The Hallowed Cure, page 18
Countering each strike and pushing back felt as natural as my labored breathing. The Frost Clone backed up before my relentless
and powerful attacks, giving ground. I ducked under one last swing and thrust forward with my blade.
Savagery punched straight through the Frost Clone’s chest and out his back. I had a split second to grin like an idiot before the “butt”
of the clone’s sword slammed down atop my head like a ton of bricks. In an eyeblink, I was on the ground with no memory of how I’d gotten there, but when I opened my eyes, I saw glowing words I’d never seen before, projected by Nine.
“Simulation complete. Grant Riven versus Frost Clone Level Three. Result: Draw.”
My hand rose to my temple to find it slick with my own blood. Still wet. I’d only been out a moment or two. Still, I stared up at the words and grinned as the last of my frustration and aggression drained out through my toes.
I hadn’t beaten the Frost Clone, not today. But I’d just fought it to draw for the first time ever. Caley was going to be so proud of me.
I sat up and considered the strange, giddy feeling of being one with my blade. Was that how people like Sato and Frost and Caley felt when they went into battle with their Hallowed blades? I’d never experienced anything like it back when I wielded Dismay, just a feeling like I’d been kicked in the gut after each pull of the trigger.
Still ... I wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Just as I’d need to channel my pent-up aggression into this, I needed a cooldown as well. “Nine, end combat simulation. Load mountain top.”
The grimy alley faded to a grass peak atop a huge mountain in the middle of a gorgeous range, with blue sky above and dense clouds below. Were I really standing this high, I knew the thin air would probably make it hard to complete my workout, but it was just a simulation. I wanted a bit of peaceful tranquility before I went home for the day.
I went back to forms. I worked through every last one repeatedly until my body was dripping with sweat. Naturally, that was when Caitlyn stepped from thin air in front of me.
She shocked me so much, I almost dropped Savagery, but somehow, I kept my grip. “Hey!” I shouted. “A little warning first?” I
was covered in sweat and wearing nothing but my boxers, which wasn’t my favorite way to greet my new boss.
Caitlyn grinned and eyed me in a very unprofessional manner.
“That’s no fun.” From the fact that the air atop this mountain gripped her long blond ponytail and ruffled her thin yellow sundress, I knew Caitlyn was a projection, not here in person.
“You couldn’t just call?” I demanded.
“And miss this sight? Just be glad I didn’t send Amber.”
I lowered Savagery. Belatedly, I realized her sudden appearance must signal something more than her simply messing with me. “Did Bennett’s people attack someone again?”
Caitlyn’s moment of playfulness vanished. “It’s not about any of that. It’s a serious matter outside of Dios, one I’ve debated about bringing to your attention. Now, I fear, I no longer have a choice. So before we speak any more than that, I just want you to know I’m sorry.”
This was sounding worse by the moment. “Sorry for what?”
“For what I’m going to ask of you,” Caitlyn said calmly. “Yet this isn’t a conversation I’m comfortable having over Nine, so I’d like you to get cleaned up and meet me in my office in an hour. I’ll have dinner prepared. I’ll also be inviting Mia, Jeffrey, and Sara.”
This was definitely a big deal. No one got four Hallowed in a room anymore unless there was someone out there who seriously needed an ass-kicking. “No Prescott?”
“Not with the new baby,” Caitlyn said. “I wouldn’t feel right about calling her away right now, and besides, I’d like to keep her in reserve in case something goes wrong. When it comes to leading rescue missions, there’s few still alive I’d trust to handle one better than her.”
So Caitlyn was possibly going to send us on a combat mission, and one Caitlyn could only trust to people she trusted absolutely implicitly. It must also be a stupidly dangerous combat mission, given she was giving it to me and three other Hallowed instead of Saul’s boys and girls in Special Tactics. What could be out there that could warrant this level of threat?
I should have been upset to have my eight months of peace and bureaucracy interrupted. Instead, I actually felt relieved. As much as I hated fighting, at least fighting was something I knew how to do well. I’d grown very comfortable with it. And fights, unlike endless bureaucratic bullshit, eventually came to an end ... one way or another.
“I’ll see you in an hour,” I agreed. “And you better put out a nice spread.”
With that, Caitlyn smiled brightly. “Oh, Grant. I always put out a nice spread.”
[ 21 ]
THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING PROUD OF
YOUR TALENTS
Showered, dressed in my nice clothes, and without my hair and temple caked with my own blood, I rode the private executive elevator up to Caitlyn’s office alone. I still had access to the express elevator Jack Griffyn and his bitch of a daughter had used before and during the war, and it was still a little weird to be inside Cloud Nine Engineering and feel safe. Even back when I’d lived in the barracks here, going out every day to fight monsters, I’d never felt completely safe.
I did now, oddly enough, thanks to who was running the place.
In the eight months since Caitlyn took control of Cloud Nine, she’d changed it for the better. Everyone who’d worked with Jack or Lindsay Griffyn—at least those who’d known about and assisted with the dark shit Cloud Nine’s old owners were into—got kicked to the curb in the first month. Ethan Gambleswitch still led the lab team, but Caitlyn kept a close eye on him.
Ethan wasn’t a bad kid, not really. He just had a morals problem
... mainly, that he didn’t have any. He’d follow the science wherever it led, which was good and bad in equal measure.
Ethan’s eagerness to find new uses for panacea was good when he and Caitlyn figured out how to create stimpacks that could cure injured humans like they’d cured us. It was bad when he asked for willing volunteers he could intentionally turn Mute to test a hunch about mutation factors. Obviously, Caitlyn had responded to that request with a hard no.
I reached Floor 80—the floor with Jack Griffyn’s old penthouse, which now belonged to Caitlyn—and waited as Nine did yet another security check. The fact that we were meeting in the old penthouse instead of Caitlyn’s office suggested she really did want to keep this meeting under wraps. Also, the penthouse had a nice kitchen, and my mouth watered at the thought of delicious food.
The doors rumbled open before I stepped out. Almost all of Jack’s gaudy and ostentatious decorations had long been shipped out, though the suits of Hallowed armor that stood before the hallway leading to Caitlyn’s massive bedroom still stood sentinel. I hadn’t worn that armor since I learned Mutes could actually think and reason just like us.
Still ... if whatever Caitlyn had planned for us was as dangerous as I suspected, I could be stepping back into it sooner rather than later.
Caitlyn had sold or destroyed most of Jack’s gaudy belongings, replacing them with local paintings and sculptures purchased from local artists. I really liked that she’d bought artwork from artists in Dios who needed money, and I knew she prioritized purchases from folks that were still struggling to recover, like those in Rocham. No one liked taking handouts, but having a wealthy patron pay top dollar for your artwork made people feel valued.
Under Caitlyn, Cloud Nine had also loosened Jack’s purse strings. My old home district now had all the charity and support it could stand. The limited rebuilding I’d tricked Jack into undertaking to expand his secret criminal empire had accelerated tenfold under Caitlyn’s watch, with experienced contractors and craftsman from Lynbrook teaching once unemployed folks from Rocham how to build homes.
That had been Mia’s idea, and her whole family had eagerly embraced it. So had lots of folks in Rocham. In another five years or so, everyone there might be as comfortable as folks were in Lynbrook, assuming I didn’t fail to integrate the Mutes and start another Hallowed War.
Caitlyn’s legendary generosity had only made her more beloved in Dios over the past eight months, though Cloud Nine’s
shareholders were a little worried. That made me happier than I’d been in some time. If rich assholes thought we were giving away too much of Cloud Nine’s money, Caitlyn was doing something right.
The lobby wasn’t empty. Mia stood waiting, and she’d gone all out for dinner. She’d fixed her hair, done her makeup, and put on a red cocktail dress that immediately made me wonder if we’d get some alone time before heading out on Caitlyn’s dangerous mission.
Mia absolutely rocked that dress.
Mia’s smile as she saw me felt genuine, but I could see the worry behind her eyes. I knew her well enough I could always tell when she was worried. Had Caitlyn already told her who she planned to ask us to all go kill together? Or had she heard about the two fishery workers with broken legs?
I hugged her before either of us could say anything. No one else was in Caitlyn’s front room now, so perhaps we were the first to arrive. Either way, she smelled great and felt great, and I still felt lucky to have her every day.
Though I’d still die in six years, Mia and I would be married by then. That meant she’d inherit my entire pension without going through any legal bullshit, something I’d only realized might be a problem after talking it over with Prescott. Mia still seemed convinced we’d find a cure before I died, and me being willing to get married made her believe I did too. So our engagement worked for everyone.
Mia pressed into my arms, soft and warm. “Is everything okay at work? I heard about the fishery incident from some folks who came in to drink today. I almost had to kick them out before they agreed to stop badmouthing Mutes. Just how bad is it down there?”
Instead of answering, I rubbed Mia’s back and kissed her ear, then her cheek. Soon I was kissing her, but she didn’t respond as eagerly as she had when we weren’t discussing riots. She must really be worried about tonight. She slid her hands inside my jacket before gently pushing me away.
“Answer the question,” Mia said, though she didn’t look all that upset.
“It’s no different. Bennett’s an asshole like he always is, and his boys are picking fights as they always do. Chen’s doing what he can to keep his people from wandering around where they’ll get attacked by idiots. It’s all very fucked up and typical for my Thursday.”
Mia continued to hold me at arm’s length. “The men who came in for drinks today weren’t simply vexed by their working conditions.
They were talking about how much better things were back in the war, when they could ‘do what they needed to do’ to Mutes.”
That sounded like Bennett. That sounded like his boys.
“Perhaps Bennett and Chen are willing to listen to you for now, but there are people at the fishery who may be planning genuine violence. Are you prepared for what happens if someone actually commits murder? Are Bennett and Chen?”
I had no idea, honestly, but I wasn’t going to tell Mia that. “If a bunch of overconfident dickheads think they can take on the Mutes, maybe it’d be best to let them get a limb ripped off. Might remind the people who never fought Mutes they could feed you your own arms.”
Mia poked me harder than she needed to. “That type of talk is not helping.”
“I’m doing my best. If more shit happens, I’ll handle it.”
Mia drew me in and pressed against me. “I know you’re doing your best,” she said quietly, and I heard the apology in her voice. “I never meant to imply anything different. I just wanted to ensure you knew what people were saying.”
“I do, now,” I assured her. “So, you doing anything later?”
Mia squeezed me tighter. “You like the dress?”
“I like everything in that dress.”
“Assuming Caitlyn doesn’t send us off to blow something up, you can pry it off me later.” She pointed toward the hallway. “Now we should probably join the others before the food gets cold.”
That surprised me. “Everyone’s already here?”
“You’re the last to arrive.”
“Then why were you waiting out here?”
“I needed to tell you about the men who came from the fishery.
Besides, it’s not like they need me in there. Jeff should be just about done with the cooking by now.”
My previously present hunger kicked into overdrive. “Jeff’s cooking tonight?”
Mia took my hand and led me to the hallway. “Caitlyn was going to have some catering in, but Jeff insisted on cooking instead. He said he wanted some volunteers to sample a new dish, so Caitlyn opened up the kitchen for him. He’s been working since a little after four.”
I grinned at the thought of Jeffrey Lincoln’s cooking, which had only gotten more delicious now that he’d had eight months to practice without having to kill Mutes every day. Despite my frustrating day, the way it was coming to an end was absolute perfection.
Assuming Caitlyn didn’t ask us to all go off on some combat mission and get killed.
The smell of freshly cooked meat with a bunch of tasty spices made my mouth water long before we entered the well-furnished dining room in the penthouse. Lincoln was setting out round silver dishes with metal tops, like covered bowls. Soup, or something else?
Lincoln was dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans, but that wasn’t unusual for him. He’d put on some muscle in the past eight months as well, which was possible for a Hallowed when they deadlifted refrigerators on a regular basis. Lincoln kept a couple in his garage.
“Hey, Riven!” Lincoln waved. “We’re almost ready! Just need to put a last bit of glaze on the meat. Also, no eating the tortillas until we’re all ready.”
So he’d put tortillas in the big silver bowls. Nice. There were also some much smaller bowls with a bunch of stuff I didn’t recognize, some green paste and white goop. I didn’t know what those were, but I’d never turned down a free meal. I didn’t plan to start now.
Lincoln hustled off to wherever he was staging dinner, likely Caitlyn’s private penthouse kitchen. Knowing Lincoln had slaved over dinner for a couple of hours would have made me feel guilty if I didn’t know how much he enjoyed cooking. The man could make decent food with rations in a rich asshole bunker, so the things he could do with actual food were mouthwatering.
My stomach growled as I stared at the food already present. It took considerable effort not to pop open one of those bowls and scarf down a tortilla, but my respect for Lincoln kept me from doing anything so crass. I wasn’t about to disrespect his cooking after he’d worked so hard on it.
Caitlyn and Caley were already present. Caitlyn wore business clothes, a pencil skirt and button-down shirt with a blue blazer, but she always dressed that way when she came in to work. She’d come a long way from simple sundresses. Yet as Saul Bishop once taught me, when it came to rubbing elbows with rich assholes, the clothes you wore were half the negotiation.
Caley, by comparison, wore a ratty black T-shirt and gray sweatpants stained with dirt and oil. She had one boot on the table edge, and leaned back so far in her chair I suspected a slight breeze would tip her on her ass. Her flushed cheeks showed she’d been drinking well before dinner.
As Caley saw me enter, she thumped her chair down and stood.
“Oy! Riven!” She waved like I was standing all the way across a lobby. “You shove Bennett’s head up his arse yet?”
I walked to an empty seat. “Did everyone hear about that?”
“Cait told me!” Caley’s genuine mirth faded into an expression I knew better than to mess with. “You want me to go down there and talk some sense into those thick-headed bampots? Let me clobber a few. I’ll have them begging to go back to work with the Mutes.”
“Let’s not assault anyone just yet,” I said. “Also, I fought Frost Clone to a draw today.”
Caley grinned wide. “Holy shiite! Give it another five years and you might beat me!”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Mia said. She liked how much effort I was putting into learning to hit things with a sword. “Did you record the fight?”
“Nine always records the fights,” Caitlyn said. “Shall we watch it after dinner?”
“Only if Riven gets his head knocked in,” Caley said eagerly. “You really have to stop leading with your head. I know it’s your hardest body part, but it’s poor form.”
Caitlyn gestured to the empty spots at the table. “Please, sit.
We’ll have dinner as soon as Jeff lets us know it’s ready. I know you’ve both had long days, and I appreciate you joining me for dinner on such short notice. It feels like we don’t get to see each other enough these days.”
Despite the dangerous mission ahead, Caitlyn was right about that. It had been months since we’d all been in the same room together. I only then realized how much I missed having everyone in the same place, just being together.
I sat on the far side of the table, leaving an empty seat beside me. Mia took that seat. That put Caley and Caitlyn across from me, with an empty seat for Jeff at either end of the table.
Given Caitlyn was Cloud Nine’s CEO, she could have insisted at sitting at the head of the table, but she’d never been that sort of person. She wasn’t Jack. She wasn’t power hungry.
I suspected Caitlyn, like me, had taken the job as Cloud Nine’s CEO because there was no one else who could do it quite the way she did. Either way, I was glad to have Cloud Nine’s scientists, technicians, and army on my side instead of trying to kick my ass.
Most of them weren’t bad folks, at least the ones Caitlyn had kept on after purging all of Jack Griffyn’s loyalists and toadies.
“You look real tidy,” Caley said to Mia. “Is this date night?”
“The CEO of Cloud Nine invited me to a fancy dinner,” Mia said.
“Why wouldn’t I dress up?”
