Noble Lies

by Lyneal Jenkins

  ‘Now, that’s just mean.’ I clambered to my feet. ‘It’s not right to kick a woman when she’s down.’ I dusted my clothes off and settled on the bench. I waited to hear a voice, something to break up the isolation that seemed like it would never end.

  Eris had mention six days to Adam, six whole days in which I was lying somewhere in London, maybe still in Downing Street, though unlikely. At least I would be getting top-notch medical care. I scanned the wasteland, following the destruction for miles, unable to see the fog nor any signs of civilisation.

  I rolled my eyes at myself. ‘You have lost it. Any signs of civilisation would be imaginary.’

  I press my hand to the burnt wood, trying to draw some strength from the solid structure. ‘Yeah, well, at least they would be someone new.’

  Uh oh! I needed to find a way back to the real world, and soon, else I would dive headfirst into cuckoo land. It wasn’t a good sign when you answered yourself as if you were a different person.

  ‘Come on, guys. You need to find a way to wake me.’ All the top-notch medical care in the world wouldn’t help. How could it? Having your brain overtaken by the memories of another was unlikely to be on the curriculum for trainee doctors.

  The last memory of Cleas’s hadn’t been as gut-wrenching as the rest. At least I didn’t feel like I was about to vomit. Of course, it had still been creepy, Cleas was one hell of a creepy dude.

  ‘And a psychopath,’ I bellowed at the clouds. ‘And did anyone ever tell you, my twisted bonded partner, that your ego is the size of England?’ I jumped up, waving the dagger at the sky. ‘That’s right, you crazy, narcissistic—’ damn I couldn’t think of another verb ‘—and ugly dude.’ I spun around, almost wishing I could see him, hoping with all my heart that he would hear me. ‘That’s right, I said ugly. You might be able to choose how you look, but the truth is, Cleas, it doesn’t matter what face you put on, you will always be as ugly as sin.’ I paused to catch my breath, my rant getting away from me. ‘And I’ll tell you something else, you brain-dead, unloved, unwanted, demented shit, I am going to make you a promise, right here and right now.’ My voice lowered but every fibre of me swore to the promise I made. ‘I will kill you. It might not be today or tomorrow, but there will come a time, and soon, that I will follow the shi trail right to where you are cowering, and I will gut you. Do you understand? Because if I were you, I would get my affairs in order now, because I am coming for you, Cleas. Remember that. Wherever you go, I will find you.’

  ‘Any change?’ Eris said.

  I twisted on the spot, sure that Cleas stood behind me. I pressed my hand to my thundering heart as Adam replied ‘No’. If Cleas had heard me, I hoped he hadn’t seen me jump out of my skin. That would be embarrassing.

  ‘There are a lot of tubes in her,’ Eris said with a hint of disgust.

  ‘Did you find him?’ Adam asked. I pricked my ears, forgetting my one-sided argument with Cleas. Were they talking about the brother Eris claimed I had? There hadn’t been time to digest the new possibility, and I wasn’t even close to figuring out how I felt about it.

  Eris sighed. ‘No. There were no reports of Fae or the Others in the area. His flat is pretty much in the same state it was when I last saw him, except….’

  ‘Except what?’ Adam and I both asked.

  ‘Jinx,’ I muttered, waiting for Eris’s response.

  ‘His wardrobe was cleared out, in a hurry by the mess on the floor.’

  ‘I believe it is time that you tell me the nature of your relationship with this human.’ I imagined Adam sat across from Eris, his eyebrows raised in that questioning look, his eyes hard with determination. I grinned, wanting to know if she shrank under that condemning stare as much as I did.

  ‘Don’t look at me like that!’ Eris might be more powerful than Adam, but nobody could ignore him when he had a bit between his teeth.

  I laughed. It had a gleeful, manic edge to it, but I wouldn’t worry about that now.

  ‘Then answer me honestly,’ he replied, his voice gruff, like a father condemning his child. I bet many people had caved to his demands from just one of his judgemental looks, and if they didn’t spill their guts to him, I would bet that he had other means of persuading them.

  Eris groaned. ‘It’s complicated.’

  ‘I am an intelligent person,’ Adam said.

  I listened to the silence, clenching and unclenching my hands with nervous energy. All laughs aside, Eris having contact with a brother I never known about could mean only one thing; trouble. The light dimmed around me and I looked up, dismayed to see the closeness of the wall of glinting smog.

  ‘Come on, Eris!’ I needed the answer before I was once again dragged into another one of Cleas’s moments of hell.

  ‘For a while now,’ Eris said, far too slowly, her voice already fading, ‘I have been participating in what you could call….’

  I screamed in frustration for the lost words before the smog swallowed me down once more.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  I knocked on the door and rubbed my fingers through my hair messing it up. I’d plucked a small leaf from the bushes on the way over here and embedded it in my tangled fringe. I’d laddered my tights and grazed my knee until it bled. My skirt was twisted, and my blouse torn, revealing a flash of the lacy black bra I’d selected for this job. Some dirt on my face, not too much, just enough that it was adorable, and a purple bruise forming under my jaw, deep enough to cause pity, but not evident enough that it would stop his growing attraction to me. Well, it would be a budding attraction once I got past the door.

  As an afterthought, I broke the high heal on my shoe, with some pleasure too. They were impractical and uncomfortable. Why anyone would choose to wear them mystified me. The look was now perfect.

  He opened the door and rested against the frame with his arms crossed, confident in his slacks and a t-shirt. His eyes were the same almond brown as Ana’s yet held none of her innocence.

  His confidence showed the most difference, the ease in which he took me in before my dishevelled state registered and his eyes widened in question rather than concern.

  I managed to force a few tears out in the hope that he had the same annoying compassion that plagued his sister. His history hinted at such.

  ‘Please.’ I whimpered and stumbled forwards, placing myself close enough to feel his body heat. ‘My ex-boyfriend attacked me and chased me through the streets.’ I looked down at my feet, my eyes filled with tears. ‘Look at my broken shoe,’ I whined, with just the right amount of pathetic in it. Being around Ana had certainly helped me hone that skill.

  Robin moved me to the side and pushed past me, holding a bat which he must keep by the door. ‘Which way,’ he said over his shoulder as he scanned the street.

  Great, all I needed was another human with a saviour complex; Adam had recently needed to save Ana again, this time for running after a group of Others with that damn witch. Okay, children were involved, I would give them credit for that, but Robin was spoiling all my well-laid plans. I had to do something before he went charging down the street after an imaginary attacker.

  ‘I think he’s run off.’ I gave him my most dazzling smile, with a little shove on those happy hormones. It never hurt to have a little help.

  Robin came back, his eyes worried. ‘I’ll just get my phone and call the police.’

  ‘You don’t need to do that.’ I wrung my hands together and glanced at the ground. Shy and awkward should hopefully tug on his heartstrings. ‘I live around the corner. If I can just come in for a minute to get my breath?’

  He thought about it for too long, and I gave him another little shove, easing his tension.

  ‘Okay.’ He nodded, though a small frown marred his face, almost like he questioned his own motives. He would be harder to control than Ana. ‘I can’t see any harm in that. I do think you should let me call the police, though. Your ex could be waiting for you at home.’

  I gave him another of my sweet
est smiles. ‘You don’t need to worry about him. That, I can promise you.’

  He gave me a sideways glance, one I found difficult to read, though it definitely had an element of mistrust. I pushed him a little more, careful not to go too far as he would be useless sat on the floor drooling as he cackled with laughter. I had done that once before, and yes, that said person spent the rest of their life as a drooling idiot, but at least they had been a happy drooling idiot. As I had plans for this human, I didn’t want to risk it.

  He led me into a small lounge with a two-seater sofa, in such pristine condition, I doubted it had been used much, and a chair. It had come from the same set, the cord edging it seemed of the same design, but the dusky red of the sofa had faded to a jaded pink on the chair, the arms worn as if he spent the nights rubbing his hands over them.

  There was a small table next to the chair with an overflowing ashtray and pack of rolling tobacco. The bookcase in the corner was the only thing not layered with dust. He owned a television, but it had books stacked in front of it, blocking the screen. A square dining table was pressed into the further corner, near the door to the kitchen. Academic books and pages of notes littered the top.

  He saw my interest. ‘I'm doing my masters in aero engineering.’

  ‘That’s amazing,’ I gushed. My words had no effect on him, and I frowned as he left me to turn the kettle on. Another one who had a habit of escaping to the kettle when feeling confused or unsettled.

  He returned with a tee-shirt which he tossed at me before indicating to my torn blouse. ‘You should cover up.’ I detected no lust in him. He wasn’t sexually interested in men, not unless he’d recently decided on a change, but he barely glanced at my full breasts as they strained against the bra.

  After asserting whether I wanted milk and sugar, he lapsed into silence until we seated in the lounge.

  Once I’d drowned myself in his top, he pointed at the bruise on my chin. ‘You shouldn’t let anyone treat you that way. There are places that can help you break free from such men.’

  I smiled with charm once more, not that he noticed. ‘It’s okay, this was the last time he will touch me.’

  He met my eyes for the briefest moment before emitting a humph and relaxing into his chair.

  I tried to make small talk, engage him in a way that would cause him to ask me back. I would have gotten more conversation out of the imaginary ex-boyfriend I had concocted.

  After thirty minutes he took my empty cup from me and offered to walk me home. When I refused, he gave me a stern quizzical look that reminded me of Adam. Before he could protest, I hurried from his house. I needed to be more prepared before I approach him again. One thing was for sure, it would be harder to insert myself into Robin’s life than it had been with his sister.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  I rocked on my feet but managed to keep my balance. Rage boiled in my veins for what I had just witnessed. Not only had Eris been keeping a secret brother from me, but she had also tried to drag him into the life I was barely surviving. I glared up at the sky, wishing I could skin her alive. I blanched, relating my glib comment to the atrocities I had experienced in Cleas’s mind.

  ‘We are going to have a serious conversation at least,’ I shouted, my anger dimmed by Cleas’s memories. When I recalled how the self-assured Eris had been shunned by my brother, I grinned with satisfaction.

  I had a brother. I would probably never meet him, and if I ever did, I would plead him to return to his safe world where people didn’t get killed every day. I smiled despite my concern over him. I wanted to know so much more. Was he older or younger than me? Did he have a girlfriend? Married? What had his childhood been like?

  But Eris remained silent, maybe having left the room, leaving me to ponder all the possibilities. Something about what I’d seen nagged at me. I continued down the street as I pondered it, hitting the odd car as I passed. It had been something to do with his lounge. I close my eyes, trying to bring my lounge to mind, trying to detect the missing element that I suspected would be obvious once revealed. I recalled the nights of laughter that had been shared there. My mind wandered as it was sometimes prone to do, and I recalled all the good that had happened in my old home.

  I felt like I’d been walking for miles when the answer hit me. I wasn’t thinking about Robin or anything else to do with my new life, I was thinking about the time we had all gone to the beach and I had thrown one hell of a hissy fit over smiling for a photo. It hit me. That’s what had been missing from his flat. There hadn’t been one photo in the whole place, not of parents, friends, or even a pet. I stopped, the stick hanging loose in my hands. Siis aside, who didn’t have one photo in their house? No one I knew.

  I needed to get out of this hell hole. Eris wouldn’t have stopped when she got knocked back by my brother. I’d experienced the determination that drove her, and I felt a spark of fear for the family I had never met. She’d said he was missing. I had been so caught up with the idea that I had a brother, I hadn’t focused on her reason for telling Adam, the disturbing truth that Robin had disappeared.

  I sat down in the road, leaning against the top of an overturned truck. The bigger question, for now, was how had I gotten into that memory? It hadn’t been Cleas’s mind; I had gotten enough of her thoughts to know it was definitely Eris. Adam’s memories were surprising but not shocking. We both suspected that we were bonded, but neither of us wanted to broach the subject. I still didn’t because the consequences could bring emotions to the forefront that were best left buried in the back.

  But Eris? It was possible that I had absorbed some of her shi, especially if it transferred through healing. Still, it must be mere traces. Was that enough for me to jump into her brain? And what were the chances that I had hopped into the exact memory that held my brother, answering the question of how she’d met him moments after it had been on my mind?

  Unable to stay still for long, I strolled down the never-ending road, followed by the clouds that never moved or changed, trying to figure out what this new information meant to me and whether it could give me a way out of The Wasteland—not the most imaginative name, but I cut myself some slack; it wasn’t every day I was stuck in a mental prison, constructed from my own twisted mind.

  ‘Don’t forget Cleas.’ I stepped over a barbequed corpse, not seeing a body, only an obstacle. ‘He probably adds to the overall creepiness of the place.’

  Fire. The word brought to mind a skyscraper, flames and black smoke billowing from the windows as the building collapsed to the side. I shook myself, realising that I had stopped mid-climb over a pile of cars. There was something about fire. Something important. Something I needed to know, that I should remember.

  ‘Fire,’ I said, my voice distant and my mind turned inwards, looking for something I had seen or heard, flittering through each gruesome memory I’d been subjected to, looking for some reference to the raging inferno that nagged me. When I found nothing there, I turned to my own memories, never looking in detail, but scanning each experience like flicking through a Rolodex, wondering who you can ring to ease your boredom. His voice filled my mind as it had the first time he’d spoken the words: ‘The end of the world is coming, hybrid. And you and your child can watch as your race burns’.

  There had been something else there, a seething rage that fuelled his words yet was not caused by them. I submersed myself in the feeling, steeling myself against the rage as I allowed it to flow through every part of my mind. I followed it….

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  I lifted the chair to hurl at the wall, only to twist the wooden frame in my hands until the wood splintered. How I wish it was a spine beneath my fingers. How I craved to feel the snap of bones and ultimately, the loss of life by my hands. I yelled as I launched the broken remains into the wall. It sailed within inches of Cortell’s head, yet he never moved. I had been so stupid. How had I missed the obvious?

  The three remaining priests hurried from the room as the cowards they ar
e. I hungered for the day I could tear each of them apart, already relishing the feel of their warm blood trickling down my arm.

  Cortell remained. He paused from reading the old ledger to take a calm sip of his drink, before returning the cup to the small table beside him. Out of all that Vakros had chosen to be his priests, Cortell was the one I dreamed about killing the most.

  I cursed as I kicked the table across the room. The cup shattered against the wall, yet Cortell continued to ignore me, wearing the same disinterested expression that never left his face, his eyes guarded yet never challenging. He never rose to the bait as some did, nor try to endear himself to me as most did. He remained as always, with that same disinterested look, a look that said I wasn’t even worthy of his attention.

  There will come a day, Cortell, and sooner than you think, that you will be at my mercy. And then we will see what is under that cool exterior of yours. Normally, such a thought would provoke a smile of satisfaction. Not today.

  I stopped before Cortell, my chest heaving as air rushed through clenched teeth. ‘Vakros isn’t Siis!’ I bet that got your attention.

  Cortell sighed with the air of a man who would rather eat shards of glass than converse and looked up from his book. I had hoped for anger, betrayal, maybe even fear. All I received was mild question. ‘Is that so?’ He turned back to the book, ignoring my presence.

  I ripped it from his hands and hurled it towards the toppled table in the corner. ‘Did you not hear me? He isn’t Siis!’ I almost choked on my rage, the truth Vakros had confessed like a decomposed carcass stuck in my throat.

  Cortell rested his hands on his knees, a picture of pure nonchalance. I wanted to rip his head clean off and hold it high on a stick for all to see the great Cortell. He wouldn’t look so smug then.

  Cortell half-smiled at me, his eyes mocking. ‘If not Siis, then what is he, Cleas?’ Would he look so mocking if I spooned his eyes out while he was conscious? Or would he finally understand the destiny that awaits me? Would he then beg to serve me?