“That was just Bergman confirming what we already suspected. The software engineers, Johnson and Tykes, are both carrying gnome larvae for the Ufranites.”
“Okay. So our targets are clear.”
“And now I can clarify our other plans as well. You see, the flat tire idea was never real. We only developed it because we were sure Brude would find a way to leak it.” Vayl’s voice had loosened in his relief, become fuller as if every revelation released a strangler from his throat.
“Oh. So. Where are they?”
“They are on foot, just as we wished it.” He paused. Grimaced so deeply the sides of his lips actually turned down. “We should have been here sooner to chase them into the ambush we had set up, but the news about Pete…” He paused. We both drew a breath before he went on. “Ruvin’s chatter leads us to believe we should still be able to turn events to our advantage.”
“What ambush are you talking about? And how are you hearing Ruvin but I’m not?” Vayl chose to answer the second question. “Ruvin is carrying a bug, so we can listen in on his conversation.”
“On another frequency,” I said bitterly.
Vayl said, “Tap your earpiece three times.”
I followed his instructions, realizing I was aping the move Cole had made when we’d arrived back at the house after the failed kangaroo petting mission, when he’d been so eager to talk to Cassandra. Suddenly I could hear Ruvin, panting, saying, “Are you sure I can’t talk you out of this? Aw!” And the sound of his feet scrabbling to keep himself upright after an obvious shove.
Vayl said, “You must understand, our misdirections have only been because of Brude. Because we could not work out how to fool him without excluding you as well. And…”
“What?”
“You are not going to like this.”
“So say it fast.”
“Come, let us walk while we talk.” We started up the hill to the west of the car. In a low voice so as not to spook those we pursued Vayl said, “We have proof that the Ufranites are not acting alone. They are, in fact, being funded by a group who wants to keep the moon free from human interference. At first it bewildered us how such vastly different others could meet. But Cassandra’s investigations have yielded a trove of information.”
“I like that,” said Cassandra. “It makes me sound like the kind of pirate who would never hurt anyone.” I stuck my finger in my ear. “Cassandra! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“But you didn’t just hunker down like I told you to.”
“How could I? When you handed me the drawing from the dead guard, I Saw that some of the gnomes were disgusted with the shaman and I knew that could be our route to discrediting him. After Cole translated ‘ ylmi’ to mean ‘tainted’ I realized the gnomes with the crowns were actually Ufranites with stars on their heads. Pure gnomish. And the sign of the Resistance is the star tattoo, just like the one we saw on the guard. So I began searching for others like him. I had so many visions I began to feel like I was walking in a dream. But I found them. They’re only a handful, but they recently discovered the truth.
That the shaman is a female, born without a tail or a blue nose.”
“Do you know who she is?”
“Not yet. They’re taking me to her quarters now. As soon as I touch her belongings, I’ll know.”
“What about this partnership?”
“That was what I’d sensed earlier with Ethan Mreck’s death. Werewolves. The Ufranites are working with the Valencian Weres, who will come out of this deal wielding vast powers among all moon-changers if they can prevent humans from further exploring, or worse, settling on their most sacred site.”
“I don’t get where Brude fits in though. Or how the Ufranites and the Weres partnered up to start with.”
“I think he might be the middleman. The guards say the shaman took a pilgrimage that catalyzed her rise to power, because that’s where she heard the voice of Ufran. Guess where she went?”
“Dunno.”
“Scotland. Just south of Inverness, to be exact.”
“No way.”
I could almost hear Cassandra’s head bobbing. “According to the shaman, Ufran wears his hair in long black braids. And his chest is covered with tattoos.”
“Oh. Shit.”
* * *
Vayl and I didn’t have time to hash everything out. But he’d probably already reached the conclusions I was rapidly catching up to. If Brude had cooked up this deal years ago, then his infiltration of my psyche had a lot more to do with my current mission than my future afterlife. The bastard must’ve been shaping this scheme for ages. He’d just been waiting for the perfect patsy to ride to the finish line. And boy was I ever ideal. I wanted to put my hands to my head and shake it till his teeth rattled.
No! yelled Teen Me. What if that breaks the locks?
Fine, I won’t. But if he ever makes it to solid again, I’m carving another tattoo on that jerkoff.
And it’s going hilt deep.
Ruvin’s voice interrupted my internal bitchfest. “Here’s the trail I told you about.” He was panting.
Fearful. On the edge of tears. He must’ve thought our no-show meant we’d deserted him.
He said, “Watch your step; it’s curvy. But it’ll lead us to that rock shelter I told you about. The Ufranites and the aborigines both worship there.” Information he wanted us to have, not the Odeam team. But they didn’t know that.
The voice I’d come to know as “Johnson” said, “That’s common knowledge, dumbass, otherwise we wouldn’t be following you.”
A grunt from Ruvin. I wished they wouldn’t keep pushing him. It was already getting tough to control my temper. And the last thing this country needed was another bushfire.
Vayl and I followed their trail, a series of signposts ranging from crushed grass to white scars where the bark had been brushed off the remains of fire-blackened pines.
“Explain this,” I whispered, mostly to calm myself down. “How is it better for them to walk than to drive on a spare? And you still haven’t answered my ambush question. Is Cole up there? Or have you called in even more reinforcements?” The thought chilled me. My people I could trust not to blab about my current condition. Strangers—never.
“No, we have not requested extra help. Yes, Cole is in position higher up the hill. Ruvin and the Odeam team are walking because the Jeep’s spare is back at the rental house.”
“Okay. But why not stay on the road?”
“Ruvin produced a map that he told them the original carrier had given him in case of emergency. It proves that the Ufranites have a tunnel leading directly from the rock shelter to the Space Complex, so they will still be able to get inside and hatch the larvae without interference. By the way, remind me to praise Bergman for his quick work in drawing that up. It looks remarkably authentic.” As I made the ascent, moving carefully past rocks that would gleefully snap an ankle if I stepped wrong, I said, “This should be a pretty quick hit, then. As long as we haven’t been followed.” Which was when I heard it. A scrabbling among the rocks. Not claws, like you might expect to hear from a foraging wombat or opossum. No, that was definitely the click of a heel.
“Call Astral,” whispered Vayl.
“Why? She’s stuck in the Wheezer.”
“No, she is not.”
He must’ve left its door cracked. Which means Jack’s loose too. Shit! Okay, worry later. I whispered, “Here, kitty. Make it fast, and give me video on your way to my location.” Astral’s view appeared in front of me. She’d leaped out of the car and come racing up the hill. I couldn’t tell where Jack’s curious nose had taken him, but I did see her pass a series of armed Ufranites. They were moving slowly, creeping along so the night noises, mostly crickets and the occasional hooting owl, covered their advance.