Page 197 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘Protecting me.’

‘From what? You’re immortal, and he hated you,’ Kade says, voice trembling. ‘Why would he give his life to protect you?’

‘The second wave of Resets were heavy hitters. Those others were a distraction. They were waiting for us to fall back. When they came for us in the next room, they started firing some kind of weaponised compound.’

Kade squints to recall. ‘Morph…’

‘Morphlox,’ Lachlan supplies. ‘Vasily has told me a little about it. It’s a kind of muscle-locking agent. They got me with it in the leg. I couldn’t move. When they tried to take me, Seth intervened. They dogpiled him, but he pulled a grenade and blew them up from underneath. Brave thing.’

‘Fuck.’

‘You gave him a chance, and he made the most of it.’

Kade closes his eyes. ‘What then?’

‘Jolene and her people arrived a few minutes after. They saved us all. I don’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t helped, but I guess it’s a good thing she did.’

‘Lee came?’

‘With backup.’

‘Last Light,’ he whispers to himself, doesn’t know how to feel, what to think. Kade looks down at his hands. His knuckles are torn; his wrist is swollen. He doesn’t remember punching anyone.

But Riley must have.

He’s wearing Riley’s injuries.

‘You were supposed to protect him.’

‘I know that. Everything that went bad there was my fault. I didn’t tell you we were meeting Vasily and I had no clue those Resets were operating on such a scale. When I went there two nights ago, they were patrolling in three groups of six. All green, all low-threat. We could have taken them easily. I didn’t anticipate additional units coming in the way that they did. It was like they were waiting for us to gather.’ Lachlan looks down at the floor. ‘I should have taken what Harker said seriously. He was right and I was wrong. I’m so sorry, Kade.’

‘Two nights?’

‘Seeing you like that, so close to death—’

‘Two nights? How long was I out?’ Not waiting for an answer, Kade lifts Lachlan’s shirt by the hem to expose his chest. The tattooed Roman numerals have morphed into a two. ‘Oh my God.’

‘It’s all right.’

‘No, it’s not all right!’ he croaks, sitting up gingerly. ‘I was supposed to keep an eye on it. I was out a whole day?’

‘You almost died. Your body is recovering.’

Someone else comes inside the room.

Vasily Sorrenko is in different clothes, hair in a loose braid to the side.

Expression grave, he takes in the scene before speaking.

‘Bad time?’

‘Maybe later, Silly.’

‘No,’ Kade says, jaw locked tight. ‘You stay. Who else is here? Lee?’

‘She is around,’ Vasily says, waving a hand.

‘I want to talk to her too.’