by Ford, Lizzy
When had she gotten a tattoo? She rubbed it. The markings were raised – and part of her. It wasn’t drawn on, and it wasn’t new.
Wynn had asked her about tattoos. Was this why? Did Immortals automatically get tattoos when they entered the society?
She lowered the t-shirt then lifted it once more. The tattoo remained.
Her heart was racing once more. She left the bathroom and pulled on a pair of jeans, preparing to leave, when a knock sounded at the door.
She went to it and cracked it open cautiously, uncertain what she’d find on the other side.
Kiki was outside her door. He handed her an iPad. “I put the meal times and instructions on how to get to the dining hall on the schedule. Orientation sheets are under the folder marked Orientation and contact information –”
“Yeah, hi, Kiki. Nice to meet you after all these years,” she interrupted.
He gazed at her for a long moment before glancing both ways down the hall. “Can I come in?”
She pushed the door open and stepped aside. He went to the chairs before the hearth and sat down. She joined him.
“It’s not an easy adjustment,” he began.
“How would you know?”
He drew a breath. “Look, you definitely have the temperament to be my sister, but if you want to survive our father, you’ll want to tone it down around him,” he advised. “Just play along. Even if you don’t know what game you’re playing. It’s safer that way.”
She frowned, puzzled. “Is he that bad? I mean, he made it clear what he thinks about having a half-breed daughter but … shit. What’s wrong with him? With all of you? With this place?”
“We’ve been in a state of transition,” Kiki replied. “Leadership has changed hands multiple times within the family. Every brother that’s died-dead has died within the past two years, and the ongoing battle between Immortals and demons has destroyed over sixty percent of the Immortal population. After a very long period of stability, it’s been chaos.”
“I feel like I’m in a movie with a really complicated plot,” she said. Except this still feels real.
He smiled. “There are a couple of things to remember. Our father is feared by Immortals, demons and deities alike. But he loves his family in what way he really can. He mourned those who died, and he feels the loss of the others who are, well, away right now.”
“How does he care about someone and exile them?”
“He exiles because he does care. If they weren’t family, they’d be dead-dead.”
She shivered.
“So you know he’ll protect his family, no matter how shitily he treats you in the meantime.”
“It’s not just me?”
“Absolutely not. If anything, you got off easy. The only one of us kids he actually likes is Andre, the eldest, who you haven’t met yet because he’s kind of got something else going on.”
“I can’t imagine what that means,” she said with a sign and rubbed her face. “None of this makes sense. I have seven brothers, a father who makes tyrants look like Disney princesses and am not allowed to go home because he fears people will use me against him.”
Kiki nodded.
“Okay. So … my brothers. Tell me about them,” she said.
A shadow crossed his face. “Kris was our leader for the longest time. He, Erik – who lived in seclusion in Siberia, and Sasha – who betrayed us to the Dark One – are all dead-dead. Andre is alive again but transformed into a deity. Tamer lived in Egypt until he decided to become a death dealer for Gabriel, and Rhyn, the half-demon, is in exile with his family. Then there’s me providing the stability element during the transition the past two years. And now you.”
Dark One. Dead-dead. Alive again. Death Dealer. Half-demon.
Stephanie dwelt on the otherworldly explanation that rolled off his tongue as if this was all normal. Unable to hold it together anymore, she began to laugh. She laughed until tears streamed down her face and she couldn’t breathe then doubled over, holding her abs.
Exhaustion was the only reason she stopped, and she sagged in her chair.
Kiki was surfing on his iPad. He set it aside when she calmed.
“Questions?” Kiki asked. “I’ll stick around as much as I can to help you adjust.”
“Will you answer something truthfully?”
“Depends. What’s the question?”
“If I go home, am I really putting my mother and sister in danger?”
“Absolutely.”
She rubbed her face. “I don’t want that to be true.”
“I understand,” he replied. “But it’s a reality for now. Perhaps later, when you learn more about our society and your abilities, you’ll be able to return without drawing attention.”
“Hey – Wynn asked me about tattoos. Do you know why?”
Kiki hesitated for the first time since they’d met.
“Is it bad?” she asked, sitting up straight. “Like if they magically appear?”
His gaze sharpened. “Did one magically appear?”
She debated not telling him but stood finally, turned and pulled up her shirt to display the writing across her lower back.
“Shai,” he read aloud, sounding puzzled.
“Yeah. Is it bad?” she asked again, returning to her seat.
“Not necessarily.”
“I hear a but in your voice.”
“I’m going to call Tamer. He’s the historian in the family. He’ll know what it means,” Kiki said. “I think you need some sleep?”
She nodded.
He rose and started towards the door. “Just, uh, don’t tell Wynn about the markings, okay?”
“He’ll exile me?”
“Honestly I wish he’d exile me. I’d rather be at home in Tokyo than here dealing with this shit. No such luck yet. He’ll be more likely to manipulate you if he knows you’ve got a marking. You want him to think you’re of little use to him,” Kiki advised. “Maybe he’ll let you go. He can’t know about the marking or he won’t.”
She watched him leave then crossed to the door to lock it. One hand went to her lower back, and she rubbed the raised tattoo through her shirt. How would a tattoo change Wynn’s mind about her? Why did she have the feeling Kiki knew more than he was saying?
Chapter Six
Still brooding several days later, debating whether or not he wanted anything to do with a mate, Fate returned from a bike ride to the bed and breakfast. While she had no concept of the worth of money, Karma had paid for his room for six months. Coupled with the accounts, properties and stashes of money and fine art he had in the mortal world, he had a plan for surviving as long as required to work off his debt.
Normally invigorated by exercise, he was once again dissatisfied. He felt good physically but hadn’t been able to take his mind off the issue. For the first time in his life, he had the uninterrupted time and mind to contemplate his own future – and he wasn’t liking the down time at all.
He returned to his room and stripped off his shirt to cool down before hopping in the shower. He checked his form as he had every day to ensure he wasn’t losing the body he’d so carefully crafted over the millennia. His skin was golden, his toned frame covered in lean muscle. Aside from the bruising around his ribs from the scuffle with demons, he looked every bit like he was supposed to.
After a quick shower, he left the bathroom to change when he noticed a letter on the nightstand where none had been before. He plucked it up curiously, appreciating the expensive linen paper and raised writing. A man of luxury, he knew high quality when he saw it.
He slid the card from the envelope and read it with interest. Unease stirred within him when he finished.
With some mirth, he realized he was fighting his own destiny.
The cool breeze of the place-between-places tickled the back of his neck.
“Do you wanna go?” Karma asked.
“You knew.”
“Knew what, brother?” she asked innocently.
He faced her, eyebrow raised.
She rolled her eyes. “I suspected. I didn’t know,” she said. “Wynn’s invited several deities and all the important Immortals for his newfound daughter’s debutante dinner.”
“I don’t fit into either of those categories.” He tossed the invitation on the bed and dressed quickly.
“You’re telling me you don’t want to go or you won’t go?”
“I’m telling you I have no reason to be there.”
Karma was quiet.
Fate tossed himself onto his back on the bed, listening to his muscles. He’d be sore again today, another experience he wasn’t used to. It was also intriguing for him to learn about his body, to understand how each muscle worked and ached and why. Deities weren’t as sensitive to the physical world.
“Okay, so did you miss the part where she’s your mate?” Karma asked.
“No.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I value my freedom over a mate.”
“But what about her?”
“What about her?” he challenged.
“She’s a human.”
“She’s an Immortal by their Codes. Anyone with any sort of Immortal blood belongs to their society.”
The bed sank beneath Karma’s weight as she sat beside him. She appeared genuinely puzzled. “Don’t you have to claim your mate?”
“I’m Fate. I don’t have to do anything,” he countered with a faint smile.
“We only get one mate, one chance at true love.”
“You’ve been watching too many movies.”
“There has to be something to love if there are so many movies about it,” she reasoned. “What if Wynn kills her or the demons eat her?”
“Demons won’t touch someone without a soul. She’s relatively safe on that front.”
“You’re avoiding the topic! Stop talking around it!” she snapped, hair rippling with colors mirrored in her eyes.
“I don’t view a mate as positive,” he said, amused. “I view any sort of obligation that limits my life as something I don’t want.”
“I limit your life.”
“You entertain me,” he replied with a wink. “And you’re my family.”
“She is, too.”
“This is different.” Fate’s eyes shifted to the ceiling. The discussion with Karma was one he’d been having with himself for four days. He hadn’t been able to rule out companionship with certainty, even if he wasn’t convinced it was something he wanted either. But he could rule out destroying the universe. He’d always answered the call of his duties first.
“Is this … are you trying to manipulate me into giving you something so you’ll go?” she asked cautiously. Far more oblivious, if not naïve, to the political game among deities, Karma was glaring at him.
“You know I’m always open to negotiating,” he teased. “You set all this up, or at least, had an inkling when you ditched me here of all places. You clearly want me to go tonight. But you didn’t think this through, Karma. When manipulating a god, you don’t leave anything up to Fate to decide.”
“It’s not fair,” she mumbled.
“You started it. What’s it worth to you for me to agree?”
She was quiet. He waited, unconcerned with how long it’d take for her to fold when he knew she would.
“Someone told me your power is not the ability to change the Future but to know the Future,” she mused.
“It’s true. My deity power is based on the ability to access knowledge. I’m quite harmless.”
“Bullshit!” she snapped.
He laughed.
“This person said you were the most dangerous of everyone because of the knowledge you can access.”
“It’s not the knowledge that’s important. It’s what I do with it,” he replied.
“You have an eternity of knowledge stored up. So, even without your power, if you wanted to, you could find a way to help your mate, right?”
“If I felt like it.”
She slapped him on the stomach. “Then you need to feel like it!”
“You’re my sister, but this time, I’m treating you like a fellow deity. If you want me to go so badly, you better be willing to cough up something I want,” he replied.
Frustrated with him, she got up and paced, her hair and eyes turning wildly different colors as she thought hard. Fate watched her. He’d protected her from deities since they were young, and he began to think she needed to learn a few lessons herself about surviving the political landscape of the gods without being eaten alive by someone like him.
Even now, he was being kind, because she was his sister.
“I’ll limit your karmic debt to six months,” she said reluctantly.
“Not enough.”
“You shouldn’t get off easy because you’re my brother!”
He laughed again and rolled onto his stomach, watching her stress out. “Try again.”
“Four months and I won’t balance you again for a thousand years.”
“Closer.”
“I won’t balance you again for a hundred thousand years.”
He pretended to consider. “I’m listening.”
She gave a noisy sigh. “What do you want?”
“The most powerful form of currency to a deity.”
She perked up. “A favor.”
“Exactly.”
Karma studied him.
“How badly do you want me there?” he asked and held out his hand to seal a formal deal in the tradition of deities.
“Okay,” she said. “I agree.” She tapped her fist to his. A flash of cold energy tore through him, sealing the deal, making it irrevocable.
“A word of advice, don’t ever cough up that much shit to anyone ever again,” he said and sat up.
“But it’s important.”
“You can’t let the person you’re negotiating with know that. There’s no room for honesty when dealing with someone like me.”
“At least you’re going.”
“I planned on attending anyway,” he said.
Karma stared at him.
Fate winked. “Pick me up an hour after it starts. We can’t be early.”
“You’re an asshole!” Furious, she summoned a portal and marched away into the place-between-places. The portal closed, and Fate retrieved the invitation from his bed. His power had always stemmed from his ability to manipulate, along with the subtle threat others felt knowing he could change their futures if he wanted to. He’d rarely taken such steps, though, and relied on deals with others, common interests and goals with regards to limiting the influence of other deities, and the general knowledge he had all of eternity to achieve his ends.
He hadn’t completely lost what made him dangerous, and he considered this as he tapped the invitation. If he viewed the mate challenge as a distraction, rather than an obligation that might limit his life, and kept his emotions separated from the rest of the world, he might just find this to be the ultimate adventure.
And then there’s her. He was as unclear what to do about the woman meant to be at his side as he was clear about how to help her. What he knew for certain: he didn’t lose once he decided to enter the game.
“I make a good human,” he said. “Constantly lost and confused.”
Despite the novelty of pretending to be a human, he was close to finished with the experience already.
He and Karma arrived at Wynn’s chalet in the French Alps precisely an hour into the pre-dinner hoer d’oevres. Fate’s attention was immediately drawn to the trays of food and the hearty scents rolling out of the dining hall next to the parlor where the guests were gathered.
Karma’s eyes sparkled as she took in everyone. He could almost see her calculating who she wanted to balance next. Her brilliant fuchsia dress contrasted with her light green eyes and strawberry blonde hair. She was behaving – or trying to. Her eyes intermittently flashed different colors.
No one challenged deities, even the An
cient Immortal greeting everyone at the door. Kiki met his gaze and frowned. It wasn’t an unusual reaction when Fate showed up. The Immortal son of Wynn said nothing more than a good evening before they swept through the door into a bustling room filled with light, warmth and people. French doors leading onto a balcony had been flung open to counter the heat of those gathered within.
Fate’s heart was beating faster than normal despite his intention of not letting the event become more than what it was. He was cautious about starting a new game without his power, and he hated not being able to peek at the answers when he wanted to.
“This is amazing,” Karma breathed.
“Remember – don’t interact with the Ancients,” he warned her. “Ever.”
She sighed noisily.
“You have whole worlds to balance. Skip them for now,” he said with a smile.
She nodded.
Fate wasn’t impressed by fetes of this sort. He’d been to enough in his lifetime. Wynn knew how to throw a good party, and he’d invited the right people, but Fate was unusually disinterested in a few hours of entertainment. Karma wandered off almost immediately, following a woman in a brilliant teal dress.
Fate went to the open bar and ordered cognac on the rocks. He stood to the side, content to watch the Immortals and deities this night. He spotted Wynn near the balcony. The Ancient was mingling, politely greeting everyone with a quick smile and cold eyes, before introducing them to the woman he was officially claiming as his daughter.
Stephanie was radiant in a sapphire dress that clung to her curves and magnified the hue of her eyes. Standing beside one another, the similarities of father and daughter were evident: the same eyes, high cheekbones and naturally regal features. Slender and tall, Stephanie’s subtle beauty held a quiet allure. She was gorgeous and approachable, her gaze direct yet her air one of uncertainty. She barely looked at Wynn, which led Fate to believe the relationship between them was tense, and rightly so. Stephanie didn’t appear comfortable on display while Wynn was in his element.
Fate let his eyes linger on the woman he didn’t know if he wanted in his life. His confusion ran deep, and without the ability to see into the Future, he was lost in the darkness of indecision once more. She was beautiful and strong – and some of his resistance to a mate vanished upon seeing her.
