Leah easily plucked the case from the air and looked at it. The case contained a nanospring microdot computer drive. It was red as a drop of blood and no larger or thicker than her fingernail.
“That contains everything we’ve discovered from the Goetia manuscript,” Simon said. “It also includes the instructions on how to make the Node fields. At least, what we’ve managed to figure out about them so far.”
“Do you believe him?” Lyra asked.
“Don’t you?” Leah asked her.
After only a brief hesitation, Lyra answered, “Yes, I do.”
Pride surged inside Leah. Simon Cross was exactly what he presented himself to be: a knight willing to sacrifice his life so that others could live. Leah’s training ran counterpoint to that. She was supposed to sacrifice others, let them die for their countries or beliefs.
“What you’ve seen in the tunnel there?” Simon asked. “That’s as large as we’ve been able to make the fields up to now. Macomber and the others are still working on the problem of enlarging it, but they’ve not reached a solution yet. When—and if—they find one, I’ll let you know.”
Leah remembered the harsh words the woman at the redoubt had given her. “Your generosity is surprising, Simon, but I know not all Templar feel the way you do.”
“They don’t like trusting people.”
“They would have kept the secret of the Nodes to themselves.”
“Yes. But that decision isn’t completely theirs. It’s mine. And I persuaded them to see that knowledge of the Nodes benefits all of us. The more others fight back against the demons, the longer we’ll last. In the end, they saw that.”
Leah closed her hands around the disk and wished she didn’t feel so miserable. But part of that was Simon’s fault. A large part of it. She held him accountable.
“You could have brought me with you today,” she told him. She knew her voice was cold with accusation.
“Another choice I made.”
“You tried to keep this from me.”
“I wanted to keep you out of harm’s way,” Simon said. “I knew this was going to be a bloody bit of business.”
That’s something you would do, she thought angrily.
“If the field failed, it wouldn’t have mattered,” Simon said. “I saw no reason to get your hopes up. That’s why we haven’t told anyone else at the redoubt. And we won’t until we find a way to increase the Node’s parameters. Having a protective field over a couple dozen people isn’t going to help enough.”
She chose not to argue that.
“You’re welcome to the research,” Simon said. “I’d ask that if your people find a way to enlarge the parameters that they tell us.”
Leah wanted to answer but knew she couldn’t.
“Tell him yes,” Lyra said.
“Am I lying to him?” Leah asked. Are you lying to me?
“No. It’s the truth. I swear it.”
Leah knew the promise didn’t mean anything. Lying was one of the primary skills among agents. But she wanted to tell Simon.
“If we find anything,” Leah said, “you’ll be informed.”
Simon nodded. “Thank you for that.” He let the uncomfortable silence drag between them for a moment longer. “Given the circumstances, especially in light of the fact that most people in the redoubt know you ‘escaped,’ it might be better if you stayed away for a while.”
His words hung dry and lifeless in the distance between them. Leah felt hurt and confused. Resorting to her training, she walled those feelings away.
“All right,” she said. “If that’s how you’d like it.”
“It’s not a matter of how I’d like it,” Simon said. “I’ve found I’ve got little control over the things I’d like. This is just how it has to be.”
Leah tried to think of something to say but couldn’t.
“Will you be able to see your way to safety from here?” Simon asked.
“Yes,” Lyra told Leah. “I’ve got an exfiltration team standing nearby.”
“I will,” Leah answered.
“Then take care out there, Leah. I wish you well.” Simon turned on his heel and disappeared through the door to the tube platform waiting area.
Unable to move or to speak, Leah watched him go.
“You did what you had to do,” Lyra said.
“That doesn’t make it right,” Leah said.
“It will. You had no way of knowing what Lord Cross planned to do.”
“I could have waited for another time. Or asked him about these devices.”
“If he’d wanted to tell you, he’d have told you before now.”
“He was going to tell me.”
“That’s what he says now.”
Leah headed for the platform and hauled herself up. “Didn’t you come to me and want to push him further up in the hierarchy of the Templar?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must believe in him.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Do me a favor,” Leah interrupted. “Stay out of my head for a while.” She cut comm and kept walking through the darkness.
THIRTY-TWO
Get up, Warren!”
The frantic voice dragged Warren from his sleep. He pushed the pillow from his face and glanced around groggily. It was light outside, but dawn had started when he’d gone to bed. He’d been up all night working on mastering new ways to use the arcane energy he tapped into. Since they’d returned to the building he’d claimed for himself in the Soho District, he’d worked with Lilith. Naomi had grudgingly remained around, but even she had set her enmity with the demon aside to learn more.
Naomi stood by the bed and pulled her clothes on. Her eyes locked on the security monitors on the wall by the bed.
“What’s going on?” Warren asked. He stared at the blank monitors. They shouldn’t have been blank. He’d set up a generator in the basement of the building, and shielded it so the noise wouldn’t be heard or otherwise sensed by the roving demon patrols. A large petrol tank guaranteed that it would run for weeks at a time. He’d filled it again upon their return.
“The security system is down,” Naomi replied as she stomped into her boots.
“I see that.”
“I heard a noise and woke up. When I checked the security monitors, they were dead.”
“How long have they been dead?”
“I don’t
