“Cassie! Please! Wait!” Örim called after her, but Cassie disabled the plasma shields and was out the front door with her boots tucked under her arm before he could even make it halfway across the room.
I’m sorry. I can’t let them die. She paused in the doorway, her bare feet scuffing the ground once before she turned and sprinted away.
He wouldn’t catch her. Not if he ran with everything he had. Örim activated his comm and sent a frantic ping to S’samph.
Cassie’s gone. Went to find the Aviarist. Need to stop her.
To his credit, S’samph responded almost immediately.
Sending out everyone now. I’ll come find you. Where is he?
The smallest building in Laurus? Örim puzzled over the directions. Perhaps the dock house. The single-roomed shed where they stored all the boats for flooding season.
Dock house.
It was a guess, but a guess was all he had time for. Analytics wouldn’t save Cassie. He dressed, pulling on his clothing and boots, and grabbing an electrical discharge device in case it came down to that. He could feel his outer shell start to crack again as he moved, negating all the restorative effects of his reseeding.
CHAPTER 46
Cassie
Cassie panted as she swung by the dock. Empty barrel. Wreeta had said it was in an empty barrel on the dock. There were only three of them. Gritting her teeth, Cassie plunged her injured arm into the first barrel and came away with nothing. The second one, she found something heavy at the bottom and yanked it up. It was much bigger than the null, the dark metal glinting in the sunlight. Cassie tucked it into the waistband of her jumpsuit and started to run again before someone saw her, before she had a chance to change her mind.
She advanced on the dock house. Her breath caught as she opened the door, cocking the pulsar gun upon entry. The Aviarist stood in the center of the room, arms folded. His dark hair was slicked back from his face with sweat.
“Are you really going to point that at me? I’m behind schedule. Let’s get this over with, and I can be on my way.”
“I know you killed Rhea.”
“Did the teösian make that device for you? Did he tell you he loved you? I promise he doesn’t. It really was a terrible disservicethey all did, telling you that you’re a person.” The Aviarist approached her, lifting her chin to examine the box around her neck, the one that held her new voice. “It’s an interesting piece of craftsmanship; I’ll give him that. Wasted on you, though.”
“Don’t touch me.” Cassie flinched away from him. His fingers were cold and hard. She didn’t miss his dodge of her comment. “Tell me what you did to Rhea.” Cassie met his sharp brown gaze with her own pale green one.
“I’m not here to have a dialogue with you. Put the weapon down, and we’ll discuss the next steps.”
“I’m not stupid.” Her hands trembled around the stolen pulsar gun.
“It’s irrelevant.”
“I’m not going back. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Save the dramatics. I’m not asking. It’s time to go.” He held out a hand to her. “I’m offering you the option to walk out of here on your two feet. Then we’ll take you somewhere to put you out of your misery, where your friends won’t have to find you.”
“You’re going to kill me,” Cassie finally said it. She’d known it was the truth as soon as S’samph had told her Rhea was missing. But she hadn’t been able to say it. Only now, staring down the one responsible, could she give voice to the truth that had been eating away at her for the past several weeks.
A glint sparked in the Aviarist’s eyes. “I thought that was obvious.”
“Why can’t you just leave us alone?” Cassie felt tears sting the corners of her eyes. She hated the way it came out pleading. She hated that it made her sound like she would ever beg this monster for anything ever again.
“I’m bored with this. Should I kill you here then?” He pulled a plasma blaster from a holster around his waist. “We can let your new friends find you without a head.”
Cassie swallowed hard. She would only get one shot. If she missed, it would all be over. “I am uploading.”
“Uploading what?”
She lifted her wrist interface. “To the intelewaves. My voicelock records.” It was a lie. But she knew it would trigger him. He always hated losing.
With a cry of rage, the Aviarist took two long strides toward her, picking her up by the front of her shirt and holding her aloft. “Do you know why your genetic sequence was never reused? We wanted better passeri. You’re from a trash code. Once you’re dead, I won’t be out here hunting down stupid little girls who think they know better. You are not a person, Cassowary. You have no family. You were made in an incubator to serve your betters. Do you understand me?”
