Jack froze in her arms right before she released him. Madelaine turned toward the clapping.
A man stepped from the shadows. He wore dark Paladin robes and smiled at them with wild eyes.
“Congratulations. You found the Mechanism, despite your shortcomings.” His voice echoed in the chamber. “For you, it’s truly a magnificent discovery. But still not good enough.”
Madelaine’s blood went cold. “You must be Dirk Zandis.”
“You remember me?” He sounded surprised.
“No.” Madelaine frowned. “We’ve never met.” He had a distinct face, round and pale like the full moon in the night’s sky.
Jack stepped in front of her. “I do remember wanting to punch you the moment I knew you existed. Does that count? Do I get credit for it?”
Dirk’s smile faded. “You should never have been involved with her. You should never have inserted yourself into this business as her husband.” He practically spit the word “husband” out like a bitter pill he refused to swallow. “Now you’ll pay the price.”
“Me being her husband—which I still am, by the way—was not your call to make.” Jack straightened, making it obvious he was also in fight-or-flight mode.
Madelaine’s voice sharpened. “I chose Jack. He is here because I want him here. Not you. Never you.”
Dirk’s smile disappeared into a derisive stare. “No. That’s not true. You never had a choice.”
“I did and I made one. His name is Jack Grey. Write it down maybe.”
“No. The Cabal chose me!” Dirk’s unhinged-sounding voice exploded through the cavern. “They promised me! They said I was the best choice to lead the Paladin Courier.”
Madelaine stood beside Jack. “They promised you nothing. You were never guaranteed a part here. That’s why you’ve been trying to thwart us for weeks.”
“No! They promised order! And agreed that I would lead them afterward. Once all the known universes have been cleansed.” His eyes glittered with mania. “The old galaxies are diseased. Corrupt. Weak. The plume fromDravo is about to clean everything out to make way for a better world.”
Jack stared. “You’ve lost your space potato-chucking mind.”
“No, Mr. Grey. I’ve seen a vision of what the future can be instead of what it is now.” After that prophetic delivery, Dirk seemed to calm himself, lessening the mania.
Meanwhile, Madelaine had to work to keep from baring her teeth at him and growling, she was so angry. “You have been a detriment this whole journey when you should have been helping us.”
Dirk turned back to Madelaine, a fake frown on his stupid face. “Are you still mad that I stole your bauxite fuel cubes back on Keirios?” Dirk the Jerk asked.
“No. I’m furious with you because you’ve dogged my heels this whole journey for the singular reason that I didn’t select you as a mate before leaving Alienn.”
“Yeah, that was a big mistake on your part, Madelaine. Very short-sighted.”
“How do you figure that?” Madelaine was looking past him at the Mechanism.If I run, will he catch me before I get the device inside the Mechanism?She kept talking. “You are not on my side. You are not trying to aid me in keeping our universe safe from harm. You are useless to me and that’s another reason you were never under consideration.”
Dirk’s eyes lifted. “You’re right. Because the known galaxies need to be destroyed. Once the existing power structures are eliminated by natural selection, a new and better world can rise out of the ashes.” Once more he sounded like a zealot spouting his plans for a brave new world.
“Are you planning to be the ruler of this better world?” she asked. “Typical.”
“What if I am? I’d certainly do a better job than the fools in charge right now.”
“Yawn. You sound like every spoiled rich kid I ever knew. You’ve had every advantage in life without having to work for it and it’s never enough power for you.”
Dirk didn’t seem to like that truth. “What do you know? You’re a poor little Earther nobody who got conscripted into the Paladin Courier program because your cousin Veida died without giving birth to a daughter to take over for her.”
Dirk turned to Jack. “Did she tell you the real reason she ditched you five years ago? Huh?”
Madelaine wanted to punch him in the throat so much, her fingers tingled with raw energy and the yearning to crush, kill and destroy him with her bare hands. But she was better than that. She would not let him goad her. She needed to get over to the Mechanism and load the device. She took a small step in that direction, hoping she could slowly make her way there while he was distracted.
Jack moved with her as if he read her mind. He sounded amused when he asked Dirk, “Do you mean my wife? The woman who selected me over you to be her husband in this long journey of glory?”
