He smiled a smile that was so familiar and at the same time alien. Looking at him, he was identical to Sin, except for the scars that marred Sin's body. Yet she didn't react to Zakar's presence at all. There was no heart racing, no clammy hands. No desire to jump on top of him... nothing. It was just like looking at any handsome naked man. It left her cold and reminded her why the other handmaidens had often called her frigid.
Zakar tilted his head to look around her to where Sin was standing. "I don't believe your woman thinks much of me, Brother."
Sin gave her a devilish wink that managed to warm her. "Don't feel bad, she doesn't think much of anyone including me most days."
"True," she agreed. "People are basically irritating. Myself included."
Sin's cell phone started ringing. He excused himself and went to answer it.
Zakar leaned back against the back of the sofa and draped an arm along the top. His gaze stayed focused on Kat, who didn't flinch under his intense scrutiny. Rather, she duplicated it, letting him know that she wasn't the least bit intimidated by him.
Finally he broke the silence. "You want to say something to me, don't you?"
"Not really. Just chillin'." She glanced over to where Sin was moving to stand outside on the balcony while he talked. What was going on?
No doubt, she'd find out soon enough. So she turned her attention back to Zakar. "You must be relieved to be away from the gallu."
"You've no idea."
"Seeing how you were pinned down, I wouldn't go that far. I imagine it was pretty gruesome for you."
That succeeded in making him look away from her. "I need clothes."
She frowned at the odd note in his voice. "You going somewhere?"
He didn't answer. He merely got up, completely bare assed, and headed for the bedroom like there was nothing wrong with streaking through his brother's penthouse in front of her. Kat would have gaped, but then she knew ancient men hadn't been modest...
Then again, there weren't many modern men afflicted with modesty, either.
Sin stepped back in from the balcony and swept the room with his dark gaze. "Where's Zakar?"
"Said he needed clothes."
Sin frowned. "My bedroom?"
"That's where he went, so that would be my best guess."
Sin headed toward the room with her right behind him. When they got there, the room was completely empty. Dumbfounded, she kept waiting for Zakar to reappear before them.
He didn't.
Sin went to the closet and opened it, but there was no sign of Zakar anywhere. They even checked the bathroom. The man had flashed himself out of the room and gone... who knew where.
"Where do you think he went?"
Sin shrugged. "I have no idea. But something with him wasn't right."
"I thought it was just me."
"No, I felt it, too." He slammed the bathroom door shut. "Damn it. What have we unleashed?"
She sighed. "Doom, destruction... at least he's not nuclear, right?"
A smile toyed at the edges of Sin's lips. "At this point, who knows?"
Kat beamed. "Oh look, Mr. Positive has come out to play again. Welcome back, Mr. Positive. All the boys and girls have missed you so."
Sin smiled in spite of himself. Her humor should irritate him, but instead he found it a refreshing relief from the seriousness of the situation. Honestly, he couldn't remember any time in his life he'd enjoyed more than this time with her. And all things considered, this had to be the worst part of his existence, since they were only days away from Armageddon.
The only thing that made any of this bearable was her wit and courage. "You're really not right, are you?"
She scoffed. "With my background and genetic makeup, buddy, you're lucky I'm as normal as I am."
"Point well taken." He let out a tired breath as he tried to locate Zakar, but nothing would come to him. It was as if his brother had vanished into a black hole. "Can you locate him?"
"Not even a buzz. What about you?"
He shook his head. "As much as I hate to say this, I guess we'll have to wait for him to return."
By her face he could tell the idea appealed as much to her as it did to him. But what choice did they have? Without a bearing, they had no idea where to even begin searching for Zakar. Sin could kill his brother for this.
Kat moved over to him and rubbed his back. "Who was on the phone?"
"Damien. He said a gallu tried to get in, but the mirrors repelled him."
Her smile warmed him before she rested her chin on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. Yeah, a man could get used to this. There was something not only comforting but highly unsettling about the way her innocent touch set him on fire.
"Maybe we ought to get mirrored armor," she said. "You know, like they had in the Brothers Grimm movie?"
"That was just metal they wore."
"But we could make it out of mirrors. Then they'd be repelled any time they came near us... you know, we could start like a whole fashion line of mirrored clothing. One that could save humanity. Just think about it."
He laughed at her train of thought. Oddly enough, he appreciated it, but it was highly impractical. "And when we broke one of the mirrors while trying to fight them off we'd have seven years' bad luck."
She didn't miss a bit before she retorted, "Ah, we're immortal. What's seven years to us?"
"An eternity when it's bad."
She stuck her tongue out at him in a playful gesture that somehow managed to be adorable on her.
What was wrong with him?
"Just be a spoilsport, why don't you?"
He supposed he was. He wanted to be playful like her, but he wasn't. At the end of the day, he was all about doom and gloom and he couldn't help wondering what his brother was up to. Where Zakar had gone...
Sin raked his hands through his hair as guilt gnawed at him. "What have I done?"
Kat tightened her grip around him. "You saved your brother."
He leaned his head against hers and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair and skin. "What if I haven't? What if Kytara is right and we should have killed him while we had the chance?"
"Is that really what you think?"
"At this point, I don't know."
Kat laid a gentle kiss to his shoulder blade that seared him. "I do know, Sin. I believe in you and your judgment. I know you've done the right thing."
Sin was stunned by her conviction, and it meant more to him than he could even begin to put into words. "Thanks. I just wish I shared your faith."
"Don't worry, I've got enough for both of us."
Sin smiled even though he was worried about what Zakar was doing. He felt like he should be searching for Zakar. But he didn't know where to begin. Like Kat, he wasn't picking up anything from his brother. Not even a small trace.
And Zakar wasn't answering Sin's summons. There was no telling what his brother was into.
A bad feeling went through Sin. Had he been blinded by loyalty and love? Gods, what if he'd unleashed something unholy onto mankind?
"Stop fretting." Kat smoothed his frown with her fingers.
"Yeah, but we don't know what he's doing or who he's doing it to."
"I know." She pulled the small sfora from around her neck and held it in her hand. "Let's try finding him this way, shall we?"
Sin stepped back as she used the stone to summon Zakar. But after a few minutes, she looked up with a grimace. "It's not working."
"What do you mean?"