The next time Lexi woke she found herself in a room. Someone was with her, sitting in a chair and silent as stone. It was an alien presence different from Six, yet similar, combining an odd mixture of observations, more curious than concerned. It took more than a few seconds for Lexi to orient herself.
The room was decorated in tones of beige and moss green. The furniture was modern with a hint of Scandinavia. Someone had placed her on a couch and she was wearing her own clothes, a loose cotton shirt and jeans. For a moment, Lexi remembered the battle and thought the clothes should be bloody. But they were clean and soft against her skin. Music drifted in the background, Nesum dorma, which Lexi remembered meant “None Shall Sleep.” The aria was from an opera by Puccini. It had been one of her favorites.
“You’re near Seattle,” a cool voice remarked. The woman sat in a cream-colored upholstered chair. There was something regal about her posture and the pale hair swept back from a patrician face. Her hands were folded precisely. An opal-colored silk blouse and tailored pants reinforced the image of quiet authority.
The woman's eyes, though, were dangerously silver. She waited while Lexi pushed upright on the couch.
“You were in Zurich,” the woman continued as the music faded. “In a converted building Six maintains. I brought you to Seattle two days ago. I’ve allowed you to sleep because you needed to heal. And I needed to decide what to do with you.”
“Why must you do anything with me?”
“That was inelegantly phrased.” The woman lifted her hand, but the gesture was lost in the brilliant light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Water shimmered across the bay, and in the far distance, Lexi could see the distinctive skyline. “I am Three. You are safe here, Gaia.”
“My name is Lexi.”
“You were Gaia when we first met. I will always think of you as Gaia.”
Lexi shifted on the couch, felt her muscles protest. All the tiny cuts Six had inflicted were gone. The only trace of the battle was the pink scar across her palm. Lexi glanced at the Calata member who’d kept her asleep while deciding what to do. The immortal was sitting with absolute calm, watching her.
“What is it you wish to know?” the woman asked.
“Why I’m here.”
“They attacked you in Florence.”
“Not just me.”
“True. The enemy attacks you in the alley, and when he loses he makes it worse by doing something stupid, like attacking the villa. It is the way of things.”
“Immortal things?”
The woman nodded. “You understand that Six is my enemy?”
“Yes.”
“He started this war.”
Lexi glanced around, not entirely comfortable in the woman’s presence. This was Three, the immortal who had forced Christan from the Void, who believed he belonged to her. A woman involved with the Agreement that took away the choice. Lexi could feel the power radiating through the air when the woman moved and realized the immortal was exerting a subtle intimidation.
Lexi would not be intimidated. She held the immortal’s steady gaze and waited.
Three, however, merely smiled. The opalescence of her clothing reflected the colors in the sky as she crossed one knee over the other and readjusted her hands.
“Who provoked whom?” Lexi asked.
“He provoked me.” The immortal shrugged. “I provoked him. That’s how you ended up in Zurich.”
“I thought I ended up in Zurich because of Christan.”
“You did,” Three said, watching Lexi carefully. “Six knew I wouldn’t bring Christan back while you were here unless there was an advantage. I knew the same thing. Six should have figured it out before he compelled Christan to Zurich.”
“You wanted Six to take Christan?”
“Yes, if it was necessary.”
“Why, for god’s sake?”
“I needed you to perform the blood bond. You would only do it if you thought you were saving Christan’s life.”
Lexi thought about the attack on the villa, the barking dog, a woman’s scream. Broken hands and a pool of blood on a concrete floor. It took a moment before she could speak. “Why didn’t you just ask me?” It was only blood. She would have agreed.
Three turned her head slightly to the left and said, “Christan would have refused if he’d known.”
Lexi swallowed once and glanced around the elegant room. “You did it behind his back?”
Three remained silent, not a good sign.
“How could torturing Christan possibly benefit you?”
“He was never in any real danger.”
“You didn’t see him.”
“I didn’t need to see him, I know what he is.”
Lexi tried to be calm. “People died at that villa.”
“You say that with such shock,” the immortal said. “But Christan has belonged to me much longer than he has belonged to you. I understand him better than you. I made a decision rather than arguing about it.”
Lexi turned her head to stare through the large windows toward the glittering water beyond. There were differences between human and immortal perspectives that couldn’t be explained. When she glanced back at Three, the woman was watching as if daring judgement.
“The answer is yes,” the immortal said.
“About what?”
“I appreciate a need for blood when necessary. But I am not evil. What I did had to be done. When we created warriors, we knew the alchemy was not an exact science. There was a risk.”
“What kind of risk?”
“That our characteristics would dominate and the warriors would become totally ruthless and amoral.”
“And ruthless, amoral warriors might be inconvenient?” Lexi asked.
Three ignored the sarcasm. “You’ve encountered Kace on multiple occasions. You tell me.”
Lexi didn’t answer.
The immortal said, “No one has survived more than Christan has, nor paid a higher price, but he’d stayed too long in the Void. I needed him more human and the blood bond was the fastest way.”
Lexi stared at a shaft of sunlight on the floor. Her eyes blurred.
“Why?”
“Blood bonds are transformative.”
“And you needed him transformed?”
“Any Enforcer can destroy, Gaia. But an Enforcer with the capability of destroying completely, who can also wield vengeance and justice—that man can be terrifying. And I need Christan to be terrifying.”
A well-dressed man entered the living room. He was tall with short brown hair. Lexi noticed he wore red suspenders beneath his suit jacket, and he was carrying a tray with a white ceramic carafe and two cups on delicate saucers. He set the tray silently on the table. The impression he made was that of an academic, perhaps an advisor, but Lexi suspected he was something quite different. It was in the way he moved.
The music had stopped, and the weight of silence became oppressive. To distract herself, Lexi studied the bookshelves that lined one wall. Artifacts from several centuries were displayed, bits of black and red pottery, bone fetishes. Small antlers were tied with red woven cords, reminding Lexi of the driftwood, tied with red thread, which she’d kept at her cottage before it was destroyed.
Beside the antlers were books with bindings that appeared old and authentic. The dry scent of leather was tangible in the air.
“Do you like books?” Three asked.
“I see you have several on alchemy.”
“I was one of the original alchemists.”
“Christan said he was created.”
The immortal nodded “The theories were mine, as was the Agreement. The magic was Two’s area of expertise.”
Three reached for the carafe. From the aroma, it was coffee and the immortal poured two cups, asking if Lexi desired cream or sugar. Yes, to the cream, Lexi nodded. No to the sugar. It was all quite civilized. The woman handed over the cup and explained how the murder instilled fear in the Calata and they’d demanded some means for self-protection. But it was risky magic, Three said as she lifted her cup to her lips. The alchemists were creating a new species, half-immortal and half-human. They were careful with the knowledge. Lexi remembered Marge saying the magic was too dangerous to be left in the world.
“Did you destroy the magic, or is it hidden?”
No answer.