Ruby Fever EPB, page 15
I didn’t take the bait. I just looked at him.
“Shut up and listen,” Alessandro told him. “I’ll keep it brief, and you can fill in the gaps.”
Konstantin gave him a go-ahead wave, a gesture at once elegant and dismissive. Arrogant jerk.
“We know that as of last year, Arkan refined the last two samples of the Osiris serum, achieving a stability rate of twenty percent,” Alessandro said.
Linus had been livid when he’d found out. Up until last year, Arkan’s modified serum killed the majority of his volunteers. Now they had a roughly one in five chance of surviving with their bodies intact and new latent powers activated.
“Arkan is building a network of allies by secretly supplying the serum to Houses with failed vectors and duds. He had been very careful in his selection, but last summer he got greedy. He gifted a sample to House Dolgorukov. Aleksei Antonovich Dolgorukov is the current Minister of Defense. Arkan wanted to buy a future favor.”
Arkan was screwing around with a family in the highest strata of Russian society. He must have been sure the serum wouldn’t kill its recipient, except his chances of success were still only twenty percent. It was a huge risk. His arrogance was getting the best of him.
“House Dolgorukov has two magic bloodlines,” Alessandro continued. “Pattern and precognition. The two work together, making the Dolgorukovs excellent strategists. Inna Dolgorukov, the eldest of three scions of the House, was born without magic, a fact House Dolgorukov went to great lengths to hide for seventeen years. How am I doing so far?”
“Wonderfully,” Konstantin told him, his voice dry.
Of course they would hide it. Primes married for magic, and they liked the guarantee that their children would be as powerful as their parents. Without powers, Inna’s odds of marrying someone in her social circle were nil. She’d spend her life on the sidelines, pitied and feeling useless, while her relatives wielded power and influence.
Not only that, but her very existence put the future of her family in doubt. In the eyes of the magic elite, she was an indicator that something went terribly wrong with the genetics of House Dolgorukov. If her parents could produce a dud, so could her siblings. Instead of a sure bet, marrying into House Dolgorukov would suddenly become a gamble.
“But that’s not all there is, is it?” Alessandro said. “You like genealogy, Konstantin. Remind me, how are your family and House Dolgorukov connected?”
“Inna’s mother is my aunt,” the prince said in a flat voice.
“On which side?” Alessandro crooned.
“On my father’s,” Konstantin said.
Oh shit. Inna’s mother was the sister of the czar. Inna’s lack of powers didn’t just mar her House. It tainted the Imperial dynasty.
“At seventeen, the odds of her manifesting powers are basically nonexistent,” I thought out loud. “Sooner or later, she would have to get married, and the Imperial family would likely kill her to keep her lack of powers secret. That’s why her parents went to Arkan for the serum. They were desperate.”
“You think the worst of us,” Konstantin said. “Inna was going to have a quiet life away from the public eye.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No matter how quietly she lived, her genes would always be a threat. The dynasty must appear bulletproof. One carefully worded article during a time of crisis, and suddenly there is a fatal flaw in the bloodline of House Berezin. Killing her would be cleaner. A convenient accident during this quiet life, in some remote place—a wrecked car, an unfortunate fall from a horse, a drowning. Nobody can prove that she had no magic by examining her corpse.”
Konstantin leaned forward. “That’s the second time you surprised me since we’ve met, Ms. Baylor.”
Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.
I glanced at Alessandro. “What happened? Did Arkan’s serum kill her?”
“Not right away. She survived the exposure and got her magic.”
“What was she?”
Alessandro smiled without any humor. “Prime venenata. A very strong, very unstable venenata.”
Dear God, the serum had given her Runa’s talent. She could poison an entire city block in minutes.
“Nobody in House Dolgorukov knew how to handle a venenata,” Alessandro continued. “Especially since Inna had no training. They tried to find the right tutor. Meanwhile, Inna had to hide her powers and pretend that everything was fine. The Dowager Empress is fond of socials. Inna, one of her favorite grandchildren, was always invited. During the last Spring Social in March, Inna took offense to something Duchess Minkina said to her. Her powers spun out of control.”
Oh no.
“She killed three women on the spot, critically poisoned seven others, and would have killed everyone present if Konstantin’s mother hadn’t put a bullet into her niece’s brain two seconds after the first victim hit the ground.”
Yep, that was about the only way to stop a venenata. When they got going, you killed them, usually from a distance, or you died.
“The Dowager was grateful but most displeased,” Alessandro said. “We all know how much she enjoys her get-togethers.”
Konstantin’s face displayed all the emotion of a stone wall. “You seem remarkably well-informed, Sasha. I see the charming Italian orphan thing still works for you.”
He’d put an emphasis on the word orphan.
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed. This was about to get ugly.
“How is your mother?” Alessandro asked, his voice light. “From what I’ve heard, the murder of her niece was traumatic for her.”
“Quite well and fully recovered. It was regrettable but necessary. Her quick thinking and actions saved many lives. Unlike some mothers, she always puts the welfare of children, hers and others, before her own needs.”
Alessandro’s mother had done nothing to take care of him and his sisters or to protect him from the wrath of his grandfather when Alessandro tried to become the breadwinner. He had to pretend to be a rich Prime while his family secretly suffered in poverty, so he could marry a rich heiress. His entire adolescence was a giant marital advertisement, and his mother had encouraged him to put himself out there. It was a source of pain to him.
Alessandro smiled. “Aunt Zina was always very caring unless the matters of state dictated otherwise. It’s a rare mother who could murder her oldest son’s fiancée with her own hands. Poor Liudmilla. She never saw it coming.”
Ouch. Who the hell was Liudmilla, and how many women had Konstantin’s mother murdered? Was it a hobby of hers?
Konstantin leaned forward. His face changed somehow, his features sharpening, his jaw growing more square. His eyes lost their warm glow, turning uncaring and frightening. He stared at Alessandro with the unblinking focus of a predator sizing up his next meal.
“See that?” Alessandro told me. “Remember that. That’s his real face. He isn’t mad that I know. He’s angry because I said it in front of you. They get touchy when their dirty laundry is aired in front of outsiders.”
The fury in Konstantin’s eyes vanished. In a blink, he was charming again. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
“Like I said,” the prince quipped, “our aunts take pity on him because he is handsome and impoverished. I’ll plug that leak when I get home.”
“You called your Russian aunts?” I looked at Alessandro.
“Oh, he hasn’t told you.” Konstantin smiled. “He’s my third cousin.”
“Fourth,” I corrected.
Konstantin frowned, counting on his fingers. “Oh well. Your English genealogy is confusing, and blood is blood. How is my many-times-removed Aunt Lilian, by the way? Still cowering whenever your grandfather raises his voice?”
Orange sparks flared in Alessandro’s eyes.
The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife and make a sandwich. I raised my right index finger. “Question: Does Arkan realize that the Imperium knows that he supplied that serum?”
Konstantin leaned back. “No. He had taken pains to cover up his tracks. Even the Dolgorukovs didn’t fully realize who they were dealing with until the serum changed hands.”
All this time I was wondering what would cause a man as cautious as Arkan to suddenly attack us on all fronts without any regard for the consequences. He was terrified that once Smirnov started talking, the Russians would realize who was behind Inna’s death. He was willing to risk a fight with the Wardens, the FBI, and the State of Texas just to avoid facing the Russian Imperium. Well, that mystery was solved.
“The Imperium sent you to dismantle Arkan’s murder club,” Alessandro said to Konstantin. “They already had issues with some of the assassinations he sanctioned, and the Inna incident was the last straw.”
“He crossed the line,” Konstantin said. “He was a tame wolf we released back into the forest. As long as he stayed there, we wouldn’t hunt him. He took it upon himself to break into our pasture, kill our sheep, and crap all over our yard. Now we will put him down.”
Wow.
“When did you kill Smirnov?” Alessandro asked.
“Three months ago.”
And he had assumed Smirnov’s identity and strolled right into Arkan’s inner circle.
“How did you compensate for not being a pattern mage?” I asked.
“Patterns are logic,” Konstantin said. “I was trained in logical thinking from a very young age. Call it the benefit of an excellent Russian education.”
“Also, Arkan is paranoid,” Alessandro added. “He compartmentalizes a lot of the work. Smirnov was in charge of his cybersecurity. Since the network is set up, it pretty much runs itself. Smirnov’s main value was in being Arkan’s sounding board. They play chess and bounce ideas back and forth.”
“Which I quite enjoyed,” the prince said. “Playing chess with a rabid tiger while plotting to topple governments and kill important people. I’ll remember that bit fondly.”
Konstantin had managed to impersonate one of Arkan’s closest associates, a man Arkan knew for years. He lived in Arkan’s compound, he talked to him every day, he played chess with him, and Arkan never had any idea that one of his oldest friends was counterfeit. It wasn’t just crazy impressive, it was deeply disturbing.
Konstantin looked at Alessandro. “Arkan is a popular man. Everyone wants his head on their wall. The Imperium wants him because he presumed to meddle with us. Your National Assembly wants him because he stole their serum, and now he’s peddling it like a kolachi vendor, embarrassing them further. Linus Duncan wants him because Arkan outplayed him and wounded his pride. You want him because he killed your father. Ms. Baylor wants him because she is secretly afraid he might kill you.”
The hidden fear deep inside me woke up and clawed me. I had no idea how Konstantin had seen through me, but somehow, he had. Yes, Arkan was ruthless, unstoppable, and powerful. He inspired fear, and it was well earned. Only an idiot wouldn’t be afraid of him. But that’s not what created that hot knot inside me. If Alessandro had a choice of killing Arkan at the cost of his own life or walking away, I wasn’t sure which path he would take, and that terrified me more than Arkan himself.
Konstantin leaned back and I saw the flash of his true face for a split second. “I don’t want to take down Arkan. I want to dismantle everything he’s built. I want him to lose his security, his position in society, his money, his people, and finally, his life. He dared to upset my mother.”
Not “he caused the death of my cousin.” He dared to upset my mother. Inna was only seventeen years old, a victim as much as she was the villain in this story, yet in Konstantin’s mind her death was regrettable but almost incidental, while the anguish of his mother had to be addressed. When people showed you where their priorities lay, it was a good idea to keep it in mind.
“Funny you should mention it.” The voice of Victoria Tremaine’s granddaughter came out of my mouth on its own. “Right now, my mother is resting upstairs because Arkan’s pet telekinetic impaled a two-foot-long spike in her thigh. You caused this.”
Konstantin raised his eyebrows. “I nudged you out of your complacency. Your conflict with Arkan was inevitable. You haven’t taken overt action so far because Arkan never gave you an excuse. Now you have it.”
“It wasn’t your nudge to make.”
A muscle in his cheek jerked. I was looking at him as if he were a cockroach to be crushed under my feet and my face was wearing the trademark Tremaine arrogance. He clearly wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of a sneer.
“I’m here to offer you the assistance of the Imperium. You won’t get a better chance to win this.”
I tilted my chin up slightly, so I could look down on him. “I don’t need your assistance. In a minute I’ll open my wings and then you’ll fall to your knees. You will crawl across your cage to me, begging for me to keep talking to you. You will tell me all of your secrets. You’ll follow me around like a gentle lamb, and when I’m done with you and we dump you in front of the Russian Embassy, you will weep and try to end your life because I’m no longer in it.”
I let my green wings out and let him see a tiny hint of them. Konstantin stared and shook his head.
“Shall we begin?” I asked.
“I’m not easily broken.”
True. Illusion was a mental discipline.
I channeled Victoria and scoffed. “You’re not the strongest illusion mage I’ve met.”
Technically, it was hard to tell who would win between him and Augustine, but he didn’t need to know that.
“The Imperium will retaliate.”
“I don’t care. You hurt my mother. I’m a Baylor, Your Highness, but I am also a Tremaine. We do not forgive.”
Konstantin glanced at Alessandro. “You should tell her that it’s not in her best interests or yours, Sasha.”
The Artisan tilted his head with clinical detachment. “I’m the Sentinel of the Texas Warden. I evaluate threats and eliminate them. You are a threat, Konstantin. Your presence here endangers the Warden. Handing you off to the embassy solves all my problems. As long as you’re alive and uninjured, they will do very little. You will recover. It will take you a long time and you’ll keep trying to kill yourself out of sheer desperation, but you will recover.”
“Let’s see what you’ve found in Arkan’s files.” I fluttered my feathers.
“What are your terms?” Konstantin asked.
I took the folder and passed it to him together with a pen. He opened it and scanned the contents and read out loud:
“The Russian Imperium surrenders all claims on the life and freedom of Ignat Orlov, otherwise known as Arkan, to Alessandro Sagredo. Alessandro Sagredo will have the sole, exclusive right to kill Ignat Orlov. A breach of this clause nullifies this contract.”
“Which part isn’t clear?” I asked.
“You have a guardian angel,” Konstantin said to Alessandro. “Too bad she is wasted on a sinner like you.”
“The angel can be kind, but the sinner is not,” Alessandro told him.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.”
Konstantin tapped the contract with his fingertips. “To summarize, I’m confined to the grounds of this estate. I’m forbidden from taking any action against Arkan myself or through my subordinates without the express consent of one of you. I’m precluded from endangering any member of your family. And finally, I’m expected to render aid to the best of my ability at your request. And I can’t kill Arkan, even if an opportunity to do so presents itself.”
“Yes,” I told him.
“And you want me to sign it?”
“No. I want you to seal it.”
I had done some research of my own. Members of the Imperial family tasked with special missions carried a seal which they affixed to formal documents. This seal put the reputation of the entire family behind the contract. It wasn’t foolproof, but it was as close as we could get to the Emperor’s word. According to Alessandro, Konstantin would have one.
“This will require a phone call,” Konstantin said.
Alessandro passed a cell phone to Konstantin through the bars.
“I’ll need a bit of privacy.”
“You have the whole cage.” It was petty but I enjoyed it.
Konstantin shook his head, rose, and walked to the far side of the cage. He dialed the number and spoke in a quiet urgent Russian. We waited. Minutes crawled by. In the ensuing pause, my brain finally started working to full capacity.
“I think we need help,” I murmured to Alessandro.
“Who do you have in mind?”
I told him. “Just in case.”
He laughed softly under his breath. “Your mother is going to love it.”
Konstantin disconnected the call, reached into his shirt, and pulled a necklace from around his neck, a simple rectangle of silver hanging on a matching chain. The rectangular pendant slid apart under the pressure of his fingers. He took the top half and pressed it under his signature line. A red stamp with Cyrillic script winding around a double-headed eagle marked the paper. He signed his name with a flourish and grinned at Alessandro.
“Congratulations, Sasha. You will have your revenge. I get his body though. After you’re done with it, of course.”
Alessandro smiled like a wolf grinning at the moon in the middle of a dark forest and keyed the code into the cage’s lock. “Agreed.”
My phone rang. An unlisted number. I took the call.
“I’ll be brief,” Arkan said on the other end. “Release Trofim Smirnov, and your sisters will survive the day.”
I went right back to my Tremaine voice. “What a coincidence. I’ve just finalized the contract spelling out what happens to your corpse. So good of you to call after it was done.”
Konstantin slipped out of the cage, moving in complete silence. Alessandro grabbed the manila folder, scribbled something on the back of it, and held it up.
Provoke.
Yes, yes, I know.
No matter how many operatives we took out, as long as Arkan remained at his base in Canada, he was unreachable. Going into Canada to get him required cooperation between the two governments and an international warrant. Linus had tried, but nobody wanted to tell Canada the real reason we were going after Arkan. The moment news of the stolen serum reached the Canadian government, there would be a diplomatic explosion of international proportions. The United States couldn’t afford to lose face. Without the serum, our reasoning for arresting Arkan was thin, and Canada wasn’t wild about letting a team of dangerous combat Primes across their borders to apprehend one of their citizens.
