Remus (9 page)

He shoved thoughts of her out of his mind. If he was going to pull this off, he’d need total focus. Even if he wasn’t weakened from their procedures, it’d be near impossible. Now, he didn’t know. Still, waiting around would just end up with him as a Glycon.

Footsteps drew closer, and he made a sharp right to avoid them.

He let out a sigh when they stopped nearby.

“I’ve found him,” Nyx said quietly.

Rem stepped out into the hall.

“And the stone?” Rem said. He could only hope this would be simple.

Nyx shook her head. “That bitch must be keeping it on her.”

He groaned a little. Of course nothing would be simple.

“Tell me we’ve at least got the firepower lined up,” he said.

Nyx nodded. Her long black hair bobbed behind her. “Magnus is on it. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow when you are.”

“And the book?”

Nyx sighed. “Do we really have to do this to her?”

He frowned. They had been over this a number of times now. He was tired of the same fight.

“She can’t be here,” he said firmly. “We don’t know what they will do, and she’s human.”

“No, she’s a Vestal. Your Vestal.”

He started walking. This was not the conversation he wanted to have.

“I just need to know you’ve got the damn book to give her,” he snapped.

Nyx sighed. “Whatever, I’m just trying to help. I’ve got the book.” She kept step with him as they made their way to the Council section. “I still don’t know why it matters. No one can read it.”

“Yet,” Rem said firmly. “No one can read it yet.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nyx said and waved a hand in the air.

“Run over the plan one more time,” Rem said. They needed it drilled so firmly that there wasn’t a chance things could get screwed up.

“You light up the place while helping awaken those asleep,” she said and glanced around the corner. “We make a break for the river and meet up on the other side.”

Rem nodded.

“Do you really think the stone will wake them?” she asked.

Rem shrugged. It was a guess at best, but they needed hope.

“Harold said that it was the stone that your essence came from.” He rolled his eyes.

Rem wasn’t going to fully commit to the whole god thing, but at the moment, it was the best he had. And even if it wasn’t the truth, Harold still seemed to think the rock and Magnus’s people were connected.

“What do you think we do when we have it?” she asked.

Another thing he still wasn’t sure of.

“Let’s worry about getting it first,” he grumbled. “Then we can figure out the rest.”

“How long do we wait at the river when we’re out?” Nyx said.

“No more than half an hour,” he said and glanced over to him. “But that won’t be a problem, right? We’re all going to get there together.”

Rem looked over at her. Nyx wasn’t an idiot. She knew that something was wrong.

“It’s a precaution,” he said and offered a stiff smile. “If we all do our jobs, things will turn out fine.”

Nyx halted outside a door and stared at him skeptically.

“Here,” she said and waved to the door.

He nodded for her to make her way around the corner. Once she was out of sight, he knocked on the door.

Harold answered, surprised to see him there.

“Are you trying to get us both killed?” the man whispered loudly.

He tried to yank Rem into the room, but failed to move the huge man. Rem suppressed a snicker and stepped inside.

Unlike his own room, this was an actual living quarters. A small living room with a half size kitchen were all in one spot. There was even a small room off the main area that led to a bedroom. It had all the modern conveniences. Rem had never been offered half as much. Granted, it was obvious now that was because they only needed him to survive for a while, not to be satisfied.

Harold waved for him to take a seat at a small table.

“You know it won’t do any good to try and negotiate with me,” he said and took a seat across the table. “They have stripped me of most of my duties. I’m now a figurehead.”

Harold gave a bitter laugh, and Rem had to refrain from rolling his eyes at the sorrows of the man who had just doomed him to the life of a Glycon.

“I’ve come to learn from you,” Rem said quietly.

He watched as the little man perked up at the chance to show off his knowledge.

“By all means,” Harold said and smiled brightly at him. “I so little get the chance to educate. No one appreciates what we’ve been doing anymore. They’re all so short-sighted. I’ve devoted myself to this glorious area.”

Rem had been counting on the man’s eagerness to show off. The pompous man was made for this.

Rem took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure how much he still believed about all of this, but something was always better than nothing. “If my kind are from gods, then what about the Vestals? How do they factor into all of this?”

“Ah,” Harold said, giving a wide grin. “Very good. This is something that has been much debated. It’s still not clear why, but we do know the Vestals carry a few special genes. Normally, their products don’t seem to do much of anything nor have any particular effects. That changes when the Vestal meets her mate. The two call to each other. Then, a number of downstream biological chances occur.”

Rem nodded. It made sense. Well, as much sense as it could make, considering.

“Can a Vestal choose more than one hybrid?”

He hated to admit it to himself, but the idea of Jenna with another of the men made his blood boil.

Harold shook his head eagerly.

“We’ve never seen that happen,” he said and leaned in a little. “It is believed by some that the Vestals are made to temper the gods. That they are destined for their one true mate.”

His heart skipped a little at the thought that Jenna was always meant to be his.

“The stone has the essence of Atlas,” Rem said, changing the subject. It wouldn’t be good if Harold got suspicious that he had already met his mate. “Why were you using it on me?”

Harold frowned. Rem knew it had pissed him off when Agatha took the stone.

“It eases the reversal serum. We’ve found that if we let the two bond, the reversal goes much more smoothly,” he said. “Prior to this, we were losing far too many, especially with how painful the process was.” He stopped and grinned. “But I guess I don’t have to tell you that.”

Rem gave a curt nod. The sooner he got away from this nut job the better. “What do they do once the reversal is finished?”

Harold’s hands clenched at his sides.

“They draw out the essence and place it into the next person,” Harold. “It’s potent.” He crossed his arms and stared at Rem. “They say yours will be as close to a god as we get.”

Rem frowned. He didn’t really like the idea that these bastards were talking about him. He especially didn’t like the idea they might get more powerful after taking something from him.

“Is that what you want?” Rem said. “Some of my essence to be a god?”

Harold frowned back at him. “Taking the essence isn’t worth it. By this point, it’s bonded with your soul. This isn’t even supposed to be happening. We were never meant to be a part of the process. It’s not… right.”

Rem raised a brow. It was the first time he’d heard someone from the Horatius Group criticizing how things were run.

“Seems like others disagree with you,” he said.

Harold sneered. “It’s that Agatha. She pressed the Inner Circle to become something else. We weren’t meant for this,” he said hurriedly. “There is a whole selection process with this. Coelia should be deciding this, but there are too many around her who have poisoned her against the true ways. ”

“Coelia?” Rem said.

Harold shook his head. “There are some things we must never talk of.”

It was strange the he would tell him of their plans but not about some woman.

“Before you said I was different,” Rem said and swallowed. “That I was the only one who survived.”

Harold considered that for a moment. “Successfully, yes.”

Rem frowned. “And what about Romulus? I was told we were created at the same time.”

Harold looked nervous. “Some were not considered so successful. We believe the essence you were created from must have been very powerful.” He pressed his lips together. “Some even believe that it was from the creator of the gods.”

The world spun for Rem a little as he thought about this.

“We had only been successful taking a small part of the essence and combining it with animal DNA. Primarily wolf,” Harold continued. “It provided unexpected stability, but when your group was created, those in charge thought for sure they would be creating super-gods. Most were left to die, but Romulus’s father held an active role at the time. Letting his unborn child die wasn’t an option, so he introduced new elements.”

Harold laughed, and the sound was almost hollow.

“Like we would have the right to tamper with the gods,” Harold mumbled.

This was the opening Rem needed.

“And what you’re doing now is better?”

Harold stood and paced the room.

“You think I don’t know?” he said and waved his hands furiously around as he spoke. “I was party to holding gods.” He let out a big sigh. “I’m sure they will have their revenge in the end. I’ll be punished.” A barking laughter erupted from him.

“It’s not too late,” Rem said. He could hear the clack of footsteps in the hall and recognized that sound a mile away. Agatha.

Harold shook his head. “She would know.”

Rem stood and frowned. “Who are you more afraid of, the gods or some woman?”

The door crashed in, and Agatha stepped in.

“If he’s smart, he’ll be afraid of me,” she said, smiling at the two of them.

The gaze of her piercing red eyes landed on Rem.

“Not much longer,” she said and smelled the air.

Agatha unnerved Rem in a way Romulus had never been able. With his brother, he knew what to expect: irrational temper tantrums that might be followed by some destructive behavior.

Agatha wasn’t like that. She watched those around her with a keen eye and that alone was a threat.

She stared at Rem as Romulus and Nero entered the room.

“Well, brother,” Romulus said with an evil smile. “Making new friends?”

Rem leaned back in his chair and smiled.

“You know me, a man of the people.”

Romulus’s eyes flashed red as he continued to stare at him.

“Is that so?”

Nero stepped forward. “Maybe we should go make friends outside.”

“Enough!” Agatha shouted.

Nero stood where he was, glaring at Rem. He’d never had a beef with the hybrid, and yet his hatred toward Rem always seemed to burn deep.

“Escort him to his room,” she said to Nero.

With no hesitation, Nero yanked him to his feet. Rem glanced back to Harold, who watched in shock as Nero pulled him out the door.

From where they were in the hall, he could see Nyx slink into the shadows and was glad she had waited.

The entire entourage quickly made their way through the hall.

Romulus scowled at him when he turned around.

“I thought you were going to take his essence,” he said quietly to Agatha.

Her mouth twitched a little with what seemed like annoyance.

“He’s not ready,” she said and looked over to Romulus. “These things take time.”

Romulus crossed his arms and towered over her when they came to stop just outside his door. “Just don’t forget that we do this together. I want my chance at more power.”

Remus resisted the urge to snicker. With so many assholes trying to manipulate each other, the Horatius Group was primed for a collapse. He didn’t have to be Titus to understand the importance of loyalty and trustworthy people. They were a serpent eating its own tail.

“In due time,” she said quietly.

Romulus frowned again and huffed loudly before stomping away.

Agatha sighed and shook her head at Nero.

“I don’t know how you managed with him for so long,” she said.

Nero opened the door and tossed it open.

“Lots of ways to get ahead,” he said and shoved Rem in.

Rem was surprised to hear this from Nero, but then Romulus was never all that great about maintaining relationships with people. Still, a betrayal like this would be epic. Rem almost wished he would be around to see it. In the long run, it only helped his plans.

Agatha grew quiet, and he found her looking at him once again.

“You could join us, Remus,” she said.

Nero’s head whipped around to her, and he frowned.

For all of Rem’s planning, this wasn’t something he’d been expecting.

He glanced over to the angry hybrid.

“I don’t think your boyfriend would like that,” he said.

Agatha looked to Nero and laughed.

Nero’s face turned red, and he turned away. Rem might have felt bad for Nero if he wasn’t a scathing asshole.

“Nero understands which side will win in the end.” She gave a slick smile. “I’ve joined the Inner Circle. It won’t take long from here.”

Rem wasn’t really sure what that all meant, but he was pretty sure it didn’t mean anything good for either his kind or the rest of humanity.

“Sorry,” he said, grinning at her. “I like my ladies less pale and less bitey. Nothing personal.”

Her eyes flashed crimson, and he wondered if he’d gone too far, but before he could even apologize, they were back to the pale red.

“You have made your choice,” she said quietly. “Let’s hope you can live with it.”

Finished with him, she stepped out of the room. The click of the lock informed him of his chances of escape.

He sat hard on his bed and sighed. He could only hope Nyx had heard enough to tell Magnus.

A few long moments later, a light rap came from the door.

“Well, that was intense,” Nyx said quietly.

He laughed. Intense was one way to say it.

“Tell Magnus,” he said. “And don’t forget about tomorrow.”

She sighed loudly.

“You’re so bossy,” she whispered.

Rem laughed again and fell back onto the hard bed. Maybe getting a good sleep was just what he needed. Whatever drug they had given him yesterday was working well. He just had to make it through a little longer.