Scavenger Blood

by Janet Edwards

  “Agreed,” chorused the others.

  Raeni turned to face Wall, and he glared back at her, clearly expecting more accusations against him and Manhattan.

  “At the moment, we can’t be sure who is helping Cage and who can be trusted,” said Raeni. “Once we have conclusive evidence, action must be taken against the guilty. Whatever their rank or division, anyone who has helped Cage during his flight from justice is an accomplice in Rogue’s murder, and is therefore subject to the death penalty. Agreed?”

  Wall’s expression changed to one of puzzlement. “Agreed.”

  Raeni turned to look out through the glass. “There’s already a thick layer of snow on the ground, and more is falling. Rogue’s funeral may be delayed for several more days. Whenever the funeral is held, Queens Island wishes to invite Mist to attend as a representative of Manhattan division.”

  Wall stared at her in stunned silence for a second before replying. “Yes. Mist will attend.”

  Raeni turned to Donnell. “You said that you would stand guard at the funeral to prevent an attack from Cage. Will you also sing one of Rogue’s favourite songs for us, Donnell?”

  “I’ll be happy to sing anything you like,” said Donnell, “but if a song is in one of the old tongues rather than the new common Language, we’ll need to arrange a rehearsal in advance. I don’t want to mangle the words.”

  Raeni nodded and faced Ghost. “Since Donnell will be present to guard the mourners and sing, he can also represent the Resistance. Queens Island wishes to invite Ludmilla to the funeral as a representative of Brooklyn division.”

  Ghost looked amused. “I’m sure Ludmilla will be happy to attend.”

  Raeni turned to Ice. “Queens Island wishes to invite Anette as representative of London division.”

  “I will inform Anette,” said Ice.

  Raeni turned to walk across to the Queens Island corner. Wall gave a dazed look after her.

  “Does that mean what I think it means?” he asked. “Has Raeni just agreed to a ceasefire between Queens Island and Manhattan so the alliance can work together to hunt down Cage?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Raeni has definitely agreed to a ceasefire between Queens Island and Manhattan,” said Ghost. “I don’t know how Donnell talked her into that, but I’m deeply impressed.”

  Donnell laughed. “This is nothing to do with me. I just stood here meekly while Raeni firmly set out her terms for a ceasefire and ordered us to accept it.”

  Ghost turned to me. “So it was you who arranged this, Blaze. Raeni said that you’d told her about the subway tunnel theory. That means you must have talked to her between Queens Island carrying Rogue’s body off into their wing of the building, and Raeni appearing this morning. How did you manage that?”

  “Raeni and I had a conversation,” I said warily. “The details don’t matter. The important thing is that Raeni has defeated the leadership challenge from Major and is willing to work with the rest of us to hunt down Cage.”

  “Yes, today is turning out far better than I expected,” said Ghost cheerfully. “I was prepared for open warfare, but instead we’ll all be peacefully boiling falling star meat. It’s a delight to see the disappointed expressions of men like Shark and Nero.”

  He paused. “There’s just one thing that’s confusing me. I understand Raeni dodging the issue of inviting Wall to the funeral by asking his niece, Mist, and my wife, Ludmilla, to represent our divisions, but why did she choose Anette to represent London? Since Ice doesn’t have a family, I’d have expected Raeni to choose one of the older London women.”

  “Raeni chose Anette because she is Reynard’s wife,” said Ice.

  Ghost frowned. “I assume that’s supposed to explain things to us, but I’m afraid I still don’t understand.”

  “Nor do I,” said Donnell.

  “Yesterday afternoon, Cage used his sniper rifle to ambush one of our hunting parties and kill Rogue,” said Ice, in a completely emotionless voice. “I could have been in that hunting party. Cage could have chosen me as his target. Yesterday evening, I told London division that my chosen successor as leader was Reynard.”

  Ghost raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t know about that, but Raeni obviously did. Were you the one who told her about it, Blaze?”

  “I hadn’t heard about it either,” I said.

  “For someone who has been holding vigil over Rogue’s coffin all night, Raeni’s remarkably well informed,” said Ghost.

  “Raeni has shown a masterful command of events and taken an iron grip on the leadership of Queens Island,” said Ice. “Wall was wise to remain patient in the face of insults from Queens Island last night, because Raeni would be a dangerous adversary.”

  “The only reason I managed to keep my temper was because Major and Shark looked so frustrated when I didn’t retaliate,” said Wall. “Now that we’ve got a temporary ceasefire, we can focus on hunting down Cage. What’s the plan, Donnell?”

  Ghost hastily shook his head. “You can’t ask Donnell that question, Wall. The terms of Raeni’s ceasefire are that we allow Donnell and Blaze to work in secrecy, and only tell us what’s happening when they need our help.”

  “Raeni only said that because she suspects me of being involved in Rogue’s murder,” said Wall. “She doesn’t want me to know what Donnell and Blaze are doing, because she thinks I’ll find a way to pass the information to Cage. Do you have me on your list of suspects too, Ghost?”

  Ghost laughed. “Of course not. I just don’t want us to endanger the ceasefire.”

  “We have to honour the agreement with Raeni,” said Ice. “Donnell and Blaze will work in secrecy, and tell us when they need our assistance.”

  Wall gave a depressed sigh. “Very well.”

  That ended the discussion. Ghost, Ice, and Wall all went back to their own corners of the building, and Donnell turned to me.

  “Now tell me how you managed to speak to Raeni, Blaze.”

  “She was holding vigil over Rogue’s coffin on the roof of the Queens Island wing. I used a lantern to send a Morse code message from the Resistance roof, and she told me to go to the Banqueting Hall.”

  “I should have realized they’d be keeping the coffin on the roof,” muttered Donnell. “So you talked with Raeni in the Banqueting Hall?”

  “No,” I admitted nervously. “Raeni didn’t want to leave her vigil. She sent Madra to meet me and take me to the Queens Island roof.”

  Donnell stared at me. “You went into the Queens Island wing to talk to Raeni?”

  I nodded.

  Donnell closed his eyes and counted slowly to ten before opening them again and speaking in a strained voice. “The only time anyone has ever entered the wing of another division was when Wall invited me to take three of my officers and search the Manhattan wing to prove Cage wasn’t hiding there. Didn’t it occur to you that strolling into the Queens Island wing could be dangerous?”

  “Yes, but Raeni had invited me.”

  Donnell groaned. “Raeni had invited you, but you knew that Major was making a bid for power. What if he’d caught you on Queens Island territory?”

  “I knew this was the only chance we’d have to talk to Raeni before the leadership challenge. If you’d been standing in the Banqueting Hall, and been invited to go to the Queens Island roof and talk to Raeni, what would you have done?”

  “That would have been a totally different situation,” said Donnell.

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve far more experience than you.” Donnell frowned. “Why are you pulling that face at me?”

  “You’re using the same argument that Major used against Raeni. Yes, I’m inexperienced. That’s exactly why I need to do things myself sometimes, rather than always depending on you. If you want me to lead the alliance one day, then you need to give me the chance to gain experience.”

  Donnell grimaced. “I agree you need to do things yourself, but it’s best to learn to walk before you start running. You shou
ld have talked to me before doing something as dangerous as going into Queens Island territory.”

  “There wasn’t time to talk to you. I had to make a split-second decision, and I chose to go into Queens Island. As it turns out, it was worth taking the risk. I had the chance to talk to Raeni about how much Wall hates Cage.”

  “And that led to us having a ceasefire this morning instead of a war.” Donnell pointed a forefinger at me. “All right. This time you were lucky. This time taking the risk was worth it. Next time could be very different though. Later on, we’re going to have a long conversation about taking risks. Somewhere nice and private so I can yell at you.”

  I nodded nervously. “There’s one other thing I should mention. I told Aaron that I’d act as a guardian to Rebecca and help him care for her.”

  “What?” Donnell gave a despairing shake of his head.

  “You surely can’t disapprove of me acting as Rebecca’s guardian.”

  “It’s not that I disapprove,” said Donnell. “It’s that we have to hunt down Cage, fight off a host of falling stars, keep the feud between Queens Island and Manhattan from exploding again, and prepare to leave New York before the firestorm hits. I don’t think you have time to take care of toddlers as well.”

  “I thought your plan was that I’d eventually succeed you as alliance leader and Aaron would be my deputy.”

  “That’s right,” said Donnell.

  “Cage shot Rogue yesterday afternoon. Half the men in the alliance must be thinking they could have been in that hunting party, been the person Cage chose to shoot, and be lying in a coffin right now. That’s made Ice think about what would happen to London division if he dies, and name his choice of successor. How do you think Aaron is feeling?”

  “Aaron must have worked out that the only reason Cage didn’t shoot him was because Rogue happened to be in his hunting party. That’s bound to have left Aaron feeling a bit shaken.”

  “He’s far more than a bit shaken,” I said. “He’s been imagining what would happen to Rebecca if she’s left an orphan, and picturing her trying to outrun a firestorm on her own. If I don’t reassure him by taking on the role of Rebecca’s guardian, then he’s going to fall apart completely.”

  Donnell sighed. “I could find another volunteer to be Rebecca’s guardian. Natsumi or Himeko perhaps.”

  “They can’t reassure Aaron the way I can. When he has nightmares about Rebecca being an orphan, he can picture the deputy leader of the alliance standing at her side, with an Armed Agent weapon ready to defend her.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” said Donnell doubtfully. “But I still don’t think you have time for this.”

  “I have to have time for this,” I said fiercely. “If we don’t take time to help our key people when they’re in trouble, then Cage won’t have to destroy us. We’ll destroy ourselves.”

  Donnell gave a resigned sigh. “All right. Now if you aren’t planning to take any life-threatening risks in the next half an hour, I’d like you to take some breakfast upstairs to the off-worlders. Do you want to eat your own breakfast down here with me first?”

  It seemed best to let Donnell calm down before we did any more talking. “I think I’ll eat upstairs with the off-worlders. I’ll just go and collect a few things from their old hospital room, and then get the food.”

  I escaped into the Sanctuary wing, went to the hospital room, checked the cupboards, and pulled a rueful face. There were a lot of clothes and other things belonging to me and the off-worlders here. Far more than I’d realized.

  It took me ten minutes to pack all the clean clothes and other possessions into one set of bags, and the laundry into another. I couldn’t take it all upstairs now, especially since I’d have to carry a stasis box of food as well. I decided to take Phoenix’s clean clothes with me now, and come back for the rest later.

  I picked up the bag, slung it over my shoulder, and headed back through Sanctuary, pausing by the leaking water pipe in the store room area to stamp on some cockroaches. I’d just annihilated three of them, when the horribly familiar voice of Hannah called from behind me.

  “Blaze, I need to talk to you.”

  I groaned. Both Hannah and Cage were starting to remind me of the cockroaches. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get rid of them.

  I turned to face her. “If you have a serious problem, and need to ask an alliance officer for help, then I advise you to speak to someone else rather than me. After everything that’s happened between us, I don’t trust myself to treat you fairly.”

  “I’m not asking you to help me,” said Hannah. “I’m offering to help you. It’s your duty to listen to me, because I have vitally important information for you and Donnell.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  I loathed and distrusted Hannah, but I was the deputy alliance leader. Hannah was right that it was my duty to listen to an offer of important information. From earliest childhood, I’d been proud of always carrying out my duties as well as possible, so I couldn’t walk away from her now.

  Of course Hannah was well aware I’d react that way, which was why she’d chosen to use the word duty. She’d spent six years working for Cage, feeding me lies and using emotional blackmail to make me do whatever she wanted, so she was an expert in manipulating me.

  “What information?” I asked coldly.

  Hannah reached out a hand to take my arm, but I took a hasty step backwards.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  Hannah gave me an offended look. “I just want us to go to the outdoor clothing store room. Someone else could come along this corridor at any moment, and I mustn’t be seen talking to you.”

  “If you want me to go with you, then you should ask me to do that, not try to grab my arm and drag me.”

  Hannah gave the superior sigh of an adult humouring a small child. “All right. Can we go to the store room and talk privately, please?”

  I glanced down at my right hand, and saw the tendrils of my Armed Agent weapon were reflecting my feelings by flashing faster than usual. I indulged myself with a brief fantasy of lifting that hand, pointing my forefinger at Hannah, and shooting her. Instead, I followed Hannah to the store room.

  “Tell me your information then, but I warn you that I don’t trust your word on anything.”

  She gave the superior sigh again. “We’ve been best friends all our lives, Blaze. I know you’re angry with me at the moment, but ...”

  “At the moment?” I interrupted her. “You’re talking as if you think I’ll stop being angry tomorrow or next week.”

  “You always get so emotional about things, Blaze. We’ve had silly quarrels before and got past them. If you’ll just be reasonable, then I’m sure we can get past this one too.”

  I stared at Hannah in disbelief. “Are you living in a totally different reality to me? This wasn’t a childish squabble over a toy. You stole medicines for Cage. You spied on me for Cage. You told Cage that Tad and I were going upriver so he could ambush us in the boathouse.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t blame me for doing those things. Cage was threatening me, so I had no choice.”

  “I think you had a choice, Hannah. You’ve been working for Cage ever since we arrived in New York. At any time in those six years, you could have told Donnell or me what was happening. You chose not to do that.”

  “I was too scared of Cage to tell you anything. That wasn’t my fault, and what happened in the boathouse wasn’t my fault either. I’d no idea that Cage planned to hurt you.”

  “You’d no idea Cage planned to hurt me,” I repeated sarcastically. “You thought he wanted to ambush Tad and me so he could wish us a good trip?”

  “Cage tricked me into helping him ambush you,” said Hannah. “He tricked me into leaving the Resistance and joining Manhattan division as well. I don’t know why you keep complaining about what happened in the boathouse, because I’ve suffered far more than you.”

  Hannah’s sigh wasn’t superior but trag
ic this time. “You had a few unpleasant moments in the boathouse, but Cage didn’t do your arm any lasting damage. You’re still safe in the Resistance, and Donnell has handed you an Armed Agent weapon and the deputy alliance leadership. Look at me in comparison. People are blaming me for helping Cage, so I’m having a terrible time in Manhattan division.”

  It would be too dangerous to tell Hannah the truth about how badly Cage had damaged my arm and shoulder. There was no way to explain how Tad had contacted a doctor at America Off-world, and got her to talk him through using ancient regrowth fluid treatments to heal my injuries, without giving away the fact he was webbed. I could say plenty of other things though.

  “Hannah, we keep having the same conversation. The one where you try to blame other people for your own actions, or tell me that you had no choice, or claim you didn’t realize what would happen.”

  “I keep saying those things because they’re the truth, Blaze.”

  “No, they aren’t. You’ve been lying to me ever since we came to New York. I thought you were my friend, and believed everything you said to me, but now I know exactly how treacherous you are.”

  I grimaced. “You helped Cage ambush Tad and me, because you wanted to join Manhattan division. You thought you’d have a wonderful time there, with Cage as your powerful protector. Now he’s a fugitive, your plan has gone drastically wrong, because the people he terrorized are making your life difficult.”

  “It wasn’t like that. I ...”

  “No!” I interrupted Hannah. “I’m not listening to your twisted version of reality. You could manipulate me before because I trusted you and believed what you told me. Now I know you’re a liar and a traitor, your tactics won’t work on me any longer.”

  I paused. “I know why we’re having this conversation. You want me to help you leave Manhattan and rejoin the Resistance. I’ve told you before that I’m not going to do that, and there’s no point in you asking me again. However many times you ask me, you’ll always get the same answer.”