Rhea decided it was time to forgo stealth. She casually walked in, letting her boots thud upon the floor and echo across the walls. She kept her hand on her pistol.
Sebastian tilted his head to glance askance at her. His hooded features were hidden in the dim light.
“You know something about those new creatures, don’t you?” she said, wondering why she hadn’t asked earlier. And then she recalled the look he had given her, before Horatio had arrived carrying Will. The look that had promised death and frightened her into silence all this time.
Bad time to be remembering that.
Sebastian still hadn’t answered.
She was glad she couldn’t see his face right now in the murk—she didn’t need fear to drain her resolve.
She folded her arms. “When you saw them, you spoke the words: ‘They’re early.’ What do you know?”
He looked back toward the pool of liquid. Finally: “Does it matter?”
“Tell me,” she said.
Sebastian shrugged. “Suppose I might as well, since you won’t be leaving this tunnel.”
Rhea frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“They’ve been sent to wipe Rust Town off the map,” Sebastian said, still keeping his back to her.
“What, by who?” she said. “That’s a war crime.”
“Doesn’t matter who,” Sebastian said. “All that matters is less than a week from now, Rust Town will be no more. Aradne will no longer have to share water with the slums. It’s actually kind of an easy death, versus the alternative. The city is running out of water, you see.”
“But the ocean feeds the city,” Rhea said. “There’s more than enough to—”
“Have you seen the ocean levels lately?” Sebastian asked. “Of course you haven’t. News about the falling ocean level is routinely shadow-banned from the streaming sites. The populace has been kept in the dark. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.”
“There has to be another way to conserve water,” Rhea said. “Rather than killing all those innocents.”
“Other than converting all the inhabitants of Rust Town to cyborgs?” Sebastian said. “The city won’t do that. Far too expensive. No, the bioweapons will destroy them. It’s already been decided. Just as your own fate has been predetermined.” He turned his torso toward her, and lowered his hood, so that at last she could see his features in the dim light.
“What are you talking about?” She retreated a pace, because she already knew. Looking into his eyes, which gleamed with both malevolence and eagerness beneath the light of that flare, how could she not?
“I was sent to kill you,” Sebastian said, standing. His rifle hung from one hand, pointing downward.
20
Giz, get the others! Rhea sent.
She didn’t take her eyes off the rifle Sebastian held. Her fingers yet touched the pistol in its holster. She wanted to draw it, but she knew the movement would only force a showdown. Then again, did she really want to let Sebastian strike first?
And then Sebastian’s arm shot up.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl around her. Rhea drew her pistol and squeezed the trigger, unleashing a shot. It passed undiminished through the energy bolt Sebastian had launched in return, which also continued at full intensity toward her. She was parsing time at a far higher rate than ordinary humans could in that moment, thanks to the enhancements of her mind-machine interface, but that wouldn’t help her: her body, despite its enhanced speed and strength, couldn’t match the pace of her mind. She instinctively tried to twist out of the way, but there was too much distance for her robotic body to cover before the bolt arrived. She had nothing to defend herself with except for the pistol she held, and that was no defense at all.
Or was it?
She swung the pistol toward the incoming smear of energy as if intending to bat it away. Her forearm moved painfully slowly compared to the fast approaching bolt, and for a moment she thought she wouldn’t raise it in time. But her wrist continued steadfastly upward, millimeter by millimeter, so that when the energy bolt arrived the weapon was in place to block it. The question was, would it be enough?
The bolt struck the tip of the pistol and time snapped back to normal. The weapon became too hot to hold, and she was forced to release it lest she damage her robotic hand; the barrel glowed a bright white, and the pistol melted to half its size before hitting the cavern floor. The deadly energy had otherwise been absorbed, sparing her body from damage. But now she was defenseless.
Thankfully, Sebastian had been forced to use his rifle as a shield to protect himself as well: her energy bolt had slammed into the base of the barrel, melting it inward. Apparently, that was enough to render the weapon useless, because the cyborg promptly tossed it aside.
“Bitch.” Sebastian approached at a crouch.
The flare continued to provide dim light from its position next to the pool, though because his back was to it, Sebastian’s face remained in shadow. She imagined him snarling.
As he got closer, Rhea crouched as well, and the two began circling one another. His movements seemed slow and methodical, and a tad overly cautious: the behavior felt almost comical to her, given she was nearly half his size and likely possessed half his strength to boot. Then again, it was probably a wise move on his part. Having a healthy respect for what might appear to be a lesser foe had probably saved his life on numerous occasions.
It did mean she was going to have a harder time catching him off guard, however.
As he circled, the cyborg’s tail slowly moved forward and backward, slightly curling and uncurling each time as if preparing to strike. The blades that tipped it began spinning as well, the swirling metal gleaming wickedly beneath the light of the flare.
“If you were sent to kill me, why didn’t you do it sooner?”
