mention you!”

  “I’m no threat. I promise you that.” He tossed the tennis ball one more time. “I have to admit I’m a little disappointed you haven’t run a background check on me.”

  “I never said I didn’t.” She didn’t plan on telling him she hadn’t. “Did you do one on me?”

  “I didn’t have to. I knew who you were.”

  A warning went off in her head. Rae took a step back and let her tatù find the right protection she needed. “You knew that day in the café? The day you gave me your number?” Why hadn’t she seen that with Carter’s tatù?

  Luke seemed confused a moment, then his eyes went wide. “No! No, no no. I had no idea that day. It wasn’t until the Twisted Cork. I didn’t know before. And I don’t care. Why does it matter what your name is?”

  Rae hesitated, unsure if he was telling the truth or trying to cover his tracks. “I don’t know, Luke. I’m not sure I should trust you now.” She felt a twinge of guilt. He seemed pretty sincere, but here she was, planning on using him. She needed him to get into the Xavier Knights, but if she gave in too easily, he would wonder what was up. “I think… I think I’m going to head back. I need some time to think this over.”

  “I’m sorry, Rae. I should have called you over the weekend or right after the club. It just took me a couple of days to figure it out. I can’t imagine how it seems on your end.”

  She absorbed his kind words, not sure what to think about them. “Thanks.” She gave Sandy a good scratch behind her ears and turned to go. Part of her prepared to fight, the other half surprised to hear Luke throw the ball again and tell Sandy to get it. He had no intention of coming after her.

  Rae walked back to Julian’s car in a haze of confusion. Should she trust Luke’s answers? What would happen if she used him to get inside the Xavier Knights or find Kraigan? What would Carter do if he knew she was consorting with the XKs? What would Devon think? Did she care about any of the answers to these questions?

  Chapter 19

  Loyalty

  She sat in Julian’s car for a long time after she had parked it at Guilder, running through the past few days over and over again in her head. Rae began questioning her own loyalty.

  Did the Privy Council have her best interests at heart, or were they only after self-gain? That question had stood since her first year at Guilder. Three years later, she was no closer to an answer. The motives of the Xavier Knights was a new question she didn’t expect to get an answer for without infiltrating them first; at least, not an answer she could trust.

  Luke… He was normal, but he worked for the Xavier Knights. Immediate marks in both the pro and con columns. He knew who her father was and he didn’t seem scared of her, which was very attractive to her. She couldn’t decide if that was a pro or just information without weight in the argument.

  Nobody would think twice if she started dating someone without a tatù. However, what would the Privy Council say if they knew he worked for the Xavier Knights? What would the Xavier Knights think? Could she effectively infiltrate both organizations, get the information she needed to answer questions about herself and her family, and get out in one piece? Did she trust one side more than the other?

  She forced herself to move and got out of Julian’s car. “I have no idea what the answers are to any of those stupid questions,” she muttered as she slammed the car door. With determination she stomped to Aumbry House. It sure seemed like the days were getting longer. Was that possible?

  Her pace slowed and quieted when she reached Aumbry’s front entrance. She cringed as she opened the door, terrified it would creak, bringing Madame Elpis rushing out. Rae glanced across the room, letting out a quiet sigh of relief when the door didn’t creak. She hurried to the library, trying to appear casual in case someone was watching. Her hearing tuned with Devon’s tatù. A light tap, tap, tapping could scarcely be heard above the sound of the fans and lights above. Rae barely noticed, except the noise was inconsistent.

  She arched her neck and tried to get a clearer view between the rows of books. Nothing. She slipped between the bookcases toward the sound and paused when she reached the row where she had hidden her father’s journal. She slipped down the aisle and pulled the large dictionary of WXYZ down.

  “Rae?” A voice hissed.

  She dropped the leather bound dictionary but caught it just before it hit the floor. From her crouched position Rae’s eyes followed the knee-high leather boots up to the tight leather cat suit. There was no mistaking who it could be. “What are you doing here, Jennifer?” She straightened, trying to appear natural, knowing full well Jennifer would hear her heart hammering away inside of her chest. She slipped the dictionary volume under her arm and pretended to clutch it to her chest. “You totally scared me.”

  A pair of eyebrows rose. “You didn’t hear me typing?” Jennifer wasn’t buying it.

  “I heard the clicks on the computer but figured I would see who it was after I grabbed the book—books I needed.” She glanced at the other large leather-bound volumes and pulled the UVW off the shelf. “Weird English assignment, don’t ask.”

  Jennifer didn’t. Thank goodness. “I came by your dorm, but your friend Molly didn’t know where you’d gone.”

  “I went out for an ice cream.” Do I mention Luke? “Just needed a break. Clear my head.”

  Jennifer nodded. She leaned against the end of the bookcases and crossed her arms over her chest. “Everything alright?”

  “It’s fine. I just figured if Kraigan’s released tomorrow, I won’t be doing much stuff off campus that isn’t Privy Council related.”

  “If he comes after you, you’ll be ready. We all will.”

  “You don’t know him.”

  “I knew his father—”

  “That’s not enough.”

  She
held a hand up. “You didn’t let me finish. I also knew his mother.”

  Rae felt her jaw drop. She didn’t think she could handle any more surprises today. “Hi-Hi-His mother? Did my mom know her?”

  Jennifer checked the manicure on her hands. “No. She didn’t. At least not personally. They may have met but she wouldn’t have known who she was. The girl was a couple years older than your mom. Nothing like your mom – in looks or stature. She had some kind of cloaking tatù.”

  “Like camouflage?” That makes sense. I couldn’t figure out Kraigan’s tatù until our fight.

  “Something like that. She was sneaky. Now she’s just dead.”

  Rae blinked in surprise. “You killed her?”

  Jennifer straightened in surprise. “No! But I wouldn’t be surprised if your father set the hit on her. When he took the kid, she came to us for help. Well, that’s what she said. Some of us think it was all a plan… some kind of ruse.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” She glanced toward the main doors at the same time Rae heard the click of the doorknob and a grunt as someone pushed it open. Jennifer’s tone changed. “If you’re good then I’m going to head out. Have fun doing your assignment.” With her boot, she pushed herself off the antique wooden bookcase and headed around the other side of the row Rae stood in.

  Rae didn’t hear or see her Botcher leave because Molly came into her field of vision and squealed in delight. “Here you are! I met your trainer. She was looking for you earlier. I didn’t know where you had gone because I thought you were actually training with her. Man, she’s the image of empowerment. I bet she doesn’t take nothing from nobody. You are so lucky! Anyways, she came by and like I said, I thought you were supposed to be training with her so I didn’t know if you were playing hooky or what had happened. Luckily, I didn’t have to play dumb because I had no clue where you were. Where were you?”

  As Molly continued on and on, not giving her a chance to respond, Rae wondered for the millionth time how Molly didn’t need to pause for breath. She finally just cut Molls off, “I did train. Then went out for ice cream with Luke.”