“What happened?” he asked, touching the side of her face with his fingers.
“It’s a long story,” she said.
“I’ve got time. Let me get back into my armor, and we’ll find a place to talk.”
The whole time that she related the tale of the destruction of the demon weapons plant, in far greater detail than she’d intended, Simon sat quietly and let her talk. They sat at the desk in his office in the quiet dark with only a single light on.
“The people you’re with,” Simon asked, “they can’t replace your eye?”
“They gave me a prosthesis.” Leah hated even talking about the subject. Discussing it seemed to magnify the helplessness she felt at her situation. She took the half-helmet from her backpack and handed it to him.
Simon studied the device. “I don’t know much about this.”
“It allows me limited vision when I wear it.” Leah tried to keep her tone light. “It not something I can wear to a cocktail party.” She tried a smile, but it didn’t fit right. “I think the eyepatch makes me more mysterious and provocative.”
Simon handed the prosthesis back to her and she put it away. He remained quiet for a moment, then he said, “If you would like, there are physicians here that can replace your eye.”
Trying not to show her surprise, Leah took a deep breath. Finally, she said, “No one can do that. The technology—” Her voice grew tight and she stopped speaking.
“The technology we have goes beyond what anyone else has,” Simon said. “When the Templar first began getting ready for the coming war with the demons, they knew it wasn’t enough to study weapons and weapons systems. Or armor. If they were going to stand a chance against anything that would come here to prey on mankind, they would have to find a way to prevent casualties and repair damage done to soldiers in the field.”
Leah tried to adjust to what Simon had said. She felt sick with anxiety. Don’t let this be a fantasy.
“Every time there’s been a war,” Simon went on, “like when the United States had their War Between the States in the 1860s, and the Iraq wars of the past century and this one that took place, munitions have taken large leaps in knowledge. The medical field has kept up. It’s had to.”
Voice so tight that she had to force it, Leah asked, “Are you sure you can do this?”
“The physicians can,” Simon replied.
“Have you seen it done?”
“Do I know anyone who’s had an eye replaced, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“I do.”
Less than twenty minutes later, a young Templar joined Simon and Leah in the office. He had dark red hair, freckles, and an honest smile. He carried his helm in his off hand and looked all of seventeen. He introduced himself as Eoin Murdoch.
“You sent for me, Lord Cross?” the young man asked.
“I did.” Simon gestured to Leah. “Miss Creasey was recently wounded in battle. She was told it was impossible to replace what she’d lost.”
The young Templar grinned. “No, ma’am. That’s not entirely true.”
“May I?” Leah asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Leah got up from her chair and walked over to Murdoch. Only faint traces of scarring remained on his face. She studied his brown eyes from several angles, then shook her head.
“I can’t tell,” she said.
“Tell what, ma’am?” Murdoch asked.
“Which eye you had replaced.”
Murdoch smiled a little. “Begging your pardon, ma’am. It wasn’t one eye. It was both. Eight months ago, I was totally blinded during an encounter with the demons. They had to do some patchwork on my face as well. It was a very uncomfortable time.”
Leah couldn’t believe it. There was nothing to see that would tell her the young man’s eyes weren’t the ones he’d been born with.
“Was there anything you wished to know, ma’am?”
“How well do you see?”
“I see just fine, ma’am. Better than I did with my old eyes. There’s only so much human DNA can do.”
“Thank you,” Leah said.
Murdoch looked at Simon.
“That’s all, Mr. Murdoch,” Simon said.
The young Templar spun and walked back out of the room.
Weakly, Leah sat back in her chair. She stared at Simon.
He didn’t say anything.
“Yes,” she replied in a hoarse whisper. “Bloody yes I want my eye back.”
TWENTY-THREE
The hidden doorway was only four feet tall. Warren had to scramble through in a duckwalk. On the other side, he held his torch over his head. Dust motes danced in the pale amber glare.
Air is going to be a problem, Warren told himself.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
Warren turned as Naomi clambered through the opening. She switched on her own torch and played her beam over the walls as well.
“There’s no rush,” Warren said, then looked away as her torch beam caught him squarely in the eyes.
“How far were you going to explore before you decided to let me know about this?”
“We can’t go any farther,” Warren said. “Not at this moment.”
Naomi shone her torch against the opposite wall. The beam stopped somewhere short of touching any other surface than the floor, ceiling, and side walls. The same kind of writing as on the outside of the structure covered them all.
“You need to get this one under better control,” Lilith said.
“What?” Naomi spun around and shone her torch on Lilith. The light touched the demoness but only enough to make her resemble a hologram.
She’s becoming more solid, Warren realized.
Surprised annoyance flashed across Lilith’s beautiful face.
“Who’s this?” Naomi demanded.
“I am Lilith.” She drew herself up to her full height. “And you would do well for yourself to have care around me.”
Naomi looked at Warren, and he nodded.
“Why can I see her now?” Naomi asked.
“She’s getting stronger,” Warren replied.
Cautiously, Naomi closed the distance to Lilith, then held out a hand to touch her. Lilith held her ground. Naomi’s fingertips at first sank through the demon
