‘Will he come back?’ Clearwater had asked as Blue-Bird turned towards the Dry Lands of the South.
‘Yes, in the time of the New Earth,’ Cadillac had replied. ‘He will come in the guise of a friend with Death hiding in his shadow and he will carry you away on a river of blood.’
Whenever Steve had mulled over these words, he had always taken the phrase ‘a river of blood’ to signify a terrible battle – for which he would somehow be responsible – in which hundreds would die. Partly because that he would come ‘with Death hiding in his shadow’ and because before Cadillac had made the prediction, Motor-Head called him the ‘Death-Bringer’.
But Steve now realized the lines could be interpreted in a completely different way. The ‘river of blood’ that Clearwater was going to be carried away on could be Red River! The wagon-train they were both about to board!
‘Am I to die?’ she had asked, ‘– in the darkness of their world? His world …’
‘No,’ Mr Snow had replied. ‘You will live.’
Oh, Sweet Mother! Steve’s heart almost burst as he realized that the answer had been there all the time! In the shock of the moment and the mental confusion that followed, the desperate need to deceive their enemies had pushed all other thoughts aside. He tossed the stone away, and put his arms around Clearwater’s head and drew her as close as he dared. ‘You will live!’ he whispered fiercely. ‘You will live!’
High above him, in the darkness, a ragged cluster of winking red lights slid across the sky.
Clearwater’s closed eyelids quivered as Roz’s inner voice cut through the pain and confusion that gripped her mind to reach the core of her being.
Greetings, soul-sister. We meet at last, under the stars that are our home. I bring you love and life. Be well. Be strong. The time draws near. Our work begins …
A Note on the Author
Patrick Tilley was born in Essex in 1928, but spent his formative years in the border counties of Northumbria and Cumbria. After studying art at King’s College, University of Durham, he came to London in 1955 and rapidly established himself as one of Britain’s leading graphic designers. He began writing part-time in 1959.
In 1968 he gave up design altogether in favour of a new career as a film scriptwriter. Work on several major British-based productions was followed by writing assignments in New York and Hollywood. His books have been translated into several languages, and have achieved cult-novel status.
Discover books by Patrick Tilley published by Bloomsbury Reader at
www.bloomsbury.com/PatrickTilley
Fade Out
Mission
The Amtrak Wars: Cloud Warrior
The Amtrak Wars: First Family
The Amtrak Wars: Iron Master
The Amtrak Wars: Blood River
The Amtrak Wars: Death Bringer
The Amtrak Wars: Earth Thunder
For copyright reasons, any images not belonging to the original author have been
removed from this book. The text has not been changed, and may still contain
references to missing images.
This electronic edition published in 2013 by Bloomsbury Reader
Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square,
London WC1B 3DP
First published in Great Britain 1988 by Sphere Books Ltd
Copyright © 1988 Patrick Tilley
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eISBN: 9781448212491
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The Amtrak Wars: Blood River Page 41