“Jeff!” Carlee shouted in protest. She turned around to see that he was staring down a handful of weapons. “Oh.”
“We know what you are,” growled the old man who had met them earlier that day.
“We’re doctors,” Carlee said. “And this boy needs our help.” She dismissed them with her voice and turned back to the young man in front of her, but the villagers were not finished.
“We should kill you,” the man said. His voice was brooding. Jeff knew the tone well. Nothing good happened when men sounded like that.
“You’d be dead if it hadn’t been for her,” Jeff said. He stood straight and squeezed the gun with his metal arm. It crunched underneath the pressure, and he tossed it to the ground. The armed villagers backed a step away from him.
Jeff looked around and noticed that most of the villagers now gathered around them. Many were helping to hold some of their neighbors up.
“This all happened because of that freak,” the man said. “And I don’t care if you are half leech.” The man already had blood on his worn clothes, and he pulled a long hunting knife from his side.
“Where is Matt?” Jeff asked, hoping to find the young man who had been more reasonable with them before.
“He’s dead. His sister is dead. His cousin is dead. Heather is passed out with burns, and Catherine is dead.” He rattled off the names as he turned the knife over in his hands. “You filthy vagrants have killed us all!” He took an aggressive step forward, and Jeff shifted his feet, ready to defend himself.
But the man didn’t make it far; his companions grabbed his shoulders and held him back. He struggled to free himself, but they held him tight.
“Get out!” He shouted after he gave up his struggle. “Now!”
“We will leave as soon as I can treat the wounded,” Carlee said. She was standing next to Jeff now. Her tears had stopped, and she placed a soft hand on Jeff’s arm. He relaxed as she tried to disarm the situation once again.
“No, you leave now. And never come back.”
Jeff expected some others to dissent, but a quick look around the gathered villagers showed nothing but contempt and fear.
“He will die if I don’t finish. And there are others who need our help,” Carlee said. Her voice was calm and strong. “Let us help them.”
“I’m not going to give you another chance to walk out of here while you still can.”
Carlee sighed and looked back at the struggling boy behind her.
“Fine, we’ll go. But their deaths are on your head.”
The man lurched against the other villagers in an attempt to get to Carlee, but once again, he was held in place. Jeff could hardly believe what was happening. They had gone from saviors to villains after they had risked their lives in order to save as many of the lives in their community as possible.
Carlee held her head high as she walked out of the camp. The villagers formed a wide halo around them, as if they were worried that getting too close to the vagrants would give them the plague. They had made it halfway out of the camp before a rock hit Jeff in the metal arm. He looked back in time to see more children gathering projectiles. The fires of the burning yurts illuminated the small mob.
The sadness would have hurt more if he weren’t already so wounded from the past few days. The true meaning of being a vagrant settled in on him.
He snatched a rock out of the air before it could hit Carlee on the back of the head. He crushed it to a powder with his metal arm and didn’t slow pace. As they stepped over the shattered palisade wall, several village guards spit at them. Beyond the wall, where Stefani had been fighting, dozens of fallen attackers rested in pieces. From the looks of it, Stefani had been equally as efficient and ruthless as Carlee had been with the invaders.
“We should have let them burn,” Jeff said.
Carlee stopped.
“No,” Carlee said. “We shouldn’t have.”
Her voice was passionate enough that Jeff immediately regretted voicing his opinion.
“It’s not their fault that this happened. Don’t hate them for their ignorance.”
“They spit at us when we were trying to help them!”
“Does that really matter to you so much?” She was emotional again. He had suspected that being thrown out of their village had upset her, but he was confident now that he had been wrong. She was upset at not being able to help their wounded.
He felt guilty for wishing they had left the village to the warlord. But that was how he had been raised. That was what he had grown up believing. People like Carlee shouldn’t exist in the world. It was kill or be killed.
She started walking again, this time staying a few steps ahead of him. He was grateful for the space. He felt like a child.
The sounds of the village faded quickly, and soon they were walking through moonlit nature. He hoped that Stefani was giving the warlord behind the attack what he deserved.
14 PATHS
IT SEEMED LIKE A LIFETIME ago that Jeff was arguing with Dane about whether it was a smart decision to enter another fight. And in many ways, that had been a different life.
He had spent the morning trying to turn a rock into dust with his mind like the vagrants did, but he gave up on it after a few hours of feeling silly. No matter how hard he stared at the rock or screamed at it mentally, nothing changed. So, he carefully went over the events of the past few days again, combing his mind for details that he could use to learn how to press as they waited for Stefani to return.
All he had discovered was that he still longed to bring justice to Sean, Dane, the mayor, and the Apostles. Carlee was adamant that attacking Apostles—even with the full power of pressing—was suicide, but Jeff didn’t believe they were gods. And that meant they could be killed.
He just needed to learn how to press first, and so far, he hadn’t made any progress on that front. Carlee didn’t seem particularly pleased with him after last night, and he knew he was running out of time before they ditched him at some community.
It was midmorning, and sitting in one place was making him anxious about Stefani, so he climbed to his feet and walked slowly around the exterior of the antigravity transport. That one piece of technology alone was so far beyond anything humans could create these days that it seemed magical. The piners could talk for days about how wondrous the past had been, with its endless medicine, food, and comforts. Their stories had never interested him like they had the others. In fact, nothing had seemed all that worthy of excitement except for women and fighting until he had met the vagrants.
The air cracked, and Jeff ducked under the closest tree. He stared up at the sky, where five leeches blasted across the sky at incredible speeds. Slowly, he dared to breathe again. From a young age, he had been taught to seek cover every time a leech passed by, no matter how uninterested in him they might appear. It was fairly common to see one, but it was chilling to see them in larger groups.
Once, when he was twelve, not too long after the solstice, there had been a massive dogfight between groups of leeches just outside of Fifth Springs. He had hidden at first, but Chad convinced him that they should go watch. For half an hour, the leeches spewed beautiful streaks of energy at one another, slowly whittling their numbers down until there were hardly any leeches left. The battle had scared everyone he knew except for Chad. They had talked about it for years.
“Did I miss breakfast?” Stefani asked as she came pushing through the brush.
Jeff jumped at her voice. He had let himself get lost in memories and had let his guard down momentarily. Luckily, it hadn’t been members of the warlord’s army that found them.
Stefani had apparently experienced a rough night. Her uniform was tattered in a number of spots, her face was sweaty and covered in dirt, and she looked how Jeff felt inside: exhausted. She didn’t even tease him about not seeing her coming.
“I think you might have missed lunch too, judging by the sun.” He was happy to see her; she was much more approachable than Carlee was
right now.
“Where’s Carl?”
“Sleeping.”
“I’m over here,” Carlee said. She slowly rose from where she had been sleeping among some tall grasses.
“Taking a nap while you make the cripple protect you,” Stefani said. “You’re getting lazy.” The words were playful, but they lacked Stefani’s usual energy.
“You found us,” Carlee said.
“Got shot at by the villagers,” Stefani said. “Best interaction I ever had with them.”
“You didn’t—”
“No,” Stefani said. “Of course not. I just accepted their message and came peacefully here.”
“Good. I’m glad you made it back safely.”
“Me too,” Jeff said.
They both glanced at him, but he didn’t shy away. He might not be a vagrant, but while he was traveling with them, he considered himself part of the team even if they didn’t.
“What did I miss?” Stefani asked. She rifled through some boxes in the transport until she found what she was looking for, which Jeff was pretty sure was a banana and some kind of bar wrapped in plastic.
“I tried to help a boy after the fighting ended. Jeff was kind enough to donate some of his blood, but they figured out that we were homeless, and they kicked us out.”
Jeff relaxed a little. Carlee was in a much better mood, and it sounded like she had actually appreciated his efforts last night. It wasn’t too surprising; Carlee didn’t seem like the type to hold a grudge.
“So, they let him die, eh?” Stefani said between bites. “Hate when they do that.”
“He might live . . .”
“And you gave Handsome some new parts, I see. Too bad. I liked him better before. More vulnerable.”
“I’m a fan of having two arms and legs again,” Jeff said.
“That’s because you have a bad attitude,” Stefani said. She was warming up slightly now, and part of the signature bite to her words was returning.
“And your night,” Carlee said. “Anything to report?”
Stefani took a big bite of her food and chewed it patiently.
“I’m tired,” she said when she finished. “Should I sleep here or while we travel?”
Carlee accepted that as all the answer she needed. If Stefani didn’t want to talk about something, Jeff didn’t want to know about how ugly things had gotten.
“On the road,” Carlee said.
They traveled for several hundred miles, by Jeff’s estimation, before they pulled into a swamp where other vagrant transports were resting. Seeing the other vagrants again made him nervous—not because he feared them but because his chances to learn from them were running out.
Talon was waiting for them when they arrived. He towered over their transport and most of the camp, standing motionless with zero expression on his face.
“She’s waiting for you,” Talon said as soon as the force field above the transport was deactivated.
“Of course,” Carlee said. Talon turned and led them through the camp to Jane’s tent. A few of the vagrants slapped Carlee on the back, but it was the only pleasantries they received. The twins walked by and mumbled something about how it took Stefani so long to make it back, to which she did not mumble her reply. Carlee walked into Jane’s tent while Jeff hesitated outside with Stefani.
“You too, Stefani and Jeff,” Carlee said from the inside a moment later. Talon held the door for them as they entered. The tent was remarkably simple on the inside—only a mattress and some cushions. It wasn’t out of place for a tent by any means, but he had expected something more for the leader of the most powerful humans on the planet. In fact, the only striking thing in the entire tent was seeing once again just how young Jane was.
“Please,” Jane said, gesturing for them to take a seat. Jeff dutifully crossed his legs and took a seat on the padded ground, careful to place his metal leg on the bottom.
“I see you are still with us, Jeff,” Jane said.
“Yes, ma’am. Carlee and Stefani have been kind enough to take care of me.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She turned to Carlee now. “I am eager to hear about your detour.”
“We destroyed the leech that attacked the caravan, but it required a fair amount of pressing,” Carlee said. “So, we navigated a safe, indirect, course here.”
“Very good.” The way Jane spoke made her sound like an old woman looking back on a long life on her deathbed. “A prudent path. There have been many reports and sightings of a strange Apostle in the vicinity.”
“Horus?” Stefani asked.
“Another,” Jane said. “A later generation. All white and humanlike. There are many paths where he draws near to us. I suspect we are being diligently hunted.”
The tent went uncomfortably silent.
“I’ve seen it,” Jeff said quietly.
“What?” Stefani asked.
“I’ve seen it. It was at Fifth Springs.”
“You didn’t acknowledge that in your initial report,” Jane said. It was impossible to tell how bothered she was by his omission.
“It wasn’t there at first . . . I saw it flying away from Fifth Springs. Has to be the same one.”
“This is a perplexing development,” Jane said. “If this new Apostle is in league with Horus . . . That possibility clouds our path considerably.”
“You still intend to have us go to Dallas?” Stefani asked.
“All the more so,” Jane said. “There are too many paths leading us in that direction for us to ignore.”
The reason for Jane’s distance hit Jeff like an uppercut. Jane spent her time searching other realities, and the distance in her voice likely meant that she was still checking other time lines even while they talked. The realization changed everything about how he perceived her. Jane’s expressions struck him differently; her voice meant so much more, and her decisions were more meaningful.
“Tell me about your encounters,” Jane said. She was talking to Carlee, but she turned her head to look at him. She smiled knowingly at him.
“After the leech, we encountered a small village in need of some medical attention,” Carlee said. Her voice was businesslike and straight to the point, lacking the usual empathy she spoke with. “We treated a number of serious illnesses with minimal pressing. Unfortunately, that evening, their community was attacked by a substantial raiding party.”
“And you defended them?”
“We did.”
“And your abilities were exposed in the process?”
“They were.”
Jane nodded slightly. Jeff wasn’t sure whether it was because she had already heard their answers in another path or because it was a conversation that had become routine to her.
“Any details of note?” Jane asked. Carlee and Stefani exchanged a long look, Carlee tilted her head, and eventually Stefani shrugged.
“The warlord won’t be warlording again anytime soon,” Stefani said.
“You pursued him?” Jane asked.
“Alone,” Stefani said. “Carlee stayed behind to help the villagers.”
“You left Carlee alone?” Jane had a way of making simple questions seem more meaningful. It reminded him of Charlotte and not in a good way.
“Jeff was with her.”
“Jeff is not a vagrant. We don’t leave one another alone.”
“I know.” Stefani didn’t flinch as she responded to Jane, and her voice didn’t waver.
“We’ve talked about this before,” Jane said. “You’re free to leave at any time if you don’t want to follow our rules.”
“I understand that.”
“Then, I beg you, don’t risk Carlee’s life so carelessly.”
Stefani gave the slightest nod that Jeff had ever seen, and even that gesture looked like it took considerable effort. For how close she was to Carlee, Stefani’s interactions with Jane were a stark contrast. It reminded him of his relationship with the coalition. They preached equality and not rising above your
peers, but Jeff had always wanted to be the best.
“I’d speak with Jeff alone now,” Jane said. “If there is nothing else.”
Stefani was out of the tent almost before Jane had finished the sentence. Part of him wished she had stayed to support him.
“She’ll do better,” Carlee said. Jane smiled at Carlee but didn’t say a word as Jeff was left alone with the leader of the vagrants. When the girl turned her undivided attention to Jeff, he felt surprisingly insecure.
“There is something you wish to discuss,” Jane said.
“If you already know what I’m going to say, why make me say it?” Jeff asked.
“It’s impossible to know the future. You are always in control of your own path. What we discuss now is entirely of your choosing.”
He fought the urge to prove her right, to pick a random topic just to catch her by surprise.
“If I am truly in control of my own path, then I choose to stay with the vagrants.”
“You are not in control of reality. You can’t create paths from decisions you do not control; you can only choose your own path. It’s a difficult distinction to accept.”
“Carlee and Stefani taught me a little about that.”
“I know. They shouldn’t have, but they are both so caring.”
“I’ll learn to press one way or another,” Jeff said. “I won’t stop now. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
“Why is that?”
“Because . . .” He checked the words in his mind; he had prepared for this very question. “When Carlee and Stefani found me, I was dead. They gave me a second chance at life, and I don’t want to waste it. I’ve seen the good that the vagrants do. I would never be content knowing there was a way I could do more.”
Jane blinked but didn’t betray any emotion. Jeff just hoped she bought it.
“It is a dangerous skill to learn. And not just for the reasons you understand.”
“That’s why I need to be trained here, where I can learn to press safely. I’d hate to have an Apostle come to murder my entire community because I had to learn on my own.”
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