Age of X01 - Gameboard of the Gods

by Richelle Mead

  “Oh, I’ll say it,” Justin told them. Dominic situated himself on the opposite side of the room, arms crossed in a standoffish way that oddly mirrored Mae. “Getting married doesn’t mean you have to pack up and move to a farm, though. If it does, then I’m even more against it than I already was.”

  “Dominic’s trying to start his own wine business. All the vineyards outside? That’s his handiwork.” Leo looked up at his husband with unabashed pride and adoration.

  “And what do you do?” asked Justin. “Design the labels?” It was impossible to imagine fastidious Leo digging around in the dirt.

  Leo shook his head. “Nah, I commute to the city. Well, sometimes. They let me do a lot of telecommuting too. I work for Estocorp’s Portland branch now.”

  “That’s a long trip if you do have to go in.” “Estocorp” sounded familiar, but it took Justin a few moments to place it. “You’re working on contraceptive implants?”

  “Pays better than my old job. Maybe even better than yours.”

  “Not likely,” said Justin. “Leo, you could probably hack an identity chip. Why would you waste your time with birth control?”

  Leo was still amazingly casual about all of this, but then, he’d had a lot more time to adapt to his change in fortunes. “Hey, it’s noble work keeping our population stable. Besides, the Ministry of Health and Social Services is considering switching from their current provider. Do you know what kind of money we’d make with a government contract?”

  “I can get you a government contract,” protested Justin. “I’ve been back barely a week and already have a case for you to look at.”

  “Don’t you have other people in your department who can look?” asked Dominic. His voice was gravelly and gruff, matching his exterior.

  “None of them are as good as Leo.” Justin leaned forward, needing to get through to his old friend. “I know you miss Vancouver. Give this up, and come back. You could get your old job again, no problem. You’ll get a better deal and more action and adventure than you can handle. My charming companion over there’s a prætorian. That’s movie-quality stuff.”

  Justin spoke jokingly, thinking mentioning Mae would appeal to Leo’s love of novelty. Instead, it seemed to startle the other two men. Leo even paled. Their alarmed reactions made Mae tense in return.

  “Whoa, sorry,” said Justin, glancing between Leo and Dominic. “Don’t freak out. She’s perfectly tame.”

  Not in bed, said Magnus.

  “No one who’s pumped full of neurotransmitters on a regular basis is tame,” Dominic said, his face growing dark. “And we aren’t leaving.”

  Mae frowned but didn’t otherwise acknowledge the slight, aside from a shift in her posture. Justin looked pleadingly to Leo, hoping he’d talk sense.

  Instead, Leo said, “This is where Dominic’s work is. And I like what I’m doing. Like I told you when you called, it’s contract or nothing—and only if it’s interesting.”

  Justin was having trouble maintaining his characteristically amiable attitude. When he’d imagined the reasons Leo might refuse to come back, Justin had never even dreamed that an attachment to some cozy country setting would be the hang-up. If anything, he’d thought Leo might be upset about Justin’s disappearing without warning.

  Not everything’s about you, said Horatio.

  But this is absurd, Justin said. Why would he stay? He once switched apartment buildings because a couple of families moved in and he thought the place was becoming too mainstream.

  He’s in love, said Magnus. That’s all the reason he needs. Find another tactic, because if you keep mocking that, you won’t get anywhere.

  “Oh, it’s interesting,” Tessa said unexpectedly. Justin had nearly forgotten she was there. “Justin’s working on something that’ll blow your mind. No one can figure it out.” Justin knew she didn’t actually know any of the details of the murders or the shadowy assassin video, but she’d overheard enough of Justin and Mae’s offhand comments to figure out something major was going on.

  This seemed to amuse Leo more than anything else he’d heard today. “I thought the prætorian was your backup.”

  Justin realized then that he’d been an idiot. Tessa had jumped onto what he’d missed. He was always so proud of being able to get to the heart of people. He’d tried wooing Leo with money and glamour, but people like Leo didn’t become experts in their fields just because of those things. Justin had seen Leo stay up all night trying to solve the unsolvable. He had a passion for what he did, and despite Leo’s idyllic claims, even Justin knew contraception was boring work.

  Justin suddenly felt back in control. “She’s right. No one can figure it out, and we’ve had every agency looking at it.” A gleam of interest showed in Leo’s eyes. “You don’t even have to leave your love nest, unless you need some Internal Security resources. Then, hey, you guys can have a romantic getaway in the big city.”

  “I don’t like going to the city,” interjected Dominic. His eyes narrowed. “Any city.”

  “Fine,” said Justin, trying hard not to show his exasperation. He couldn’t imagine what had brought this match about. Dominic’s wine probably tasted like shit. “You just come, Leo. We’ll close out the Silver Spike like we did in the old days.”

  Leo didn’t answer, but Justin could tell he’d finally gotten through. Leo still had an easy smile on his face, but his interest had been piqued. No one can figure it out. Leo couldn’t resist that. There was nothing to do now but wait. Justin had played all his cards, and it was time to see if he’d won the jackpot.

  “Okay,” Leo said at last. Dominic groaned. Or maybe it was a growl. It was hard to say. “I’m in. I’ll help you out. When can I see this mind-blowing case?”

  Justin stood up and patted the briefcase. “Right now. I’ve got it all here.”

  Leo shot Dominic one last hesitant look and then rose as well. “Let’s get some lunch first since you’ve come all this way. Then we’ll get down to business. I can’t wait for you to try Dom’s Pinot Noir.”

  Happy that he’d gotten his way, Justin gladly put back on his sunny, sociable persona. “I’m sure I’ve never tasted anything like it.”

  Afterward, Justin had to admit the wine wasn’t that bad, but it also wasn’t good. It wouldn’t win any awards unless Dominic figured out a way to export it to the provinces.

  After lunch, Justin and Mae went with Leo to his workshop to go over the video away from Tessa and Dominic. Justin was relieved that Leo actually had a workshop, one filled with all sorts of half-completed projects. It meant the old Leo hadn’t entirely disappeared.

  He didn’t look thrilled to have Mae with them, but he forgot all about her when the video ran. As soon as it ended, he had the same reaction as Justin. “It’s fake.”

  “That’s what I said. But they say they can’t prove it.”

  “What else could it be?” asked Leo. If he’d had any doubts about taking this on, they’d vanished. He was hooked.

  “That’s for your brilliant mind to uncover. Mine’s going to work on the rest of this mess.”

  He left Leo all the other information on the case, as well as a warning to protect the camera and original footage. “It’s my ass if something happens to it. You’re lucky I trust you, or I’d never leave it with someone unauthorized.”

  Leo grinned. “That’s the nice thing about living in the wilderness. No one’s going to come snooping around.”

  On the train ride back, Tessa surprised Justin by telling him how she and Dominic had apparently become best friends while everyone else was in the lab.

  “He’s not bad at all once you talk to him,” she said. “He’s a Gemman citizen but was raised in one of the provinces, so he kind of understood what I’m going through.”

  Dominic was partially provincial? That explained a lot. “I’m just glad he doesn’t seem to ever leave that house,” Justin noted. “He’d probably hunt me down otherwise, and who knows if my gallant protection would come through.�
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  Mae, who’d been gazing out the window, glanced back. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because you didn’t do anything when my sister tried to knock me out.”

  “You’re still alive, aren’t you?” She returned to the window.

  Tessa had tried a glass of the wine, and it had made her sleepy. She opened her eyes and turned toward Justin. “Dominic wasn’t unfriendly when we first got there. He was just shy. Or, well, socially awkward, I guess. He didn’t get unfriendly until you told him Mae was a prætorian.”

  Justin thought back on the afternoon. “No, Dominic had it in for me from the moment I walked in the door. You heard what Leo said—he’d told him all about me.”

  Tessa shook her head. “You’re wrong.” Yes, Tessa was definitely getting more defiant.

  Because she contradicts you? scoffed Horatio. Such audacity!

  “Hey, I’m the master here,” Justin told her. “You’re the apprentice.”

  “The master was too appalled to be out in the ‘wilderness’ to notice,” Tessa retorted. “I’m telling you, I’m right.”

  “Next time I’m leaving you home,” he said, wondering if he really was slipping.

  CHAPTER 11

  LICENSE TO WORSHIP

  Although meeting Justin’s alleged technical genius had been interesting, Mae was eager to get to the heart of this mission they’d been assigned. She craved action, and even if this wasn’t a typical prætorian assignment, there was still justice to be served for the greater good of her country. She didn’t entirely know what Justin’s methods were, save that they would eventually be investigating suspect and possibly dangerous groups. That sounded promising.

  Her disdain for Justin hadn’t changed. It was obvious to her he was high each morning, and she had no respect for anyone with that kind of dependence. His dependence on women was equally obvious. Women noticed him, and he noticed women. A few witty words…and they were hooked, freely giving away numbers and promises of future dates. It constantly reminded Mae of her own foolishness.

  And yet, despite his bad habits, he’d occasionally show those flashes of brilliance that Francis had lauded. Justin latched on to small details, able to make astonishing deductions she never could’ve fathomed. His dedication to their case was fierce, and when he spoke of it and explained the psychology of religious groups to her, she couldn’t help but be fascinated.

  The final piece puzzling her was his unfailing devotion to Tessa and his family. Sure, sarcasm ran rampant in that household, but there was no question of his protectiveness toward them. It contradicted Mae’s image of his selfishness, and she didn’t like contradictions.

  Their first few days of investigation took them to the crime scenes on the patrician land grants, something that seemed more like police than servitor work. It mostly involved interviews with the victims’ friends and families, giving Mae another opportunity to watch him manipulate people. He didn’t approach anyone with a cop’s interrogation style. He engaged them in conversation, winning them over and then very carefully studying their words and body language.

  “It’s not hard,” he’d told Mae. “You find what means the most to someone and run with it.”

  That had come after an interview with a Lakota castal who’d initially been hostile to Justin. Upon noting the man had four children—a rarity among the fertility-challenged castes—Justin had shifted the discussion toward them, playing on the man’s obvious pride. The man had been heavily marked by Cain, with asthma and skin lesions, but he’d lucked out with his deceased wife. She’d been extraordinarily beautiful and healthy, with no problems conceiving. By the time Justin was finished with him, they were practically best friends, and Justin knew all about the kids’ soccer and dance lessons. The family had no connection to a religion, and Justin also determined that the man was telling the truth about not being involved with his wife’s murder. Justin had similar results with other castal interviewees and their claims of innocence.

  After three of the crime scenes, he told her they were putting the other two on hold until Leo could come along with them. The people they talked to weren’t giving them any leads; they needed to examine the technical side for new evidence. Although Leo had made no progress on the video, Justin was certain his friend could figure out how the victims’ surveillance had been disabled. Leo couldn’t join them right away, meaning it was time to start checking out suspect religious groups, something Mae had been looking forward to.

  They left Vancouver for an overnight trip to the Midwest, to visit a group whose goddess had connections to the moon and silver. Before they went to that church, however, Justin made a side trip to another sect in the same town.

  “Favor to Cornelia,” he explained when their hired car dropped them off. “Right around the corner from our church. It’s just a standard license renewal—should be a breeze. They’re a pretty small and benign group. Still, you’ll get to see that this job isn’t all glamour and stone-wielding mobs.”

  They stood outside of a small but pretty building that had all sorts of flourishes. Arched stained glass windows. Gold-painted trim around the windows and doors. Lacy wooden embellishment along the gables. An ornate sign above the door read TEMPLE OF THE LADY OF THE BOOK, MADISON BLUFF, TWENTY-FIRST WARD.

  Justin came to a stop on the sidewalk leading up to it and gave the building a once-over. “Well maintained,” he said with a frown. “Much better than their last inspection. Good maintenance means money. Money means support.”

  The door opened as they approached, and a middle-aged plebeian man with thinning hair stepped outside. He looked nervous but gave them a polite smile. “Welcome. I’m Claude Diaz, the priest of Our Lady here. You must be Dr. March?”

  “Yes.” Justin introduced Mae and then waved his ego over the license beside the door. The square’s screen displayed the RUNA’s seal in green, along with a date and scrawled signature below it. When the ego passed over the screen, a holographic image of the seal appeared in the air, verifying the temple’s license.

  Claude urged them inside. “Please come in. I’m so eager for you to see our sacred space and answer any questions you might have.”

  Mae hadn’t been in very many places of worship. She’d been to Church of Humanity services, of course, but those didn’t count. Every once in a while, someone in the Nordic caste would try to bring back a Scandinavian religion. Those that didn’t fail right away usually only lingered on with scant numbers. Mae’s mother had once taken her to a temple when visiting a friend in the Pan-Celt land grant, and Mae remembered it being a terrifying experience for her six-year-old self. The chanting priests had worn hoods and masks, and images of their fearsome goddess had seemed to look at Mae from every part of the room. She didn’t remember the cult’s name but hoped it had been shut down by now.

  Between that memory and what she’d seen of provincial religious practices, Mae was content to stay away from all of it and completely supported the RUNA’s stance against religion. People who got caught up in the groupthink of these superstitions were easy to lead into dangerous behaviors, as the Decline had shown. The only thing Mae put her faith in was her country.

  This temple bore no resemblance to the one in her nightmares. The space was warm and inviting, smelling of wood, beeswax, and roses. Rows of well-oiled wooden benches faced forward, and shelves of archaic paper books lined the sides of the room. At the front of the room, looking over everything, stood a statue of a woman in flowing robes who held a book in one hand and a lit candle in the other. Incense smoked at her feet.

  As Mae studied the sculpture, a weird sense of disorientation swept over her. The statue shifted in her eyes. A sword replaced the candle, and she held flowers where the book had been. An amber necklace hung around the goddess’s neck, and on her head, a crown made of tiny sparkling stars bathed her in brilliance. Mae had never seen anything so beautiful, and she didn’t even realize it had called her forward until she stood right in front of the statue. The intensity re
minded her of that darkness that descended on her in battle, only now she felt a warmth and exhilaration spread through her, making her feel light and radiant.

  Justin came to stand beside her. “So what do you—”

  He stopped when he saw her face. His expression transformed with wonder, and his breath caught. The world sparked between them. Somehow, he could see that glory burning through her, and he was spellbound. For a moment, she could see herself in his eyes, vibrant with beauty and life. And then, something even more remarkable happened: She could sense a power surrounding him as well. It had a different feel—ancient and wise, rather than sensual and earthy—but its nature was the same as hers. She’d never seen such a thing in any other person.

  Suddenly, that icy darkness Mae knew so well slapped her in the face. The radiance burning through her faltered, and she felt the darkness’s familiar hands resting heavily on her shoulders, trying to block her from the statue’s power. The two forces fought against each other, the statue’s warmth calling to Mae as the darkness crushed it. She felt like she was being ripped in two until at last the darkness won. The light and life vanished. Above her, the Lady of the Book stared blankly ahead, a stony scholar once more.

  Victorious in its conquest, the darkness lifted, leaving Mae dizzy. She staggered a few steps and started to fall. Justin caught hold of her hand to steady her. She started to lean into him and then suddenly jerked away. “Don’t touch me!” she exclaimed.

  “Easy,” he said. His enthralled look was gone. There was no power there. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She turned in another direction, attempting to avoid eye contact. He moved in front of her.

  “Forget that you hate me for a minute. I’m just trying to help.”

  “You’re the last person whose help I need.”

  “You saw something,” he insisted, a sharp look in his eyes.