‘I – I’ve been trying to reconstruct the Pictish language.’
‘I thought it was a lost language?’
‘I just spoke my best estimation, there are many theories. I saw the tattoos and …’
Nicole’s blurry vision righted on her phone. She needed to warn Kyan. If Alexander had just left, there was no telling where he was, and if he might come back. If they had found her, they could get to Kyan next.
‘You need to tell me what the hell is happening,’ Chloe said.
‘Can I have some water?’ Nicole asked.
As Chloe spun to reach the water dispenser, Nicole dialled Kyan.
‘Any news?’ he asked immediately.
She was hit with such relief, such bone-deep affection that tears almost sprang to her eyes.
‘Alexander was here.’ The words were little more than a rasp, and she heard the increased footfalls as Kyan started running.
‘Where are you? Is he there? Are you—’ He bit off, as if he almost couldn’t ask it. ‘Did that piece of fuckingshitehurt you?’
‘I’m still with Dr Kaner. He’s gone, I’m healing. But he might come back, or find you.’
‘Don’t hang up, I’m coming.’
Nicole put him on speaker, taking the slightly shaky paper cup of water from Chloe.
‘Tell me why I shouldn’t call the police right now.’
‘Because that man was not human and neither am I, and calling the police will only result in you losing your memories, or worse. So I’m going to give you a choice, Dr Kaner.’ Her throat burned, building up to Influence. ‘Either I can wipe your memory—’
‘What—’
‘—and get you sent away somewhere safe in case he comes back. Or you can remember this but not do anything about it, and contact me if you can think of anything that might stop him.’
‘You’re telling me he … he wasn’thuman?’
‘Did he seem it to you?’
Chloe’s chest was still heaving, and she looked to the debris of her office, one hand still gripping the bloodied knife she’d used on Alexander.
‘His tattoos were Pictish,’ she said at last, as if the only thing inthis moment that made sense to her was her scholarship. Nicole could relate.
‘Could you translate any of them?’
She hesitated, and Nicole was too overwhelmed to parse if that was because Chloe was going to keep something to herself.
‘Not really. They were probably nonsense, like people that get tattoos in foreign languages and have no idea what they mean.’
‘They’ll be real.’
Chloe shook her head. ‘You don’t understand. If it’s real, that would make him over one thousand five hundred years old, atleast.’
Nicole only gave her a bleak look.
Chloe let out a shaky breath as her shock made way for surprise. ‘Why would saying anything stop him in his tracks? He was going tokill you.’
‘Perhaps because he hadn’t heard it spoken in over a thousand years.’
