Jones leaned his elbows on the desk, watching Kaede scroll through the news articles she’d found in her search. The headlines were all similar and they all involved the deaths of soldiers and their families. With them up on Kaede’s computer screen like this, Jones could hardly believe that no one had made the connection before; but the deaths were all at different times, in different ways, and scattered all over the world. In some of them it was barely even mentioned that they had been in the military.
“There are still a few that I haven’t found yet, mostly because they’re still out on their tours, but this is the majority of them,” Kaede said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“I barely knew them,” Jones said, but absently; he was too busy reading the headline that announced War Hero, Family Killed In Furnace Explosion over and over. “Were they all accidents?”
“Not all. Some died during the war, and others were killed, but those killers were all caught and sentenced. Kind of strange in itself, a hundred percent conviction rate.”
“Mmm. Either way, everyone involved has basically been killed off. There’s just me, Lea, and maybe those people you can’t find yet.” Jones ran his hands through his hair.
“Look, I can see why you’re worried, but if Aloria’s behind it, she’s had more than enough chances to kill you. You’re still alive.” Kaede studied him, her eyebrows knitting together. “Of course, maybe she has tried to kill you. She could have been the one who was actually behind the kimla attack. You’ve taken a lot of beatings recently, haven’t you? You’ve recovered very well from them, especially considering you spent the past three years killing yourself with alcohol.”
“So?” Jones asked, uneasy. “I’ve always been tough.”
“It’s just interesting.” Kaede patted his shoulder. “Don’t get so defensive.”
“I’m not.” Jones glanced back at the screen. “So getting everyone involved in the project together isn’t going to happen. Can you get me everything on these deaths that you can? All the reports and any other information.”
“Do you have something in mind?”
Jones shrugged. “I’m thinking about it. Thanks for your help.” He got to his feet and leaned down to kiss her cheek before leaving the room and heading downstairs.
He found Andraeon curled up on the couch, dozing with his face buried in a pillow, while Andy and Emily watched mid-morning cartoons. Jones paused in the doorway to watch them for a few moments, then crossed the room to wake Andraeon up, stroking Emily’s hair on the way by. Andy’s arrival had been the best thing for her; she was calmer, happier, and even friendlier to Andraeon. Every time she started to go into a temper tantrum, Andy would start signing rapidly to her and she would calm down. Jones had noticed that she was beginning to pick up some of the sign language with the quick ease of a young child, and could hold simple conversations with Andy without a single word being spoken.
“Hey, Drae, wake up.” Jones shook Andraeon’s shoulder and got a bleary look in return. “Come for a walk with me.”
“’Kay.” Andraeon pushed himself up, yawning and rubbing at his eyes.
Jones went to kneel down beside Emily, telling her to behave herself while he went out. She gave him a look that just barely stopped short of rolled eyes and nodded, but her attention was obviously still on the brightly coloured cartoon ponies dancing around on the screen. Despite the stressed-out feeling twisting Jones’s stomach, he had to smile at how normal it was. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and led Andraeon outside, shoving away the little voice inside that said if he left Emily now he wouldn’t see her again. It said that every time he let her out of his sight and he had learned to ignore it before it drove him insane.
“Where are we going?” Andraeon asked as they walked down the sidewalk.
“Just walking. I need to do something other than sit around and wait for something to happen.” Jones looped an arm around Andraeon’s waist. “Emily behaved while you were with her?”
“Well, she let me fall asleep and I didn’t wake up with my hand glued to my face, so yeah.” Andraeon smiled a bit. “She seems happier.”
“I know.” Jones glanced over at a sudden movement in front of someone’s garage, but it was only a man trying to untangle his garden hose.
“You seem distracted. What’s wrong?”
“You know Kaede was looking for other people who had been in the project, other soldiers like me?” Jones waited for Andraeon’s nod before continuing. “Most of them are dead. Killed in accidents, or on duty, or murdered. No pattern to it, except that they were all soldiers involved in this project, not that anyone would know to look for that except us.”
“You’re not going to die, Jones.” Andraeon looked up at him, frowning. “You don’t think you will, do you?”
Jones shrugged. “Everyone dies sometime. Kaede seems to think I have some sort of superhuman ability to survive or something.”
“Maybe.” Andraeon traced the scars on the arm around his waist. “You’ve taken a lot of damage, but you just seem to keep getting stronger.”
“I’m not drinking anymore,” Jones said, and changed the subject. “I’ve been thinking about what we should do. I can’t drag Emily all over and I don’t want to just stay here until Aloria decides to come after us again, or anything else does. I don’t want to wait for that at all, no matter where we are.”
“Okay.” Andraeon gave him an amused smile. “What are you building up to?”
“Asking if Kaede is willing to take care of Emily for a bit while I go handle Aloria.”
“While we go handle Aloria. If you try to leave me behind again, I’m going to... to tie you to something.” Andraeon smiled again but Jones saw the anxiety in his eyes. “Like it or not, we’re in this together.”
“I know. Lea will probably want to come as well, and Shiki would be an asset.”
“Shasta?”
“If we have to. I doubt we’ll be able to get rid of him.”
“Well,” Andraeon said after a moment’s thought, “I don’t exactly want to go walking right back into her hands, but I know we have to do something other than sit around. How’s Emily going to take it though? She’s going to think you’re abandoning her.”
Jones winced. “Maybe. She’s not screaming when I leave now, but she also knows I’m only going for a little while. And if I don’t come back at all...”
“Shut up, Jones. You’re coming back.”
“It needs to be thought about. What happens to Emily if I die?”
“Don’t die, problem solved.”
“All right,” Jones said, keeping his voice even to soothe away the agitated tone Andraeon was picking up. “I’ll just talk to Kaede about keeping her safe here while I’m gone. We can figure out everything else later. Ready to head back?”
“Think so.”
Jones turned and started back the way they had come, nodding to the man with the garden hose, who was now watering his lawn. Something moved in the spray of water as it arced out over the grass but Jones told himself it was nothing but the shadow of the man’s other hand as he raised it in greeting. Shasta’s story about seeing shadows in mirrors—as he’d told them over breakfast while Emily and Andy had been playing in the living room—was only making him paranoid. He was still glad to get back into the house and out of the suddenly oppressive heat.
“Of course I’ll look after Emily,” Kaede said when he pulled her aside and asked her. “Are you sure, Jones?”
“I need to do something about it,” he repeated. “But I’ll take another day to think it over.”
“Whatever you think is best.” Kaede squeezed his shoulder and went to get some coffee for Lea, who had just wandered downstairs still in her pyjamas and a dressing gown.
Jones spent most of the rest of the day playing with Emily and Andy, lying on his stomach on the living room floor to colour with them, or helping them to build towering skyscrapers out of building blocks. Lea helped them for a couple of hours and Shasta wandered in for a bit to watch cartoons, but Andraeon excused himself to go out with Shiki for some practice in using his power properly. Jones watched him leave and when he looked back, Emily was giving him a frowning look.
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t like him,” she said, and under her words he heard his mother’s voice echoing, He’s bad news.
“Why not?”
“He looks funny.”
“Funny in what way?”
“Not here,” Emily rubbed at her cheeks, “but underneath. You can’t see it.”
“Can you describe it to me?”
Emily screwed up her face in thought. “Like when it’s really dark out but there’s stars. And there’s other lights.”
“Sounds kind of pretty to me.”
“Yeah, but you think he’s pretty,” Emily said disdainfully, then caught sight of Andy signing at her. Reluctantly she added, “That’s okay. I guess.”
Jones kissed her forehead. “Good enough.” He turned her attention back to the colouring books, filing her description to the back of his mind to think about later.
He completely forgot about it until he was lying in bed with Andraeon curled up at his side. For a moment he wanted to ask Andraeon about it, but when he looked over Drae was already asleep, a lock of dark hair drifted over his forehead. He looked so tired that Jones didn’t have the heart to wake him; instead he brushed the lock of hair back and kissed his mouth before settling down to sleep himself.
He’d barely closed his eyes before he opened them again, but instead of the dark bedroom he found himself standing on the foggy plain Shasta called the between places. The fog was so thick he could barely see his hand in front of his face, and he felt the telltale itching between his shoulderblades that said he was being watched. Trying to take deep, calming breaths, he looked around cautiously, squinting to see anything at all in the fog around him.
“Jonesy.” The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, and he knew it. He’d last heard it coming down the phone line when he had listened to Allie’s murder.
“The fuck are you?” he said quietly, not sure if he was asking who or where. His hands itched for his guns, but he’d come here—if he was actually here at all and not just dreaming—in nothing but the shorts he’d gone to bed in. Sweat beaded on his bare skin despite the cool dampness of the fog around him and he felt completely exposed.
“Jonesy.” It came from just behind him this time and all his muscles locked up in pure fear. At the same time the brand on his wrist flared painfully to life, glowing red as though it were actually on fire. He grunted in pain and doubled over, his fingers stiffening into claws and the tendon running up the inside of his forearm standing out stiffly. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling hot snuffling breath against his spine...
...and opened them in the safe darkness of the bedroom. The brand still glowed on his wrist but even as he looked at it, it began to fade away and the muscles in his arm relaxed. Andraeon stirred beside him and he nearly jumped out of his skin, then rolled over and wrapped his arms around Andraeon, gradually relaxing at the feel of another solid body. It seemed to take forever but eventually he drifted off again, and this time he slept soundly until morning.
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