“I know that.” Ebon reached down to shake my hand. “Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Charmer.”
“As does the warrant for her arrest,” whispered Mid. “Though I’m sure we can trust your discretion, Trooper James.”
Ebon scowled at me for a moment. “Does a doodle bug dance on a dog’s ass?” Then, the scowl became a smile, and he sat down on the bench beside Mid.
Mid chuckled. “I’ve missed you, Ebon.” She put her hand on his arm. “The circumstances are lousy, but God, I’m glad to see you. It’s been too long.”
Ebon patted her hand affectionately. “It does seem like a hundred years ago since the last time we saved the human race.”
A hundred years ago? My mind raged with questions as I stared at him, but then Gertie showed up with plates of food.
“Here ya’ go, ladies.” She slid the French toast in front of me and the number three with home fries, rye toast, and scrapple in front of Mid. “And what’ll you have, handsome?” She pulled the order pad out of her apron pocket and licked the tip of her pencil. “Steak and eggs, maybe? That oughtta stick to your ribs.”
“Perfect.” Ebon grinned at her. “Can you make the steak a t-bone and give it to me well-done?”
“I can make it any bone you like, hon.” Gertie winked before she turned and sauntered into the kitchen.
“Now that’s what I call customer service,” said Ebon when she’d gone.
Mid gave his arm a squeeze. “You still got it, Ebon. Good to know I can still count on some things in life.”
“It’s what I do.” Ebon shrugged. “It’s who I am.”
Mid released his arm, picked up her fork and knife, and started working on her breakfast. “So have you given any thought to my proposal?”
“I’m here aren’t I?” said Ebon. “I’m on board with the ultimate goal, as you know. But I can’t deny I have my doubts about our chances.”
Mid nodded. “It won’t be easy fighting a planet. Especially with one of us powerless.” She looked at me as she chewed a corner of rye toast.
“But our cause is just,” said Ebon. “Saving billions of lives from extinction is a good thing.”
“So how long do we have?” I asked.
Ebon frowned. “Until what?”
I shrugged. “It seems like we’re in a hurry. When does time run out to save humanity?”
“We don’t know, honey.” Mid sipped her coffee. “But we don’t think it will be long. The players are on the board, and the world is hunting us down. I don’t think we’d be in the crosshairs already if we had lots of time until the extinction event.”
I picked at my French toast, knowing I needed to eat though I had no appetite. “And what will that event be, exactly?”
“We don’t know,” said Mid. “Not yet, anyway.”
“What do we know?” I asked.
“Not much,” said Mid. “But enough. Enough to know we need to take drastic measures right now. Which is why Ebon is here.”
“And what makes Ebon so special?” I asked.
“You’ll see, hon.” Mid jabbed Ebon in the side with her elbow and laughed. “Isn’t that right, Eb?”
“Sooner or later.” Ebon grinned. “But I promise, I’ll do my level best not to let you down.”
Staring hard, I wondered if I’d ever met him before. Something about him gave me a strange feeling. “You didn’t answer my—”
“Order up!” Just then, Gertie marched out of the kitchen and plunked down a plate of steak and eggs in front of Ebon. “Just the way you like it, sweetheart. Well-done, like everything I do.”
“This looks fantastic.” Ebon unrolled the napkin from his place setting and pulled out the fork and knife. “I’ll bet I don’t even need a steak knife to cut that beauty.”
“You could probably eat it with a spoon.” Gertie leaned close and brushed a hand over his shoulder. “It’s that tender, honey.”
“I can’t wait to dig in.” This time, it was his turn to wink.
The cook rang the order bell in the kitchen, and Gertie had to go. She blew him a kiss on the way out, looking like she’d gladly quit and do whatever he wanted if only he asked her.
“You love them all, don’t you?” asked Mid.
“I cannot tell a lie.” Ebon nodded as he cut a hunk of T-bone with his butter knife. “I do, at that.”
As he and Mid chuckled, I dropped my fork on my plate of half-eaten French toast. The irresistible mystery trooper was getting on my nerves. Maybe fending for myself wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“Well, eat up, everyone.” Mid dug another forkful of scrapple off her plate. “It’s going to be a long haul from here…and it could get ugly, even with a police escort.” She glanced out the window at Ebon’s cruiser in the parking lot.
“I wonder how close the war bitch is.” Ebon narrowed his eyes at me. “Can you tell? Can you get a vibe?”
I looked at him like he was crazy. “Why the hell would I be able to do that?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Smirking, he cut off another bite of steak, stacked some eggs under it on the fork, and slipped it all into his mouth.
I looked at Mid for an explanation, but she just waved for Gertie’s attention. “Could we get a couple pieces of graham cracker pie over here?”
What wasn’t she telling me? Maybe I had a better chance if I kept pressing Ebon. “Seriously.” I locked my gaze with his. “Wouldn’t we have a better chance at getting through this if I knew what the hell was going on?”
Ebon chewed and swallowed, his expression blank. He washed his food down with coffee, set the cup beside his plate, and pointed at the remains of my French toast with the tines of his fork. “Are you gonna finish that?”
At which point I threw myself back on the bench with arms crossed over my chest, sick and tired of being kept in the dark.
“Don’t worry, sweetie,” said Mid. “You’ll know everything soon enough.” She sighed, looking grim. “And then, trust me, you’ll wish you didn’t.”
Chapter 9
“Am I the person you’re protecting, or am I your prisoner?”
I asked the question in the parking lot of the Double-D, after we’d walked out of the place. It occurred to me when I asked to borrow a phone, and Mid and Ebon both said no.
“You’re definitely not a prisoner,” said Mid.
“Then give me your phone.” I snapped my fingers and extended a hand. “I need to call home and make sure everyone’s all right.”
“What would you do if they weren’t?” asked Mid. “You’re powerless.”
“But you aren’t, and maybe he isn’t, either.” I pointed at Ebon. “Whatever his deal is.”
Ebon pulled a toothpick out of his mouth and poked it in my general direction, grinning. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”
“I just need to know.” Again, I snapped my fingers. “Please.”
“You’re a fugitive,” said Mid. “Don’t you think the authorities have bugged your office phones?”
The thought had occurred to me. “I need to know my friends are alive. Isn’t there something we can do?”
We had just reached the Toyota when Ebon grabbed my hand. “Picture someone,” he told me. “What they look like, what they sound like, where they are. See them clearly in your mind’s eye.”
I did as he said, closing my eyes and conjuring a lifelike image of my right-hand man, Duke. If some kind of magic was in play, he was the one I thought we’d have the most luck reaching.
Strange impressions flashed through my mind then, somehow provided by Ebon. I saw a dead deer along the side of a road…a shriveled gray tree without any leaves…a beekeeper’s hive filled with motionless bees.
Then, suddenly, Duke’s brown face swept into view in my mind, eyes shut…and his eyes shot open
Earth Angel! His voice in my mind sounded as if he were right by my side. Thank heaven!
Duke! I framed each thought in my mind as if it were a prayer. Are you all right?
Is everyone okay?
We are now. Duke’s face frowned. But we’ve had a most difficult night and morning since your jailbreak. Your duplicate paid us a visit at Cruel World/Charmer Investigations.
What?!
At first, we thought she was you, said Duke. She really is identical to you in every way.
And then what? I asked, dreading the answer.
We realized who she was and tried to take her down, said Duke. But she has all the powers you once had, and none of the restraint. She tore apart the office pretty well, I’m afraid.
Please tell me no one was hurt!
Just a few scratches. The way he said it made me think he was downplaying the truth for my benefit. And then she got away. She said she was coming after the real imposter, which I took to mean you.
I breathed a sigh of relief that there had been no fatalities. Any alarm I felt over being pursued was nothing compared to that.
You should all be okay then, I said. If the twin is on the move, Confluence is the best place for you to be.
Like fun it is, snapped Duke. You know damn well Luna and I should be at your side. As soon as we batten down the hatches here at the office, we’re coming after you.
No! I need you there right now!
Having us here won’t do much good if you’re dead, said Duke.
Please! I need you to stay right where you are.
Gaia, said Duke. Are you still one with Mother Earth?
I paused before answering. You know I’m not.
Then you realize we don’t have to take orders from you anymore, don’t you?
This isn’t me giving an order, I told him. I’m asking a favor. Please, stay put for now. I have a feeling I’ll need your help there in Confluence before this is all over.
Duke didn’t answer for a moment, and I thought I might have lost the connection. Then, his voice full of disapproval, he spoke. All right, Earth Angel. You win for now.
Again, relief flowed through me. Thank you, Duke. Thank Luna for me, as well.
Don’t thank her yet, said Duke. I can’t guarantee she’ll do as you ask. That sister of yours is more strong-willed that I am, and that’s really saying something.
I smiled. Just do the best you can with her, Duke. I know you’ll manage.
But what about you, Earth Angel? What are you going to do when that evil thing catches up?
Ebon squeezed my hand, signaling my call was at any end. I squeezed him back.
The same thing we always do, powers or not, I told him. We’re going to turn her world upside-down.
Chapter 10
For reasons that weren’t explained to me, I was told to ride in the state police cruiser with Ebon while Mid piloted the Corolla on her own. We formed a two-vehicle convoy as we rolled out of the Double-D parking lot, with the cruiser up front and the Toyota behind.
As we headed west, I got increasingly nervous. The diner had been a safe haven, free of attack, and now we were back on the open road again.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked Ebon. “Earth could launch an attack at any time out here, couldn’t she?”
“She can try,” he said, “but her accuracy might leave something to be desired.”
I kept staring out the side window, watching for signs of an attack. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I’m here,” said Ebon. “And I have a way of confusing things, especially where she’s concerned.”
I frowned, trying to understand. “Confusing things how?”
“I blur things,” said Ebon.
“What things?”
“Living ones.” Ebon flicked on his turn signal and went right at an intersection, still traveling west. In the side-view mirror, I noticed Mid was following us through the turn, signal blinking. “She might have a rough idea of where we are, but I can put up a screen of life that scrambles her senses and keeps her from pinpointing us.” He chuckled. “Drives her crazy.”
For the first time, I realized the cruiser was in shadow, though the road and land ahead and behind were bathed in sunlight. Craning my neck, I leaned forward and looked up at the sky. A cloud of black insects hovered overhead, perfectly keeping pace with the cruiser.
“You’re telling me she can’t see us?” I asked, gaze fixed on the bugs above.
“As long as I keep my guard up,” said Ebon. “Luckily, on guard is pretty much my permanent state of mind.”
I settled back in the seat. I wasn’t sure I believed him, but it was true we hadn’t been attacked on the open road recently.
“So what’s your deal, anyway?” I asked. “I don’t remember you from when I was wired into the planet.”
“No surprise there,” said Ebon. “Didn’t I just tell you I have a way of keeping out of sight?”
“Are you Landkind? A Groundswell Crossbreed? A Terralyzer? A deity of some kind?”
He laughed. “None of the above. What you see is what you get.”
“Except for the controlling living things part.”
He laughed again, harder. He annoyed me, but I couldn’t bring myself to actively dislike him.
“That explains it,” I said. “Why you’re such a chick magnet. It’s got nothing to do with your sex appeal, does it?” I smirked and shook my head. “You control all living things, including people.”
Ebon looked at me sideways, grinning. “Sounds logical when you put it like that.”
“So here’s a question for you.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you controlling me, too?”
He chuckled. “Now that just wouldn’t be respectful, would it? Your being a former Mother Earth and all.”
“Hmm.” I tapped my chin with my index finger. “Or maybe you can’t influence an avatar, former or otherwise. Maybe that’s why I haven’t gone all googly over you like those other women.”
“Possibly.” He sounded thoughtful. “Or maybe I don’t turn on the charm for someone I genuinely have feelings for. What do you think of that?”
“I’m a private detective, did you know that?” I said. “And I’ve run across a lot of con artists in my day, on the job. More bullshitters than you could shake a planet at.”
“Is that what you think I am?” He clucked his tongue in dismay. “Have you gotten that jaded? Don’t you believe in anyone or anything anymore?”
“Let me guess. You’re just the guy to make me a believer again.”
He looked at me then, intently. “What does it take?” When he asked the question, he seemed to be deeply serious, throwing off the lightness of our quippy interchange. “What does it take for Mother Earth herself to become so jaded?”
I felt uncomfortable and looked away. “Don’t ask me, I’m the Earth’s ex. Ask the new girl. The war-self or whatever. From what I’ve heard, she might say the people drove her to it.”
“Have you ever felt that way, Gaia?” asked Ebon. “Whose side are you on?”
“Do you know what you get when you take the Earth Mother out of an avatar, Ebon?” I spread my arms dramatically. “You get me. You get a human being. So there’s your answer, isn’t it?”
“Maybe,” said Ebon. “Or maybe you’d do just about anything to get back in Mommy’s good graces.”
“You want the truth?” I asked him.
“Sure, why not?”
“The truth is, my whole life has apparently been a lie, and the planet I was supposedly linked to did nothing to set me straight. Not to mention, she’s in the process of trying to kill me as we speak.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So, no, there isn’t a whole lot of loyalty there right now.”
Ebon cleared his throat. “Good to know,” he said, and then we both fell silent and stayed that way as the road continued to unwind under the tires of the state police cruiser.
Chapter 11
I have never been a little girl. That’s one of the things about me.
My memory is sketchy about my vast past. I remember bits and pieces of multiple lives I’ve lived as an avatar of Mother Earth…b
ut I have no memory at all of ever being an actual child. Always, I have joined my lives full-grown, awakening as a woman in her twenties with an adult’s awareness of herself and the world around her.
And so, I have always felt cheated out of childhood. I have always thought I missed out on something special, and my lives have been the less because of it. I might have had the power to control dirt and stone, to channel the ley line energy of a world, and to sense and interact with primal and exotic physical forces in ways that are almost godlike, but I have never known the simple pleasures of being a little girl, seeing the world and everything in it from a child’s point of view.
But I wondered, as Ebon drove onward, if I was getting a taste of it now.
Without my powers, I felt so much smaller. The scenery, as it fanned out around us, seemed so much bigger. Without any link to it, I felt less like a part of it and more like someone on the outside looking in, lacking true understanding…seeing the surface and nothing more.
Traveling as a passenger in someone else’s car, giving over control to another person, also made me think of how I imagined childhood must feel. I didn’t even know where we were going or what exactly we would do when we got there. Could there have been anything more childlike than that?
Yet this was no fate I would have asked for myself. Maybe it would have been fun for a little kid who didn’t know any better, but not so much for an adult, especially one who knew she was in mortal danger from a planet on the warpath. Running from a fight was never my style.
Nevertheless, I still forgot to feel like a grownup when we got to the Mississippi River at the western edge of Illinois.
Ebon let out a low whistle as we rolled onto Government Bridge at Rock Island. “What a river, huh?”
Watching from my open window, I couldn’t look away from the giant expanse of river. It stretched as far as I could see into the distance, the afternoon sunlight dancing on its rippling brown waves. It swelled from bank to bank, girdling the land like a vast ribbon with a seemingly lazy flow that belied the true power of its raging current.
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