"And how happy are you with the two men in your bed right now?" he asked. "You've had sex with Richard now, and the marks are binding you tighter than ever."
"Did everyone know that was a possibility but me?" I asked.
"Jean-Claude forbade me from telling you. I thought you had a right to know."
"I felt Jean-Claude wake this morning before ten. I felt him wake, Damian. I felt the fierceness of his joy, his triumph." I tried to cross my arms over my chest, and the right one wouldn't cooperate. "Damn it to hell."
"I was the servant of my original mistress for a very long time, Anita. The thought of being your servant, anyone's servant, terrifies me." He touched the bandages on my right arm. "But I see them using you, Anita. I see them withholding information from you." He cradled my bandaged hand in both of his. "I swore oaths to Jean-Claude, but it's your power that makes my heart beat, your pulse I can taste like cherries on my tongue."
I drew my hand out of his. "What are you saying, Damian?"
"I'm saying that you shouldn't be the only one of the three that doesn't know what's going on."
"And you can tell me," I said.
He nodded. "I can answer your questions. In fact, if you make them orders, I can't refuse to answer them."
"You're handing me the keys to your soul, Damian. Why?"
He smiled, teeth a dim whiteness in his face. "Because I serve you before I serve anyone else. I tried fighting it, but I can't. So I'm through fighting. I give myself to you willingly, even eagerly."
"If you mean what I think you mean, didn't Asher say something last night about if I had sex with you, Jean-Claude would kill you?"
"Yes," he said.
I looked at him. "I may be good, Damian, but no one's worth dying for."
"I don't think he'd kill me. Jean-Claude has questioned me about the bond I feel with you."
"He has, has he?"
"Yes, and he's pleased. He thinks it's another sign of your increasing powers as a necromancer. He's right."
"Jean-Claude knew you were obeying me without wanting to, and he didn't tell me?" I said.
"He thought it would upset you."
"When was he going to mention this little fact to me?"
"He's the Master of the City. He doesn't answer to me. I don't know what he plans to tell you or when."
"Okay, what other powers can I expect to gain through the marks?"
He lay down on the other side of the pillow he'd gotten for my injured arm. He propped himself up on one elbow, long legs stretched out the length of the bed. "Their physical strength, their sight, hearing. You could gain almost every power they have without giving up your humanity. Though you'd probably have to take the fourth mark to gain the full powers."
"No, thanks," I said.
"Eternal life without having to die for it, Anita. It's tempted many over the centuries."
"I've had too many surprises in the last two days, Damian. I'm not tying myself any closer to Jean-Claude."
"You say that now, but let a few more years pass, and you may change your mind. Eternal youth, Anita. It's not a small offering."
I shook my head. "What else can I expect from the marks?"
"Theoretically, any power they possess."
"That's not typical for a human servant, is it?"