“You too, Stefani and Jeff,” Carlee said from the inside a moment later. Talon held the door for them as they entered. The tent was remarkably simple on the inside—only a mattress and some cushions. It wasn’t out of place for a tent by any means, but he had expected something more for the leader of the most powerful humans on the planet. In fact, the only striking thing in the entire tent was seeing once again just how young Jane was.
“Please,” Jane said, gesturing for them to take a seat. Jeff dutifully crossed his legs and took a seat on the padded ground, careful to place his metal leg on the bottom.
“I see you are still with us, Jeff,” Jane said.
“Yes, ma’am. Carlee and Stefani have been kind enough to take care of me.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She turned to Carlee now. “I am eager to hear about your detour.”
“We destroyed the leech that attacked the caravan, but it required a fair amount of pressing,” Carlee said. “So, we navigated a safe, indirect, course here.”
“Very good.” The way Jane spoke made her sound like an old woman looking back on a long life on her deathbed. “A prudent path. There have been many reports and sightings of a strange Apostle in the vicinity.”
“Horus?” Stefani asked.
“Another,” Jane said. “A later generation. All white and humanlike. There are many paths where he draws near to us. I suspect we are being diligently hunted.”
The tent went uncomfortably silent.
“I’ve seen it,” Jeff said quietly.
“What?” Stefani asked.
“I’ve seen it. It was at Fifth Springs.”
“You didn’t acknowledge that in your initial report,” Jane said. It was impossible to tell how bothered she was by his omission.
“It wasn’t there at first . . . I saw it flying away from Fifth Springs. Has to be the same one.”
“This is a perplexing development,” Jane said. “If this new Apostle is in league with Horus . . . That possibility clouds our path considerably.”
“You still intend to have us go to Dallas?” Stefani asked.
“All the more so,” Jane said. “There are too many paths leading us in that direction for us to ignore.”
The reason for Jane’s distance hit Jeff like an uppercut. Jane spent her time searching other realities, and the distance in her voice likely meant that she was still checking other time lines even while they talked. The realization changed everything about how he perceived her. Jane’s expressions struck him differently; her voice meant so much more, and her decisions were more meaningful.
“Tell me about your encounters,” Jane said. She was talking to Carlee, but she turned her head to look at him. She smiled knowingly at him.
“After the leech, we encountered a small village in need of some medical attention,” Carlee said. Her voice was businesslike and straight to the point, lacking the usual empathy she spoke with. “We treated a number of serious illnesses with minimal pressing. Unfortunately, that evening, their community was attacked by a substantial raiding party.”
“And you defended them?”
“We did.”
“And your abilities were exposed in the process?”
“They were.”
Jane nodded slightly. Jeff wasn’t sure whether it was because she had already heard their answers in another path or because it was a conversation that had become routine to her.
“Any details of note?” Jane asked. Carlee and Stefani exchanged a long look, Carlee tilted her head, and eventually Stefani shrugged.
“The warlord won’t be warlording again anytime soon,” Stefani said.
“You pursued him?” Jane asked.
“Alone,” Stefani said. “Carlee stayed behind to help the villagers.”
“You left Carlee alone?” Jane had a way of making simple questions seem more meaningful. It reminded him of Charlotte and not in a good way.
“Jeff was with her.”
“Jeff is not a vagrant. We don’t leave one another alone.”
“I know.” Stefani didn’t flinch as she responded to Jane, and her voice didn’t waver.
“We’ve talked about this before,” Jane said. “You’re free to leave at any time if you don’t want to follow our rules.”
“I understand that.”
“Then, I beg you, don’t risk Carlee’s life so carelessly.”
Stefani gave the slightest nod that Jeff had ever seen, and even that gesture looked like it took considerable effort. For how close she was to Carlee, Stefani’s interactions with Jane were a stark contrast. It reminded him of his relationship with the coalition. They preached equality and not rising above your peers, but Jeff had always wanted to be the best.
“I’d speak with Jeff alone now,” Jane said. “If there is nothing else.”
Stefani was out of the tent almost before Jane had finished the sentence. Part of him wished she had stayed to support him.
“She’ll do better,” Carlee said. Jane smiled at Carlee but didn’t say a word as Jeff was left alone with the leader of the vagrants. When the girl turned her undivided attention to Jeff, he felt surprisingly insecure.
“There is something you wish to discuss,” Jane said.
“If you already know what I’m going to say, why make me say it?” Jeff asked.
“It’s impossible to know the future. You are always in control of your own path. What we discuss now is entirely of your choosing.”
He fought the urge to prove her right, to pick a random topic just to catch her by surprise.
“If I am truly in control of my own path, then I choose to stay with the vagrants.”
“You are not in control of reality. You can’t create paths from decisions you do not control; you can only choose your own path. It’s a difficult distinction to accept.”
“Carlee and Stefani taught me a little about that.”
“I know. They shouldn’t have, but they are both so caring.”
“I’ll learn to press one way or another,” Jeff said. “I won’t stop now. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
“Why is that?”
“Because . . .” He checked the words in his mind; he had prepared for this very question. “When Carlee and Stefani found me, I was dead. They gave me a second chance at life, and I don’t want to waste it. I’ve seen the good that the vagrants do. I would never be content knowing there was a way I could do more.”
Jane blinked but didn’t betray any emotion. Jeff just hoped she bought it.
“It is a dangerous skill to learn. And not just for the reasons you understand.”
“That’s why I need to be trained here, where I can learn to press safely. I’d hate to have an Apostle come to murder my entire community because I had to learn on my own.”
Jane cocked an eyebrow at that, and her thin lips flattened.
“The safest course of action would be to have Talon kill you now. It would prevent you from causing any harm to the people to which we leave you. And it would save me the danger of welcoming you into our fold.”
Jeff gulped. That wasn’t an answer he had prepared for.
“I . . .”
Jane leaned in closer to hear his response.
He knew there was a path split here and that Jane was waiting to see which he chose. He ran the options over in his mind; he didn’t want to accidently choose the path that led to Talon smashing his head into a rock.
“I . . . that would be your decision,” Jeff said finally, settling on a strategy. He wished he had a sense of what was going to happen like he did when he was in a fight. “I can’t control what path you take. But I hope you choose the one that gives me a chance to make a difference.”
Jane leaned back on her cushion and closed her eyes.
“What is it that you are afraid of?” Jeff asked. It was a question that he hadn’t planned on asking; it just poured from his mouth as her Zen took over the room.