Total Eclipse

I looked around. The buildings were toast, shattered and leveled, and black smoke still poured out of some of the holes that were left. Id done a good job of directing the initial damage from the blast; pretty much the entire compound was gone, but only inside the fence. Even the guard towers seemed to still be okay, although I wouldnt go climbing them without good reason. A gleaming Harley-Davidson motorcycle was parked just outside of the fence, as was the Boss, which no longer gleamed; it was covered in layers of grit and grime. As dusty as it was, it could have been there for years.

I saw no signs of anyone else. I guessed that Dr. Reid had finally come down on my side, and hustled the skeleton crew off the base and into total evac mode. Good. I would have shouldered the burden, but I was so, so glad I didnt have to do it.

Were not the only ones who were headed this way, Rocha said, and accepted a bottle of water from Cassiel out of the pack she was carrying. I hadnt noticed before, but she was dressed in white motorcycle leathers. They were immaculate, even after all the scrambling around down and up the tu

It wasnt until the liquid hit my tongue that I realized how incredibly parched I was, and I sucked down the bottle so fast that the plastic crackled in protest. I drained the whole thing in a rush, then had to sit down as it filled my stomach. Right, that was too fast. I kept it down, but it was a struggle.

Once the discomfort faded, I looked down at myself. Ugh. Not pretty. My body was mostly healed, but there was no helping the filthy coating of blood and dirt I was wearing, or the ragged clothes. The lab coat had helped, but it was shredded and so bloodstained I might have been an extra in a chain saw massacre movie. A dead one.

It occurred to me, belatedly, what Rocha was telling us. Who else is on the way?

Cops, fire, every federal agency still in business, probably. Maybe the military. This wasnt some small-time target, you know. Its going to get a lot of attention.

Well, thats what Id intendedjust not from the human world. So I suppose the smart thing to do is . . .

Seal up the tu

Bad recycler, I said, and tossed mine in with it.

Jo, you brought down the whole fucking complex. I dont think water bottles really count at this point.

He held out his hand to Cassiel as he stood, and she rose to match him. Their hands linked, and I felt the low hum of power start to build.

We should help, I said to David. He shook his head.

No, you need to rest. So do I. Let other people do the work for a while.

Not really my style, but I could see his point. While they were filling in the tu

Dust plumed out of the collapsing tu

Fu

I used the lab coat to wrap up the Dji

She looked at me with those odd green eyes, and cocked an eyebrow. Very Mr. Spock, it seemed to me, although she probably didnt even know what that would mean. As Dji

Do you imagine I like enslaving my own? she asked. Having done it, do you think I would like for them to win their freedom and come after me?

I hadnt really considered it, but Cassiel was a Dji

Right now I was pretty sure that she loathed it.

I inclined my head to her without another word, and after a long stare, she looked away, toward the horizon where there was a distant glitter of fast- moving vehicles. We need to go, she said. Now. The Dji

I thoughtbut didnt saythat we were actually in a much stronger position now, with all the bottled Dji

Then they couldand probably wouldkill us just for the principle of the thing. The absolute last thing the Dji

Theyd kill to prevent it from happening again, and now Cassiel, Luis and I were a big risk to them.

One problem at a time, I said. Lets get the hell out. Any ideas where to go?

Rocha shrugged. Its all pretty much apocalyptic, so take your pick. We were going to head to Sedona.

Fate seemed to want me to go there, but Imara had very clearly said dont. I couldnt understand why, but I was willing to take it on faith; my daughter had risked a lot to come help me here, even for a few minutes. I didnt want to put her in even more danger.

David? I looked at him for a suggestion, and he smiled a little.

Trouble finds us, he said. Lets head for where the Wardens are gathering. Thats where they can use us, and the Dji

He was hiding it well, but I could tell that he hated the whole claiming thing even more than Cassiel. He was angry with himself, because hed been the one to think of it. The one to find the bottles and deliver them.

He could rationalize it, but hed never be able to excuse it. I knew David way too well. Like me, he took on too much and felt too much. His predecessor as Conduit for the Dji

I ached for him, but in this, I agreed with my imaginary Jonathan: it was necessary. Wed release them as soon as we could, but for now, it was the only way to keep any balance to this fight.

Cassiel picked up her backpack, and we ran for the vehicles. The ground was pitted and treacherous from the blast, but we made good time and got to the fence just as David blew it open for us. David and I piled into the car, and foundto neither of our surprisethe Dji