by Kita Bell
– Has no one ever taught you it is impolite to stare? –
Seth dropped the words into Eva’s mind so that her thoughts were forced to rearrange around them. It was incredibly annoying, and Eva frowned at Seth as he settled into a second office chair.
“Surely your brothers don’t put up with that,” she said.
“They don’t.” Samuel didn’t look up from the journal he was studying, somehow knowing what she was referring to. “Very few people do. Seth, has Leon mentioned I need a new lab unit? If I’m to even try analyzing those tranquilizer samples, we need to upgrade.”
“Those samples are top priority.” Seth polished his glasses on his green sweater. “Do you know what you need?”
“I’ll have the paperwork on your desk tomorrow morning.”
“Good.”
Nikandria came through the door and they looked up. “Time to work then,” Seth muttered, putting his glasses back on.
Eva internally cringed, and gripped the armrests. She had shown Seth two memories that morning, and they were both useless. The first had been of the inside corridor of the hall leading up to the room Rohe worked in. Eva had shown Seth the doors, the halls, the carpet, the harsh string of lights above her head; the guard’s distant faces…the table…the straps.
She had meant to take Seth further, to show him Rohe’s face, but she hadn’t. Eva’s memories had fallen apart at the knives, her thoughts shattering around a core of stark terror. When she next focused, Nikandria was holding out hot chocolate to her. Seth was taking tiny notes in some foreign language – it looked like strange symbols. Eva stared at the pad of paper, not understanding a thing about it.
“What is that? What kind of writing, I mean. It looks like hieroglyphics,” she joked weakly.
Seth spoke some foreign unpronounceable word, then looked up. “And you would be correct,” he said, almost kindly, and Eva choked on her hot chocolate. “Although it is a modified version. My own, actually.”
“You…studied Egyptology?” she said faintly, almost hopefully. “In school?”
Seth’s eyes flickered with rare humor as he turned back to the page. “So to speak.”
God he’s old, Eva thought in horror, and then prayed he wasn’t reading her mind.
Their second session was terrifying. It was too close to the first session and so her mind had gone back to the cell. Eva remembered her escape. She remembered the run through the forest and how the Sakai from 113 had killed the guards, then stood over her on the frozen gravel road, blood on his fangs. Terror filled her that he, too, was a monster.
Nikandria shook Eva out of that memory. Brand’s sister’s face had been ashy, sweaty, and Eva found herself trying to comfort her. “You can see my memories too?” Eva flicked a glance at Seth as he settled back in his chair and began making notes. “I thought you were just my handler. Or maybe the greeting committee.”
Nikandria gave a weak smile.
“I am the greeting committee. But I’m not your jail keeper, Eva. You can go wherever you want, go whenever you want. That is one thing Brand should tell you.”
No, Eva hadn’t meant that. She winced, and touched Nikandria’s hand. It was cold. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, thank you. I guess…I just didn’t know you were telepathic. Too.” It was a question; since last night, Eva had been trying to figure out what exactly Nikandria’s ability was, and she had no idea. Brand could heal, Seth was telepathic.
And Seth was watching them, pen poised.
Nikandria studied Eva. Then nodded, as if she had come to a decision, but there was an odd wariness in her eyes. “I’m not telepathic,” Nikandria said. Seth leaned forward in his seat, saying “Ria” sharply, but she ignored him. “I’m empathic.”
Eva froze. “Empathic. Like emotions.” A sense of violation rose in her. Violation worse than anything else.
Seth – Seth only got thoughts. But they were cold and distant and he had to work hard to get them. And working with Seth was a bit like, well, working with a non-person or a machine or some incredibly hot android from a late night sci-fi TV show, he was so cold. And oddly enough, that fact was comforting. But Nikandria on the other hand…there was nothing about Nikandria that was removed.
“Yes.” Nikandria winced and extracted her hand, breaking contact, and Eva felt suddenly, intensely guilty that Nikandria had flinched away. And then she felt even more guilty, because…
“You mean,” Eva said slowly, “you know what I’m feeling. How I’m feeling. All the time.” Her stomach turned over in horror. How many times have I thought about Brand? How many times have I lusted after him? And how many times have I been irritated with Nikandria, or jealous, or did I…
“What you feel, I feel,” Nikandria said quietly, and over rising horror Eva had the sudden unsettling sensation of being fixed in Seth’s laser-point glare. Nikandria turned to him with a frown. “Seth, stop it. You’re making her uncomfortable.”
“I’m making her uncomfortable? Really. I hadn’t noticed.”
“No one can control their emotions,” Nikandria snapped. “Not even you.”
Even as Eva snidely thought He doesn’t have emotions, Seth snarled softly, tapping his glasses against the paper. “Difference being, I don’t care. I wish you would stop telling people your ability. The fewer who know, the better. The knowledge should stay within the family.”
“Eva is family,” Nikandria set her jaw, and Eva felt a strange grateful warmth rise up in her. Nikandria flashed a faint grin. “Besides, Eva asked. There’s no reason to let someone believe a lie when I can tell the truth. It makes for fewer problems later. Less anger. Less pain.”
Seth’s glasses stopped. He looked at Nikandria and grimaced. “I agree. But I’ve already told him that.”
Eva blinked. Him? What? She had missed something.
Nikandria scowled. “He can’t sidestep this. This isn’t something that can be avoided.”
“You talk to him,” Seth leaned back. “The two of you are closer.”
“He’s avoiding me,” Nikandria traced the seam in her armrest with a fingernail.
“Then Brand is an idiot. You would think he, of all people, would learn from others’ mistakes.” Seth spoke with disgust.
Eva –latching onto something that she could understand – frowned.
“Brand’s not an idiot.” Then she felt incredibly awkward, and incredibly young, sitting between a woman who could read emotions like an open book and a man who wrote in hieroglyphics.
“You just wait,” Seth said dryly, settling the thin glasses back across his nose. “Brand is probably the most secretive person I know. Blame it on his ability, his past, I don’t care. What matters is that it is true. And he has the world’s most misguided martyr complex. It is nearly as irritating as Khael’s. Except Brand isn’t as suicidal. Or as homicidal.”
“Yet. Give him a few days, Seth. Give him a few days.” Nikandria smiled wryly and Eva watched, amazed as Seth’s face relaxed in amusement. Nikandria turned back to her. “Don’t take offense, Eva. Seth is talking about himself as well. That complex? It runs in the family. We all have our fair share of it.”
Then there was a long silence in the room in which Seth went back to his notes and Nikandria slowly began to frown down at her palms. After a while, Eva found herself clearing her throat to ask, “The ma…the Sakai from room 113. The one from my memory. Do you think…” Eva hesitated, not even sure what she was asking for.
“You want me to locate a Sakai for you? A Sakai whose name I don’t even know?” Seth’s eyebrows arched as he looked up. “I wouldn’t tell Brand. He’s unlikely to take it well, given his current state. And I believe that you told me the Sakai were all monsters.”
“I owe him,” Eva replied. Then shook her head, confused by herself. “And I have thought about it. About how he left me beside the road. I think he was trying to help me. I just don’t know why. But I want to make sure he got away, too. It’s only fair. I kind of…owe him,” she r
epeated. For saving me from Rohe. For leaving me with that message in the snow for Brand. For not killing me, like he did the guards.
“I’ll run a search on his image, but I doubt I’ll find anything.” Seth glanced at Nikandria as he rose to leave. “I think you both need to rest.”
Which was when Eva realized that Nikandria – again – looked as shaky as she felt. Eva narrowed her eyes, amazed, and weirdly guilty. “You really can read my emotions.”
Nikandria stood and started to shuffle some of Seth’s odd scribbles off the desk. She almost looked uncomfortable. “There’s no ‘off-button’ for my ability, Eva. Just shades and levels. A thousand-thousand gradations.”
But it didn’t bother Eva so much, now. Because Nikandria obviously cared. She wasn’t going to tell Eva’s secrets to others, or try to use them against her. And she hadn’t lied about what she could do. Plus…Nikandria reminded Eva of Rainey.
So maybe she could trust Brand’s sister. A little bit. That didn’t mean she understood her, though.
“Why do you hang out here?” Eva asked, perplexed, gesturing to the small infirmary. Eva couldn’t think of a more painful place for someone like Nikandria to be. “This can’t be easy for you.”
Nikandria had looked up from the papers and flashed that faint wry smile that was so like Brand’s, it shocked her. “I don’t mind, Eva. Really. Just think of it as my part of the family martyr complex.”
“Rohe never got into her mind,” Seth closed the door to Brand’s office at the top of the Operations Building and took one of the side chairs. “Eva is lucky, given the situation.”
“Lucky?” Brand growled, scowling at Seth across his desk. “Rohe kidnapped Eva, locked her in a cell, tortured her then drank from her. That is not lucky.” He put down the pen before he broke it. He had thought Eva would sleep in that morning – he hadn’t realized she would be with Seth. So quickly.
Damn it, he would need to convince Seth to stretch out the sessions.
After last night…he should have Marqued Eva last night. Whether she knew or not.
Whether she was ready or not.
“You are both correct,” Gaviros glanced up from the newspaper he was reading, squinted, then readjusted the patch over his right eye. “The child is lucky – and singularly unlucky. Likely that is the reason behind the torture: Rohe was interested in her for her very ability to resist her compulsion. What do you believe, Seth?”
Seth shook his head. “From what little Eva was able to show me, it seems likely. While Rohe possesses a true interest in the blood, the purpose behind the pain was to both weaken Eva – and because Rohe genuinely enjoyed it. Though I wish I had more resources.” He glanced at Brand’s face, then winced. “I want to know if this ability to resist Rohe is unique to your amati, Brand, or if all Kaspian share the immunity to a degree. But short of sending one of our own against Rohe, I can’t think of any safe way to test the premise…”
“So Rohe is power-hungry,” Brand growled, interrupting. He didn’t want to think about Eva being tortured. He was already walking a raw edge. “Typical. But what of the Strategoi? He doesn’t fit.”
Joshua slipped through the door to drop into the chair beside it. His face took on a look of resignation as he saw those gathered there. “Don’t tell me. You’re talking about Eva. I thought this meeting was about Boston, not a heart-to-heart over Brand’s fucked up love life. Though,” he sniffed the air and eyed Brand discerningly, “on that front, I’d say you – ”
“Stop, Joshua. I’d rather Brand didn’t eviscerate you until after the meeting. We will discuss Boston,” Seth turned coolly back to Gaviros. “But first we need to discuss Rohe Nightchild.”
“Of course Rohe is power-hungry. A Sakai, leaving Europe?” Gaviros lowered the newspaper. “There are only two reasons for that to happen: Rohe is either seeking refuge from the Courts, or she is attempting to attain some form power here before returning. Given what little your file says on her, Seti, I would estimate the latter.” Then Gaviros calmly added, not so much as breaking the conversation, “Khael is here.” His gold eye settled on the door an instant before Khael stepped through it. Khael raked them with his wild gaze before moving to lean against the far wall that overlooked Brand’s office. Brand flashed his teeth at Khael on principle: My office, not yours; Khael returned the gesture: My Gens.
“If your father could see the two of you now, he would be so proud.” Gaviros’s words were sardonic, and they both turned to glare at him. Seth snorted.
“So Rohe seeks power,” Khael said, crossing his arms. “We already guessed that.”
“Yes, that has been well-established,” Seth growled. “As you would know, if you hadn’t been late. As usual.”
“The meeting was to begin when I arrived,” Khael fixed Seth with a long look. “Therefore I am not late. You are early. As usual. We may begin now.”
Seth’s snarl was feral, and Brand felt a stab of dark amusement. Khael was perhaps the only person on the face of the earth who could elicit such a reaction from Seth.
Brand slid an assessing glance over his brother. Khael’s hair was cut short, the curved red-black lines of his Marque stark upon his neck, but otherwise, he seemed fine. Contained. Controlled. Good, Brand thought. Maybe bringing Eva here won’t cause too much upset. He shouldn’t have felt guilty. Yet he did.
Brand realized Khael had intercepted his scrutiny. Khael returned his gaze with a flat look, then refocused on Gaviros. “We need a Watcher on the east coast. Too much has been going on that we don’t know about.”
“What about Étienne Ysperin?” Joshua frowned. “He could look into it temporarily.”
Brand shook his head. “He and Mercy moved a year ago. They’re outside Vancouver now.”
“I can go. It would be a temporary gig,” Joshua leaned imperceptibly forward, “but it wouldn’t take much more than that. Seth already has a vicinity fix on Rohe’s Asylum. And Brand and I drove through that area. It should be simple to find it again.”
“If you find it, you’ll go inside and get yourself killed,” Gaviros said severely. Joshua growled denial. “Furthermore, nothing is ever ‘simple,’ Joshua. I would have preferred to ask Dmitrei, but he left already.”
“It’s been three years,” Brand pushed a pile of paperwork to both sides. Divide it, conquer it. Life was easier in the old days. “Before that, it was five. And before that, twelve. If not for Seth, we would have thought Dmitrei was dead. We can’t rely on him. Not for this type of job.”
“We’ve relied on him for other jobs. One of these days, your brother will remember that he is family.” Gaviros spoke calmly, and Brand traded a long look with Seth. Khael examined his fist, and Joshua stared uncomfortably out the window. The silence in the room grew tense.
Finally Khael spoke, not breaking his contemplation, “Joshua volunteered. His ability will serve better than Dmitrei’s. Kevin Ysperin will go as well. The cub needs to hone his ability in the field.”
“And he’ll keep Joshua from any foolish risks,” Brand noted.
“Yes.” Implacable.
Joshua straightened. “Hey, I never said I wanted to play nursemaid. If you think I’m going to take…”
“Are you incapable?” Khael’s eyes sparkled with feral warning as he glanced up from his fist. Brand watched Joshua bite back the challenge he had been about to issue.
“Fine. I’ll play nursemaid.” Joshua slunk into his chair, and Brand spared him a moment’s sympathy.
“But only if you are capable,” Gaviros said, mildness an utter contrast to Khael’s danger.
“I’m capable.” Joshua fixed his eyes on the far wall, face tight.
No wonder Stronghold confused Eva. Their Gens had no clear structure.
Because Khael wasn’t stable enough to lead, and Gaviros would not lead. Khael was broken, and Gaviros had cast himself into a Shield’s role. The two might hate each other, but they would trust each other to the death. Khael would always move stubbornly forward, a
nd Gaviros would always protect him.
So both, in their own limping way, led.
The method sometimes worked, sometimes was disaster.
It was miserable in the crossfire.
And, Brand looked out the window letting the discussion drift around him, it isn’t like I can blame Khael. Not now. Especially not since Eva had come into his life.
Eva…just the thought of her pulled Brand in five directions all at once. He couldn’t sit still, he couldn’t concentrate, and he was going fucking crazy with the need to protect her, to fuck her, to Marque her.
More than that, he needed the bond. He needed to make her know she was his. That he was hers.
On the deepest level.
His instincts were everywhere. Even when he was near Eva, his temper was shaky, his control shot.
Several days of this, for Brand, had been painful. Worse, each day.
But the past 700 years, for Khael, who possessed a partially complete mate-bond and a dead mate… That wouldn’t be painful. That wouldn’t be excruciating.
That was hell.
As he always did, Brand glanced at his brother’s shadowed face and wondered, in the deepest part of his soul, whether it would have been more merciful to just let Khael die.
Seth looked over his glasses at her, unaccountably serious. “I’m going to ask you to show me a specific memory, Eva. You can refuse if you want, but it would prove useful to know.” He tapped the pen against the pad before him. The infirmary office seemed much too cold.
Eva did her best to relax her too-tight muscles. Seth’s expression wasn’t promising, Nikandria had tensed, and somehow Eva knew this would be difficult. Unpleasant.
“Which memory?”
“I want the memory of how Rohe kidnapped you.”
Eva flinched.
Nikandria leaned forward. “Seth, is that necessary? I’m not sure Eva – ”
“If I know how Eva was kidnapped, then I will be able to gauge Rohe’s resources. I can warn my Watchers how Rohe operates. I will have a better sense of her resources and goals. Even more, I might be able to run a search and find out if any other Kaspians have disappeared under similar circumstances.” Seth’s look was quelling.