by Gini Koch
“Government contracts, you have to love ‘em,” Lorraine said with a grin. The doors slammed. “Okay, give. What happened between you and Christopher?”
“Nothing.”
“And you said we couldn’t lie.” Claudia laughed. “You two were standing a lot closer; he’s all upset but differently than before.”
“Jeff’s out of it for one minute and there’s Christopher, right after his girl.” Lorraine was finding this funny. I doubted Martini was going to share the mirth.
“I don’t think it was like that.” Well, it was like that, but different. “The implanted memories are affecting us. They made Jeff think I was hating him. I guess they made Christopher think I was interested.”
“And you being interested probably helped,” Lorraine said dryly. Reader’s carload pulled up to the gate.
“I’m not. Well, I wasn’t.” Before he’d kissed me. Now there was a part of me that really wanted to know what it would have been like to make violent love the way it had seemed we were going to. The A-Cs standing at the gate motioned, and Reader’s car started through. It was icky to watch—like a slow fade as the car moved. I chose to study the instrument panel.
“So, who’s the better kisser?” Claudia asked.
I had to think about it. “They’re both amazingly good. But edge to Jeff.” Possibly more than just an edge. I’d only been kissed by Christopher in one way. But Martini had kissed me in ways I didn’t think were possible. He’d done a lot of things I didn’t think were possible. All of them great.
“Have you gone all the way with Christopher? I know you did with Jeff, don’t try to lie.” Claudia was giggling.
“Um, no. We stopped well short of that.” Just barely, but still, we’d stopped.
“What’s it like with Jeff?” Lorraine didn’t sound as though she was asking scientifically.
I could lie, but why? “I’ve never been with anyone as great in bed. Ever.”
“Mental connection too?” Claudia asked, sounding shocked.
“Um, no, not like you mean. I don’t think humans connect the way you seem to, at least rarely. Besides, I don’t have a lot of mental going on when it’s good, other than please, God, do that again or don’t stop what you’re doing ’cause I’m gonna go over the edge.” I wanted to be in bed with Martini right now more than anything.
They both cracked up. “I can’t believe Jeff’s that great. Who would’ve guessed?” Claudia was laughing so hard I thought she’d stop breathing.
“What was Christopher like?” Lorraine asked as she wound down. Reader’s car was through, and we had A-Cs motioning us through just as if we were an airplane about to dock.
I tried to think about how to answer that. “Overpowering.”
“Ooooh, sounds hot.” Lorraine looked over her shoulder. “I told you he’d be like that. And I called Jeff right, too.”
It was just like being with Amy and Sheila. “You don’t seem all that upset about this.”
“We’re not. Like we’d want to marry either one of them?” Lorraine said with a snort of laughter.
“We might have to,” Claudia added, in a voice of doom.
“Why?”
“Arranged marriage. We’re still stuck with it. If they can make us.” Lorraine sounded angry. I couldn’t blame her.
“Which they can’t,” Claudia added vehemently. “That’s why we aren’t getting married. We know what we want, and if we can’t get it, then we’ll just be single, thanks so much.”
“You want to marry humans, don’t you?”
“Yes, we all do. Well, most of our generation does.” Lorraine leaned on her hand. “Not that they’ll let us.”
“Jeff’ll do it, no matter what they tell him,” Claudia said quietly. “You watch.”
My throat felt tight, but I had to ask. “Is that the only reason he likes me?”
“Oh, no, honey, not at all,” Claudia said reassuringly.
“Why does he like me, then?” I knew why Christopher did, after all.
They were both quiet. We started through the gate, and I forced myself to keep my eyes open. It was horrid, so I looked at the steering wheel.
“He’s an empath,” Lorraine said finally. “He connects with people.”
“But never as fast as with you, James told us.”
“What’s their relationship like? Jeff and Christopher, I mean.” I didn’t want to think about the possibility that Martini only liked me because I was a human and represented release from the arranged marriage trap or viewed me as an exotic event before marrying one of his own kind.
“Oh, they’re real close,” Claudia said. “But . . .”
“But?”
Lorraine shifted in her seat. “My mother told me most of it, I was too young too remember. Jeff’s a little older than Christopher, but they were born the same year. Christopher’s an only child. Jeff’s got a lot of sisters.”
“That explains the ladies’ man attitude.”
“Not really,” Claudia corrected. “Until they were ten, their personalities were totally different.”
This was interesting. “How so?”
“I can just remember Christopher giving me a piggyback ride,” Lorraine said. “And he was always calling ‘C’mon, Jeff.’ ”
“Because Jeff was really shy. He was the youngest, but there’s a big gap between him and his sisters. Christopher was always the one in the lead, dragging Jeff along. Christopher was a big joker, and Jeff was always the one saying they shouldn’t do something.”
This didn’t sound like either one of them. “They were together a lot?”
“Oh, yeah,” Claudia said. “Jeff’s parents don’t have any special talents. So getting an empath as a son was sort of hard to deal with.”
“My mother said Christopher’s mom sort of took Jeff under her wing. She was an empath, so she understood what he was going through. Until they’re older, empaths have a hard time blocking anything. And Jeff’s talent showed up so early, it was even harder than normal.”
I thought about how Martini had been with me in the conference room and then with my parents. How miserable and hurt and ill all of our emotions made him. I could easily imagine what it would be like for a child—to know your parents really were mad at you, to know that someone truly didn’t like you, to feel people in pain.
“So he spent a lot of time with his aunt and uncle?”
“With his aunt. Richard’s been our Sovereign Pontifex since before we came to Earth, so well before all of us were born. His duties meant he was away a lot.” Claudia sighed. We exited the gate into a big desert with some mountains all around, but at a great distance. “It was hard on all of them, from what I’ve heard and can remember. But Theresa was our head diplomat, so she was busy all the time, too.”
“They used to live in East Base, and Jeff spent most of his time there. We were there, too, until we were transferred.” Lorraine pointed. “Follow James. I think he wants to get us away from the gate.”
“Did they change after she died?”
“The next day, according to my mother.” Lorraine squinted. “Is their car rocking?”
“Can’t tell, could be the terrain, it’s pretty bumpy.” Trauma could certainly make someone’s personality alter. “So Christopher withdrew and Jeff started taking care of him? Role reversal?”
“Yes. My mother said it was as though they exchanged personalities overnight while still being them. Christopher’s never been the same since his mother died. Jeff sometimes gets quiet, like he did when he was little, but Christopher turned into . . .”
“His father,” Claudia finished. “He was a lot more like his mother when we were all little. Now Jeff’s more like she was.”
“She was a horndog?”
Both girls laughed. “No,” Claudia clarified. “But she was funny and outgoing and just someone you wanted to be around.”
“Yeah, that sure doesn’t describe Christopher.” I thought about his expression when he’d drawn his moth
er’s picture. He wasn’t over her death twenty years later. Not that I could blame him. I didn’t want to lose my mother right now, and the idea that she could have been killed when I was little because of her secret life made my skin cold.
“My mother said Jeff was like Theresa’s second son. They were really close. She taught him everything about how to deal with his empathic abilities. It’s probably one of the reasons he’s in charge of Field and has been for so long, her training.”
That seemed hard to believe—he’d been ten when she’d died. Sure, the basics, but full on super-empath skills? I didn’t buy it. “Were they both always strong in their talents?”
“Yes, but they increased after Theresa died. Not that they wanted to do much for a while. It was hard on Richard, too. The boys lived with Jeff’s parents for several months.”
“My mother said he almost didn’t recover from the loss. He’s never remarried. I don’t think he’s even considered it.”
“So they’ve always been close, Jeff and Christopher?” We were really heading out into the middle of what could rightly be called nowhere. And Reader’s car was definitely bouncing more than ours.
Dead silence. This was going to be juicy. I cleared my throat meaningfully.
“Until a few years ago, yes,” Claudia said guardedly.
“Uh-huh. What happened?” Silence. “Let me guess. They both liked the same girl?”
“You’re good,” Lorraine said. I didn’t agree—they were just obvious. She sighed. “Yeah, they both wanted to marry the same girl. Her name was Lissa.”
“Was?”
“She was killed.” Claudia sounded close to tears. “She was a really good friend of mine. They both adored her—she was about the only A-C they’d ever really been interested in marrying.”
“How did she die?” I was proud of myself for not being jealous. I didn’t think I had the right. I also was fast becoming aware that Reader wasn’t kidding—the A-Cs truly were like an extended Italian family, complete with everyone knowing everything about each other.
“She was out with Jeff, and he was going to propose, but she was going to pick Christopher. So this was going to be the let-him-down-easy date.” Claudia gulped. “They were attacked by a superbeing.”
Attacked, not manifested. “That superbeing wouldn’t have been Mephistopheles, would it?”
“No, actually,” Lorraine said. “It was one we call Earwig.” So much for that theory. “What’s up with James?” she added.
Reader was flooring it and driving erratically. “He always drive that badly?”
“No. I wonder if something’s wrong?” Claudia leaned forward. “You can call them on the box,” she pointed to another button on the dash.
Lorraine hit it. “. . . show you why I’m upset!” It was Martini, and he was yelling.
“If you’d just listen to me—” Christopher, also yelling.
“I don’t care what your damn excuse is!”
“Could you two just calm down?” Reader, sounding freaked out.
“Stop the damn car, James, so I can kill him, or I’ll just use you as a bat!”
Lorraine hit the button again. We were all quiet.
“I think Jeff’s figured out that you and Christopher, um, got friendly.” Lorraine looked at me. “What now?”
Reader’s car spun around and stopped. He jumped out of the driver’s seat and ran toward us. I unlocked the doors.
“Now, we put my actual plan into action.”
CHAPTER 39
I STOPPED THE CAR NEAR READER but still far away from the other SUV. He leaped in next to Claudia. “Lock the doors!”
“Jeff’s a lot bigger than Christopher,” I mentioned as Lorraine hit the lock button.
“Christopher’s a lot meaner,” she said reassuringly. I wasn’t comforted.
“Girlfriend, you need to either shoot them or talk to them, but they’re not going to listen to anyone else. Jesus, that was the most hellish ride of my life.”
“How soon did Jeff start?”
“The second you were in your car. He didn’t try to kill Christopher until we were through the gate, though.”
Wonderful. I didn’t want them dead. “Okay. I’m, uh, going in.”
“Take a gun from the back,” Reader suggested.
“Got my mom’s Glock.”
“Good. Aim for the thigh. It’ll hurt but not maim.” He was serious. Oh, this was going to suck.
“I’m hoping not to shoot either one of them.” No sooner did I say this than they tumbled out of the car. It was hard to see because they were moving so fast, but I got the impression they were trying to beat the living crap out of each other. “Real fast, how did Christopher’s mother die?” I wanted their version, not just White’s.
“She went on a trip and got some disease. No one could explain it. Killed her within a week.” Claudia handed me a walkie. “You’ll want this.” I dropped it into my purse.
“Before or after Mephistopheles had first appeared?”
“Right after,” Lorraine supplied. “How will we know to come and back you?”
“If I’m running toward you yelling, ‘Start the car and open the door,’ you’ll know. Otherwise, I think I can stop them.” This was a whopping lie, but I figured only Reader would guess that.
I steeled myself and got out of the car. Reader slipped into the driver’s seat. “Try telling them you’re actually in love with me. Might shock them into stopping.”
“I’d be in love with you, but you’re already married.”
He grinned. “If I were straight, you’d be my girl.”
“Something to contemplate. If this goes poorly, maybe you and Paul can consider the benefits of being bi. I’m open to sharing.”
I put my purse over my neck and started off. They were still fighting. I could tell because Martini had thrown Christopher against the side of the SUV.
“Jeff, stop it!”
He turned to me. “I’ll deal with you later.”
That didn’t sound good.
“Back off, Kitty, this doesn’t concern you.” Christopher swung a punch that landed, mostly because Martini had been looking at me. They were away from the car now, lunging for each other.
“I think it totally concerns me. Both of you, cut it out. If you kill each other, you let the big fugly win!”
“Don’t care, thanks for asking,” Martini shouted as he grabbed Christopher again and flung him around
“You always have to push it,” Christopher snarled, leaping from the ground to tackle Martini at the knees. “It’s always all or nothing with you.”
“Like you’re some saint and I’ve missed it all this time?” They were rolling around on the ground, again beating the crap out of each other.
They weren’t going to stop. Okay. I had the Big Gun. I was prepared to use it. “Mephistopheles killed your mother and aunt.”
I said it quietly, but they both heard it. I walked closer to them. “She was a diplomat, and she was his daughter-in-law. She didn’t know Yates was the parasitic host, right, because you all didn’t make that connection until recently. But an in-control superbeing had created. I’ll bet she went to Yates to ask him to help her, help all of you. He infected her, or turned into Mephistopheles and infected her. I’ll bet he did to her what he wants to do to me, maybe what he’s already done to me. But she was an A-C, and it killed her.”
I reached my hands down to them. “Get up.”
Christopher took my hand and let me pull him up. Martini ignored it and got to his feet. “Big boy, already a mess.” But he wasn’t smiling.
I leaned against the SUV. “She was an empath, and I’ve learned that’s rare in your women. Jeff’s the highest level empath you have. What about you?” I asked Christopher. “What level imageer are you?”
“He’s the best,” Martini spat out. “At everything, from what I’ve heard.”
I ignored that one. “Mephistopheles wants to rule the Earth. And Yates wants to destroy i
t. And to do that, they both know one thing: They have to stop the two of you. Now, why would that be?”
“No idea.” Martini brushed himself off. He looked like a big angry cat to me.
“Because if you procreate, the likelihood of your children being even more powerful is high. It’s called genetics. And evolution.”
Christopher’s eyes narrowed. “So, why would he kill my mother?”
“Because she was so powerful. If he couldn’t use her, and I’m sure he couldn’t, he had to destroy her. Before she had any other powerful children or trained her powerful nephew any further. She was an empath—she must have felt the dichotomy when she was with Yates after he’d joined with the parasite.”
“But she never told us,” Martini said quietly. “We were with her the whole time she was dying. We were with her when she died.”
“My father wasn’t,” Christopher added.
“Why not?” This sounded completely out of character.
“We don’t know. He said he had to go on a matter of national security.” Christopher’s voice was bitter.
“He went to his father for help. I mean, who else? He couldn’t know what had happened.” I knew why White had looked so bad when I asked him about this. He’d figured out that his own father had had something to do with his wife’s death. And he’d told no one, because who could he tell?
“Then why didn’t she tell us, tell him, tell someone?” Christopher asked, the anger rolling off him.
“Maybe she didn’t want you two to grow up knowing your grandfather was the most evil man on the planet. Maybe she didn’t want her husband to carry any more burden than he already had over his father.”
“That would be stupid, and my mother wasn’t stupid.”
“No,” Martini said slowly. “I can see why she’d lie. She probably thought our agents would take care of Mephistopheles right away, and then no one would know. She thought like you.” He looked right at me, and his eyes were cold. I knew he wasn’t ever going to forgive me.
“Why are you the catalyst for all this?” Christopher still didn’t sound as though he believed any of it.
I couldn’t think of a polite way to put it. “You’re both fighting over me. As flattering, and unusual, an event as that is, it’s also why I’m the catalyst. Yates is an empath. He could feel how you two felt about me, couldn’t he?”
