“It wasn’t about my satisfaction; it was about making things right.” Killing hundreds of Raiders didn’t fill the hole Ruben’s death left behind, so I stopped looking at death as a means of satisfaction. The world now has three fewer Raiders to worry about, and that is what matters.
We step out of the elevator and walk down a quiet hallway toward the apartment. “You don’t have any guards here,” I say.
“Do I come across as someone who needs guards for protection?”
“But youdohave guards.”
“For show.” He opens the door. “A drink?”
“Yes.”
“I should also feed you based on the grumbling of your stomach. And if I’m not mistaken, there’s a heavy dose of painkillers inside you now. Elijah is a generous owner.”
That word stings, but I let it go and ask, “Is that why you wanted him to have me?”
He smiles, a bottle of wine in his hand. “Look at you putting the pieces together. The other houses would’ve let their fighters tear you apart once they found out you were a Defender. I counted on Elijah to act like his weak father and not allow that to happen. Did he tell you about him?”
“Yes.”
He comes over with two glasses of wine. I hold mine and hesitate, vividly remembering what happened last time.
“Oh, relax. I didn’t drug it.”
Worried about angering him, I take a sip, not sure I like the taste.
“Did Elijah tell you about his father’s vision for Denver?”
“A bit. I liked what I heard.”
“As a good Hiver should. But in a rotten world, you can’t afford to lead with your heart. And Nikola Powell, though quite bright, was all heart.”
“He died thirty years ago, didn’t he? You’re acting like you knew him.”
“Of course I did.” He sits on the couch, facing the city.
I sit next to him, watching him closely. “How old are you?”
“A bit rude to ask someone that, don’t you think?”
“You wanted me to ask.”
He winks. “I recently celebrated my one hundred and seventeenth birthday. I was born in 2028, twelve years before Doomsday.”
I take a sip of wine even though my hand shakes. “It scares me that I believe you. How is that possible?”
“Strange things happened when the world as I knew it ended. How am I still alive? I don’t know.”
“Are there more people like you?”
“Like me… no, but I haven’t met every survivor of Doomsday, so perhaps there are.”
“Do people here know about your age?”
“There are rumors, but I don’t mind them since they make people scared. I hid in the shadows for a long time before I was ready to come into the light.”
“Did you have something to do with Elijah’s father’s death?”
“Don’t insult me, Caden. Of course I did. The man had no room in my plan. Now, chicken or fish?”
