“So you decided not to kill yourself,” Jonah murmured. “Damn noble of you.”
Gabriel bit back his first response. “I couldn’t undo what had happened, but knew that I could be of more help to the survivors by establishing the Anchorage and developing treatments that might help them. I kept the mines going in Brazil, and did a lot of my ongoing research there until the Anchorage was built. At first, I hoped for a cure. But, despite Lilith’s meticulous lab reports, nothing seemed to help. All I’ve been able to do is treat symptoms.”
That’s because you’re not treating the real problem, Lilith said. The problem is not the therapies I compounded. We were poisoned, plain and simple. The poison interacted with our treatments, producing this result. Who would want to do that? It had to have been the Wizard Guild.
Gabriel was still shaking his head.
Don’t forget that my daughter died, too. And that proves it was the water supply or an aerosol or some other method of poisoning, because she was not receiving any therapy at the time. In fact, there were a number of people who were in the middle of a treatment window. They still died.
That argument seemed to make an impression. Gabriel thought about this for a while, then said, “You’re sure it wasn’t a cumulative effect?”
All at once? On the same night? Lilith snapped. On thousands of people receiving starkly different therapies? No, I don’t have any proof. Being dead, I haven’t been able to do a thorough investigation. That, it seems to me, was your job. But you were too busy blaming me and trying to hide your involvement. You cared more about your reputation than finding real help for these victims.
“That’s not true,” Gabriel fired back. “I have dedicated my life to the survivors. The profits from the club, everything from the mines, relentless fund-raising—it all goes to provide for them. I relocated here, because it’s much easier to access staff and supplies, and it’s a good place to raise funds for support of the foundation.”
“Couldn’t there have been accidental contamination of the water supply, as the Wizard Guild claims?” Jonah said, eager to get back to possible causes of Thorn Hill. “Something that came from the labs?”
Lilith shook her head. I just don’t see how it’s possible, she said. A totally separate water supply served the labs, and we were acutely conscious of protecting the environment against spills and contamination. I’m a scientist, and I was extremely selective in choosing the staff who worked with me.
“Were you working on poisons as well as genetic modification?”
Lilith glared at Gabriel. Finally, reluctantly, Gabriel nodded.
He did, I didn’t, Lilith said. Poison is—poison is— She shuddered.
“So,” Jonah said, “you created your own chemical dump in the Brazilian jungle, and yet you think it’s more likely some unknown person crept in and put poison in the water?”
We used very careful techniques and controls, Lilith said. I’ve worked around dangerous compounds for years. My little girl was living there, for God’s sake. Even if I were careless with my own life or that of my friends—which I’m not—I’d never risk her. I was doing it for her, after all.
“That’s what motivated most of the parents at Thorn Hill,” Gabriel said. “They didn’t want their children enslaved in the same way that they had been, to have to look over their shoulders all of their lives. To risk death if they ran away.” His voice trembled.
“What about you two?” Jonah asked. “Were you receiving treatment as well?”
Gabriel nodded. “At first. But, as I said, the treatments seemed to have little effect on grown people.”
You are not responsible for what happened, Lilith said. Don’t you see? The difference between us is that I was there the night of the massacre, and you were not.
Hope flickered across Gabriel’s face. More and more, his attention was shifting away from Jonah and toward Lilith. She’s winning him over, Jonah thought. She’s telling him what he wants to hear. He wants desperately to believe it after a decade of blaming himself.
“How did you find out about shades?” Jonah asked Gabriel, trying to nip the lovefest in the bud. “How did you know they existed? What made you decide to make them a target?”
Gabriel looked from Lilith to Jonah, licked his lips, and said, “I stayed in Brazil for two years after the accident, treating the survivors, burying the dead, and optimizing the mines. Most of the shades remained near the site of the massacre—at first, anyway.”
“Like ghosts of the murdered, haunting the scene of the crime,” Jonah murmured. “Maybe hoping to get their bodies back.”
“Maybe,” Gabriel said. “We began hearing wild reports about zombies, some from our own employees. Turnover increased—it became difficult to keep fully staffed for any length of time. In those days, of course, shades were merely possessing those who were already dead. We had no idea what was going on. We began hunting the undead, but when we chopped them to bits, the shades slipped away invisibly. We didn’t realize what was going on until we discovered that the Nightshade amulets made them visible.”
Jonah recalled wondering how Emma had acquired a pendant. “You know, Gabriel, I thought you had those pieces made for us, to help in the hunt for shades.”
Lilith shook her head. Those were made before the massacre, to help members of our community to find the gifted at a distance—to pinpoint the gifted over a large area.
“So you could hunt them down?”
“So we could locate our enemies—or our friends,” Gabriel said. “Shades must have a magical component, or aura, because the amulets make them visible.”
This is what I don’t understand, Lilith said. How did that hurt you, that we sought out cadavers to live in?
“Because we couldn’t communicate with you, we didn’t know what your intentions were,” Gabriel said. “And once you discovered the advantages of claiming a fresh corpse, we knew we had to take action. I knew that I had an obligation to help them, too—to put them to rest.”
Willingly or unwillingly, Lilith said wryly. You might have asked whether we wanted your help.
“How could we do that?” Gabriel snorted. “It wasn’t until Jonah joined Nightshade that we realized that he could communicate with you.”
“How disappointing this must have been,” Jonah said. “We were supposed to be holy warriors, fighting the oppressors, our signia emblazoned on our arms.” Jonah ran his fingers over his sleeve where the tattoo was. “And now we’re fighting with one another. The Wizard Guild should be laughing at us. Maybe they are.”
It doesn’t have to be this way, Gabriel, Lilith said urgently. We still have an army. If we join forces, we can restore the dead warriors of Nightshade. And then nobody can stand against us.
Jonah paced back and forth. “You enjoy being a saint, don’t you, Gabriel? Hosting your big benefit concerts, having everyone marvel at how much you’ve sacrificed for ‘Gabriel’s Kids.’ It was perfect. The grown-ups all died, and the kids didn’t know. Once we all die off, you can forget about all this and get on with your life.”
“No,” Gabriel said. “You’re wrong.”
“What a shock it must have been to discover that the dead were still around to haunt you. Even worse, I could communicate with them, and I kept pestering you about meeting with them.” He spun and faced Gabriel. “The question is, why am I still alive? It would have been so easy. Slip a little something into my meds, and I’d be just another shade, voiceless and invisible except to those hunting us.”
“No,” Gabriel said. “No. I would never hurt you. How can you say that?”
“You mean, after all you’ve done for me?”
Jonah, Lilith said. You’re wrong about Gabriel. He loves you. He always has.
“Not feeling the love right now,” Jonah said. “How do you think the remaining Thorn Hill survivors will feel when they find out you’ve been
lying to them for a decade? That you were experimenting on them? And you’ve been using them to clean up the mess you made?”
For once, Gabriel had no answer. So Lilith spoke up. She faced Gabriel directly. Gabe. I want to help you fix this, as much as it can be fixed. Even though I don’t know what caused the catastrophe at Thorn Hill, I’m the one most likely to figure it out. I’ve already discovered some treatments that help.
“Like blood magic?” Gabriel said. “I never thought you would resort to tactics like that.”
How many sides of an issue can he be on? Jonah thought.
Here’s the difference between us, Lilith said. You haven’t been willing to bring those responsible for Thorn Hill to justice, because you couldn’t wash the guilt from your own hands. Some might question our tactics, but I know for a fact that I am not responsible for the massacre. The children of Thorn Hill were healthy, and happy, and blooming like roses until the night they were poisoned. It was wizards who poisoned us; it had to be. Who else stood to gain from that catastrophe?
Gabriel stared at her, hope flickering in his eyes.
Yes, Lilith said. If I’m not guilty, you’re not guilty either. Not of this, anyway.
Clearly, Lilith was wooing Gabriel. So she needed him for something. But what?
I know you’ve had grievous losses, Lilith went on, but you lost no family at Thorn Hill. I lost my daughter, who was all the family I had left. She meant the world to me. I will do anything possible to help the innocent survivors of Thorn Hill. And I will not leave Claire’s death unavenged. I will see that mainliners pay the price for what they did.
“Isn’t that mission creep?” Jonah said. “First it was wizards, and now it’s all of the magical guilds?”
Lilith turned on him. It’s been open season on savants ever since Thorn Hill, and the underguilds are some of the worst offenders. So many have died who should have lived. I should know—the victims come to me at the end of it. Any mainliners who are not part of the solution are part of the problem.
Turning away from Jonah, Lilith crossed to Gabriel, put her hand on his shoulder. The thing is, I can’t work. Not like this. I don’t know how much longer this body will last. Even at my best, I have no fine motor skills. I can’t communicate with anyone but Jonah without a heavy dose of blood magic. I have no lab. We need to work together, like we did before. And that means you’re going to have to stop trying to kill me.
Gabriel’s eyes flicked to Jonah, then back to Lilith. “I don’t know what Jonah’s told you, but—”
Let’s not begin this thing by lying to each other, Lilith said. The number of people who know the truth about Thorn Hill is growing, so don’t think you can keep this quiet by silencing me. Or Jonah.
Gabriel shifted in his chair. Once again, he pulled at his shackles. “All right,” he said. “I’ll call a cease-fire for now, and we’ll continue to talk.”
“Does the cease-fire extend to mainliners?” Jonah demanded. “Or is it open season now?”
Open season? Lilith seemed puzzled. What do you—?
“I mean, will you continue to kill the gifted, and we’ll continue to get the blame?”
“Jonah,” Gabriel said. “I don’t think we—”
He deserves to know, Lilith said. She turned her full attention to Jonah, for almost the first time since Gabriel had arrived. While we negotiate, we’ll continue to need blood magic in order to function. We’ll do our best not to embarrass you or make you a target. Perhaps blood magic can be collected elsewhere, so that you don’t come under scrutiny.
“You think I’m worried about being embarrassed?” The turmoil in Jonah’s gut had turned into what felt like a lead weight. In less than an hour, it seemed that Gabriel and Lilith were forming a team again. Who knew where that would lead? As for Jonah, he knew a lot more than he did before, but none of this would help Kenzie or anyone else. “It seems like we’re back where we started,” he said. “Somebody poisoned the water supply. We don’t know what was used, and we don’t know how to treat it. And before long, we’ll all be dead.”
Have a little faith, Lilith said. I haven’t given up. I will find a way to fix this. Your participation will be critical as we move forward.
“If you’re expecting me to go out and kill mainliners, that’s a nonstarter. I’m done with being the assassin on call, for Gabriel or anyone else.” Jonah reached for the chain binding Gabriel to his chair, and Gabriel flinched back. “Don’t worry,” Jonah said. “I’m not going to touch you. People don’t always get what they deserve.” He gripped the chain, hard, until the links crumbled and the chain broke into pieces.
Lilith leaned close to Gabriel. He’ll come around, she whispered. It sounded like betrayal in Jonah’s ears.
“I don’t want to play a role in any of your schemes,” Jonah said. “In fact, I’m having a hard time being in the same room with you.”
He turned and walked out.
When you storm out of a place, it really helps if you have someplace to storm to. And a plan for what to do after you get there. And an awareness of who might be waiting outside.
When Jonah walked out of the terminal alone, he hadn’t gone more than a dozen paces before Alison and Charlie were incoming. “Where’s Gabriel?” Charlie demanded, looking over Jonah’s shoulder.
“In there,” Jonah said, pointing. “He and Lilith are still talking, making plans, catching up on old times. I really felt like a third wheel.”
Alison scowled at Jonah. “What do you mean, ‘old times’?”
“Did you know they were, shall we say, going out, back in the day? I sure didn’t.”
“Going out?” Alison grabbed Jonah by the front of his jacket and jerked him close. “What are you talking about?”
“Alison,” Charlie said quietly, as if to avoid startling either of them. “Gloves are off.”
Alison immediately let go of Jonah and leaped back. Then tried to act like it was some kind of deft strategic move.
“How could they be in there talking?” Charlie said, keeping his distance. “I thought the only way to talk to shades was through you.”
“I thought so, too,” Jonah said. “Lilith is using blood magic to amplify her voice. Who knew that was possible?”
“Cut to the chase,” Alison said, cradling her shiv-launcher. “Did you kill Lilith or not?”
“Not,” Jonah said. “I think Gabriel’s changed his mind about killing her.”
“Is that what he said?” Alison persisted.
“Not in so many words,” Jonah said.
“Did you make some kind of deal with Lilith?” Alison’s voice rose. “Did you agree to give her Gabriel?” She leveled her weapon at Jonah. “Is that why he didn’t come out with you?”
“Don’t point that thing at me,” Jonah said. “Gabriel’s fine. He’s feeling better than he has in years. He just dumped a crapload of guilt.”
They both squinted at him, channeling suspicion.
By now, Thérèse and Mike had emerged from hiding, and Jonah waved them over. “Want to know what Thorn Hill was all about? Here’s the news. Lilith and Gabriel were in the business of turning children into their personal army of customized mutant Weir.”
After a long moment of silent gaping, Alison was the first to speak.
“You’re lying,” she said flatly. “You used to be loyal to Gabriel, but now you never miss a chance to stab him in the back.”
“I’m telling the truth,” Jonah said. “Gabriel is the one who’s been lying to us. We were part of a massive experiment in genetic engineering. According to them, our parents volunteered us.”
“They told you that?” Thérèse said.
Jonah nodded.
“So—we’re savants because of something they did?” Thérèse said, still dissecting what Jonah had just said.
“Lilith claims that our condition i
s multifactorial. Her theory is, after they modified our Weirstones, we were poisoned.”
A half dozen shades had appeared from among the surrounding buildings, Brendan in the lead.
What’s going on in there? Brendan asked Jonah. Where are Lilith and Gabriel?
“They are talking,” Jonah said. “Isn’t that what you wanted?” He tipped his head toward the terminal. “Don’t take my word for it. Have a look for yourself.”
“Fine, I will,” Charlie said, turning away, toward the terminal.
No! Brendan said, stepping into Charlie’s path.
Though Charlie couldn’t hear him, his intention was clear. “Get out of my way,” Charlie hissed.
The rule was we all stay outside, Brendan said. He pointed at Alison. Jonah, you promised. No weapons. No double cross.
Some of the hosted shades were gripping metal bars and broken bottles, creeping closer. The other slayers clustered around Charlie, protecting his back. It was like two angry mobs, with Jonah trying to play peacemaker.
“Better stand down,” Jonah messaged them. “Lilith’s called a cease-fire. She’ll be upset if you mess it up. Besides, if anyone’s been double-crossed, it’s us. The children of Thorn Hill.”
Jonah found it hard to play the role of peacemaker while channeling rage. It was like he’d forgotten how to be charming.
“Sorry,” Jonah said. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m going back to Oxbow. I promised to tell Natalie and Rudy what’s gone down. You can come with me if you want, or stay here, but I suggest that you talk to Gabriel and Lilith before you start fighting.”
“I’ll go with Jonah,” Alison said abruptly. “The rest of you, check out the terminal and see what’s what. Let me know what you find out.”
“Come on, then,” Jonah said, turning away.
All the way to Oxbow, Alison walked a few paces behind Jonah, her shiv-launcher slung over her shoulder, radiating resentment. Jonah tried to ignore the prickling between his shoulder blades.
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