Brooks, Terry Word 02 A Knight of the Word

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thought maybe she would. After all, five years ago he had been sent to kill Nest Freemark in the event
she failed to withstand the assault of her demon father. Why should it be any different now, with him?
They could not chance losing him to the Void. They could not let him become a weapon for their enemy.
Last in thought, he slowed as he approached the entry to the shelter. Why did everyone think such a
thing could happen? What could the Void possibly do to subvert him that he wouldn t recognize and
resist? There was his dream, of course, and the danger that it might somehow come to pass and he
would kill Simon Lawrence. But the events of that dream would never happen. There was no reason far
them to happen. And in any case, he didn t really believe his dram and the Lady s warning were
connected.
He shook his head stubbornly. Only one thing bothered him about all this. Why had the Lady sent Nest
to warn him? She could just as easily have sent Ariel. He would have given the tatterdemalian s warning
the same consideration he was giving Nest s, Why send the girl - The Lady couldn t possibly believe that
Nest would have a greater influence on him than O olish Amaneh. No, something else was going on,
something he didn t understand. His instincts told him so. He walked into the reception area at Fresh
Start, said hello to Della, gave Ray Hapgood a perfunctory wave on his way back to the office, and
closed the door behind him. He sat in his chair with his elbows on his desk and his chin in his hands, and
tried to think it through.
What was he missing? What was it about Nest s coming to find him that was so troubling?
He was getting exactly nowhere when Stefanie Winslow walked in.
You re back, she said. How did it go?
He blinked. Haw did what go?
She gave him an incredulous look. Your lunch with your old flame s daughter. I assume that s where
you ve been. She took the chair across from him. So tell me about it.
He shrugged, uncomfortable with the subject. There s nothing to tell. She was in town and decided to
look me up. I don t know how she even knew I was here. I haven t seen or spoken with her in five
years. And that stuff about her mother is-
I know, I know. It was a long time ago, and her mother is dead. She told us before you came back.
Stef brushed back her dark hair and crossed her long legs. It must have been quite a shock to see her
again.
Well, it was a surprise, any-way. But the had a nice talk.
He had never told Stef anything, about his past or the people in it, save for stories about his boyhood
when he was growing up in Ohio. He had never told her about his service as a Knight of the Word,
about the Lady or Owain Glyndwr or O olish Amaneh. She did not know about his dreams. She did not
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know of the war between the Word and the Void or the part he had played in it. She did mot know of
his magic. As far as he knew, she had no concept of the feeders. Having Nest Freemark appear
unexpectedly, come out of a past he had so carefully concealed from her, was unnerving, He did not
want to tell her about any of that. He traced his present life to the moment he had met her, and everything
that went before to another life entirely.
Stef studied his face. Simon says she s some kind of world class runner. That she might even win a
gold medal in the next Olympics. That s pretty impressive.
He nodded noncommittally. I gather she s pretty good.
Is she in town for very long? Did you think to ask her to have dinner with us?
He took a deep breath, wishing she would stop talking about it. I mentioned dinner, but she said she
might have other plans. She said she would call later. I don t think she s here for very long. Maybe only a
day or so.
Stef looked at him. You seem uneasy about this, John. Is everything all right? This girl hasn t announced
that she s your love child or something, has she?"
The words shocked Ross so that he started visibly. Five years earlier Nest had indeed thought he was
her father, had wished it were so. He had wished it were so, too.
He laughed quickly to mask his, discomfort. No, she didn t came here to tell me that. Or anything; Like
that. He pushed back in his chair, feeling trapped. I guess I m just a little nervous about the speech. I
haven t heard back from Simon on it. Maybe it wasn t so goad.
Stef smirked. The speech was fine. He told me so himself. . Her smile brightened the whole room. As
a matter of fact, he loved it. He ll tell you himself where he sees you again, if the two of you are ever in
the office at the sometime. He s gone again just now. There s a lot of preparation left for tomorrow
night.
He nodded. I suppose so." He fidgeted with his peas and paper, gathering his thoughts. You know, I
don t feel so well. I think I m going to go back to the apartment and lie down for a while. You think they
can get along without me for an hour or so.
She reached across and took his hand in her own. I think they can get along just fine. It s me I m not
sure about.
Then came back with me.
I thought you were sick..
I ll get better.
She smirked. I ll bet. Well, You re out of luck. I have work to do. I ll see you later. She frowned. "Or
maybe not. 1 just remembered, I m supposed to go with Simon to the KIR0 interview, then maybe to
some press things after that. He hasn t given me the final word yet. Sorry, sweetie, but duty calls. Ring
me if you hear from Nest, okay? I ll try to break free to join you.
She smiled and went out the door, blowing him a kiss. He stared after her without moving, then pushed
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the pens and paper away and got to his feet. Might as well follow through on his plan and get out of
there, he decided. He was already back to thinking about something else Nest had said - that a demon in
Pioneer Square was killing homeless people in the underground city. No one would miss them; no one
would know. Except the feeders, of course. And he didn t see the feeders much anymore, so he couldn t
tell if their current behaviour reflected the demon s presence or not.
He stared down at his desk, unseeing. Sometimes he was tempted to try out his magic, just for a minute,
just to see if hr still had the use of it. If he did that, he might see the feeders clearly and maybe be able to
determine if there was a demon in their midst.
But he refused to do than He had sworn an oath that he wouldn t, because using magic was integral to
acting as a Knight of the Word, and he had given all that up.
He walked out of his office, down the hall, past Della and a duster of new arrivals huddled about her
desk, and through the front door. The midday sunshine was fading, masked by heavy clouds blown in
from the west on a sharp wind. The air had turned cold and brittle, and the light was autumn grey and
pale. He glanced skyward. A storm was moving in. There would be rain by tonight.
His thoughts drifted.
A demon in Pioneer Square.
Someone sent to kill him.
Someone sent to subvert him.
The Word and the Void at play.
He crossed the street and moved past Waterfall Park toward the doorway to his apartment building. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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