The Mephisto Covenant (21 page)

Okay, then she’d start. “How long have you lived in Telluride?”

“I live in Placerville.”

They walked on in silence for a while before Amanda asked, “Why would Brett make up that story? He’s your cousin. Maybe not the same as a brother, but still, he’s family.”

“He wanted me to join the Ravens, and he thought if he made me miserable enough, I’d do it so he’d take it back and tell everyone it was all a joke.”

“Why don’t you want to join? I think it sounds awesome, and it’s not like they ask just anybody.”

Sasha chose her words carefully, and finally asked, “Do you know what you have to do to join?”

“Sure. You have to give up God and promise to follow Eryx.”

Curious to find out how much Amanda knew, she asked, “Who’s Eryx?”

“He’s kind of like an angel. Whatever you want, he can get it for you.”

“How come I’ve never heard of him? I mean, if he’s all that special and amazing, why don’t more people know about him?” Amanda shrugged. “I don’
t know. Maybe because some peo
ple would harass his followers; that’s why they just have these secret meetings.”

“Whatever. It’s not for me.” “Why? Are you über-religious or something?” “I believe in God, and I hope when I die I’ll go to Heaven.

If that makes me über-religious, then yeah, I guess so. I’m just not down with turning my back on God and following some guy

I’ve never heard of.” “Even if he could get you what you really wanted?” “He couldn’t get me what I want.” “What do you want?” “For my dad to still be alive.” “Oh.” Amanda looked ahead when they reached Colorado.

“My mom didn’t die, but she left, and I wouldn’t want her to come back. She was crazy, and mean. She went out with other guys, drank all the time, and spent the grocery money on stuff she thought would make people think we were rich. Pretty dumb, since Dad is a butcher. He’s a lot happier since she left.”

Sasha wasn’t sure how to respond, so she asked, “What do you want from Eryx?”

Amanda shrugged. “To be happy, and maybe do better in school, and get a boyfriend, and not be so shy and awkward. I hate it.”

Boo ran in front of them, hopping around like he was on speed. Now that they were on the main street, Sasha decided he needed his leash. Pulling it from her coat pocket, she whistled at him, then bent to hook it to his collar.

“No offense, Sasha, but that is one butt-ugly dog.”

Boo whined and hung his head. “Now look, you’ve hurt his feelings.” She scratched behind his ears before she stood straight. “I’m sorry. I wish I had a dog,
even an ugly one.” She bent to
pet Boo, who licked her hand. They walked on, looking in shop windows as they went. “I don’t think you need to join the Ravens to get what you want, Amanda.”

“You wouldn’t understand. It’s easy for people like you.” “People like me?” “You’re hot, and you have cool
clothes, and you’re related to
the hottest guy at school. I know he’s kind of on everyone’s hate list right now, but that’ll change, I guarantee, and he’ll be what he’s always been. With all you’ve got going for you, you’re gold.”

Sasha gave that a lot of thought, all the way to the bakery, where they bought cookies and cocoa, and then as they walked back toward the school. She hadn’t been a loser at St. Michael’s, so why would she be a loser here? Sure, there was the handicap of being new, but if what Amanda said was true, she could be okay, have friends, be somebody again.

And if that happened, she’d have Amanda right there with her, so Amanda wouldn’t be tempted by the Ravens’ fake promises. She glanced at her I Love the Eighties glasses. If she’d get some new frames, maybe wear some makeup, and ditch the whole unmade bed look, she’d be pretty.

“So I was thinking, would you want to go with me to the basketball game tonight?”

“I can’t. My dad gets off work at five, and I have to go home with him because I don’t have a car. Placerville is twenty miles away. And he won’t let me drive back because he’s paranoid about the road between here and there. It’s winding and icy in places.”

“Maybe he’d bring you back, if you asked.”

“Maybe. He’s always after me to be more involved at school. He’s Mr. Friendly, so he just doesn’t get how hard it is.”

“My dad was like that. All my friends loved him.” They had turned off of Colorado and were close to the school when she said, “Why don’t you come home with me after school? We could work on calculus, and I’d loan you something to wear to the game tonight.”

“Really? You’d do that?”

“Sure, why not? I really want to go, but the idea of walking into that gym all by myself is freaky.”

“Okay, I’ll come, and I’ll ask if my dad will bring me back for the game tonight.”

Sasha was feeling a whole lot better about things when they walked back into study hall. Jax turned to look at her as she came in, but before she’d taken two steps toward him, Brett said in a loud voice, “Hey, East, did I tell you my cousin’s mom was deported because they found out she’s a Russian spy?”

Would he never stop? Sasha was frozen to the spot, not sure what to say, what to do.

With his dark gaze still on hers, Jax said, “If Sasha’s mom was a spy, the United States wouldn’t send her to Russia. They’d arrest her for treason.” He turned then and gave Brett a hard look. “Back off, Shriver.”

“What the hell? You think you scare me?” “You should be scared. Lay off of Sasha.” Coach Hightower cleared his throat and waved at Sasha and Amanda to bring up the cookies and cocoa. “Come on, you guys, let’s have some sugar and get along, yeah?”

Sasha moved toward the teacher’s desk, swallowing the lump in her throat. Jax had stood up for her, even though he’d said he intended to lay low, to attract as little attention to himself as possible.

---

By the time sixth period, which was history, began, Brett’s reign as Top Dog at Telluride High appeared to be officially over. Now he was the one being shunned, by everyone except the other Ravens. Brody told Jax before class started, “I overheard some kids saying you threatened to beat up Brett if he doesn’t leave Sasha alone. They think it’s pretty pathetic that the new guy is having to defend her against her own family.”

Brett had really stepped in it, but he was a lost soul, and an arrogant, spoiled brat, so he didn’t get exactly how deep he was until he said before history began, “Hey, Sasha, why don’t you tell Mr. Bruno about your dad getting shot by the Russian Mafia?”

Thomas said, “Hey, Shriver, why don’t you shut up? Leave her alone and go back to your cave.”

Half the class followed up, telling Brett just what they thought about him.

Even Julianne’s handmaidens were looking at Brett like he was something they’d scrape off their shoe.

That he looked genuinely surprised told the whole story.

Mr. Bruno was frowning at him, although not for the same reason as everyone else. Brett was his golden ticket, the guy who was supposed to attract new followers for Eryx. Instead, the kid was making huge missteps that did just the opposite and turned people off.

Jax had taken the seat right next to Sasha, hoping his proximity would remind her not to let her hatred of Bruno be too obvious. When class began, she kept her head down, sketching in her spiral while Bruno talked about the War of 1812. Just as he’d done every day, Jax paid close attention, looking for any hint the guy might drop about where he was going, where the Skia meeting might take place.

Toward the end of his lecture, he said, “The final for this class is next Tuesday, so tomorrow and Friday, we’ll review the semester. I regret to say I won’t be here to give the final, but Miss Rose has agreed to be here instead.”

Jax glanced at Brody and caught the slight nod of his head. He’d heard, and noted it. Bruno was going to be gone next Tuesday. They had less than a week to figure out where he was going and who was going to be there, make a plan for takedown, and ask M to provide doppelgangers.

He looked at Sasha and felt a little dizzy. Once Bruno was gone, they’d take out the lost souls he’d collected in Telluride, and after that, Jax would go back to the mountain and Sasha’d forget all about him. He’d waited a thousand years for her, and she would know him for less than two weeks. He would never forget her, no matter how much longer he lived. Another thousand years, a million years—it didn’t matter. He’d never forget Sasha.

---

When the school day was finally over, Sasha and Amanda walked to the Shrivers’, Boo trotting along beside her. “This may sound a little weird, so don’t freak on it or anything, but my aunt is kind of a bitch. She and my dad didn’t get along, so she sees me as more of him, I guess, and she doesn’t like me. If she’s rude, I’m apologizing in advance.”

“It’s okay. My mom was mean, so I’m used to it.”

“Maybe she won’t even be home. She’s been out of town and may not be back yet.”

Unfortunately, Melanie was back. When they came in, she was in the family room, sewing a button on a shirt. Looking up, she smiled at Amanda. “Sasha, how nice. You’ve brought a friend home from school. How do you do? I’m Sasha’s aunt, Melanie.”

“Hi,” Amanda said, clearly confused. “I’m Amanda Rhodes.”

“Would you care for something to drink, Amanda? A soda, or maybe some hot tea?”

“No, thank you.”

Melanie never looked directly at Sasha, and the Carol Brady act was scaring the hell out of her. What was going on?

She went to the stairs, Amanda just behind her, and cringed when Melanie said, “You girls have fun up there and just give me a shout if I can bring you anything.”

When they were in her room, Amanda said dryly, “Yeah, Sasha, she was really horrible.”

“I don’t get it. She’s been awful ever since I got here on Friday.”

“Maybe she’s just being nice because I’m company.”

“I guess so.” She sat on one bed and Amanda sat on the other while they did their calculus homework. When they were done, they went to the closet and started looking for something Amanda could wear to the game.

Thirty minutes later, Amanda looked like a different person, wearing a pair of low-rise jeans and a soft white sweater that offset her dark hair and was perfect for her pale skin. She resisted makeup, but Sasha insisted, and when she was done, after she pulled part of her hair back into a loose braid, Amanda looked in the mirror and gasped. “You’re a miracle worker. I’ve tried makeup before, and different stuff with my hair, but I never looked like this.”

The glasses didn’t even look that bad.

With perfect timing, Chris knocked and came in, his eyes widening. “Amanda?”

“Hi, Chris.”

He gave her the standard guy once-over before he said, “I almost didn’t recognize you.” He looked at Sasha. “Are you going to the game?”

“Yes, are you?” “No, I don’t do sports if Brett’s involved. But I forgot my chemistry book, so I was wondering if you’d get it when you’re at the school.”

She couldn’t figure out why Chris disliked his brother so much. Jax told her Brett had been a lost soul for only a few weeks, but she thought the animosity Chris felt toward him went back way longer than that. “Sure, Chris. What’s your locker number and combination?”

“I wrote them down.” He handed her a slip of paper. “Thanks.” After one more look at Amanda, he mumbled goodbye and left.

Sasha grinned at her new friend. “He gave you the guy once-over—twice.”

“He didn’t seem very enthusiastic.”

“You don’t know Chris. He’s the quiet type, and he pops in and out of here superfast. Trust me, he was impressed.” She couldn’t wait to go to the game and see everyone’s reaction to Amanda’s new look.

At ten till five, she and Boo walked Amanda over to Colorado, to the market where her dad worked. He was the butcher, übernice and friendly, and when Amanda asked if he’d bring her back for the game, he looked like the sun had just risen behind his daughter’s head. “I’d love to bring you back for the game.” He grinned at Sasha, and invited her to their home to eat supper before they returned to Telluride. She wanted to join them, but she needed to find Tim and ask him about her birth certificate. Rose had reminded her twice again before she had left school.

“Thanks, Mr. Rhodes, but I’ll have to take a rain check. I’ll see you guys at the game.”

Back at the Shrivers’, she was surprised, and relieved, to find that Melanie was nowhere around. Tim was in the kitchen making a ginormous sandwich.

He looked up when she came in and smiled. “Hey, kiddo, how was school?”

“Okay. Did you have a chance to go by and sign those papers and give Miss Rose my birth certificate?”

“I didn’t, Sasha. Sorry. I’ll do it tomorrow.” He slapped a couple of slices of tomato on the towering pile of roast beef and wheat bread.

“She’s kind of leaning on me for it, Tim, and finals are next week.”

He carefully stacked leaves of green lettuce on the sandwich. “I don’t get why they need a birth certificate. It’s not like you weren’t born, right?” Taking the sandwich, he went into the family room, to his recliner, and sat down.

Sasha followed, standing next to the bookcase that held no books, only video games and DVDs. “If it’s a problem, Tim, maybe I should just tell Rose that we have to wait for Mom to contact us.”

Tim looked really upset, his face turning red, his small eyes glancing between Sasha and the stairs. “I told you I’ll take care of it, and I will.”

Why did he look so freaked out? He’d forgotten his sandwich, mopping sweat from his flabby face with his napkin, mumbling something about consequences and being tired of it all.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem with getting the certificate from Marin County?”

“Why don’t you tell her, Tim?” Melanie asked as she came down the stairs. “Go ahead. Tell Sasha why you can’t order a birth certificate from Marin County.”

Stiffening, preparing for battle, Sasha waited.

Melanie went to the sofa and sat, crossing her legs, checking out the toe of her one of her spike-heeled boots. “Go on, Tim. We’re all waiting.”

“Be quiet, Melanie.” He was still wiping his face with the napkin. “Please, Sasha, just let me get your birth certificate.”

“For God’s sake, you’re such a spineless worm!” She turned her hateful gaze to Sasha. “Marin County doesn’t have your birth certificate. No one does. Katya found you in a slum in Vladivostok when you were two years old, probably the kid of a crack whore who ditched you.”

“You’re lying.” Sasha looked at Tim, waiting for him to tell Melanie to back off.

He leaned his head back against the recliner and closed his eyes, the plate with his sandwich sliding from his lap to the floor, spilling tomatoes, lettuce, and roast beef across the carpet.

“You’re an illegal alien,” Melanie said in pretty much the same way she’d say Sasha was a crack whore. “You’re not a citizen of Russia, either. It’s as if y
ou don’t exist. Tim didn’t know
until he went to San Francisco that you’re not Mike and Katya’s natural child. You’re not even legally adopted, so you belong to nobody. If you’d gone with your mother, having no papers, they’d have taken you away from her, and because Tim’s living in some fantasy that he owes it to Mike to protect you, especially since your saintly mother—”

“Melanie, if you say one more word, I’ll put a bullet through your head.”

She stood, went to his chair, picked up the roast beef from the floor, and smeared it across his shirt; then she grasped the neck of his shirt, pulled it open, and dropped the meat inside. “This’ll save time. You won’t have to wait for it show up as another bulge.” Turning, she went to the foyer, grabbed her purse from the hall tree, walked out, and slammed the door.

After an eternity of staring at each other, Tim said in the quiet of the room, “Before Katya was to leave for the United States, she went to Vladivostok, to the house where her grandfather used to live, to say good-bye. She expected never to be in Russia again. The house was old and abandoned, and there you were, wandering through the debris. She took you to the police, but they couldn’t find anyone who was missing a two-year-old, and when she offered to keep you, they said no and sent you to an orphanage Things were bad for her in Russia, and she couldn’t wait the months it would take for a legal adoption, so she went to the orphanage that night and took you, then caught a plane to Paris. She contacted Mike, who met her there, married her, and they flew to San Francisco. He got you through customs with a fake birth certificate, which is probably what they used to get you into school. Katya said she lost it and would send another as soon as she could, but so far, I haven’t been able to contact her.”

Sasha sank to the floor, crouched there with her arms around her knees, Tim’s giant body a blur through the flood of tears. Mom and Dad had told the story of when she was born at least a million times—all about how Dad had flown home from halfway around the world to be there when she arrived, and how Mom had been told she could never have children, but there was Sasha, a miracle.

It was such a great romantic story. And it was all a lie.

She remembered her mother had said she’d found the painting in an old empty house in Vladivostok. Mom had failed to mention what else she’d found.

“When she received notice she was to be deported, she called and asked me to come,” Tim said, staring at the floor. “She said that she had something of Mike’s she wanted me to keep. I didn’t expect it to be his daughter, but she asked me to take you, to protect you from what could happen if she took you back to Russia.”

“Would they put me in an orphanage? I’m too old for that, aren’t I?”

“It’s very different in Russia, Sasha. Crime is a way of life, and the Mafia is everywhere, even in the government. The sex trade is huge. Since you aren’t legally her child, Katya worried you’d be taken from her and sent to work.”

Just then, Brett came down the stairs. On his way to the kitchen, he said, “So Sasha, turns out we’re not actually related at all. Pretty weird how just one phone call could get you kicked out of the country.”

Tim frowned. “There won’t be any phone calls to anyone, Brett. Do you understand?”