The Ring Bearer (19 page)

Danato reached for the phone and blindly dialed Belus’s extension. He picked up after the first ring as if he had been waiting by the phone. Since he was waiting for news on Cori’s situation, he probably was.

“Yeah,” he said gruffly.

“Belus the power is out.”

“What? How the hell…” He trailed off, probably realizing that if Danato knew why, he would be fixing it already. “What about the backup?”

“It hasn’t come on yet. I take it your power is fine.”

“Yeah.”

“Hopefully, that means my house is still powered.”

“That won’t be enough energy to satisfy her for long.” The concern started to bleed into Belus’s voice.

“I know. Their working on it.”

“If she isn’t satisfied—“

“I know Belus! Look just get over there and check things out. Then get in here. I’ve got fem-wolves, military maniacs, and no light to keep an eye on them.”

“On my way.” Belus hung up before Danato could thank him.

32

“Don’t tell me you didn’t pay your light bill?” Daniel asked when the lights shut down. The unexpected power outage left everyone frozen in place. The lack of windows left the area completely dark, but after a few seconds Daniel’s eyes adjusted and he could see as if he were wearing night vision goggles. The colors didn’t come through, but he could at least make out the majority of the shapes.

“This has never happened before.” Ethan scrambled for his radio and called for an explanation from his men.

Heaton had found a wall to lean against, and even in the darkness with no one watching he looked casual and cool. Nevia on the other hand looked positively panicked. She was flailing her hands as if she expected someone to jump out at her in the dark.

“What the hell is the point of being a quarter-werewolf if you can’t even see in the dark, or run worth a damn?”

“What?” Ethan asked having missed out on that part of Nevia’s background.

“I can smell,” she retorted. “What more do you want? I suppose you can see just fine?”

Daniel didn’t bother responding. He snuck in behind her, out of the reach of her probing hands and wrapped his arms around her. She yelped and elbowed him, but when he didn’t let go, she relaxed against him. He put the trial to the back of his mind for the moment, and nuzzled into her neck.

She smelled good, like baby powder, yet another contradiction to her tough personality. She kept him guessing. He hated that, but only because he loved it.  

“No making out you two,” Heaton stated sleepily from his wall.

“What?” Ethan pitched at yet another nugget of missed information. “Crap you guys. You gotta keep me in the loop.”

The radio clicked and the Texan, Duke popped on the line cheerful as always. “Wooo-weeee! It’s darker than a black angus tookus in here.”

“Tell me about it.” Ethan returned. “Why is it dark?”

“Don’t know yet,” Duke responded. “Maintenance is checking the lines. Better get your flashlight out for now.”

Ethan winced and starting patting his canvas pants. He pulled a small LED flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. The light glared on each of them as Ethan checked their positions. Daniel released Nevia before he caught them in the embrace. He wasn’t intending to hide the relationship, but he got the sense that PDA was not her style. 

“Any orders, Boss?” Duke asked.

“I need to check in with Danato. In the meantime, get down to two and find out how long the power can be off on the habitat environments before the animals are in danger.”

“Will do.” Duke clicked off and Ethan started heading toward Danato’s office. Heaton followed behind him staying with the light. Daniel headed up with them stopping to check on Nevia. Even with Ethan’s flashlight guiding their direction she was still agitated.

He took a chance and slipped his hand in hers to tow her along. To his surprise, she accepted the gesture, and hung on tight.    

33

Cori wasn’t sure when the dinner party had started or why she was so late, but she was vaguely aware that her blue jean attire was not satisfactory to the pretentious guests she passed by. She weaved through the clusters of elitists who made expensive suits and ornate hats look better than the manikins that displayed them. 

The cocktail hour was in full swing and she was certain she needed to find something. She couldn’t remember what it was, but it seemed important enough to hurry for. She grabbed a champagne flute from a passing waiter to better blend in with the crowd. She sipped the sour pink liquid, but it seemed resistant to quench her thirst, despite being a liquid.

She was about to give up hope of finding what it was she didn’t know she was looking for, when she saw a familiar face leaning against the mantle of a fireplace on the far side of the room. His tall slender body filled his suit better than she would have expected. He looked well fed and atypically sun touched. His hands gripped a glass of brown liquor like it was an extension of his hand. His hair should have been down, but for once it was back offering him the slick regal look that would make many mistake him for a vampire.

She meandered over to the lounge area where three men were drinking in his words like students of their favorite professor. Cleos said something and they all laughed. He smiled at his own joke, but as he noticed her approach it faded. She hated that, so much.

Despite his lack of pleasure in seeing her, she smiled cordially at him. His eyes looked her over in that almost sexual way and she couldn’t help but be relieved by the familiar greeting.

“Gentlemen, would you excuse us,” Cleos said. She expected him to usher her away to speak in private, but it was the men who left. She stepped forward taking a seat on the cold leather couch that Cleos proffered. “What are you doing here?” he asked as if she had just let herself in his home without knocking.

Cori looked around and then at her hand. She was still holding the displeasing pink drink. “Drinking, it’s a party isn’t it?” She said offering the obvious when another answer didn’t readily come to mind.

“Yes,” his conformation soothed her confusion. “But why are you here. You shouldn’t be here.”

“I didn’t have time to dress,” she said looking down at her clothes. She was never one to dress up, but she really wished she would have made the effort to look nice. She didn’t want to embarrass Cleos in front of his guests.

“No, I imagine not,” he said sympathetically before sitting on the coffee table in front of her. His choice of seat seemed to offend the stiff upper class citizens, who wouldn’t deign to sit on a toilet, unless it had been cleaned by an under paid minority. “Darling, give me your hand.”

“Yes, Jim dear,” Cori said following it with a gleaming smile, but he didn’t seem to get the joke. She placed her hand in his, and his brow lifted high. He shook his head.

“Oh, Cori, you are the very definition of murphy’s law.” He kissed her hand. “You are a beautiful mind, and I would love nothing more than to drink you in and add you to my collection, but…” He took in a deep breath and looked around the room at his guests. “No,” he said resolutely before turning back to her. “It’s not good that you’re here. You shouldn’t be here,” he said sternly.

“Where is here?” Cori looked around the room.

“My mind.”

“You’ve entered my mind.”

“No, you have entered mine,” he scolded.

She looked around the room trying to figure out why there was a dinner party going on in his mind. “How is that possible?”

“You shouldn’t have opened your eyes.”

Cori looked down at her rings. She
was
the very definition of Murphy’s Law. “I’m in trouble aren’t I?”

“I imagine, since you are probably unconscious. Do you remember anything before you were here?”

“No.” Cori sighed. “I was in my cell. Then I was here. Why is there a dinner party in your mind?” Cleos smiled and drew his finger down her cheek. She knew she probably sounded naive, but it was her first time being inside of someone’s mind. She was allowed a few dumb questions.

“It’s not so much a dinner party as my trophy case.”

“Trophies?” She looked around at the people. “Are these all your victims?”

“Not the way you think.” Cleos stood and joined her on the couch. She leaned back tucking her leg beneath her so she could face him. “They are my revenge collection.”

“Revenge? That doesn’t sound good.”

“You can raise your expectations of me as high as you want, but I am still a criminal. Some of my crimes are more heinous than others, but I’ve never regretted any of them.”

“What are they?” Cori asked looking around the room again.

“They are egos, character flaws, and obsessions.” He didn’t take his eyes off her as he spoke. He watched her react to everything he said. “Many people have underestimated me. My photophobic condition leaves me with a very specific social life. Would you believe that I am filthy rich, Cori?”

Cori smirked at him. “Yes.”

“Yes?” He perked an eyebrow. “What’s my tell?”

“You’re snooty.” She bit her lip hoping he wouldn’t be too insulted by the blunt interpretation.

“Snooty? My apologies, I was going for refined.”

“Refined yes, but snooty too.” She giggled and he finally smiled back at her.

“As I was saying, I’m filthy rich. My wealth is all legal on paper, but the means that I have come about my fortune has more to do with my powers of persuasion then my skill at business.”

“You manipulated these people into making business deals.”

Cleos pulled his arm over the back of the sofa and repositioned to face her straight on. “In business it’s about knowing your opponent, and capitalizing on their weaknesses. I don’t need to find anyone’s weaknesses, I can create them.

“With a little time and effort I can remove entire personality profiles. I can rip away part of a man’s character, leaving him without the drive to succeed, or even the will to live.” Cori frowned. “I’ve never done that, I’m just telling you what I’m capable of.” Cleos winked, but she didn’t find the subject matter playful enough to warrant it. “These people are character aspects. They are repetitive, cyclical shells of the people they used to belong to, and they are my trophies.”

Cori looked around the room again seeing the judgmental, self-involved crowd in a different light. “I can eliminate their need to please others. I can take away the source of addictions, and obsessions. I can even take away a man’s self-assurance, making him meek as a mouse, and easily intimidated.”

“So, these aren’t the whole person’s mind, just the part of their personality that might prevent you from getting money from them.”

“Now you’re getting it.”

“You’re not really one of the good guys are you?” She murmured.

“Never was, Cori. You’re going to have to accept that at some point.”

Cori shook her head even though she knew he was right. She had to stop pretending that Cleos had a good heart. He may not be the evil incarnate that Ethan and Danato thought he was, but he was still a selfish manipulative crook.

“So, how do I get out of here?” she asked happily changing the subject.

“You will wake up.”

“Why am I unconscious? I don’t remember anything.”

“I imagine that whoever knocked you out probably did a number on your short term memory.”

Cori furrowed her brow as she started to understand the nature of her situation. “
Someone
knocked me out. Oh, no, Clark. He’s taking me from the prison. I have to wake up.” Cori still couldn’t remember what had happened to her, but she did remember the urgency she felt when she first arrived at the party. “I have to get out of here. I have to wake up.” Cori stood up as if she might simply search for an exit to leave Cleos’s mind.

Cleos stood and blocked her immediate flight. “When you wake, you may not remember this, or at least you’ll think it was a dream. It’s important that you come and tell me about this, because the real me won’t know about this. Not until you tell him.”

“Oh, crap, don’t tell me, if I don’t get out of your head I’ll be lobotomized.”

“Actually, I have no idea what will happen, but let’s face it; with your predilection to lethal levels of bad luck I would advise keeping your unconscious mind in your own head.”

Cori nodded in agreement as she felt the intensity in her need to flee finally pay off. Cleos faded away, as did his trophy room. Only the faint smell leather, the hard wood floor, and the dull ache in her head told her she had arrived back into the real world.  

34

“Report,” Danato barked even before Ethan had made it through the door. Heaton and Daniel followed right after him, but Nevia waited in the hallway. She seemed reluctant to give up her gun, and was effectively standing guard at the door. It would have been more comforting if she wasn’t blindly searching for the door jamb as a point of reference.