“—right before the ghost flower nectar became viable.”
Something rippled across her face. “You mean ... ?”
“Remember when we first tried the nectar, it had no effect. Then you said you felt some change in it. Well, I think that was the change. I think Rigurd did something that made the nectar effective against the Starfish, compelling us to seek out the source of it. Maybe he didn’t know that it would be us who went, I doubt he intended the nectar to boost your psychic abilities exactly, but he knew it would do something, that someone would go.”
“Someone would lead them to the Key ...”
“Yes.”
She chewed her lip. “If that’s true—and I hope it’s not—my people are up to something.”
“Something to do with that lost race of gods, it sounds like. And we have no way of knowing what.”
“Then … the Starfish were just a means to an end.”
“Yes. If only we had some spies amongst the Octunggen ...”
The wind blew cold, and Avery began to wish they were somewhere else, somewhere near a fire, with a drink in hand.
Gasps and noise erupted from the dirigible.
Hands raised over their heads, Colonel Versici and his troops made their way down the gangplank. Their weapons had been taken and were now in the hands of Sheridan and the two Navy troopers who had been arrested along with her. One of the Army troops stayed, as well. That answers that, Avery thought. He’d wondered if any more Army people had been corrupted than the ones they knew about, and it seemed as if at least one had.
At a nod from Sheridan, one of the Navy men went to the machine gun (the one that had failed to be thrown overboard) and trained it on those grouped around Layanna.
“Don’t do this, Sheridan,” Avery called, pulling away from the others.
“Oh, I don’t plan to kill anyone,” she said. “But I will if she—” she hitched her chin at Layanna “—makes any move I don’t like. Now you—” this was aimed at Janx, Hildra, and the troops she had not already disarmed—“drop your guns.” They did, and one of Sheridan’s people retrieved them, bringing them back to the dirigible.
Sweeping her gaze across the gathering, Sheridan said, “You’ve all made a terrible mistake. You think you’ve beaten them?” Almost sadly, she said, “No. No, you have not.”
The trooper who had retrieved the guns began to ready the dirigible for departure while the other kept the mounted machine gun trained on the gathering.
“Where will you go, you bitch?” Hildra said. “The skies are full of our boys.”
Sheridan smiled enigmatically. “Not completely full.” Her attention shifted to Avery, and her expression softened somewhat. “Farewell, Doctor.”
He started to say it back to her, then hesitated. His mind spun, hot and bright. “Wait,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Remember in the Crothegra, when we were leaving the Dome, you said I could come with you. That there was a place for me.”
Her brows drew in. “You’re saying you wish to come with me?”
“Yes, I think so. If that place is still open.”
She studied him with extreme skepticism. “Why, Doctor? Why would you want to do that? You could stay here and enjoy peace ... at least, for a time.”
He shook his head. “What do I have left here? My friends have their own lives. My daughter has a new family, my former girlfriend wants no part of me. I have no purpose, no use.”
“What’re you doin’, Doc?” Janx said.
Ignoring him, Avery continued: “I know myself, Jess. I’ll go back to the bottle. I’ve done it before.” He grimaced, wondering if it were true. “Let me come with you, and I’ll have purpose again, and life. Besides,” he added in a different tone, “you know it’s what I want.”
She hesitated, and in that moment Avery’s heart almost stopped. The last thing he’d said had been all too true, Layanna was right, but there was more to it than that. He had said it himself only moments ago. He traded a look with Layanna, who, after a moment, seemed to understand.
“Fine,” she said, playing her part. “Go if you want to. I know you do.”
The horrible thing was he did. He looked at Sheridan, saw the cut on her lip from where Versici or one of his men had struck her, saw the way her lip had swollen, just slightly, making it even more bitable, and wanted to kiss it.
“Shut up, blondie,” Hildra said.
“Well?” Avery asked Sheridan.
She hesitated another moment, then held out her hand. “Come, then.”
Slowly, Avery moved toward the dirigible. Colonel Versici and his soldiers, looking baffled by this whole exchange, parted for him.
“Quickly, Doctor,” Sheridan said.
“Yes, go on,” Layanna said.
“Shut your pie-hole!” Hildra snapped. To Avery, she said, “Don’t listen to that bitch, bones. Bones?”
Avery was walking up the gangplank.
Janx grabbed his arm. “Doc, you can’t really do this.”
