The Quest (33 page)

I didn’t know how to reply to that, so I just smiled and said, “I’m glad he took good care of you.”

Alia nodded.
“We’re still alive. My feet really hurt, though. Ed isn’t the kind of person you ask for a piggyback ride unless you really need it.”

“You can have one now if you like,” I offered, noticing that Alia’s legs were a bit wobbly. “You’re probably lighter than James’s backpack.”

Chapter 14: The Hunt Begins

We made fairly decent progress for the rest of that day, completing our descent and getting more than halfway up the next slope before sundown. It wasn’t easy finding a flat space big enough for our tent, small as it was, but we did. Designed for two, the tent was just barely large enough to squeeze four of us in, but that was okay since one would always be on watch outside.

We couldn’t have made a campfire even if there was wood to burn, but nobody complained about the cold dinner. We did our best to eat slowly.

“If we’re careful, we might be able to stretch this for another five or six days,” said Ed Regis, “but water is going to be a problem sooner. Hopefully we’ll find another river on the way.”

“Hopefully we’ll get to kill a few more Angels and take their supplies,” said Terry.

I couldn’t be sure if Terry was being serious, though, because we weren’t equipped for a major confrontation.

Like Terry and James, Ed Regis was armed only with a pair of pistols, and Alia and I had nothing. Ed Regis offered me one of his, but I declined. In such a large, open area, the comparatively short range and poor accuracy of a handgun were going to be mortal disadvantages against anyone carrying a proper rifle, so I saw little point in carrying Ed Regis’s spare. Terry knew this too, of course, but her assault rifle, along with everyone else’s, had been on the second plane with the Wolves. To make matters worse, the two psionic scouts that Ed Regis had killed hadn’t been armed with conventional weapons, relying solely on their psionic powers.

“So what were they?” I couldn’t help asking over dinner.

Ed Regis replied, “One of them was a telekinetic, fairly strong, but not enough to fly. I can’t be sure, but I think he was the finder. The other guy was a puppeteer like Merlin. It was pretty hard blocking him.”

I looked at him in surprise. “You can block controllers?”

“Of course. Blocking is a standard part of training for all Wolves.”

“So where do they get the training dummies?” I asked accusingly.

But it was Terry who answered, “There are plenty of traitor psionics who help the Wolves in return for money and protection.”

Ed Regis shook his head. “We do have some collaborators on our side, but it’s also true that not all of our teachers are willing participants in the program.”

I wondered if some of those unwilling participants were former inmates of the PRC, but I didn’t ask. Nor was there reason to pass too harsh judgment on the Wolves. The Guardians had done plenty of equally deplorable things over the years. Besides, had Ed Regis not known how to block controllers, my second sister might already be en route to Randal Divine to join my first. It was time to change the subject.

I asked, “Do you think those guys following us are ever going to attack?”

Earlier that evening, James and I finally got to see the group that had been trailing us for the last few days. There were three men, mere specks in the distance, one mountain behinds us just as Terry said. Ed Regis got a closer look at the trio through a pair of binoculars he had taken from the scouts, and he told us that all three of our pursuers were armed with scoped rifles, not military grade, but probably semi-automatic.

“They’ll attack alright, but not until they’re good and ready,” said Terry. “We really should take them out before they get reinforced.”

I knew Terry had been itching to do just that for days now, but it was impossible to get close to them without their seeing us. And they had the range advantage. Even with Terry and Ed Regis’s formidable battle skills, we couldn’t hope to remove our pesky tail without a fair amount of risk. Besides, killing them wouldn’t blind the Angels to our position. Any decent finder could easily locate Alia and me on these mountains.

“I could try taking them from the air during the night,” I suggested. “They probably wouldn’t be able to hit me if I was flying.”

Terry shook her head. “If those hunting rifles could shoot a bird out of the air, I’m sure they could get you too. Just because you’re a runt doesn’t mean you’re smaller than a bird.”

I was used to Terry’s cracks about my size so I didn’t let it bother me. “A bird doesn’t know bullets,” I countered in a reasonable tone. “And it’d be dark and they wouldn’t be expecting me.”

“It could work,” said Terry, smirking. “If you’re that willing to risk your life, you’re welcome to give it a shot. But you might want to ask Alia first. After all, she’s the one who’s going to have to heal your gunshot wound.”

I took one look at the expression on my sister’s face and deflated. “Maybe not tonight.”

I was still hungry after eating, but I suppose we all were, and not even Alia complained aloud. Terry assigned the night watch. I was to go first, followed by Ed Regis, then James, and Terry last. Alia was given a pass due to her age.

Also by virtue of her age, Alia was automatically given one of the two sleeping bags, which looked far more comfortable than the dead men’s clothes. Terry suggested we draw lots for the other bag, and James won.

I said jokingly, “I’m second youngest. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

Terry laughed. “No, but you’re welcome to snuggle in with Alia like always.”

Not that I hadn’t considered it, but the sleeping bags weren’t all that roomy. There was no telling when we would have into spring to action, and the thought of trying to wiggle out of a bag while being pounded by gunfire wasn’t very attractive.

Even so, I guessed that just being inside the tent and shielded from the wind would be a vast improvement in comfort, especially since the body heat of four people in a two-man tent would keep us all plenty warm. As the others sealed themselves in, I bid them goodnight and sat on the uneven ground between two boulders.

I was shivering slightly, but comforted by the notion that, even though we still weren’t psionically hidden, we were now five strong, fed and sheltered. In but a moment I heard my sister’s familiar telepathic mumbling. It might have been impossible to hear approaching footsteps over the sound of the wind and Alia’s voice in my head, but fortunately none came during my watch. At nearly midnight, I unzipped the tent door, reached in and shook Ed Regis’s foot until he woke.

Silently crawling out of the tent, Ed Regis stretched and asked, “How has it been?”

“Quiet,” I answered.

“Go on inside,” said Ed Regis. “I’ll take it from here.”

When I didn’t move, Ed Regis asked, “What is it, Adrian?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Ed Regis looked at me quizzically.

Gazing up at his weathered face, I remembered how hard it had been for me to beg this man’s assistance back in the basement of the Angels’ house. But sometimes you just have to stow your pride and say something that needs to be said.

“Thank you, Ed Regis,” I said quietly. “Thank you for watching over my sister.”

Ed Regis smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“I’m glad you’re with us. And I am sorry about your men.”

“They knew the risks,” Ed Regis said matter-of-factly. “But thank you. I hope your friend is okay.”

I nodded. “I’m sure Merlin knew the risks too.”

Ed Regis asked hesitantly, “Are you sure that you’re glad I’m here?”

I shrugged. “Mission first, right? Nothing personal?”

“That’s right.”

“Alia likes you a lot.”

“She’s a good kid,” Ed Regis said softly. “I wouldn’t hurt her again.”

“Then I’m glad you’re here,” I assured him.

Ed Regis chuckled. “You want to know something funny? I spent three years learning mental blocking, but for the life of me, I can’t keep your sister’s telepathy out of my head.”

I laughed too. “Join the club.”

“The kid never stops talking about you, Adrian. Addy this, Addy that. She even told me how your eyes changed color. She told me what the Slayers did to you.”

“Yeah, well, Alia is a big blabbermouth.”

“So it’s true?” asked Ed Regis. “You were actually blind for several months?”

“I didn’t learn Braille for my health, you know,” I said wryly.

Ed Regis grinned. “So I’m guessing that’s why you consistently run your fingers along every wall you pass.”

I stared at him incredulously. “I don’t do that! Do I do that?”

Ed Regis nodded. “Part of my job involves spotting people’s habits.”

I cringed. “I can’t believe I still do that.”

“Most people don’t realize half of the things they do,” Ed Regis said casually. “Like you probably don’t know what your hand is doing right this instant.”

I stopped fingering my amethyst and narrowed my eyes at Ed Regis. “When you get back to your unit, are you going to write all this stuff in my database entry?”

Ed Regis frowned. “Well, technically, everything I learn here should count as being off record. But most likely, yes, I will.”

I laughed. “At least you’re honest about it.”

I really was glad that Ed Regis was with us, but that didn’t mean I was about to give him a hug. I valued his expertise as a soldier, but he was a Wolf and that wasn’t going to change. At least it kept our relationship simple and straightforward.

We stood silently, side by side, looking out over the dark mountainside for a few more minutes. Catching me stifling a yawn, Ed Regis said, “Why don’t you get some sleep now, Adrian.”

I had one last question for him. “Do you really think we’re going to survive this trip?”

“Our chances do seem pretty slim right now,” Ed Regis replied gravely. “But stranger things have happened. Who knows, right?”

I nodded. “Goodnight, Ed Regis.”

Slipping into the tent and zipping the door, I carefully crawled over Alia’s sleeping bag to Ed Regis’s former space between my sister and the wall. Terry was asleep on Alia’s other side and James’s sleeping bag occupied the sliver of space between Terry and the opposite wall. We really were packed like sardines in here, but at least I was out of the wind.

The night was painfully short.

I felt I had barely closed my eyes before they snapped open again to the sound of a gunshot echoing out across the mountain.

“Wake up!” shouted Terry’s voice from just outside.

The dim light filtering in through the fabric told me that it was nearing dawn. On the other side of the tent, Ed Regis was already in a sitting position, awake and alert. He shook James awake as I quickly woke Alia.

Another shot rang out, followed by a third.

“Come on, out of the tent!” Terry shouted again, but her voice sounded calm and in control. I guessed that our attackers were not yet on our doorstep.

Yanking Alia out of her sleeping bag, I followed James and Ed Regis outside.

“What’s going on?” asked James.

“Our buddies decided they want to play,” replied Terry, leaning her back against the boulder that was shielding our tent from the gunfire. “They’re about three hundred yards down.”

“Let me see,” said Ed Regis, grabbing his binoculars and peering over the boulder. “They’re pretty well dug in,” he observed. “It won’t be easy taking them out. But at least they’re still too far away to get a good shot at us.”

“Looks like the Angels finally caught up with us,” I said.

“Yeah,” Terry said grimly.

Terry knew that I wasn’t referring to the three riflemen approaching from below, but James didn’t. “We can still escape,” said James, looking up toward the top of the slope. “They’re enough boulders around here that we can use as cover to get up over this mountain and–”

“No!” Terry and Ed Regis said in unison.

“We can’t escape that way,” I said patiently.

“Why not?” asked James.

We had trained James pretty well in combat, but not at all in battle strategy. I explained to him, “The other side of this mountain is crawling with Angels. Those three down there aren’t trying to kill us. They’re trying to run us into a trap.”

“How the hell do you know that, Adrian?”

“Because that’s how you hunt people,” I replied matter-of-factly.

“He’s right,” said Ed Regis. “There’s no escape over the mountain.”

Terry nodded. “We need to go back down.”

James looked horrified. “Into the fire? But they have rifles! With scopes! It’s insane!”

I secretly agreed. If we charged down the mountain, chances were we’d all be dead well before we got into pistol range.

“I suppose we could inch our way down using the boulders for cover,” Ed Regis said uncertainly, “but it would take a lot of time. As soon as those bastards see that we’re not running away from them, they’ll probably radio their ambush team. We need to get down quickly if we’re going to stay ahead of the pack.”

“Everyone just stay put,” I said, peeking over the boulder to get a feel for the distance and direction of the riflemen.

“What are you doing, Addy?” asked Alia, though she probably guessed.

“What I should have done last night when it was darker.”

“Not smart, Half-head,” warned Terry.

Probably true, but I felt that if I delayed this any longer, I might lose my nerve.

“We can argue tactics later if I’m still alive, Terry,” I said, and inhaled deeply.

“No!” cried Alia, but I was already airborne, jumping ten yards up above our camp.

Then, swooping down the mountainside, I gathered speed as I made a controlled diagonal descent toward the rocks that the riflemen were using as cover. When I had crossed about half the distance, one of the men appeared from behind his boulder and took careful aim at me. As I saw the puff of smoke from his rifle, I pumped more power into my telekinetic levitation, raising my body a yard higher. Another rifleman took a second shot, and I quickly dropped down low against the slope and shifted my heading to the left for a moment before veering back. This was no different from flying an airplane through anti-aircraft fire. Keep changing trajectory.