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The leather-bound book with personal writing was missing from its case. It was, in fact, the only thing I could see that was different. I ran my hand over the back of an armchair while I looked about. I had not had time to find the phone yet. It should be fairly weatherproof, wrapped up as it was, but shock proof? That depended on the landing.
“And how is Jacob, Cassius?” The doctor sat down in the red chair I was leaning my hip and arm against. “Is he ready to terminate this job of yours? I will be sorry to see you go, and so will Charity, I believe.”
I held back the blush as much as I could. Cassius was more intent on answering, anyway. I would miss him if he had to go. In some ways, he was a safety net, despite his wild temper when he forgot himself that night on the beach. I had other reasons—I liked him and that was stupid, considering.
“Jacob still wants me here.”
“That is your answer? Nothing else? Why? I thought this was due to the CNC Fraternity checking on my treatment of Charity?” He indicated me, without looking my way.
“It was, I guess. I’m just a cog, a soldier obeying orders, if you like. Hey.” He pointed at a weapon on the wall, displayed behind glass. “This isn’t a copy? Is this really—”
“Roman? Yes. Used by a gladiator, or so the provenance said.”
“Huh.” Cassius tucked his hand in a pocket of his blue jeans. “Can I handle any of these?”
“Not today.” The doctor steepled his hands. “Perhaps if you’re a good boy?”
“Don’t fuck with me, doc,” he said, still studying the weapon. “You won’t like the results.”
“Noted. To be honest, I like having you here, so if you’re interested in these, we can negotiate a reason to let you handle a few.”
“Negotiate?” This time Cassius did turn. “And is that all ofyouranswer?”
The doctor shrugged. “You tell me more, and I will tell you more.”
“Stalemate then. What do you plan on letting Charity learn here? And yes, I heard you say that.”
I’d been thinking on how to retrieve the phone, and now I was the center of attention. What did the doctor think of Cassius remaining? He was being paid to stay, and if the doctor hadn’t thought through the reasons for that, he should. Whose side was I on, though? The more freedom he gave me, the less I doubted the doctor.
“Latin and history. You were worried about growing bored on my island, Charity. You can start alleviating that boredom by studying.”
“Latin?” I tried not to look dubious. “I…suppose I can?”
“Many of the books on that shelf are written in Latin, and I need you to decipher something for me. Something I’ve noticed that carries down through the ages.”
The shelf had at least eight books on it.
I’d been hoping for something fun to do, like learning to…what? On the island, there were only books and nature…and kink, and of course antiques and ancient weapons. Which made theonlysilly. And there was also swimming and snorkeling and the mysteries to do with the doctor. Though only some of those topics could warrant more learning. I might convince the doctor to teach me how to use a sword? I’d never been one for embroidery and knitting.
As for kink, the two of them were already teaching me more than I’d ever imagined would appeal.
He stood, went to the shelf, and brought a book to me, then he flipped it open on the back of the chair, as if the tome didn’t look a few centuries ancient. Even I knew that spines could crack.
“You can help me. I’m studying this ancient Roman ritual. They did blood sacrifices to their gods. I’ve other books that support the repetition of this same ritual by other cultures all the way to the sixteenth century. Or I think I have. Study these, verify my thoughts, or not, in between being bent over tables and fucked.”
Cassius snorted. “That’s more like it.”
I scowled. “Don’t fuck with me either. Is this a make-work thing?”
“It’s not, and I’m not. Show me you can learn, and we can go from there. This is something of importance.”
Surely, he knew more than I did?
“I do love history,” I said, a tad begrudgingly. “The crazy Greek and Roman politics and backstabbing, the rebellions, the conquering.” I had actually read a lot of history. “Latin, though? Dry stuff.”
I shouldn’t refuse before I tried. What else might he let me do if I agreed to this? I pulled the book closer and saw a black-and-white sketch of someone sacrificing a bird of some sort—held up in their hand, with blood dripping. So this was a copy of something drawn thousands of years ago.
“Didn’t they have scrolls back then?”
