Page 12 of Circle of Death
“Dache is worlds beyond that,” I tell her. “What he knows, your teachers can’t teach. Dache taughtme.”
“Lamont was a superior student,” says Dache. “I’m honored that he summoned me to help you.”
Maddy is backing away now. I can tell she wants no part of this. “Sorry. No. I’m good.” She looks over at Dache. “I apologize for the misunderstanding. Crossed wires, apparently.” She flicks her fingers at him. “You can go back to Mongolia now.”
Dache nods. His body and clothes begin to shimmer. Then he’s gone. I can see relief wash over Maddy’s face. She starts to walk out of the room, back toward the kitchen. I call out to her. “Maddy, please…”
Suddenly, Dache is standing in front of her, blocking her path. She takes a step back. “What’s going on?” she asks. “Why are you still here?”
Dache’s voice is calm and pleasant. “I returned to Mongolia, as you asked. Now I’m back.” He leans toward her. “Please. Trust me. You have much to learn.”
Maddy shakes her head. “Not happening.”
Dache tucks his hands into the arms of his robe and smiles. “You’re strong, Madeline. I respect that.”
Maddy is flushed. I can see the blood rushing to her face and neck. She jabs a finger at Dache. “Here’s a lesson foryou,” she says. “My name isnotMadeline! Now please leave!Go!I don’t need this right now!”
“As you say,” says Dache. He disappears again. His physical form is totally gone. Then his voice comes out of thin air.
“Training starts tomorrow.Madeline.”
CHAPTER 13
AT DINNERTIME, I can see that Maddy is still furious. She’s silent and sullen, and she hasn’t spoken to me all afternoon. I worry that this whole arrangement with Dache got off to a very bad start. Probably my fault. I could have prepped her better. But I’ve had a lot on my mind. Tonight, I’m hoping that an extended family dinner—with Jericho, Moe, and Burbank included—will improve her mood. I put a lot of faith in Jessica’s home cooking.
As everybody sits down around the huge table in the main dining room, I decide to break the ice with a little local drama.
“You know, it happened right here—exactly where we’re sitting.”
“What did?” asks Moe. He’s already helping himself to the wine.
“This is the room—around this same table—where Khan and his ministers made the plan to murder millions of people. The entire lower level of society. Wipe them out entirely all over the world. That was the scheme.”
Moe takes another gulp of his merlot. I can see he’s not impressed by my history lesson. “Yeah? Well, I guess it didn’t work. Khan is gone and we’re here. So that’s that.”
“Should we perform an exorcism?” Jericho jokes. “You know? Erase the bad mojo?”
“My lasagna will take care of that,” says Jessica.
She’s not kidding. Jessica’s lasagna is magical stuff. Meaty, cheesy, and unbelievably delicious. Best I’ve ever tasted. Bando has already stationed himself under my chair, hoping for some scraps.
Jessica passes the platter. Moe spoons himself a healthy plateful and digs in. With one bite, his face transforms into a vision of pure bliss. “Jesus, that’s amazing!”
After a few quick mouthfuls, he looks over at Jessica.
“Okay,” he says, “anybody who cooks food this goodhasto be an honest person. So, Jessica—let me ask you, on the level. What’s the deal with this family? Is it all true? The frozen body stuff and everything?”
I feel the need to make a correction. “Cryogenic suspension. We weren’t actually frozen.”
“Lamont and Margo’s body processes were slowed, not stopped entirely,” says Jessica. “That’s how Margo was able to carry a child to term.”
“I stillcannotget my head around that,” says Jericho, piling lasagna onto his plate.
Neither can I. The fact that Margo bore a child—ourchild—without knowing it, still seems outrageous. And crushingly sad. It was one of the biggest events in either of our lives. And we missed it. Never even knew it happened. Until Maddy found us in that lab and brought us back to life.
Burbank looks across the table at Margo. “You don’t remember anything about giving birth?”
“Nothing,” says Margo. “Lamont and I were both in deep chemical comas until Maddy found us. The first time I realized I’d delivered a child was when Maddy uncovered my medical records, five generations later. Bit of a shock.”
