Revelation

something out. We might return to the Empire, where it will be safer.”

“Nowhere is safe,” Makara said. “Not even the Empire.”

The two dozen or so men looked at each other. This was clearly unexpected news.

“You know this, how?” Marcus asked.

“We just returned from there,” Samuel said. “The dragons attacked Nova Roma, unleashing dozens of crawlers within the city walls. Despite this, Augustus is on his way here. He wants to conquer the Wasteland, and a few crawlers and dragons running amok in his Empire won’t stop him.”

Marcus nodded. “That’s no surprise to me, actually. Augustus wants to find and salvage the Bunkers, mostly for weaponry. The networks also contain a lot of information that he is interested in. He understands that these two things will help him hold his Empire in the long run.”

“We expect the first of his forces to be here in two months,” Samuel said.

Marcus’s eyes widened. “Two months?”

“He is working with Carin Black,” Makara said. “I don’t know what their plan is, come winter, but we are preparing for the worst. We need to unite anyone we can to stand against him.”

Marcus looked from Makara to Samuel, saying nothing. “There is nothing we can do.”

Makara took a step forward. “We still have time to mount a resistance. If we take down Carin before Augustus gets here…”

Marcus looked at Makara, trying to see if she was serious. Then he began to laugh. Makara’s face reddened.

“That’s cute, kid,” Marcus said. “And where do you plan on getting an army big enough to stand against the Empire?”

“Well, I hoped you would be my first recruits,” Makara said. “With you and Char both, we might be able to convince the Vegas gangs to help out.”

Marcus frowned at the mention of his brother. “Have you spoken with him?”

“No,” Makara said. “We were hoping that you had. We’ve been searching for you for the past four days. And now, with so much on the line, I’m not leaving until you are with me.” She paused a moment. “The Lost Angels have reformed. I am their leader.”

Marcus looked Makara up and down, recalculating her strength. The men behind Marcus grumbled at each other, and after a moment turned their attention back to Makara.

“How many men do you have?”

“After this conversation, I’m hoping a little over two dozen.”

Marcus gave a bark of a laugh, then shook his head. “You got gumption, kid. That isn’t a bad thing, though.” He eyed Makara, hard. “What makes you think I will follow you?”

Makara shrugged, a slight smile playing on her lips. “This isn’t about me leading. It’s about stopping Augustus. Besides, if you say no, you’ll be hunted by crawlers. You need us just to get as far as Vegas. You can’t run forever. Not from crawlers, not from dragons, not from the Blights. And, on the other hand, we need you. We need the New Angels to be strong enough to take on the Reapers in L.A. If the Angels can make it to Vegas already thirty strong, the gang lords there will be forced to take us seriously. With Char and the Raiders, we will number in the hundreds.”

Marcus nodded, thinking. “What about you, Samuel?”

“Makara heads up the Angels. I head up the mission against the xenovirus. We can’t do anything against the Great Blight until we stop Augustus and Black. We need to take those two down before they ruin every chance we’ve got.”

Marcus said nothing, merely looking at all of us, weighing Makara’s and Samuel’s words. The Exiles behind Marcus listened, waiting for the decision of their leader.

“This is a group decision,” Marcus said. “I lead, but only by the consent of my men. We will need to confer.”

“Please do,” Makara said. “Just don’t take long. Because when it comes to them…” Makara pointed ahead, toward the Great Blight, “there’s no time to waste.”

Marcus nodded. “Come back in an hour and we will have an answer for you, Makara of the Angels.”

As Marcus and the Exiles walked back to their ring of bikes, Makara turned toward us.

“Let’s go.”

Chapter 3

“They will follow us.”

Makara sat in the pilot’s seat, staring out the window at the circle of conferring Exiles.

“You seem so sure,” Anna said.

“It can’t go any other way. If they don’t come with us, they die.”

“All the same,” I said, “we want them with us because they’re with us. We don’t want them having their own agenda.”

“When Marcus accepts, I will let him know about everything that has happened,” Samuel said. “If that still doesn’t sway him, he needs to get his head checked.”

“You see what I’m saying, though,” I said. “They could just use us to get as far as Vegas.”

“Maybe,” Makara said. “But we really don’t have much choice, do we?” She sighed. “Besides, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.”

I wanted to believe Makara. I really did. But I knew she was improvising. It was a lucky thing she happened to be good at that.

“When we finally find Char,” Anna said, “those two are going to be a mess to deal with.”

“It’s time they reconciled,” Makara said.

“How do you know if Char is even alive?” I asked.

“He is. I know he is. If Marcus doesn’t know where his brother is, then that tells me Char is probably in Vegas. He would not go to L.A. — the Reapers and the Raiders have always been on bad terms.” She turned back toward the windshield, staring at her potential recruits. “Process of elimination.”

Samuel said nothing. Makara was in control, now — of where we went, who we talked to, and what we did. It was a different, yet not unnatural change. I remembered what Samuel had told me back in Skyhome — if he died, he expected me to lead the crew. How was I supposed to do that if Makara was in charge now?

The potential of me being in charge seemed so unnatural. I felt far more comfortable in a support role, and I wondered if Makara, or even Samuel, were the same way. Maybe leaders were made more out of necessity than necessarily being born that way.

At last the Exiles turned, heading as one toward the ship.

“They’re coming,” Anna said.

It was time to hear their decision.

* * *

“We will ride with you,” Marcus said.

Makara nodded. “Good.”

“On one condition.”

Makara arched an eyebrow.

“We are our own men. At any time we may leave, and never return, if we so choose. At no time am I, or any of the Exiles, to be under your direct authority.” Marcus stared hard at Makara through his sunglasses.

“I understand your reservation,” Makara said. “But I will always be willing to listen to your opinions. In the end, however, I’m the one in charge, and I make the final decision. If you join the New Angels, it’s as a New Angel.” She waved a hand backward, toward us. “It’s the same for them.”

Marcus did not say anything for a long while.

“Your brother as well?” Marcus asked.