Илона Эндрюс - Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy)

“See, I couldn’t figure it out. The tank was telling me that nothing was broken, but the filter system wouldn’t work.” Grandma Frida paused for dramatic effect. “The Russians DRM’ed the filter system.”

“What?”

“The original filters have a barcode on them. I thought it was a price sticker. There is a little scanner in the filter system, and if it doesn’t read the right barcode, it locks the whole thing down. Damn bastards.”

I laughed.

“Who puts DRM into the damn filter system?” Grandma Frida griped.

“The Russian Imperial Military, apparently. Are you going to order some Russian filters?”

“Hell no. I have the five filters that came with the tank, more than enough for Bern to predict the pattern. He’s going to print me some barcodes on stickers in the morning. I’m going to glue them on the filters and see if it works.”

I rested my elbow on the table and leaned my chin on my palm. Sitting with Grandma Frida like this was like being wrapped in a soft, warm blanket after coming inside on a cold day.

“What?” Grandma Frida asked.

“Nothing. Just happy to be home.”

Grandma Frida’s face softened. “You don’t look so good, kiddo. Rough day?”

“You could say that.”

“How did it go?”

“I found out that there is an indestructible construct in the swamp. I have to kill it and the woman who made it or the world will end.”

“Not that.” Grandma Frida waved her hand. “How did it go with Alessandro?”

Grandma Frida, always focused on what’s important. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? Why did he leave? Where did he go?”

“He went to kill the man who murdered his father.”

“Well?” Grandma Frida waved her arms. “Details! Did he kill him?”

“I don’t think so.”

“What happened?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Why not?” Grandma Frida asked.

“Because whatever happened broke him inside. He’s not the same person who left. He answers whatever I ask, so if I ask, he will tell me.”

“And that’s a bad thing why?”

“Because I’m trying very hard not to care.”

“What happens if you care?”

“We’ll both get hurt.”

Grandma Frida fixed me with her blue eyes. “Since when did you become such a coward?”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

If Alessandro left, it would crush me. I knew it and I’d come to terms with it. If he stayed, it would be even worse. I had no doubts anymore. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. Eventually one of us would break down and open that door, and then what?

Alessandro was a Sagredo, an heir to a traditional House, a magical dynasty that was generations old. No matter how badly his relationship with his family crumbled, he would never sever it completely. The way his face had softened when he spoke of his mother told me that sooner or later he would go back. He would try to become a version of his father, a respected Head of the House with a wife and children.

I couldn’t be that wife.

Alessandro would want me all to himself. I couldn’t share him either. He would ask me to marry him, and I would have to break his heart and tell him no. He would have given up his revenge for me, the thing that dominated and shaped who he was, and I would have to tell him no.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t inflict that kind of pain on him. I would do anything to keep him from getting hurt.

“No matter what happens, it will end in heartbreak,” I muttered.

“You don’t know that.” Grandma Frida tapped the table with her index finger. “There is something about you and that boy. The two of you talk like a matched pair. He came back here for a reason. He came back for you.”

And now I had a choice to break my heart or his. I picked mine.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, missy. I know men.”

I put my hand out. “TMI.”

“He looks at you the way Shadow looks at bacon in the morning. You look at him like you have to put a straitjacket on yourself every time he is near. You tried breaking up. It didn’t stick, because wild horses couldn’t drag the two of you apart.”

“Grandma, he’s been back for less than forty-eight hours. When did you even see any of this?”

“I spied on you talking with him in the driveway through the security cameras.”

Once this was over, we had to buy a new place. One where I could have a tiny crumb of privacy.

Grandma Frida pounded her fist on the table. “Listen to me, you dummy! Most men can’t even hold a conversation with you because your brain is too fast. You say two words to him, and he knows what you mean. You only have so many chances to connect with a person. You can always walk away, Catalina, that’s the simplest thing. I don’t want you to push him away and then regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Grandma, I’m an adult. I will sort it out. I love you, but you have to butt out of my relationships.”

“Well, I am an older adult. I’ve lived a long time, and when I look back, I don’t regret the things I’ve done. I regret the things I didn’t do, chances I didn’t take. Because you can’t get those back. At least give him a shot.”

The timer on the stove went off. I grabbed two cutting boards and slid pizzas onto them one by one.

“Nobody is saying you have to marry him.”

I sliced the pizzas and brought the cutting boards to the table.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, Grandma.”

I put two plates on the table.

Grandma Frida shook her head. “How did I end up with all these smartass grandchildren?”

“Genetics.”

“Ooo.” Grandma Frida wagged her finger at me and took a slice of pizza.

I winked at her and bit into my slice.

Bern walked into the kitchen. “I smell food.”

“There’s plenty,” I said.

He went to the cabinet to get some plates. “I ran the statistics on the Pit. It’s been steadily growing, at about three to five feet per year. Three months ago, the rate of erosion quadrupled. It’s no longer uniform either. Stretches of land disappear in random places. It’s not natural.”

The Abyss was expanding its territory. If it just stayed in the Pit, it could be contained, but it wouldn’t. As Regina said, the Abyss would grow, because it was no longer a construct. It was alive. Life expanded, devoured, consumed, and expanded again. A cold, slimy surge of anxiety squirmed through me, dragging nausea in its wake. We had to stop it and I had no idea how.

Bern brought two plates over. I made a point to look at them.

“You realize this is silly, right?”

Bern shrugged and reached for Grandma Frida’s pizza slice. She slapped his hand.

“Mine. Get your own.”

I got up. “You can have mine. The antivenom shot isn’t sitting well anyway.”

Grandma Frida blinked at me. “Why did you need an antivenom shot?”

“Love you, Grandma, gotta go.”

I escaped and went to my room. My body felt heavy and tired. Brushing my teeth and changing clothes was almost too much. I forced myself to do it anyway, and then I called Marat.

“Kazarian,” he answered.

“This is Catalina Baylor. I’ve learned more about the being in the Pit. Marat, we have to shut down the site.”

“Out of the question,” he said. “I gave you everything you asked for.”

“This isn’t about the investigation. This is about your safety. The creature in the Pit is extremely dangerous. It’s been enlarging the Pit, and it will attack you.”

“Every day we don’t work, we sink deeper into the hole.”

“Would your wife and children rather have you or a pile of money? My father died and I would do anything for just one more day with him. Please shut it down. At least until we figure out how to kill it. Please.”