Seeing Rin’s pained expression, Karkov elaborated. “I think I wasn’t clear enough. Darrouil didn’t say much when I captured him last week, and I didn’t ask. That was … shall we say … an abbreviated exchange. I was referring to our other conversation a few years ago, back when he paid me a friendly visit.”
So Daryl had found Karkov. Rin wondered why he hadn’t mentioned it when they were reunited. Had he deemed it unimportant or did he mistrust her because of what happened to Sree?
“It would be uncivilized,” Karkov continued, “to torture a man who voluntarily turns up. I did consider killing him but thought better of it. And of course, I had to make sure he wasn’t one of your silly ploys. It has been a while, but I do remember your tricks from the old days.”
“Your one was better,” Rin remarked dryly.
Karkov sighed. “Well I’ll never live that down, I suppose. But yes, I had one good trick. You had hundreds of them, just never directed at me.”
“So you did torture him.”
“No torture was necessary. As I said, it was a civil conversation. I just asked after you. It hardly was amiss of me to ask after my beloved wife. How else was I supposed to know what you were up to. You never write, you never call, you’re unrecognizable.” He watched Rin’s face as he spoke, obviously hoping for a reaction. Instead she glanced up, as if barely paying attention.
“Oh, was casually throwing that out supposed to fluster me? You pretty much gave it away when you shot at me. Why would you shoot at your invulnerable ex-wife ‘to be sure’ unless you knew you wouldn’t recognize her?”
She grinned coquettishly. “Or did you forget my face after only a few thousand years?”
Rin could see the sarcasm forming on Karkov’s mouth but didn’t give him a chance to voice it. She sat back and glared at him. “I had meant to ask you about it right away but was distracted by your bullshit. So I’ll ask you now. How did you know about that?”
Despite her poise, Rin was concerned. It wasn’t particularly worrisome that Karkov knew, but did everybody know? If so, how did they find out? She wondered whether she was deceiving herself about the efficacy of her artifices. How high profile was she?
Smirking, Karkov ignored the question. He was about to ask one of his own, but Rin forestalled this. “I told you, you may not like this information exchange. But a deal is a deal.”
“Well, I didn’t want to bring it up. But since you are so adamant,” Karkov gave her a very cold look. “I had it from the sister you murdered.”
When Rin didn’t say anything, he added, “That would be before you murdered her, not after you murdered her. Because, yeah, you murdered her.”
“Who told you that?” Rin snapped.
“Your boy did, if you must know.”
“Was this while you weren’t torturing him?” Her voice was a disturbing monotone.
“Actually, he volunteered it. Apparently, he wasn’t very happy about it either. I almost killed him before realizing that. As it happened, I killed him afterward.”
Rin’s eyes violently met his, and he chuckled. “Sadly, I didn’t. So you’ll have to do it all by your lonesome. As I said, he is alive. But there was somebody killed, and I notice you didn’t deny it.”
Karkov grew sad. “I didn’t want to believe it, but you really did destroy Sree didn’t you?”
Rin looked down. “She asked me to.”
“Darrouil said something to that effect. Wasn’t that sweet of him? After everything you did to that poor boy, he still tried to defend you. Talk about hopeless.”
“It’s true.”
“That he’s hopeless or that she wanted to die?”
“Both.” For the first time, Rin sounded defeated.
“I don’t doubt your word, my dear. I’m sure the prospect of inevitably having to destroy your beloved sister was anathema to you. No doubt, this was just the excuse you needed to do the deed without guilt. It was mighty generous of you to take advantage of a bout of melancholy to end her eternal existence. I’ll bet you’re really proud.”
Rin’s eyes were venomous. “You’re one to talk. You gladly would have ended mine for far less but were too stupid to know how. So you just buried me.”
Before Karkov could respond, she continued in a quieter voice. “She tricked me into promising. I avoided her for a long time, dreading that promise. But she found me. I could not deny her this. And it was no bout, as you put it. She didn’t need a shrink, she needed an end. You’re a man, you know nothing of love. Even a mother and child grow apart. The only true love is between sisters.” Rin looked like she would cry but did not.
Instead, she regarded Karkov with empty eyes. “So you see, there is reason you should fear me. If this is what I did to the one I love most in the world, what will I not do to you?” There was a hollowness in her voice.
A moment later, Rin was back to herself. “Besides, what do you care about Sree? You always viewed her as a nuisance. I’m sure you tried to kill her once I was buried.” She laughed scornfully. “I know she never would bed you.”
Karkov shook his head. “I do not bed other immortals. Only the one.”
“Meaning none.”
“I just had a care for her. Sree was special. You remember us as children and assume things never changed. That is natural, I suppose. I came to know her again later. It was when you were hidden and she wanted my help finding you.”
“Did she know you were the one who buried her sister?” Rin snapped.
“This was much later. Around 500 AD or so. By then, she surely knew — but she also knew you had escaped.”
“And she just forgave you?” Rin was hurt. Perhaps Sree’s feelings had not been as transparent as she imagined.
“Well, Sree is forgiving.” Karkov corrected himself. “Was.” He thought for a second. “She was very angry at first, but I explained my reasons and eventually she understood.”
Rin pouted. “She never mentioned any of this to me. Did she tell you my reasons?”
Karkov shook his head. “Whenever I brought it up, she hinted that she knew. But she also said she wouldn’t get in the middle of a marital dispute. If you wanted me to know, you would tell me.”
This provoked a smile from Rin. “Smart kid.”
“Dead kid,” Karkov noted dryly. Seeing Rin’s pain, he softened. “It wasn’t just that, though. I think she hoped we would reconcile one day.”
Rin eyed him skeptically. This was beginning to sound self-serving, and if Karkov chose to abuse her sister’s memory this way, she never would forgive him. Even as she thought this, the absurdity of it struck her. Forgive? She was planning to bind the man in eternal torment. What reason could he possibly have not to offend her? Would she behave any differently were their roles reversed?
Karkov was speaking again, almost to himself. “It took centuries, but we grew closer. In retrospect, I don’t know why I didn’t like her when we were young. Maybe I was jealous of her hold on you. Every now and then I tried to help her find you but could not. I suppose you were unrecognizable at that point anyway.”
Rin nodded. She too had a wistful expression. “True. But I still was hiding as well.”
“Only in the last few hundred years have I had any luck locating you despite that,” Karkov continued. “For obvious reasons, I do my best to keep apprised of your whereabouts. I helped Sree locate you a few times, and she in turn kept me informed on occasion. But that makes it sound trite, a mere alliance of convenience. We were friends as well, bound by mutual love for another.”
Rin was growing weary of Karkov’s professed sentimentality. When had that bastard ever been prone to sentimentality?
“Call it what it was. You two spied on me.”
“Don’t blame her, Rin,” he admonished. “Sree only told me because she thought it was in your best interest.”
Rin wanted to believe this but had a hard time imagining how it could be true. Had Karkov somehow managed to deceive Sree? Something occurred to her.
“Did you arrange that message back in London?”
From the look on his face, Karkov obviously had no idea what she was talking about.
“The one written by that explorer?” she prodded.
Still no sign of recognition. Rin decided to try another instance.
“Three years ago in Sierra Leone?”
“I think it only was a couple of years, but maybe. I lose track of time sometimes. She said she wanted to warn you about something. Me, probably.” That Karkov didn’t vehemently deny it told Rin he was unaware of Sree’s intention at the time. Well, time to fix that.
She smiled maliciously. “Well, thank you. Thank you very much. You’ll be glad to know you played your own little part in her death. That’s where she finally tracked me down and invoked my promise. That’s where you killed her.”
Karkov seemed surprised but gave a dismissive wave. “No, Rin, my love. You and you alone killed your sister. No other played a role. If she asked my help finding you, what could I do but oblige? I have neither the power to kill one such as her nor the stomach for it. Only you have those.”
Rin weighed this in ominous silence as she was tempted to pounce from her chair in fury. Instead, she just glared at Karkov. Something else had occurred to her.
“How do you really know I killed Sree? You said Daryl told you, but it happened after he sought you out. Sree certainly was in no position to tell you.”
“Darrouil spoke of it when I captured him a few days ago.”
“You failed to mention that part. I thought there was no interrogation?” Rin’s face had grown hard again.
“I’m growing weary of this perpetual distrust of yours, my dear.” Karkov’s plaint sounded labored.
Rin gave him a vindictive smirk. “Oh, I see. To spare your affected feelings, I’m supposed to suspend my good sense. Your betrayal and countless lies should be overlooked, lest you ‘grow weary.’ No thanks. I think I’ll stick with my distrust. It’s the one friend who never abandoned me.”
“Or you killed,” Karkov added.
Rin rolled her eyes. “That again.”
“Yes, that again.”
She was about to snap back angrily but realized she was getting in her own way. The man obviously had something to say. Why not allow him to tie his own noose?
She smiled innocently. “I’m sorry, how rude of me to interrupt. You were busy contradicting yourself about not torturing Daryl. Really, you should keep your lies straight. I guess it’s hard when there are so many.”
Karkov calmly resumed his earlier explanation. “I was talking about the first time. But no, there was no interrogation this time either. Instead, we had a little chat. I told him far more than he told me.”
“Such as?”
Karkov smiled. “That you planned to kill him.”