The Arrivals (29 page)

“They shoot him?” Chloe repeated.

Ajani waved his hand as if brushing away an insect. “He recovers, of course, but I find it inconvenient when he’s dead.”

Chloe realized she was nodding, as if death were inconvenient, as if the pain of bullets were insignificant, as if it were not troubling to hear that the man with whom she’d recently been naked often
shot
the man with whom she’d shared breakfast.

Mutely, she walked to a chair and sat. Ajani took the seat across from her. They were silent in this very stiff room, surrounded by books, and discussing death.

“My staff tells me that there was an altercation with one of those demon-summoning cults,” he said after another moment’s pause. “Some of the natives can be such nasty, blood-spilling creatures. That little group of riffraff you were with isn’t much better, though.” He shuddered delicately. “I can’t imagine living in the primitive conditions they prefer. Sometimes they seem not much better than animals bedding down in a stable.”

“They seem to share a mutual dislike of you,” Chloe pointed out. She didn’t add that she wasn’t seeing any reason to like him either. He was arrogant and condescending, but then again, the Arrivals all had their share of flaws. Although Chloe felt that she would trust Jack or Kitty over anyone else she’d met here so far, she wasn’t so naive as to trust anyone’s blanket condemnation after only a few days of knowing him. She was here now, so she’d talk to Ajani and form her own opinion.

“Daniel tells me that you are seeking a job,” Ajani began. “I have positions available.”

She shook her head. “I’m not interested in being a bodyguard or whatever your people are.”

“I see.” He folded his hands together and looked at her. “I could find a place for you at one of the better brothels instead.”

Chloe snapped her gaze to him. “
Excuse
me?”

“You said you wanted a job. I’m offering to help you make arrangements if you aren’t interested in a position that requires weaponry skills. Some women are more comfortable with gentler skills.” Ajani’s expression didn’t suggest that he thought he was being insulting. If anything, he looked like he thought he was being considerate.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll pass on being a whore. Thanks.”

He obviously missed her tone completely because he shrugged slightly and said, “The accommodations at some of the upscale establishments are quite comfortable.”

After a speechless moment, Chloe tried to remind herself that she was now living in a different world, but her temper seethed. “I’m a lot more comfortable with fighting than fucking for money, but I was thinking more that I could get a job at one of the shops or something.”

Ajani tsked at her. “The natives don’t
hire,
especially not one of the Arrivals
.
They pass their trades on to their young. Your options are limited. The houses typically pass on their trade too, but the Arrivals are enough of a curiosity that you’d be a good earner.”

For a moment, she expected him to laugh, to tell her he was joking, to explain that somehow she had other options. He didn’t. Instead, he continued: “I could have Daniel take you on a tour of the nicer brothels. There are several where you could—”

“No,” she interrupted.

Ajani gave her a patronizing smile. “Are you opposed to the number of clients you’d need to entertain in the brothels? Or are you a virgin?”

“Yes. No. I mean, I understand that there are conventions here, but where I come from . . .” She shook her head. “I just don’t think I can do that.”

“The position of mistress is currently vacant.” He looked at her much the way she’d seen people examine produce at the market. “You’re attractive, and I do understand not wanting to kill . . . or bed the natives.”

“You’re offering me a job as your mistress?” She stared at him with a mix of amusement and horror.

“Yes. I prefer not to frequent the brothels as I prefer not to share, especially with the natives.” Ajani made a moue of distaste before smiling at Chloe. “It’s merely a job, my dear. The lovely Miss Reed continues to refuse my offers, so, until she acquiesces, the position is yours if you want it.”

“Until Kitty . . .” Chloe couldn’t hide her shock. When Ajani smiled at her, she realized that he thought she was shocked that Kitty refused him—not that he’d thought he stood a chance of convincing her to live with him. Chloe had only known the brash woman a bit over a day, but she was already certain that Kitty was never going to accept that offer.

“I would find you another position when she accepts,” Ajani said.

Chloe wasn’t sure if Ajani was evil incarnate, but she was beginning to think he might be insane. “I’m flattered, but I don’t think I’d make a very good mistress.”

Ajani nodded. “You think on it for now. I will speak with Daniel. If he wants to keep you, I could also consider offering you a position in one of my homes if he wants to surrender part of his salary. Perhaps as a maid or something.” He stood then and nodded. “There is one other option, but you’ll need to be tested. So, until we decide what to do with you, I’m afraid it’s for the best that you stay here in the house.”

Chloe wasn’t sure she was hearing him correctly. “To be clear, are you saying I can’t leave?”

“Until we do a few little tests, I’m afraid so.” He smoothed down his already unwrinkled shirtsleeves. “We have always allowed the Arrivals to make a
choice,
you see, but I’m wearying of patience. You will be my guest until we determine whether or not you have what I’m seeking or if you are better employed in another way.”

Fear filled her as memories of Jason and the things he’d done before she’d killed him overwhelmed her. Chloe’s voice was a breath of sound at best when she asked, “What sort of tests?”

“Nothing scandalous. Simply reading some passages for me.” Ajani patted her on the shoulder.

She couldn’t move, couldn’t think beyond the fact that she was trapped. Smiles didn’t change the truth. Jason had smiled too. He’d smiled after he’d hurt her, smiled when he’d left her in restraints, smiled when he’d sat in front of the door with a gun. Her body shook from both the remembered fear and the current anxiety, but her legs wouldn’t move. She had thought that years of training with guns would prevent her from ever feeling this powerless again, but in that moment all of the familiar terror returned and consumed her.

“Once we see the results, we’ll decide what to do with you,” Ajani continued, seemingly oblivious to her trembling. He paused. “Just to be clear, Chloe, I had the staff remove your pistol from your quarters, and they’ve all been instructed as to the rules. It’s an unfortunate situation, but please know that Daniel negotiated the best possible terms for your stay with us. My original plan involved killing Jackson, Francis, and Cordova. They’d have woken, but I understand that it is still unpleasant to die.” He held her gaze as he added, “And there
are
job opportunities that will be open to you even if you fail the tests. If not for Daniel’s speaking up for you, this entire situation might have been very unpleasant for you. You should thank him.”

“I should thank Daniel,” she repeated dully.

“Yes, my dear.” Ajani smiled at her. “And perhaps ask him about the punishments that I’ve had to mete out to those who disobey me or resist. It may help you to be more cooperative.”

Chloe clutched the side of the chair, trying not to let her growing panic consume her. The man in front of her was evil, and the happy expression on his face confirmed her earlier suspicions that he was mad as well.

I survived before,
she reminded herself. Today, though, that reminder wasn’t quite as comforting. She was in a new world, the captive of a madman, and the only people who knew where she was either thought she’d sided with their enemy or were themselves in his employ. Oh, and he couldn’t be killed. There wasn’t any way she could see this going well for her.

Chapter 34

W
hen Jack and the others returned, Kitty and Edgar were sitting with a significantly improved Francis. Styrr had been standing quietly at the window, watching the street below. He looked at her, said, “They are here,” and then he resumed watching the street.

Kitty couldn’t say she was surprised. The bloedzuiger had been unfailing in his guard duties, but he was not particularly talkative. When he did speak for anything other than basic reasons, he directed his remarks only to Kitty.

Francis had slept for the majority of the time that Jack and the others were away. The medicine seemed to send his body into the opposite of a Verrot alertness, but it worked, and that was all that really mattered. Francis hadn’t recovered full sight, but he could see hazy images in both eyes, and more important, the bleeding had stopped. Healing always took far more time than being broken.

“Soanes is gone,” Jack said when he walked in.

Melody made an unhappy noise. “Nothing but bits by the time we were there. Demon-filled monk made a mess of him, and then didn’t have the decency to stand still so we could at least torture him since he killed the governor before I could interrogate him.” She huffed. “In my day, monks were monks, and monsters were on the television or in books, where they belong. Demons being inside of monks is just
rude.
”

While Melody was talking, both Hector and Jack looked down at Kitty and Edgar’s entwined hands. Jack nodded once at Edgar; Hector just grinned. Yesterday, she would’ve had a hard time not commenting on their reactions, but today she was too happy to bother. She rolled her eyes at Hector and turned her attention back to Melody, who was gesticulating and lamenting “the intolerably bad manner of demons and monks and corrupt governors.”

“Melly?” Hector interjected.

Melody blinked like she was trying to refocus on the world around her, and then she patted her hair, smoothing it back in case any tendrils had escaped their assigned places. “Yes?”

“We could hunt,” he suggested. “Maybe the bad-mannered monks came here.”

Melody looked as happy as a girl accepting a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. “I
would
like to kill something . . .” she murmured, before abruptly turning her attention to Jack. “Hector and I are patrolling.”

Jack nodded, and Hector ushered the manic woman out of the room.

Once she was gone, Styrr murmured, “She is very much like a young bloedzuiger . . . but she speaks. I am quite grateful that our newborns do not speak.”

Francis laughed, and both Jack and Edgar smiled.

“Katherine?” Styrr said. When she looked at him, he continued, “Garuda asks that I tell you that the toxin he has prepared seems to be ready for use. The pack told him that speaking to the governor did not work, so he suspects your pack will soon seek Ajani. Is this true?”

“Maybe. What is the toxin?”

“It will kill Ajani,” Styrr said mildly. “However, it cannot be administered by anyone native to the Wasteland.”

“I am not native,” Kitty said.

“True,” Styrr replied, as if he were thinking. “Perhaps, for your protection—as kin to my kin—you might like to have it if you are going to see Ajani. It’s not something we could offer to anyone not kin, but it would not be pleasing to the pack should you be injured.”

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment, and then Kitty replied very politely, “Yes, I think I would like that if it’s of no trouble.”

Styrr bowed his head.

After a moment of stunned silence, Jack said, “If we have a way to kill Ajani, I’m going after him tonight. Tell Garuda to bring the poison.”

“This is a gift we can only offer to kin.” Styrr looked at Kitty, not Jack, as he said this.

Jack was the one in charge; he had always been the one who made decisions. It wasn’t a burden Kitty had ever wanted to shoulder, but she’d also seen how near Jack had been to falling apart over Chloe. Maybe having someone else check his decisions wasn’t an entirely bad idea right now.

She glanced at her brother, but he was staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

Kitty turned to Styrr. “
Could
Garuda bring it now?”

Merely a moment had passed before Styrr said, “He will be here shortly.”

Chapter 35

J
ack knew that he couldn’t go anywhere until Garuda arrived, but he was struggling with the delay. Knowing Chloe was with Ajani made everything feel more urgent. Jack wasn’t going to leave her where she was in danger. She’d gone with Daniel and was in Ajani’s clutches because of
his
mistakes. It wasn’t just about Chloe, though: Jack had wanted Ajani dead for years.

Edgar went to find Melody, and Hector rejoined them, while Jack and Katherine started to plan.

“Styrr will stay with Francis,” Katherine said. She glanced briefly at the sleeping Arrival and then at the bloedzuiger, who nodded his assent.

“We should go in teams.” Jack had thought often enough about attacking Ajani over the years that he knew what he wanted without a lot of discussion.

“I’m with you and Edgar,” Katherine said.

Jack gave her a bland look. He had a different idea in mind, but he’d rather wait until Edgar was back before he said anything. All he said for now was, “Hector and Melody always fight well together.” He glanced at Styrr and added, “Maybe some of the bloedzuigers could join us.”

When the bloedzuiger in the room didn’t answer, Katherine repeated Jack’s statement and added, “Could they?”

“That is not my decision,” Styrr said.

The door opened and the three remaining members of their team entered the tiny room.

“So we’re going to get the new girl back?” Hector asked.

“And I get to kill people,” Melody added in a cheery voice. “No rules, right? I can shoot anyone
but
the new girl. I was cheated earlier, so I shouldn’t have to follow rules this time.”

“Not Chloe, and no servants unless they shoot at you,” Jack corrected. “But aside from that, no rules.”

Melody hugged Jack. “You’re a good boss. Come on, Hector.” She spun toward the door, paused to glance over her shoulder, and said, “I just need to grab a few things. We’ll meet you there.”