Age of X01 - Gameboard of the Gods

by Richelle Mead

“The goddess?” asked Tessa.

  “She wanted a life. That man said it had to be Ilias’s, that that was her payment. But why should it matter?” He looked back up again, desperation in his eyes. “Why should it matter? Isn’t any life enough? We repaid her.”

  Tessa felt as though she too were sliding pieces of a puzzle around, trying to make sense of this scattered information. “What did you repay her for?”

  “For Ilias.”

  “Because she gave him to you,” said Darius, prompting him.

  Olaf dropped his hand and spread it flat on the screen. “But he was never ours. They got a fortune. They got that poor plebeian boy’s life to make Ilias. But it wasn’t enough. They wanted Ilias to serve, but he wouldn’t, so they took him back.” He took a deep breath. “I should’ve joined Siiri. Maybe we owed another life. One for the plebeian boy, one for Ilias. If we’d both given ourselves to her, she might have let Ilias go free.”

  There was more here than Tessa could understand. Suddenly, a memory tickled her brain: Justin, brainstorming with her in his study. A bunch of plebeians die the same year some perfect patricians are conceived. Is that a coincidence?

  “What was Ilias’s score?” she asked.

  “He was a nine,” said Darius.

  “Cost a fortune,” lamented Olaf. “And it was so much more than money. Much more. They wanted him to serve her.”

  Tessa tried to think like a servitor. “You mean to join her cult?”

  “Ilias laughed that man away. Should he have? I don’t know.” Olaf stared off into space. “Maybe he took the high road. She didn’t deserve him. She’s evil and twisted. We said we’d let them teach him, but we didn’t. We shouldn’t have promised him to her, but we didn’t know what would happen. We didn’t realize what would happen to that boy.”

  The nouns were hard to follow. “The plebeian boy?” Tessa asked, trying to clarify.

  “He was innocent, but we didn’t care. What was a plebeian to us? But now I see the blood on my hands.” He turned his hands over and studied them. “We both did. But Siiri set herself free. It just wasn’t enough to save Ilias.”

  Tessa began stringing together his narrative, patching it with all the things she’d heard Justin and Mae tossing around. “So…this goddess and her people…you made a deal to conceive Ilias through illicit genetic manipulation—”

  “No. Magical manipulation,” said Olaf. “She needs no lab.”

  “Um, okay. So, then they took money for it and a plebeian sacrifice….” Tessa paused at that, overcome by how awful it was. “And they also wanted you to raise him in her service. But you didn’t, so they came back and…took him.”

  Tessa felt sympathetic enough toward the old man and his son that she couldn’t say the word “kill.” She also decided not to say anything more about Siiri Sandberg. Somehow, Siiri had known this cult was after Ilias and had killed herself in the hopes that she could pay the price for her son. Apparently, this goddess’s followers had required premium genes.

  “What was her name?” asked Tessa. “This goddess?”

  “Death and darkness and war,” murmured Olaf.

  Darius shook his head. “I’ve never heard him say a name in all the times he’s told the story. He either doesn’t know or won’t say.”

  “What about the man who kept visiting?” asked Tessa. “Was he the one saying they’d take Ilias back?”

  Olaf’s eyes grew moist. “He warned us. He tried to persuade Ilias to join them when he was older, but he wouldn’t. He was a good boy.”

  “Did the guy who threatened Ilias have a name? Do you know anything about him?”

  Darius answered when his father wouldn’t. “No name, but he was one of us. Blond. Not much Cain.” He frowned. “No, there wasn’t any Cain. He was like Ilias.”

  When it became obvious Olaf would say no more, Darius made motions to leave. He gently helped his father get into bed, and the old man fell asleep almost instantly.

  “Can you help us?” Darius asked once he and Tessa were outside again. “Can you find these people?”

  “I told you…I’m not part of this.” She put her camera back in its bag. “But I’ll tell the people I’m with that—”

  Her ego rang with a call, and she saw Mae’s name appear. Tessa answered.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Mae immediately, her voice hard and tense.

  “Um, yeah,” said Tessa. “They’re just weird. Where are you guys?”

  “I’m at the rooftop bar in our hotel.” There was a long pause. “I don’t know where Justin is.”

  “Okay. I’ll meet you there. We have to…talk.”

  Tessa disconnected and turned to Darius. “I’m going to see one of my friends right now, but it’s my other one who’ll really be able to do something.” If there was anything to be done. For all Tessa knew, she’d just listened to the ramblings of a madman.

  Darius nodded eagerly and surprised her by clasping her hands between his. “Will you call me when you find out? Please? I have to get justice for Ilias.”

  “Sure,” she said. They synched their egos to trade contact information, and she wondered if she could expect hourly calls.

  After an outpouring of thanks, Darius went his own way, and Tessa returned to the hotel. It was after midnight, and she was exhausted, but she still found her way up to the rooftop bar. The place was busy with late-night socializing, and the terrace had a nice view of the park. From the way people were starting to disperse over there, the band must have been wrapping up. She found Mae sitting alone, gazing off into the distance. There was a rare expression on her face, troubled and forlorn, though it immediately vanished when she noticed Tessa.

  “Hey.” Tessa sat down opposite her.

  “Hey.” Mae had an untouched mojito in front of her. “What’s going on that’s weird?”

  “It may be nothing…but I just got accosted by a guy who thinks he has information about that murder you guys are here for.”

  Mae straightened up. “Accosted?”

  “I’m okay,” said Tessa swiftly. “And it was more of a request, I guess. A very emphatic one. But I had my camera and—ahh!”

  She screamed as an enormous black bird suddenly swooped low over the deck—and landed right on their table. Tessa sprang up in panic, backing into a chair behind her. Mae remained where she was, but her eyes were wide. The bird paced around on the table a little and then stopped, staring directly at Mae. Weirder still, Mae seemed totally transfixed. She met the bird’s gaze unblinkingly and seemed to be holding her breath. Then, without warning, the bird gave a croak and lifted up on strong wings. It flew across the deck again, frightening more patrons, and then paused on the railing of an emergency staircase. It glanced briefly back at Mae and then flew down.

  Mae stared after it for a few seconds, and then, without a word, she tore off after it down the stairs.

  CHAPTER 31

  AVENGING VALKYRIE

  Mae was fully aware of how crazy it was. And as she sprinted down the stairs three at a time, she wondered if she was soon going to feel like an idiot. But in that moment, when the bird—no, raven, she somehow knew—had been staring at her, she’d felt suspended in time. The world had stopped, and there’d been nothing in it but those beady black eyes. Then, most improbable of all, she’d sworn she heard a voice in her head when the bird croaked: Come. An overwhelming sense of urgency had swept her, and without further hesitation, she’d followed the raven.

  It was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Once she hit the ground, it flew off toward a small building next to the hotel, hovered a few moments, and then soared off into the dark sky. Mae looked at where it had paused. Several steps led down to a lit-up glass door in the building’s lowest level. Mae could hear thumps and see some sort of movement within. She jumped down to the base of the stairs and was met with the unexpected sight of a Nordic woman in a copper-colored dress throwing herself at a wooden door. Puzzled, Mae tried to open the outer glass door and found
it locked. The woman glanced over at Mae, her face filling with shock.

  That was all Mae needed. Fight-or-flight mode seized her, banishing all thoughts of her mysterious winged guide. With little difficulty, she picked up a heavy stone planter sitting nearby and swung it at the door. The glass shattered, and without hesitation, Mae slipped through the jagged opening she’d created, heedless of cuts on her arms. The woman backed up and threw some kind of black knife at Mae. Mae dodged it, but in those seconds as it flew, she saw improbable black flame ringing the blade. It landed on the ground, smoking.

  It didn’t even slow Mae down, which came as a surprise to the woman. She looked legitimately scared, and that was when the truly unbelievable part happened.

  She transformed into a jaguar.

  At least Mae thought that was what it was. She was no expert in large felines or wildlife in general, but when you didn’t sleep at night, you ended up watching a lot of weird TV, including nature shows. She had no time to ponder how she had stumbled into this insanity because her reflexes were kicking into action as the jaguar sprang toward her. Mae was strong but couldn’t fight against that kind of weight and impact. The cat knocked her to the ground, slamming her head against the floor. Mae was able to shake the pain off. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the jaguar off as those heavy clawed paws pinned her down and dug into her skin. It snarled, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth as it readied for her death.

  Suddenly, that icy darkness that was normally so unwelcome surged through Mae. Strength and power flooded her, and she jumped up and pushed the jaguar off of her. It started to charge her, then hesitated. Mae also wavered. The battle lust radiating from her seemed to be hitting a wall that she couldn’t move past. The jaguar also seemed immobile. A few seconds later, Mae won out. The world started again, and the jaguar took off down the hall, with Mae in pursuit. As she went after it, she caught sight of Justin peering out of the mysterious door, a hand on his head and his face full of shock.

  Not even a prætorian could keep up with a jaguar, but as it neared the hall’s end, it transformed back into the woman. Mae took out her gun and fired but missed as her target rounded a corner toward some stairs. Mae wasn’t concerned. She had absolutely no doubts about being able to close the distance, now that she was no longer pursuing a beast of the jungle. It was just a matter of time.

  They reached the casino floor and the woman dashed through, oblivious to the people around her. Some were pushed out of the way. Some she actually knocked over. Mae anticipated another opening and fired. The bullet grazed the woman’s shoulder, causing her to stumble a few seconds before continuing her frantic race. Gunfire in such a crowded room didn’t go over very well, and screams and panic filled the space as bystanders dropped to the ground or trampled one other. Mae ignored it all. Her whole world was focused solely on the woman, who’d made it to the outside door.

  When Mae emerged, she saw the woman shove her way through pedestrians in a crosswalk. The crowd in the park had thinned considerably, but there were still enough meandering people for the woman to disappear into.

  “Jumalauta,” Mae swore, knowing she’d need a new tactic. Adrenaline filled her with a power she never realized she missed in ordinary days until she was back in the throes of it. It also sharpened her mind, allowing her to quickly and clearly make a plan.

  She reached the edge of the park and leapt up onto a table, ignoring both the food on it and the cries of the startled occupants. From that height, it was easy to spot her prey. The woman was weaving through the crowd as Mae had, creating a conspicuous path. Mae jumped down and raced off in the direction she’d seen the woman run, continuing to leap on and off tables as she continued the chase. The crowd slowed both of them down, but Mae was faster and gaining steadily. At one point, using another table, she saw her quarry start to turn toward the makeshift stage. Mae was on the ground in a flash, tearing toward the center of the stage, her heart pounding and muscles responding without delay.

  The woman made it up on the stage first, much to the astonishment of the band, who faltered and then stopped altogether. She grabbed the lead singer and held him in front of her, with another shiny black dagger at his throat. Mae came to an abrupt halt, breathing rapidly as she assessed this new development. The dark force urging her forward disappeared, giving her complete and total control of her thoughts and actions. The crowd gasped and screamed at the scene onstage, but few moved. This was prime entertainment.

  “Back off!” yelled the woman, slowly retreating with her hostage. He covered up most of her body, creating an effective shield. “I’ll slash his throat open.”

  Shooting an erratically moving target had been difficult. A slow-moving one, even with a small space to hit, wasn’t difficult at all for someone like Mae. In the space of a heartbeat, she raised the gun and shot the woman in the head.

  That caused a reaction, similar to the one in the casino. Guns on Gemman streets were uncommon, public shootings even less so. Near her, a gaping guy was trying to record the scene with his ego. Mae fixed him with a hard look. “Call the police.”

  Things moved quickly after that. Johansson, the lieutenant they’d spoken to earlier, was among the responding officers and wasn’t thrilled about the disruptive spectacle. There was little she could do against a prætorian, especially with a hostage situation.

  Now that they were safe again, the crowd was vying to get a look at the aftermath. Mae tried to ignore them and the flashing egos. “I’m really curious to see what you’ll turn up when you check her chip.”

  Johansson had been studying their surroundings with narrowed eyes but suddenly turned to Mae in surprise. “You think she’s Nordic?”

  “Of course she was. What else would she be?”

  “Don’t take this personally, prætorian, but you’ve been away for a long time.” That leathery face smiled. “She wasn’t Nordic. Even with what you did to her face, I could tell that.”

  Johansson clearly didn’t want her around as her people dealt with the follow-up, and Mae retreated back to the casino, wondering if the lieutenant was right. Away from the heat of battle, Mae could think more clearly. The implant had metabolized most of its handiwork, and the telltale trembling was nearly gone.

  She took a walk around the casino and basement, and then returned to the lobby in time to find Justin finishing his statement. She watched him unseen for long moments, wishing she could bury the hurt of his rejection. It was a stupid, girlish sentiment to have, considering she’d just shot someone in the face.

  “Thank you, Dr. March,” said the officer, slipping his ego into his pocket. “We’ll file your statement with the official report and then…” He glanced nervously over as Mae joined them. “Should we have it sent to your office, ma’am?”

  “Yes,” Justin answered for her. “And SCI too.”

  When the officer was gone, Mae sat down, unflinchingly meeting the gazes of those who stared. Word had spread that she was a prætorian, and they all looked away when they realized they’d caught her attention.

  “My avenging Valkyrie,” said Justin by way of greeting.

  There was a familiarity in the endearment that she didn’t like, in light of what had happened between them. “I heard what you said in your statement. That the woman attacked you when you went downstairs to use the bathroom.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then why was her underwear in the women’s bathroom?”

  Justin took a few moments to answer. “How would I know? I wasn’t in there. And how do you even know it was hers?”

  “If you were looking for someone novel, I guess you found her. Lucky for you, I hid the evidence for you,” she said, trying not to grimace. “I threw them away.” It was destruction of evidence, yes, but there was already going to be a huge uproar about a public shooting. Mae didn’t want a sordid sex tale worked in, even if it didn’t have anything to do with her.

  “Well, thanks,” he said. “I guess.”

  Her next w
ords were very level. “Justin…that’s not the evidence I’m really worried about. I don’t suppose you mentioned the jaguar in your statement?”

  “What jaguar?” he asked innocently.

  “Oh, stop,” she hissed. “I know you saw it! She turned into a fucking jaguar.”

  “Of course I saw it. But I’m also a delusional zealot, remember?”

  Mae looked away. “It couldn’t have been real.”

  “Mae,” he said patiently. “If you have another explanation, I’m all ears. Believe me, it would make my life easier.”

  She had none, and she knew he knew that. “There are no gods. There can’t be. It’s all make-believe.” But her voice trembled as she spoke. She’d seen what she’d seen. It was real life, not a movie. And although she believed in the wonders technology could create, even she knew that transformation was beyond the workings of mankind. She also hadn’t forgotten the sense of the dark power swirling within her—and its hesitation in the face of the jaguar woman.

  “Gods are following us,” he said. “Gods who may be responsible for murder and genetic work. Gods who put ravens in my head.”

  “Oh, yeah. I saw one.”

  He turned to her in surprise. “A god?”

  “No…one of your ravens, I think. It flew at me upstairs and somehow showed me how to find you.”

  His jaw nearly hit the floor. “You saw Magnus?”

  “I don’t know which one it was.”

  “He left me briefly. That’s why my head hurts so much.” Justin actually looked delighted. “No one’s ever seen him. Or them. Do you know what that’s like? To finally not be the only one to see them?”

  “You said you believed in them, though.”

  “Yeah. Mostly. But it’s still a relief.”

  “I don’t know how to handle what’s happening,” she said bluntly. “This. What my mom said. In one day, everything I’ve accepted about my life is gone. I kind of wish I was crazy.”

  “Yeah, I’ve wished that a lot too.”

  “How do you handle it?”