Страница 58 из 68
"I didn't realise you reached the apartment."
"Oh, yes. I'djust found your Mysterious Note when, well, aliens, and my two friends becamevery curt types who bundled me up and delivered me here. It sounds like you've been having a far moreadventurous time."
"I guess. I–"
A great roil of emotion swelled, blocking Madeleine's throat,filling her eyes. Tyler glanced at her,then tucked her against his side.
"The edges become less raw," he said,conversationally. "Big hurts neverreally go away, but you can contain them, build up scar tissue to stop themcutting so deep. The question for youhere, given that it's apparently so important you rest for this fight, iswhether it will help you to cry about it now, or put it off till later."
Madeleine leaned her head against Tyler's shoulder and lethis warmth seep into her, borrowing the strength to push back breaking down alittle longer. She was far from the onlyperson who had lost someone, and the thing to do was focus on freeing Noi, notso much to save the world, but because it was Noi.
"Did you see the painting?"
"It was there?"
"On the wall in your bedroom."
"I didn't get that far. Will I like it?"
"No. But Ido."
"And that's what matters?" The door opened as Tyler laughed, that rich,throaty burble, and Pan, leading the way in, stopped dead, a delighted grinconsuming his face.
"Maddie, you seriously heldout on us," he said, stepping aside as Fisher, Nash, and the fourth leechBlue, Quan, bunched up behind him. "I'd tweak your nose for it, but I'm sodamn glad you figured out a way to free us I'll let you off this once."
It was a brave show, and Pan almost succeeded in behavingjust as usual, though his eyes gave lie to his smile. Full of sympathy, and awareness of the lengthof Fisher's possession. Mercifully, hetransferred his attention to Tyler, crossing to hold out his hand. "I'm Lee, and I give you fair warningthat I am going to fangasm over you at some pointwhen we're not saving the planet."
"I'll look forward to that," Tyler said withperfect gravity, shaking the proffered hand.
"I didn't figure out how to free you," Madeleinebegan, then caught Fisher's expression. A clear 'later', which she understood and accepted while hating the ideaof receiving thanks which belonged to Théoden. "Do we have enough to go get Noi?" she asked instead, glancingat the crowd outside the door and feeling a little better to see Min amongthem.
Fisher gave her a brief, grateful smile, surely not intendedto pierce her heart so thoroughly, and said: "Yes. A quick parcelling out of targets and we'llgo up."
A woman called Ja
Min punched and one of the Blues fell beside a limppossessor, but Moth song rose piercing and urgent from the other. The freed Blues spilled out into the liftfoyer, Fisher punching, Pan dropping to his knees to revive the first Blue. The second Moth bloomed, but did notfall. It was the worst moment possiblefor a Moth to survive separation, filling the air with song, and Madeleinethrust herself forward, raising a shield. Instead of attacking the Moth flitted sideways, and off down thecorridor.
"Heading toward our target!" Fisher said, and theyraced after it even as answering song rose from surrounding rooms.
The Moth's path lay through the foyer of the second elevator,and it was that which saved the moment. The other group stepped out, and Sarah reacted to a Moth flying directlyat her by shield-punching it into the ceiling. Claire, confused but willing – or hungry – reached up and pressed herhands to the single trailing tip in her reach, and the song abruptly died.
"Clear the rooms we've passed?" Pan asked urgently,and at a nod from Fisher reversed direction and headed toward a door just as itopened.
Madeleine scrambled with the rest, using the security masterkey taken from the monitor room, and ran through the next door only to beblasted by a force punch which knocked her on her behind. The Blues on the far side of the room werethe youngest she'd seen, but clearly strong and too far away for her tocomfortably spirit punch. Hating theidea of injuring children, she snapped a light force punch in their directionto keep them occupied – blowing out wooden shutters and glass from the windowsbehind them – and staggered into a run at them.
The taller one – a ski
"Leina?" Tyler, following her about according toinstructions, lifted her more or less upright.
"Help me over," she said urgently, and fed twostill little figures energy despite the dizziness. She stayed kneeling by them because there wasno way she could leave without being sure she hadn't just killed two children,even if she could stand up.
She could hear the progress of the fight in neighbouringrooms, flurries of sound, brief outbursts of Moth song. It seemed to spread and spread, and then whenMadeleine thought she had to go help no matter how dizzy, it all diedaway. By then one of the children, agirl around ten, had her eyes open, all her attention on the boy, who wasslower to revive. They both looked to beof African descent, might even be brother and sister, and a knot grippedMadeleine's stomach then relaxed as his eyelashes fluttered.
"Always sleeping in," the girl said, and promptlyput her head down on his chest and began to cry.
"Where did–?" Pan came through the door at a trot. "Maddie, we're going for Noi straightaway – there's too much chance they heard something. You good?"
The dizziness had faded enough that she could stand, so shenodded and followed along, grateful when Tyler slipped a supportive arm throughhers. The group of freed Blues had grownin size yet again, and there was a milling confusion of people gathering in thenearer lift foyer.
Sarah, low-voiced, was making brief explanations, but anurgent trill of Moth song interrupted her and it started all over again, butthis time the figure they were chasing down was Emily, who wasn't even supposedto be there, and no convenient third group emerged to intercept her as she ranstraight for their target suite, song spiralling.
"Go! Go!" Madeleine didn't evenrecognise the person who shouted, but sprinted, hand-in-hand with Tyler. Someone ahead punched straight through thedoor closing in their face, and they streamed inside, a frantic mass, butMadeleine checked at a glimpse of a fallen tangle with blonde hair.
Min, panting but bright-eyed, was there before her. "I'll look after her. Get Noi."
No choice, the crowd surging, flooding into a spacious loungearea, so many that Madeleine couldn't be sure which were the possessedBlues. Then Fisher yelled"Balcony!" and she turned to see a familiar figure heading over therailing.
Far too far to spirit punch, but Madeleine did it anyway, adesperate move which sent her ploughing into carpet, feeling like she'dshield-stu