Escape (38 page)

“Well, I don't know, Kieran. Would you be happier if I'd keeled over?”

“I'd be happier if I understood what happened. You're a doctor, you should be even more surprised than I am.”

“Doctors see lots of unexplained, seemingly miraculous things. We learn to ignore them after a while. Maybe I should have died. Maybe I got lucky. But one thing's sure
—
” Jilly turned to gaze down at the man they had watched climb into the pool. “
—
he's
going to die without proper medical care.” The man turned to steer bemusedly up at her with eyes that were tearing from the pain of his gangrenous leg. He seemed wholly unconcerned by his nakedness.

Jilly turned back to Kieran with a scowl. “Why did you interrupt me when I was trying to explain to that vacuum-brained excuse for a nurse?”

Kieran took a step toward Jilly, his eyes balefully narrowed. “Because you were a higher priority. And because you can't expect to waltz in here and change these people's ways just like that.” He snapped his fingers.

“Why not? If their ways sentence this man to death, then they could use a change!”

Kieran took another step toward Jilly and smiled sarcastically at her. “You think you have all the answers. Like you're so keficking smart. But really, you're one of the most ignorant people I know.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“This.” Kieran took a final step toward Jilly, grabbed her face roughly in both hands, and kissed her.

She couldn't speak, but the unintelligible noises she was making and the thoughts they could all hear thundering through her mind left no doubt as to her reaction.

Let me go!

No!
Kieran thought back, and then pressed his lips more violently to hers. His tongue forced past her lips. She bit it
—
hard
—
and her mouth filled with the coppery tang of blood.

Kieran broke away with a snarl.

Jilly wiped a trail of blood from her lips with the back of her hand. “You keficking defalita! You really did rape Dimmi, didn't you?” Shaking her head with disgust, Jilly started from the pool and began stalking down the path
—
away from Kieran.

Ferrel blinked up at them, shocked into silence. Dimmi was nodding her head slowly, as if it all made perfect sense. She stepped aside to let Jilly pass, and turned to Kieran with smug hatred burning in her eyes.

Upon hearing Jilly's accusation, Kieran's look of outrage had cleared, to be replaced by confusion and misery.
Why did I do that?
he wondered. Everyone could hear the question echoing through their minds, but none believed he was sincere. He ignored the warning look in Dimmi's eyes, and started after Jilly. His tongue was already beginning to swell: “Wait! Jiwee, I'm saw
—
”

“Save it.” Dimmi stopped him with a violent shove. “She doesn't want to hear your apology. And I don't blame her.”

Kieran gave her a hateful look and shoved her back. She nearly went sprawling down the rocky slope, and Kieran ran past her, quickly catching up with Jilly. He caught her arm and spun her around to face him. Her other arm came out of the spin in a tight right hook that connected with his jaw in a sudden explosion of pain. He felt himself falling, and then the back of his head and elbow lit up with twin starbursts of pain. He lay flat on the rough rock path blinking up at Jilly. Despite his prior feeling of remorse, he felt a dark rage welling up inside of him. How dare she hit him when all he'd wanted to do was apologize?

Dimmi loomed over him, her teeth gritted and one of her knives drawn. “I ought to slit your throat.”

Kieran's eyes narrowed on Dimmi's face. His rage had found a new target. Suddenly, he spun 180° on the ground, his legs coming around in a straight arc and catching hers behind the ankles. She went down with a curse and scream, and landed rear first on the unyielding ground.

She was down for less than a second before she sprang up and pounced on Kieran, red eyes and dagger flashing. He caught her wrists in his hands and struggled with all his strength against her adrenaline-fueled fury. She had his legs squeezed between hers, painfully immobilizing them.

“I'm going to make you bleed until your every breath is a gurgle,” Dimmi whispered through gritted teeth.

Kieran had no strength left for a reply. His arms were shaking with the effort of restraining her, and somehow the edge of Dimmi's dagger was pressing ever closer to his throat.

“Stop it!” Jilly said, looking on with horror.

“Are you all on glit?!” Ferrel hove into view, but Kieran had no attention to spare for more than a peripheral glance. “We're here to tend to our old injuries, not cause new ones!”

The wild look of hatred in Dimmi's eyes hadn't abated. Kieran suspected she hadn't heard a word. Her dagger was barely a hand span from his throat now, and still pressing nearer.

Kieran shot her an incredulous look. “How awe oo ooing this?” he gasped past his swollen tongue. She was strong, but slight of build, and nowhere near as strong as he was.

Her lips spread into a feral grin, and for the first time Kieran noticed how long and sharp her teeth were.

Kieran's vision narrowed to a single-minded tunnel of effort. Sweat prickled his brow and he began to pant with exertion. His arms were shuddering violently now. He saw four sets of hands appear on either side of Dimmi, trying desperately to wrench her off of him. She didn't even notice. Then a pair of hands closed on her forearm, wrenching at the arm holding the dagger. She snarled like a beast, and her eyes flashed from his to glare balefully at the newcomer. It was Jilly. She was throwing all of her weight against Dimmi's arm, trying to redirect the knife. Dimmi's arm hadn't budged, but she was still staring distractedly at Jilly, her red eyes glittering with hate.

Kieran knew that was his chance and that he wouldn't get another. The muscles in his legs tensed
—

And her head snapped around with another snarl. Her legs squeezed tighter, provoking a painful spasm from his muscles. He cried out, and her knife slipped another micenté-astrom toward his throat. The thought of action had flickered through his mind in less than an instant, but Dimmi must have somehow read its intent.

“Dimmi!” Jilly yelled above a crowd of other voices yelling, shouting, and grunting. “Get off of him!”

“Soon
 
.
 
.
 
.
” she purred.

Then there was a sharp click, a screaming whistle, and suddenly a short arrow protruded from Dimmi's shoulder. She gave it a quick look, then snarled in the direction it had come. Another click, and another, and another
 
.
 
.
 
.

The air came alive with whistling. Three more arrows stuck Dimmi in the same arm. Her grip slackened, and her muscles loosened. Kieran threw her off him, and she rolled limply a few times before coming to a stop at Ferrel's feet. He stared at her, his eyes wide with horror.

“Dimmi?”

She didn't stir.

Kieran sat up and ran the back of one hand across his brow, sending droplets of sweat flying. Half a dozen blue robes stood panting before him. They were the ones who had tried to pull Dimmi off him. And off to one side, he saw Lystra Deswin, traitor, attempted-murderer, standing a few milé-astroms away, slowly lowering his archaic rifle. Beside him, their guide, Prime Segurion kept his rifle trained on them.

“What are you doing here?” Jilly hissed as wrinkly, old Lystra Deswin began walking down the pathway toward them.

The old man stopped and stared pointedly at Kieran, who was shaking again, but now from spent adrenaline rather than exertion. “Saving him
—
” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to Dimmi. Ferrel was bent over her, checking for a pulse. “
—
from her. Please come with me. There is something you must see.”

Jilly gaped incredulously at him. “You almost killed us! And now you want us to follow you?”

“No
—
” A series of distinctive
clicks
issued from all around them, and Kieran's head spun around. At least half a dozen blue robes had rifles trained on them. “I'm ordering you to follow me.”

Ferrel looked up from Dimmi suddenly, his eyes wide. “I can't feel a pulse.”

Chapter 20

“Y
ou killed her!” Ferrel accused.

“She's merely sleeping,” Lystra insisted.

“With no pulse?” Jilly's eyebrows were doubtfully raised.

The old man shrugged. “I assure you, she will wake up in a few hours with little more than a headache.”

“And a few holes in her arm,” Kieran added.

Lystra Deswin smiled thinly. “I'm surprised you show so much concern for her, when she was about to kill you. Regardless, you must come with me or be similarly incapacitated. Your choice.”

Kieran stood up and dusted himself off. “At least let us tend to our injuries before we leave.”

“I suspect they don't need tending to. Now come.”

Five of the men in blue robes followed them from the Chamber of Rest and Healing, three with rifles pointed at their backs, and the two who were unarmed carrying Dimmi between them.

Lystra Deswin and Segurion walked ahead, leading the way. Kieran expected a long walk back, all the way back to the entrance of the underground warren. They'd worn out their welcome, and they were about to be cast into the frigid, wolvin-haunted night of Da Shon.

But he was wrong. Lystra Deswin led the way down a new corridor, one which Kieran had obviously missed as he'd run past with Jilly dying in his arms. This corridor was lit with more flaming wall sconces, and for the first time Kieran thought to wonder how the Constantics managed to keep them all lit. Staring into those flickering flames, Kieran's mind wandered. What had come over him? Why had he kissed Jilly like that? What had he been thinking? Now that he thought about it, they'd all been acting strangely, with the exception of Ferrel.

A few minutes later they emerged in a small cavern that was brightly lit by a ring of flaming torches. Their eyes were all drawn to the only feature in the room
—
a waist-height, rectangular stone pedestal with a thick book splayed open on its surface. Lystra Deswin walked up to it and began leafing carefully through the pages, until he reached the beginning of the book.

They stood gawking in the entrance of the small cavern, watching him curiously.

“Going to tell us a bedtime story?” Kieran asked.

“Come and read for yourself.” The old man stood aside and gestured to the book.

Kieran stayed where he was, but Jilly walked up to the pedestal. After a few moments, Kieran saw her cup a hand to her mouth. She turned to Lystra. “What is this?”

“The Constantic Codices.”

Jilly turned to Kieran with wide eyes.

“What is it?”

“Us. Everything we've been experiencing. It's all here.”

Kieran frowned and joined her at the pedestal. Ferrel wasn't far behind. Jilly pointed to the passage of interest, and he and Ferrel began reading, the words seeming to echo from one mind to the other:

Their heresy had blinded them. So when their eyes changed colors, until they glowed red like blood, they were not concerned, because they could see better than ever before. Their bodies grew stronger, and their skins paled, but they were not concerned because now they could live forever. Their minds became as one and they could hear each other's thoughts, and they
were
concerned. Their personalities changed; they became more aggressive, and they
were
concerned. Their appetites changed; they began to thirst for raw flesh, and they
were
concerned
 
.
 
.
 
.
but it was too late.

The dust swept across the Earth, floating on the wind and changing everyone in its path. And so the changers were changed.

Kieran shook his head. “I've heard this before
.
 
.
 
.
 
.
My father used to read it to my brother and me to put us to sleep.”

Lystra Deswin began nodding. “Your father led the Origins Project. He would have been one of the few changers with a reason to read the codices.”

Kieran rounded on him. “My father was a prospector for the Frontier Mining Guild. What are you talking about?”

“Your father was a director of the Union Bureau of Exploration and Reconnaissance. He was the head of a team of scientists searching for Earth, the world of our species' origin. As you can see, they have succeeded, and you are among the first to be changed. Our ancestors fled Earth for a very good reason. Thanks to people like your father, we may now all be lost.”