Kindred of the Fallen (20 page)

She cupped his knees and squeezed. It was so easy to let go with him, so natural. The bulge in his jeans stirred as she ran her palms up his legs. No harm pushing a little, testing the waters.

“You’re so beautiful.” His gaze caressed her face.

Her fingers wandered from his knees, up the inside of his thighs, bypassing his crotch. She had to wait to go all the way, but she couldn’t resist the temptation to explore his body.

As she slid her hands up his hard stomach, he trembled. She dragged her fingers down using more pressure, allowing her nails to graze his skin. Her hands reached the bulge in his pants and she massaged him over his clothing. Sucking in a sharp breath, he clenched his eyes shut. His hips moved and his member pushed against the denim.

A slow burn built between her thighs, snaking up her belly.

The wood of the desk crunched in his hands and his eyes flew open. “There’s a threshold, love,” he said in a cold voice, sharp as a blade. “Once you cross it, I will not stop. You need to be certain. If you changed your mind, I’d hate to force myself on you.”

The diamond on the engagement ring sparkled in the soft lighting of the room. She tensed at the glaring reminder of her weakness in more ways than one. The more time she spent with Cyrus the more her shaky self-control crumbled. She was grateful he didn’t take advantage.

Cyrus caressed her face and stroked the ringlets of her hair until the flush of shame stopped burning her cheeks. When she met his gaze again, he rested his hands on his legs. She ran a finger over his chunky signet ring.
 

Etched in the middle of a green seal was an eye. A long line ran across the top of it like a brow and a curved line below it.

“That’s the eye of Heru.”
 

She pulled her hands into her lap. “It must be nice to belong to something, to be a part of a House and have a connection with roots.”

“Roots stabilize, providing strength. They also bind. The love of my House has been as much a comfort to me as it has been a burden.”

“Most of my life I’ve searched for meaning, not knowing where I come from.” She grazed the back of her neck. “My father made me feel like my birthmark was the most beautiful thing in the world, made me special somehow. After he killed himself, the world was a different place and nothing looked the same.”

Her childhood wasn’t clear. So much had been lost in the natural haze of getting older, but the image of her father falling, a puddle of scarlet seeping into the carpet, was as vivid as the day she’d witnessed it. It never faded. The horror never weakened. The grief always remained.

“Most people get a tattoo because they want something that represents who they are or aspire to be,” she said. “When I discovered I could make people feel as special as he made me feel, it brought joy back into my heart, gave my life meaning.”

Cyrus rubbed her shoulders. A cool sensation blossomed in her chest and spread. A weight inside of her lifted and the hooks of woe embedded in her heart eased.

“I need to show you something,” he said. “The file Neith, the historian, sent me. The people who saw you in the park that day serve her. After the Great Divide, she took a position of neutrality.”

“Like Switzerland?”

He nodded with a grin and opened a desk drawer, retrieving a manila envelope. “Something happened between her and the immortal Seshata that turned Neith against the Houses. She claimed the great library and has ensured the preservation of our most precious documents. Her people are record-keepers, documenting significant events among our kind and within the Houses, when they’re privy to the information. They track births, deaths, the unification of
kabashem
, even when someone is called to serve. They watch us, not in a pervasive way, and never interfere. Neith is very protective of the information she gathers.”

“Sounds creepy,” she said with a ghastly face.

He took a file from a manila envelope, opened it and handed it to her. On one side were a picture of her father and a sheet of information and on the other side was a picture of her mother along with a similar sheet. She stared at the photos, unable to breathe.

“Are you okay?”

She pulled out the pictures. Her memory of her father was right. His skin was a deeper, richer shade of brown than hers. He had soft, angelic eyes and a kind face.

In the picture of her mother, she recognized her own delicate features in the image, but her mother had an incandescent beauty, porcelain skin, dark hair and eyes a startling shade of violet. Besides those damn eyes and wretched smile, this was the face that had eluded her memory for twenty-five years.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

“She’s beautiful. I’ve lain awake at night so many times, hoping to dream about her, to remember what she looked like. I thought if I could draw her and burn the image, I could exorcise her and be free.” She wiped away tears before they could fall.

He shifted to sit on the arm of the chair and rested his hand on her back. The sheet of information on her father only had a few short lines.

LUCIEN ALCAEUS

Born: Shemu II 5, 1553 IE

Deceased: Peret IV 20, 1678

Mother: Dayanara, House Herut

Father: Marius, House Aten

Primary House: Herut

Ingenium: Telekinesis, L5

Kabashem: Sothis Callidora, daughter of Aurora House Aten and Arcturus House Sekhem.

Left collective and married Sothis on Akhet III 8, 1665 IE. Established residence in Star Lake, NY. One child, Serenity Ameliora, born Akhet IV 5, 1672.

“I didn’t even know I had a middle name,” she said. “I don’t understand these dates.”

Cyrus looked over her shoulder at the paper. “Neith uses the old way. When they left Egypt, they called that era Shabanu and recorded the year as one. After the Great Divide, the era of Isfet started, but they kept the ancient Egyptian way of recording the day and month.” He pointed to a date. “The months are divided into three groups. If I have this right, your father was born in early April and he died in late February.”

“This says my father was from your House. Did you know him?”

“Yes, but not well. He was kind, smart, brilliant really.”

She glanced back at the file. “What does L five next to
ingenium
mean?”

“The level indicates the strength of the ability, one being the weakest. During training we can get a gauge for someone’s potential.”

“How strong is a five?”

“It depends on the type of ability. Telekinesis is a rare gift. I think the highest ever documented is a six, so it means he was pretty powerful.”

Her mother’s sheet had the same succinct format.

SOTHIS CALLIDORA

Born: Akhet I 1, 1628 IE

Mother: Aurora, House Aten

Father: Arcturus, House Sekhem

Primary House: Aten. Strong ties to House Sekhem.

Ingenium: Warrior, L8

Kabashem: Lucien Alcaeus, son of Dayanara House Herut and Marius House Aten.

Left collective and married Lucien on Akhet III 8, 1665 IE. Established residence in Star Lake, NY. One child, Serenity Ameliora, born Akhet IV 5, 1672. Went to House Aten and was invited to serve on Akhet IV 14, 1677. Current whereabouts unknown.

“Nine days after my birthday she left to go to Aten? Did she accept the invitation?”

“I don’t know. The Houses are secretive. I’m shocked Neith had so much information.”

“It says she was a level eight.”

“With warriors, it’s different. Talus is strong and quick, but she’s just a three. Battle-guard warriors are at a minimum level five. Abbadon is a level eight like your mother.”

She shook her head. “Even if she accepted the invitation, why wouldn’t she have sent for me after my father died?”

“There’s more,” he said gravely. He handed her a thick folder.

She flipped through pages of digital photos of her: grocery shopping, at the tattoo studio, in front of the apartment building with Evan, jogging, and one of her birthmark on the back of her neck. Behind the digital photo printouts were old 35mm pictures and a detailed report. Serenity spread the pictures out on the desk, focusing on a couple of her parents camping in remote locations. The next picture struck her heart, a photo of her, playing in a backyard with her father, while her mother sprayed them with a garden hose. The last picture was a close-up of her at about age four. The violet color of her eyes blazed like her mother’s.

The dossier started out with a brief synopsis, listing her address in Manhattan and a few details about Evan. A blank next to the category
ingenium
conjured more questions. The report then went into detailed information about her parents. They travelled for several years before settling in Star Lake, New York. It described their life as provincial.

She glossed over the report quickly until she got to the last paragraph. She read it twice.

His remains were found on Peret IV 21, 1678 in the ashes of their family home. Examination of the body indicated a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The child, Serenity, was not found at the scene. Her whereabouts and mark were unknown until Akhet I 19, 1702.

“I don’t understand.” She stared at Cyrus. “He was murdered? Why didn’t anyone know where I was all this time?”

“Someone didn’t want us to find you. Your father never told Herut about you. I take it your mother did the same with Aten to protect you.”

Her eyes washed over the pictures. “Everything I’ve ever believed has been a lie. I thought she hated us and that he killed himself for it.”

“I’m sorry you had to grow up thinking that.” He brushed his hand across her cheek.

“What’s so bad about the Houses? Why did they want to raise me away from the collective?”

“Lucien loved House Herut. Many of us try life away from the collective at some point, but most of us return. Based on what happened with the last Blessed unions, keeping your mark secret kept us both safe.” Cyrus held her from behind and kissed her head. “I wish I could be of more help.”

She massaged her temples, trying to think. Her father hadn’t given up on life or her, and from the looks of the pictures her mother had loved her. They’d both wanted her. “The file said my mother’s primary House was Aten, but she trained with House Sekhem.”

His face brightened. “This I know. What happened with your grandparents and the way your mother grew up was most unusual. Aurora and Arcturus had a volatile relationship.”

“They were
kabashem
?”

He nodded. “Not all relationships between
kabashem
are smooth. They fought whenever they were together and only saw each other a couple of times a year.”

“Is that customary? I mean, if you choose not to be together, do
kabashem
hook up every now and again?” She raised her eyebrows and gave him a look to indicate what she meant.

“I wouldn’t call it customary. Sometimes the differences are too great or they find it easier to stay away. Your grandparents had some sort of agreement regarding your mother. When she reached a certain age, she’d live in House Sekhem where she’d be trained for twenty years.”

“Twenty years is a lot of training.”

“Twenty years is not so long, if they were training her to be a Paladin.”

Serenity struggled to picture her mother as a ruthless killer capable of murdering a child and cringed. “How do you know any of this?”

“The Pesedjet, the Great Council of nine, convenes once a century. Each House is allowed to bring one hundred Kindred to bear witness. I attended the last one. Aurora was present, but Arcturus didn’t attend. His brother, Archimedes, went in his stead. Archimedes whispered something to her as the Pesedjet opened the session. They quarreled in front of everyone, openly. By the time the Pesedjet had concluded, the details of your grandparents’ relationship were common knowledge.”

She held up her mother’s picture. “Why would she leave me? Why wouldn’t she come back for me after my father was murdered?”

“Maybe it was safer for her not to.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, drawing her close.

She stood, breaking the hold of his embrace, and scooped up the files. “Thank you for showing me this.” She stepped away from the desk. “I need some time to take it all in.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He rose, wrinkling his brow.

She nodded as she backed into the hall, then hurried to her room. Setting everything on the coffee table, she sat on her heels and spread the pictures out across the pages.

Her parents had deliberately raised her in the human world, away from the collective. They knew her mate existed, waiting for her at House Herut. Yet, they’d kept her from him. Maybe redemption wasn’t in her best interest. Maybe Cyrus wasn’t either if that’s all he cared about.
 

Even after her father was murdered, she was left alone amongst humans to keep her safe. Now she was under the same roof as Cyrus, perhaps putting her in the greatest danger of all.