Chapter 30 #2
My eyes go wide. ‘What? Zane? He hurt you?’
Luca huffs a frustrated sigh, then snags his phone from the bedside table. It’s bashed up, but the cracks on the screen are only at the top, and it seems functional.
He flicks the screen on, then opens up his photos before waving at me for my attention. ‘You know my lipreading is good.’
I nod.
He lifts one hand and signs, ‘Zane has been acting strange. No one believed me, but I caught him going through Cielo’s bag at the gym a few weeks ago.’
My body jolts. ‘For-for?’
‘I don’t know. But the other day, I saw him coming out of the barista room, so I followed him. By the time I caught up to him, he was in the employee locker room. I wasn’t allowed in there, but when he was coming out, he was on the phone. He didn’t see me.’
I take a moment to process all of this. ‘Okay. And?’
‘I saw him say Cielo’s name, so I started recording. The only thing I was able to catch was a time and something about a portal key.’
My heart leaps in my chest. ‘Show me the video.’
Luca hits the button, and when it begins, I can see Zane, but only for a second. He’s sweeping past Luca, not looking his direction. His blond curls are unmistakable, and he’s clearly on the phone.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you at nine tonight in that alley behind Angelo’s. No, I’m not sure where it is, but I know the portal key can open it. We just need…right, exactly. No, he definitely won’t help. He’s got himself a cute little monster fucker he’s loyal to now.”
Me. Zane means me. I’m the monster fucker.
“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ve got it now. I’m going to sneak out of here as soon as I can. Yep. See you soon.”
The video ends, and Luca stares at me. ‘He was turned away from me for most of the conversation, but I saw where he was going to meet the person. Tell me what they say. I want to know all of it.’
I replay it and interpret what I hear Zane saying, and the more I sign, the angrier he looks. ‘Tell me what happened to you,’ I demand when I’m done.
Luca lets out a frustrated groan. ‘I followed him. He worked a couple hours at the juice stand, then got off early and got into his car. I jumped in mine and followed him to his apartment. I waited there for hours, and I thought maybe I made a mistake, so I sent the video to you, but he came out just after eight, and I followed him again.’
‘That was dangerous, you asshole,’ I sign and then smack him.
He lets out a painful noise and winces. ‘I know. I tried to be careful. I parked down the street and walked the rest on foot. It was fine for a while. I watched a car pull up, and Zane gave them something. I must have made a noise. I didn’t know.
’ He looks upset now, and I hate that for him because it’s not his fault.
‘They saw me. I saw Zane say my name, so I started to run.’
I swallow heavily. ‘And?’
‘I didn’t get far. The car hit me from the side.’ His hand falters, and then he signs the rest slowly, his hand shaking slightly. ‘The tire ran over my thighs, and it felt like everything inside me shattered. But I got up and kept running. Adrenaline.’
I let out a trembling breath and remind myself that he is okay. That he is safe, and here, and healing. ‘How did Eissa find you?’
‘He didn’t.’ He huffs and rubs at his swollen eye, then cries out from the pain. ‘I found him,’ he tells me. ‘Unlocked door in an alley. I crawled into an office, and Eissa was in there.’
“He collapsed on the floor,” comes a voice from behind me. I spin to find Eissa there, signing as well as speaking. “The building he found was the clinic, and the unlocked door was part of the administration offices. I had zitha in my desk.”
Luca’s eyes follow Eissa’s signs almost angrily, and he huffs, but when he looks back at me, he nods.
“Thank you for saving him,” I say, then sign.
Eissa walks over and leans his shoulder against the wall. He looks so different from Rathyn and Cielo. I’d say it’s because he’s been on Earth for so long, but he’s not like Quilliyn either.
He doesn’t wear as many clothes as humans do, but the robe he has draped around him is less sheer than what Rathyn wears, and he carries himself like someone I could see in a royal household.
But I know he’s not that either.
He stares at my brother for a moment, and then says and signs, “We have a bigger problem than Luca’s injuries. He was seen. Identified.”
“By who?” I ask.
“A member of the human rebellion. We keep track of hate groups on your internet,” Eissa explains. His voice is steady, and his hands move through signs formally, but clearly like a man who has been using the language most of his life. “In recent years, they’ve started to organize.”
“What does that mean?” There’s a tremor in my voice now because this sounds serious.
“It means your brother is potentially in danger, and not just from the humans who want him eliminated. The Vyastil council would not…approve,” Eissa says slowly, “of a human walking around with this kind of knowledge.”
A chill runs down my spine. “They’ll want him dead, too?”
“If they find out. We are attempting to eliminate the human threat against the portals, but there have been some attempts in recent months to place explosives. We have managed to stop them every time, but from what we know, they are also trying to enter into Erethar.”
“What for?” I shift and look at Luca, but he seems as confused as I am.
Eissa bows his head for a moment. “I believe to start a war between humans and Vyastil. Or perhaps to create as much destruction as they can, so it will force us to close down every portal. They do not understand that the Vyastil government will do no such thing. They will resort to…other matters before that happens.”
Whatever that means, I know it’s not good.
“There needs to be some changes made,” Eissa goes on, “but it will take time. And your brother needs protection.”
Luca makes an irritated noise in the back of his throat and waves his hand for attention. ‘I’ll be fine.’
‘Shut up,’ my fingers snap near my mouth. ‘You almost died! I can’t imagine what you looked like before the zitha. So no, you are not fine.’
He looks like he wants to argue, but his hand stays still, resting on his chest. He locks eyes with Eissa, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were communicating through their minds.
But I know for a fact that’s not possible. It takes a deep connection for that, and Luca only met Eissa once at Gia’s party.
Eissa clears his throat. “There is only one real solution. Luca must be removed from Earth until we can determine it’s safe. There’s a warrant out right now for Zane’s arrest—”
“Hold the fuck up!” A second later, Everest bursts into the room with Rathyn at his heels, and Cielo right behind them. “You’re going to arrest him?”
I stare at Everest as Cielo marches up to my side. “He tried to kill my brother!”
“He wasn’t the one driving!” Everest shouts.
Luca sits up with a groan and slams his hand on the nightstand. Everyone instantly goes quiet. ‘He didn’t hit me with the car, but he identified me.’
I interpret this aloud for Everest and Rathyn.
‘He stole the portal key from Cielo. He’s participating in violence against Vyastil.’
Everest pales and lets out a shaking breath. “If I could talk to him—if I could explain—”
“No,” Eissa says. “Everest, I care for you a great deal, but you are still so unwilling to admit that your friend is dangerous.”
Everest swallows thickly, his eyes wet with tears. He sniffs, bows his head, then his shoulders sag. “No. I…I know. I just…I was hoping it wasn’t going to be like this. And he wasn’t driving the car. He wouldn’t do that…”
“I know,” Eissa says. “But he’s the only one we were able to identify, and you know that if we take him into custody, he might be willing to give up other names.”
I start to interpret this for Luca, who shakes his head. ‘Don’t need. I understand.’
I don’t know what that means, but I’m too stressed to care. “So, Zane gets arrested, and Luca gets to come home?” I ask.
Eissa looks at Luca, then at me. “Not at present. Not until we can ensure his safety.”
‘So what’s the plan?’ Luca asks.
Eissa’s eyes fix on Everest, who is in Rathyn’s arms now, then he looks at me before looking at my brother as he answers in sign.
‘I will take him on as my companion. He will live with me on Erethar. My assignment here is nearly finished, so until we can assure that the rebellious faction of humans is dealt with and there is no threat to anyone, he will remain under my care.’
“A companion,” I say aloud, startled. “No. No fucking way.” My hands tremble through the signs, the same as my voice shakes out of my chest. “I know what a companion does.”
“Dante,” Everest starts in a thick voice.
“No. Fuck you. Luca isn’t becoming a glorified cum bank for you just because he’s—”
“Dante.” This time, Luca speaks aloud, which is rare. He’s self-conscious about his accent, both Deaf and the fact that he learned speech from a Ukrainian woman, and he tends to speak like her. Everyone in the room freezes as Luca continues with his voice. “It’s fine. I’m saying yes.”
I stare at him. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘I am. It’s fine. It won’t be forever.’
‘You know what companions have to do, right?’ I demand. ‘What the Vyastil will require you to do in their world?’
He nods. ‘There’s no other way.’
Eissa walks over and lays a hand on my shoulder, and Cielo lets out a little growl, so he quickly removes it and signs, ‘I promise you I will not ask that of him. This is for appearance’s sake only. To protect him. He will be safe with me.’
“I didn’t understand most of that,” Everest says, “but I can tell you that Luca will be fine with him. Eissa is a good man.”
“Vyastil,” Eissa corrects.
Everest shrugs. He’s still upset, and I don’t blame him. Admitting Zane is not a good person would be like me admitting Luca was a criminal. Even with evidence, I’m not sure I could.
I would go down swinging, that’s for sure.
‘I’m fine. I agree,’ Luca tells me once he has my attention.