The Black (38 page)

I hit the lower level without running into any Guardians. Quickly and quietly I made my way along the long corridor that led to the shops. Normally the place was alive with sounds but it was so quiet that every time my foot hit the floor it sounded like an elephant was tromping through. You'd think a ghost would be a little quieter.

When I reached the lower concourse, I was shocked to see that none of the restaurants and shops were there. It was
a huge, empty space with only a few old benches. I realized that the shops probably didn't exist back in the seventies. That was bad news because the counters and booths would have given me plenty of cover as I made my way to the stairs. Now I was going to be totally exposed. There was nothing I could do but keep going.

I moved with my back to the wall, trying to be as quiet as possible. It would only be a matter of time before I came upon a Guardian, and I wanted to get as close as possible before jumping him. I was tuned for every sound. I didn't hear anything unusual but didn't believe for a second that the upper concourse, and the crucible, were unguarded. It wasn't a question of whether there would be a fight, but when.

I made it to the bottom of the staircase that led to the upper level of the terminal without a problem. There wasn't a Guardian in sight, which seemed odd. Had something changed? Did they
move the crucible? That didn't make sense because
Ree's
vision was as much about the Rift as it was about the crucible and I didn't think there was any way to move that. I hoped that maybe I'd arrived at the exact right time and they were changing shifts. That would have been a huge stroke of luck.

All I had to do was climb the stairs and I'd be within sight of the crucible. My plan wasn't clever. I was going to sprint across the floor, climb up on top of the information booth, grab the golden ball, and sprint out the far side of the terminal and keep going until I hit the edge of
Ree's
vision. Your basic snatch and grab. Up until then nobody knew I was there. No alarms had sounded. I'd managed to maintain my biggest advantage—surprise.

I cautiously began climbing to the main floor. There were about thirty stairs, then a landing where I would turn 180 degrees to the bottom of a second flight that would
bring me up to the giant hall. Hugging the wall, I made it to the landing and was about to make the turn to the final flight, when I heard something. It was a clicking sound, like something tapping against a hard surface. Multiple things. Whatever it was, there were a lot of them. There was a faint clattering that sounded as if it were coming from the top of the stairs above me. It didn't sound human. My hope was that it was rats, but it didn't seem likely that Ree would have rats in her vision.

The tapping sound stopped. The rats, or whatever they were, had left. I took a relieved breath, turned the corner, and peered up the final staircase to see that the rats hadn't left. They had just arrived. And they weren't rats. The sound I'd heard was the clattering of claws on
the floor. Big claws. Standing at the top of the stairs were three of the biggest Rottweiler dogs I'd ever seen. Their ears were up . . . on alert . . . for me. It was a standoff. A frozen moment. They were on top of the stairs looking down. I was at the bottom looking up. My hope was that they were friendly pets.

"Hello, boys," I called out.

They weren't pets. Or friendly. Their response was to charge down the steps, snarling and barking. My hope for surprise was gone, but that was the least of my worries. I turned and ran back down the stairs, taking them three at a time. Spirit or no spirit, getting ripped apart would hurt. I hit the bottom of the stairs and kept running with no idea of where to go. I sprinted across the empty space, scanning for an escape route or a place to use for protection. The doors that led to the lower train tracks were all closed tight. Every other passageway seemed too wide open to offer protection. All I could do was run, though I wouldn't be able to keep ahead of the dogs for long.

I was halfway across when the dogs hit the bottom of the stairs. The floor was hard and smooth, which made it difficult for them to get traction. That slowed them down, but not by much. They howled a warning as if to let me
know it was only a matter of time before I'd be lunch. All I could do was keep running until I hit the stairway on the far side of the lower concourse and climb back up to the main floor. The doors to the outside were up there. With luck I'd make it to one. Lots of luck.

I practically flew up the stairs, motivated by the sound of gnashing teeth and sharp claws. I hit the landing and
made the turn up to the final flight. All I wanted to do was escape with my limbs intact and hide
out somewhere until I figured out a better way to steal the crucible.

When I reached the top of the stairs, and the main concourse, my eyes locked on the brass clock shell that held the prize. My goal was no more than twenty yards away.

Trouble was, there was a pack of wild dogs at my heels . . . . . . and standing between me and the crucible was a Guardian.

It was Adeipho's daughter. She stood halfway to the information booth with her hands on her hips. She didn't
have on her clown mask and had taken off her suit jacket and tie. Her white sleeves were rolled up and her long dark hair was tied back. If she was surprised to see me, she didn't show it.

She held up her hand and let out a sharp whistle. I stopped.

The dogs did too. They were seconds away from tearing my butt apart in a furious rage, but instantly stopped
running and sat down on the top of the stairs, whimpering like puppies. The girl swept her hand out to the side and the three dogs obediently turned and scampered back down the stairs.

"Thanks for that," I said.

She didn't react. Her eyes were locked on mine. This girl
didn't like me. I guess there were a lot of reasons for that. I decided to try and win her over.

"My name's Coop," I said, all friendly. "I didn't catch your name."

"Because I did not throw it at you."

"Right. Well, thanks for calling off the hounds. I guess I'll be going now."

I made a move to leave but—

"Stop," she commanded.

I stopped.

"Yeah," I said, wincing. "Didn't think it would be that easy."

"Why did you come back?"

"To visit Ree," I lied. "She's my best friend's mom. Did you know that? Adeipho's your dad, right? He seems like a pretty cool—"

"Liar," she spat.

So much for charm.

"Whatever. Believe what you want. Obviously I shouldn't have come here, so I'll just take off."

"Come with me," she said. "My father would like to know that you have returned, and this time you will not have Ree to protect you."

I laughed, trying to keep it casual. "No, thanks. I'll pass on that."

"You had the advantage the last time we met," she said. "You had a weapon and I did not."

She walked closer. The last time we'd met she attacked me like a wild animal. Now she was moving with control. And confidence. I expected to have to fight my way to the crucible but didn't think it was going to be with this girl again. There were worse options. The dogs were gone and she didn't have a black sword. If I could take her out, I'd be back in business. Things were looking up…

. . . for about three seconds. She took a step closer, getting to within a few feet, then turned her back on me. That threw me. I had no idea what she was doing until I felt her heel driving into my chin. Hard. She had set herself up for a perfect back kick and I wasn't ready for it. My head snapped back and my ears rang. I threw up my arms out of instinct and managed to block the crescent kick to my head she followed with. I was lucky, but not for long. She quickly followed with
another crescent kick using her other leg. The blade of her foot caught my head from the side and snapped it the opposite way. The girl knew what she was doing. When she attacked me before she was trying to confuse me and keep me from using the black sword. This time she had no such fear.

I backpedaled a few steps to give myself enough time to get my defenses up but she moved right with me. Now I was the one who started swinging wildly. She knocked away each one of my desperate punches and countered with short, sharp jabs to my chest, my head, my stomach—pretty much anywhere that would hurt. I was in trouble, but getting a beating was the least of my worries. If this girl took me down and brought me to her father, I'd be done and so would Marsh. The thought gave me new energy. Desperation will do that. I launched myself toward her. There was no finesse or technique about it. I had to use the only advantage I had, my size and strength. She landed a few shots to my head but I took them and kept going for her. She realized, too late, that I would not be denied. She turned to run but I wrapped my arms around her and twisted, sending us both crashing to the hard floor. We hit and bounced but I kept her in a bear hug, pinning her arms. If I let go, I knew she'd attack again. It was like wrestling with a shark. If you let it go, it would eat you.

She struggled but I held tight, until I felt a sharp pain
in my neck. I looked up to see Adeipho, her father, standing over me with his foot on my neck and the tip of his black sword inches from my throat.

"Release her," he commanded coldly.

I felt the girl relax. The fight was over. I let her go and she rolled away quickly to stand by her
father. I, on the other hand, wasn't so quick to get up.

"I knew you would be back," Adeipho said. "Ree is far too trusting."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Not here," Adeipho answered. "That will make this easier."

I didn't like the sound of that. I still didn't move, not with that killer sword so close to my neck.

"Damon won't stop," I said. "Sooner or later he's going to get the poleax."

"And he will not have you to help him," Adeipho said. I liked the sound of that even less.

"I'm not trying to help him," I said. "I'm just trying to protect my friend.
Ree's
son."

"
As I am protecting the Light. Which is why you must be destroyed."

I rolled away and sat up. I had some wild idea of making a fight out of it, but as soon as I looked back at Adeipho, I saw that was impossible. He wasn't alone. There were ten of his Guardians surrounding him.

"Remember," I said feebly. "I could have destroyed your daughter."

"And I allowed you to live. That scale is balanced."

"I'm not with Damon!" I insisted. "I want to stop him as much as you do."

"That is quite noble," Adeipho said. "Then you will understand why your spirit must be destroyed."

"No! That's a mistake."

Adeipho took a step toward me and raised his sword. There was no use running. My luck was finally gone.

"Leave him alone!" came a familiar voice from across the terminal floor.

I hoped it was Ree coming to save my butt a second time.

It wasn't. Everyone turned to see that someone was clinging to the brass clock frame on top of the information booth. She held on to the frame with one hand. In her other hand . . . was the crucible. I was never so happy to find out that somebody didn't do what I'd asked them to do.

"Maggie!" I called out.

"Get away from him or I'll break it," Maggie commanded.

"Give that to me!" Adeipho screamed in horror.

Adeipho pushed his way through the Guardians, headed for Maggie. Maggie's response was to hold the crucible out over the floor.

"I'll drop it," she warned.

Adeipho froze.

I skirted around the group and walked to the information booth. Looking up at Maggie, I said, "I told you not to follow me."

"I'm not a good listener."

"I like that about you."

I helped her down from the booth while she kept her eyes on the Guardians. They were like a pack of angry wolves who were ready to pounce at the first opening.

"You cannot do this," Adeipho pleaded. "You must understand what Damon is capable of."

"I'm thinking you're the one who doesn't know what he's capable of," I said. "While you're all here watching the Rift, he's been wreaking havoc in the Light."

"That cannot be," Adeipho's daughter said. "He has not gone through the Rift."

"But his spirit is getting stronger," I shot back. "If he
gets the poleax, this crucible will be worthless and so will the Rift."

"Tell me what you want," Adeipho cried. "Anything. I will obey."

"Tell Ree that I've got this and I'm not giving it up."

"You will be leaving the Rift unprotected," Adeipho cautioned.

"No, you and your Guardians are here. I think it's time you guys finished what you started and took Damon out. Are you ready for that?"

Adeipho didn't have an answer but he definitely didn't look happy about the idea.

"Don't follow us," I warned.

I took Maggie by the hand and we backed away from the group of Guardians.

"Where are you going?" he asked.