Is she a Revenger?” Cross asked.
“ Do you ever know when to quit?” Black said with an irritated shake of her head.
“ I have a feeling that Pike is going to ask you these questions,” Cross shrugged. “It's easier for me to be on your side if I actually know what the hell is going on.”
Their relationship, such as it was, had started on shaky grounds. Even though they'd agreed to help one another and join forces to rescue Black's then-girlfriend Cole from captivity, Danica had withheld information from Cross right from the start.
The fact that she was also responsible for the death of a good-hearted Southern Claw ranger named Jamal Dillon hadn't done much for Cross and Black’s partnership, but over the past two years he’d gradually learned to trust her, just as she, in turn, had done everything she could to make it so that she could be trusted.
That meant she no longer lied to him, but there were still plenty of times when she kept him out of the loop.
“ She's not a Revenger,” Black said quietly. “Not anymore.”
“ What…she went rogue?”
“ You could say that,” Black say bitterly. “She conducted secret operations without the consent of the High Wardens.”
Danica sat down on the edge of the bed next to Cross’. The soldier who slept there had been out for hours, and Cross wasn't entirely convinced that the older man hadn't lapsed into some sort of coma. Cross, for his part, shifted in his place. He was thoroughly tired of sitting, but he was still too weak to do much of anything else.
His spirit stayed close and warm against his chest. She and Danica's aggressively male spirit had never been able to much bear one another's company, but with practice both mages had gotten better at keeping the spectral tempers from flaring, and now the two spirits just tended to ignore each other altogether.
Danica and I really are like friggin’ parents sometimes .
“ What kind of ‘secret operations’?” he asked. It must have been something either very profitable or incredibly unsavory for Korva to intentionally obscure her activities. The Wardens of Black Scar were, by their nature, a band of insidious and cutthroat mercenaries, and Cross couldn’t think of much they wouldn’t approve of, unless it was something dangerous to the rest of their organization.
“ Honestly, I'm not sure,” Danica said. “But I know that it involved taking prisoners out into the wilderness and forcing them to dig up old vampires.”
Cross nodded, thought about what she'd said, and shook his head.
“ Wait...what? Digging up old vampires?”
“ Hey, I wasn't there,” Black said.
“ No, but my sister was,” Kane said. He walked into the medical wing from out of nowhere, dressed in grey work clothes and a heavy armor coat, with a Valmet M78 in one hand a small bundle of carnations in the other.
“ Aww, Mike,” Danica said. “You shouldn't have.”
“ They're for Cross,” he said.
“ I'm more of a roses guy,” Cross said. “What was that about your sister? I didn't know you had...”
“ She's dead,” Kane said shortly. “Korva killed her at one of those dig sites.”
Black lowered her gaze.
“ Korva killed a lot of people on those digs, directly or otherwise. I lost a couple of good friends on her last dig. The one...” She looked up at Kane, but his eyes stared straight ahead, focused on some memory.
Cross knew that look all too well. He'd seen it in the mirror more times than he could count. Almost four years had passed since he'd lost his own sister, Snow. The pain wasn't as constant now as it had once been, but it was still there. Some days the pain was as fresh as the day she’d died.
“ I’m sorry, man,” he said. “I had no idea.”
Kane shrugged, and smiled weakly.
“ I'm going to get that bitch,” he said. “And that pile of dogshit Jennar, too. Man, I'm booked!” he laughed. His voice was coarse, and Cross saw him shake. “I still wake up sometimes,” he said
“ Do you ever know when to quit?” Black said with an irritated shake of her head.
“ I have a feeling that Pike is going to ask you these questions,” Cross shrugged. “It's easier for me to be on your side if I actually know what the hell is going on.”
Their relationship, such as it was, had started on shaky grounds. Even though they'd agreed to help one another and join forces to rescue Black's then-girlfriend Cole from captivity, Danica had withheld information from Cross right from the start.
The fact that she was also responsible for the death of a good-hearted Southern Claw ranger named Jamal Dillon hadn't done much for Cross and Black’s partnership, but over the past two years he’d gradually learned to trust her, just as she, in turn, had done everything she could to make it so that she could be trusted.
That meant she no longer lied to him, but there were still plenty of times when she kept him out of the loop.
“ She's not a Revenger,” Black said quietly. “Not anymore.”
“ What…she went rogue?”
“ You could say that,” Black say bitterly. “She conducted secret operations without the consent of the High Wardens.”
Danica sat down on the edge of the bed next to Cross’. The soldier who slept there had been out for hours, and Cross wasn't entirely convinced that the older man hadn't lapsed into some sort of coma. Cross, for his part, shifted in his place. He was thoroughly tired of sitting, but he was still too weak to do much of anything else.
His spirit stayed close and warm against his chest. She and Danica's aggressively male spirit had never been able to much bear one another's company, but with practice both mages had gotten better at keeping the spectral tempers from flaring, and now the two spirits just tended to ignore each other altogether.
Danica and I really are like friggin’ parents sometimes .
“ What kind of ‘secret operations’?” he asked. It must have been something either very profitable or incredibly unsavory for Korva to intentionally obscure her activities. The Wardens of Black Scar were, by their nature, a band of insidious and cutthroat mercenaries, and Cross couldn’t think of much they wouldn’t approve of, unless it was something dangerous to the rest of their organization.
“ Honestly, I'm not sure,” Danica said. “But I know that it involved taking prisoners out into the wilderness and forcing them to dig up old vampires.”
Cross nodded, thought about what she'd said, and shook his head.
“ Wait...what? Digging up old vampires?”
“ Hey, I wasn't there,” Black said.
“ No, but my sister was,” Kane said. He walked into the medical wing from out of nowhere, dressed in grey work clothes and a heavy armor coat, with a Valmet M78 in one hand a small bundle of carnations in the other.
“ Aww, Mike,” Danica said. “You shouldn't have.”
“ They're for Cross,” he said.
“ I'm more of a roses guy,” Cross said. “What was that about your sister? I didn't know you had...”
“ She's dead,” Kane said shortly. “Korva killed her at one of those dig sites.”
Black lowered her gaze.
“ Korva killed a lot of people on those digs, directly or otherwise. I lost a couple of good friends on her last dig. The one...” She looked up at Kane, but his eyes stared straight ahead, focused on some memory.
Cross knew that look all too well. He'd seen it in the mirror more times than he could count. Almost four years had passed since he'd lost his own sister, Snow. The pain wasn't as constant now as it had once been, but it was still there. Some days the pain was as fresh as the day she’d died.
“ I’m sorry, man,” he said. “I had no idea.”
Kane shrugged, and smiled weakly.
“ I'm going to get that bitch,” he said. “And that pile of dogshit Jennar, too. Man, I'm booked!” he laughed. His voice was coarse, and Cross saw him shake. “I still wake up sometimes,” he said
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