Matt Archer: Redemption (19 page)

That explained the stamping and yelling. “He’s dead, though.”

“They might be worried he’ll come back to life.” There was a tug on my leg. “There, last stitch is knotted. Why don’t you go over there and help the lieutenant out?”

“Diplomacy isn’t in my skillset, but I’ll try.” I took a few steps. “Good work on the leg. Thanks.”

“Need to keep you two healthy,” Kelly murmured.

A task that sounded like it might get harder by the day. I went over to our visitors. Most of them had recovered and were staring down at the beast with a little bit of wonder and a lot of revulsion.

“So it is true?” One man, the officer of the outfit, asked. “The legend is real?”

“Seemed pretty real last night when it was killing one of my men,” I said.

“The government will want this to be kept secret,” he told me. “We will remove it, but do not speak of it anywhere.”

Who was I going to talk to, the press? And what did they think we were up to out here? “To avoid panic, or because it’ll look bad that a huge, legendary creature has been running amok on the mountain and nobody knew about it?”

All the Chinese soldiers glared at me.

“Archer, why don’t you go report in to the captain,” Lanningham said, giving me a warning glare.

Starting an international incident was too easy sometimes. People needed to lighten up. “Sir, yes sir.”

The captain was on the phone, and I didn’t want to bug him, so I crossed camp and went to Will’s tent instead. “Hey, hoser, you up?”

A groan. “Define ‘up.’”

I ducked inside and Will rolled over on his cot to face me. “If you’re here to tell me this was only round one, I already know.”

“No, I came in before I damaged US relations with China.” I sat down on a cot across from him. From the perfectly straight blanket and the centered pillow, I guessed this was Nguyen’s bunk. “Sorry to bring havoc with me when I showed up.”

“I’m used to it.” Will gave me a half smile. “You’re a havoc magnet.”

He had no idea. “Speaking of havoc, talked to Penn lately?”

That made him laugh “Got a text from her last night. Says they’re doing good, but bored at school.”

“Ella said the same thing. After all the initial shock about what we’d been up to wore off, she told me nothing’s really changed.”

“Yeah. You know, boring sounds good. Maybe we’ll get to go home soon.”

I stared at the tent walls, thinking I’d slept in a canvas room way too much over the last three years. “Depends on when we find Nian’s ‘lord.’”

“Our fire breather. My prime monster.” He struggled to sit up, squinting like his head was killing him. “I need to get moving as soon as possible.”

“The hunt can wait until tomorrow.” The sound of helicopter rotors thumped in the distance. “Sounds like the retrieval unit is on its way in.”

“Good.” Will lay down and covered his eyes with his arm. “You should sleep, too.”

I needed to, but I worried I’d dream. “In a bit.”

I left him to rest. The Chinese team, aided by Lanningham, Blakeney and Kelly, was loading the beast into a canvas litter. A cable with a hook dropped down, which they attached to an industrial sized D-ring on the canvas bag, and the helicopter lifted the Nian off the ground and into the sky. Not a very noble end for an ancient creature. Even if it had come to kill me, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry. All these things appearing out of myth, drawn by a dark power, only to be destroyed? It didn’t seem right, for them or for us.

On that cheery note, I went to Johnson’s tent, told him I would be hitting my bunk, and spent the better part of the day asleep.

* * *

The sound of vehicles woke me up around six p.m., or to be more accurate, car doors slamming. I stretched on my cot, trying to remember where I was and why. After all the traveling, that moment of confusion first thing had become a normal part of waking up.

China. Right.

I rolled and sat up, reaching for my boots, when I heard a man greet Captain Johnson. I barely stifled a groan. I knew that voice—my father had arrived. Was there still time to go back to sleep?

“His tent’s over there,” the captain was saying. “It’s about time he woke up, if you want the honors.”

I didn’t bother to stifle the groan this time and hurried to tie my boot laces. I managed to stand as a shadow closed in on the front wall of my tent.

“Son? You awake?”

I sighed. “Yes, sir.”

My dad stuck his head in through the tent flap. “Can I come in?”

I shrugged and sat back down on my cot. Dad hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw him—dark hair, muscular build, wry smile—but it was still disconcerting because the older I got, the more I resembled him. The only difference between us, besides the bit of gray hair and laugh lines, were his clothes. Dad had on khaki cargo pants and a denim work shirt, along with hiking boots in much better shape than mine. He looked like an architect on a build site rather than a CIA operative. Maybe it was a disguise: friendly neighborhood surveyor.

He sat down on Lanningham’s bunk. “Heard you had some trouble early this morning.”

“We handled it,” I said, feeling awkward. After not hearing from him for two months, the last thing I wanted to do was make small talk about killing monsters. “What have you been up to?”

“Hunting.”

Well, duh.

Okay, that was mean, but I hated how I still felt like I had something to prove to him. It seemed like the sting of abandonment would never wear off even though he was back in my life and acted like he wanted to be here.

Still, a little guilt was in order. “And you couldn’t call home? The rest of us have been worried about you. And we’ve been kind of busy, too. Surely you’ve heard.”

“I watched CNN when I was in Shanghai.” He gave me a look that was equal parts pride and concern. “D.C. was a mess.”

“More than you would guess,” I said. “You might want to check on your daughter.”

Now his eyes widened—and the expression went mostly to pride. “What did she do this time?”

He was the only one of us who never freaked out over Mamie’s power. “Um, she went completely shaman-badass on us for a little while, but has been withdrawn ever since.” I paused, not ready to explain
why
Mamie walked out into a field of monsters, or what it did to her when Ann died. “She’s okay, though. Back home with Mom and Brent.”

“He’s still watching over them?”

“Yes. He’s taking that job very seriously.”

Now he looked
really
proud. I wondered what I’d have to do to earn that expression.

Oh, right. Save the world.

Holding back a snort, I asked, “So what’s your story? Where have you been?”

Dad cocked his head to one side, a half-smile on his face. “Finding the answer to all our questions.”

A thrill of fear and expectation shot through my limbs. “The answers to
all
our questions, or just the big ones?”

“I love how you qualify everything.” His smile was genuine and I relaxed a little. “How about
most
of our questions about China.”

“There you go, putting limitations on the infinite.” I meant it as a joke, though. “What have you found?”

“Not what, but who. I found him, Matt.” Dad leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his eyes gleaming with the excitement of a successful hunt. “The one you’ve been looking for. The Chinese shaman.”

Tink said he was coming closer, but I’d hadn’t expected to hear anything so fast. “Where? Who?”

“His name is Xing Li. He lives in a village about seven hours’ drive from here. He said he’s been waiting to meet you for a while.”

The keen glance Dad gave me set my nerves on edge. “For a while, huh? Well, that’s not the first time someone’s told me that.”

He laughed. “Funny what you can get accustomed to. Anyway, how are you, really? You seem tired, son.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “Me? No. Globe-trotting monster hunters don’t get tired, or didn’t you know that?”

“Right now Mike would say something bracing or caution you to get enough rest, right?” Dad asked. “He’d hear the sarcasm and know the truth.”

He understood my uncle well. “Yes.”

“I’m not him.” He cocked his head to the side. “You’re tired, but you can’t stop, no matter what platitudes you hear. I get that. Maybe even better than Mike does. And what
he
doesn’t understand is that you’re
my
son. You won’t stop until the job’s done, no matter what it takes. It’s not in your DNA.”

I stared at him. The words were terse, but there was an intensity in his voice that he rarely let seep through. “Yeah, you’re right. I won’t stop.”

He nodded once, then said, “I heard Ann’s dead.”

By now I should be used the abrupt subject changes—the man’s brain swerved faster than a normal human’s—but this one caught me off guard. “Yes, she died in front of me and Mamie.”

“How’d Mamie take it?”

“Hard,” I said. “But, what, you aren’t worried about how I took it?”

“You’ve seen too much for something like that to affect you for long,” he said. “Mamie’s more delicate.”

Delicate enough to take on a pack of flying monsters to save some kids—by herself. He still didn’t know us very well. “I think it was more that she blamed herself.”

As I explained what happened, he grew thoughtful. “I wondered. That must be why no new attacks are popping up—because Ann stopped them. Sure there are issues all over, but they don’t seem to be getting worse. Who knew she had a conscience?”

I shot him a wry smile. “Maybe you beat one into her when you hit her over the head with that brick.”

“No.” His own smile had an edge I knew I’d never be able to match. “I’m not noble enough to inspire that kind of reaction in anyone.”

“I know,” I said, as my good humor drained away. “A noble guy would make sure his family knew he was safe on assignment, or at least check in every once in a while.”

“Matt—”

“No, uh-uh.” I crossed my arms, glaring. “When you came home, we thought things were going to be different. That you’d stay in touch. All you’ve done is make us realize things haven’t changed that much.”

The miserable expression that crossed his face made me feel bad, but not bad enough to take it back. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t sure who’d be listening while Congress prepped for the hearings. I worried that if I called home, they’d find a way to use it against you.”

“So you couldn’t let us know you were okay?”

He met my eye. “I did let someone know. I guess she was too worried about you to mention it.”

I went very, very still. “What?”

“Officer Archer?” Captain Johnson called. “We have the colonel on the line. Can you report in?”

Dad stood, his expression torn. “We’ll talk later.”

Then he disappeared out the tent flap, but not before I noticed that the compass Mom had given him as a wedding gift was clutched in his right hand.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“When do you think we can break camp?” Dad was asking Captain Johnson when I finally came outside. “The colonel agrees that when we go see Xing Li we should take the whole team, in case there’s a problem.”

Johnson looked around, frowning. “Well, we don’t know if there are more Pandas up here, but if we need to, we can leave tomorrow morning.

No. You have to leave now,
Tink said, suddenly tense.
Tonight.

“Why?” I asked.

Tink answered,
He’s in danger. Hurry.

“We’re leaving tonight.” I announced.

Johnson’s right eyebrow rose. “Tonight? Archer, I’ve got three injured men, including a wielder who’s not a hundred percent yet. A long road trip isn’t a good idea. Besides, it’ll be easier to travel during daylight.”

“Tink said the shaman’s in danger,” I said. “We have to go. Now.”

“He’s right, captain,” Dad said. I thought he’d question my logic, but the calm, collected super-spy came out instead. He gave me a grim nod, his expression hardening. “We should go now.”

Sighing, Johnson called for Nguyen, then turned back to me. “I hope this trip’s worth it.”

“Me, too,” I muttered. “Me, too.”

Two hours later, we were on the road, driving across Sichuan province like ghosts in the night. Xing Li lived in a village on the Yalong river, far to the south of our camp in Yanbian County. Convincing my team had been easy, and Will hadn’t even blinked an eye, setting to folding up his cot before I finished the explanation. The new guys, though, all had that expression, one I’d seen a hundred times: we’re tearing down camp at sunset because a kid told us we needed to leave?

For once, I hoped they were right and Tink was wrong. I didn’t think we’d be that lucky, though.

My vehicle, driven by Blakeney with Lanningham riding shotgun like always, led the caravan. Dad and I sat quiet in the backseat. Once or twice, I wondered if he had nodded off. Nope, still staring ahead at the road, alert and intense. Like always.

So when he finally spoke, all of us jumped. “There’s something you should know.”

“Okay?”

“I’ve been hearing the men talk about a ‘fire breathing dragon’ coming after you.” He chuckled. “Chinese dragons are water dwellers, not fire-breathers. Whatever is hunting you, I don’t think it’s a dragon. Here, dragons are good luck.”

If it wasn’t a dragon, then what was it? “Good thing I like surprises.”

“Good thing,” Dad murmured, sounding distracted. “Talk to your mother lately?”

Dragons to Mom? Nice U-turn, Pops. “I got an email from Mamie a few days ago. They’re keeping busy. She’s researching some information Ramirez brought back from Africa.”

“Any leads?” He sounded keenly interested. Maybe he did miss us.

I explained Zenka’s sketchbook and the writing Mamie discovered in the back. “She’s almost certain the messages are in scrambled Latin. She’s working on unscrambling them so she can translate everything.” I shrugged. “Anyway, Mamie said Mom has more legal work than she can keep up with after D.C. She’s become the celebrity attorney of Billings.”

Dad laughed—a real, full-on laugh. It sounded too loud with the darkness speeding by outside my window. Still, it warmed some of the chill between us. “Yeah, she told me work was crazy.”