“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Grigori said, hoping to buy himself time to recover. “What news?”
“We are rivals,” Alistair said, laughing. “Bad news for you.”
“Rivals?”
“Rivals in love,” Alistair said. “Gabriela Estanza-Thule was your fiancé.”
“What do you mean, ‘was’?”
“I don’t know if the engagement has been officially called off yet, but that doesn’t make any difference,” Alistair said, advancing on Grigori. “She’s obviously not going to marry a dead guy.”
Min-jun popped out from behind a heap of fallen masonry and opened fire.
Every shot went wide. Grigori had to dive for cover to avoid being shot himself. Alistair just kept coming forward.
Xia attacked from the other side, enveloping Alistair in a curtain of flame.
He misjudged the distance badly, nearly burning Min-jun alive. Only a last-minute barrier saved the Auditor from immolation. Alistair plowed through the inferno, the heat raising blisters on his skin despite the barrier, knocking Xia down with a blow to the side of the head.
Grigori scrambled to the top of a nearby pile of rubble, only mildly hopeful that high ground would serve as any kind of advantage against Alistair. He wondered what the hell had happened to Hayley, who was meant to be keeping him out of their telepathic network.
He tried to activate his protocol, and to his horror found that he could not. The activation routine was lost in a cognitive haze, and his quivering brain refused to recall it.
Dully, Grigori wondered how many seconds he could expect to survive.
“You are a practical kid, aren’t you?” Alistair rolled up his sleeves. “I feel like I should do this the old-fashioned way. No telepathic cheating or anything, just mano a mano. There’s an inherent romance to beating a man to death before stealing his girl, don’t you think?”
Alistair advanced behind a low and lazy guard, his vulnerable stance practically taunting Grigori.
Grigori’s head hurt too much for him to be frightened. There was simply no room for fear in his head, which was entirely occupied by a shrill whistling like an untended tea kettle.
Grigori put his hands up woozily.
Alistair laughed as they closed.
Both men threw, Alistair going high while Grigori came in underneath.
He connected with Alistair’s ribs, earning a grunt and a step backward. Grigori started to think he might have a chance.
Alistair gave him a little nod.
“Guess I’m rusty,” he said, rubbing his side. “Good thing your protocol isn’t working, or I’d probably be dead.”
It occurred to Grigori that Alistair might be suppressing his protocol, rather than the concussion he suspected, and then he wondered why he hadn’t thought of it sooner.
He blinked hard and tried to dispel his confusion as Alistair came at him.
Alistair planted a jab square on Grigori’s nose before he even realized that he was in range. Grigori hopped back and then to the side, jabbing at Alistair’s head and throwing a few snap kicks at his legs.
Alistair leaned forward, telegraphing a shot he never went for. He caught Grigori on the chin with an uppercut, seizing the Auditor by the arm and the neck before he could recoil. Grigori twisted and pushed, years of jujitsu training flying out of his head at the worst possible moment.
He wondered if that was Alistair tampering with his thoughts in defiance of his word.
Alistair tripped Grigori and took him down, landing with his forearm across Grigori’s throat. Grigori managed to stop Alistair from crushing his windpipe, but he was dazed by the impact of the fall and hardly able to breathe.
Alistair leapt to his feet and attempted to punt Grigori’s head down the block.
Grigori managed to roll with the kick a little, but he was knocked flat again, his head throbbing and his eyes full of stars.
He lost track of Alistair, only noticing him a split-second before Alistair buried his boot in Grigori’s stomach. He rolled over in time to eat another kick to the side. Grigori wrapped himself around Alistair’s leg, holding tight to his ankle. Alistair struck Grigori in the head and neck, but Grigori refused to release his hold, cranking Alistair’s ankle with everything he had.
Alistair fought and kicked and tore, but Grigori held fast. Alistair kicked Grigori in the side of the head, dragging the sole of his boot across Grigori’s face, but Grigori continued to crank on his ankle.
He punched Grigori in the back of the neck, and Grigori felt one of his arms go numb. Grigori torqued his whole body around Alistair’s ankle, twisting as hard as he could with one good arm.
Alistair yelped and fell over.
He kicked Grigori repeatedly in the face with his other leg, busting the Auditor’s nose and lips wide open, and eventually freeing himself from the ankle lock, but that was okay by Grigori.
Somewhere along the way, he realized, tasting his own blood as it streamed from his flattened nose, his protocol had returned. He could feel it waiting in his mind, stamping about in his aching brain like a horse impatient to leave the stable.
They got back to their feet and circled.
Grigori tested his left arm, throwing a couple halfhearted jabs and finding that he had no strength left in the limb. He pulled it back to guard and advanced behind a right jab, certain that Alistair would have noticed.
He feinted and bobbed, keeping Alistair at a small distance, passing up opportunities to meaningfully engage, using his good arm exclusively.
Alistair circled and lunged, coming in on Grigori’s bad side.
Grigori threw a weak jab at Alistair with his bad arm, hardly enough force to the blow to swat a fly.
The punch landed on Alistair’s shoulder, shattering bone and pulverizing flesh, telekinetic force rippling through his body in waves and wreaking havoc. Grigori followed with his good arm, putting his fist so far into Alistair’s face that his eyes bulged, and his nose exploded. The punch drove Alistair’s septum back into his skull and fractured his jawbone nearly in half.
A left cross from Grigori finished the job, connecting with Alistair’s temple and effortlessly shattering his skull.
Alistair slumped to the ground, bleeding from his crushed face and both ears.
The broken body disappeared.
Grigori swore as he spun around.
Alistair stood behind him, restored to a state of perfect health and grinning like a bad comic in a worse nightclub.
He slid his knife into Grigori’s belly, and Grigori gasped at the horror of the cold metal intrusion, and the fantastic, impossible pain that it caused.
“That was fun! You did better than I expected,” Alistair said, twisting the blade. He caught Grigori’s shoulder, to prevent him from falling, and looked him right in the eyes. “That isn’t what I’ll tell people, though. I’ll tell them you died like a bitch.”
Alistair pulled the knife out, and Grigori clamped his hands over the wound, trying desperately to stop the gushing blood.
“I’ll tell Gabriela you begged,” Alistair said, stabbing him beside his right hip. “I’ll tell her you offered to give her to me, if I’d only let you live.”
He twisted the blade, and Grigori howled.
This time, he let Grigori fall.
He landed on his face, driving the knife further into his gut, but there was nothing Grigori could do to arrest his fall. His arms refused to respond to even the simplest command, and his body was convulsed with pain.
“I think she’ll like that,” Alistair mused, putting his boot on the back of Grigori’s head and grinding his face into the road. “I know that I’ll like living in your estate, banging the girl who was supposed to be your wife.”
He rolled Grigori over with his boot, and then tried to remove the knife from his gut, but the fall had driven it too deep into Grigori’s stomach for easy retrieval.
“I bet you never even got any,” Alistair said, putting his boot on Gri
gori’s stomach and gripping the handle with both hands. “Gabby claims to be a wait-until-marriage girl, and I believe her. Am I right?”
Alistair pulled. Grigori screamed his throat raw as Alistair struggled to retrieve the knife.
He finally prized the knife free, a gout of blood following its removal. Grigori moaned and whimpered, unable to even find the strength to cover the wound with his hands.
Alice stepped from a nearby shadow, pulling Rebecca along beside her.
“I swear to God, Alistair,” Rebecca said, “if you don’t get away from him—”
Alistair grinned at her as he cut Grigori’s throat.
It was hardly necessary.
He barely even bled.
“Fucking hell! You piece of shit,” Alice spat, reloading her revolver. “How many times am I going to have to kill you?”
“How many Auditors have you lost now?” Alastair asked, wiping his blade clean with a handful of Grigori’s hair. “I can personally account for Margot, Karim, this kid, and probably Michael. Oh, and Alex, for sure this time. Definitely Alex.”
“You are fucked in the head,” Rebecca said. “You used to be an Auditor!”
“That’s old shit,” Alistair said, taking the pistol from Grigori’s belt. “Let’s talk about what’s new. I’ve gotta be honest, this is hard for me. Really, it’s a difficult situation.”
Alice paused, giving Rebecca a worried glance. She could only respond with a shrug.
“I’m the type of guy to keep my private affairs private, and it’s hard for me to reach out to people, even people I’ve known for years, like you ladies.” Alistair gave them his most dazzling smile. “It’s important, though, so I’m going to brave the embarrassment and just ask. You’ll both be at the wedding, won’t you?”
Alistair put a bullet in Grigori’s head. Rebecca jumped and covered her ears.
“What the hell?” Alice stared at her revolver. “You asshole!”
“Relax! He was probably already dead,” Alistair said. “The invites are plus one, of course. Not that I expect you to take me up on that, Becca.” He winked at her. “You’re too damn picky to bring a date.”
“What are you talking about?” Rebecca asked. “What wedding?”
“We haven’t made it public yet, but I’m marrying Gabriela Thule,” Alistair bragged. “This kid was my rival, but as you can see—”
“Are you talking about Gaul’s secret niece?” Rebecca said coldly. “She’s sixteen, Alistair, by like a month.”
“I know.” Alistair leered. “Pretty great, right?”
“That’s fucking it,” Rebecca said. “Kill him, Alice. For real this time.”
Alice opened fire.
“Sorry, but my dance card is completely full,” Alistair said, laughing as every shot went just slightly wide. “My fiancé is a demanding bitch – please don’t tell her I said that – and I’ve got a few more loose ends to tie up. Say – neither of you knows a good florist in Central, do you?”
Alice dove into a nearby shadow.
She lunged out of a shadow behind him, but Alistair ducked beneath her arms and drove his elbow into her stomach, dropping Alice to her knees.
“You can’t keep me out of Alice’s head on your own, Becca,” Alistair said. “I know what she’s going to do before she even moves. Don’t make me hurt her.”
“Fuck you,” Alice snarled, pushing herself off the ground with shaky arms. “I don’t need—”
Alistair smacked her in the back of the head with his pistol.
“I’d love to have both of you at the wedding,” Alistair said, holstering the gun. “Feel free to bring Michael along, Alice, if you still remember who he is by then.”
Alice moaned and grabbed feebly at Alistair’s ankle.
He pulled away and walked over to Rebecca, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Becca, I know I’m putting you on the spot, but I gotta ask,” Alistair said. “Would you be my best man? Best person? I can’t think of anyone else that I truly care about, so it would mean the world to me. Besides, you’ll get along great with Gabby. She’s an empath, too.”
“I get along with everyone, and we aren’t done here,” Rebecca said, brushing off his hand. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m going to take that as a tentative ‘yes’,” Alistair said, patting her on the head before turning to leave. “I’ve got to be moving on, but I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.”
He pointed at the Horrors clustered around the Main Library and the weird radiance emanating from inside. An inhuman scream rose above the din of the assembled Horrors, reaching a crescendo that dried the eyes and made teeth ache. A limp and deflated Horror tumbled from the sky, drifting gently to the ground like a dead leaf.
“You really should do something about all that,” Alistair said, downloading an apport protocol from the Network. “Don’t look so down, Becca! We’ve got enemies in common again. I might even do you a favor.”
Rebecca helped Alice up, glaring at Alistair all the while.
“This isn’t over,” Rebecca said, pulling Alice’s arm over her shoulders. “I’m not forgiving you for anything.”
“That’s fine. Do try to think of some nice things to say about me for the toast,” Alistair said, arranging an apport with his downloaded protocol. “At the wedding. Because I’m getting married. Crazy, right? Even I never thought I was the type.”
Alistair chuckled, and then he was gone.
Alice brushed away Rebecca’s attempts to help her, preferring to lean on the nearby building.
“What the hell was that?”
“I have no idea,” Rebecca said slowly. “But that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Alistair actually having fun.”
“Is Grigori…?”
“Yeah. He’s gone.”
“I fucking hate Alistair,” Alice said. “I’ve never…”
“Yeah, I know,” Rebecca said. “God, don’t I know it.”
***
The gate opened.
Daniel Gao stood on the other side, his arm and neck spattered with blood, a remote control in his hand.
The Black Sun filed into the Thule estate unopposed, hardly sparing a glance for the dead guards manning the gate.
***
“I think we are ready,” Adel said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We can send you whenever you want. I still don’t understand how Eerie did it, but we don’t seem to need a destination station. I can send you anywhere.”
“Nice work, Adel dear,” Emily said, patting him on the head. “You’re a lifesaver!”
The technician blushed and muttered self-depreciations.
Mitsuru tossed Alex his kit bag, and then stood beside him on the platform.
“Are you ready?”
“I’m not sure,” Alex admitted. “I don’t really know what we are doing.”
“It’s always the same in the field,” Mitsuru said. “We do what we have to, so that we can come home alive. You understand?”
He nodded. Emily had finished talking to Adel, and was deep in conversation with Eerie instead, their heads nearly touching as they whispered to each other by the doorway. Vivik stood nearby, looking uncertain.
“I get it.”
“Do you?” Mitsuru looked at him seriously. “I saved your life, once. Do you remember that?”
“I’ve never forgotten,” Alex said. “And I don’t think it was the only time.”
“That means you owe a debt to me,” Mitsuru said. “You have to do whatever I say, in return.”
“Okay.”
“I’m ordering you to come back alive,” Mitsuru said, looking straight forward with her bloodshot eyes, as if he were not just beside her. “No matter what.”
“Okay.”
“I’m serious, Alex.”
“Hey, me too. I’m not planning on dying today. Just…you do the same, alright? I’ve lost you once, Miss Aoki.”
“I don’t remember being lost,” Mitsuru responded seve
rely. “And I don’t owe you a thing.”
He stood there with his mouth hanging open for several long seconds. Mitsuru finally cracked just a hint of a smile.
Alex laughed, while Eerie smiled uncertainly.
“Are we all ready?” Emily called out, joining them on the platform. “Anyone have any inspiring words they’d like to share?”
“You’re in charge,” Leigh said. “You do the inspiring.”
“Oh, very well. I love all of you, and I think you’re magnificent.” Emily looked at each of them in turn with her moist, sparkling eyes. “I expect great things from you, and I expect you all to return here without a scratch. I believe in you, so don’t let me down, okay?”
Emily laughed.
Adel activated the apport station.
***
“The Main Library?” Rebecca fixed her ponytail for the third time. “I don’t know. I think I’m more concerned about whatever Alistair is up to. Do you have a fix on his position?”
“I lost him,” Hayley said, her eyes shut tight and a scowl on her face. “I can’t get a fix on anything.”
“What the hell is the matter, Hayley? You’re supposed to be my field telepath.”
“You can feel it just as well as I can,” Hayley said. “There’s something very wrong going on near the Main Library. Something big and awful, and I can’t pick out anything else, in all that noise and misery.”
“Shit,” Rebecca said. “That’s another problem that I do not need. We let Alistair slip away, God knows when we get another shot at him.”
There was no need for Rebecca to look over her Auditors. She could feel the weight of their shifting emotions, as fear and grief gave way to analgesic rage.
“Grigori was an okay guy,” Hayley said, not looking in the direction of the body, which was laid out on the sidewalk and covered by a purloined sheet. “We can’t let this go.”
“Don’t I fucking know it,” Rebecca said. “Thing is, we don’t know where to find Alistair, and even if we did, I’m not sure that’s a fight we can win.”
“He killed Grigori,” Hayley said, rubbing her reddened eyes. “Are you really going to let him get away with that?”
The Church of Sleep (Central Series Book 5) Page 77