Hellhound (16 page)

“It’s Sri Lankan black tea with orange and cinnamon. I
love it.”

“Where did you get this?”

“Lydia picked it up for me in town. It’s imported
directly from Sri Lanka. So you like it?”

I nodded and took another sip. “How are things,
Damares?”

“As good as anything can be, I guess, you?”

I shrugged. “Same old, same old, hunting, sleeping,
eating. I feel like an animal these days.”

“Well, you’ll ascend to the throne soon, and won’t
have to worry about that type of life anymore, right?”

I simply looked at her. Her face turned blank. Then a
lovely shade of pink rose to her cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I just naturally assumed that you would
take a throne since the death of your father.” Damares mumbled the last few
words, obviously uncomfortable bringing the deaths into our conversation.

I forced a smile. “Do people here still think that
will happen?”

“Some people think so. There’s been some talk about
who will fill the empty throne. There are a few children of the Elders who can
take the throne, but considering the circumstances, you’re entitled to it
first. No one has seen you since you left, and that left some of us wondering
if you were coming back at all. The throne can’t go empty for long.”

“I know. The gap in the link leaves the Council weak,
leaves the clan weak.”

“On the other hand,” she went on nervously, “we both
know that you never wanted to ascend to the throne. So I’m not sure how this
will pan out.”

I briefly pondered on Claudius’s terms to my claiming
the throne. No one outside of the Council was aware of the stipulation.

“Have others been asking why the throne hasn’t been
filled?”

Damares nodded. Of course, the clan members inquired
of this. This directly affected them.

I sighed. “It’s not an easy decision.”

She stared at me, slightly confused. “I don’t
understand. I thought you always denied wanting the throne.”

“I have, but it’s in my blood. Your brother always
reminded me of that. I gave up my birthright to be with him, since I couldn’t
possibly be an Elder
and
be married to him. Plus, I loved what I did,
along with the freedom that came with it. But now, everything’s changed.”

She looked away solemnly. “I understand.”

“I no longer have him as a mate. I only have my mother
now, so being with her doesn’t sound half bad.”

“What about hunting?”

“I used to love it, but this assignment is nearly
killing me. I mean that literally. Emotionally, physically—it’s draining. We’ve
been hunting him to no avail, losing and finding his trail at random,
meaningless places and cities. This is no longer fun, but torture. Maybe when
the Council appointed me to him, they knew that this would exhaust any love or
pleasure that I had for this type of work. All thanks to him.”

“My brother?” She looked away again, warring between
loyalty to the clan and familial love.

“Yes, him,” I added so that Damares could appreciate
that she wasn’t the only one who lost him. Besides, this was the clan, and she
needed to suck it up before unwitting disloyalty bit her in the butt. I knew
she was weak, and she showed signs. I wanted to protect her, because if anyone
else realized that she harbored lingering emotions for Demetrius, the Council
would act. I wasn’t sure what they would do, but she wouldn’t be skipping
through a field of daisies.

“What are you thinking about Damares? You look so sad
and in distress over this.”

“I feel that way, only natural,” she whispered as if
we were being listened to. Perhaps we were. “I know that I’m not supposed to
think about him, much less sit here with you and talk about him. But, I miss
him so much. I’m not a drone, easily able to cut off or change my feelings for
him.”

Damares bit her lower lip and looked down. “I want to
say his name so badly.”

I did too, unfortunately.

“But I know that I can’t, so I won’t. These emotions
are wrong. What should I do?”

I took a mental step back. I wasn’t prepared, nor
qualified, to answer that question. I took a stab in the dark, and hopefully it
wouldn’t damage her. “Maybe you should leave the domicile for a little while.
Don’t you have a place out in the city?”

Damares hadn’t left the territory since the murders,
walking around in a sort of fallow state under watchful eyes.

She nodded and quietly mulled it over, but went off
topic. “He used to talk about rebellion and so-called freedom, you know. But
never murder.”

“Do you know why he killed them?”

“I have no idea. The Council kept questioning me about
it, and when I kept telling them the same thing, that I didn’t know anything,
they had me enter the cerebral chamber. Hopefully they get off my back now, for
good. They backed down considerably after that, seeing proof and all, but once
in a while, someone will bring it up as if I could repress my memories in the
cerebral chamber, or could work the system.”

So I was wrong. People were forced into the cerebral
chamber.

“Can you hide your memories?” I inquired.

Damares stared at me. “No, I’m not like you, Selene.”

“What makes you think that I can filter my memories?”

“You’re the great descendant of Mnemosyne. You have
her gifts. Why is it presumptuous of me to believe that you possess all of her
gifts? I wouldn’t be surprised if you could even control the cerebral chamber.
I suppose when we seriously think about the situation, you would be a unique
accessory to the Council.”

Having my power in the wrong hands? I couldn’t imagine
a life where someone else controlled me.

“That’s food for thought. I’ll certainly keep that in
mind the next time I can challenge it. You know, the next time that I enter the
cerebral chamber. I imagine that it’ll be soon, since I haven’t been in there
for a while.”

“They didn’t make you enter before the Council gave my
brother as your assignment?”

“No. And you shouldn’t refer to him as your brother,
anymore. He’s dead to us, the renounced one, no longer holding any ties to
you.”

“You don’t think of him as your mate, your lover?”

I was partially guilty of that. “Sometimes I think of
him as my former lover, but only in my head.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve only referred to him as my brother
out loud today. Now, I know that you didn’t come to the domicile because you
love it here, or because you missed any of us. You weren’t summoned, I’m pretty
sure. So why are you here?”

I sighed, leaning over to place the warm mug of dark
tea on the glass table. “Your brother is the
biggest
pain in my
backside. He taught me everything that I know about tracking, so he has the
upper hand now that I’m hunting him. I almost caught him once or twice, but he
did that thing that you guys always do when you’re cornered.”

“Left in a puff of smoke?”

“Yeah. I’ve never hunted someone like him before, and
it’s driving me insane. I know that more than half the time he’s trailing me to
prevent me from getting any hold on an upper hand.”

“He’s tracking you. That’s what we do best.”

“He is tracking me, and is one step ahead of me. I
just want this to be over.”

“I don’t look forward to his death, but I agree. I
want this over.”

“The reason why I’m here is to get more info about
what happened that day. Demetrius never hinted to me about this plot. I hadn’t
seen this coming. He didn’t say anything that might have explained why he did
it, where he did it?”

Damares shook her head. “Nope, aside from his usual
hints about freedom that he’s been feeding me for years, nothing else.”

“I guess I should talk to Lydia. Speaking of Lydia,
Ashton was sent to help me. Did you know that they…”

“Yes. Did he tell you that?”

“Not exactly.”

“Well, before she ran downstairs, he told me that they
were together. And they shouldn’t be alone, you know, not like that.”

I hadn’t seen her memories before she entered the sub
level. “Really? The Council took alibis from everyone. I assume they got into
trouble since their discreet relationship hasn’t been approved. I doubt that
they will be given permission to mate since she’s an undertaker and he’s a
tracker.”

“No, they didn’t get into trouble because they haven’t
been caught. While the Elders were collecting people to question, Ashton came
over to me and asked if I would tell the Council that we were together watching
a movie or something. You know, nothing romantic, just as friends, while we
waited for Lydia to get back.”

“You lied for him? You barely know him.”

“I know. I feel horrible that I lied to the Council,
and I thought that I would get caught. But Lydia’s a good friend, and she
really likes Ashton. I didn’t want her to get into trouble. Their relationship
was undetermined by the clan, and they didn’t want it to come out into the open
this way. So, I gave the Elders a false alibi. Plus, it helped me out too,
since they automatically thought that I was in on it, being his sister and
all.”

“Hmm. Wait a minute. Didn’t you enter the cerebral
chamber after the fact?”

“Yes.”

“And the Elders didn’t question the false alibi?”

She shrugged. “That never dawned on me. Maybe the
cerebral chamber missed it, or the Council overlooked it? Maybe they were
looking for something in particular and that wasn’t it, so it didn’t come up?
You know, I’m not sure how that thing works.”

“It absorbs all of your memories, and the Elders can
move through them like a magazine or a fast-forward movie. They might have
simply missed it because they were looking for something in particular, maybe
slowing down only when you were with Demetrius or talking on the phone, or
something similar to narrow down any possible links to him. A person holds a
lot of memories over the course of what? A few months since you’ve last logged
into the cerebral chamber?”

“About that.”

“Maybe Lydia and Ashton did get caught. Lydia didn’t
say anything?”

“No, but I guess if they reprimanded her, she wouldn’t
tell me out of embarrassment. I haven’t seen Ashton in a while to know
otherwise.”

“Yeah, he’s been out tracking with me.”

“That’s strange that he was sent to help you. You’ve
never needed help before.”

“Well, I’ve never hunted a tracker before, much less
the one who taught me everything that I know. All the trackers are on this.”

I finished the tea. “Thanks Damares. Keep your chin up
and your thoughts clear. When this is over, leave the domicile for a while.”

I left her apartment and took the stairs up to the
next floor where I approached Lydia’s apartment. The halls were bare at this
time of day.

Chapter Thirteen

Lydia might not have been home in midday during the
middle of the week. She was an undertaker and oversaw at least one human
business. I didn’t know her well, never took the time. So Lydia probably owned
more than one business if she passed training. Chances were slim that she was
even at home, but I tried regardless.

I rapped on the solid wood door painted white. This
blaring whiteness gave me a headache. I ached for the night. No wonder I hated
being here. I knocked again. Just like any other floor, the insulation was so
thick that I couldn’t have heard Lydia shuffling around in her apartment. She
finally opened the door. To my surprise, she was at home, and she was also busy
cleaning. What was this, domicile cleaning day?

With an almost shocked look on her face, her mouth
dropped. “Selene? What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry about the unsolicited visit, Lydia, but I
was hoping to get the chance to speak with you.”

“Um, yeah, sure thing. Come on in.”

Lydia stepped aside, and I entered another apartment
that reeked of potent chemicals. Maybe the clan initiated a local cleaning day,
after all?

Though Lydia seemed surprised to find me on her
doorstep, she was amiable and hospitable, which she always appeared to be. The
woman was the helpful, serious type.

I stood by the counter between the kitchen and the
modestly-sized living room. Lydia went to the kitchen, pulled off the bright
yellow, forearm length rubber gloves, laid them on the counter, and washed her
hands.

“Want some cake?”

She reached up and pulled down two saucers and pulled
out two forks from the drawer.

“That looks good. Did you get that downstairs?” I
asked, glancing at the chocolate piece of decadence.

Along with the dining hall, the domicile had a bakery,
bistro, and butcher shop on the lower levels.

She handed me a plate and went around to the couch.
“No, I baked it myself, from scratch, in fact.”

I sat in a chair across from her, crossed my legs, and
took a bite. “I don’t know how to bake.”