Page 72 of Aleko
“I knew you were stupid, but this takes the cake.”
The explosions quieted and Lia hoped that didn’t mean anything more than that the pack had won.
“You’re going to die. You do understand that, right?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Lia. “One way or another.”
“One way... No. There is onlymyway. I would have thought that you were at least smart enough to recognize that truth. Particularly when it hits you in the face.” He lifted his hand and a boulder, rose from the sand and hurtled through the air. She moved and it barely missed her head, smashing into the cliff face behind her.
“I will crush you,” said Luca.
“Eliandra! Eliandra!”
A dark-haired woman rounded the last turn on the stairs, ran out onto the beach and then froze as she saw Luca.
“Oh, shit.”
“Who the hell are you?” demanded Seth.
“Uh… I’m Yazmin,” she said, her eyes darting frantically between Lia and Seth. “I’m the… uh… Priestess. I returned home with Hudson.”
“What the fuck are you saying?” demanded Seth and Lia realized that Yazmin had switched languages. It was a dense, layered language, and old. It tasted like the way a river flooded and retreated, leaving old mud, but growing new things.
“I have been working on the tablets of Adda. He wishes to steal Anuket’s magic.”
It was Egyptian. The priestess was speaking Egyptian.
Which meant they had replaced her. They had found a translator who did magic. If Lia’s heart could have broken anymore she would have bled to death right there. But it couldn’t. Her heart insisted on beating and she was too tired toeven cry.
“Speak English,” ordered and Seth. With a flick of his hand, a geyser shot from the incoming wave, dousing Yazmin in seawater. Yazmin gasped in startled shock and stood frozen to the spot.
“Now tell me what you said, or the next time I move my hand it will be to put you in the ocean.”
“The pack has been looking for Eliandra. I was saying that,” lied Yazmin.
“Why?” asked Luca, laughing.
“We need her,” said Yazmin, taking a few steps toward Lia.
Luca laughed again. “No one needs her.”
Yazmin stopped moving and gaped at Luca. Lia was surprised by the fact that Yazmin was surprised.
“No, we need her to talk to Anuket.”
“You can do that,” said Lia, pointing out the obvious.
Yazmin glared at her.
“You see?” said Luca. “Even the little crazy girl knows the truth.”
“I’m not crazy,” said Lia automatically.
“Yes, that’s your weakness, isn’t it?” said Luca, with a cruel smile. “Poor little girl can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t. Everyone feel sorry for her—she gets confused so easily. You are a broken dolly for Alex to play with. You go so well with his other rejects. It’s a shame you can’t face reality.”
“It is interesting to me,” said Lia, “that the people who seem most interested in me facing reality are all such liars. You don’t want me to live in reality. You want me to agree to your lies.”
“I want you to do as your told,” snarled Luca.
