“What do you think you’re doing out there?” Nathan asked. “Get back insidethe vehicle before Booth orders someone to light you up.”
It was good advice, and Simon knew he should have taken it. But he couldn’t.Maybe it was pride on his part, or maybe it was defiance. Either way, he stood his ground till Booth’s vehicles backed up and rolled away.
“You have an incoming communiqué,” the suit AI announced.
Simon knew who it would be from. He closed his faceshield and pulled up the HUD. The communiqué came over a private frequency. Simon allowed it to connect.
Booth’s gloating face formed on the HUD. “You’ve been saving people for thelast four years. You’d probably be better off sticking with that and staying outof my way.”
“It’s hard to be in your way,” Simon said. “You’re not going anywhere.”
An unpleasant scowl darkened Booth’s features. “I hope the demons don’t getyou. Honestly I do. One of these days there’ll be an accounting between you andme.”
“It can be today if you like,” Simon offered. “I’m here.”
Booth cursed ferociously for a moment, then blanked the screen and broke communications.
Behind the faceshield, Simon grinned. Okay, maybe that was childish, but it felt good.
But helplessly watching Booth’s ATVs roll away took some of the joy out ofit.
Once more seated in the command center, Simon watched as Booth’s ATV unitsheaded back toward London.
“We know where the Goetia manuscript is supposed to be,” Nathan said.“Do we go there?”
“Not tonight,” Simon answered.
“Do you think it’s wise to wait?” Danielle asked.
“It’s almost four a.m. If we went there now, we’d arrive at daybreak. Andwe’re not set up for an insertion into the city.”
“You’re gambling that Booth won’t send a team into the sanitarium before wecan get there,” Leah said.
Simon felt tired. Tonight had been a series of mixed blessings. Hope had been offered and taken away, and he wasn’t exactly sure what the final balancebetween the two was. He suspected that he’d come out on the short end.
Unless the Goetia manuscript is at Akehurst and it really does offer a weapon against the demons.
“No, I’m gambling that Macomber will keep quiet as he promised he would.Going into London right now the way we aretired and not properlypreparedthat’s just asking for a death sentence.” Simon took a breath. “We’lldo it tomorrow night.”
If it’s to be done at all.
When he woke, Warren found a dead woman standing beside his bed. The sight startled him so much that he drew back across the bed and almost unleashed his power on her. Then he recognized her.
Kelli.
She looked worse than ever. He hadn’t seen her in days. Putrefaction hassettled into her flesh and her skin tones were beginning to change colors, showing greens and yellows now. The stench was horrible and her body moved with the things that lived within her.
“What are you doing here?” Warren asked.
Kelli only turned her head and silently regarded him. He couldn’t rememberwhen she had ceased speaking. Then again, she hadn’t had much to say in a longtime.
Warren wanted to tell her to go away, but he didn’t have the heart. She waswith him because he’d wanted her to be with him. And she was dead through nofault of her own.
Without a word, Kelli sat on the edge of the bed. She had one leg folded up under her, and the flesh was torn so that he could see bones beneath. She creaked when she moved and there was the rippling sound of leather.
Unable to bear sitting on the bed with her, Warren got up and pulled a house coat on over his pajamas. With the fullness of day outside it was too hot to be clothed, but he’d always been modest. He was even more so now with his bodyscarred and alien to him.
Besides, he had a plan to put into effect.
An uncomfortable itch at the back of his mind alerted him to the silent warning of the Blood Angel’s eye. He chose to see through it for a moment, andwatched as Naomi left her room and came up the stairs toward his.
Warren glanced back at Kelli and knew things weren’t going to begin well.
Naomi at least had the good manners to knock before she barged into his room, but she barged all the same. Then she stopped stock still in the doorway and stared at zombie on Warren’s bed.
“What’s she doing here?” Naomi asked.
“I woke up and she was here.” Embarrassment stung Warren. He could onlyimagine what thoughts first ran through Naomi’s mind. “I can’t get her to stayaway.”
Kelli’s dead gaze focused on Naomi. Kelli had never liked Naomi when she’dbeen alive because Kelli had felt threatened that Naomi would take Warren away from her. Evidently that dislike had run deeply enough to carry over into death.
“She’s dead?” Naomi’s voice carried curiosity. She walked closer to get abetter look at the zombie.
“In the shape she’s in, I certainly hope so.” Warren took a bottle of waterfrom the box against the wall. There was no way to keep it refrigerated. He admitted that the thing he most missed about the early days of the invasion was when the beer was still good. Unfortunately, like Kelli, there’d been anexpiration date.
“Did you kill her?”
“No.” Warren felt angry and ashamed that he had been asked that question.
As Naomi neared her, Kelli stood to face her.
“When did she die?” Naomi asked.
That was an even worse question.
Warren shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
Naomi shifted her gaze to him and looked incredulous. “How can you notremember?”
“You’ve seen her. Even when she was alive she wasn’t very talkative.”
“What about before you messed with her mind?”
“She wasn’t very bright to begin with.”
“I can’t believe you.”
“She’s dead. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
“You could have at least cared enough to notice that she was dead! Or betteryet, that she was dying.
Warren cursed. “This wasn’t a relationship, Naomi. I didn’t love her and shedidn’t love me.”
“No, you just used her are so you wouldn’t have to be
