I have to do this. I...have to.
Janet approached the door quietly, feeling her chest crack wide open with remorse, and pressed her ear up against it, trying to hear if one of the Cyborgs were immediately beyond. Silence met her. She turned back to her sister. “I need you to stay here. Can you do that for me?”
“Will you make sure uncle Zeph and Mr. Heartface are alright?”
She nodded weakly. “Yes. I’ll try. I will, but only if you promise not to leave this spot, for any reason, for any sound you might hear. You stay right here.”
“Okay.”
She looked at Lily for a moment longer before turning back to the door. She took a deep breath and nudged it open. The room was dark and quiet, and the outer door to the main living area was still shut. Muffled voices could be heard on the other side. Janet took one last look at her sister before stepping out and closing her in.
Her hand remained on the knob for a time as she searched for the courage to leave Lily’s side. Even though her sister was in a room without windows, she didn’t believe for a second that something, somewhere, could get to her. Cyborgs had taught her that much.
Janet pulled her hand away and moved across the room, sidling up to the door leading out of the room. More of the same noise came from beyond, and she knew Hector and Hysterian were talking. Surprisingly, and to her relief, there were no sounds of fighting or gunshots. She nudged the door open and slipped out.
If I can just get through to Hysterian, we can leave for the ship…
She just didn’t know if she had enough left in her to do what needed to be done.
If only she could withstand the pain.
23
Hector guarded the room Janet and Lily hid in with his back turned to the door. His attention remained solely on the Cyborg doing the same to the exit. His hands were outstretched and loose at his sides, ready for anything.
He fucking followed us.There was no other explanation. He knew from checking the android’s feed that neither it nor Lily had left the room Janet had put her to bed in. In fact, the hack happened when they arrived on the premises, and he cursed himself for being so distracted. Janet’s tear-stricken face filled his head, and his veins surged with remorse.
I made her that way.
She knew everything now, knew his loses, his mistakes, and the demon hanging on his back. He laid it bare. She wanted the truth, an end to the secrets—even though his were to protect himself and those around him—and she got them. Now she had to live with them for the rest of her life.
I made her cry.
Hysterian remained like stone on the other side of the room. The Cyborg had no idea the lengths at which Hector would go to protect the females he guarded behind him. He gritted his teeth; the weak bone of his human ones cracked under the pressure. Spines poked through the skin of his back. The croc desperately wanted to come out. The memories of that final day of their mission clawed to the forefront of his mind, and he pushed them back. They didn’t pain him the same way they had before.
What?His fingers tensed. They hadn’t pained him when he’d told Janet about them earlier. The realization floored him. He thought of himself as Hector, as Zeph, and then as death—only to draw back to himself as one entire entity.
‘I’m still here,’ Zeph said.
A small smile twisted his lips.I guess I’m not quite cured after all.
Someday, the faraway voice in his head might vanish, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be today. He returned his attention back to Hysterian.
“Why are you doing this? What’s so important that it’s out of my abilities to help you?”
Hysterian shrugged.
“Nightheart isn’t your answer,” Hector said.
“He’s better than you. He’s the best fucking thing I’ve got right now.”
“He was once my answer to a bad situation. Look at where it got me.”
Hysterian flicked his hand. “Another bad fucking situation.”
“Then you know what’s in store for you.”
“I won’t be napping a woman and a child, that’s for sure. If keeping you here until the EPED arrives ultimately gives me what I want, then I can do that.”
