Jabon stuttered. “You—you—you cannot depart thus! What will—”
“Do not ever ask me for anything, especially not unto this house,” Rhage announced. “And if you see me out upon the town, look away, walk away. I do not wish to be associated with anything under this roof, and I do not believe your story of that male who just took his leave of us. I have no proof, however. So do as you wish, but do not seek to entangle me—or I might just feel the need to share my opinions of you and this household and this situation with others of ready ear.”
“You are wrong about me, and wrong about him!” Jabon shook his head as he launched into much pleading. “And you shall see. I will ensure that this is redressed the proper way. Punishment will be levied and served for what he has done. Please do not shun the hospitality that shall always be available herein for any member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood!”
“I do not believe you.” Rhage shrugged. “About anything.”
With that, he nodded unto his brother and took his own leave, dematerializing through the glass panes of the windows through which he had regarded the Jackal’s own departure. As he spirited out into the night, heading at long last for the isolated home he had set for himself far from the center of town, he resolved to avoid all persons unless absolutely necessary.
Nothing good ever came out of interacting. And that was before one contemplated the roaring complication of his beast.
As well as the utter unreliability of others.
Best that he continued as he was meant to go on.
Alone.
I am a prisoner just the same as any.”
As the Jackal spoke the words again, he pulled the top of his tunic closed and held the two halves in place. “My story is no different than any of the others, and my sentence is what it is.”
“It isn’t.” Nyx shook her head. “You could leave here. If the guards can’t touch you and you have no collar, you can just dematerialize out. You’re choosing to stay—”
“No,” he said sharply. “I do not choose to stay. I would leave here if I could, just like all the others.”
When she shook her head again, he got to his feet and went over to the stack of neatly folded tunics and pants. Yanking his stained top off, he wadded the thing up and threw it into the shadows. As he pulled on a fresh one, he wanted to take a full bath. Instead, he settled for going over and kneeling by the burbling pool. His hands were not steady as he cupped them and splashed his face, over and over again. The water was warm. He wished it was cold enough to ice over.
Fates, he could still taste the blood of that guard, yet found it bizarre that he could remember nothing of the male’s features. Not his eye color or hair color. Not whether he was handsome or ugly.
Sitting back on his heels, he dried his face with the bottom of the tunic.
Meanwhile, Nyx simply stared at him, and he knew without asking what the silence meant. She would go nowhere with him, do nothing to ensure her safety, until he explained himself.
The Jackal cleared his throat. “I was accused of bedding an innocent. Taking her without a commitment, and worse, without her consent. In truth, I had no carnal knowledge of her. The closest I ever came was sitting at a dining table three seats down from her. Upon my honor, I was never even alone with the female. I was sacrificed to save her and her mahmen’s reputation when a mating ploy failed.”
Nyx’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t have sex with her and yet you ended up here. For a century. On a false accusation.”
“There was no objective court for me to go to, no impartial body weighing the truth and the falsehoods. I was called unto the Council, and evidence was presented against me by a male who lied to protect himself, a mahmen who needed to have her daughter be a victim rather than an unmated consort, and a young female who was in over her head with no virtue to give a future hellren. I didn’t have a chance.”
“But that’s not fair.” Nyx sat up, propping herself on her elbow. “Surely truth is the ultimate defense.
“Don’t be naive. How did you think this place got so full?” He rolled his eyes. “This prison was established and run by the Council to serve the needs of the glymera. I was an easy sacrifice, given the others who were involved. And of course I went unto the Council intending to prove my innocence, but I never had the chance to speak. I was sentenced on the spot and dragged off by guards, my civil liberties dashed, my life, my pursuits, my future, gone. I died that night in all the ways that mattered.” With a harsh laugh, he rose to stand. “Little did I know there were even worse moments ahead, nightmares that, at the time, and as horrified and shocked as I was, I couldn’t have even begun to guess at.”
She fell quiet for a moment. “But you could leave.”
“No.”
“I don’t understand—” Nyx stopped. Then cursed under her breath. “Of course. That cell that was furnished properly. That’s where your female is. She’s the reason you don’t leave. She’s what keeps you here.”
The Jackal crossed his arms over his chest. “It is not a simple situation.”
“Enlighten me.”
“I can’t. But I swear, it does not affect . . .” He motioned between them. “It has nothing to do with us.”
“Us?” She sat up properly, dangling her arms off her knees. “Like we’re dating? Like this is the monogamous/nonmonogamous conversation of two people about to decide whether to be exclusive or not? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“But it doesn’t affect us.” He had no idea what else to say. “It’s not about . . . you and me.”
“There is no you and me.” She smoothed the errant strands that had come out of her banded hair. “I’m leaving here as soon as I can, and I’m never coming back. You’ll never see me again. Instead, you’ll sit down here, under the ground, and rot until you die and your name is inscribed on that wall. But the difference between you and the others who are listed there, like my sister? You are choosing that kind of death— just like you’re choosing this kind of life.”
“You don’t understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t. The good news is that I don’t have to. You’re either a fucking coward and avoiding what’s up above, or you’re feeding me a line of bullshit and dumb enough to think I’ll believe you because we had sex. Either way, it’s not any of my business—and more to the point, I’m bored by your games.”
The Jackal eyed the passageway he could use to take his leave of her. And he willed himself to initiate the steps that would carry him off. His feet did not move, however.
Instead, he looked back at the female.
“You have your conclusions about me,” he said in a harsh voice. “And I must confess, I am confounded that they are so low. Then again, I should be used to this considering the actions of others that ended me thus—”
“Ended you thus? What the fuck. You can leave! And spare me the justifications—”
“I will not spare you a defense of your accusation,” he snapped. “I was denied that right once, and believe me when I say that will never happen again. You have accused, and you will now listen to my side.”
Nyx’s brows flared. And when she went silent, he spoke on. “I do not owe you an explanation—something that strikes me as a convenience as it is clear that you will afford me no impartiality. This in spite of the fact that I have done nothing but ensure your safety and the success of your mission to ascertain the fate of your sister. This in spite of you not knowing anything of me but what I have shown you, which I think we can both agree has been nothing but courtesy and protection.”
As she exhaled, she spoke in a low voice. “When is the next change of shift. That’s all that I care about.”
The Jackal opened his mouth. Then closed it.
After a moment, he spoke quietly. “You are worried about yourself. But of course.”
“I just want to get out of here.”
“And strangely, or perhaps not, I find myself in utter agreement with this goal of yours.” He rubbed his eyes. “We are past being able to concern ourselves with shifts. There are dead guards now, in a place that only a limited number of people have access to. The prison is on lockdown as we speak, in which case I have to go back to my cell for mandatory count. Assuming I have not missed it already.”
“How do we find that out?” she said. “Whether we’re on lockdown, I mean.”
“I will go—”
“No.” She got to her feet. “We go together.”
The Jackal stared across at the female he had seemed to be in such concert with when they had been fleeing the guards. All of that communion and partnership was gone. He was dealing the now with somebody who was a total stranger, one who was, moreover, incompatible with him.
“As you wish,” he muttered. “Far be it from me to get in your way.”
This was all over, Nyx thought as she put on her windbreaker, strapped on her backpack, and walked around the pool. This whole bizarre, too-dangerous, heartbreaking interlude was over. She was going to go back the way she’d come in, and then she was returning to the farmhouse and her family—
As she thought of her home, and her remaining sister, she cursed, remembering the picture she’d taken of Janelle’s name in the Old Language.
There had been plenty of very worthwhile distractions since she’d stood in front of the Wall, but grief surged now: Janelle was dead. And she had likely died alone. Had her body even been buried? Or had it been thrown out like trash.
And it was all their grandfather’s fault.
“Put a new tunic on,” Jack said.
“I don’t want to.”
He went over to the stack, picked one up and threw the thing at her. “Put this on now.”
Yanking the garment over her head, she promised herself she was going to burn the damn thing as soon as she could find a fireplace.