Master of None (21 page)

“You’re not making any sense. Did you stop speaking English again?”

My wisecrack failed to lighten the mood. If anything, he looked even more miserable.

Ian paced a few steps and sank onto the window seat. A single breath shuddered from him, and he closed his eyes. “You wished for the truth. I am giving it to you. I am weak and impulsive. A fool. Were it not for me, my clan would have survived.”

I frowned. “Come on. How could it be your fault?”

He leaned back against the glass. “I allowed the Morai to destroy our village.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I never wanted the Dehbei to become involved. It was not our war, and the Bahari had not been our allies. They had always looked down on us, believed themselves superior. And when we learned the Morai plotted against them . . . for a time, I hoped they would be victorious.” He crossed his arms and rubbed them. “I told him not to send our scouts or warn the
Bahari. I pleaded with him. I did not feel it was our place to help those arrogant windbags, to risk our lives doing so—and I knew Kemosiri would not listen. But he insisted it was the right thing to do.”

I straightened and stared at him, wondering if he’d been hit in the head recently. That definitely didn’t make sense. “Who’s he?”

“Omari-el. The Dehbei leader.” He let out a shaking breath. “My father.”

My brain insisted on filtering this little piece of information through the story he’d told me, and my stomach rebelled. No wonder he was so pissed. “Ian, I still don’t see how any of this was your fault.”

“You do not? I suppose I can understand why.” He returned his gaze to the window. “When our spies brought news of the Morai’s plans, my father did not hesitate in deciding to warn the nobles.” He paused for a beat. “We fought. He insisted that I stay behind to watch over the village while he carried the news to the palace. I did not want the responsibility or the tedium. And since he insisted on warning them, I wanted to confront Kemosiri myself.” His jaw firmed, and he brought a fist down hard on the window seat. “If I had stayed behind, I could have prevented the Morai from slaughtering our women and children.”

Guilt dripped from his words, thicker than roofing tar. A twinge of empathy shot through my chest. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” I said. “Come on. Wasn’t there a whole army of those fuckers? I doubt you’d have been able to stop them. You’d be dead right now, too.”

“It does not matter. I should not have left. I should have taken my responsibilities seriously. I should have sent more
spies among them and monitored our village more carefully. I should have been there when they invaded our homes and murdered the children . . .” His voice fell flat, and I recognized the tone as a litany of wrongs he must have tormented himself with over and over through the years. The centuries.

I had a long list of self-accusations, too.

“I could not even save my father,” he whispered. “Lenka was too powerful. He is both son and grandson to the Morai clan leader. His twisted blood and his madness feed his strength.” He bent his head, pinched the bridge of his nose. “He murdered my father in my presence. I watched, and I could do nothing.” Fury crimped his features, but it didn’t last long. “The worst of it is that Omari-el died attempting to save Kemosiri. And you have seen how that bastard repaid his sacrifice.”

“Ian . . .” I stood and approached him but couldn’t manage anything more than an awkward pat on the shoulder. Words seemed rude to offer. Finally, I said, “Does Tory know about this?”

“He does now.”

I whirled at the brittle sound of Tory’s voice, just in time to see him pop into view beside the closed door of the room. “Jesus Christ. Can’t a guy get a little sleep without invisible djinn sneaking around all night? How long have
you
been here?”

Ian jumped to his feet as if he’d been doused with ice water. “Taregan.”

Tory stalked across the room. I moved forward in an unconscious attempt to shield Ian, but he held an arm out and gently pushed me away. “Let it be, thief,” he said quietly. This time, his calling me thief seemed more endearment than insult.

“Why?” Tory stopped in front of him and gripped his upper arm hard. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?”

Ian regarded him with a cool stare. “My shame is mine to bear, Taregan. Why should I wish to humiliate myself further by allowing you to know of my failures?”

“Gahiji-an, have you really blamed yourself for the attack on your village all this time?”

“Of course. I was responsible.”

Tory shook his head. “You couldn’t have known what they’d do. Look, Gahiji-an, you’re a brilliant strategist. A great general. If you hadn’t come to the palace, we would have lost the city, and the Morai would be in control right now. I’m sure of it.”

“General?” I blurted. “I thought you were just tagging along.”

“The clan leader is also responsible for the command of the clan’s armies. As son of the
ra
, this duty fell to me upon my father’s death, though there were but a handful left to lead.” Ian’s face fell. “It makes no difference now.”

“It does,” Tory insisted. “You’ve got to stop blaming yourself.” He backed away, and a frown surfaced. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you out earlier. You do understand, though—it’s Akila I’m worried about. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like an afterthought.”

Ian blanched. “I have done nothing to Akila, and I will thank you to leave her out of this discussion. She is not your concern.”

“The hell she isn’t! How can you say you’ve done nothing, when you screwed as many human women as you could get your hands on behind her back?”

“You do not understand—”

“I don’t have to. You never wanted the marriage, but she loved you anyway. And this is how you repay her. Screwing around like a college frat boy.”

“A
what?
”

“It’s a human thing. You wouldn’t get it.” Tory flashed a poisoned glare. “I don’t blame you for the war, but I won’t let you hurt her. If I ever see you so much as touch another woman, I’ll kill you myself.” He whirled and stalked from the room.

I glanced at the pillow where I’d hidden my knife. “Guess I should’ve stabbed the bastard after all.”

“No.” Ian sat down hard on the window bench. “Allow him his anger. I’ve no desire to discuss personal matters with him.”

“But why is it so damned personal? I mean, she’s your wife.”

“Yes. She is.” Ian closed his eyes. “For many centuries, Taregan’s family has served as bodyguards, and more, to the royal Bahari. They call themselves the Guardians. When he came of age, Taregan was assigned personally to Akila.” A smile tugged at his lips. “He takes his duties quite seriously. Even when I attempt to relieve him of them.”

“So he thinks he’s her godmother—er, father?”

Ian almost laughed. “Something like that.”

I choked back a snort at the idea of Tory doing a Marlon Brando impersonation. “Well, don’t you think it’d help if he knew why you made all those descendants?”

“Perhaps. But he does not seem inclined to stop berating me long enough for an explanation.”

“True. He’s got a mouth on him.” I slipped the blade back into a pocket and finger-combed my hair, a useless attempt to look presentable. No way I’d get back to sleep now. “Well, at least you’ve got me on your side.”

Ian smirked. “How fortunate for me.”

“Just a guess, but I’d say you’re better off with me than your other descendants. I haven’t started any massacres lately.”

“Take care, thief. Your arrogance is showing.” A small smile belied any bad intentions. “My apologies for not trusting you sooner. I had to be certain that you were not like your predecessors.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

He shifted sideways and drew his knees up to his chest. “I did attempt to return. To Taregan and the others. By the time it was safe, they had moved on.”

“Safe. You mean from your descendants?” A shiver stole through me. “I didn’t know they were trying to kill you.”

“Not me,” he said. “Taregan and Shamil. You see, the one who called himself their leader had located their tethers. He threatened to destroy them both if I did not remain with them and continue to indulge their desires. I had to wait until the humans died on their own. Killed themselves with their excesses and foolish behavior. It took nearly a century for those who had turned on me to pass away, and at last I was able to take the tethers. But I could not locate the Bahari. Dehbei do not possess strong scrying abilities.” He leaned back against the sill. “With the Morai hunting us down, it was not safe to keep the tethers with me. I hid them among ancient human remains, deep underground, on separate continents. However, it seems not even the dead are sacred to humans. They were found before I could return to retrieve them.”

“Yeah. Looks like Trevor’s been collecting them.”

“He has Shamil’s, and he nearly had mine.” Ian closed his eyes briefly. “I can only hope Taregan has located his own.
Though I suppose it would do no good to ask him, as he will simply blame me for that as well.”

By the time Ian finished talking, I wanted to hurt someone. Several someones. Since a bunch of them were already dead, and one of them was in his fortress by the lake, that left Tory.

“I’m sorry, Ian. That really sucks.” I would’ve offered something a little more sympathetic, but eloquence had never been one of my strengths. “Look, I . . . have to take a piss.”

He looked confused.

“You know, urinate.”

“Oh. That.”

“Yeah, so I’ll be back in a few, okay? Gotta find a bathroom.”

He nodded vaguely and stared out the window.

I left the room, relieved that he hadn’t prodded me any. If he’d known what I really intended to do, he probably would’ve refused to allow it. Or tried to, anyway.

Tory wouldn’t listen to Ian. Fine. He’d damned well listen to me.

Four in the morning wasn’t my idea of a good time for an argument.

It wasn’t hard to find Tory. I just had to follow the trail of angst leading to Lark’s living room, where a plasma TV blared old Bugs Bunny cartoons at a volume suitable for old folks with broken hearing aids. The djinn sprawled on a couch, shirtless, beer in hand. He’d obviously adjusted to life as a typical American. In the blue-white glow of the screen, I made out armband tattoos that matched Shamil’s. For some reason, the sight of them pissed me off.

Probably because I knew where Shamil was right now. Didn’t seem right that this asshole should sit here drinking and damning Ian while his clan member took Trevor’s abuse.

I moved between Tory and the television. He lifted bleary eyes and let out a grunt. “Fuck off, monkey.”

“You sound like Lark. Besides, I thought you liked humans.”

“I don’t like humans who choose to associate with Gahijian. Especially the female ones.” His gaze narrowed. “Or humans who go around crippling people and then screwing them over.”

I winced. Couldn’t defend what I’d done to Lark, but I wasn’t about to let his idiotic tirade against Ian continue. “Let’s get a few things straight here,” I said. I reached down and hit the TV’s power button.

“Hey! I was watching that.” Tory grabbed for a remote lying on a side table.

I got there first and threw it across the room. “No, you don’t. You’re going to listen to me, damn it.”

“Why should I?”

“What are you, five years old?” I folded my arms, took a breath. “Okay. First, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what happened to Lark. I would’ve stuck around and tried to help, but he asked me to leave. Actually, he told me if I stayed, he’d kill me.”

Tory glowered. “He should have.”

“Maybe. But he didn’t, and that’s for him to decide. Now, about Ian.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“You’re going to if I have to tape your mouth shut.”

“Not if I turn you into a frog.”

“Oh, come on. A frog? I do know a little about djinn, and I’m pretty sure you can’t do that. But maybe I’m wrong. If I am, go ahead and prove it.”

Tory sank lower into the seat cushions and knocked back a swallow from his can.

“Thought so.” I relaxed. A little. “Ian didn’t desert you.”

“Right. I just imagined him going off with those half-breed morons.”

“Shut up and listen.” I had to drop my arms and clasp my hands behind my back to keep from strangling him. “Those morons had your tether, and Shamil’s. They were going to kill
you both unless Ian did what they wanted. He had to wait until they died to get the tethers back, and then he couldn’t find you.”

Tory sprang to his feet. “You’re lying.”

“No—”

“Gahiji-an cares for no one but himself. He rejected me, the same way he rejected . . .” The color drained from his face, and he slid back down on the couch. His features slackened.

“Uh, Tory?” I said when he didn’t continue. “You’re gonna have to give me a little more to go on. I’m not following you.”

“Is that really what happened?” His lips barely moved.

“Well, I wasn’t there, so we’ve only got Ian’s word on it. But I believe him.”

“Gods.” Tory hung his head. “I’m such an idiot.”

“I would not go so far as to say that.”

Ian’s voice jangled my unsuspecting nerves. “Would you stop doing that?” I snapped as he popped into view across the room. “I thought you trusted me now.”

“I do. However, I knew it should not have taken quite this long to relieve yourself.”

Tory stood and faced Ian. “I . . .”

“It is all right, young one. I cannot fault you for believing as you did.”

“Whoa.” I glanced from Tory to Ian. “Isn’t he like a thousand years old, too?”

“Not quite,” Ian said. “He was a mere century old when Kemosiri sent us here. A child, by our standards.” A tiny smile graced his lips. “And already insisting on shouldering more responsibility than was required of him.”

“I wasn’t a child. I’d been trained by the Guardians.”

“Training is no substitute for experience.”

I sensed another imminent explosion. “Breathe, guys,” I said. “Whatever it is, can’t it wait? We’ve got more important things to worry about than our respective maturity.”

“Your pathetic human is right, Gahiji-an.” Tory smiled. “He’s got balls, too. Where’d you find him?”