She was beautiful, with intelligent eyes, a determined jaw, and a mouth that seemed to be prone to smiling.
His mother.
Losham stared at the image for a long time, trying to reconcile this stranger with the mother of his imagination. He and the female shared little resemblance other than the eyes. Those eyes must have embedded themselves in his baby mind because he remembered them. Had visualized a female with those eyes as his mother.
He tried to imagine meeting her. Facing this woman, who was his mother in biology if not in experience. Would they embrace? Would it feel natural or would they stand awkwardly apart, two strangers bound by blood but separated by circumstance?
Would he even know what to say to her?
The emotions roiling through him were unfamiliar, uncomfortable. Feelings were weaknesses, vulnerabilities that enemies could exploit.
He thought of Sharim. Of the adopted son he had groomed for greatness and lost. The clan had taken that from him. And now, through some cosmic irony, the clan was giving him something in return.
Not a replacement. Nothing could replace what he'd lost. But a real piece of himself that had been missing for over two thousand years.
Rolenna.
His mother.
18
DIMITRI
The lab was quiet in the late afternoon, the hum of the air conditioning providing a familiar backdrop to Dimitri's work. Mattie sat at the workstation they'd set up for her in the corner, carefully labeling sample vials with her neat handwriting. She'd taken to her role as lab assistant with enthusiasm, asking questions, taking notes, and trying to understand the science behind what they were doing.
Dimitri loved her for that, even though he couldn't explain the complicated biochemical processes to someone with absolutely no background in the field.
Petrov was hunched over his station, muttering to himself in Russian as he adjusted the calibration on one of the analyzers. He'd been in a mood after a batch of new compounds he was working on hadn't synthesized properly, and it was best to leave him alone when he got like this.
At two o'clock, the door to the lab swung open, and Dave walked in right on schedule, looking uncharacteristically dirty. Their usually pristine uniforms were smudged with dust and streaked with oil or grease.
"What happened to you?" Dimitri set down his pen. "You look like you've been crawling through a construction site."
When they sat on the eight plastic chairs lined up against the wall, Number One, Dave's usual spokesman, leaned forward, breaking formation. "We have been assisting with the removal of debris from the mansion's basement."
Dimitri exchanged a glance with Mattie, who had stopped her labeling to watch the exchange. Why would Dave assist in clearing away debris?
They were in charge. They didn't do manual labor.
"Why would you do that?" Dimitri asked. "Surely there is no need for you to get your hands dirty."
Number One's expression remained neutral, but there was something in Dave's eyes, all sixteen of them, that suggested the question had touched on something he would rather not answer.
"Some of the items that are stored in the basement require careful handling," Number One said. "We assisted with the removal of debris that could have destabilized the whole structure and caused more damage. Lord Losham didn't trust the removal crews to handle that area and asked us to assist."
A chill ran down Dimitri's spine.
What if there were dangerous weapons or compounds stored in the basement?
Chemical or biological weapons. That would definitely require careful handling, and not by Dave. It needed to be done by someone who knew what they were doing. Someone like him and Petrov.
"You might need expert help," he said carefully. "I don't know what you are dealing with down there, but if it involves chemical or biological weapons, you need to know how to handle them. Dr. Petrov and I should take a look."
"Count me out," Petrov said. "I don't want to be anywhere near anything like that. I value my life."
All eight pairs of Dave's eyes looked at Dimitri with identical thoughtful expressions. "That's not what we are looking for, but thank you for the offer to help."
Dimitri's curiosity was spiked even more, but he knew better than to push too hard for answers.
