Garden of Eden, my ass.
You’ll have to excuse me, Okami purrs. I must get dressed. Blood does not compliment the colour purple, don’t you agree ?
As though her only concern with murder is that it clashes with her outfit.
So much for the lotus flower.
Because if this is her version of peace and serenity, I think I can safely we’re all fucked.
It’s also safe to say I’m terrified.
Veah and I are sitting on a bench, the sound of a waterfall rushing behind us. Okami is gone, but we are silent now. Light trickles through the foliage, and though I breathe in the scent of lavender and honeysuckle . . . it feels poisonous now.
Watching Veah kill people was different. She might have been thrilled by the danger, but she didn’t kill like that. With an axe, cleaving through the air, over and over.
That was . . . that was brutal.
And I can still see the corpse in the corner of my eye.
My stomach lurches.
One second, I say, before I throw up in the Garden of Eden.
I can still see that ravaged flesh, the drip of black blood. I can still see the way his eyes opened, his head at an unnatural language.
She kept goingeven after he was dead.
And she smiled afterwards. She smiled like the only concern she had was that purple clashed with blood.
I can’t do this.
I can’t do this.
I thought I could ignore the fact that the girl I’m falling for is a boss for the Japanese Mafia. But this is her lifethis is who she works for, who has power over her.
She is a criminal and thisthis is why I like rules.
My breath comes heavier now. I grip the bench with one white-knuckled hand. The overwhelming feeling of it all rises up around me.
Hey. Hey.
No, I say, shaking my head feverishly. No, don’tdon’t touch me.
Don’t touch me.
Her hand, just above mineas though she might have reached for itstills. Drawing back. And is that . . . no, it can’t be. Hurt that flashes over her face.
I look away. Does that make me a coward ?
Breathe, Veah whispers. Breathe, Kaya. Focus on me.
The sound of her voice is a tether, and I . . . I breathe.
Well, isn’t this just heartbreaking, murmurs Okami’s soft voice from behind. And here I was, wondering why my favourite assassin was keeping you a secret.
Leave her alone, Veah growls.
Chimei-tekina megumi, Okami rasps. You seem a little off edge. Could it because we’ve been apart for so long ?
Chimei-tekina megumi. Hunter called Veah that, too.
It meant Fatal Grace.
It’s got nothing to do with that, Veah snarls.
Okami only laughs. Kaya Rivers, she murmurs. You know, I think your little girlfriend has a secret you should know about.
Veah takes a dangerous step forward.
But I just saw this woman murder someone in cold blood, and I am not giving her the chance to hurt my girlfriend next.
My . . . wait, what now ?
Why don’t I let Heaven tell you exactly what her secret is ? Okami says. Because surely you must be wondering why it is she brought you to me.
Because . . . Because she told me it was too dangerous to ignore you.
That doesn’t feel like the right answer anymore.
Okami pulls out a small plastic bag filled with white powder, and she tosses it to Veah’s feet. Isn’t that . . .
There, Okami purrs. The real reason.
It is a bag of crystal meth, and Veah picks it up with trembling hands.
No, I say, because everything else empties out of my head. No.
Oh, yes, indeed, Okami whispers. I keep my gang members very loyal to meyou might even say dependent.
You drug them ? I say.
No, of course not. That would defeat the purpose. I just give them a little bit every day. A little bit of stimulation, a little bit of addiction. It keeps them faithful, you see.
It dawns on me. So they come back ?
Okami’s smile is a knife’s edge. Yes, and they come crawling.
Veah’s head is bowed. She is still looking at the plastic bag. Her hands are shaking.
Project Basilisk. The Wyvern.
Maybe I underestimated how involved she was. How far deep she was drowning. And what was that saying, about the Mafia ? Once you get in, you never get out.
You brought me back because you’re an addict ? I hiss to Veah.
Even as her fingertips tremble, I don’t really believe it.
Because if it were true, while we were together, she would have been going through withdrawal. These past few weeks, she should have been jittering. Sweating. Feverish.
She wasn’t.
Which makes me thinkwhich makes me think
She’s lying. Right to Okami’s face.
I don’t know why, but I trust her. So I say, How could you ?
Oh, now, now, Okami says softly. I wouldn’t want you to have a lovers’ spat.
You brought me back here because you wanted a fix ? I shout.
Veah doesn’t even look up. Her eyes are hungry now.
I need to act the part. I need to be betrayed. This is a dangerous game Veah is playing, but I trust her. I trust her.
A little quarrel, Okami says, and her eyes shine. But I have just the remedy.
I notice she is wearing a different kimono now. Sea-green.
What remedy ? I say, coaxing tears to my eyes. Because nothing you can say will fix this.
I’ve arranged for you and Heaven to stay in one of my personal bathhouses. Okami’s red lips are full, honed into a smile. It’s yours for the night, and no one will interrupt you.
A bathhouse ? I say in disbelief.
And a room, Okami says, just a breath. I want you to rest for the night, because tomorrow . . . tomorrow, I have something planned for you, Heaven.
The Wolf’s eyes linger on me.
And her words are barely a whisper over the stream of the river and the song of the birds. Dark and lilting. Taunting.
Oh, don’t worry, Kaya. I have something special planned for you.
Kaya, I can explain, Veah says, as soon as she has finished combing through every inch of the bathhouse for spies and listening ears.
But I can’t pay attention to her. Not when there is lotus-scented steam twirling through the air, and an enormous glowing pool that spans the entire floor. The ceiling reaches high above us, supported by magnificent Roman columns, and this entire place . . . cast in the light of turquoise and dancing shadow, it is gorgeous.