Worlds Apart (29 page)

His heart missed a beat. He didn't
look up. “Is that all right?”

“Pixie-shit,
Clive.” She
was laughing at him. “Of course, it's all right. Whose side do you
think I'm on?”

“Mine, as usual.” He managed to
smile and wagged his fork at her. “That’ll get you in trouble one
day.”

She shrugged and kept
eating.

He took a sip of coffee and
decided to jump in feet first. “If we don't find him before full
moon, I want to stay and hunt him. In wolf form.”

She stared at her food, chewed,
swallowed. He watched her.

She looked up. “Yes. You'll have
to.”

He nearly choked trying to swallow
his arguments. She returned his stare and he saw the guilt in her
eyes.

“That was their plan all along,
wasn't it? The Council.”

“They didn't come right out and
say it. But yes,” Kasia said.

“By the seven sisters...” He
looked away, staring out the window. The sun was bright today,
making the evergreen wall of trees shine with reflected
light.

“You understand the danger?” she
asked.

“What? That I might get killed?
Better than you know.” He leaned toward her. “Do you understand
that you might have to kill me? If there's any chance I might hurt
someone?”

Her lips were tight as she
nodded.

“They'll hold you responsible if I
do hurt anyone,” he reminded her.

“That's what surety means,
Clive.”

“Kasia... the sentence for that is
death.”

“I suspect Raison will be able to
spare me that. But the penalty will be stiff. There’s no point
debating it. We both know it’s the only way.” She turned her gaze
to the window, leaning back in her chair and draping an arm over
the back. Her other hand fiddled with the handle of her coffee
cup.

She turned back and resumed
eating. “Let's get you down to see your girlfriend.”

Chapter 34

Tina reclined in the hospital bed.
She'd had some light food and a high-calorie nutrient shake, then
Sharon had helped her shower. She had cried as the blood washed
away, relieved to be clean of it. Her tears frightened Sharon until
she'd managed to explain. Afterward, she'd dressed in a set of
scrubs, unwilling to remain in the examining gown.

Like Sharon and Will, she couldn't
get over how much she had healed overnight. The cuts on her arms
and leg were red lines of closed tissue, as if they'd been sewn up
weeks ago. Her blood count was almost back to normal, and the
baby's heart was strong and steady. It occurred to Tina that
Shandari was a real witch doctor.

As she sat up in bed, she examined
her hands, which were still covered in scratches from her flight
through the forest. Her face had similar scratches, along with
bruises and swelling. Everything was healing, but at a slower pace.
Perhaps Shandari had concentrated on healing life-threatening
injuries, and left the rest alone. There had to be a limit to
Shandari’s energy.

No matter how fast the physical
injuries were healing, her terror was still brand new. Tina
suspected Shandari couldn't heal that.

She glanced up at approaching
footsteps, expecting Sharon. Clive appeared in the doorway, hand
raised as if to knock on the frame. He stayed that way, frozen in
place. She couldn't move either, overwhelmed by a crazy mix of
desire, gratitude, and love.

“Clive. I'm so glad you came.” She
held out her hands.

He moved to the bed, taking her
hands in both of his, smiling with delight. She squeezed his hands,
pulling him down to sit on the bed.

“I've got to tell you,” she began,
before he could say anything, “how sorry I am. I don't know if I
had a chance to say that when you found me, but it's so important
that you know. Please forgive me.”

“Tina.” He shook his head, smile
curving into bewilderment. “That's the first thing you said to me.
I will forgive you for anything, but I don't understand what you're
apologizing for. None of this is your fault.”

“No, for… for refusing to see you.
For the things I said, and for trying to keep you from the baby. It
was childish of me.” She brought her hands to her mouth, ashamed
anew at her behavior. “I couldn't stand the thought that I might
die and never be able to tell you.”

Relief rose in her breast when he
cupped her head in his hands and kissed her forehead.

“I never blamed you for that,” he
whispered before pulling back to look into her eyes. “I've brought
so much shock and pain into your life, I deserve to never see you
again. I will do whatever you want, but I hope….”

“We'll work it out. I
promise.”

“Thank you.” His hands were still
on her head and he began to stroke her temples with his thumbs. She
trembled, longing to give in to welling desire, but he moved his
hands, gesturing over her body.

“You look good,” he said. “Your
skin has color, your injuries are healing. The baby's aura is
strong again. Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m not sure.” Tina frowned at
the healing cut on her arm. “Sometimes the cuts hurt, but that has
to be a mental or emotional response. I’m not sure how to handle
such quick healing. The memory is still so vivid.”

Clive took her hand in his and she
glanced up, seeing her anguish mirrored in his eyes. He squeezed
her hand gently. “Even with magic, it takes time to recover from
such an experience. The physical healing saved your life, but
Shandari won’t neglect your emotional injuries. None of us will. I
promise you’ll have all the support you need to heal
completely.

“Thank you. That does help.” She
stroked her belly. “I don't know what Shandari did, but it's
amazing. I was cramping last night, and I was so afraid I’d lose
the baby. I wish I could see his aura like you do, but we listened
to the heartbeat this morning, so I know he's okay.” She glanced at
him. “Would you like to hear it?”

“His heart?” Clive's eyes seemed
to light up. “I'd love to.”

“Bring me that fetal Doppler over
there. And that tube of gel.” She flipped a hand toward the
cabinet, excited at the opportunity to do this for him. He brought
them to her and she adjusted her clothing to reveal her stomach.
“Have you ever heard a fetal heart beat before?”

He shook his head as she squeezed
a dab of gel on her skin and reached for the Doppler. “It's faster
than ours,” she said. The scratching sounds of Doppler waves filled
the air as she moved the scope around. “But there's no mistaking
it.”

She stilled as the galloping sound
filled the air, glancing up to see Clive's face. His mouth was open
a little, the ends curved up in an amazed smile as he stared at her
stomach. The sound was clear and loud. “He's showing off for you,”
she said.

He laughed and touched her hand as
she held the scope. “It's wonderful,” he said. He had tears in his
eyes. “Thank you, Tina.”

She turned the Doppler scope off
and reached for a tissue to wipe away the gel. He took the
equipment back to the cabinet. Tina stared at the tissue in her
hand. “Clive, can I ask you... I don't know if this is taboo or
not... but will you tell me... how it happened?” she
asked.

He glanced back at her,
puzzled.

She straightened her clothing and
struggled for courage to ask again. “How did you become a
werewolf?”

His head shook in a reflexive jerk
as he moved to the room's window. She wished she hadn’t
asked.

“Stupid.” He muttered it, and she
strained to make sense of the word.

“Please. I need to
know.”

He swallowed hard, but didn't turn
to look at her. “I was fourteen.” His voice was filled with
loathing. “You know how boys are. Always having to prove they're
tougher or stronger.” He went silent and she waited. “Kids never
think the bad thing will happen to them,” he said at last, speaking
to the window. “They think they can run fast enough, or jump high
enough to beat it. I was with some friends. That's all it was.” His
bitterness slapped against her. “I threw my life away for a
dare.”

She stared at him, struck silent.
That was it? No drama, no heroics—just boys being boys.

She thought of Clive's mother, of
her own mother, and the mothers in Green Roads who had just buried
their children. All the love, all the protection mothers offered,
and it sometimes did no good at all.

She slid from the bed and went to
him, desperate to soothe his suffering. When she stood next to him,
she didn't know what to say. She leaned against the windowsill,
facing him.

“I see people all the time,” she
said, not sure where she was going with it, “who made life-lasting
mistakes when they were young. Usually, it's sex.” She shrugged a
little. “A few minutes of temptation, and they're left with a
lifetime of herpes, and they have to always tell their partners,
and deal with constant outbreaks, and be careful not to pass it on
to children. Or maybe never be able to have children. Or AIDS—all
of that, and they'll die early, too.” She rubbed her stomach and
fought to keep her voice clear. “I took all those risks that night
with you. I knew better.” Her laugh was bitter. “God, I'm a doctor.
No one knows better than me about the risks. But I never even asked
you to use a condom.”

He was looking at her now, but she
couldn't meet his eyes, her face hot with shame. “S-so, I know it's
not all your fault,” she continued. “I threw my own life away that
night, but...”

He pulled her into his arms and
she sobbed into his shaking shoulder. He was crying,
too.

~~

Long after their tears had dried,
Clive stirred. “It's getting late.” He murmured into her ear, but
did not let go of her. She was warm and soft against him, and he
wished he never had to let her go.

“I don't know what will happen in
the next few hours,” he said. “You need to know what we have
planned.”

She stepped back, but her hands
rested on his arms, keeping him close. “You have to go back to
Kaarmanesh, don't you? For the full moon?”

“That's the law. But it's not what
we're doing.”

She gazed at him with guarded
alertness. “Tell me.”

He explained as best he could.
When he stopped talking, she sat on the visitor's chair by her bed
and rubbed at the cut on her left arm, frowning in thought. He
crossed to the bed, half sitting against it, but looked up at the
sound of footsteps, not surprised to see Kasia in the doorway. He
was surprised to see Will Summerlin behind her.

Tina glanced at them, but turned
back to Clive. “You're sure about this? You, in wolf form, are
really the best hope of finding and defeating him?”

He knelt in front of her, taking
her hand. She clenched his with a gratifying strength. “All magic
is specific,” he said. “Werewolf magic calls to werewolf magic. It
is inescapable, and it is very, very violent.” He raised her hand
to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her palm. “I will find
him.”

“But you could be
killed.”

“Yes.” He held a finger against
her lips. “Remember what he did to you. You must understand he'll
do the same to other Flatlanders. Shandari cannot heal them all.
You must acknowledge that I can't allow him to remain here,
whatever the cost.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, but
she nodded. They stood together and she kept hold of his hand. They
turned to face the others and he felt a brief squeeze on his
fingers as Tina spoke, her eyes on Kasia.

“What is your plan? Does he go out
there alone?”

“We'll have a perimeter of
guards,” Kasia said as she leaned against the wall. “They are
strengthening the perimeter fence—a magical fence, not an actual
physical one—and they will remain there all night. They will be
shielded and armed. But within that area, Clive will be alone with
Fontaine.”

“What will happen if Clive is
killed?” Tina asked, her voice trembling. “Won't your people be in
just as much danger?”

“I won't lie to you, Tina. There's
a slight possibility that Clive could be killed without causing any
harm to Fontaine. In that case, we would be in serious danger. But
there are many factors at work here, and most of them are good for
us.”

“Such as?”

“Fontaine's ritual with you has
backfired,” Kasia said. “Such a ritual must be consensual between
all involved. You resisted him to the point of escape. When you did
that, you caused him to lose much of the power he stole from you.
Also, Clive has a specific advantage. As the baby's father, he has
the right to defend his child from danger. He couldn't do this if
you were working with Fontaine of your own will. But you're not, so
Clive can add his resistance to yours. Even among Flatland humans,
the instinct to protect your young is strong. In Kaarmanesh, it is
even more so. Clive will be fighting with the strength of
evolutionary fury.”

Tina turned to Clive. “So this
will make you stronger than him? Faster? More agile?”