Ezra wasn’t at his dojo when I arrived. I decided to return home, then remembered him telling me he liked to play pool at the pool hall around the corner.
I arrived at the place a little after nine. It sat at a crossroads in a building that had seen better days. I’d say this was the place one would come to bargain with the devil for their soul. But then again, I doubted the devil—if he did exist—would ever show up here. Especially not at night. I made a mental note to ask the owner if he hosted parties, because this would be the perfect place for my next pity-party.
I stepped into the dimly lit hall and immediately doubled over in a coughing fit. Either they had a smoke machine going, or they were hosting a chain-smoking contest. Blinking my eyes a few times, I peered into the smoke-filled cavern, letting the outline of people and furniture come into focus. My first step told me the D posted on the outside window should have been an F. Mixed in with the smoke was the stench of stale food. I covered my nose and pushed forward.
It took force and sheer will to take additional steps and make my way across the sticky floor. No, sticky would be a step up from what I was walking on.
Music played softly in the background, some blues number to add to the already desolate feel of the place. A single woman wearing mix-match shoes and a red dress swayed in the middle of the floor. A lone biker sat in the corner, nursing a beer, casting hopeful glances at the front door as if he were expecting the rest of his gang to show up any minute now.
Once the smoke had lifted some, I took in the rest of the space. The bar ran along the right side of the room, stretching all the way to the back. A few scattered tables sat directly across from it. Five pool tables were lined up in the back, resting on a short platform.
A couple wearing tourist t-shirts for Carnavalul de Fear played at the table closest to the wall. At the other end, Ezra played with a man, who, at first glance, reminded me of someone. Only, I couldn’t place exactly who. He had the same dark skin as Ezra, only he had light brown, sandy hair. Ezra’s hair had grown since I last saw him, and he was wearing it loose, resting on his broad shoulders. I wondered if the women in class still ogled him.
Trying to avoid the worst of the sticky, unidentifiable substance on the floor, I started for them, weaving around the woman in red. She gave me a glassy-eyed once-over and continued in her drunken dance of seduction. A rat ran across my path, and I searched my memory, trying to recall if that was a bad omen or not—not that I believed in such things. But the notion I was missing something kept running through my mind. Logan’s words penetrated my thoughts.
“You lack the skills to really understand what you’re seeing.”
The accusation really grated on my nerves. But hadn’t Devlin said something similar when I didn’t react to my first encounter with Logan? I pushed the thought down and continued forward.
As if sensing my presence, both Ezra and the man he was with looked up and locked gazes with me. I stopped, my feet suddenly growing heavy as I realized just how reckless I was acting. Ezra had threatened to kill me if I sought him out again. Yet, here I was, brazenly walking into the lion’s den.
Ezra’s eyes narrowed, and his skin lit with an amber light. I remembered that light when he threatened me. I took a step back with the full intention of running out of there, until he beckoned me forward.
My knees shaking, I climbed the three steps up to the platform and stopped in front of them.
Ezra kept his gaze on me. Cold sweat broke out on my neck as we continued to stare at one another. Ezra’s eyes dipped down to my chest, and I knew he could hear my heart ramming against my rib cage.
“You’re scaring her,” the man said with a note of warning in his voice. Then he said something in a language I couldn’t understand. Ezra slowly turned to him and responded. Their words sounded like music. It reminded me of what Luisah had said when I asked her what the Old Ones’ names were. She had told me they sounded like music. This must be the language they spoke thousands of years ago.
“Why are you here?” Ezra asked finally.
“I’m looking for your sister. Do you know where she is?” My voice came out small. I had come to ask about the history of the phoenix, but I also needed to ask Hathor about my mother’s magick and find a way to protect myself from his brother. Might as well kill several birds with one stone.
The man next to him laughed. “Which sister?”
Ezra remained silent, studying me out of that penetrating gaze of his. I squirmed, then caught myself. I’d shown weakness in front of too many people this week. I wouldn’t do it again.
“Hathor,” Ezra said, answering the man. “Nicole, this is my brother, Killion.” His eyes never left mine.
“I need to talk with her. I assume she’s staying with you.”
He didn’t respond.
I turned to his brother. I’d give Ezra another minute. “What is your original name?” It was as if I’d lost all my manners. I should have said hello first.
His eyes ran over me. “They called me Horus at one time. My name before I was changed isn’t important anymore.”
“Why?” I asked, curious.
“That’s a story for another day.”
I thought about my theory that Karl was being controlled by another Old One. Well, I’d already been rude once. No sense in holding back now. “How long have you been on Tulare, Horus?”
“Killion. Please. We don’t go by our given Egyptian names any longer. And I arrived this morning.” He gave me a questioning look. “Why?”
I swallowed. Maybe interrogating an immortal being wasn’t the brightest idea—especially not one sworn either to kill or protect me on sight. Well, he did chastise Ezra for scaring me. Maybe that was his way of protecting me.
“Welcome to Tulare,” I said after a while, sounding like a complete idiot.
He smiled and set his pool cue on the table. “Well, brother, I see you have something to attend to. I’ll go find Hathor. She probably needs clothes again.” He spared me one last glance and walked away. I watched his back for a while, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar.
“Did you forget my warning?” Ezra said, pulling my gaze to him.
I picked up the pool cue Killion abandoned and looked at the table. “I figured since you and Hathor saved me, you weren’t likely to make good on that promise.” It was a lie. I had believed my coming here might mean my death, but I had no plans to tell him that. I was desperate, and since my mother refused to give me answers, I figured I could try getting them from Ezra.
“Did you want to play?” he asked, staring at me.
“So, you’re not going to kill me?” I tried to infuse brevity in my voice, but even I could hear the fear.
Ezra paused, his eyes roaming over me. “My brother reminded me of my mark. When I warned you before, I had never planned to see you again. Not for a long while. But yes, I did save you. So, no, Nicole, I can’t kill you. By Hathor and I saving you from Set, we have made our intentions clear.” He stepped closer. “Now, did you want to play pool?” He smiled and yes, my heart skipped a beat. I was gone over Alek, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a good-looking man. “You know how I hate wasting my time.”
“Yes, I remember.” He’d drilled those little lessons in when I last went to his class. He and Devlin both were some bossy bastards.
“How about,” I started and grabbed the rack, “for every ball I sink, you have to give me a straight answer.” I glanced over at the couple at the far end. Ezra followed my gaze. “Can we talk in here?”
He smirked and organized the balls inside the rack. “You break.”
I wouldn’t call myself a pool whiz, but I could sink a few balls and figured, if I could get at least four questions answered, it would help me figure out what was going on. I leaned over the table and broke. The balls rolled across the table, each speeding toward the pockets. When the solid yellow ball landed in the left corner pocket, I turned to Ezra.
“Your brother attacked me in my home,” I said. “I need to find a way to protect myself.” It was obvious Ezra was concerned about me. Maybe if I started here, he would be more open and forthcoming about my other concerns.
His eyes narrowed. “I can renew the glyphs or have Killion mark you.”
“What glyphs?” I asked confused. When had they put glyphs on my body? More importantly, where had they put them?
“We put some on the walls in your apartment when you were healing.” He paused. “Is this the first time you saw him?”
That was an odd question. “Umm…you mean after the attack?” He nodded. I told him about the few times I smelled his scent and felt his presence.
“He must have found a way around the protection. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
“How?”
He didn’t respond.
Okay. I would let that go for now. He said he’d take care of it, and I trusted he would. I sunk another ball and turned to him. “Tell me about the Nar al-nasaa.”
“Fuck,” he said, tossing his pool cue on the table. He started down the stairs, then paused. “Outside.”
I set my pool cue down and followed him out. Okay. I must have struck a nerve.
When I stepped outside, he asked, “Where’s your car?”
I signaled around the corner.
“Then drive to my dojo and wait.” He turned around and walked back inside the building.
Well, that didn’t go as planned. Who was I kidding? I didn’t have a plan.
Ezra was stalking around the corner by the time I had parked in the lot where his dojo was located.
Shoving open the door, I stepped out of my car, grabbed my purse, and started for him. He didn’t even look up when I joined him at the door. When he opened it, the familiar lime scent rushed out and tickled my nose. I sort of missed coming to the dojo. Sure, I complained a lot, but the exercise was good. And it gave me an outlet for my anger. If I thought he would, I’d ask Ezra to start training me again. Without sex, I had too much pent-up aggression flowing through me with no outlet. Drinking myself into a drunken stupor was definitely out of the question.
Slipping off my shoes, I padded on bare feet across the cold mat toward the back room, watching Ezra the entire time. Waiting for him to pounce. Halfway to the end of the mat, Ezra turned, his eyes blazing as he stared at me. “Control your fear. Its seductive call is hard to resist.”
“Stop trying to scare me,” I said with absolutely no conviction. I might have even whined a little. “We keep doing this dance, and I’m tired of it.”
“I might believe you if you didn’t sound like you were going to fold into a ball and start crying.”
Oh, that did it. I pulled the switchblade from between my breasts and charged at him. I would have succeeded in doing some damage had he not doubled over in laughter. Okay, I would have ended up on my back with him standing over me. Most likely still laughing. But at least he wasn’t threatening me anymore.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, putting the blade away.
“You, Nicole,” he said, staring. His eyes danced with humor. “Why do you have a switchblade lodged between your breasts?”
“For protection.”
“By the time you get the blade out, you’d be dead. Get a real knife, put it in a sheath, and wear it around your thigh.”
“I might cut myself,” I said, trying to infuse indignation in my voice. I didn’t appreciate him taunting me.
“You should never fear the weapon you wield. Get a real knife, and I will train you how to use it.”
“Promise?”
He turned and continued toward the back. “Promise,” he called over his shoulder. “Now, come on.”
We stepped into Ezra’s studio apartment, and he flipped on the light. My skin heated, remembering the last time I was here. I’d been in a vulnerable place, having bared my soul to a complete stranger. I hadn’t known what to do with those feelings, so I took my clothes off, hoping that would make it better. Even now, I knew that was the wrong move and definitely not healthy.
“I never did apologize for…” I made a circle with my hand, unable to voice the embarrassment. I gave him a quick glance to see if he understood and then looked away. “You didn’t take advantage of me. I appreciate that.”
“I’ve been alive for thousands of years. I know when someone is interested.” He touched my arm, drawing my attention to him. “I also know when someone is hurting. You were in pain. I wasn’t going to add to it.” He went over to the small desk and swiveled the chair around. “Now, sit.”
“I can’t even imagine what you’ve seen in all those years,” I said, taking a seat.
“War and mankind’s endless obsession with power.” He leaned against the wall across from me and folded his arms over his chest. “Why are you asking about the Fire Women? Did you forget about my warning of knowing too much?”
The last time I was here, Ezra told me I was safer not knowing some things. He never did elaborate on it. But at the time, I was talking about the Old Ones and assumed he was, too. “I already know about the Old Ones and that my mother is a Nar al-nasaa.” It was a lie. I assumed she was. She never confirmed my suspicion. But he didn’t need to know that.
Ezra moved a chair in front of me and straddled it. After a brief pause, he said, “The history of the Nar al-nasaa was destroyed in the fire that demolished part of the Alexandria library. My brother set fire to the records, and that fire spread, obliterating years of knowledge.” He leaned back, his face growing pensive. Grief filled his eyes. “For Thoth—a keeper of knowledge—it was like ripping out a piece of him. But it was necessary. Not all of the Nar al-nasaa had been killed. Some escaped to other regions of the world. And if people learned of their abilities, they would be hunted down and sacrificed.”
“How had they been killed?”
“We started off as humans with magick. But it wasn’t enough. Our village wanted to conquer the entire region. And they knew the only way to do that was to launch an attack on a massive scale. So, they altered us by sacrificing most of the Nar al-nasaa.”
“Is that why Hathor took my mother’s magick?” My mother had already implied as much, but I had to be sure.
He didn’t respond.
“Ezra, you have to help me.”
“Did you ever stop to think that I was helping you? Despite the records being lost on how to use the Nar al-nasaa to create Old Ones, someone is bound to put it together soon. This island should have never been created. My brother, trying to right a wrong, wrote about it and gave our secrets away.”
“Thoth?”
He dipped his head in acknowledgement.
“Wait,” I said, when what he was saying finally penetrated my brain. The only person to write about Tulare was Louis Badet. And he was dead. “I thought the Old Ones couldn’t be killed.” At least, I assumed that. No one said one way or the other.
“Louis Badet is my brother. And he’s not dead.”
“Is he here? On Tulare?”
“No. He won’t come here.”
“How many Old Ones are on Tulare?”
“Five.”
I ticked off the ones I knew about in my head. “Does that include Set?”
He nodded.
I paused, wondering if I should tell Ezra about my concern that an Old One was controlling humans. So far, he had been willing to answer some of my questions. Here’s hoping he could answer a few more. I gave him the details surrounding Karl. He silently watched me while I laid everything out.
“Sounds like something Khnum would have done. But he’s not here.”
Khnum—he was a ram god, responsible for the Nile and giving life to gods and humans.
“Could he have come to Tulare and not told you?” I asked.
Ezra thought for a minute. “Not likely,” he said finally. “But I will find out.”
“Thank you,” I said, glancing around. “I miss class.”
“You and Kara can come back anytime.”
I smiled at him. “I’ll let her know.”
I got up to leave, satisfied I’d gotten my answers. Ezra walked me out. Before he closed the door, he told me again he would give me something to protect myself from Set. And also reminded me to buy a real knife. When I flipped him off, he laughed and closed the door.
As I walked to my car, I thought about Louis Badet. It had never occurred to me he was an Old One. But maybe it should have given his vast knowledge of Tulare’s creation and the Old Ones. Ezra said it pained Thoth to destroy part of the Alexandria library. What if all that pain had morphed into rage. Forcing him to correct what he perceived as a wrong. What if the mastermind behind all of this…was him?