8- Karl

Karl had the house to himself. He’d given the servants a small vacation. They would need the rest. Things were going to be livening up around here soon. Hespah would be coming home in about a month. Jacob had left for Malta a week ago to watch over Fortitude, who would be awakening soon. When he returned with her, there would be a lot of activity in this place. And Grushilde would be awakening sometime within the next few years, too.

At least Shepetheleh hadn’t returned to this world yet.

Karl froze at that thought and glanced around nervously, as if Shepetheleh were there and could hear his thoughts. He laughed at himself. Honestly, it wasn’t as if he didn’t like the guy. Hespah and Shepetheleh had always been good friends to him, and reliable allies. Here he was, living in Shepetheleh’s mansion while the man himself was between lives. He and Jacob were lucky to have such a generous friend. But it was also true that, once he returned, their lives were going to get very busy.

He stepped out of the shower and quickly began rubbing himself dry with the first towel he could reach. He stopped and smiled to himself when he saw the fancy blue "J" embroidered on the corner. He’d meant to grab one off of the stack of "K" towels. Oh, well, what Jacob didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. He let out an evil-sounding laugh as he finished drying himself with it, and then used it to mop up the water he had dripped on the floor. He started to reach for his shaving kit, then decided against it, running a hand over the rough sprinkling of blonde stubble that had appeared on his chin over the last two days. He chuckled again and deliberately mussed up his short sandy-blonde hair before striding naked into the bedroom.

Where had he hidden them? If he remembered right, he’d stashed them in a box in the back of his closet. Karl rummaged through the clothes and shoes until he found it. He grinned and shook his head. He’d had the house to himself for almost two days, and he was only just now digging these out? Glancing around as if afraid someone might catch him, he opened the box and lifted out its contents. Jammed in there, in a crumpled heap, were a pair of old, worn out, hideous orange sweat-pants and an oversized, thread-bare t-shirt in a radioactive shade of yellow that hadn’t been produced since the 1980's. He pulled these on without bothering with underwear, pulling the drawstring on the pants since the elastic had died years ago. Reveling in the soft, loose cotton, he did a few clumsy pirouettes and flopped onto the rumpled, unmade bed.

Ah, yes. It had been a long time since he’d had the house to himself. If Jacob could see him now, he’d probably die right then and there. Karl laughed again. For someone who had been raised Puritan, Jacob cared an awful lot about clothes.

He must have fallen asleep, because when his cell phone went off, he had no idea how long he’d been lying there. Karl fumbled for his phone on the night-stand and peered at the caller ID.

Hespah’s room at the clinic. Now he was awake. He answered it immediately. "This is Karl."

"Karl, I need you to do something."

This was rare. Hespah hated asking for favors. "What is it?"

"Nadina’s got M’boku and she has Interpol on her ass."

"M’boku’s awakened already?" Shit.

"Not yet. She took him early. Long story."

Well, that was a relief. If they’d had to deal with that guy’s antics, now of all times . . . . "So what do you want me to do?"

"Help her."

. . . Huh? Karl wasn’t sure he’d heard right. "You want to help . . . M’boku?"

"Hell no. I wouldn’t lift a fucking finger for that bastard. I want to help Nadina."

This was confusing. Wasn’t it the same thing? But then, if M’boku hadn’t awakened yet . . . He supposed Nadina couldn’t help whom she’d gotten stuck with. She wasn’t all that bad by herself. Karl sighed. "I’ll see if I can locate Fanzou. Last I heard, he’s become quite the hacker in his spare time."

"Good. Pay him if you have to. And don’t go overboard. A couple months head-start or something. Not like I owe her anything."

"I understand. You get some rest. I’ll take care of everything."

"Right. Rest. That’s all I can do in this fucking hell-hole." She hung up.

Karl sighed and slumped back down on the bed. So much for his stress-free vacation. He rubbed at his temples. Since when were Hespah and Nadina such good friends, anyway?

Wait. How had Hespah found out about Nadina’s problem in the first place?

That damned clinic! He’d chosen the place because it was supposed to be all high-security, complete anonymity. No visitors without prior permission. They didn’t give out their patient list. It was a place where celebrities and politicians and the social elite could go to have a little work done without anyone knowing about it. He and Jacob were the only two people in the world who were allowed to have contact with her there. But obviously their security was far more relaxed than they claimed.

Karl bolted out of bed and stormed out of the room. He was going to go down there right now and have a few choice words with their director! This was outrageous! What if Nadina hadn’t needed Hespah’s help? What if she’d been there to eliminate a future threat? Or what if it had been someone else? What if it had been Aterat instead? Hespah could have been killed! Shepetheleh would be gone! And then what would the rest of them do? People like him and Jacob who had been under Shepetheleh’s protection all this time?

He stormed back into the bedroom and pulled off the ridiculous-looking yellow t-shirt. He would change clothes first. The people at the clinic would take him more seriously if he were wearing one of the outfits Jacob had bought for him. He pulled out a hanger that Jacob had labeled "Winter Casual" and started putting on the brown and beige ensemble that looked like it had been stripped right off of a male runway model.

He glared defiantly at the mirror. "I’m still not shaving!" he declared, daring his scruffy reflection to argue. He mussed up his hair again and, grabbing his coat, slammed the door behind him.