Anne Winchell - The Last War

“That’s wonderful, Scott. How long is she here?”

“Four days,” he explained. “We don’t know exactly when. Whenever shuttle traffic is normal again. She has a healthcare seminar at the capital, it’s being rescheduled. Everyone on Earth seems to think the moon has such a superb healthcare system, but really they just have fewer, healthier people. She has to explain the moon’s system, anyway, and then a committee will try to adapt it to Earth politics.”

“Sounds fun,” Raven said with only the slightest hint of irony. “I may have to stop by, then. Just for the seminar, of course,” he added with a shine in his eyes. “If I happen to see Lydia, that would be a happy coincidence.”

Scott laughed. “And if you don’t happen to see Lydia, I foresee an unhappy coincidence in your future.”

Raven shared a chuckle. They both knew Lydia would forgive Raven the moment she saw him; she might make threats but she had a soft spot in her heart for him.

“I don’t really know what’ll be going on, what I’ll be doing,” Raven continued seriously. “Everything’s kind of up in the air and I’m trying to stay under cover for as long as possible. But I’ll make sure to see her at least once while she’s here.”

“Promise?”

Raven hesitated, but Scott had told Lydia that he would get Raven’s word. Raven never broke his word. Partly because he almost never gave it.

“I promise,” Raven said quietly. “I’ll see her.”

“Thank you,” Scott said. His watch beeped. The office. He had told them he was making a stop before returning to work but they needed him now. Probably needed readers and writers for the whole moon fiasco. He would do what he could to keep Raven safe in the press, as he always did.

“Office.”

“I figured.”

“See you soon,” Scott said, emphasizing the soon. If Raven were living full time in NeoLondon again, he had no excuse for not meeting his friend every once in a while. Maybe returning to the resistance was a good idea after all.

“Thanks, Scott,” Raven said, and hugged him tightly. “Give my love to Lydia and tell her I’ll see her soon too.”

As Raven stood up, a few more people in the bookstore noticed him and left. Scott paid little attention; he needed to get a ride and taxis rarely came to the lower levels. He kept switching between happiness and fear for Raven, and he couldn’t decide if Raven’s move was a good, sound decision or another hastily made mistake. Raven seemed happy, though, and that was what mattered most. He knew Raven would never have an ordinary life; Scott just wanted him to have a life surrounded by people who loved him.

After Raven and the other man split up, Atheus followed the former. He had been waiting for days for someone to report on Raven’s presence and he had started to wonder if Raven had left the city for good. Atheus had people searching on all levels of the city but most of his effort was on the lower levels, where Raven might feel more protected. It had worked, and now Atheus would finally be able to track him back and find the resistance’s headquarters.

Atheus was in human form, not díamont form, so Raven wouldn’t recognize him. He hardly recognized himself sometimes. His human body was aging faster than he liked and it was only a matter of time before it gave out entirely. Maybe fifty, sixty more years. The scientists who had built Atheus added aging as a safety mechanism so that he couldn’t live forever. Medane was aging as well, though it didn’t seem to be as fast, Atheus thought jealously. Medane still had all of his hair, and his darker skin hid some of the wrinkles. Only Lethe was created to live forever. And if there was a way to make Lethe live forever, Atheus knew there had to be a way to duplicate it and allow himself to live forever as well. Death was for humans, not for díamonts.

Raven was hard to follow through the city but Atheus already had a general idea where he would end up. Kaela had refused to give the specific location of the rebel’s headquarters, the bitch, but he would deal with her later. Atheus glared at the thought of her and a passerby flinched and hurried past. He controlled his face. In díamont form his emotions were always hidden and he often forgot to appear calm in human form. Raven had told the other man he was staying with Nalia, the girl. The díamont, Atheus corrected himself. As soon as Medane mentioned the rogue díamont, Atheus had known where it came from and eliminated everyone with connections to the lab. Lethe wouldn’t be able to find a trace.

And she wore the bracelet, Atheus thought with malicious glee. It was designed for Medane, of course. With Medane out of the way, Lethe would be relatively easy to manipulate and Atheus would finally be free to research immortality. The bracelet was like a bomb, in many ways, but it depended on díamont DNA to function. If Medane touched it, he would be killed almost instantly and the blast would take out a huge area as well. On the girl, though, it seemed to be taking longer. The little brat had even managed to channel the explosive power somehow when she attacked him, using it like a laser gun. Not for long, though, he knew. It would slowly eat away at her body, sapping her strength and wreaking havoc on a microscopic level until it consumed her entirely.

And Raven was with her now, Atheus thought. This pleased him; Raven had escaped Atheus as a child but surely the fool would be willing to serve Atheus if it meant saving that girl’s life. Atheus was even willing to throw in Kaela’s life as well. If Raven did what Atheus wanted, he was prepared to let all three live out their lives according to his plan.

Raven entered a building with a shabby exterior and open door. Atheus remained hidden, knowing that his dark clothing would attract attention from the peasants here. Luckily they weren’t smart enough to post guards or they would have seen him. Atheus made a note of the location and waited long enough to make sure that Raven didn’t go anywhere else. Then Atheus headed back to the main city and started making calls. There were plenty of people who would enjoy taking Raven down and they would surely be interested in knowing where he was. Atheus was prepared to pay top dollar for Raven, as long as he was alive. Atheus was also prepared to kill anyone who murdered Raven before Atheus had the chance. His contacts would know not to cross him, Atheus knew. It was only a matter of time now before Raven was his.

Nalia found herself gardening once again, but for the first time it didn’t even occur to her to complain. Raven was with her, pulling out weeds at her side, both of them laughing when the dirt flew and the roots snapped. She had never imagined that physical labor could be fun. Her father didn’t approve, she knew, but she didn’t care. She didn’t believe the things he said about Raven either. Maybe Raven used to be selfish and callous, but he didn’t seem like it anymore.

She pulled out a carrot carefully and brushed off the dust. There was a lump on the vegetable, hard and almost shell-like. She showed it to Raven and his eyes widened. He grabbed the lump and lifted it off the carrot, flipping it over to show her the other side of the shell. It was slimy, and it moved in place. She fought the urge to drop the carrot and run from the garden. She hated bugs and never expected to find one outside like this.

“It’s a snail,” Raven said.

He didn’t sound frightened. She tried to match his tone.

“What’s that?”

“A wild animal. They used to live everywhere, but now they’re just in the far north and south. I don’t know what it’s doing in the middle of the city.”

Nalia looked at the thing with honest curiosity. Like every other child, she had seen pets before, and zoo animals, and museum animals, and like every city-dweller, she dealt with insects on a regular basis. It looked too small to be an animal, but it clearly wasn’t a bug. She reached out and he handed it to her. She gingerly held it by the hard case, watching the flat part on the bottom squirm. The case didn’t move. Maybe it was a shell like some bugs had, she thought. Raven took it from her again and set it back on the carrot, lifting the carrot between them horizontally. After a moment, the flat part started shifting and two stalks rose from the front. Nalia could just make out something like eyes on the ends.