She turned away, trying to shake free of him.
He caught hold of her again. “No! Alyson! I’m serious. You can’t—”
“He hit the lobby,” she snapped. “The basement’s all right, Jon. I’m going to get out there.”
He stared at her, seeing the hardness in her eyes.
For a bare instant, he found himself wondering just how much her connection to Revik might be affecting her––beyond her seeming inability to say no to him, that is, at least in terms of their physical relationship.
When she wrenched free of his fingers, he let her.
She went back to taking the stairs two at a time, the dress trailing behind her as she moved her legs and feet faster.
He caught up with her again on the first floor, looking warily at the smoke coming out in threads around the fireproof door. He had no doubt solid flames filled the other side. He coughed in reflex, flinching back from the billowing heat as they passed. The paint was melting; the metal seemed to be softening, too.
He inhaled again only after they reached the landing below.
She went down three mores flights, to the third of the subfloors.
“Parking?” he asked her, when she stopped at the door.
She nodded, gripping the metal pole bannister in one hand as she reached the bottom landing. She wrenched open the door, looking up at him. Her eyes were glowing again.
“Hurry up, Jon,” was all she said.
Before he could answer, she disappeared through the metal plated door.
He vaulted out after her, and immediately gunshots had him ducking and running in a half-dive towards the nearest cars.
He ran without thought, head low, and found her hunkered down behind an SUV with dark-tinted windows. He reached her side seconds later, and crouched next to her, breathing as quietly as he could. He had no idea if it was humans shooting at them, or seers, but he grabbed Allie’s arm when he saw her irises flicker back into life.
“No,” he whispered, quiet. “Who is it, Al?”
His question seemed to snap her back.
Her eyes slid out of focus as she reentered the Barrier. Seconds later, they clicked back. She looked at him, and he found he knew the answer from the expression on her face. He was about to ask anyway when a voice rose from the other side of the cars.
“Hold your fucking fire, goddamn it! What is the matter with you?”
Not recognizing the voice, Jon frowned at Allie.
But she wasn’t looking at him anymore. Her expression held something close to fury.
She pulled herself abruptly to her feet. Jon snatched at her arm, but she wrenched it away from him, walking around the car.
Biting the inside of his cheek, he dragged himself up after her, following as she walked down the nearest aisle between vehicles, moving in the direction of the voice. Jon hung back as she approached a line of what had to be seers. Most of them looked Asian in one way or another, but Jon saw a few who looked closer to Middle Eastern.
Each of them visibly displayed the sun and sword tattoo, and wore enough organics to be in violation of several dozen sight containment codes.
Allie walked right up to the seer standing in the middle.
“Do you know who I am?” she demanded.
She didn’t flinch when he rolled the gun he wore back on its jointed harness, so that the barrel pointed skyward. The seer, a tall, wiry, Indian-looking male whose appearance matched that of a twenty-something human, looked nervous.
He bowed to Allie, using the more deferential of the religious forms.
“Es-Esteemed Bridge,” he stammered. “We humbly offer our most abject apologies. If we had in any way known it was you, we never would have fired. You were so effectively shielded that you and your companion took us by surprise––”
He was afraid of her, Jon realized.
The realization didn’t please him as much as it might have, especially since Allie’s eyes glowed as she stared around at the line of seers.
The tuxedo jacket covered her––barely, Jon noted––but neither that, nor the glow in her eyes stopped that line of male seers from staring back at her. They stared with particular interest at her body, Jon couldn’t help noticing. A few focused longest on those parts of her least covered by the jacket or the dress.
As if he’d heard Jon, the one in front snapped at the staring males, his eyes holding an outright fear. “Show respect!” Still speaking the seer tongue, Prexci, he lowered his voice. “…If only because he’ll skin you if he sees otherwise.”
“Where is he?” Allie said.
The young seer turned to her, bowing lower. “He is not with us, most Esteemed Bridge. He is busy on top.”
“Why?” she said, her voice still holding a controlled fury. “Why did he do this? Why are any of you interfering with my work here? Who gave you the right? Was it him? Do you just blindly follow whatever he tells you? Do you suck his dick when he tells you, too?”
Looking at the young seer’s face, Jon almost felt sorry for him.
Clearly, he felt caught in the middle of something.
His dark skin had gone even paler, and now he bowed again, his voice and face showing an open dismay. “No disrespect is meant. I assure you, it is not, most holy Bridge!” He gripped his gun, lifting his hand in a sign of submission. “He is merely defending your honor. This is revenge for what was done to you, most Esteemed Bringer of Light. A sign of his affections––”
“What?” Her voice grew cold as metal. “What did you say?”
“It is a message, Esteemed Bridge. That human is here… the one from the network feeds. The same woman who helped imprison you, who lied about you. Who degraded you, while you were enslaved. She was the first to feel his wrath…”
The seer must have flashed an image at her, because Allie’s expression went from furious to something closer to stunned. Jon saw recognition in her eyes, just before she turned, looking down the line of seers.
“Donna,” he heard her murmur incredulously.
Jon found himself remembering that name, from somewhere.
“You killed all these fucking people,.” she snarled, turning back on their leader, her voice holding a furious disbelief. “He did all this, risked killing my friends and your fellow seers, to get at one… bitch… reporter?”
Jon flinched, his shoulders tense.
“Esteemed Bridge!” the seer said, bowing again, still holding his hand up in subservience. “An insult such as that to the Bridge cannot be allowed to stand! It cannot! She was under no coercion when she treated you so vilely!”
“How many others?” Allie snapped. “How many others had to die to make a point with that stupid, inconsequential woman?”
The man’s eyes grew even more nervous. The seers standing around him fidgeted too, their expressions showing disquiet as they glanced at one another, weapons held upright.
“Esteemed mate of our friend,” the first one said, still trying to appease Allie. “Esteemed Bridge, most holy friend and sister… we mean you no disrespect! Entirely the opposite! An example needed to be made! The worms cannot be allowed to treat one of our oldest souls as if she were chattel, a mere sexual object to be scorned—”
“Who cares what she did?” Allie said, also in Prexci. “She was a parasite! You don’t behead a child because it’s got lice!”
Jon remembered now, who they were talking about.
He remembered the human news reporter, “Donna,” who interviewed Allie in the Oval Office. That whole interview had been an obvious if crudely crafted message to needle Revik.
Obviously, it was one he hadn’t forgotten.
“Where the fuck is he?” Allie snapped.
“Whoa,” Jon spoke up before he knew he intended to. Approaching her warily, he caught hold of her arm. “Allie. You don’t want to see Revik right now.”
Every seer in the garage turned, facing him.
“Who is this, Esteemed Bridge?” the nearest one said.
He
rearranged his hands on his gun, his eyes appraising, suddenly colder.
“It’s my goddamned brother,” she snapped at him. “And if you touch him, I will crack your skull into so many pieces your own mother won’t recognize you…”
Jon’s fingers tightened reflexively on her arm.
He bit back the part about how much she’d sounded like Revik just then.
He drew her backwards instead, towards one of the armor-plated SUVs parked in a row behind where they stood. Looking around at the cars filling that part of the garage, he understood in a flash what the seers were doing down there.
They were waiting for survivors to come and try for their cars. Given the quality and type of those cars, this lot had to be reserved for human dignitaries and rich people. The seers were lined up like a firing squad to conduct a turkey shoot on any humans whose emergency escape plans included a trip to the hotel’s sub-basement.
Allie seemed to realize the same thing.
“Get out of here!” she snarled, turning on the line of seers. She fought Jon’s hands as he pushed her towards the nearest car. “I mean it! Leave!”
“Esteemed Bridge,” the seer said, flinching. “We cannot. We have orders—”
“Orders?” Her voice grew cold. “Since when is the Bridge not the senior soul among the seers? Senior even to the great Syrimne d’Gaos?”
The Indian-looking seer paled more.
Glancing at the others, he bowed deeply to her, his words coming out in a stutter. “E-Esteemed Bridge, most, most respected sister, pardon me for saying it, but we are told by your husband that you have not yet accepted your true role… that you are not fully awakened yet. Syrimne tells us you will absolutely serve that function, the instant that awakening occurs. He will then abdicate his current position, and hand his entire operation to you––and himself, heart, mind and soul as your commander. We know he wishes nothing more than for this day to come, Esteemed Sister. He prays for it every day, as do we all…”
Allie blinked. She stared at him, then down the line of seers, her eyes stunned.
The anger drained from her voice.
“He said what?”
“Al!” Jon snapped, forcing her eyes to his. “We’re leaving! Now!”
For an instant, she looked ready to argue.
Then she closed her mouth, nodding.
She let him lead her to the row of SUVs, and push her towards the corridor of outward-facing cars as he walked around, trying handles methodically. He was still trying to find a vehicle that someone left unlocked when he saw her put her hand on one of the SUV doors.
He heard the click as it unlocked, and gave her another disbelieving look.
That one had more than a little gratitude in it, though.
Walking up to where she stood, he opened the driver’s side door and slid in, motioning for her to walk around.
No way was he letting her drive. Not like this.
She climbed into the passenger seat after he commanded the car to unlock the latch. Organic locks, organic controls, organic ignition. No wonder she’d been able to open it.
Exhaling in a near gasp, he realized his hands were shaking violently as he grasped hold of the steering wheel. Adrenaline and emotion briefly overloaded his brain, but he managed to get the car started, using voice commands and the flatscreen panel.
He glanced at Allie.
“Put on your seat belt,” he said. “Right now, Al. We have no idea what we’re driving into.”
She stared out the windshield, her eyes cold. Biting her lip, she shook her head. “We should go back. I should keep trying, Jon. I could probably get them to stand down… they were at least listening to me.”
Leaning over, Jon clasped her arm. “No, Allie!” he snapped. “They weren’t listening to you. They work for Revik. Are you telling me you didn’t see that, the tattoos on all of them? The way they talked about him? He’s got them convinced you’re the brainwashed one, or weren’t you paying attention? They were kissing your ass because you’re the Bridge and because they’re afraid of Revik… and that’s the truth.”
She blinked at him. Then her eyes narrowed.
“I appreciate your faith in me, Jon.”
“You could have killed them!” he said, angrier. “Is that what you wanted, Al? Is that what would have made you happy? To become as crazy as he is?”
When she only stared at him, not speaking, he released her arm, touching the screen again to unlock the car wheels. He hit in another combination of commands, putting the car on manual drive and throwing it into gear.
He paused a last time, looking at her.
“We have to go, Allie… now. I don’t know what we’re going to find up there. I need you to hold it together… no matter what it is. I need you to get your head on straight, so you can deal with this like the person I know. Not a murdering psychopath like your husband. Got it?”
She only looked at him for a moment.
Then, still staring at his face, she nodded. The fire in her eyes dimmed.
“I understand,” she said.
He saw her eyes glowing again, though. They glowed brighter as he watched, despite the tears that coursed down her cheeks.
7
TERRORIST
“GODDAMN IT.”
Revik clicked out of the Barrier, jaw clenched. When he glanced at Wreg, the broad-shouldered seer gestured in understanding. His obsidian-black eyes held a flat lack of surprise.
“I told you we should have kept a detail on her,” the Chinese-looking seer said. “She’s the Bridge, not some worm-loving dirt blood from Outer Reach. She’s not going to be that easy to manipulate, brother.” He gave him a wan smile. “Not even for you.”
“She’s in the fucking basement,” Revik growled, cursing. “I told Jon to wait with her up there. To keep her in the damned room. I know he heard me.”
Wreg gestured in acknowledgement, his eyes still showing that he wasn’t particularly surprised.
Revik looked out over the charred ruins of the hotel’s ex-colonial mansion lobby, directly in front of them. They’d parked the armored vehicle just before the curve in the circular driveway leading to the front doors. Black smoke poured out a large hole in the wall from a second armored car that had been rolled inside.
That hole had been significantly widened by the largest of the three blasts, when the power grid went up. That one had been the most dramatic as well, taking a full five minutes to build up to a sparking explosion that blew out all the windows on the first two floors.
Revik saw windows on higher floors go, too, presumably from rooms where they kept servers and some of the heavier circuit breakers.
The marble fountain in the middle of the driveway was in pieces from a chunk of cement that landed right in the center of it, falling from the main edifice above.
Humans still stumbled out through what remained of the glass front doors, but the numbers were small now. Most came out alone or in small clusters, visibly in shock, half covered in blood and white with debris and powder from crushed cement blocks.
Revik saw his people pick off two of those stragglers as they passed by the detail standing in the shadows near the front doors. The seers waited until their targets were well out onto the red-carpeted drop-off area before firing, likely so they wouldn’t block the one remaining exit.
They must have been on the list.
That, or his people were having a little too much fun.
He sent up a prayer to his ancestors for their souls, then focused back on Wreg. Briefly, he receded into the Barrier, watching her.
“They almost shot her,” he muttered.
“They won’t now,” Wreg assured him.
Revik grunted, not looking at the other seer.
Wreg’s gaze followed him, however, when he crawled into the back of the darkened vehicle. The walls were lined with dense panels of organics, but Revik ignored those, going for the table standing near the back doors. He still felt Wreg’s eyes on him as he pored o
ver a selection of small arms, finally picking out two guns, shoving one in a holster under his jacket and another into his belt at the small of his back. He added a few more clips to his pockets.
“Where are you going?” Wreg said. “They won’t hurt her, Dehgoies.”
Revik just gave him a hard look.
“She is likely coming up now,” Wreg said, more conciliatory.
Revik climbed back up to the front of the vehicle, fitting his earpiece back around his head.
“They don’t need us here.”
“So far. We aren’t done with this yet.”
“You can stay, if you want,” Revik said, looking at him.
After a pause, the Chinese-looking seer clicked softly, a near sigh.
“Why the fuck don’t you just bring her in?” Wreg said. “Why leave her in the hands of incompetents? You will give yourself a stress heart attack, laoban.”
Revik gave him a hard look. “I will, if I have to.”
“Meaning what? If she is shot?”
“I want to give her the chance to come in willingly first.”
“Why?” Wreg said. “What difference does it make?”
Revik gave a low laugh, shaking his head.
He looked at the older seer, even as he pulled the Glock out of its holster, checking the clip on it again and loading a bullet into the chamber in rote. He motioned for the seer to drive him towards the entrance to the lower parking levels.
Cars stood at angles between them and the garage entrance, most covered in ash and several with crushed hoods and roofs. A table-sized chunk of cement from the initial blast pushed one limousine engine into the cracked pavement. Revik saw at least two other vehicles on fire.
The garage entrance itself was blocked off. Four emergency vehicles stood there, sirens revolving silently on top.
“You’ve never been married before, have you?” Revik said.
“I was once, actually.” Wreg’s dark eyes grew opaque. “She was killed by the fucking French… after they made a whore of her.”
Revik looked at him. “I am sorry, brother.” When the other’s expression didn’t change, he shrugged with one hand. “All I meant is… coercion and marriage are not good bedfellows. I’d rather not force her.”
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