"Please, do. Oh!" Purdue reacted with surprise to Cody's presence. "I'm so sorry, I didn't hear you come in. What can we do for you, Mr. Cignetti-Dwyer?"
"No need to be so formal," Cody's permanent, gentle, understanding smile looked slightly strained. "You can call me Cody. I just wanted to come and check on Sam here. You ok, buddy?"
I was until you called me buddy. Sam bit his tongue and swallowed that response. "Yeah, I'm fine. Again. Thanks."
"It sounded like you had quite the vision," said Cody. "When we brought you back here you were kind of out of it, but you were talking a little bit about chasing something — hunters and leaders and searching for something. I guess you saw the hunt?"
For a moment Sam's brain thrust him back into that strange, intense experience. He saw the sweat-soaked bodies crowded around him and the ominous shine of knives being held aloft in the moonlight. Could that really have been nothing more than a dream? It had felt so incredibly real, yet Sam knew that it was something he would never have taken part in. "… Yes," he said uncertainly, "I did. But I don't know, maybe I wouldn't have dreamed about that if Sara hadn't mentioned it beforehand."
"Hey, it's possible," Cody spread his hands in a noncommittal, vaguely agreeable gesture. "If you don't think it means anything for you, just let it go. If you do, maybe you should see where it leads. That's the other reason I'm here. There's a separate ceremony tonight for the people who saw the hunt. Wanna come?"
Sam got the impression that this was not really a request so much as a mandatory event. He nodded, feeling his hot eyeballs protest at the movement in his head.
"Great!" Cody clapped his hands together in a gesture that was a little too loud for Sam's liking at that moment. "I guess I'll see you there, then. Oh, and there was one other thing, while I'm here. We're just making sure that everybody is getting the full experience of cutting off from the outside world, so if either of you has anything you forgot to hand in, any phones or laptops or whatnot, you can give them to me now and I promise, there'll be no judgment. It's easily done — especially for a guy with as many gadgets as you, Dave! God, I'd be more surprised if you didn't forget to hand something in!"
Purdue arched a single eyebrow. "I seldom forget anything," he said. "But rest assured, Mr. Cignetti-Dwyer, so far I am not aware that I have forgotten to give to you any devices of mine. If I find that there is anything that slipped my mind, you can be certain that I will pass it on."
Judging by the look Cody was trying to wipe off his face, Sam came to the conclusion that he knew about the tablet. Why can't he just ask for it outright? Sam wondered. I don't think he'd have a problem doing that for any of the rest of us. And it can't be just a money thing — there must be people here who are as insanely rich as Purdue, and I don't see Cody pestering them for their stuff. Something is preventing him from pushing too hard. I wonder what it is…
Cody did not say another word, but smiled and bowed out of the tent. Kai held out his hand to Sam for the tablet, which he took charge of.
"Good thinking, Kai," said Purdue when he was sure Cody was safely out of earshot. "Keep it in your possession for the rest of the day — I will reclaim it tonight, otherwise insomnia will be even less bearable than usual." Kai nodded, turned on his heel and left.
"I knew there was someone who didn't end up in our tent," said Sam, kicking himself for missing the detail earlier. "Where's he sleeping?"
"The tent opposite," said Purdue. "It gives him a broader field of fire, should his talents as bodyguard be required. Besides, I prefer to keep my distance where I can. The constant companionship does grow rather tedious, and presumably that works both ways. He is also a more useful spy if he can see who is approaching the tent and let me know with a little warning. In fact, it can be—" He broke off as Nina entered, looking somewhat subdued.
"I was just down at the river," she said, barely pausing to greet the two men, "when it struck me — has anyone seen that Hunter guy since last night?"
Chapter Eighteen
"Anyone else who saw the hunt? Over here if you saw the hunt! Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen, this is not a test! Just go to whichever event matches the dream you had. If you saw the hunt, you're with Sara over here. Anyone who saw the condor, head over there and speak to Jefferson. Anyone who saw blackness, come talk to me. If you're confused, just stand in the center, and we'll help you in a moment."
Sam followed the direction of Cody's waving arms and walked toward the connection tent. Sara was waiting for them in the entrance, motionless and regal as usual. Quickly, he performed a head count of the others and checked where they were going.
Nina was shuffling reluctantly toward Cody. Sam could tell that she too was suffering the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Her shoulders were sloped, and she wore dark glasses in a vain attempt to counter the effects of the glaring sun on her aching head. She had told Sam and Purdue that she did not really believe that she had dreamed of darkness, but simply that she had fallen into the kind of dreamless sleep that accompanied exhaustion. Nevertheless, since that did not seem to be an option that was available and she was happy to admit that she was not ready to "connect" in the way that the FireStorm officials wanted her to, she went dutifully toward the appropriate meeting.
It had been impossible to ease her mind regarding Hunter. Sam had suggested that maybe Hunter had got up early and gone to help with breakfast or have a particularly long wash in the river. I hope that's the answer, Sam thought. He's a sweaty bastard, so he could do with it. Purdue had questioned whether he might have changed tents, or whether he might have been taken ill. "They must have some facility for caring for anyone who is taken sick," Purdue had said, and Sam had bitten his lip to avoid confirming that he was right.
Despite the rational explanations on offer, and certainly despite her dislike for Hunter, Nina remained concerned. She planned to keep an eye out for him during the day's events, and then ask Cody about him if she could not find him. Maybe he's had a sudden pang of remorse and gone to steal our cigarettes back, Sam thought, as he lost sight of Nina.
With him in the connection tent were Julia Rose and Henley Daniels. Quite by chance they were standing together, Julia Rose watching Sara intently, and Henley picking idly at her fingernails. Suddenly Sam was hit by a flashback, as violent and unexpected as a kick in the head. He saw a moment from his dream, a vision of Julia Rose standing over the beast. She was trembling, her breathing shallow and her eyes wide. Her knife was loose in her grip, until the black-masked figure that Sam knew to be Sara approached and wrapped her hand around Julia Rose's, guiding her as she plunged the knife into the beast's mutilated carcass. Sam shook his head, trying to expel the image from his mind.
Henley glanced up, noticing the sudden movement, and accidentally made eye contact with Sam. He gave her a smile and a friendly nod. She flushed pink and immediately dropped her head. That's weird, Sam thought. I wonder what's wrong.
Before he could give it too much thought, Sara clapped her hands together, commanding everyone's attention. "Initiates!" she cried. "Yes, I can call you initiates now. Anyone who has seen the hunt is and will forever be a part of FireStorm. Your own divinity within has called out to be a part of this exciting, exhilarating new movement, a more effective way of attracting the right people to us than any conscious initiation would have been. You are now ready to join us on a deeper level, to learn more about our ultimate goals. For this we must welcome you into the depths of our organization, deep in the heart of the fire giant's home."