Sins of the Flesh

Who?

His brothers. He remembered them, hazy recollections that undulated and twined like smoke. He had brothers.

Malthus. Alastor. Dagan.

And a daughter. Dana. Precious Dana. He’d sent her to his enemies to keep her safe.

No, that couldn’t be right. But it was. He had sent his daughter to his enemies because his allies could not be trusted. Betrayal was too close.

Gahiji, his father’s second-in-command, had watched them carve the skin from his chest. Black blades. An oblong bowl, filling with blood. His blood.

But there was more than one traitor. Not just Gahiji. Someone else. Someone closer still. It was—

Cold horror settled like a lump of ice in his chest.

The one who had butchered him could butcher those he loved. So easily. Like snapping a twig.

He surged to his feet and battered at the confines of his cage.

There was no cage.

There was no Lokan.

There was nothing save the echo of his scream.

And then there was nothing at all.





WITH EXHAUSTION DRAGGING at her, Calliope lowered one foot then the other, concentrating on descending into the bowels of the earth without tripping and tumbling head over heels. Above her was the mansion with its hundreds of rooms and hundreds of women, all members of the Asetian Guard.

But other than Zalika, not a single one had greeted her. She had passed through the front doors and the long hallways, and the women she passed did not so much as glance her way. They would have been told not to. They would have been given no reason, only an order. And none would even think to disobey. Such was the way of the Asetian Guard. Secretive. Private. Even longstanding members of the Guard, those of fairly high rank, were often told almost nothing of their mission or purpose. Protection, the Matriarchs said. One could not betray what one did not know.

That rule had worked to Calliope’s advantage when she’d made the choice to release her acolyte, Roxy Tam, from her post. Roxy had been so low in the hierarchy that she’d been allowed to muster out because she’d been privy to no sensitive information.

Privy. She sucked in her breath, thinking of Malthus Krayl and her secret amusement at his word choice. Images flashed through her thoughts. The way he’d told her to stay behind him. The way he’d brushed his lips over hers, gentle, almost…sweet. And the way she’d left him, fire licking at his skin. She locked down the tiny flicker of regret. He was a soul reaper. Her enemy. She felt nothing for him.

He’d been a necessary sacrifice to her mission.

She had no idea why she was thinking about him at all. Except some tiny kernel inside her felt that he’d gotten a raw deal since the first second she’d approached him. She hadn’t exactly been his good-luck charm. The thought made her lips shape a rueful smile.

As her boots rang against the polished oak of the staircase, Calliope glanced at Zalika.

“The night I took Kuznetsov,” she said, “there were others there.”

Zalika met her gaze. “The soul reaper.”

“Him. But others, as well. Xaphan’s concubines. And before that, a couple of Topworld grunts who work for Asmodeus.”

“So many guests to the party.” Zalika pressed her lips together. “I wonder who invited them all on the same night.”

“Yes. Exactly,” Calliope said. It was highly unlikely that happenstance had so many supernaturals show up at Kuznetsov’s building.

“Who knew of your plans?” Zalika asked, vocalizing the unease Calliope had been living with since she’d first sensed the reaper outside Kuznetsov’s building. In retrospect, she should have aborted. But then, perhaps not. Had she waited to take the High Reverend another night, the soul reaper would have him now.

“No one.”

They reached a landing, and Zalika paused, studying her.

“I’ve replayed every aspect of the evening in my mind,” Calliope continued. “I spoke with Roxy Tam from the taxi but gave no indication of where I was or what I was about to do.” She didn’t bother to add that even if she had known, Roxy would never betray her, despite having taken a soul reaper as her mate. Best to stick only to the facts. “I told no one that I was planning to take Kuznetsov that night.”

Zalika shot her a measured look. “You spoke with no one in the Guard?”

“Yes. Of course. I spoke with Sarita.” Her direct superior. “It was a secure line from a secure location. There was no chance that I was overheard. And later, from my cell, but that was after my encounter with the reaper, and we spoke in only general terms at that point.”

“Your direct superior. No one else knew of your intent?” Zalika’s voice was so low, Calliope had to strain to hear her.