Everwild

Jill looked at him with fuming hatred. "Figure it out for yourself."

"Oh," said Milos, "but I already have."

The hatred in Jill's eyes peaked into desperation, and finally faded to defeat. "What do you want, Milos?"

Good, thought Milos. Now for the bargain. Few things were more rewarding than blackmailing a criminal. "I will keep your secret," Milos told her, "and in return, you will step back, and allow me to take first position among Mary's skinjackers."

"Mary chooses who she puts in charge."

"Mary will choose me," Milos said with confidence. "And when she does, you will support it, and accept my leadership." Then he smiled. "Just like old times."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I will tell Mary exactly how you find all these 'new arrivals.'"

Jill looked away, her lips pursing into an angry slit. "Fine. But don't expect me to follow your orders," she said, but Milos knew she would.

Milos left Jill to stew in her own afterglow, returning immediately to Mary, who wanted to brief him on the state of affairs in Chicago. At first she was guarded, but Milos could sense she needed someone to talk to--a new and sympathetic ear. And so he listened, and found everything she had to say fascinating. Perhaps she sensed that, because soon she opened up, sharing things beyond her dealings in Chicago. As stiff as she was, she seemed to relax just the slightest bit.

"It's good to have someone to talk to about these things," she said. "Someone with whom I can see eye to eye."

Milos looked around the Promenade. It said so much about Mary. It was pristine, and spotless. It was full of works of art and furniture that were clearly added by her. The place was as elegant and evolved as Mary herself. There was also a sizeable collection of books in the Promenade. Not just the ones Mary had written, but dozens of others that Mary had acquired. One of those books was out, and sitting on Mary's chair. Milos picked it up, curious. It featured a picture of a suspension bridge under construction. The title was A History of Civil Engineering. "A hobby of yours?" he asked.

Mary took the book from him and set it down. "Every book has something to teach us," she said, "and crucial knowledge at the right time can be a very powerful thing. "Mary gestured for Milos to sit, and so he did, stretching out comfortably on a plush sofa. Mary sat across from him. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to know a little bit about your travels."

"What would you like to know?"

"Your friend Moose mentioned that you had an encounter with Allie the Outcast. I would very much like to know about it."

"Allie is of no concern," he told her. "When I last saw her, she was on her way home. It is a serious thing when a skinjacker goes home--you will be the last thing on her mind. Trust me, she is no threat."

Mary shifted her shoulders, the suggestion u

"No," admitted Milos, "but she is a friend of the Chocolate Ogre. And he is a threat, yes?"

Mary leaned forward, a little too interested. "Did she say anything about him? Anything at all?"

Milos shrugged. "A bit. Very little. She had not seen him for years--since the day on the pier. I understand you were there too."

"I hope you realize that the Ogre must be stopped."

"From doing what?"

"From doing anything! He must be brought to justice!"

"And you," asked Milos, "are the judge?"

And then she quoted from one of her own writings. "In a lawless world, we must illuminate truth with our glow, and create justice by the convictions of our souls."

"So then, you are his judge."

"I have seen firsthand the acts of cruelty he's capable of," Mary said. "He sent hundreds of helpless children into the light. He'd send us all there if he had his way."

Milos found he could read her just as easily as one of her books. At least when it came to the subject of the Chocolate Ogre. He tried not to smile as he spoke. "Does he know you're in love with him?"

She snapped him a burning glare, as if the question itself was an attack. "I see you've been listening to smears made against me. Probably from Allie the Outcast."

Milos knew he had to play this very, very carefully. "No, it was only a guess. But believe me," he said earnestly, "I know what it's like to love someone who has betrayed you. And I know how hard it is to move on. But in the end, we must."

They held each other's gazes, and what wasn't spoken at that moment was more important than anything else that was.

Mary was the first to break the gaze. Her eyes drifted to the book sitting on the table beside her. The engineering textbook. She picked it up, and pondered it, rubbing her hand across the surface as if it might sprout forth a genie.

"I will be needing the services of skinjackers, for various missions. Important missions. I'll need someone I can trust in charge."

"In that case," said Milos, "I hope I can be of service."

* * * It was long after dark when he left that night, after hours in Mary's company. There was no question he was dazzled by her. Mary was everything Milos imagined she might be. She had Jill's shrewdness, without the sociopathic streak. She had Allie's high moral integrity, without the naivety that kept Allie devoted to that miserable Mikey McGill. Milos knew his weakness was that he fell in love too easily, which blinded him to the character flaws of the girls he fell for-- but finally here was a girl worthy of his attention!

He had already softened her defenses, but truly wi

Milos knew he had no choice but to win her over-- it was a matter of necessity for him now, because he had already fallen for her--and the only way to survive a force of nature such as Mary Hightower was to make sure that the feeling was mutual.

If only Mary were a skinjacker, he thought. Ah well, one can't have everything. Besides, if Mary were a skinjacker, she wouldn't have any need for Milos, so perhaps it was better this way.

And she did need him--she said so herself--but there were many levels of need. Milos had had his heart broken one too many times. This time would be different. Somehow he would find a way to be everything Mary needed, as indispensable as air to the living. As permanent as Everlost itself. PART FOUR Way of the Chocolate Warrior In her most recent book, What You Don't Know Can Most Certainly Hurt You, Mary Hightower writes:

"It would be untrue to say Everlost is entirely free from illness and disease. Our flesh is gone, but in our beings, seeds of our own doom remain. That which was small will grow. That which was once insignificant can devour us. There are cancers beyond those of our mortal bodies. I consider them punishments for unwholesome deeds and wrongful thinking. The Chocolate Ogre serves as a perfect example, for whose thinking can be more wrong than his, and whose affliction could be more unpleasant?"

CHAPTER 20 The Great Train Robbery

A large vapor of Afterlights gathered to watch the festivities in the old train yards of Chattanooga, Te