"I should never have left, Happy."
"Well, I appreciate you coming back. Just want you to know."
He nodded, thrusting his hands in his pockets as he made his way to the Battle-Cat. The sun set in the distance, tinting the waters in rosy colors. The wind picked up, cooling the sweat on his bare chest. He picked up his shirt from the door handle of the Cat and put it on as he entered. His heart beat faster as he approached the cargo bay. It was strange. Like the flutters he felt when he went on the first date with Deejay at Mangia e Bevi, the Italian restaurant she loved so much.
He activated the pod door with a trembling hand. It slid open silently, exposing Deejay in her white jumpsuit. His chest shuddered at the familiarity. She looked so much like the woman he fell in love with, as if she somehow cheated death and made her way back to him.
This is a mistake. A stupid, foolish mistake…
He placed a hand on her cheek. It was warm to the touch. Soft. Tears welled in his eyes, trickled down his face.
"You're right, Deejay. This was for me, not you. I know I should just let you go. Move on with my life. But I'm not ready. Not yet. And if this is a way to keep at least a part of you… I'll take it. I might be the world's biggest fool, but I love you too damn much."
Her eyes opened.
Chapter 16
Kilgore walked through the streets of Oakland, California. Once a densely populated metropolitan city, the forests of oak trees, coastal terrace prairie and scrub had reclaimed much of the territory post-Cataclysm. The city that remained and was reconstructed was tied to the coastline, jealously staring at the glittering Francisco Haven across the bay.
He passed by ports and shipyards, industrial squares and manufacturing districts before heading up to the hills where most of the residences were arranged. He continued his trek, bypassing congested neighborhoods to houses built further apart. He finally stopped in front of an ancient house positioned on a street corner. Victorian style, olive paint, small but cozy. A black and white tabby sat on his haunches on the top step, gazing suspiciously.
Kilgore strolled around the boundary of the chain link fence, looking into the backyard. It was an odd mixture of order and chaos; complimentary patio furniture clashing with workout equipment. A hardwood Wing Chun dummy erected next to a manicured rose garden, a zip bike carelessly thrown down near a koi fish pond.
The house was built on the side of a hill that sloped down into the flatlands. A teenage girl was on the hillcrest, practicing martial arts forms with a bō staff. Her skin was almond-colored, her thick black hair in-between straight and curly. Slim but athletic, she worked out in snug-fitting sportswear. The staff whirled in her hands, blurring as she flowed from one stance to the next. She focused on her forms, beaded in sweat, flawless in her movements.
The muzzle of a pistol jabbed against the back of Kilgore's head. His lips curled back in a grin.
"You're one of the few still capable of sneaking up on me, Daiyu."
"Kilgore. When I received word of your death on Mars, I didn't believe it. You are the jiangshi, undying and monstrous. I sensed you when you entered the city. I smelled the foulness on the breeze, felt your presence crawl across the streets like a spider. Has the monster returned to feed on his young? What else would bring you here, the one place you swore you'd never be?"
"I came to see her. I went through great pains to be here, Daiyu. To find her. You can't deny me the sight."
"You've seen her. Now leave before she sees you and all of our pains will have been for nothing."
He turned around. The pistol was inches away from his face, but he didn’t flinch. He was surprised to see that Daiyu looked different. It wasn't her clothes, although they were the ordinary sort, not the tactical leathers and stealth gear he was used to seeing. The Chinese woman was still beautiful, but lines were visible in the porcelain of her face, and strands of gray adulterated her otherwise jet-black hair.
"Yes, I have aged," she said to his unspoken question. "Gracefully as I can, but time spares no one. Except you, it seems. You look as you did before you left for Mars. Only your hair has changed."
"My hair is the equivalent of Dorian Gray's portrait, I suppose. Why did you name her Merlin?"
"Because the name has power. And a boy's name might fool anyone looking for a girl. I had to be especially careful when she was young and defenseless." She gestured with the pistol. "Now walk. Or I see whether or not you're as unkillable as they say."
He focused on the weapon. His hand tingled, flashing with light. She gasped when the gun vanished from her grip. He held it up, watching her astonishment.
"Threatening me doesn't work very well, Daiyu. I am much more than the man you knew." He extended the weapon to her. She accepted it gingerly, disbelief on her face.
"So I see. You always were full of surprises."
He scanned their surroundings. "I imagine you've installed a surveillance shield over the property."
"Over the entire street. You know I don't take chances."
He took a last look at the girl. She still worked out, oblivious to the world around her. He nodded to himself, surprised at the flood of emotion that threatened to upset the expressionless mask he worked so hard at developing. Turning, he strode back down the street. Daiyu followed like a diminutive shadow.
"How did you find us? I made sure that wasn’t possible. There shouldn’t be any way of tracking either one of us."
"There's always a way," Kilgore said. "If one is willing to take the greatest of risks to achieve it."
"Why? You told me her life would be threatened if anyone found out she was yours. Why risk everything now?"
He paused, gazing at a grove of towering oak trees. A brisk wind swept through and he closed his eyes, inhaling the fresh scent. "It's true that I went to Mars to die. All I knew was death, and I was sure I would infect her somehow, bring some unspeakable tragedy upon her if my enemies discovered she was my blood. Unfortunately, Death had plans for me. I can't tell you what happened on Mars. Only that I entered a threshold of nightmares, where madness spoke a language I recognized. Time, reality — they didn't exist there. Not the way they do here. I saw the future, Daiyu. The end of all of our hubris and transgressions. And I saw Merlin. Over and over, I saw her. The myriad of choices that lies ahead of her. And every one of them leading to her death."
Daiyu hissed, turning to scan the surroundings as if expecting an attack from the shadows of the woods. "How can you be so certain, Kilgore? What if all you saw were reflections of your own shattered mind? Your own madness?"
"I wish it were madness. But it's not. It was a vision. Another Cataclysm approaches, Daiyu. Worse than the first one. The Aberrants won't rest until we're destroyed. Or they are. And I will do anything to reverse the future I saw. Kill anyone who gets in the way if it means saving her life. Nothing else matters. That's why I had to see her. If we meet face-to-face, she will die. I've seen it. But I wanted to look at her in person just this once. Before I take the path I won't return from."
Daiyu looked him in the face; her expression wavering between sympathy and determination. "You know I will die before letting anything happen to that girl."
"I know. But even your skills won't be enough. There's only one slim chance she survives if I can unmake the future I saw."
"What do you want me to tell Merlin?"
"Tell her nothing. The less she knows, the better. The greatest gift I can ever give her is my absence. Keep doing what you've always done."
"I do my best. But she grows older every day. More restless every day."