Bonds That Beckon (Daughters of Anubis Book 1)

by Kelli Kimble

  I stood and walked a tight circle around the desk, coming back to the box. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I wrung my hands, reached into the box, and withdrew the fabric. The book was there. I could touch it if I wanted to. I could take it out and try to read it. I could throw it in the fireplace and burn it.

  All at once I knew. It wasn’t like me to snoop into Mr. Anu’s things. It wasn’t like me to doubt the word of an adult who had proven himself a friend. And it wasn’t like me to question my own gut instinct. I was different.

  Different because I had sharper senses, different because I had weird teeth, different because I wasn’t from around here. I was different because I was Anubian.

  “I’m Anubian,” I whispered.

  And I meant it.

  Chapter 15

  I woke curled up on the sofa. Someone had draped a quilt over me, and the scent of percolating coffee was drifting through the room.

  I pushed through the swinging kitchen door. Mr. Anu was at the table, sipping a cup of coffee.

  “Mr. Anu,” I said. “Where are my parents?”

  His forehead wrinkled. “I’m sorry, Iris. They haven’t released your father. Your mother elected to stay at the sheriff’s office. She was sure they would release him any moment.”

  I sank into the chair beside him. “You don’t think so.”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Would you like some tea?”

  He went about making me a cup of tea. His coffee was still at the table, and I watched the tiny wisps of steam curling up from it into the air. How could this be happening? Why was Sheriff Stone such a jerk? I wanted to hurt him for what he was doing to my family. But hurting Gary hadn’t helped my situation, and neither would hurting the sheriff.

  Mr. Anu set a mug of tea in front of me. “This will give you a little lift,” he said. He returned to his seat. “And I do have some news that might cheer you. I saw your note that Miss Cucciolo had been by and I telephoned her this morning. She and her brothers will be moving in later this afternoon. It seems you shall have your tutor.”

  “I will?” In spite of my family’s circumstances, it did give me a thread of hope. Maybe I didn’t have to go to Georgia to attend college. Surely there was an option that I could afford if I kept working.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, Mr. Anu,” I jumped up and hugged him. He did not yield to my embrace the way most people would, but I ignored his stiffness. “I needed some good news. Thank you.”

  “I’m glad that it’s given you a moment of joy,” he said. He smiled. “I hope this means more than happiness at being tutored.”

  “I believe you now,” I said. “You must have worked really hard to get Miss Cucciolo here. I really appreciate it.”

  “My dear. You keep thanking me as if I’m making great sacrifices for you. The truth is, I cannot continue without you. It is you who shall make sacrifices for me.”

  A cold tingle went up my spine and I drew back from him. My face must have reflected my fear.

  “Not that kind of sacrifice. You are Anubian, and it is my wish that you shall live out your lifespan with bounty. I want you to be happy. And part of your happiness is to serve me, and others like you. That’s the nature of being half-god.”

  “Serve you?”

  “Yes. You are already in service to me, just by living here and working. And I am grateful for your service. Your parents serve, too. And Miss Cucciolo and her brothers. I believe she’s already told them about me, and I detect no reservation in their natures. They’ve accepted me as well.”

  “Miss Cucciolo told me that you showed her your true form. Can you show me again? Like you did on the night you told me?”

  “That takes a lot of energy. I’m afraid I cannot summon it — not after the short amount of rest I had last night.”

  “Of course. I understand.”

  Gravel on the driveway popped. “Someone is here,” he said. He got up to look. I clutched the mug of tea. Please let it be both Mother and Daddy.

  “It’s Miss Cucciolo. Oh, and her brothers. I’d like you to meet them.”

  Tessa came to the door carrying two battered and mismatched suitcases, one in each hand. Mr. Anu held the door for her and took the bags. Two young men came in behind, each carrying several more suitcases.

  “Just stack them by the kitchen door, right there,” Mr. Anu said, still holding the door. “I’ll show you to your rooms in a moment. First I’d like you to meet Iris.” Mr. Anu’s eyes were bright as he stacked the cases.

  The brothers were older than they’d been in the picture on Miss Cucciolo’s desk. The taller of the two was definitely too old to be in high school, and the other was probably my age. They were both handsome. The older brother looked like a lumberjack. He was tall and lean, and he had dark wavy hair that looked as if it had bucked every effort to be combed. He was smiling, and it seemed like his natural state. The sleeves of his flannel shirt were pushed up, revealing forearms that were even more muscular than Mr. Anu’s.

  After he’d dropped his bags, he turned to me, and his smile broadened. I was suddenly conscious of having slept on the sofa in my clothes and not doing any morning refreshing. I smoothed a hand over my wrinkled blouse.

  “You must be Iris,” the older brother said. He advanced towards me with his hand out. “Name’s Kalvin. But please call me Kal.”

  “Yes,” Mr. Anu said before I could answer. “This is the young lady I was telling you about.” Mr. Anu had his hands pressed together as if he were praying and he watched me with his eyes squinted.

  Kal’s features were chiseled and sharp, but his eyes were soft and friendly. He smiled, and I returned the smile. He felt oddly familiar. It gave me a warm, secure feeling, like he’d stand up for me against a bully but also might pull my ponytail playfully.

  “Hello,” I said. We shook hands. His hand engulfed mine. It was warm and mildly rough with calluses. Our eyes met and I felt at ease. Was this what it would be like, to have a brother? He tweaked my cheek with his other hand.

  “You were right, Anu. She is a pretty little thing.”

  I batted his hand away and laughed. Mr. Anu’s hands dropped, and his smile faltered.

  “And this is his brother, Jacob,” Mr. Anu said. Whatever had him in such a good mood had passed. He almost looked lost.

  Jacob dropped his suitcases with a thud where he stood, instead of in the pile.

  Whoa.

  He wasn’t quite as tall as Kal, but he was more handsome — though not in the rugged way Kal was. He had the same dark hair, neatly clipped into a proper hairstyle and combed. He struck me more like a doctor or a lawyer, due to the way he dressed and carried himself. He looked like he was going places. Places I inexplicably wanted to be. His expression was closed, and he glanced around the kitchen with obvious dislike and suspicion.

  Tessa touched him on the shoulder and gave him the sort of look Mother gave me when I wasn’t behaving as well as she’d like in front of strangers.

  He dropped his eyes to the floor and approached me with his hands jammed in the pockets of his slacks.

  Tessa cleared her throat, and he raised his face so that he was looking at me, though he didn’t meet my eyes.

  Something inside me changed at that moment. I couldn’t say what exactly. It was almost like something inside me that used to be solid had melted into liquid.

  “Hi,” he said. He glanced away from me and assumed a bored pose.

  “Hello,” I said. My voice felt like it belonged to someone else.

  “You and Jake probably have a lot in common,” Kal said. “He’s a senior this year too. Tessa’s home-schooling him.”

  “Really?” I asked, latching onto the potential for kinship. “Why aren’t you going to school?”

  A flush crept up Jacob’s neck. He kept his gaze out the window. “It’s complicated.”

  Kal rammed his elbow into Jacob’s side, prompting a scowl from Jacob. “There’
s nothing complicated about it. He couldn’t get along with anyone. Kept getting into fights. Even with teachers. You can’t go to school when they expel you.”

  “A passionate young man,” Mr. Anu said, his smile returning. “I’m glad to hear it.”

  “I wouldn’t say it’s passion so much as stupidity.” Kal ruffled Jacob’s hair. Jacob shoved his hand away and glared at his brother.

  “Whatever it was, it doesn’t matter now. Please, allow me to show you to your rooms.” Mr. Anu picked up a case and held the kitchen door open for them, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

  I wanted to creep upstairs and at least brush my hair, but I didn’t want to run into them in the hallway. Instead, I went to the bathroom downstairs and splashed cool water on my face.

  What was it about Jacob that made me feel different? I studied my face in the mirror. I didn’t look any different. In fact, up until the moment I’d seen him, I would have said that I wanted nothing to do with a guy after what happened with Gary. I dried my face and returned to the kitchen to drink my tea. Mr. Anu came in.

  “Tell me, Miss Hond. What do you think of the brothers?”

  “They seem nice enough,” I said. “You seemed unhappy when they came in. How come?”

  “Ah,” Mr. Anu said. “I had the wrong brother.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Jacob is your partner.”

  “My partner?”

  “Yes. Your mate. Future husband, lover, whatever you like to call it these days.”

  I scoffed at him. “How do you know?”

  “Miss Hond. How do I know anything? I’m immortal. I’ve been around long enough to know what it looks like when two halves of a whole meet.”

  I turned away to hide my embarrassment. “Were you in the same room? He didn’t seem terribly interested in me.”

  “Hm. I should have known straight off when I met them. You see, I thought it would be Kal because he is the elder. But naturally, that doesn’t suit you. You want an equal. Someone smart, polished. Ambitious. Like you.”

  “I can’t believe we’re even talking about this. He didn’t even want to speak to me.”

  “Give it time, Miss Hond. I know what happened between you. Eventually, you’ll both come to accept it.”

  * * *

  We were cramped together at the dining room table for dinner. Mother had finally come home from the sheriff’s office, and, although she was obviously exhausted, she’d insisted on cooking dinner for the six of us. I wasn’t hungry, and I was pushing food around on my plate with my fork when Mr. Anu spoke.

  “Tomorrow won’t you get them resumed on their curriculum, Miss Cucciolo?”

  “Of course. And please, call me Tessa. I’m not a teacher anymore.”

  “But you’re their teacher,” he protested.

  “Excuse me,” I said. “Who is ‘they’?”

  “You and Jacob, of course.” He pointed at us with a motion of his fork before spearing a bite of Salisbury steak.

  “Oh.”

  “Is something wrong, Iris?” Tessa asked.

  “No. It’s just, I thought you would be teaching me alone. One on one.”

  She laughed. “I’d hardly say a ratio of two to one is terrible. I’m sure it shouldn’t be any more difficult to add you to the lessons I’ve been doing for Jacob. You’re an intelligent girl, this will be easy for you.”

  “Iris. Please stop playing with your food,” Mother said.

  My cheeks felt hot. I set my fork down. “I’m not hungry. Can I be excused?”

  “You haven’t eaten anything. Are you feeling ill?” Mother was sitting beside me, and she put the back of her hand to my forehead.

  I jerked back from her touch, pushing my chair out. “I’m fine. I just don’t feel very much like eating.”

  “You can be excused,” she said. “As soon as you apologize for your behavior.”

  I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. Tessa and Mr. Anu were tactfully looking elsewhere. Kal was looking on with obvious amusement. Jacob watched with a detached expression.

  “I apologize, Mother. I’d like to go to my room now.”

  “Your apology is accepted. Go on like a good girl.”

  I clenched my fists and bit my tongue. “Good night, everyone.”

  A chorus of goodnights ushered me towards the kitchen door. I strained to hear Jacob’s voice in the crowd but he either didn’t speak or it was drowned out. I felt his eyes burning my back as I left the room.

  * * *

  I dreamt of a big black dog wearing an intricate collar. It sat at the end of my bed, watching me.

  “Are you real?” I asked.

  It blinked.

  I sat up and reached out to touch it. The air dissolved around it.

  I gasped in a breath as I woke. Had I really been asleep? I was already sitting up. The door was ajar. I didn’t like the idea of anyone walking by and seeing me asleep. I got up to close it. But as I reached for the knob, movement in the hallway caught my eye. I stuck my head out.

  “Hello?” I whispered.

  I scanned the hallway. Nobody was there. I was starting to pull back into my room when I glanced at the top of the stairs.

  The dog was sitting there, looking at me.

  It turned and went down the stairs. All the other doors were shut, and nobody seemed to be stirring. I followed it, and it stood by the kitchen door.

  A faint rustle from the kitchen sent a dump of adrenaline into my bloodstream. There was an umbrella hanging from the coat rack by the front door. I grabbed it and held it like a baseball bat as I approached the kitchen. There was a tinkle of glass. Was it an intruder? Had they broken a window? Where had the dog disappeared to? It didn’t seem to be in the room anymore.

  You should go get Mr. Anu. But one of the kitchen chairs being dragged across the floor increased my sense of urgency. I took a slow, cautious step towards the kitchen. Then another. Eventually, I was standing in the doorway. A faint light was seeping out from under the door jamb.

  I pushed against the door and it swung open. As it did, I jumped into the kitchen.

  “What the —!” someone said.

  It was Jacob.

  You must look like a Grade-A idiot, brandishing an umbrella in your nightgown.

  “Uh, hi,” I said.

  He was seated at the table, a partially eaten sandwich in his hand and a glass of milk on the table beside him. A candle was illuminating his meal. He chewed the bite in his mouth with a slow motion and swallowed it. “Hi.”

  I lowered the umbrella. “Sorry. I heard someone in here, and . . . did you see a dog? A black one?”

  “No dogs here.” He took a bite, his eyes never leaving me. In the darkness, they looked blacker than the dog had.

  I felt exposed, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “What are you doing up?”

  He answered by lifting his sandwich and nodding to it. He was still chewing his last bite.

  “Right,” I said. “I’ll just go back to bed, then. Good night.”

  “Wait,” he said, just as I reached the door. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you believe any of this?” He gestured around the kitchen as if the physicality of it were something to be questioned.

  I tipped my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  He studied me for a moment. “You want a sandwich? I’ll make you one.” He didn’t wait for me to answer. He went to the icebox and opened it, burying his head inside. “You like turkey or ham?”

  “Ham, please,” I said.

  “Sit. I’ll make it.”

  I sat in the chair opposite his, feeling the need to shield myself with the table.

  “You didn’t eat dinner, so you must be hungry,” he said. He moved around in the darkness, not needing any direction about where to find anything. In a few minutes, he set a plate with a sandwich in front of me, along with my own glass of milk.

  “Thank you.”r />
  “Sure. Now. I think you know what I mean. This Anubian stuff. Do you believe it?”

  “I didn’t at first,” I said. “But Mr. Anu’s done some things that I can’t really explain.”

  “Yeah? Like what?”

  “He’s shown up out of the blue on several occasions to help me.” I took a bite of the sandwich. It was just a sandwich, but somehow, it tasted better than that: the ham was saltier; the mustard had a sharper bite. Even the bread was softer.

  He shrugged. “Coincidence. Right place, right time. This is a small town.”

  “Yeah. But he stopped me from ki —” I trailed off. I didn’t want him to know what I’d done to Gary. “He convinced your sister to come here. I asked him to do that. As a test.”

  He snorted. “Some test. What do you think someone like her does when she loses her job? She’s got mouths to feed, and a roof to keep over our head. She can’t do that without a job. He offered her a job, a roof, and food. All in one package. She’d have been stupid to turn him down.”

  “I suppose,” I said. “But she believes him. Why don’t you?”

  “She’s always had a soft spot for Egyptian history. And handsome men. Mr. Anu gives her both.”

  I frowned. Mr. Anu could have been her father — well, if he were the age that he actually appeared to be, which was a question mark to begin with. But Tessa couldn’t be older than 30.

  “Yeah, I know he’s too old for her. I didn’t say she wanted to marry him or anything. It’s just that she believes what a handsome man tells her. She’s gullible.”

  I nodded.

  “I heard what he said to you. After he showed us our rooms.”

  “Oh.” My cheeks felt warm. I hoped he couldn’t see it in the dark.

  “I don’t believe in soulmates, either. What a bunch of bologna.”

  Somehow hearing how he felt made my heart twitch in pain. “Yeah,” I said, with a little huff. “Soulmates.”

  We sat in awkward silence. When he broke it, the awkwardness didn’t fade. “Tessa told me about your run-in. With that Gary kid.”

  I took a bite of my sandwich and looked away.

  “He had it coming, right? Not even a guy could hurt him like that over nothing.”