"Pardon me if I don't sympathize with that cutthroat. Literally." He drew a finger across his own throat.
"I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it." Pietas rubbed the tight spot between his eyes. "But I let them do it. I even encouraged it."
Tiklaus roused itself and padded over to him. The cat butted beneath his chin.
He scratched its ears. "I'm Chancellor. Lawgiver. Judge. If I dishonor the law, what does that say about my honor? I let them murder without repercussion. I put a stamp of approval on the same thing for which I tried Mahikos."
"I get it, Pi. You think you're condoning murder."
"Yes." He stroked the cat, but then halted. "What do you mean I 'think' I am? Don't you think I am?"
"Did you know it was happening but you decided not to stop it?"
"They'd already killed him." When Tiklaus nudged his hand, Pietas resumed stroking the silky fur. "When I got there, he was recovering."
"Well, then you didn't have anything to do with condoning it."
"No, I didn't. At least, not that death."
"Um, Pi? Explain 'that' death."
"They'd killed him on Armand's behalf. Once he heals they're going to kill him again--for Philippe."
Six clapped a hand to his forehead.
"I know." Pietas stroked Tiklaus under the chin. "I shouldn't let it happen."
"No, I suppose not." Six swore again. "Too bad. If anyone deserves it..." He broke off, folded his hands and leaned elbows on his knees. "Maybe you misheard. The way those two share words, you could've made a mistake."
"I wish I could agree. Unfortunately, I obtained clarification. I even told them about a case where someone did that and made sure the person was fully healed before they started on him again. I told them it was blood-justice."
"I could see you saying that. Seems to me it is."
"You do?"
"He used them to hide what he was doing. I've heard a fraction of the abuse he put you through, and in my opinion, he deserves death."
How gratifying to hear his friend defend him. "Thank you. But does he deserve to die twice?"
"If he's done what you believe he's done and betrayed your people, he deserves to die and never come back. In my opinion, you shouldn't stop them. You made sure the panthers got blood-justice. Why not the twins?"
Pietas contemplated the situation. He'd left the man to the twins' mercies. Mahikos lay in a broken heap, twitching, drooling bloody spittle, crying out as his bones snapped and popped, knit themselves together and reformed. Painful to hear. Agony to suffer.
Pietas had been through it, dropped from the air chained inside his pod. He'd slammed into the ground, bounced and rolled down a hill; all while being smashed side to side like a pebble in a can.
If immortality was a blessing, the torment of rebirth was its curse.
Could he wish that pain on his father -- again?
For hundreds of reasons, he told himself. Through a haze of remembered beatings, starvations, forced marches, and confinements, a voice broke through. Pietas sat up straight. "What?"
"I said, how did they kill him?"
"They pummeled him until they broke almost every bone in his body."
A string of Spanish swear words mixed with a few choice ones from other languages. Six tied up the last rabbits. "I wouldn't want those two mad at me."
"Nor would I." His father had been beaten to death by two men he trusted. Two men he had used as pawns as he had used his own family. Used his son. "So why do I feel guilty?"
"Because it's not your father you're worried about."
"Then who am I worried about?"
"Don't you mean 'about whom am I worried?'"
So, his friend did know proper grammar. Good. Despite the situation, he smiled. "Seriously?" he echoed.
With a wry grin, Six stood and picked up the string of rabbits. He worked at fastening the rope to a stout pole.
Pietas rose and brushed off his new pants. "So what is it, Six? Why am I feeling guilty?"
"First, you're worried about what'll happen if the others find out you knew but you didn't do anything to stop it."
"You're saying I should tell them."
"I wasn't finished."
Pietas reached for the rabbits but Six pushed his hand away. "Let me. You'll get blood all over your new clothes. I'll carry them."
"I can--"
"Just say 'thanks, Six' and let it go." He set the pole on his shoulder, allowing the line of rabbits to hang behind him.
Pietas clenched and unclenched his hands. "Thank you, Six."
"There, don't you feel better?"
"No."
"Didn't expect you would."
Tiklaus raced ahead and disappeared into the brush.
"You figure it out yet, Pi?"
"What?"
"The second reason you feel guilty."
"Because I didn't stop them from killing my father."
"Pretty dense, Ultra." Six elbowed him. "Do I have to spell it out for you?"
He rubbed his temples, fighting a headache. "Apparently."
"You can't accept feeling angry, so you label it guilt. You've felt it so long you can't tell the difference anymore."
Pietas halted in his tracks. "That's preposterous. Of course I'm angry. Who wouldn't be? My father used me. He used my sister. My mother. Every single one of us. He's selfish, hateful, egotistical, maniacal, and he'll stop at nothing to get his way."
"You and I both know your father deserves every lick he gets. You're mistaking guilt for anger because you're angry with your mother."
Pietas threw up his hands. "My mother? How could you say that! What are you, some kind of psychiatrist? 'Your problem's with your mother, Pietas.' Ludicrous. For your information, I love my mother. She's the most gentle person I've ever known. No one could blame her for what happened. She's as much a victim as my sister."
Six squinted at him. "Interesting. You see your mother and sister as victims, but not yourself."
"I failed them. I should have been stronger. I shouldn't have let him hurt them."
"You were a kid. It wasn't your job to protect them. It was your mother who should have done the protecting."
The world went white. Sound hollowed. "Six, that is not true. He hurt her."
"Okay, so maybe your mom was afraid. Maybe she was threatened. But beyond being a trained scientist and a warrior, she was a mother. I know you love her. I love her and she's not even my mom, but she stood by and let you and your sister suffer."
"No." Fury coiled its twin tails of ferocity and rage around his heart. Pietas forced himself to breathe at a normal pace, refusing to submit to base emotions. "You heard how she tried to get out. Her fingers bled, Six! She suffered as much as we did."
"Oh, I don't doubt that. At least that one time. Somehow, someway, she should have stopped him. Killed him. Gotten you and your sister out. How? No idea, but my abuela would have found a way and she was an old woman. In your heart--" Six paused. "Pi, I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear this and you don't want to believe it. In your heart, your anger isn't with your father. Your anger's with her."
Where heat had unfurled, the chill of winter's ice now resided. He drew himself up, chin lifted. "You dare say that to me?"
"It's true. You know it."
He could not pull in enough air to breathe. "What I know"-- he forced out --"is if I'm angry with anyone, it's an idiot who'd blame my mother."
The man had the gall to look at him as Pietas were a disappointment. "Look, Pi--"
"My anger is with you."
"I'm sorry, but--"
"Save it! I should never have come out here. Why I wasted time looking for you is beyond me."
Six reached for him but Pietas knocked his hand away.
"Do not touch me, human."
"Pi, don't do this."
"My name is Pietas. Pee-ah-toss. Get it right!"
"You need to listen."
"No." He drew himself up. "I need to protect my family."
"Will you listen?"
"No!" He backed away. "Do not come near me. Ever. Do you hear me?" He turned and walked away. Near the forest's edge, he paused, but did not look back. "I should never have let you live."
Chapter Forty-eight
Putting Six's lies far from him, Pietas walked, paying no heed to direction. He refused to consider the man's hateful, twisted words. How could an Ultra be so blind to human failings? There was no room for liars or humans in his life, and that ghost was both.
Pietas had been desperate. It was that simple. The ghost had taken advantage of the situation. The man had made a pretense of friendship.
In a moment of physical deprivation, Pietas had mistaken the ghost's so-called kindness for friendship. He'd let his guard down.
How could a human be anything but duplicitous?
Out in the forest, Tiklaus kept pace with him, but did not come close. The cat appeared on first one side, then the other. It sat in the path ahead of him and when Pietas reached the spot, stood and put itself beneath his hand for petting.
Promise.
He stooped to scratch the panther's ears. "I'm sorry, Tiklaus. I know I promised to play, but I'm not in the mood right now." He kissed its nose and continued walking.
Promise.
"Yes, I know, I promised."
The cat bumped the back of his knee, knocking Pietas off balance. He kept himself from falling, but once he faced the cat, it sneezed and pawed the ground.
"What is wrong with you?"
Promise. Play. Chase. Tickle.
"Fine. I can see you won't be put off. We'll play." He took off his new shirt and tossed it over a low bush, then got down on his knees.
The cat came to him, rubbed up under his jaw. He rough-housed with the cat, wrestling, pulling its ears and rubbing its whiskers. By the time he'd worn out the cat, Pietas had worn out himself. He remained on his back, chest heaving.
"Best exercise partner ever." He rested on the sweet grass beside the panting animal, petting and stroking. Pietas leaned on one elbow. "You need a name for me the way I have for you. If you call me by name, I'll stop and play." He stroked the cat. "Do you understand?"
Tiklaus stared straight into his eyes and blinked. Do.
A command understood and carried out. A type of, "Yes, sir."
"You understand. Thank you, Tiklaus."
The green eyes blinked lazily, watching him. Promise.
"I'd like to know the name now, please. Name me."
The cat put out one huge paw and set it on his hand. Promise.
"Thank you. I'll wait. But don't bump me from behind anymore."
Tiklaus lifted its paw and set it back. Promise.
"You want me to promise you something?"
Do. Promise.
All at once, the meaning struck him. His throat tightened so hard he couldn't breathe. He sat up. "You mean you already have a name for me. I am Promise."
Do. The cat sat opposite him. Keep. Promise. It put out a paw and Pietas took it. Keep. Care. Protect. Promise.
"How you honor me!" The cat's paw held in one hand, Pietas tapped his other over his heart. He tried to speak, got choked up and had to start again. "May I never fail to live up to my name in your eyes."
Chapter Forty-nine
Joss stopped sharpening her knife and listened, sure she'd heard whistling. Though she searched the aether, she found no trace of Pietas. He wouldn't be whistling anyway; Six would. The plenos displaced no psychic space, making him untraceable to telepaths, but his human scent, faint as it was, preceded him. With it came a hint of animal blood.
The ghost's head appeared first as he came up the incline. He whistled some merry tune, sauntering with that easy stride of his. When he caught sight of her, he slowed, the whistling stopped and his usually cheerful face rearranged itself into one of somber concern. In silence, he continued toward her.
No sense of Pietas behind him, though surely he would be. She stood and stretched up on tiptoes. No sign of him on the slope near the falls.
"Hi, Joss." Six had a pole over one shoulder and a dozen rabbits hung from it. He manuevered it around and stuck the end on the ground. "Still hungry?"
"Famished. Although I sincerely miss food I don't have to skin first, these look delicious. Nice and plump."
"Thanks. Tik caught them."
"All of them?"
"I helped. I stomp around and when the rabbits run away, he catches them. I mean, it catches them. Pi insists Tik's not a he."
"Where is Pi?" She gasped. "Oh, I meant-- Where is Pietas?" She sidled closer to him. "I can't believe he lets you call him that."
"Yeah, well..." Six scratched his neck. "He and--"
"Six!" Koliga called to him. "You brought breakfast!" He came over and examined the long string of rabbits. "What a great catch!" He gave a loud whistle, summoning the others. "Food!" he bellowed. "Need some help over here!"
Marjo popped around the upright pods, took a quick look, and waved to the others. She jogged over. "About time. We were starving."
"Hey, Six!" Michel came running. "Wow! Look at this catch!" He slapped him on the back. "Thanks, buddy." He took the pole. "Lig, let's get started on these. Marjo, get the fire going."
"I'll help."
"No, no." Michel squeezed Six's shoulder. "You did the hunting. We'll prep." The three shot big grins toward Six and headed for the campfire.
Erryq waved at Six as she joined the others.
Six had perked up when greeted, but now his shoulders slumped.
Joss indicated the slope on the opposite side, leading down to the pods. "Want to walk with me?"
"Yeah. Why not?" He fell in step beside her.
They walked without speaking for several minutes. Six stumbled but quickly caught his balance.
"What happened?"
"Big rock there." Six pointed. "Didn't see it."
"You know that's not what I meant."
He stared straight ahead and kept walking.
Joss kept pace beside him. "I might not be able to read you like I can the others, but you're broadcasting signals anyone can see." She clasped her hands behind her.
"Such as?"
"Head down, no smile. Not your usual loquacious self."
He lifted his hands. "You're worse than Pi. I don't understand half the words you people use."
"Talkative."
"Oh." He shrugged. "Me and Pi had a fight."
As if she hadn't guessed. "I see. Want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Is that why he's not with you?"
"Yeah."
They walked a bit further. "So where is he?"
He shrugged, glancing up at her. "Took off. Told me to stay away from him."
"So a serious fight."
"You could say that." Six stuck his hands in his pockets.
Without speaking, they walked halfway down the incline. Joss tucked an errant curl behind one ear. "Tiklaus with him?"
Six nodded.
She slowed and stopped, and he faced her "You know, Pietas has been mad at all of us at one time or another. All of us have been mad at him. It doesn't mean the end of your friendship."
The ghost looked away from her, his mouth tight. He swallowed, twice. "He called me--human."
Joss waited for him to say more.
He didn't face her. "I've tried to be better than that."
"Better than human, you mean?"
He glanced at her, the hurt in his eyes affirmation enough.
"Six, our people have been at war for centuries, but I happen to believe humans are noble creatures."
He gave her studious attention. "You do?"
"Given the opportunity and education to make good choices, they usually do. Much of the hatred between my kind and yours is borne of ignorance."
"Yeah." He rubbed his neck. "Seen that. They taught us lies about you." He added, "I mean you, collectively."
"I got that."
"Sorry."
"Don't b
e." She touched his arm, indicated the way back to camp, and they started back up the long slope. "It's been good, having you here. Before getting to know you, I think the Council thought humans all had tails."
Six glanced behind him. "I try to keep mine hidden."
Joss laughed aloud. Taking his arm, she leaned into him as they walked. "Pietas will come around. Give him time."
"I hope so."
At his wistful expression, she squeezed his arm. "Wait and see."
"I made him plenty mad."
"Did you?"
"Told him something he didn't want to hear."
Which could be almost anything. Pietas was as hard-headed as they came. If she asked what they'd fought about, he might evade or stop talking, so she waited for him to begin.
"About his mother."
"I imagine that set off a spark."
"More like a bonfire."
Oh, how Pietas needed this man's lightness in his dark life. "Tell me what you worry will happen."
His face screwed up. He scratched his neck. "I 'as kinda hopin' you'd tell me."
"Give you my opinion, you mean?"
"Yeah."
She stopped again and he took up a space before her. "Pietas is quick with praise and slow with anger. Once his temper flares it burns hot. Generally, though, after he's thought through a situation, he comes around. I'd never heard him apologize until he did to you. In private, yes, to me. Always. He's big enough to admit when he's wrong. In your case, I think he was trying to show us how much you meant to him."
"Oh, he's not gonna apologize. Not for this. I'd be surprised if he didn't kick me out of camp."
Worse than she'd thought. "Do you owe him an apology?"
The ghost remained silent for a time. "Don't see how. I told him the truth. Can't apologize for that, but I'm sorry it hurt him."
Before she could speak, a tide of emotional uproar cascaded over her. While with Six, she'd dropped her shields. A jab of reflected outrage and fear tightened her chest to the point of pain.
She gripped Six's arm.
"Joss!" He steadied her. "What's wrong?"
She clutched her chest, rebuilding her shields as she gathered her breath.
Dessy hurried into view, shielding her eyes. "Joss!" The young woman waved both hands. "Joss! It's Father!"
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