“You and me?”
“It’s always been you and me.”
Dru’s voice broke the silence from down the hill. “If you don’t kiss her right now, Jan, I’m going to.”
Jander glared over Varick’s shoulder. “I don’t think Felicity would like him kissing you.”
“Well you know how to prevent that.” Their lips brushed lightly, doubtfully, and then Varick rested her forehead against his. “You better hurry with this. Your sister’s waiting in the mover.”
Ayliss sat in the back, in a spacious compartment that included a large rectangular box that covered her left arm. Light reflected off a nest of whitened scars on her right cheek, reminding Jander that he hadn’t seen his sister since shipping out almost two years before. So much had happened, so much had been lost, so many had died. He settled into the cushions facing her, and spoke.
“Murderer.”
Ayliss’s lips pressed together, but she nodded. “Mutineer.”
“President Mortas.”
“Captain Mortas.”
“So I’ve been told. Since we’re all getting promoted, what’s happened to the old guard? The Chairman and the Chairwoman?”
“Father actually contacted the entities that gave us the Step. They want nothing to do with humanity, and he isn’t accepting that. He and Reena are with the Step Worshipers, on their research ship. They could both use a break, so the family reunion’s going to have to wait.”
Jander slid forward until he was on the edge of the seat, his hands clasped and his forearms on his knees. He looked deep into the blue eyes, searching.
“Did you get the poison out, Ayliss? Did you get your fill of it?”
She tilted her head in a motion he recognized. Despite her efforts, a tear rolled across the bridge of her nose.
“It was a poison. But I wasn’t the one who drained it. All the people who died around me did that. Too many people died around me.”
“I know. Same here.”
Jander knelt and carefully embraced her, feeling his sister’s one good arm pulling him in. The two of them cried for a long time.
On the Step Worshiper vessel Delphi, the duty day had largely ended. Members of the crew were of course going about their endless watches, but the rest of the ship’s complement had for the most part sought out their bunks.
Mira Teel, their leader, sat up in her quarters wrapped in a comforter and drinking tea. Despite Olech’s disheartening news, she’d dreamed vividly during the day’s transit. Perhaps the race represented by the creature named Mirror did indeed intend to keep humanity at a distance, but she was certain that they were still listening. And that was enough.
Curled up together in a single bunk not far from Mira’s quarters, Olech and Reena were enfolded in the deepest slumber either of them had experienced in decades.
In a small compartment lined with consoles and monitors, Christian Ewing leaned back in his chair with his eyes serenely closed. A pair of headphones covered his ears, and one of his hands swung back and forth, describing a short, flowing arc without end.
Acknowledgments
My deepest thanks go to my editor, Nick Amphlett, for providing key insights that greatly magnified this story’s big moments. As the final book in the Sim War series, Live Echoes had to answer important questions without explaining every little detail, and Nick’s editing made that happen. I’d like to extend special thanks to my publicist, Camille Collins, for her imagination and her efforts in finding new ways to let more people know about the Sim War novels.
Several of my West Point classmates have given invaluable feedback on this series right from the start. Many thanks to Michael McGurk, Meg Roosma, Duane O’Laughlin, and Ginni Guiton for their time and talents. Their impressions and improvements greatly contributed to bringing this story to life.
About the Author
HENRY V. O’NEIL is the pen name used by award-winning mystery novelist Vincent H. O’Neil for his science-fiction work. A graduate of West Point, he served in the U.S. Army Infantry with the Tenth Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, and the First Battalion (Airborne) of the 508th Infantry in Panama. He has also worked as a risk manager, a marketing copywriter, and an apprentice librarian.
In 2005, he won the St. Martin’s Press Malice Domestic Award with his debut mystery novel, Murder in Exile. That was followed by three more books in the Exile series: Reduced Circumstances, Exile Trust, and Contest of Wills. He has also written the theater-themed mystery novel Death Troupe and two books in a horror series entitled Interlands and Denizens. His website is www.vincenthoneil.com.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Also by Henry V. O’Neil
The Sim War Series
Glory Main
Orphan Brigade
Dire Steps
CHOP Line
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
live echoes. Copyright © 2017 by Vincent H. O’Neil. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition FEBRUARY 2017 ISBN: 978-0-06-247174-1
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-247176-5
Harper Voyager, the Harper Voyager logo, and Harper Voyager Impulse are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers.
HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
Live Echoes Page 28
