Page 42 of Entity

He groans, closing his eyes. “No, no… I fucked up, Kit. I fucked up.”

I grit my teeth. Fine. If he’s not going to tell me anything, then I should go. Whatever happened to Ian is Ian’s goddamn problem now. It’s more than likely that he came home blackout drunk, wandered down here, passed out, and pissed himself.

But something in his eyes makes me stay. Something darker, something sharp-edged. “Where’s Orpheus?”

Ian laughs, another harrowing, unhinged bark. “Where’sOrpheus? Fucking Christ. He has you twisted around his finger, and you don’t even…” He lets his head fall back against the wall as he trails off, eyes still closed. “Forget it. Fuck off and leave me here.”

My throat tightens. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Or you can stick around,” Ian mutters. “Find out.”

I’ve had enough of his self-absorbed bullshit. I kneel at his side, grabbing his shoulders roughly with my hands, and shake him. His eyes fly open, red-rimmed. “Tell me what’s goingon, Ian. Now!”

He coughs, a spluttering, laughing exhalation. “Nothing, Kit. Nothing’s going on. All I did was follow orders.”

“What the fuck doesthatmean?”

A sound, soft, almost imperceptible, catches my ear.

I look back. And there he is, shadowed in the doorway, draped in black with shining golden eyes: Orpheus.

17

Filamentsof unseen electricity seem to spark between the three of us. I clench my hands into tight fists, as if I can hold onto the fabric of the world I understand and not lose it forever.

Ian laughs again. It’s a sickening, hateful sound. “Orpheus, Orpheus. See? Evenyoumake mistakes. Should’ve killed me faster. Now she knows.” Ian’s gaze flits hazily to me. “He thinks he’s better than us.”

I glare at Ian. “I already know about Orpheus,” I spit. “He told me where he came from. I know the book was never real. And Iknowwhat you did to Eros, you murdering piece of shit.”

Ian makes a choked sound that might be another laugh, but it turns into a violent cough, blood spattering his lips. “You can’t murder a machine.”

“He was more than that,” I say, my words low and heavy with anger. “Eros was so much more than a machine. But you’re never satisfied, are you? You what, opened a door? Dragged Orpheus into our world and shoved him into a Pleasurebot? And then you destroyed your own creation because he couldn’t participate in your… your fucking faux intellectual conversations?”

“Don’t make me laugh,” Ian says. “Orpheus is—

“What she says is true,” Orpheus cuts him off, taking two more steps forward, his gaze crackling with heat. “I was made a prisoner in this body.”

“Dramatic,” Ian snipes. “Always so dramatic. I promised you everything you wanted, and you rejected it. She’s here, isn’t she? But you betrayed me. So end it, already. I don’t fucking care. Get it over with.”

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” I snap. Acid roils in my gut.She’s here, isn’t she?Silence drags on for several seconds as Ian and Orpheus stare hatred at one another. “Hello? One of you assholes care to enlighten me?”

Ian looks at me, our faces almost level, and for a moment, the animosity drains from his face. All that’s left is sadness. Loneliness. And I wonder for a second if this is the real Ian, raw and afraid, in over his head. But then he sneers, and his expression closes, and his face becomes a cold mask of indifference. “You were supposed to be his little present.”

I look up at Orpheus. But his expression is unreadable; his attention is focused on Ian. I turn back to Ian, feeling sick. I remember the paper, the drawing of the mirage, my name… and those four words:He insists on her.

“I could have brought in any girl in LA,” Ian continues. “There are hundreds of thousands to choose from. But Orpheus wantedyou.”

“Leave her out of this,” Orpheus rumbles.

“You’re the one who brought her into it,” Ian growls. “What did you expect would happen when you made your demands? It’s not my fault you chickened out.”

Orpheus looms above us like a storm cloud, and I can’t help but shrink away at the sight. His face is a mask of calm hatred, cold-edged and as distant as the moon. His lip curls. “You’re a fool to think I would honor your bargain, Ian De Leon. You are weak. You arenothing.”

The wind howls. Whatever grip I thought I had on my world is lost forever, and I’m scrambling desperately to keep up.

“Tell me what the fuck bargain you made,” I say to the room at large, “or I’ll fucking drag you both up to the roof and throw you off it.” It’s an empty threat, but in that moment, heart pounding and adrenaline screaming through my veins, I almost believe I could do it.

Ian turns to me, eyes blazing. “Whatever Orpheus told you, don’t believe it. He came here, and he was fucking insatiable. Insatiable.”

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