Water immediately soaked his clothes, and only a split second of hesitation kept him from reflexively trying to take a breath. He was underwater, deep enough under for only hints of light to be making it down to him.
Is this how she’s going to try to fight me?
Malcolm closed his eyes, knowing that he only had one shot at making a portal to get back. His lungs were burning by the time he’d pictured the scene of the theater and conjured it up. He swam forward and a little down to go through it.
He fell back onto the stage in a wet heap, feeling like a nearly drowned rat. Jade Portal fell upon him in an instant, fumbling to get an arm around his neck. Malcolm rolled, letting her hold onto him and getting a grip of his own. Another portal burst into existence, and both of them tumbled through it… into the freezing cold.
They were in a polar climate this time. Malcolm screamed the instant he felt the biting touch of the cold against his soaking wet skin. Jade Portal tried to draw back from him, and discovered that she couldn’t. The water drenching Malcolm’s clothes was enough to freeze the two of them together at the points where they’d been in contact.
“Brilliant move!” coughed Malcolm. He made a portal of his own and tipped the two of them through it.
They came out on the other side in the park across the street from Malcolm’s apartment, still frozen together. Malcolm slammed his knee up into Jade Portal’s hip, wincing at the feminine sound of pain she let out.
“Sorry, but until you get up, I’m authorized to attack you,” he muttered. “Even if you’re a woman.”
Jade Portal responded with an elbow of her own, finally managing to twist loose of the ice bond between them. She took a step back and charged at Malcolm. He realized, too late, that she’d created another portal behind them.
They fell through it, and into the open air. Malcolm, twisted, seeing skyscrapers on either side of him and pedestrians the relative size of ants walking below. He frowned, realizing that Jade Portal hadn’t thought through her attack very well.
She thinks this is an easy way to kill me. Teleport in, drop me off, teleport away.
Malcolm called the wind to him, pushing himself toward Jade Portal. He managed to close the distance between them just as she made her escape portal, and tumbled through it with her, back into the Hawktail Theater. He realized that he knew what her weakness was, and smiled to himself.
“Consider that a warning!” yelled Tapestry.
She’d wrested Golden Joab away from Fantasy and apparently shot her in the arm, in the process. Malcolm frowned, not wishing for violence on either side of the fight. Rose was at Fantasy’s side, whispering something into her ear. After a moment, both of them retreated, disappearing through one of the theater’s side doors.
“Wind Runner!” shouted Tapestry. “Go after them!”
“And give up the spryte we came here for?” asked Malcolm, gesturing to Jade Portal’s arm and the hold he had on it. “No, we can let them go for now.”
Tapestry scowled, but didn’t object. She had her gun pointed at Golden Joab. Jade Portal seemed to be thinking about something. Malcolm glared at her.
“Tapestry,” he said. “If Jade Portal blinks, or closes her eyes, shoot the magician.”
Jade Portal tensed up. She nervously looked over at Golden Joab, hope draining from her expression.
“That’s her weakness?” asked Tapestry.
“Functional weakness,” said Malcolm. “But yes.”
Tapestry grinned at him.
“We’ve got her,” she said. “Good work, Wind Runner. Let’s call Savior and give him a full–”
“I’ll give you what you want!” cried Golden Joab. “Please… We can get money for you. Or help in other ways? I’m a licensed magician in most countries in the world.”
“It’s not happening, man,” said Malcolm.
“I don’t care about myself!” cried Golden Joab. “Just please… don’t hurt my family.”
“She’s a spryte,” said Malcolm. “And she clearly has a power that could be dangerous.”
“But you don’t know if the child will be!” Golden Joab’s voice took on an angry tone. “You don’t know anything!”
“The… child?”
“She’s pregnant,” said Joab. “Jade is pregnant… with my child.”
A pregnant spryte. Can I justify turning her over to the Champion Authority, knowing that?
“Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I don’t like the look of your eyes right now.”
“Please,” said Joab. “You’ll never hear from us again. We’ll live a quiet life. You can say you killed her, through the portal! Somewhere where people would never check, in the desert.”
“Damn it,” muttered Malcolm. “Man…”
“Malcolm!” Tapestry walked over to him, her expression hard. “You’d better not be thinking about doing what I think you’re thinking about doing.”
He shrugged.
“They would never be able to hold her, anyway, Tapestry,” he said. “She can make portals. What sort of holding cell would they be able to build for her?”
“The Champion Authority could keep her asleep, or drugged,” she suggested.
“And that’s what we’re going to inflict on a pregnant woman?” asked Malcolm. “No. Sorry, I can’t do it.”
Tapestry’s eyes narrowed into a glare full of anger, resentment, and a keen sense of betrayal. Malcolm couldn’t blame her, but he also knew that he was making the right choice.
“Every time I give you a chance to earn my trust…” whispered Tapestry. “You throw it in my face. I don’t even know why I try with you anymore, Malcolm.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
He let go of Jade Portal’s arm and waved his hand toward Golden Joab.
“Go,” said Malcolm. “I don’t want to see either of you again. You’ll have to start new lives.”
“Thank you!” cried Golden Joab. “God bless you, kind sir! We’ll never forget this!”
He gave Jade Portal a tight hug, and then the two of them disappeared through a portal. Malcolm looked over at Tapestry, but she said nothing to him, her mouth tight with disapproval.
CHAPTER 27
Malcolm continued to use his portal power liberally, for the next few minutes. He teleported them back to their hotel room, selling it to Tapestry as being better than making her walk through the lobby with no pants.
The two of them gathered their luggage, and Tapestry changed into fresh clothes. Malcolm insisted on bringing them back to Vanderbrook through a portal, under the pretense that it would be faster and that Savior needed to hear the news of their failure immediately.
“And what about my car?” asked Tapestry. “Am I just supposed to leave it here?”
“We’ll send Wax to pick it up,” said Malcolm.
He made another portal, linking their hotel room with his apartment. Tapestry was looking at him disapprovingly as they stepped out into his living room. He realized that he had a maniacal grin on his face.
“You aren’t keeping her powers,” she said. “It’s too dangerous.”
“What?” Malcolm shook his head vigorously. “You can’t be serious! This is the coolest power I’ve ever borrowed from someone.”
“You’re already using it too much,” said Tapestry. “You’ll start making portals everywhere if you have the ability.”
“That’s… not necessarily true.”
Probably better not to tell her that I was considering trying to make a portal from my bed to the toilet, for the purposes of late night peeing.
“Take my power instead.” Tapestry held out her hand.
“Come on, don’t do this again,” said Malcolm. “Tapestry, you’re being–”
She slapped him, hard and directly across the face. Malcolm fell back a step, stunned by her sudden intensity. Her face was set into an icy expression, and she slowly shook her head.
“Malcolm,” she said, softly. “You’re on the verge of losing my tr
ust, and my friendship, completely. For both our sakes… quit pushing it.”
Malcolm hesitated, pushing down his first response instead of starting an argument with her.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “You’re right.”
He took her hand into his, feeling the tingle of taking a power after only a second. He kept holding Tapestry’s hand for a few moments longer, giving it a small squeeze before finally letting go.
He had a question to ask her, but wasn’t sure how to put it into words. Tapestry was looking right at him, staring into his face intently.
“Have you ever thought about retiring?” he asked.
Tapestry let out a small chuckle. Malcolm felt grateful that if nothing else, he’d broken through the tension.
“I’ve already lived what most people would consider to be an entire life,” said Tapestry. “I thought that I was retired, or at least the housewife equivalent of it, for a good twenty years.”
“You know what I mean,” said Malcolm. “The Champion Authority, this life of chasing and fighting people. Having to… make hard decisions.”
“Not everyone is like you, Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I wouldn’t have let Jade Portal go, if I’d been the only one there. And I probably would have finished the job with those two sprytes. They are Rain Dancer’s lackeys, after all.”
She checked the safety on her gun and then slipped it into the holster underneath the sweatshirt she had on.
“I just can’t see it like that,” said Malcolm. “It’s not black and white to me.”
“Maybe you’re the one who needs to consider retiring, then,” said Tapestry. “You could always ask Savior to give you a desk job somewhere.”
“And leave you to defend Vanderbrook on your own?” Malcolm shook his head. “Not happening.”
“If that’s the case,” said Tapestry. “Then you need to make a choice. Having resolve in this line of work doesn’t mean cultivating some secret kernel of moral wisdom that nobody else does. It’s just about doing what you’re told.”
Maybe it can be that simple for her, but that’s not enough for me.
“Anyway,” continued Tapestry. “We should get moving. Savior’s going to want us to check in with him as soon as possible.”
“Right.” Malcolm glanced out the window at the empty street outside his apartment. “We’re going to have to walk, given that the buses aren’t running this late. Still think it was a good idea to make me give up the portals?”
She rolled her eyes at him on her way to the door.
The walk took a little over an hour, but the weather was fair, and the moon was out. Tapestry let out a sigh of relief as they walked up her porch steps. She opened the door and froze suddenly enough to cause Malcolm to walk into her back.
“What… the hell?” she said, her voice tight with shock.
“Oh, hey Tapestry,” said Savior. “How goes the mission?”
Tapestry’s living room looked different. The couch and TV had been moved to one corner. Melanie was, unsurprisingly, currently curled up on it with a controller in hand. In the center of the room now sat a ping pong table. Savior and Wax were engaged in a casual game, knocking the white ball back and forth with measured strikes.
“He bought a ping pong table,” offered Wax.
“No need to state the obvious,” said Malcolm. He put an arm around Tapestry’s shoulder. “You want to be my double’s partner?”
“This… isn’t staying,” said Tapestry.
“I think it adds to the Feng Shui of the space,” said Savior. “Besides, ping pong is very good for hand-eye coordination, a critical skill for a champion.”
He brought his paddle down in a hard smash, punishing Wax for playing a shot that bounced too high.
“Melanie,” said Tapestry. “Why did you let them do this?”
“Uh…” Melanie shrugged, her focus entirely on the TV and PS4. “I dunno.”
Her personality has taken a complete 180 since she started gaming…
“But truly, it is good to see the two of you!” said Savior. “Here, let us sit and talk for a bit. I want to hear all about your honeymoon.”
Malcolm chuckled. He looked to Tapestry and saw her face redden and her hands clench into fists.
“We have to tell you what happened with Golden Joab,” he said, deciding it was best to ignore Savior’s question.
Savior’s smile turned frosty.
“No need,” he said. “Melanie, might we turn the news back on, for just a minute.”
Melanie didn’t respond. Wax walked over to the TV and switched the input, which seemed to de-zombify her. She blinked her eyes, only then seeming to notice and understand that Tapestry and Malcolm had returned.
“Hey,” she said. “How was the trip? I’m so glad the two of you are back safe and sound! It was so weird around here without you, Aubrey. Savior is a total lunatic, and Wax can only do so much to keep his crazy ideas in check. We have a ping pong table here now, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“I noticed,” said Tapestry. “What exactly did you want us to see, Savior?”
He pointed to the TV, which was just coming back to news after a commercial break. Malcolm stared at it in disbelief. The voice of a female news anchor spoke over an aerial shot of the Hawktail Casino.
“The robbery is currently estimated at just short of ten million dollars,” said the anchor. “The casino management say that it was first noticed after a disturbance in the theater during a show by the magician, Golden Joab. Police have yet to release any information pertaining to potential suspects.”
“According to an internal source within the department, security footage of the incident has proven to be inconclusive,” said the voice of a male anchor. “Authorities are still unsure of how the perpetrator infiltrated the vault without setting off any of the many alarm systems on the door.”
Savior crossed his arms and looked squarely at Malcolm and Tapestry.
“So,” he said. “How did the mission turn out? I’m assuming you can fill in a few more pieces of this jigsaw puzzle, can you not?”
Tapestry glared at Malcolm with the intensity of a dying sun. He shook his head slowly and shrugged.
“He was working with a spryte who called herself Jade Portal. She can, well, create portals.” Malcom could feel all of the eyes on him narrowing. “She was pregnant. There was no way for us to capture her, with her power, and I couldn’t justify killing a pregnant woman, just for the sake of convenience.”
“You know, we’ve done studies at the Champion Authority,” said Savior in a suddenly deathly serious tone. “Close to ninety five percent of all monsters are infertile.”
Malcolm ran a hand through his hair, feeling incredibly stupid.
I just took his word on it. He would have said anything to get away. And with all that money…
“I am not happy, Cutter,” said Savior. “In fact, I’m the opposite of happy. You are gullible with a capital G. Taking a monster at their word… No, that’s gullible in all caps!”
“I messed up,” said Malcolm. “I don’t know what else to say.”
Tapestry walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, probably to vent her frustration on a batch of cookies. Malcolm stepped over to the wall and leaned against it. Savior followed him, drawing in close, and speaking in a low voice.
“You asked me about something the other night, at the tavern,” said Savior. “Something that you wanted, as a favor from me.”
The pardon. That’s off the table now, given how badly I’ve messed up.
“The next time I give you an order,” Savior said, carefully. “Will you follow it through?”
Malcolm nodded.
“Of course,” he said. “I botched the job this time. I wasn’t… thinking clearly, I guess.”
Malcolm expected anger, or at least a stern rebuke. Instead, Savior just clapped him on the shoulder and smiled.
“That’s good enough.” Savior took a breath, looking suddenly
much older, and very tired. “It’s hard job, Cutter. I know. I’ve been doing it for a lot longer than you have.”
He held Malcolm’s gaze for a couple of seconds. Malcolm felt a sudden, fierce sense of loyalty, both to the Champion Authority, and to Savior. Savior pulled away after a couple of seconds and picked up his ping pong paddle.
“Come on, Wax,” he said. “One more round.”
CHAPTER 28
Malcolm returned to his own apartment to sleep that night, using his wind manipulation to get there in a series of gliding leaps. He woke up early, showered, dressed, and immediately headed back to Tapestry’s to report in.
The ping pong table had been moved outside onto the grass. Savior was engaged in a heated, super powered match against Wax, and at least a few of the normal rules had been thrown out. Wax slammed the tiny white ball over the table and Savior’s head. Savior took flight, soaring up and around it for his return shot.
Wax missed, and Savior pumped his fist in the air in celebration. He turned and gave Malcolm a wave as he saw him walking over.
“Cutter,” he said. “Finally, a worthy opponent. Wax, give him your paddle. This could get interesting.”
“Uh, actually, I just came to see what was on the agenda for today,” said Malcolm. “If there isn’t anything related to Champion Authority work, I should probably check in with Tapestry.”
“She’s at the market with Melanie,” said Savior. “Practically dragged her out of the house. Not a big fan of how often her little sister has been playing those darn video games, I don’t think.”
Little sister… I guess nobody has corrected him yet.
“Alright,” said Malcolm. “Well, in that case…”
“I do have something for you.” Savior set his paddle down, and grew serious. “It’s a chance for you to redeem yourself after what happened at the casino.”
Malcolm nodded.
“A chance to redeem myself,” he said. “Alright. What does it entail?”
Wind Runner: The Complete Collection Page 47