Fruit of Misfortune (12 page)

“I’m not vain.”

“
I
am.” He smirked.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Yes, well, as enjoyable as our bonding has
been, I have to go. I’m meeting with the doctor that will evaluate
you tomorrow. Make it a point to de-flea or whatever it is you have
to do to make this,” he waved his finger at me, “look better. We
want to make a good impression.”

“Real funny.”

“I know.” He spun his heel on the marble
floor, and then strode into the hallway, looking back only to raise
his hand in a quick goodbye.

Sitting in my room alone was giving me a
serious case of cabin fever. I missed reading my books, and I
missed watching reruns of old TV shows. Most of all, I missed
Claire. But with my hoarse, croaking voice, I didn’t dare call her.
The acidity from the vomit had wrecked my throat, and I didn’t want
to make up a lie to explain why I had been sick. I had too much on
my mind to think of a believable one. Instead, I sent her a text
telling her I was fine and that I’d call soon. Of course, I didn’t
know how soon that would be.

A warm gust of air danced through the white
sheer curtains of the open balcony doors, whispering an invitation.
I unhinged the plastic bag of my IV and stepped onto the balcony.
My eyes adjusted to the brilliant luminosity of the afternoon.
Sunlight danced over the buildings in the distant streets, which
took on the linear shapes of mazes. I had only been able to step on
those streets once since my arrival, and I was eager to set foot on
them again.

The lump of the needle under the skin of my
hand ached. A bruise had developed from not keeping my hand
immobile. I shuddered at the thought of the coming night’s attack
and pushed back my tears. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. I’d have
to brace myself and hope the attack was quick. It would be another
horrible night for the Chioses and me. They were my single source
of support. I knew I wasn’t alone, but it felt like I was
experiencing this torment on my own. Even given all their
abilities, they couldn’t figure out how to stop this change. I
wondered why they weren’t yet searching for my father and an
answer, so that David would be spared from all of this.

Where are you, S. Leumas?
Why
aren’t
you
the one looking for me?

“Isis?” Nyx’s voice settled on my ears,
bringing me back from my reveries. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, I think.”

She took my hand and with a soft tug led me
into the bedroom through the double doors. “Good. I made you a very
special broth with curative agents. I hope you can keep it
down.”

“Nyx, I’m so sorry I’m being such a
burden.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “Do you feel well
enough to eat in the garden with me? You must be tired of being
confined to these four walls.”

“Just us two?” I asked, and Nyx nodded.

Eating without each bite or sip or movement
being scrutinized by David, Gemini, or Eros sounded great. Each of
them was worried about me in their own way. Eros, I think, just
wanted me to feel uncomfortable. One of them was always there.
Privacy had become a thing of the past. I wasn’t even allowed to
close the bedroom door.

“Don’t bother changing. You don’t want to
ruin any more clothes. Who knows when we’ll be able to steal a day
away to shop at the boutiques down the hill?”

We headed out the door and down the stairs.
Although I wasn’t a prisoner, I felt freedom greeting me with each
step I took away from the bedroom.

“I want to get something for my mom from
those stores before we leave. I saw them the night we got here.
Would you help me pick something out?”

Nyx paused midway down the polished ivory
steps. Her sapphire-blue eyes were bigger than normal. “Isis, you
do realize you can’t return in this condition, don’t you?”

I blinked, trying to register the part where
Nyx said I couldn’t go home. Did she mean forever?

“For how long?”

“After the mutation has finished its course—”
She looked away from me. “Maybe then.”

“If I don’t turn into some unrecognizable
beast, you mean?” My statement was full of reproach, as if she were
responsible for what was happening to me.

“Don’t say that.”

Nyx reached for my arm, but I avoided her
touch and continued down the stairs, my hands in fists at my side.
The steel IV needle burrowed deep into my vein, but the pain kept
me from sobbing like a scared little girl. More than scared, I was
angry. Angry that this family, with all their powers, couldn’t give
me any answers. Angry that I was turning into some freak of nature.
Angry that the man who was my father had done this to my mother and
to me, with the full knowledge of the monstrosity he was creating.
I hated S. Leumas for taking my mother’s only child. But then
again, I had never been her child to keep, had I? I belonged to no
one. Not even to David who thought he had secured me. That thought
ignited more hatred for S. Leumas. He would be responsible for
making me break my mother’s and David’s hearts.

Eros was strolling across the living room
when I reached the bottom step. He stopped below a crystal
chandelier in the living room. He separated his pink, full lips to
say something, but saw Nyx descending the stairwell and locked his
hands behind his back instead. Call it an epiphany, but suddenly, I
knew how out of place Eros felt in this life. I knew how desolation
must devour his soul on a daily basis. I knew this because even
though I wasn’t unaccompanied, I
was
alone. Alone like
Eros.

“Off to find more antiquities?” Nyx asked
Eros.

He took his glasses off and cleaned the
lenses with a handkerchief he pulled from his pants pocket. “Oui.
I’d ask you to join me, since you’re a connoisseur of fine things,
but I know you’re preoccupied with your patient.”

“Another time,” Nyx said.

Eros nodded, then adjusted his eyeglasses on
the rim of nose. “Feel better, Isis.”

“Thanks.”

I watched Eros turn the knob to the heavy,
wooden door and wished it was me that was leaving. Nyx rubbed my
arm as if to apologize for the conversation we had had a moment
ago. Or maybe she felt how desperate I was to leave.

“Come, dear,” she said. “You need to
eat.”

In the peaceful green garden, we ate the
broth in silence, listening to the chirps of birds hiding in the
surrounding trees. My bowl was still more than halfway full when
the colic began. I hugged my stomach and took shallow breaths of
hot air. The pain lasted only a few seconds. The same thing had
happened with the vegetable soup earlier in the day.

Nyx set her spoon down and straightened her
back. She studied me for a moment, and then said, “Your stomach is
learning to digest food again.”

“I assume that’s a good thing.”

Nyx raised her spoon and dipped it into the
soup. “Yes. Any improvement means a day closer to home for all of
us.”

“Maybe.”

Nyx stirred her soup and looked at me from
under her lush black lashes. “You know, when I thought you were
pregnant—and again, I apologize—I was horrified. That would’ve
meant you were married.”

“Married?” I acted as though I didn’t know
what she was talking about. “But what about the white dress, the
bridesmaids… the cake? What makes it official if there are no
papers to sign?”

“The ceremony is a sacred and private vow.
You need no other witnesses. Although we’ve acquired modern
traditions in our culture, what counts isn’t a piece of paper. It’s
the promise you make. You see, once you commit to a marriage, it’s
forever.”

I glanced at the promise ring David had given
me months before. “Forever is a really long time.”

“Indeed. That’s why we wait for the one that
we know we could never live without.”

Was she trying to tell me that David wasn’t
the one for me? Not that it mattered, what with me being beheaded
soon—or whatever it was the Council did to Creatura.

“Good strategy,” I said.

She stirred her soup, not looking at me. “But
you should also know it’s perfectly normal to find yourself
attracted to other people. Sometimes we can’t help our emotions.
That’s why it’s called being human.”

“Are you saying you have a crush on someone?”
I asked.

“No.” She set down her spoon. “I’m saying you
do—on Eros.”

I opened my
mouth to deny it, but closed it just as fast, knowing there was no
sense in arguing. Nyx could sense these things. I lowered my head,
my cheeks on fire from embarrassment. She knew that she was right,
and so did I.

“I’m not judging or reproaching you, Isis.”
Nyx’s porcelain face rested on her fist.

“I haven’t admitted to anything.”

Her lips lifted at the corners with a
confidence I had come to relate with deities. “Nor have you denied
it.”

That was the end of my defense. A crow cawed,
hiding somewhere in the tree branches—mocking me, no less. I traced
the white, scrolled, metal arm on the patio chair, busying my hand
to keep from biting what was left of my nails.

“Does it make you uncomfortable that I know
this much?”

“It has since I met you.”

“Oh.” Nyx looked surprised. “I’m sorry you
feel that way. I don’t know the limit on how intimate mother and
daughter-in-law talks should be.”

Daughter-in-law?
That word was too
awkward to use in this conversation. I felt like an ant under a
magnifying glass, churning under the intensity of the rays of
commitment.

“I won’t dwell on it anymore, and you can
rest assured that I won’t tell.”

“What are you two gossiping about?” A voice
came from behind me.

David’s hand landed on my shoulder and I
tensed. His lips touched the side of my forehead for a moment.

“Girl talk,” Nyx said. “You should know
better than to ask.”

“Girl talk. Gossip. Same thing.” David sat
next to me and squeezed my hand. “I’m glad to see you out of
bed.”

“I’m feeling better,” I said. “Did you get
any sleep?”

“More than expected. Eryx woke me up when he
called. He and Galen went without me to meet with the doctor
that’ll be assessing your condition. He said they’ve confirmed the
appointment for tomorrow.”

“What time?” Nyx asked.

“Early morning. It’ll only be Galen and me
that’ll accompany Isis. We mustn’t rouse Eros’ or the doctor’s
curiosity. Crowds attract attention.”

“That’s true,” Nyx agreed.

“I think Nyx should go instead of Galen,” I
said. “She’s much better at reading people. What if this doctor’s a
quack?”

"According to my father, this man is one of
the most brilliant minds to be born in several centuries.”

“We’d know that for certain if you came
along,” I said to Nyx.

“Isis is right. I should be there. ”

“No.” David shook his head. “Father was very
clear about who would be attending this meeting.”

“Well, I don’t understand why.” Nyx
frowned.

“Because this man is a geneticist, and he’s
quick to notice characteristics that set people apart.”

“I’m not following…” I said.

“Isis, his studies are based on the theory
that in some humans the genetic coding was altered by a superhuman
or non-human race that lived before recorded time and might live
among humans today. He only lacks proof of such a race to prove his
theory.” He raised his hand, pointing to Nyx. “Exhibit A.” Then he
pointed to himself, “Exhibit B, and Galen would be Exhibit C.”

“Oh c’mon. There’s no way he can tell the
difference between you or a human mortal,” I argued.

“Yes, he can. He can extract DNA from dead
cells in the air with a device he’s invented. It’s a scientific
breakthrough in DNA sequencing, but he denies the contraption
exists. Not even the people that fund his research know this man’s
genius.”

“And how did you come across this
information?” Nyx asked.

David gave his mother a crooked smile.
“Gemini searched the doctor’s laboratory while he was out of
town.”

“This is a bad idea. We should forget about
this doctor,” I suggested. “I don’t think it’s safe for any of you
to go. He’ll know you’re not human with that machine.”

“We won’t be in any danger of being
discovered. Eryx and Galen found the DNA decoder—or whatever it’s
called—in his lab. Tonight, Gemini will disable the filtration
system it uses to discern between DNAs. Our DNA, along with his,
will be a cluttered mess when it feeds into the system. He’ll think
it’s a malfunction.”

“Do we fund this scientist’s research?” asked
Nyx.

“We do now,” David said.

“And his name?”

“Gunn. Dr. Tobias Gunn.”

As dusk arrived, my stress level began to
rise. I awaited the feeling of nervousness in my stomach and the
tension in my muscles that always set in before the attack. I had a
good two hours to go when my cell phone vibrated.