Page 93 of Cage of Starlight
“You haven’ttoldme your timeline. And anyway, what I’m interested in is making sure you and not the Grand General get your hands on whatever’s out there.”
Riese frowns, considering. “It might not be the worst idea. We’ll need to act soon to knock Vantaras off his throne, and it wouldn’t hurt to have more firepower.” Riese steps closer. “You and your friend will be joining us, of course.”
Tory tries not to let the surge of worry and wild satisfaction show. He never considered that he might not be allowed to come. “Hostages?” He lets a wry grin twist his lips.
Riese’s responding smile is blinding. “Insurance. We’ll aim for this evening. For now, I have some work for you.” He gestures to the map of the Compound. “With your help, I don’t think liberating every Seed under their control is out of our grasp anymore.”
That unshakable faith fills him with warmth like it did last night around the campfire. It blends the joy of success—tonight, they’ll have acommunicator—into something nearly ecstatic. This is what he needs, what he wants. He’s spent so much of his life on the run. This—people with purpose and a battle worth fighting in—is more than he ever dreamed he could have. Laughter bubbles up in him. “Just tell me what to do.”
Riese’s smile turns sharp. “You can start by filling in some blanks on these blueprints. And whileyoudo that, I need to have a little chat with Iri, if you’ll excuse me.”
*
Helner.
Sena can’t turn. Can’t breathe. Where Helner is, Kirlov so often follows.
She stands from the boxes she’s using for a chair. “What a surprise to seeyouhere.” He must make a sound, because she laughs. “It’s just me. Sit.”
His hand is frozen on the tent flap. “You’re . . .?”
“Not that sort of doctor, as you well know, but I’ve been taught basic first aid. I spoke to Riese about you.”
It all falls together. “The Reacher he talked about.”
“Bullseye! I saw a chance to spit in your father’s face and took it. Money doesn’t hurt, either.” She gives him an odd smile. “Kinda gutsy of you, joining the enemy. I wouldn’t have thought you capable of surprising me. But comein, come in. I don’t have all day.”
He steps around the mountain of boxes to perch on a cot. An oil lamp flickers on a nearby box, lighting Helner dim gold. Sena rubs his hands together. The rasp of his gloves calms him. “They called you Yized.”
“Did you thinkDoctorwas my first name?”
“But why are you—”
“Here?” She rifles through a box of strange tools and rattling bottles. “Money.”
“Not only that,” Sena says.
Helner laughs, acidic and cruel. “Isn’t it enough?”
No amount of luxury is enough when you’re not free. It’s why they clashed with each other at the Compound—both forced to hunt and trap people like them, trying in their own small ways to make a difference—Helner by conjuring better, more efficient ways for Seeds to survive battle, and Sena by looking the other way whenever he could.
Helner keeps rummaging until she pulls a kit from the box—marked for use at the Compound. She opens it without lookingat him. “Money is power, Vantaras. Perhaps it hasn’t occurred to you since you’ve had it your whole life, but the money I’ve saved might mean the difference between making a successful bribe or being recaptured and killed if I ever get out. See, I don’t need to save only myself. My wife is an Eraser. Made bank adjusting memories for rich folks outside Maran in secret. Free therapy and all that. Someone must have reported her, reportedus. They took her to STAR-1 up in Maran. Couldn’t have put us farther away from each other. She’s your dad’s leverage against me, but one of these days I’ll get her out. I’ll get both of us out. I’m not sold on this revolution thing—it’s a bit tooselfless greater goodfor me—but I hope theydosucceed. I’d laugh to see your daddy’s work burn.”
“I’d like that, too.”
She gives him a funny look, but it’s no funnier than any of the others she’s given him over the years and no easier to make sense of. She digs in the medical kit. “Bruised ribs, right?”
“Broken. At least one.”
Helner laughs bitterly. “And that’s nothing compared to how you’ll be feeling in a few days. Here.” She digs under a pile of papers until she finds a matte-black case. “I’ll have mercy on you. Give me your arm.”
Sena’s given her his arm a thousand times. He’s in no hurry to let her stab him again. “I’ll pass. I have a high pain tolerance.”
Her expression does a strange thing. “This isn’t for pain.”
“Then what is it?”
“Antibiotics.” Extracting a syringe, Helner draws a purplish liquid into it. “Come on. Your arm.See, usually, I’m taking something from you, but today I get to give you something. A fresh start for both of us.”
