Part 16 (2/2)
Thick streamers of fog rolled into Steel's living room through the shattered window. If the blonde felt the cold, she gave no sign of it. She looked at Cyder, and moved slowly towards her. Cyder tried to drag herself away, and couldn't. Blood ran down her face in a steady stream. The blonde loomed over her, still smiling.
”Where is he?” she said calmly. ”Where's Steel?”
”Here I am, Mary,” said Steel quietly. ”Now get away from her.”
Steel stood just inside his kitchen door. His face was pale, but his hands were steady. He and Mary studied each other for a while in silence.
”How did you break my window?” said Steel finally.
”I'm a Siren. A good singer can always shatter gla.s.s.”
”But that's steelgla.s.s.”
The rogue shrugged. ”Gla.s.s is gla.s.s. Where's my sapphire.”
”Mary . . .”
”Don't call me Mary! That's not my name.”
”It is now. You're a rogue esper; Typhoid Mary, the killer.”
Mary shook her head impatiently. ”I haven't killed anyone.”
Steel stared at her. ”What are you talking about? You've killed hundreds, and mindwiped even more!
Why do you think we've been searching for you?”
”You want to hand me back to the Empire! I know you; I know your kind. I'm not going back. I'll kill you first. I'll kill you all before I let you send me back!”
Steel saw the madness in her eyes, and licked his dry lips uncertainly. The rogue had all the signs of someone who'd been conditioned by the Empire mindtechs. Reason would only affect her within the limits of her conditioning. And even then, he had to be careful. There was no telling what might set her off. Say the wrong thing, and he could quite easily sign his own death warrant.
”Mary, please let us help you. The Empire has been using your song to murder other espers. . . .”
Mary laughed contemptuously. ”Don't waste my time, Steel. Your lies don't interest me. You have something of mine, and I want it back. Where is it, Steel? Where's my sapphire?”
”Mary . . .”
”Where's my sapphire!”
Steel looked at her for a moment, and then nodded at a smart little desk by the front door. ”It's locked in one of the drawers.”
”Get it.”
Steel moved slowly over to the desk, followed all the way by Mary's unblinking gaze. He took a key from his pocket, careful to keep his movements slow and deliberate, and unlocked one of the desk's drawers. He reached in and brought out a small leather pouch. He pulled open the drawstrings and took out a small blue gem, no more than half an inch in diameter.
”Is this it?” he said slowly. ”Is this what it's all been about? One stupid little jewel?”
”Give it to me,” said Mary eagerly. Steel put the pouch and the jewel on top of the desk, reached into the open drawer, and took out a disrupter. Mary looked at the gun, and smiled.
”You killed Jamie Royal,” said Steel.
”Give me my sapphire.”
”He was a friend of mine, and you killed him. You want your sapphire? Come and get it.”
Mary sang a single piercing note and Steel convulsed, the gun flying from his hand. He fell to the floor and lay there helplessly, s.h.i.+vering violently.
Cyder tried to sit up further, so she could see where the gun had fallen, and her arm gave out. She fell forward onto the bloodstained carpet, and lay trembling in the silence. Somehow she'd never thought it would end like this. To die in the middle of a petty burglary . . . it just wasn't fair. She coughed, and her ribs hurt, but she couldn't move to ease them. One of her eyes was gummed shut with drying blood. She was cold, and so very afraid.
Cat crouched helplessly outside the shattered window. There was nothing he could do. The woman was obviously a very powerful esper, and he didn't even have a weapon. Taking on a rogue esper with his bare hands would only get him killed. If he just stayed where he was, hidden from sight, there was a chance he could still get out of this alive. He didn't have to risk his neck. Cat shrugged suddenly, and pulled himself up onto the jagged window frame. He couldn't run away. Cyder needed him.
He crouched on the ironwood frame a moment, getting his balance just right. The rogue had her back to him. Cat gathered his strength and threw himself at her. The rogue must have heard something at the last moment. She started to turn, but Cat still slammed into her with enough force to send them both cras.h.i.+ng to the floor. They rolled back and forth on the bloodstained carpet, Cat trying desperately to get a stranglehold on her. She brought her elbow back hard into his ribs, driving the air from his lungs, and his grip loosened. Mary pulled herself free, and turned to face him. Cat struggled up onto his knees. Mary opened her mouth and sang.
Cat froze on his haunches as the song washed over him, searing through his muscles. His senses blurred in and out, twisted and jumbled. A tearing headache bent him in two, and then was suddenly gone. Mary was the most powerful esper Cat had ever encountered, and for the first time since he was a child, Cat could hear again.
There was the sound of his own rasping breathing, and the scuffing of his hands and knees on the carpet.
From out beyond the shattered window came the never-ending sounds of the city, m.u.f.fled to a murmur by the thick fog. From all around him came the simple, wonderful, everyday sounds of life and living. And over and above everything else, he could hear Mary singing.
Her voice was sweet and true, rising and falling like a single petal tossed on the wind. It filled Cat's mind, and nothing else mattered. Mary knelt singing before him, face to face. Cat swayed to the song's slow rhythm, glorying in his freedom from silence. He felt himself growing steadily weaker, felt the darkness gathering in around him, and didn't care at all.
He looked past Mary, and saw Steel sitting slumped against the far wall, his hands clapped to his ears, staring at nothing. Lying on the floor between Mary and Steel was Cyder. She lay stretched out on the carpet, bloodied and broken and very still.
Cat rose shakily to one knee, took careful aim, and lashed out at Mary. The last sound he ever heard was his fist slamming into Mary's chin. Mary fell backwards, and lay still.
Cat cried silent tears, and moved slowly over to cradle Cyder's b.l.o.o.d.y head in his lap.
CHAPTER TWENTY.
Starting Over Topaz handed Steel a mug of steaming coffee.
”Steel, you've got to be the luckiest man I've ever met. If your mysterious friend had waited just a little longer to punch out Mary, you'd all have been brainburned.”
”And don't think I'm not aware of that, Topaz.” Steel warmed his shaking hands on the mug, and nodded his thanks to the Investigator. The coffee smelled delicious. If he hadn't known better, he'd have sworn it was the real thing. ”The Watch Sergeant told me you had a run-in with Mary yourself, on the way here.”
Topaz smiled grimly. ”Seems I was lucky too. My Investigator's training protected me from the worst of her song, and she didn't wait to finish me off.” She looked at Steel narrowly. ”Did you really stand up to Mary, armed only with a handgun?”
Steel shrugged, embara.s.sed. ”I was too mad at her to be scared. I knew I didn't stand much of a chance, but . . . I couldn't let her get away. I had to give it a try, didn't I?”
Topaz laughed. ”Steel, there's hope for you yet.”
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