The Bones of Valhalla (Purge of Babylon, Book 9) (12 page)

She thought of Nate, asleep in the cabin, oblivious to where she was right now or even that she wasn’t in bed anymore. She hoped he was having a good dream. All the signs were there—that smile on his lips, the carefree sleeping posture. Those were all indicators that he wasn’t reliving one of his nightmares tonight.

“You told Nate?” Bonnie asked, shouting a bit over the roar of the motor behind them.

Gaby shook her head. “He’d want to come.”

“Of course he would. Kid’s head over heels in love with you. The question is, do you feel the same way?”

“Yes,” she said, without hesitation.

Bonnie laughed. “That was fast. I guess that answers that.”

Gaby thought she might have actually blushed, and thought,
God, what are you, back in high school all over again?

“Benny’s going to be a real sad panda after hearing that,” Bonnie said. “He’s still holding out hope, you know. I told him it was a slim one.”

“The two of you talked about me?”

“
He
talked about you. We usually ended up on guard duty together, so I was helpless to do anything but listen.”

“He’s a good kid.”

“‘Kid,’” Bonnie chuckled. “I can’t believe you guys are so young.”

You grow up fast or you don’t grow up at all these days.

“Anyways, I’m glad you’re coming with us,” Bonnie said. “Blaine here’s okay, but to have a real badass around…”

Gaby laughed, but felt a flush of pride, too.

She peered forward, watching as the Texas coastline started to appear out of the blackness. She didn’t think she would see it again—no, that wasn’t true. She was
hoping
she wouldn’t see it again, and yet here she was, bandaged shoulder and all, heading right back to it.

As much as she hated returning, there was no choice because it couldn’t just be Blaine and Bonnie, even though they were two of the more capable members of their group. Lara couldn’t because she had an even more important role ahead of her. And Danny desperately wanted to, but he had other responsibilities now. So that left her.

Gaby remembered Danny’s bundle and unslung her pack and took it out.

“What’s that?” Bonnie asked.

“I don’t know,” Gaby said, and carefully placed the item in her lap and took out her knife and cut away the two zip ties holding the cloth in place.

Moonlight seemed to bounce off every inch of it, making it gleam in the darkness. It wasn’t quite white, but it could have been mistaken for the color. It was silver, and at one point it was a cross, but had since been forged into a weapon. A cross-knife, similar to the one Danny and Will used to always carry with them. Danny had lost his back in Texas and Will, well, Will didn’t need silver anymore. This one was freshly forged.

“Looks too heavy,” Bonnie said.

Bonnie reached down and pulled her own knife out of its sheath. It was also silver, and like hers and the one Blaine carried, was thinner and lighter and the blade was only half the length of the cross-knife’s.

“I like ours better,” Bonnie said. “Lighter, easier to cut with.”

Gaby picked up Danny’s gift by the grip and held it in front of her, then took a few practice swings. It was definitely heavier than the knife sheathed at her hip at the moment, but there was a nice balance to it. There was even something that acted as a pommel at the end, and cross-guards where the grip ended. The blade itself was double-edged and sharp, as was the point.

“It feels good, though,” Gaby said. “I wonder when he made it?”

Bonnie put her knife away. “I remember he had one like it before. I always thought it was kind of clunky. If you’re going to be carrying around something like that, a sword or machete might be a better option.”

“Danny can be sentimental with his weapons.”

“We’re talking about the same Danny here?”

“He and Will found a pair of something like this in an abandoned apartment when The Purge happened. That’s how they discovered silver kills the ghouls.”

“So it was just sitting there? Waiting to be discovered?”

“Pretty much.”

“Wow,” Bonnie said. “I’ve never heard that story before. If I didn’t know it was true—it is true, right?”

Gaby nodded. “It’s one-hundred percent true.”

“Then I wouldn’t have believed it. Things like that…finding a pair of crosses—what do you call those, cross-knives?—in an abandoned building when you needed them the most…” She shook her head. “It almost makes you believe, doesn’t it?”

“Believe?”

“In a higher power.” Then, as if realizing what she had just said, “Not that I subscribe to something like that, but… It’s a hell of a coincidence, that’s all.”

“Carly thinks it’s providence,” Gaby said. She bundled the knife back up and put it away in her pack. “Danny and Will thought it was just a stroke of good luck.”

“What does Lara think?”

“We’ve never really talked about it in depth. I know she was raised in an atheist household, but after you’ve seen everything we have…”

“It’s hard to keep telling yourself there’s no heaven or hell,” Bonnie finished for her.

“Uh huh.”

“And Will, coming back…” Bonnie snapped a quick glance down at the suitcase on the floor between them. “I’m telling you, Gaby, I don’t believe in anything I can’t see, touch, feel, or taste, but if we survive this, and it works the way he says it will…”

“Maybe there is something out there?”

“Yeah. Maybe there is something out there, or up there,” Bonnie said, and let the rest trail off.

Gaby looked forward, past Blaine standing behind the helm, and at the fast approaching coastline. It was still too dark to see any stretch of the beach, but it was starting to slowly, very slowly, come into view.

If we survive this, and if it works…

She didn’t feel the dread she was expecting as land loomed in front of them. Maybe it was the presence of the suitcase—or more specifically, what was inside
it—or maybe she had successfully transcended fear
(Bullshit, girl)
. Of course, it could have just been Zoe’s painkillers finally taking effect and making her feel invincible.

Regardless of the reason, there was a calmness at the center of her being as they skipped across the open Gulf of Mexico and back toward Texas. Gaby turned her face into the wind and leaned back in the seat, then closed her eyes completely.

She thought of Nate, oblivious to her betrayal; of Claire, asleep with the other girls in their room; and of everyone back on the
Trident
. She thought of Lara and the hard work ahead of her; of Danny, who wanted desperately to be the fourth person on the boat with them right now.

And she thought about the future.

And there would be a future, if this worked.

If
this worked…

“
W
hat did you find out
?” Lara asked.

“He was smart. Phil only approached the soldiers,” Riley said. “People he knew who were ready and able to take up arms. Not counting Phil, there was Bray and Ethan in the infirmary.”

“What about the two unfortunate souls that wandered down to the engine room?” Danny asked.

“Stephens and Doug,” Riley said. “Phil also went to Peters and Janice and tried to recruit them.”

“How do you know about Peters and Janice?” Lara asked.

“Peters came to me after everything went down, and Janice followed later. They were the only other two Phil approached.”

“That you know of,” Lara said, and thought,
And we all know how wrong you can be when it comes to your own people.

But of course she didn’t say that last part. Rubbing it in now wouldn’t help them get to the bottom of the problem, and right now she wanted to nip this in the bud as soon as possible. There were other, more important matters on the horizon that were going to require all of her time.

“That I know of,” Riley nodded. If he suspected anything else behind her statement, it didn’t show on his face.

They were gathered on the
Trident
’s bridge again. It had become their go-to meeting spot because no one was supposed to be up here without permission. It allowed them to talk freely, and Lara liked being able to see what was out there with just a glance at the windshield.

Maddie was behind the helm in place of Blaine, while Danny leaned against a wall next to the small Texan. The yacht was moving again, the world beyond the wraparound screen so excruciatingly bright that Lara had trouble focusing, and she was certain the growing headache was the result of the overwhelming sunlight and not because she had barely slept at all the last few nights.

It was morning and she had eaten with the others before coming here, and she was still tired. So, so tired. Her body was drained of energy, and all she wanted to do was retreat to her cabin and lie down on her bed and reclaim all that lost sleep. She would have settled for a couple of undisturbed hours at this point.

“What about the civvies?” Danny was asking.

“They don’t know what really happened or why,” Riley said. “I told them Phil and the others tried to take over the boat because of the possibility we might return to Black Tide.”

“They bought that?”

“Mostly.”

“Not very reassuring.”

“It’s all I can offer.”

“It’ll have to do,” Lara said.

“I talked to Peters and Janice,” Riley said. “They’ve agreed not to let the others know what really went down.”

“You good with that?” Danny asked. “Lying to your peeps?”

“I don’t have any choice. The truth isn’t going to get us any closer to our objective. Speaking of which, what’s the plan when we finally reach out to Black Tide?”

“You’ll tell them that we have an inside man in Texas who’ll coordinate the attack for us,” Lara said. “His name’s Frank.”

“Will is Frank.”

“Yes.”

“Why not just call him Will?”

Because he doesn’t want me to, and because people might figure out it’s my ex-boyfriend, except he’s not the man he used to be.

She said instead, “He prefers Frank.”

“Bottom line: I have to lie some more,” Riley said.

“Practice makes perfect, right?” Danny said. “Anyhow, we know what happened the last time someone found out Willie boy’s true identity.”

“It’s not who Will is that’s important,” Lara said, “it’s what he knows. Who he is—Will or Frank—doesn’t matter.”

“The fact that he’s one of them kinda matters,” Riley said. “But I get your point.” Then, after a brief pause, “All right. Frank it is. What else?”

“If they push for more information, we’ll tell them Frank is a collaborator turncoat.”

“Well, it’s not
too
far from the truth,” Danny said. “Kinda works, in an almost poetic sort of way.”

“Not sure you know what poetic means,” Maddie said.

“Words that rhyme, stanzas, and shit, right?”

“Not even close.”

“Which is why poetry won’t be a required curriculum in Danny’s School of Badassery.”

Riley ignored their back and forth, and said to Lara, “So he’s gone. Will. Frank. Whatever we’re calling him.”

“He left last night,” Lara nodded.

“And it’ll be up to him. This whole thing—this entire Plan G—it all rests on his shoulders.”

“He’ll be there when the time is right.”

“Are you sure about that? Are you absolutely certain?”

“Yes,” Lara said, without hesitation.

He’s never let me down before
,
she almost added, but didn’t because it would have been a lie. Will
had
let her down before. He had promised he would come back to Song Island, and he never did.

But then he did come back, and you let him go again. So whose fault is it this time?

Maybe that was why she was so damn tired now, more so than she’d been all those months leading up to the last few days. Talking to Will, being around him, thinking about him, then letting him leave again after reentering her life in the most dramatic way possible was exhausting.

Even after watching the small vessel push off the
Trident
and drift into the blackness from the bridge last night, she still couldn’t decide if she should have protested more. After all he had done to get back to her, and she had simply acquiesced and prepared for his departure. Had she
wanted
to let him go? Was that it? Was the reality of who he was—who he had become—more than she could bear?

She hated herself for thinking those thoughts, but she couldn’t deny them. Will leaving had removed a heavy burden from her. She wouldn’t have to explain his presence on the yacht anymore, wouldn’t have to deal with more Phils opposed to his very existence.

She promised herself that once he came back, once this was all over, she’d learn to deal with who he was, because he was still Will. Whatever had happened to him, whatever he looked like and sounded like now, he was still Will.

Wasn’t he?

She wasn’t sure when she had closed her eyes, but when she opened them Riley was talking and looking at her: “You’re that convinced he’s right? About everything?”

She kneaded her forehead with her knuckles while summoning all the patience she had left. Getting annoyed with Riley’s constant doubts wasn’t going to do her or the plan any good. She had to convince him, because if she couldn’t, what chance did she have of convincing the rest of Black Tide?

“He went through hell to get back to us,” Lara said. “He almost died.”

“Again,” Danny said. “Dying once is a pain in the ass, but twice? Now that’s hardcore.”

She wasn’t sure if Riley was convinced, but he nodded and glanced out the window at the bright ocean. “The best I can do is present your plan. I can’t force anyone to do anything.”

“And I don’t want you to,” Lara said. “Besides, I won’t need everyone. Just enough to make a difference.”

“We might be putting the cart before the horse, anyway. After all, if Rhett’s already ordering everyone out of Texas, it might take a lot more than just your word to get them to commit to another fight so soon.”

“Except this time we’re not talking about razing women and children,” Danny said. “Big difference.”

“Maybe so. I’m just telling you one possibility.” Riley shrugged. “Maybe I’m entirely off base and they’re not as gun-shy about jumping back in as I think, and they’ll readily embrace Frank’s plan. After all,” he added, looking over at Lara, “if you’re right, then this is our best chance to take back the planet. That’s something worth dying for.”

“Happy thoughts, kids,” Danny said. “Remember what my homeboy George S. Patton used to say: ‘The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.’”

“Now that was poetic,” Maddie said.

“Told you I’m all up poetry’s skirt,” Danny said.

* * *

“
Y
ou said your good-byes
?” Danny asked as they walked through the
Trident
.

“Did you?” Lara said.

“It was short and sweet, just the way we like it. If Willie Boy wasn’t a top-notch conversationalist before, he’s gotten even worse since.”

It’s his voice. Will doesn’t like to talk because of his voice. He hates it. I can see it—
feel
it—whenever he speaks. More than anything, it reminds him that he’s not the man he once was.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Lara said, “but why didn’t you leave with them?”

He sighed, and she could see it in his face that it was a question he had asked himself a thousand times since Gaby and the others left on the fishing boat last night.

“Carly?” Lara said.

“Something about, ‘Go with Will and I’m going to kill you,’” Danny said. “I think she meant it, too. Unless, of course, that shotgun she was holding when she said it was just for show.”

“I don’t blame her. You should have seen her while you were gone. I don’t think she can handle you running off again.”

“What can I say? I’m very lovable. Plus, I’m a wildcat in the sack.”

“So Carly keeps telling me.”

“Gaby’s a decent replacement. Of course, she’s not the genuine article, but she makes for a pretty good facsimile.”

He was putting on a good act, but she could hear it in his voice that he was still tortured by staying behind.

“It’s good you didn’t go,” she said. “I’m going to need you here when we make contact with Black Tide.”

“Happy thoughts, remember? I’m sure they’re not still pissed off at Riley and company.”

“You don’t think so?”

“Nah, they probably are. I was just trying to be optimistic.”

“Captain Optimism, huh? Haven’t seen him make an appearance in a while.”

“I’m trying to bring him back, just like how I singlehandedly brought sexy back a few years ago.”

“That was you?”

“Yup.”

She smiled. “Besides, who would Jolly look up to if you’re not around?”

“Yeah, there’s that too.”

“How’s he coming, by the way?”

“Kid knows some stuff, but I’d still pick Gaby first on the playground.”

“She’s had Ranger training.”

“I just meant because she’s hot.”

“Don’t tell Carly that.”

“Never,” Danny said, and made a zipping motion over his lips.

“What kind of training did he come with?”

“Some basics back on that island of theirs, but he’s probably ten percent ready. Kid’s enthusiastic though, and ready to run through a wall, so that’s good.”

“Don’t make him run through a wall, Danny.”

“No promises.”

“What about Nate?”

“What about him?”

“He asked me where Gaby went when I was on the bridge with Maddie, but we wouldn’t tell him. I’m assuming he went to you next since you’re the only other person who knows.”

“Oh, he did. He even threatened to kick my ass if I didn’t tell him.”

“You didn’t…”

“Of course not. He left fuming. Carly says he’s already asked everyone in our group and will probably start in on Riley’s peeps pretty soon.”

“Poor kid. I know how he feels.”

“He’ll get over it,” Danny said. “He has no choice. Adapt or perish, right?”

“Something like that,” she said, even though watching Nate leave the bridge heartbroken hadn’t been easy.

She had wanted to tell the young man, but Gaby was right—if he knew, Nate would just follow them out there. She knew why Gaby had left him behind, because Lara could see it in the way he walked that Nate wasn’t ready. In his current condition, he would just be a liability to the mission.

They made their way through the deck, out the back door, and onto the viewing area. She leaned against the railing and let the chilly wind rake across her face, then looked out at the open seas, back toward where Texas would be.

“When was the last time you had a full night’s sleep?” Danny asked.

“It’s been a while.”

“No time like the present to do some catching up.”

“Maybe when this is all over.”

“It’s not going to be over for a while, Lara.”

“What are you, my dad now?”

“Feel free to call me Daddy Danny if you want.”

“I’ll have to take a pass on that.”

“Too bad Willie boy couldn’t stay longer.”

“Yeah.”

“It was decent of him to tell us in person, though. Of course, we wouldn’t have believed a single word of it if he had just passed it through Keo or someone else.”

“Plan G…”

“Great name, if I do say so myself.”

Danny laid his chin on the railing and stared down at some kids fishing off the aft of the yacht. To her left, the refueling ship kept pace with them, but only because the
Trident
wasn’t moving anywhere close to its full speed.

“Back in Gallant, while we were hunkered down in that bank waiting for daylight, we had a nice long talk,” Danny was saying.

“What did you talk about?”

“This, that, everything. Had a lot to catch up, and all that girly stuff.”

“Girly stuff, huh?”

“Yup. Girly stuff. Anyways, the takeaway was that he was worried about coming back. About seeing you again since…well, you know. He didn’t say it in so many ways, but I think he was afraid of how you’d react. I don’t think he gave any thought to the rest of us, which should really wound my ego, but whatever. What I’m trying to get at here is, it was always about you.”