to get her down to Medical,” he snapped, desperately wanting to get out of the bridge. “We’ll have to observe for concussion.”
Gregori wiped away tears with the back of one hand.
“Holy Void.” Nguyen was finally getting his first unadulterated look at the bridge. “What happened?”
“Nguyen.” Lily’s voice was taut. “Help Finch get Jenny down to Medical. Take Gregori with you.”
In his haste to get out as quickly as possible, Nguyen did not even bother to reply.
But when they left, she was alone with Bach and fifteen mutilated, bloody bodies. The bridge reeked of death. She was almost afraid to move from her haven in the center of the bridge.
“I can’t believe he had this in him,” she whispered. “What kind of creatures are they?”
Bach began to sing softly.
Blute nur, du Weber Herze!
Ach, ein Kind, das du erzogen
Das an deiner Brust gesogen
Droht den Pfleger zu ermorden,
Denn es ist zur Schlange worden.
“Bleed on, dear heart!
Ah, the child that you raised,
That sucked at your breast,
Threatens to murder its guardian
For it has become a serpent.”
On his final note the doors shunted aside to reveal Rainbow and six Ridanis in full mercenary gear. Rainbow took a step in, then halted, staring. The others crowded up behind her.
“What happened?” she asked, awed by the savagery of the scene.
“I underestimated him,” Lily said, thinking of her signal to Kyosti—she had meant: disable them while we’re in the window. “I never meant this to happen.”
Rainbow shook her head. “I seen it in his eyes, min,” she said sagely. “He were ya hard type, that one. It be what he meant to do to us, b’ain’t it? I say they deserved it, ya square.”
Behind her, the other Ridanis murmured agreement. Lily realized belatedly that Rainbow was talking about Vanov, not Hawk, and found she could not frame a reply.
“Sure, Captain,” Rainbow continued, a little solicitously. “Be it sure you got ya other arrangements to work out. We can clean this up. Sure, and we hae seen as bad, most of us, in our time. Ya Immortals done as bad to us tattoos at Roanoak and Bistro Station.”
“You couldn’t have been there,” Lily protested, remembering Roanoak. Remembering Kyosti at the clinic, healing with the same sure touch with which he killed.
Rainbow shrugged. “We hear.”
The Ridanis stood aside to let her pass. It took her a moment to realize that they meant her to leave, to spare her the sight of their cleaning up. With great effort, she picked a careful path around the corpses. Paused by Rainbow, giving her a brief nod. Rainbow nodded back, and Lily left.
She went straight to the captain’s suite, not wanting to see how the Ridanis chose to dispose of the remains. Inside, she found Yehoshua and Pinto, both armed, and the Mule, sitting uncomfortably in the couch and chair that furnished the outer room.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Unconscious,” replied the Mule, drawing the word out into a long, sibilant flowering on the s . “I cleaned him up as best I could and discarded his clothing and left him on your bed. Was that well?”
“Well enough,” interrupted Yehoshua in a sharp voice. “I knew he was a psychopath. Void bless us, I’ve never seen anything so horrible. He ought to be committed to an institution.”
“Just remember,” said Pinto, drawling slightly, “that we would have all been dead. Between you and me, I’ll take that trade any day.”
“If he indeed does have some strange ability that allows him to”—Yehoshua paused, struggling for a word to embody a concept none of them truly believed in—“ exist inside a window, then he damn well could have disarmed them, couldn’t he?”
“I’m glad he killed them,” Pinto replied with unexpected fierceness. “Vanov’s the one who killed my father, isn’t he?” He looked at Lily for confirmation, but Yehoshua replied instead, harsh words that provoked an equally heated response from Pinto.
Gregori wiped away tears with the back of one hand.
“Holy Void.” Nguyen was finally getting his first unadulterated look at the bridge. “What happened?”
“Nguyen.” Lily’s voice was taut. “Help Finch get Jenny down to Medical. Take Gregori with you.”
In his haste to get out as quickly as possible, Nguyen did not even bother to reply.
But when they left, she was alone with Bach and fifteen mutilated, bloody bodies. The bridge reeked of death. She was almost afraid to move from her haven in the center of the bridge.
“I can’t believe he had this in him,” she whispered. “What kind of creatures are they?”
Bach began to sing softly.
Blute nur, du Weber Herze!
Ach, ein Kind, das du erzogen
Das an deiner Brust gesogen
Droht den Pfleger zu ermorden,
Denn es ist zur Schlange worden.
“Bleed on, dear heart!
Ah, the child that you raised,
That sucked at your breast,
Threatens to murder its guardian
For it has become a serpent.”
On his final note the doors shunted aside to reveal Rainbow and six Ridanis in full mercenary gear. Rainbow took a step in, then halted, staring. The others crowded up behind her.
“What happened?” she asked, awed by the savagery of the scene.
“I underestimated him,” Lily said, thinking of her signal to Kyosti—she had meant: disable them while we’re in the window. “I never meant this to happen.”
Rainbow shook her head. “I seen it in his eyes, min,” she said sagely. “He were ya hard type, that one. It be what he meant to do to us, b’ain’t it? I say they deserved it, ya square.”
Behind her, the other Ridanis murmured agreement. Lily realized belatedly that Rainbow was talking about Vanov, not Hawk, and found she could not frame a reply.
“Sure, Captain,” Rainbow continued, a little solicitously. “Be it sure you got ya other arrangements to work out. We can clean this up. Sure, and we hae seen as bad, most of us, in our time. Ya Immortals done as bad to us tattoos at Roanoak and Bistro Station.”
“You couldn’t have been there,” Lily protested, remembering Roanoak. Remembering Kyosti at the clinic, healing with the same sure touch with which he killed.
Rainbow shrugged. “We hear.”
The Ridanis stood aside to let her pass. It took her a moment to realize that they meant her to leave, to spare her the sight of their cleaning up. With great effort, she picked a careful path around the corpses. Paused by Rainbow, giving her a brief nod. Rainbow nodded back, and Lily left.
She went straight to the captain’s suite, not wanting to see how the Ridanis chose to dispose of the remains. Inside, she found Yehoshua and Pinto, both armed, and the Mule, sitting uncomfortably in the couch and chair that furnished the outer room.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Unconscious,” replied the Mule, drawing the word out into a long, sibilant flowering on the s . “I cleaned him up as best I could and discarded his clothing and left him on your bed. Was that well?”
“Well enough,” interrupted Yehoshua in a sharp voice. “I knew he was a psychopath. Void bless us, I’ve never seen anything so horrible. He ought to be committed to an institution.”
“Just remember,” said Pinto, drawling slightly, “that we would have all been dead. Between you and me, I’ll take that trade any day.”
“If he indeed does have some strange ability that allows him to”—Yehoshua paused, struggling for a word to embody a concept none of them truly believed in—“ exist inside a window, then he damn well could have disarmed them, couldn’t he?”
“I’m glad he killed them,” Pinto replied with unexpected fierceness. “Vanov’s the one who killed my father, isn’t he?” He looked at Lily for confirmation, but Yehoshua replied instead, harsh words that provoked an equally heated response from Pinto.
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