Sword of Dreams (The Reforged Trilogy) (47 page)

"Where is–?" Logan began.

Lightning blazed again. The fairy in his arms had black hair and eyes the same color as the stormy sky. Those eyes widened as she stared up at the bounty hunter.
Her
hunter…

Maeve.

She dropped the curving shard of glass to the floor. It shattered against the concrete. She stood up on her toes, white wings held out as though she intended to take flight, and twined her fingers through his wet blond hair. Maeve pressed her lips to Logan's and kissed him.

"Even the shortest life lived in the pursuit of duty has not been lived in vain."

- Marus Heradone, Prian police officer (193 PA)

A peel of thunder rocked the truck. Panna shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She should have gone in there with Coldhand. But she was frightened. Panna had read every account of the princess' encounter with the cult on Stray. There were not very many stories, but enough to convince Panna that Gavriel and his followers were dangerous madmen. The knowledge was thin armor against her guilt.

Something outside pulled Panna's attention up from her unpleasant reflection. The truck was parked on the muddy slope beside the road, with a high view over the Pylos valley. A flock of white-winged shapes were flying from the dingy Arcadian quarter. There had to be a hundred fairies. They rose up together, wheeled toward the mountains and vanished into the swirling gray clouds.

"What's that?" Panna asked.

Xia looked out the side window. "What's what?"

"The Arcadians. There's a crowd of them flying up into the hills," said Panna.

"Maybe their quarter is flooding in this rain," Xia suggested.

"Doesn't matter right now." Duaal shook his com in frustration. "Damn it, get me off hold! I need to talk to Cerro!"

________

"Call coming in for you, captain," Felsus shouted. The young officer limped over on his cybernetic foot and leaned in the door of his superior's office. "Duaal Sinnay. He says he works for Tiberius Myles."

Cerro picked up a handset. "I'm here. What's on the wind, Duaal?"

He heard rain slapping against glass and then a peel of thunder. A fraction of a second later, the sound boomed through the police station, making everything on Cerro's desk rattle. The channel hissed with static.

"Say again, Duaal," Cerro said loudly into the com. "I can't hear you."

"We've found the Cult of Nihil!"

Cerro's grip tightened on the handset. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. We're outside a converted storage slab. 2808 Tristail Road. Do you know it?"

It was on the map taped to the back of Cerro's office. Outside the third district, on the northern corner of the second. "I see it. Does anyone inside know you're there?" he asked.

There was a hesitation on the other end of the call. Cerro grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and swept out of his office, whistling to Felsus. "Collect everyone off the roster and get them down to the cars," Cerro ordered. Thunder shivered the station again. "I want Talons and hawks, but keep them clipped. We don't have confirmation yet and we're not shooting a bunch of civilians. Duaal, are you still there?"

"I'm here," the boy said. "The Nihilists might know we're here. Coldhand went in after Maeve."

"Who? Can you recall your man?"

"I don't think so. He's inside. Even if I can get him to pick up, I don't… I don't think he's listening," said Duaal.

Cerro grimaced. His lips tugged painfully at his scarred cheek. It was pointless to waste time wishing for things he could not have. No one could change what had already happened. Seven other cops gathered around Felsus as he gave a hasty update on the Nihilist situation.

"I'll put in a call to Station Two," Cerro told Duaal. "Where's Captain Myles now?"

"He's still up at the dig site. Kemmer made him stay."

"That's the job he agreed to do," Cerro said. "Hold tight, Duaal. We'll be there in ten."

"Logan said to come in cold."

"He did?" Cerro asked.

"He used to be a cop, too. What does it mean?"

"It means a quick and quiet landing. Sensitive situation. All right, we will," said Cerro.

Felsus held up a clipboard and limped over. "We've got thirty officers on call tonight. How many should I bring in?"

"All of them," Cerro said without hesitation. "If half of what Captain Myles says about these madmen is true, we're going to need them. And get on the wire with Station Two."

"Yes, sir!"

________

Maeve had no idea how long she stood there with her arms around Logan Coldhand and her lips against his. It could not be real. There was no way that he was here on Prianus. Here where Gavriel had her tortured. Logan tasted like rainwater and he stood still as a statue in her embrace… but not stopping her, not pushing her away. Returning her kiss.

My hunter. My hunter is here!

He
was
real. There was a man lying on the floor nearby, in the thin beam of a flashlight. It was Hallax, with a smoking burn hole in his chest. The wall of her one-time cell was gone and the hallway was scored all along its length by laser burns and nanosword slices. Hallax's iridescent blade lay in a muddy puddle.

"What are you doing here?" Maeve asked at last.

Logan did not immediately answer. By necessity, her question had ended their kiss, but Maeve had not removed her arms. He stared down at her with unreadable ice-blue eyes.

"I… I had to find you," he said. "You're hurt. We have to go. Xia's outside. She can take care of you."

Maeve blinked. "You came with… with Xia?"

"I had to find you," Logan said again. It seemed very important to him. "I was looking for the Nihilists in Pylos and I found them in the mountains. But you were gone."

The mountains… The Waygate! "We must find Gavriel!" Maeve cried.

"Hallax was the only one here. The whole building is empty." Her urgency seemed to bring Logan back to himself. He shook his head and stepped back, detangling himself from Maeve's embrace. "Duaal's calling the police, but there's no one here."

"Gavriel is going to the Waygate! He knows of the Devourers and of the Pylos Waygate."

Logan scooped up his fallen flashlight. "Yes. Why fly all the way to Orindell when they've got a Waygate right here? How long ago did they leave?"

"I… I do not know," Maeve admitted. "I was in the pit. I did not realize that they had left at all until I climbed out."

Rage rippled across the bounty hunter's face and his eyes raked over her, taking in her injuries, her torn and bloody clothes. He shoved the Talon back into its holster and grabbed a battered com from his pocket. Logan checked the display and shook his head.

"No access," he said. "We have to get outside."

They ran down the stairs together, Maeve leaning heavily on Logan. When they finally emerged from the slab, she slitted her eyes nearly shut. Even the diffused light sifting down through the roiling storm clouds was blinding after so long inside.

When Maeve could see again, she could make out a pair of trucks parked across the busy street. A wide-eyed Gripper scrambled out of one and dashed across the road. Before she could say a word, he was there, enfolding Maeve in a huge, wet hug. He picked her up and spun the wounded fairy in an overjoyed circle.

"Maeve! You're alive!" he cried. "We were so worried about you!"

She was shocked to hear her given name from Gripper's mouth, but far more pleased to see her friend. Maeve hugged him tightly as she could manage. Rain poured down on them, soaking her ruined clothes and slicking her hair against the back of her neck.

"It is good to see you again," Maeve said. "I did not think that I would ever leave that place…"

Duaal, Xia and Panna emerged from the second truck. The Ixthian shooed Gripper back. "Maeve's injured. Let me have a look," she said. "How long ago was your last dose of White? Do you know how much it was?"

"A few hours. I do not know the dose. Where is Tiberius?" Maeve asked. "There is no time! We must stop them!"

Duaal was looking up at Logan, who remained at Maeve's side as Xia began a cursory examination of her wounds.

"What happened in there?" Duaal asked. "What's going on?"

"There's no one inside," Logan said. "The Cult of Nihil is gone. They're on their way to the Waygate."

A van with patched tires skidded to a stop under the leaning storage slab. Another pulled over down the road. Maeve saw several others making their way quickly up out of the valley, swerving around other vehicles. Police officers poured out of each one, forming up surprisingly quietly in the shadow of another leaning apartment slab.

When they saw Duaal and the others gathered on the rampway, they moved as one to close the distance. Maeve recognized Captain Cerro in the lead. He wore a pauldron and there was a dark brown falcon with its talons sunk deep into the leather. Cerro crouched down. His often-mended blue uniform was dark with rain.

"Princess Cavainna," he said, dipping his head to Maeve. "Glad to see you're alive. What's going on here?"

"There's no one left inside, captain," Logan reported almost automatically. "There was one Emberguard left behind, but everyone else has moved out."

Cerro looked at the bounty hunter, frowning. "I know your face," he said contemplatively. "Who are you?"

"He's a… a friend," Gripper told Cerro quickly.

The police captain's scarred jaw worked for a moment and then he nodded. "Fine. For now." He gestured to another officer. "Take a team and sweep inside. Eyes only. We'll collect evidence later."

The other Prian nodded and hurried off, calling out her own orders. Cerro returned his attention to Maeve and her friends. He thrust his jaw out at the apartment slab overhead. "You said that the Nihilists are gone. Are you sure?"

"We need to reach the Waygate before they do," Maeve insisted. She winced as Xia squeezed gently up the length of her right wing. "We must fly now!"

"What?" Cerro asked, shaking his head. "What Waygate?"

Duaal's dark face paled. "Tiberius is up there!"

"You mean Doc Kemmer's dig." Cerro stood, face grim. The officer he had sent in earlier to check the building came back out, holding up a closed fist to her captain, waved it once and then raised one finger. Cerro nodded. "No one alive inside. One dead."

Maeve glanced sidelong at the bounty hunter. He met her eyes for only a second, then dropped his gaze as though ashamed. Or something else… But there was no time to wonder. Cerro was shouting to his teams, getting them loaded back up into their van.

"We're gone in three!" he called loudly. "North Tristail to Verigorn and up into the mountains. Follow the lead and keep up! I want weapons and birds ready to fly. Ready? Move!"

"What about us?" Duaal asked frantically. "I've got to call Tiberius!"

"Do that." Cerro nodded. "Then go back to the station and wait there."

"What?" cried Duaal. "Not a chance! We're going with you."

"You're civilians! You stay in Pylos."

Maeve pushed Xia away and straightened with a small groan. "Duaal is right, Captain Cerro. We would not leave our captain to fight alone."

"You're in no shape to fight at all," Xia pointed out.

"I will survive or I will not," Maeve said. "If Gavriel reaches the Waygate, none of us have long to live!"

"No," Cerro repeated firmly.

Logan looked at Maeve again, then to the police captain. "There is unanswered blood between us and the Cult of Nihil. Honor calls us to face them."

His words had a measured, ritual sound. Cerro ran the tip of one finger down the deep scar across his cheek as he considered. Finally, he sighed. "If you're coming, you come with us. But you follow orders!"

Xia looked at Maeve. "I'll give you some blockers on the way. They'll help some."

"Thank you, Xia," she answered sincerely.

After a moment's hesitation, Logan offered Maeve his right hand and helped her to her feet. Duaal shook as he called Tiberius. Xia and Gripper turned back to their borrowed trucks. Cerro whistled sharply to them.

"With us," he reminded them. "We're going to need to move fast to have any hope of catching up with these Nihilists. Felsus, make some room. Alert all officers of our new destination and tell them that we're going in hot."

"Wait!"

Maeve looked over to Panna, who had called out. The little blonde woman ran back through the rain and reached into the back of one of the trucks. When she returned, she carried a spear with a long glass blade.

Maeve stared. "My… my spear!"

"If you're flying after the Cult of Nihil," Panna said shyly, holding the weapon out, "I thought you may want this… Your Highness."

Maeve took the spear and inspected the new shaft. It was expert – if unfinished – work. The blade was lashed in place with strands of red thread. Maeve stared.