Collision: The Alliance Series Book Three (21 page)

“Jesus Christ, Ada,” said Kay. “Are you all right?” He crossed the still-smoking pavement and took my non-weapon hand, flipping it over. Not so much as a graze. I’d got lucky this time. Yet the shiver when Kay’s hand brushed over mine caught my attention. I realised I was staring at him, and looked away, suddenly hyperaware of a tension in the air that had absolutely nothing to do with magic and everything to do with Kay.

“I’m fine. That was close.”

“Tell me about it.” He glanced at my hand as though just aware he still held it, and let it drop. To my disappointment. “Lucky it didn’t do any more damage.”

“Lucky it didn’t get at Central.” Carl grimaced. “Goddamned magic burn.”

“You got hit?” asked Kay.

Carl touched his reddening jaw, with a slight twitch despite his obvious attempt not to show pain. “Must have. You two are okay?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Good. There’s no way I’m going off-duty, so don’t mention it to Ms Weston.”

“You don’t have to do that if you’re hurt,” I protested.

“And there’s no other head guard around.” Carl looked stonily at the place where the creatures had been. “Accursed creatures. Someone has to deal with it.”

“You both have a death wish,” I said.

“I beg to differ,” said Kay, turning back to Central. “Come on. Guess we have to report this, too.”

***

Ms Weston was locked in her office, on the phone. Her raised voice came through the door, but I didn’t recognise which language she spoke.

“What now?” I said, turning to Kay.

“God knows,” he muttered, tapping his communicator screen. “We still have an hour.”

“Not enough time for a hover-bike ride?” I tried a smile, but his eyes were on the screen. “Guess the Passages are still out of order.”

“Yeah.” He finally looked up. “I’m sorry about what happened over there. You don’t have to come back later if you don’t want to.”

“What?” I stared at him. He thought I wanted to quit? “No way. I’m involved in this now.”

“I can tell Ms Weston. We don’t need all magic-wielders to be there.” He paused. “These kinds of missions are usually reserved for Ambassadors with more experience dealing with conflict—”

“I’ve dealt with plenty, thanks,” I said, and instantly regretted snapping at him. “Sorry. But you’re forgetting I’ve been escorting people from hostile territory since I was eight.”

Kay blinked. “I know. I just wanted to make sure you’re all right.”

Oh.
I didn’t really know how to respond. Part of me was a little annoyed, like when Jeth was fussing over me, but I got a totally different vibe when Kay did the same.

I wasn’t completely dense. I knew a far-more-significant part of me
liked
that he worried about me—whether as a friend or something else, I didn’t know—but I’d had first-hand experience with how quickly Kay could shut me out and I wasn’t keen to repeat it by pressuring him to tell me why.

I dropped my gaze. “Yeah. I’m fine, Kay.”

“Good.” He paused. “You know Ambassadors get little in the way of compensation. It’s not like when you were helping people in the Passages. Those were people who wanted to be saved, who had no choice but to depend on you. But we’re from the Alliance, and some people are going to see us as an interference no matter what.”

“Maybe,” I said. “I’m amazed Mathran even wanted to work with us. And the people in the city.”

“His world’s falling apart, literally,” said Kay. “Wouldn’t you make an exception?”

“Fair point.” I drew in a breath. “So what made
you
want to be an Ambassador? You could have seen the Multiverse on a permit, right? Or was someone you knew an Ambassador?”

I could picture him being in Carl’s position as a senior guard, maybe. Definitely not in an office, though he knew the council and had worked with them before. But his family had founded the Alliance. All the Walkers had been council members, right? I didn’t know for sure.

I watched him, convinced he wouldn’t answer. Then he inclined his head. “Yeah.”

“All right. Just curious.” My deadly sin. And it’d be the death of me, at this rate. Had his mother been an Ambassador?

“Nobody in my family’s ever worked for the Alliance, have they?” I said, very aware of the growing silence. “You can’t blame me for wanting to know why other people sign up. Apart from offworlders, that is.”

“Earth people?” he said. “Raj is a magic-wielder. I don’t know how he found out, but I’m guessing that factored into his decision. Ms Weston was born into it. The Westons have a history with Central, I think. And Carl wanted to fight monsters.”

“That’s the only reason?”

“It’s what he said when someone asked,” said Kay.

“Sorry. I’ve more curiosity than common sense. Guess that’s why I asked Markos why he worked at Central.”

“He did answer you and not trample you. He must like you.”

“Ha ha.” I shook my head. “I can deal with this, you know, Kay.”

“I know you can. I just wanted to be sure.”

“Right. I should go home and pack, anyway.” And stop Nell freaking out about me going offworld. Stifling a sigh, I turned to Ms Weston’s office. “Wonder what she’s doing in there?”

“Terrifying someone,” he said. “Carl will be on her case later about those idiot guards who let that creature slip past the doorway. Tomorrow Cethrax will be knocking on the door.”

“Hope not,” I said. “What even
was
that creature? I know they’re made of residual magic, Carl told me.”

“I did wonder,” said Kay. “Residual magic–like living backlash. Hmm.”

“Living?”

Like living deities?
No, that couldn’t be right. The magic-creatures were barely sentient, and didn’t even have corporeal forms. Then again, the same could be said of some of Cethrax’s monsters. But that place was a magic-free zone.

“Well, ‘attacking’,” said Kay. “If I had to guess, I’d say we beat it by outclassing its magic level, but we’re in trouble if stunners don’t work on it. There aren’t enough magic-wielders on Earth.”

“Damn. I guess I get why Carl didn’t want to leave anyone else in charge.” And the others didn’t have internal sources. That creature was level two, at least. We really were in over our heads. All I knew was the magic-creatures came from somewhere in the Passages–which might literally mean any world.

Even Vey-Xanetha.

“Yeah, I’m gonna meet my brother and head home,” I said. “I’ll meet you back here in an hour, okay?”

“Sure,” said Kay.

I went down to the entrance hall again, where I found Jeth waiting. Good timing.

“Hey, Ada. You done with that mission?”

“Er.” Far from it. “We’re staying over at the base tonight. I need to pack for a long trip.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. The day runs in weird cycles, and it’s night time over there now. Next day begins at midnight properly, but we want to get there early.”

But if their carvings were to be believed, time was limited. I decided against mentioning that to my family. No reason to worry them half to death.

“I’m going shopping,” said Jeth. “You need anything for wilderness survival?”

“We’re staying at the base,” I said. “Not camping. I have a sleeping bag, you know.” Not that I’d ever been camping for real. Or on a holiday of any sort, seeing as Nell had never wanted to leave London and we’d always been strapped for cash. And busy. This was the closest to a holiday I’d had, I thought wryly. A one-way trip to the end of the world.

Cheerful, Ada.

At home, Nell waited in the living room, where she was practising combat moves. The furniture had been pushed against the walls and nobody else was in there. “I thought you were offworld,” she said.

“I will be.” I flopped on the sofa. “It’s a longer mission, I have to go back in an hour. They have weird day-cycles, it’s night-time over there now.”

“When will you be back?”

“Tomorrow,” I said, with more certainty than I felt. “Hopefully, if we solve this, all the craziness on Earth will stop.”

“Good,” said Nell. “The Knights are having difficulties, too. Offworlders are complaining to them about all kinds of things which are none of their business–the ones who don’t trust the Alliance.”

I should have guessed the other Enzarians would be affected by this. Which reminded me…

“Er, Nell,” I said, hesitantly. I tried to avoid bringing up my homeworld if I could help it. “There’s this legend on Vey-Xanetha about how they crossed between worlds using some kind of direct doorway. When you brought me to the Passages from Enzar, was it like that? Didn’t we go through the Passages?”

A long pause. A tension took hold of Nell, one I recognised from whenever anyone spoke of Enzar and when she’d smuggled me from my homeworld. Her mouth became a flat line, and her hands, normally so steady, began to shake.

“I don’t know. I can’t pretend I remember much of that day, and at the time, I didn’t understand how travel through the Passages worked. But I do remember the first time I saw the Passages. And I remember you staring around in wonderment. Somehow, even then, I knew you’d find your way back.” She sighed. “I’ve done things you wouldn’t be proud of, Ada. I killed a dozen people the night I escaped the palace. Maybe more. Once, they used me as their slave, their warrior. No more.” She shook her head. “If the Alliance even attempts to use you for anything against your will…”

“I won’t let them. Of course I won’t.” I got to my feet. “I’m going to pack.”

Would they even have running water there? Stupid question. I knew they were self-sustaining. But given the state of the rest of the world…

And now I felt guilty on top of everything else, for worrying about being able to shower when their world might be ending.
At least I know I can deal with those kimaros now.
I could fight, if I knew who the enemy was. But the situation over on Vey-Xanetha was way more complicated than that.

I crawled out onto the roof with a nest of blankets, looking up at the sky. Our sky. Grey. Dependable. But for how long? What if magic altered this world permanently, too?

I remembered the one story Nell had told me from my homeworld. Though she hadn’t read to me since I was young, the tale of Enzar’s star-deities had stuck with me. That was why I’d painted stars on the ceiling of my old room. But I didn’t know the legends, not in the same way I’d have done if they were part of my life. If I’d lived on Enzar before the Royals took over and burned every other culture to the ground. Even the Alliance hadn’t been able to stop it.

Maybe we were trying to stop the inevitable.

I climbed back down to find Jeth had bought half a convenience store and dumped it on my bed.

“Jeth, you know they have food there, don’t you?” I said. “And I don’t need a tent!”

“Better to be prepared,” he called up from the landing. “You did a wilderness survival course, right?”

“Yes, but not offworld!” I said. “Lighting a fire there brings down the wrath of the gods, and half the wildlife wants to eat us, not the other way around.”

And like hell would I be camping in the jungle. Shaking my head, I sorted everything into two piles–necessary and unnecessary. Then I stopped and stared. Okay, Jeth was taking the protective older brother thing way too far. Condoms? Really?

“You have
got
to be kidding me,” I said.

“What?”

“I’m not even–what do you think I’m going to, some kind of orgy?”

“Keep safe, Ada!”

I rolled my eyes, leaving the condoms in my desk drawer and trying not to think about how Kay and I would be in close proximity for the first time since… well, a while. Or that if I admitted it to myself, I’d spent more than one sleepless night reimagining the last time I’d made out with him.

“Priorities,” I muttered to myself.

Zipping my bag, I knocked something off the bed with a clatter. Something invisible. “Jeth, I thought the other earpiece was broken.”

“I fixed it,” he said. “Well, don’t tell the others. Thought you might want to keep in touch.”

“You lied to Ms Weston?”

“She didn’t ask.”

I clipped the device to my ear. “You sure about this? Because we’ll be there all night.”

“I can live with it. Just as long as you’re safe, sister.”

I smiled. My family had my back.

My communicator buzzed.

Kay.
“I’m at Central now.”

I checked my watch. We were a bit early, but at least it meant it was still light outside.
“On my way,”
I replied, and set about gathering my things.

“I’m heading to Central,” I called down the landing.

“Good luck!” said Jeth. “I’ll keep the earpiece switched on, so if you find anything, let me know.”

“Bring me a souvenir!” called Alber.

“Not allowed to carry offworld substances,” I said, with a grin. “It’s in the rulebook!”

This couldn’t be goodbye. I’d be back tomorrow. They didn’t need to know any more. Those legends might just be legends. Like doomsday theories on Earth.