The Blood Key (The Wander Series Book 1) Page 14

  The shirt fell through my fingers as he kissed my neck from behind. We found ourselves on the floor together. Dom lost his shirt and I struggled to help him out of his jeans. The pant legs got stuck around his ankles and I shoved them off with my heels.

  I was okay until his thumbs grazed my stomach as he pulled my panties over my hips and onto the top of my thighs. Panic gripped me at the sensory overload. What was I doing? Goosebumps broke out on my skin and I began to tremble in reaction.

  Dominic froze over me, voice rough and concerned, “Zena?”

  My head flopped sideways. All I could see were shoes—shoes and dust bunnies. Maybe a dead bug or two?

  “Dom, we should stop.”

  He leaned his forehead on my cheek then kissed my neck goodbye before he knelt between my spread legs. A crooked smile made one side of his nose lift as he held out a hand to help me sit.

  I let him pull me upright as I tugged my panties back in place. Dom chuckled and it made me regret my decision to stop. We were both topless. It wouldn’t take much to get going again but I couldn’t truly convince myself I wanted to. Not like this—on a closet floor. Not with all three of my parents’ downstairs and Christophe just returned.

  He said, “Z…”

  “Uh-uh, Dom, be quiet and put on your dang pants. You’re about to say something that’s gonna to make me mad—I can tell.”

  He frowned and opened his mouth wide to speak again.

  I pointed. “Out!”

  A wicked smile curled his top lip as he gathered his clothes. “Based on your bossiness I’d say next time you should be on top.”

  I grabbed the nearest shoe and chucked it at his departing backside.

  24 SENSELESS SENSIBILITY

  I was half dressed when Izzy scared the crap out of me by saying, “I saw Captain Underpants sneak into the room next door. Did you seriously just ditch me with the insanity downstairs to have sex?”

  The leggings I had on fit more like capris. I stabbed an arm into the sleeve of a denim button-front tunic and concentrated on getting dressed to settle my nerves. I’d found a sports bra that mashed my chest into one long lump but solved the jiggle problem—so what if I couldn’t take a deep breath?

  When my heart was steady I darted a glance at Iz. “We didn’t have sex.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Rather than continue down that predictable road I asked, “How are you handling the whole Apep thing?”

  Iz flung some of my clothes side to side on their hangers. The metallic scree sound made us both flinch. Izzy shrugged, “I dunno, chica. It’s weird but it almost makes me feel better that my momma has a reason to run through crazy baby daddy drama. Now it might be what she is, not who she is that made our lives so nuts.”

  I spied a pair of mules that could work. To be safe I banged them together to check for spiders and when nothing showed itself I wiggled my toes inside. My heels just barely hung over the back so I called it good. The wardrobe fairy needed to show up and fill my closet with shit that fit.

  Iz bit a lip and squinted her nose. “Did you at least use protection?”

  I walked past her into my empty bedroom. The bed was still rumpled from when Cyril had laid me out after he knocked me out. No trace of the CORE remained on the floorboards. Not even in the cracks. I wrapped an arm around a bedpost and leaned my hip against the hard wood. “Izzy, I already told you we didn’t do the deed.”

  She grunted in doubt as she paced in front of me. Her hair was a mess but her makeup was flawless. Iz had outlined her big eyes with smoky purple-black makeup and penciled her eyebrows so dark they looked like sideways parenthesis. The T-shirt and jeans she had on were plain and well worn. Izzy didn’t need clothing with personality—she had enough for three people.

  It meant the world to me that she was here.

  I cleared my throat, suddenly shy to speak, “I’m glad you came back, Iz. I wasn’t really sure you would after…everything.”

  She waved my sentiment away with a grimace of dismissal. “Quit bringing that crap up. You’re gonna make me feel bad, like I’m not good best friend material or something.”

  Iz stopped her annoying pacing to ask, “Okay, so Dom aside, although I’m not done grilling you about what happened—why’d you come up here? You left like your ass was on fire. What gives?”

  Before I could answer, a fully dressed but still entirely too distracting Dominic added from the open door, “Yeah, what gives, Z?”

  I rubbed my forehead and wiggled my shoulders to get my sports bra back in the right place under my breasts. “You know the relic Cyril had me, uh…download?”

  They nodded in unison.

  “Well, it wanted to show me something.”

  Dom came closer and ended up propping himself on the opposite bedpost with one leg bent in a flamingo stance. His expression was drawn with concern as he asked, “It talks to you?”

  Izzy had her arms crossed and her head cocked in disbelief. “You hear voices?”

  An urge to flee coiled inside like a bent spring and I paused to listen for the database. The sensation wasn’t foreign. I was uncomfortable. In fact, I couldn’t sense any otherness at all. Perhaps it had turned itself off or gone into sleep mode again?

  “It’s not like that. There is no language it speaks. I probably wouldn’t understand it anyway. The thing communicates with thought and visions or memories I guess. I kind of picture it as an internal search engine. If I need a question answered it wakes to fill the gap.”

  Dom was doubtful. “So what did it need to show you that couldn’t wait?”

  Now came the hard part. “Ummm, I think it might be a map to defeat the ‘brain’ that controls the Master’s technology.” I used finger quotes and winced as I said ‘brain’—aware of how looney it sounded.

  Izzy tucked her chin into her neck and raised one eyebrow. “There’s a brain somewhere you need to unplug or what? You gonna crash their alien internet and cross your fingers?”

  I sighed, “No, it’s more important than that. The Masters revere the brain. I think, or did once upon a time. Now it runs everything. If I understood the database correctly, in the beginning the Masters weren’t united. A leader came along and set them on their current course. When this leader died they turned his brain into a super computer that they worshipped and followed.”

  Dom snorted, “I call bullshit. How do you know anything this ‘database’ whispers in your head is true? It could all be a trap to lure you to the Masters so they can execute you.”

  Iz jabbed a thumb at Dom. “What he said.”

  I groaned, “You guys, I need you to trust me. Please?”

  Silence as I looked from one to the other, begging unashamedly with my eyes.

  Someone bounded up the stairs and we all aimed ourselves at the hall. We didn’t have long to wait. Christophe dashed across the threshold out of breath and bare chest heaving. His face was marked with trails of dried tears and the blue of his eyes was electric and lit from within.

  He saw me then bent to brace his hands above his knees. The kilt thing he had on was filthy and ripped. Green stained it in places from the shredded garden vegetation. A thick metal belt encircled his middle. It had slim compartments—curious. I wondered if they served any purpose or were just ornamental.

  What was wrong with me? Why wasn’t I rushing to hug my brother the way my parents had? I did love him. I had missed him. Maybe it was because I wasn’t entirely sure of him. He certainly wasn’t the boy who’d been taken from me. The old Chris had been keeping secrets. Since he was ten. From me!

  Christophe didn’t just look different; he was someone else now too who’d lived a separate life on an alien world. Just as I’d grown and gone through terrible struggles at the Institute, Christophe was changed.

  He raised his head, then stood tall. “Zena?”

  I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. “Chris.”

  Dominic broke the stalemate by attacking Chris with a full body hug and lifting hi
s feet off the floor. Iz moved closer and hip bumped me. I gave her a sideways smile to let her know I was okay.

  When Dom finally let my brother’s feet touch the floor they continued to pat each other on the back and grin. I crossed my eyes at Iz and she giggled.

  Chris sobered, “Hey, man, it’s good to be back. How’ve things been?”

  My brother may have been asking Dominic the question but his face was angled my direction. I steeled myself for the approach and took the first step. Dom was talking but I didn’t hear a word of it. All I could see was the happy past. The joyful memories Chris had made for me in dark times. He’d been more than a brother; he’d been a surrogate father too. A soother of nightmares, an encourager and the only one who hounded me about getting good grades at school after Cyril disappeared.

  He reached around and yanked on my ponytail as he said, “This is the longest I’ve ever seen it, Sister. So when do you plan on chopping it off?”

  Something about the question, the way he knew me, the bunched skin under his familiar white blond lashes on his lower lids and the smell of him triggered a strangled sob. I threw myself against his neck and breathed deep as I shook with reaction. Christophe rubbed my back in large hypnotic circles and let me cry. His hug was so tight it hurt. My fingers tangled in the silken curls behind his ears as I pulled away to kiss his cheeks, his chin, his nose and his forehead.

  For good measure I licked him between his eyebrows to make him laugh.

  Christophe rubbed my slobber with the heel of his hand and swiped half-hearted at my shoulder.

  “You’re still gross, Little Sister.”

  My mouth couldn’t seem to make a straight line anymore. A pearl of grief I’d been building inside dissolved and filled my bones with pure joy. “Yeah, I learned from the best, Big Brother.”

  He hugged me again hard and fast then put me at arm’s length as he took me in from head to toe.

  “You’re a giant!”

  I punched him in one arm. “Shut up, Chris!”

  Dom growled in my defense, “I think she’s perfect.”

  My heart skipped a beat and a blush invaded from the neck up.

  Chris was about to say something as Izzy interrupted with a proffered hand and an introduction.

  “Hi! I’m Isabella Williams but you can call me Izzy. Z’s my best friend. I just found out I’m part Apep, which may mean I create chaos wherever I go. Oh, and your dad hates me.”

  He enveloped her hand in both of his and shifted his upper body in her direction. My brother didn’t miss a beat. “Pleased to meet you, Izzy. Hate’s a strong word. I find you enchanting.”

  Iz fluttered like a cartoon maiden getting kissed by a handsome prince. I broke their handshake and cleared my throat, “Flirt later.”

  Izzy smirked, “Says the girl who had closet sex a few minutes ago.”

  Chris turned on Dom. “That’s one of my shirts. Did you sleep with my baby sister?”

  He didn’t even give his friend time to answer. Chris threw a fast punch that landed on Dom’s jaw with a thud.

  25 DAMSELS DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES

  Light snapped and crackled around the edges of my vision. I was able to staunch the flow but I came narrowly close to toasting Chris in a way that had nothing to do with champagne or celebrating his return. The butane and raw meat smell wasn’t as strong this time—either that or my nose was becoming numb to it.

  Dom helped keep things calm by not getting up. He slumped with a hand covering the red swelled area where my brother’s punch had landed. In his absence Chris had earned a temper and figured out how to fight. I was sort of happy he could defend himself and irritated he thought my honor needed defending—or that he even had the right to. I could take care of my damn self.

  I screeched, “Christophe Archimedes Skala, you stop right this second and get control of yourself!”

  Izzy put a hand on Chris’s raised arm and tugged. “For the reals, I didn’t mean anything by it! You weren’t supposed to hit him. Honest to God, Z told me they didn’t do the deed. It was a joke, chiflado.”

  Chris relaxed and asked Iz, “Did you just call me a brat in Spanish?”

  She grinned, unrepentant. “Sí, señor.”

  My brother narrowed his brilliant eyes. “You really are part Apep, aren’t you?”

  Iz threw back her head and laughed.

  The wheels of Chris’s thoughts turned in interest. I could tell by the way he tugged at his earlobe and scratched his chin. His fingers were twitching on his left hand like he wanted a pen to take notes.

  Zips and zaps of blue brightness added to the crisp scent around me and my brother finally noticed the light show. Dom got off the floor so fast it made me think he’d faked the severity of his injury. He caressed the dip in my collarbone until the energy dissipated. His black hair stood on end until all my juice drained away.

  I gave him a crooked smile in return. “I was in control, Dom. If you don’t let me practice how will I manage without you around?”

  He got dead serious and faced off with Chris. “Let’s not find out.”

  Dominic pointed a finger at his friend’s nose and laid down the law, “That’s the last time you get a shot, Chris! Zena’s old enough to make her own decisions and neither one of us should be fighting about it. If she wants me, I’m staying put.”

  Golden happiness stirred inside. He wanted me?

  Chris had the grace to look ashamed. “I’m sorry, Zena. I overreacted. It’s been…”

  We all heard the hurried approach of multiple footsteps up the stairs and down the hall before Cyril thundered into my bedroom with his brow wrinkled in concern. Rowena brought up the rear behind Neith and looked none too happy about it. My stepmother was limping but she still had her high heeled shoes on. Vanity before all else I guessed. Her torn pant leg flapped every time she took a lurching step. It was a wonder she’d kept up with them on the stairs.

  Neith sauntered to me. “Is my sa well?”

  The way her hips undulated made me feel like an inferior specimen of female. Power and calculation in her every movement. Muscles danced under the light brown skin of her shoulders as her arms swung. Neith was defined and refined. She was also scary as hell. I tried hard not to show it.

  I inclined my head. “Your sa is fine.”

  She cozied up to Dom and he stepped back so fast he fell into a sitting position at the end of my bed. His wariness didn’t waver as he anticipated her next move.

  I stepped between them. “Stop torturing my—him—I mean Dominic.”

  Neith turned on Cyril—furious. “You let her choose her own mate?” She lifted her nose to the air and inhaled. “I smell her power and his mingled together. This Geb should have been killed, Cyril. Now it is too late.”

  My fists clenched in anger. Over my dead body. Cold power surged up my spine. If she tried anything I would fry her ass, mother or not.

  My father met my eyes as he spoke, “They were bonded as children, Neith. I didn’t know the boy for what he was until today. Regardless, Dominic Vargas is family and you will not attempt to harm him.”

  Neith chopped a rigid arm downward. “I regret letting you take our sa. She could be so much more but you have ruined her with your softness. We may as well begin again and make another child for how little she is worth to our cause.”

  That was it!

  Jagged bolts leapt from the tips of my fingers only to be sucked away by Dom’s hot hand on my waist. I devoured his gaze with my own and he begged with a hangdog expression for me to stand down. My body sagged in defeat. Were I to kill Neith, it would haunt me. My mother had just spoken of my uselessness, so why destroy my sense of self and ruin my life for a person who thought of me as a failed project?

  I wrinkled my nose at Dominic then turned to say loud and clear, “You’re right, Dom. She isn’t worth our time. We have bigger fish to fry anyway.”

  My body and voice matched in their firmness. Cyril hid an almost smile with a sideways purse o
f his mouth. Christophe had an arm thrown around his mother and Rowena’s disdain for Neith was apparent in the curl of her upper lip.

  Izzy didn’t waste time with body language; she blurted, “Lady, I think your welcome just got rescinded. Why don’t you take a hike?”

  Neith crossed her arms over her impressive breasts and shook her long black hair in defiance. “No.”

  I had questions. “Chris, did she do bad things to you? Was that why you cried when you remembered?”

  Cyril scowled and turned to watch his son answer.

  Chris closed his eyes and his skin broke out in goosebumps.

  I prodded, “Christophe?”

  He shook his head and one tear slid past temporary crow’s feet then into a white blond sideburn. “Not in the way you think. Neith did the best she could in a bad situation. I can remember some things now, but they don’t seem like me. Not the real me anyway. I—I can’t talk about it. Don’t ask me anymore, Bozena. Ever.”

  I felt feral. Not myself. Power rose up even with Dom’s hand on me. It coursed high then low then high again, as if it were too much for him to drain as a Geb. One foot slid on the floor and then another followed. I had no will to fight the tide. All I wanted was to blast Neith into another dimension.

  She needed to go.

  Cyril ground out my name in warning. His dusky skin had paled and his eyes were transitioned to an all-white color just like when we’d fought in the foyer by the front door.

  Pathways and corridors opened in my head. Ways to go that seemed so obvious now that I could see them. I saw doors upon doors lit by translucent light of every imaginable color. About halfway down, one in particular flashed urgently for attention. I reached without effort or worry for the undulating illumination.

  At the last second I thought, “Oh. Shit!” and then it was too late.

  26 DOOR NUMBER WHAT?

  What had been so beguiling and beautiful turned to swirling speckled mustard and puke green soup. Blackness loomed in a faraway pinpoint as my insides felt like my outsides. I was aware of others with me but not of their forms or my own. All I could sense was muted screams and spinning.