I stared for a moment as the dead fish drifted on the blood red water. “So how did you know about him? What did you mean when you said a call came in?”
“As I said, it’s my job. It’s who I am. I’m in tune with all the species on the planet.” He held out a hand, and the little fish floated up out of the water and came to rest in his palm. Its scales were silver, streaked with red and green like the water in the pit. “When a species is about to die out, I’m drawn to it. I capture its potential…” The fish suddenly flopped around in his hand, glowing—then stopped. “…and the I usher its kind from the world, never to be seen again.”
“I see.” As I watched, the fish turned into a mist and blew away. “You’re some kind of…avatar of extinction?”
“Close enough.” He smiled. “I do think of myself as an extinctionist, though that’s probably too narrow a term for what I am. As you know, I can also control forms of life, make them do my bidding…though that’s as much a function of my core nature as anything. Since I am the force at the end of all species’ existence, life is drawn to me like a moth to a flame. Living things obey me because they instinctively recognize me as their master.”
I nodded slowly, taking in what he was telling me. The sun, meanwhile, dropped to meet the horizon. The clouds arrayed around it turned redder than the water in the pit, which took on an orange hue. The blue sky flamed yellow, brighter than molten metal in a foundry.
“Sounds like you’re pretty important in the scheme of things,” I said. “Sounds like I ought to remember you from my days of being one with the planet.”
He shrugged. “Like I told you before, I have a way of confusing Mother Earth. It doesn’t surprise me that you never knew I was there.”
I wasn’t sure that made sense, but I let it ride for now. “So why did you bring me with you this evening? You didn’t need me to finish your errand, obviously.”
“This might be my job, but it gets lonely sometimes.” He turned to me, smiling. “I wanted some company, and it just so happens I enjoy yours.”
My guard went up at the tone of his voice. I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like he might have something else in—
Without warning, he leaned over and kissed me on the lips.
It was a quick kiss, just a peck, but the message was clear. Things had just gotten complicated between us.
“Like I said.” He leaned back, eyes wide, watching my face. “I enjoy your company.”
He looked handsome by the burning light of the fading sunset, tinted with red and gold…but I couldn’t let this go further. I’d been with Dale for a while, and staying true to him was important.
So why didn’t I just tell him right then that I already had a boyfriend?
“Look, I…” Instead, I fumbled around and left the damn door open. “We should get back to the motel, shouldn’t we? Check on Mid and White Buffalo?”
Ebon smiled and nodded. “Sure, that’s what we should do. We’re done here for now, anyway.”
“Right,” I said, and we walked away from the pit. On the way back to the cruiser, we didn’t talk…though my mind was working overtime.
I couldn’t help wondering why that kiss, as brief as it had been, had seemed so different. Did it have to do with his supernatural nature? Was I just another moth drawn to a flame, no matter how self-destructive it might be?
Did it have to do with my being disconnected from the spirit of the Earth, forced to focus more intently on the intricacies of my own human senses? Or did it have to do with something else altogether, something I didn’t want to consider?
Had my feelings for Dale Briar changed? Did I unwittingly leave my love for him behind when I escaped his cell in Confluence?
Chapter 15
We started early and drove all day the next day, heading west. Our route took us through vast stretches of national forest and reservation lands, sprawling from Montana into Washington state. When we crossed the Indian reservations, I looked for a reaction from White Buffalo, who was sitting up front—but she just stared and said nothing, stone-faced. Whatever her feelings might have been, she wasn’t sharing them.
We passed Spokane, then hooked north at Seattle on I-5, heading for our destination. Rain dogged us all the way to the Canadian border, making the roads gleam with a mirror sheen of water.
None of us said much on the drive that day. A few times, I tried to get information out of Mid and Ebon, but they just deflected my questions with small talk. Most of the time, Mid had her eyes closed anyway, though I had my doubts that she was always asleep.
At least White Buffalo tried to make a little conversation here and there, seemingly taking an interest in me. She asked me where I lived, what I liked to do, and if I had a boyfriend or husband. I didn’t say much about that particular subject, and Ebon made it a point to turn his attention elsewhere.
It was late in the day when we finally reached the border with Canada. I was nervous of course, considering I was a fugitive murder suspect, but Mid and Ebon assured me everything would be fine.
“But we’re in an Indiana State Police vehicle,” I said, worrying as we approached the checkpoint. “Won’t that look suspicious, crossing the border from Washington state?”
“Gaia, I’ve got this.” Ebon flashed a smile over his shoulder. “Trust me.”
I folded my arms over my chest and slumped in my seat. I felt so vulnerable and exposed without my powers, even riding in a state police cruiser with three supernatural beings.
My heart hammered as our car got in line. If things went wrong, what would we do? Fight our way out of the checkpoint and make a run for it? Surrender to the authorities?
Too soon, we were next in line at the checkpoint booth. Again, Ebon flashed me a smile. “Relax.”
Mid even opened her eyes and reached over to give my arm a squeeze. “We’ll be fine, honey. This isn’t the part I’m worried about.”
When we drew up to the window, the agent in the booth—a young, blonde woman in a dark blue uniform and black bulletproof vest—smiled and asked to see Ebon’s license. He reached over, empty-handed, and she reached down as if lifting a license from his palm. Then, she raised her hand as if to examine the nonexistent license…and returned it to him with a smile.
A few questions later, and she waved us through. Ebon had gotten us over the border as promised, with no fuss.
“What’d I tell you?” He laughed as we drove away from the checkpoint. “Nothing to worry about.”
I did feel relieved and smiled when he looked back in the rearview mirror…though I couldn’t deny the scene had given me the creeps anyway. His power to control living things came in pretty handy—but how could I ever be sure he wasn’t using it on me?
And if he did, would I even know it?
We checked in at an upscale hotel in downtown Vancouver, courtesy of Ebon’s powers of persuasion, then went to eat at a nearby dim sum place. White Buffalo had no idea what dim sum was, but she agreed to at least see what it looked like.
“So, what’s this next place we’re going?” I asked her. “The one you said Vancouver’s a gateway to?”
“You’ll see,” she said, her eyes taking in the hustle and bustle around us. “Tomorrow.”
“Well, you have my curiosity piqued. You said no one alive has ever been there, and it’s hidden even from Mother Earth herself.”
“I don’t want to spoil it for you,” said White Buffalo. “It’s better if you experience it firsthand without any preconceptions.”
“Could someone at least tell me why we’re going there?” I was fed up with the secrecy. “What does this place have to do with stopping the war twin and saving humanity?”
“Hold on.” Mid fluttered a hand in the air. “Is that our waiter?” She did it again, half getting up from the table.
“Enough!” I smacked the table with my palm, making the glasses and silverware rattle. Suddenly, everyone at the table (and beyond) was paying attention. “Somebody tell me something.”
<
br /> “All right.” Mid saw people at other tables staring and settled back down into her seat. “You already know our mission, Gaia. We’re going to try to restore the Ancestrum and empower the true war-self for this era. You also know that you are the true war-self.”
“This Ancestrum,” I said. “Who are they?”
“They’re like us,” said Mid. “Like me, is more like it. They are past avatars of the Earth, retired from active service—hidden away, forgotten. But they still have power, and that’s what we need right now.”
I frowned. “Not enough power to take on the planet, surely.”
Mid shrugged. “We won’t know until we try.”
Ebon cleared his throat then. “Can we please order our dim sum and deal with this later?”
“I have another question first,” I said, smacking the table with the laminated menu. “Why are there two war selves?”
“Why not?” said Ebon.
“Seriously,” I continued. “If a war-self is so powerful, why does the Earth need two of them?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Mid. “All you need to know is that there are two, and you’re one of them.”
“But why?” I knew people around us were looking when I smacked the menu down again, but I didn’t care. “Did she whip up a second one because I wasn’t tough enough on polluters? Because I didn’t stop climate change single-handedly?”
Mid looked more uncomfortable than ever. “I said, it doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me!” I snapped. “I need to know the full story before I take on the damn planet.”
Mid rubbed her forehead and mumbled something I couldn’t make out.
“What was that?” I leaned forward. “What did you just say?”
“All right,” hissed Ebon, glaring at the both of us. “That’s enough! Save the nastiness for the battle ahead.”
“It might not be much of a battle if I don’t know what I’m in for,” I told him.
“Okay, okay.” Ebon threw up his hands in surrender. “Let’s just get through dinner, and then I’ll take you somewhere and give you answers. Can you be just a little more patient?”
“I’m done being patient!” I said. “I’ve gone along with you people like a good little captive, and I’m damn sick of it.”
“I’m starved,” he said, watching as the waiter glanced at our table, then passed us by yet again. “Just let me get some dim sum, and I promise you’ll get answers for dessert. Deal?”
I still wasn’t happy, but I did settle back in my chair. “Okay then. Deal.”
We shook on it, then caught the waiter and proceeded to order steamed pork buns and more…though I wasn’t very hungry at that point. All I could think about was getting the answers I’d been promised, wherever the hell that might take me.
Ebon ordered one of everything on the menu, and the square table quickly filled up with a dim sum feast for four. The fact-finding mission would be delayed by his appetite—though it wouldn’t have surprised me if that had been his intention all along.
It didn’t matter in the end. I gladly ate the morsels of Chinese food put in front of me, not thinking for a change about the mysteries of what lay in store for me.
Chapter 16
The sun had gone down, and the sky had turned shades of rose and violet. Lights sparkled from the cityscape below and carpeted the hillsides surrounding the bay. All of it lay at our feet, fanning out in a glittering panorama from the windows of our lofty perch.
That was where Ebon had taken me after dinner, to a downtown tower called the Vancouver Lookout. It was the perfect place to see the city, he’d said, especially at night.
“Beautiful view, isn’t it?” Ebon gazed out at the harbor, where glowing boats skimmed the water, their lights reflected in bright streaks over the smooth surface. “So peaceful and soothing from all the way up here. A real vision of the harmony that’s possible between humanity and the natural world.”
My mind was on other topics, but I nodded in agreement anyway. I hadn’t cared where we went, as long as he gave me the answers I wanted, so I’d gone along with it. But now that we were here, it felt more like a date than a revelation…a date with a third wheel along for the ride, that is.
“Humanity is not entirely without talent,” said White Buffalo from a nearby window. She’d invited herself along when she’d heard where we were going, though Mid had gone back to the hotel instead…and I was glad for it. Having someone else with us took some of the pressure off me in case Ebon decided to make some kind of move.
“This shows you what the human race can do on the positive side,” he said. “This is the work of humankind at their best. If anyone ever wonders why the human race should not be destroyed, send them up here.”
He was right about the beauty of the view. Against my better judgment, I even got caught up in it a little; again, it seemed I appreciated scenery all the more without my link to the Earth providing more of a nuts-and-bolts perspective.
“Coming from the ancient world as I do, this is still hard to believe,” said White Buffalo. “I used to think teepees and campfires were a wonder, the best that mankind could achieve. This puts that to shame.”
With that, she wandered off to take in the view from other parts of the circular viewing deck, leaving me alone with Ebon.
“So.” I tapped my fingers on the rail that followed the curve of the window. “It’s about time we talked, don’t you think?”
Ebon smiled at me. “About us, you mean? And what happened at the Berkeley Pit?”
I shook my head. “About the war-self. About why the Earth had to make a new one to replace me.”
Ebon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s complicated, Gaia. And, honestly, it isn’t that relevant. All that really matters is that you’re going to regain your mantle and save humanity.”
“Oh, okay.” I rolled my eyes. “So I should just shut up and do as I’m told, in other words?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s exactly what you said,” I told him. “And it brings up another great question, now that you mention it. Let’s say I somehow take back my powers and get the new war-self out of the picture. Even then, how the hell am I going to stop the entire planet from wiping out the human race? Does that sound even the slightest bit realistic?”
“There’s more to it,” said Ebon. “You’re not alone in this. You need to have faith in the plan.”
“Maybe if I knew what the plan was…”
Ebon turned and took my hand. “Please trust me, Gaia. There are reasons for everything we’ve set in motion.”
I caught his gaze then and held it with my own. “You’re not using your special trick, are you? Your mind control technique that got us over the border? Because if you are, I swear…”
“No tricks, Gaia,” said Ebon. “I wouldn’t use them on you, even if I could.”
I listened, glad to hear him admit what I already suspected.
“They won’t work on avatars…current or past,” he said. “I don’t know why. It’s just the way it is.”
I stared deep into his eyes but couldn’t tell if he was lying. Maybe, in the end, it didn’t matter. Either I bought into this, or I didn’t.
That didn’t mean I had to enjoy the constant evasions. “You said you were going to give me some answers, but you still haven’t told me a damn thing.”
“You’re right.” He squeezed my hand. “Okay, listen. I’ll tell you what I know, and we’ll just have to hope for the best, that it won’t hurt the plan.”
Just as he said those words, one of the big windows suddenly exploded inward, showering the viewing deck with shattered glass. A figure burst in through the opening, riding a chunk of stone that landed hard on the walkway.
Aside from the full-body black-leather jumpsuit, the figure looked just like me.
Breathing hard, she cast a fierce grin in my direction. She looked at me for all of a second, radiating hatred and scorn.
<
br /> Then, she charged full-tilt right at me, hunks of the rock she’d ridden leaping up and whizzing along in her wake.
Chapter 17
Spewing a howl of pure, primal fury, Gaia 2 raced toward me like Hell on two legs. Ebon didn’t hesitate to intercept her, fists raised in readiness, but one of the rock shards flipped around from her wake and clocked him in the temple, sending him reeling.
With the seconds he’d bought, I ran—randomly, without any plan or options. It did no good, as more chunks of rock peppered my legs, taking me down. Just like that, she was towering over me with teeth clenched in a vicious grin.
“Hello, bitch.” She kicked me hard in the side and laughed wickedly. “I guess you blew it, bitch.”
Again, she pumped a hard-toed black leather boot into my side, making me cry out in pain.
“Please, stop!” I rolled away from the next kick and scrambled to my knees.
“Some replacement you are!” Gaia 2 snapped her fingers, and nearby hunks of rock popped up from the floor. They pulled together into a slab the size of my head, then zoomed over and crashed into my hip, slamming me back to the floor. “You aren’t fit to live on the same planet as me!”
My deepening frown had nothing to do with the pain from her attack. “Replacement? What are you talking about?”
“Playing dumb again?” Gaia fluttered her fingers, and the rock hunks popped up and spun around me—then shot inward all at once. “Or maybe you are just a moron. Either way, you need put down.”
She raised her arms, and the rock hunks levitated high above me, ready for a final assault. Before she could send them plunging down at me, though, they started shivering in midair, resisting her control.
Then, instead of bombarding me, they went after her. They pummeled her hard and repeatedly, sending her stumbling into the wall of the inner hub of the observation deck. It was then that I saw who’d been powerful enough to seize control of the pieces of rock from Gaia 2.
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