Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X 1)

“I live here with friends.”

“Cool.” Poppy brightened. “Are you like some orphan rescued from the wild streets?”

It was hard keeping up with her sometimes. “Not exactly. My parents are still back there.”

“Okay, that’s cool too,” said Poppy. “You want to get some coffee before school tomorrow?”

Did she? Tessa wasn’t sure at first, but then she decided she might as well. Poppy was the only person who’d treated her like a human being today, and besides, she seemed like she might be a good person to have around if Melissa did come after her. Tessa accepted, and Poppy told her she’d be back at six thirty.

As she approached the house, Tessa was greeted by the astonishing sight of a man sitting on the front step. She hadn’t noticed him from the street. Seeing her, he flashed her a grin and leapt to his feet. Tessa came to a halt on the walkway, too nervous to proceed. She guessed he was Justin’s age and possessed the same powerful presence, albeit in a different sort of way. He was tall and broad chested, wearing a gray T-shirt that showed off his extraordinarily muscled arms. His features were plebeian, tan skin and brown eyes, though his long hair had been dyed blond.

“Finally,” he said. He had a rich voice, one that urged her to relax. It only made her more uneasy. “I was about to give up. Is my good friend Dr. March here?”

“Y-you’re friends with Justin?”

“Yes, of course. He’s my favorite servitor, you know. I’ve missed seeing him. I’d gotten used to his yearly visits, and then poof! Off he goes without a trace. I was hurt. His replacement was a huge disappointment.”

Tessa really had no idea what the correct response to that was. “Who are you?”

He extended a polite hand, one she paused before taking. “You, sweet child, can call me Geraki.”

“Oh. I’m Tessa.”

“They told me he had a protégée, but I didn’t expect someone like you. It’s very charming. And intriguing.” Behind that amiable face, Tessa caught a glimpse of something shrewd and dangerous.

“He’s not here,” she said. She pulled her hand back from his strong grip and looked around nervously. One of their neighbors was outside working in her garden, which made Tessa feel a little more secure. She could also see a couple of kids walking home from school, which meant Quentin would be back soon. Cynthia had said she’d be home around the same time. “He probably won’t be back for a while. He’s out of town.”

“Shame. I’d really hoped to catch up with him.”

“He’s got a prætorian with him.” She didn’t entirely know what made her blurt that out or why it ended up sounding like a challenge.

Geraki chuckled. “I heard that too. Amazing how he pulled that off.”

“He didn’t request it.” Tessa knew that much at least about Justin and Mae’s odd relationship. “I think it just happened to him.”

“Things ‘just happen’ to him a lot, and he doesn’t even realize it. Or, if he does, he thinks it’s all due to his cleverness.” Geraki sighed and shook his head. “I tell you, the ravens are wasted on him, but who am I to dictate to higher powers?”

Tessa was growing increasingly panicked. “Look, Mr. Geraki—”

“Just Geraki, please.”

“Geraki, I have to go.” She prayed he wouldn’t try to stop her. Surely the neighbor would do something if she screamed. “Maybe you can call him.”

Geraki’s lips twisted into a half smile. “I’m not sure he’d take my calls. Still, I’ll leave you to your affairs. Tell him I said hello. And ask him why his employers have gone on a hiring spree.” He swept her a gallant bow. “It was lovely meeting you. I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

And with that, he stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and strolled away, whistling as he walked. Tessa watched him for a few moments and then hurried inside, locking the door.

Cynthia and Quentin arrived within the hour, making Tessa feel a lot safer. She hesitated to tell Cynthia about Geraki without first speaking to Justin. Besides, Cynthia wanted to hear all about Tessa’s experience at school. When Tessa finished her generously edited report, she found Cynthia had had her own academic experience.

“I had my first class.” She didn’t seem entirely pleased about that. “I’ve been trying to make this work for four years, and then my big bad brother waves his hand and gets me in within four days.”

Tessa had heard pieces of this story before but never understood the full thing. “At…the university?”

“Yup.” Cynthia opened up the pantry and began adding up dinner options.

With the way Cynthia oscillated between kind and prickly, Tessa always hesitated to solicit personal information. Curiosity won out this time. “Don’t people usually go to college earlier?” She’d nearly said “younger” but thought that would be rude.

Cynthia snorted and dumped a bag of vegetables onto a cutting board. “They do.” She glanced briefly toward the living room, where Quentin was watching a show. “And they usually put their kids in national day care while getting an education. But I had an unusual husband who wanted me to stay home until Quentin went to primary school.”

Tessa forgot about Geraki. She’d never heard the story of Cynthia’s husband, only that he had died when Quentin was very young.

“In retrospect, it wasn’t a bad thing.” Cynthia’s expression softened a little. “I liked being home with him. But it meant I missed my window. Do you know how it works? Higher education is covered up to a certain age. Peter told me it was okay, that when he finished law school and Quentin started primaries, we’d have enough to pay out of pocket for my degree.” She paused. “But then Peter died.”

“I…I’m sorry.”

Cynthia’s face was very still as she spoke. “It was a car accident. Now, don’t freak out—they’re pretty rare. But they happen. And when everything was settled, it turned out Peter hadn’t actually been saving the money he said. He’d spent a lot of time gambling after his classes. I just can’t seem to escape that.” She chopped a carrot with particular force. “Anyway, it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to do anything but mourn, and Justin told me not to worry, you know—in that way of his. He said he’d support us and send me to school when I was ready. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”

That was a surprise. Tessa couldn’t imagine him backing out of a promise like that. “Why not?” she asked.

“Because he suddenly dropped off the face of the earth—and all the money dried up. And so, I was left waitressing and petitioning for a special grant.” She looked up at Tessa and waved her knife, using it to punctuate her words. “You want my advice? Don’t listen to the promises of men, even ones who mean well. Take care of yourself.”

Tessa decided then that it was a good time to do homework.

Justin came back late again. Quentin had gone to bed, but Cynthia was still up, watching a movie with Tessa. He had the same worn-out look he had each night and repeated his usual ritual, flouncing back into the armchair with a bottle of beer. Cynthia looked over at him with disapproval.

“Why do you drink that stuff? It’s overpriced and doesn’t even taste that good. You’re such a label whore.”

“Nice to see you too,” he said. He turned to Tessa. “Let’s hear from you. Tell me something that’s not going to stress me out. How was your first day?”

Tessa hesitated, not sure how to start. Justin had been regarding her with a lazy smile but suddenly snapped to attention. “What happened?”

“Someone came by today. Someone…” She frowned, thinking back to the bizarre encounter outside. “Someone who says he’s a friend of yours.”

Justin’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah? Someone from the university?”

“I don’t think so. His name’s Geraki.”

Justin sat up suddenly. “He was here? In our house?”

She cringed a little. That wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. “No…he talked to me outside. He was waiting there when I got home.”

“Were you here?” Justin demanded of Cynthia.

“No,” she said. “This is the first I’m hearing about this.”

“He said he was glad you’re back and that he wanted to see you,” Tessa explained. “He also said you were his favorite servitor.”

“That’s fitting, since he’s my favorite megalomaniac,” he muttered. His gaze focused back on Tessa. “Did he threaten you? Hurt you?”

Tessa shook her head.

Cynthia regarded her brother warily. “What are you involved in?”

He stayed silent a few moments, but his eyes were troubled. At last, he smiled at Cynthia, but Tessa could still see tension all over him. “Nothing. Just someone I owe money to. Card game gone bad.”

“I knew it.” Cynthia stood up in disgust. To Tessa, she said, “See? I can’t get away from it. I’m going to bed. You should too—it’s late.”

Tessa hesitated but couldn’t fight against Cynthia’s logic or stern look. It was only after Tessa was in bed that she remembered that Justin never played cards.

CHAPTER 15

HE’S TALLER

He’d had the video for over a week, but Leo hadn’t been able to crack it in “five minutes,” as Justin had assured Cornelia. Leo still swore he’d have the secret of the shadowy figure any day now and finally agreed to go to one of the murder sites to check out the technical and forensic side of things. Of course, it came with a little complaining about missing his ridiculous day job.

Justin went out the night before the trip and had the good fortune of running into a former student from his days of teaching university religion classes. Aurelia had grown up over the years and was quite taken with the idea of her former professor leading a glamorous servitor’s life. She was the first woman he’d slept with since coming home, and the experience was sublime. He supposed, as far as the mechanics went, she was no different from any of the many Panamanian women he’d passed time with in exile, but there was an allure to the idea of finally being in the arms of a Gemman woman again. It had amped up the excitement of it all.