Halfblood Journey

by Rheaume, Laura

  They eventually found Anora. Or, rather, she found them circling the area for the fifth time without finding anything. One of her eardrums had been severely damaged, and she was in pain as well as deaf in that ear. Despite her injury, she had been insulted when Ian asked her if she needed to go and seek medical help.

  “I would never leave the search for your daughter to tend to such an injury,” she said, appalled. “He would not kill me, but it would be unpleasant.”

  Ian knew she was talking about Scythe, and to distract himself from the irrational, panic induced images that tormented him, he wondered again what their relationship was. The woman acted like his employee, but he had never seen such dedication to a boss before. There didn’t seem to be signs of a romantic relationship, so he couldn’t determine the reason behind her obvious devotion. Although he knew that it was none of his business, he was considering asking Anora if it was a common arrangement among the Kin when he spotted something he recognized pushed up against a brick wall.

  Because he had seen Mercy’s vision, he recognized the wagon when he saw it. It didn’t take long to find the alley, but there was nothing there but the dead woman at the end. He had inspected closely where he remembered Mercy went down, and did see signs of blood, but Orin assured him that is wasn’t Mercy’s. Apparently he remembered the smell of her blood from when she had scratched herself back at Huran. That type of memory he didn’t envy.

  They couldn’t find any clues to where Mercy might have been taken. Orin said that the heavy smoke in the air hid any scents he or Anora could have followed. It bothered both of the Kin so much that after a couple of hours, they were both suffering from headaches and strongly irritated eyes and sinuses.

  After thoroughly searching the immediate and then surrounding areas and finding nothing, they were forced to give it up and concentrate on getting information from their captives. Of the three, the one they really wanted to talk to was the first, as they still needed information about what had happened to Summer. Unfortunately, he was in the worst condition, and had been unconscious most of the time and unintelligible the rest. Ian had even tried talking to him with his power, but the man was delirious; Ian couldn’t get anything useful from him.

  The other two refused to talk, even under what small amount of persuasion Ian could tolerate, a quantity that was below Jin’s but surprisingly above Orin’s comfort level. As casual as they were about dealing death to their enemies, the Kin did not approve of torture.

  They had tried contacting Scythe, but Anora had not gotten a response from him. Ian had expected him to be back before nightfall and, knowing that he was concerned about Mercy’s vision and that he would certainly at least suspect that it had occurred, had begun to seriously worry about Scythe’s safety as well; he tried not to think about what type of disaster would cause Scythe to miss something as important as that.

  Anora said, after their methods with the two men proved futile again, “We should consider turning them over to the authorities. If it is found that we have hindered the police by holding them, we might find ourselves in some difficulty. Or, we could just kill them and save ourselves the trouble.”

  He wanted to think she was joking, he really did.

  He also wanted to think that he wasn’t tempted, he really did, but…he was getting tired and desperate, and things that were unthinkable to him hours before now didn’t seem so bad. The cost of things didn’t seem quite as high, in the face of what he could gain. His mind had started to play tricks on him, whispering things like, They deserve what they get. They’re killers. They’d be dead, if they had gone with the other jeep, anyway. She never hurt a soul in her life. Her life is more valuable than theirs.

  To keep himself steady, he remembered her expression in the truck when she saw what had been done to the face of their first captive. He remembered what thought had slipped by her guard: What if that had happened to you...or me?

  Would it still be okay?

  It was so hard to be a parent.

  He pulled his hand down past his eyes to peer at the man next to him when he stirred for the first time in hours. His head was covered with bandages, so it was impossible to tell if his eyes were open, but he moaned pitiably. Ian wrapped a ribbon around the man’s arm, and felt around for his mind. He sat up, nodding to Anora, who had noticed his movement. “He’s awake.”

  He spoke to the man, who was still foggy from the pain killers they had given him. Klein, where did they take the Kin woman?

  Huh? Ian caught the thought that flitted across Klein’s mind: Am I dreaming?

  There was a woman, Ian shared an image of Summer, who was taken, an image of the storehouse. Where is she now?

  A woman? Didn’t see her. I don’t know. Maybe the...what is going on?

  Where is she? She might be dangerous, might be bugged. We need to check. Ian sent a feeling of danger. Klein’s heart beat faster, catching his urgency.

  Uh, okay. She’s probably at the factory.

  Show me.

  Ian saw an image of a beat up, old factory, similar to the kind they had seen at the edges of the Capital when they entered it. When he got a name, a street and a general idea of where it was, he pulled away and said, “I’ve got a location. Let’s check it out.”

  He tried not to hope too much, but it was difficult.

  Halfway there, Anora got a message from Scythe.

  [negotiating connection]

  [guest id: scy241]: give me your location_then send status<

  They sent him their destination and he said he would meet them a few blocks away from the factory. Within a half hour, they were in place, waiting for his arrival. Orin had gone to scout out the building, which left just Ian, Anora, Jin and Klein. The other two rebels they had dropped off with the Kin authorities on the way; Klein they had elected to keep in case they needed more information, but it began to look like it was a wasted effort. The pain had worsened again, now that he was completely awake, and he had become very combative. Ian doubted they would be able to get any more from him.

  When an unknown van pulled into the parking lot, they moved quickly to defensible positions until Scythe stepped out of the back, along with a sizable group of Kin soldiers in uniforms that Ian didn’t recognize. Ian hurried over when he saw how stiffly the young man was walking and as he got closer Ian realized that he had changed his clothes. His face and neck were bruised and he looked exhausted.

  “What happened to you?”

  Scythe replied, “Glass, grenades, gunmen...lots of ‘G’s.”

  Ian grinned. The boy was finally getting a sense of humor.

  “Grenades? Holy crap. Why are people always trying to blow you up?” He hugged him very lightly. “I was worried. What the hell took you so long?”

  “Aside from following up on Mercy’s dragon vision?”

  “How did you know? We were trying to contact you…”

  “I ran into Temper. Well, she ran into me.”

  “Were you able to stop it?”

  “Yes, and it was a good thing, too. After that, I had to get some medical attention and get some repairs done to my portable.”

  “In the middle of the night?”

  “Yeah, well, it turns out that the red dragon knows some people.”

  “That’s lucky. Who is it?”

  “It’s better if you don’t know, sorry. Anyway, the data I needed and the locator program was secured in mine, so I couldn’t just use a new one. I had to get the whole thing replaced and the data transferred. It turned out to be useless, anyway, because Mercy’s transmitter was destroyed.”

  “So, you don’t know where she is anymore?” Ian couldn’t keep the stress out of his voice.

  “No. I’m hoping she’s here. If not, we’ll find someone who knows. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find Cord.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “The ghost man, but I think he might be on the run now.”

  “Why is that?”

  “His employer was caught.”
/>
  “Wow, you were busy.”

  They finally reached the jeep Anora was leaning up against, wearing the first smile Ian had seen from her, “Scythe. Good to have you in on this one.”

  “Anora. Thank you...”

  “It was my honor…”

  He continued, “...but I can’t help but notice that you lost two.”

  “Yes, I did. I apologize for what harm I have caused. I accept your will...”

  He shook his head, grinning, “I harbor no ill will.” He looked past her, watching Orin approach from around the corner.

  The Kin jogged up, nodding his head at Scythe, “We could have used you a couple of times.”

  “I’m sorry. I should have been with my team.”

  Orin nodded again and then reported, “It’s a big place, but the offices are centralized. That’s where I think anyone might be held, since the factory floor itself is empty.” He looked over at the van, “Who are they?”

  “Helpers.”

  “I don’t recognize the uniform.”

  “That’s good,” Scythe said in a tone that told them that the discussion was ended.

  Easily picking up on the meaning of that, the Kin said appreciatively, “Damn. Well, we shouldn’t have a problem with this many. I counted only three on watch, and it looks to me like they are getting spooked and are thinking of running.”

  Scythe called over one of the Kin that had come with him and explained, “We’re going in quiet first. You guys follow like a heard of rhinoceros...how many minutes do you think, Orin?”

  “Twelve.”

  “Twelve after I signal. They’re directly involved in tonight’s attacks, so capture is a preference, but the safety of any hostages is primary.”

  After laying out the rest of the plan and answering a few more questions, Ian, Orin, Scythe and Anora took to the street at a fast walk. Jin remained behind to watch over Klein.

  Anora commented after giving Scythe an appraising look, “You look like hell, by the way. You’re limping along like you’re in a world of pain and you wreak of your own blood.” She raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

  Scythe performed the world’s smallest shrug, “A few cuts. Some stitches.”

  “I bet I could have done it without getting so cut up. Definitely without letting him get to my neck.”

  “How do you know it wasn’t a woman?” he raised an eyebrow.

  “Because you’d be dead,” she grinned widely.

  Ian laughed quietly, “Nice, but those are big words coming from someone who is halfway to deaf.”

  “Ouch, that wasn’t kind. This thing hurts like a bitch.”

  “You can head back...” Scythe offered.

  “And miss all the hunting? No. Besides, we have to get your lady friend and I don’t know if you gentlemen are up to it. Even half deaf, I can still blow you away.”

  Orin grunted, but Scythe only nodded. Ian remembered that Anora had been an elite soldier, guarding of the ruling family of Jueldea before Scythe had even begun training. She was probably right.

  Ian was more interested in what she meant by lady friend, but he let the thought go when Orin motioned that they were nearing their destination. They approached the factory from the side, finding cover along the wall of a nearby building. While they hid themselves in the shadows under a dilapidated awning, he pointed out the locations of the three guards and the door they were going to be taking. As soon as Scythe used his new portable to signal the second team, they slid forward, moving toward an old metal door with iron bars over its small, yellowed window.

  Chapter 28

  Hunger was a great motivator. She had managed to sit up, but it had been so painful that it was all she could do to scoot backwards until she leaned up against the wall. She slowly and carefully ate her sandwich, fruit and juice.

  The vest pushed uncomfortably against her back, but she didn’t mind it at all. She loved the vest. In fact, she was feeling good overall, having cried until she was worn out and then slept again. Now, she was just numb and quiet inside. She didn’t have any energy left for feeling terrible, or scared, or worried. She just concentrated on the food, and the simple act of eating was nourishing her in more ways than one.

  If a thought tried to bother her, like wondering if everyone was safe, she didn’t have to push it away. If it was too heavy for her to carry, it just fell off her pack and got left behind on the side of the road. Things that weren’t too heavy were thoughts like, This is good. I hope I can get more juice. I think I’ll have another bite.

  When she heard distant shouting, she didn’t think too much about it. There had been a lot of shouting lately. Besides, the sandwich really was good.

  When people ran by the door later, she looked up and began to wonder what was going on, since she didn’t have anything else to eat.

  The door opened, “Excuse me, miss, but I’m afraid it’s time to go.”

  “Where?”

  “Someplace safer than this.”

  “This is pretty safe.” No bombs, no guns, no dead people. Oh, wait...“You mean, safer for you.”

  “That’s right. I need to get you up now and ready to go.”

  “But not safer for me, right?”

  He hesitated, “Um…”

  “Wouldn’t it be great if there was someplace where we could both be safe?” she said to the man behind him.

  “I don’t think that’s possible, miss…”

  “That’s too bad.” She watched him crumple to the ground.

  “Mercy,” he said gently, coming to crouch down in front of her, “I told you, I don’t like that scent.”

  She sighed heavily, “I know. I am sorry.” For the first time, she felt it, all the way to her bones; she was sorry to see what she had done to him again. Her gaze roamed his face, noting all the places she wanted to visit and wipe away the signs of her neglect: the tight lips, the creases between his eyebrows, the concern in his eyes.

  He really was amazingly handsome, even when he was frowning at her. Well, technically he was frowning at the holes in her shirt. He had lifted his hand and his fingers hovered in front of the one that was over her heart.

  She reached up, took his hand and brought it down to her lap, saying, “Thank you for the vest.”

  Scythe nodded, finally pulling his eyes away from what had caged his mind for a moment and looking at her. “I’m glad you are safe.”

  “I think...I will never be safe,” she said quietly. The time for running from that truth was over, for both of them.

  He blinked, startled by her somber mood.

  “But,” she continued, “if I have you beside me, then at least I won’t be scared.”

  He stared at her for a moment and then nodded solemnly.

  “Unfortunately,” she said, “you’ll probably be scared enough for the both of us, right?” She tried to make it a joke, but her laugh was more of a choke.

  “I was scared,” he admitted.

  Too sore to move, she sent her power to wrap around him, Scythe…She loved to make him feel like that.

  Yes?

  For days, she’d been wanting to tell him something, but this was the first time they’d been alone. Normally, she would have been too embarrassed to say anything like it, but she didn’t have any pride in her at the moment. I...really don’t want that monster to kiss me...before you do.

  His eyes widened and he pulled back from her. With the tiniest amount of power, he untangled himself from her ribbons.

  She wasn’t afraid; she didn’t have the strength for it. She waited, letting him see what she needed.

  “As a brother?”

  “Sure,” she answered.

  He still didn’t move, and she began to think he wouldn’t. Then, he slowly leaned forward and softly kissed her.

  It was the second time she had felt it, but the first time he’d done it and it had been perfect both times. She smiled, lifted by the brightness that suddenly bubbled up inside of her.

  He commented awkw
ardly, “I’m still planning on you not being kissed at all by him…”

  “I know. Me too, but if it doesn’t work out, at least we’ll have beat him in that one thing.”

  “Don’t worry, my Mercy. There will be a beating,” he promised and put out his hands. “I know that your chest hurts. Do you want to try walking, or do you want me to carry you?”

  She didn’t want him or anyone else carrying her any more. “Just help me up...slowly.”

  “Stubborn girl.”

  -----------

  Heron updated the information on his computer and filed the papers in the cabinet behind him. Then he turned back to his desk and picked up another document from the large pile that had been waiting for him when he returned home the day before. He had been planning to take a small break and rest up for a few days after his intense journey, but he was unable to be still for even a short amount of time before worrisome thoughts began to pester him. Finally, he had turned to the backlog of work as a distraction and so far it had been working fairly well.