12- Karl

Karl poured himself a cup of strong black coffee, dropped a dollop of thick sweetened cream into it, and carried it to his desk. There were bills to pay, lists to make, account books to update. Fortitude’s new papers had arrived. He would need to send Jacob her new passport via overnight post. They should be needing it soon. He opened his laptop and took a careful sip of his hot coffee while he waited for it to turn on.

Six new e-mails. Two were junk. One was an alert from the bank. Two were from Fanzou. Karl deleted the spam and opened the mail from the bank. The transfer to Brazil had been completed. Fanzou had gotten his money. Karl deleted the e-mail and was just about to open the message from Fanzou when his back pocket started vibrating.

He took out his phone and looked at it. Jacob’s cell. He smiled as he answered it, leaning back in his chair. "This is Karl."

"Karl, it’s Jacob."

"Good morning, Jacob. How’s the weather in Malta today?"

"Beautiful. Warm. I’m thinking of going for a swim this afternoon."

"Damn you. I’m freezing here. And it’s snowing."

Karl closed his eyes as he listened to the sound of Jacob’s laughter. He’d been alone in this enormous house for over a month now. The sense of freedom he’d enjoyed for the first two weeks had gotten stale, and now he longed to have everyone at home again.

"How is everything?" Jacob asked.

"Boring without you," Karl replied. He took a sip of his coffee. "Hespah’s scheduled to come home next week."

"I’ll be home soon too. Fortitude’s almost ready. It won’t be long now."

A soft chime from his laptop indicated a new e-mail. Karl glanced at the little pop-up before it disappeared. A third message from Fanzou. That was unexpected. Karl had told him not to bother sending him details or updates on this mess with Nadina. So why all the mail? He opened Fanzou’s first e-mail as he listened to Jacob detailing the initial progress of Fortitude’s awakening.

Got the cash. Thanks. Now commencing Operation Save The Jackass. – F

Really, this message was more than Karl had expected. What else was there to say? He clicked on the second message.

Thought you should know. Tsu Lai just landed in France. – F

Karl stared at the message. What the hell was Tsu Lai doing in Europe?

"Jacob. . ."

"Hm? What?"

"I just got an e-mail from Fanzou. Tsu Lai arrived in France this morning."

Jacob was silent for a moment. "Is Aterat with him?"

"Wait, there’s another message. Give me a moment."

TL is in Switzerland. Coming your way. Who is with H? – F

Karl stood up, knocking his cup over and spilling coffee all over his desk. "He’s on his way here. Jacob, I have to go."

"Karl, be careful."

"I will." He hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket as he rushed up to his room. He didn’t know when Tsu Lai would arrive, but he needed to be ready.

He strapped on his vest and buttoned a warm flannel shirt over it, then unlocked his bedside table and pulled out the box that held his favorite Beretta, a classic 92FS with a custom grip. The weight of it in his hand was very reassuring. He also made sure he had a good knife on his belt, just in case.

He was just lacing up his hiking boots before leaving the house when his cell phone went off again.

"This is Karl."

"Mr. Waiblingen? This is Sophie at the– "

"Yes? What is it? What’s happened?" He’s already there, he thought as he slid into his car and put the key in the ignition. He’s got Hespah.

"You requested that we call you if any unauthorized visitors came to see Ms. Stille. . . ."

"Who is it? Don’t let him in. Wait for me, I’m coming."

"The gentleman has already left. I informed him that we needed your consent before we could let him see her, and he said he would come back later. He didn’t give me his name. He said you would know who he was?"

"Describe him."

"He’s tall, with really long hair. He looks Asian, but with gray eyes. Do you know him, Mr. Waiblingen?"

He did.

11- Xerondar

The room was filled with bright, warm sunlight. Xerondar groaned and laid his arm across his eyes. Perhaps curtains wouldn’t be such a bad idea. He’d chosen his new home for its windows, as well as for its location. It had an open floor plan and lots of front-facing windows, so that from nearly every room in the house he could, with just a glance, have a clear view of the beige brick house up the street. Still, the sunlight streaming into the front bedroom at seven o’clock every morning was not always welcome.

Xerondar stretched and rubbed at his face, blinked a few times, sat up, and unzipped his sleeping bag. This afternoon he would visit an actual furniture store for the first time in years. A college student living in an efficiency apartment with nothing but a bed and a chair was normal enough, but a single young man living alone in a four-bedroom house in a suburban neighborhood whose only furniture was a sleeping bag and an old trunk was a bit conspicuous. And now that he knew where she was, he could allow himself to settle down a little.

But before he went in search of dining sets and bedroom suites, he had another task. Every weekday morning, after she dropped her two children off at school, the carrier returned home, changed her clothes, and went out on her errands. She left home at almost exactly 8:20 every day. And Xerondar was almost always a comfortable distance behind her. He waited in his car while she went shopping, or dropped by her husband’s office, or had her nails done. Thankfully she had stopped her weekly spray-tan appointments when she discovered she was pregnant.

The only time he went in with her was when she had her doctor visits. Her obstetrician’s practice was in a large building full of doctors’ offices, and always had people coming and going. He would enter the building a minute or two after the carrier, then take the stairs to the fourth floor while she rode the busy elevator. By the time she arrived, he was settled into one of the comfortable chairs in the central waiting room that her OB/GYN shared with a dentist, a psychiatrist, and two pediatricians. Dr. Silva also had her own waiting room in her office, with three chairs and some fake plants, so the carrier naturally chose to wait there before her appointments. Xerondar would gladly have sat in that room as well, but he would never have been able to explain his presence there. He couldn’t really even explain it to himself. He couldn’t hear what the doctor said, couldn’t sit in for the ultrasounds, couldn’t do anything to help. All the same, he felt like he had to be there.

Xerondar laughed at himself. After all this time, he still bothered to ask himself why he did these things. The answer was simple. It was just part of who he was, and who she was, and what she was. It was the connection they had. He would always do these things that made no sense, and he would never be able to fully explain it to himself, or to anyone else. And really, he didn’t have to.

10- Tsu Lai

The wind was gentle tonight, and carried the scents of fresh water and flowers– the bright pink flowers that pleased Aterat. Azaleas. It was not the season for those blossoms now, but Aterat was not one to wait when there was something she wanted, so Tsu Lai had erected a glass house to grow them in, so that her garden always had a few of these shrubs in bloom. Tsu Lai sighed, a faint hint of a smile settling on his long, oval face. Those flowers suited her, no matter how he thought about it. The thinking-of-home bush. Bright and beautiful and deadly toxic, the little flowers craved warmth but thrived best in shadows.

Tsu Lai followed the winding garden path to the small pond, slipped his shoes off, and sat on the grass at the edge, letting his feet dip into the cool water. He tilted his head back and gazed up at the stars, his smooth, straight, knee-length black hair splayed on the grass behind him. He remembered the stars as they had been, when all of them were visible. Those days were long past. Even here, hours away from the nearest city, he couldn’t see them all. The lights from Aterat’s compound shone just brightly enough that only the strongest stars would dare show themselves.

He was just starting to fall asleep in his tranquil meditations on the brightness of stars when his heart suddenly began to beat faster. Something has excited her, he thought as he observed the surge of adrenaline racing through his veins, causing a nervous energy to build in his stomach. He sighed and glanced back toward the main house, waiting to see if she would need him.

And there it was. The little tug in his chest, the instinctive desire to go to her.

Tsu Lai slowly stood up and brushed the grass from the backs of his long legs and the ends of his hair, then took his time pulling his shoes back onto his feet. It was interesting, he thought, how strongly his soul felt the need to go now. He often hesitated like this, testing the limits of his obedience, not out of any kind of rebellion, but simply to taste the thrill it gave him deep inside, and to see how strong he was. The longer he took in coming to her, the more intensely he felt the pull, until he felt he couldn’t control himself anymore and he wanted to break into a run. He had done that once. He’d waited until he could no longer hold himself back and then had sprinted to her side. Aterat had been disgusted with him and had told him that he looked ridiculous, flushed and out of breath as he was. Since then he’d not pushed himself quite that hard.

Tonight he restrained himself only a little. He took slow, smooth steps, but because of his height his stride was still so long that he moved more quickly than most men would at that pace. He didn’t allow himself to cut across the grassy lawns and flowerbeds, but instead forced himself to follow the lazy trail of stone pavers that meandered through Aterat’s garden. He paused to wipe the dirt and grass from his garden slippers before he entered the sun-room, then stopped again to exchange them for the soft shoes that Aterat preferred he wear when in the main house. He calmly made his way through the corridors that led to her private study, where he instinctively knew her to be. When he arrived at the door, he knocked and waited for her to respond before he quietly entered the room.

Aterat was at her desk, her petite frame sitting perfectly straight as always, her hands clasped atop the polished wood desktop. She was smiling, a smug look of victory glistening in her large brown eyes. She was magnificent and glorious– Tsu Lai could feel the power radiating from her. He bowed briefly and moved to her side.

"I have him," she declared triumphantly. "That cave troll he’s bound himself to has allowed herself to be weakened and exposed at a time when I am in full power and he is not even here!"

This was good news. Tsu Lai allowed the shadow of a smile to ripple across his placid features. Perhaps now this fight will finally come to an end, he thought to himself.

"The brainless oaf managed to get her name mentioned on a police report, of all things!"

He knelt beside her chair, almost bringing himself down to her eye level. "What will you have me do?" he asked softly.

"I want him destroyed," she replied. She handed him a piece of paper with an address on it. "Go. Kill the troll. Then return immediately."

Tsu Lai closed his eyes and bowed his head, clutching the paper to his chest. "As you wish," he whispered, then he stood and quietly left the room.