made them nearly cold-blooded. When raised human, they tended to start changing during adolescence, a painful process that often triggered many series of tests and hospitalizations before they came to SingleEarth’s attention. Family members often had to transition frommourning for a loved one they thought was dying to coping with the knowledge that there was an entire world they had previously thought of as the provenance of myth and campfire stories.
“Should someone go after her?” Sarik asked.
“Chasing her through SingleEarth is not going to make her feel safer,” Lynzi replied. “She will either come back on her own or find a human mediator she trusts at another Haven. On the other hand, I think this is a good cue for us to adjourn. Sarik, the cubs could use your attention right now. Jason, stay a moment?”
Sarik nodded, recognizing a dismissal when she heard one, but she looked to Jason instead of leaving immediately. He gave a half smile and said, “I had to face her someday. It’s a lot easier to face a mercenary with the weight of the wealthiest organization in the world at your back.”
Sarik heard the false bravado in his words, but sometimes that was the only way to face one’s fears.
Fake it till you make it
, she thought.
Meanwhile, as Lynzi and Jason discussed how to handle Maya, Sarik had to find a way to explain to the child who had probably saved her life as well as Alysia’s that it wasn’t nice to kill people.
“Are these people warriors?” Jeht asked after they left the room.
Maybe that was the answer.
“Yes,” she said, “but not in the way you think. There are ways to be a leader, and to protect your people, that don’t rely on violence and brute strength.”
She had been thinking that if the cubs could not return to the Mistari, she needed to convince them that they didn’t need to be warriors. That wasn’t the right approach. It was too late to convince them that they didn’t always need to be ready for battle, but perhaps it wasn’t too late to make them see that not every battle involved claws or a blade.
Maybe, along the way, she could finally convince herself of the same thing.
C HAPTER 13
A LYSIA SAW C HRISTIAN go down but couldn’t spare any attention to see how badly he was hurt. Tristes were tough to kill—most people weren’t crazy enough to try. At that moment, she had to put all her focus on the two vampires who were flanking her.
And then there was one
, she thought as Christian reached out and dragged one of them away from her. Judging from the bloodsucker’s shriek, Christian used more than his bare hands. Tristes were famous for making vampires their preferred prey, and an injured Triste was probably in no mood to be gentle.
Alysia saw the sniper just past where Christian was grappling with his vampiric target, and managed to throw her opponent in front of the next bolt that came her way. Shefollowed him down with a stake, but the archer reloaded too quickly; before she could get under cover, she felt the impact in her flesh. A steel-and-aluminum shaft shattered her kneecap on its way to burying its head in that vulnerable joint, sending black pain through her.
She was more aware of shadows and movement than she was of events in the next few seconds while she struggled to breathe, to somehow get her body ready to fight.
She looked up again to find Christian standing, facing the direction where the archer had been a moment ago. The attacker must have decided flight was the better part of valor.
Thankfully, he didn’t see what Alysia saw, which was Christian stumbling back so he could lean against the car and slide slowly to the ground, gray-faced. The blood on his lips spread further when he tried to talk and ended up coughing instead.
It took all Alysia’s willpower to move herself closer and not scream as the bolt in her knee shifted. The distance couldn’t have been more than a couple feet, but the move sapped all her energy. By the time
“Should someone go after her?” Sarik asked.
“Chasing her through SingleEarth is not going to make her feel safer,” Lynzi replied. “She will either come back on her own or find a human mediator she trusts at another Haven. On the other hand, I think this is a good cue for us to adjourn. Sarik, the cubs could use your attention right now. Jason, stay a moment?”
Sarik nodded, recognizing a dismissal when she heard one, but she looked to Jason instead of leaving immediately. He gave a half smile and said, “I had to face her someday. It’s a lot easier to face a mercenary with the weight of the wealthiest organization in the world at your back.”
Sarik heard the false bravado in his words, but sometimes that was the only way to face one’s fears.
Fake it till you make it
, she thought.
Meanwhile, as Lynzi and Jason discussed how to handle Maya, Sarik had to find a way to explain to the child who had probably saved her life as well as Alysia’s that it wasn’t nice to kill people.
“Are these people warriors?” Jeht asked after they left the room.
Maybe that was the answer.
“Yes,” she said, “but not in the way you think. There are ways to be a leader, and to protect your people, that don’t rely on violence and brute strength.”
She had been thinking that if the cubs could not return to the Mistari, she needed to convince them that they didn’t need to be warriors. That wasn’t the right approach. It was too late to convince them that they didn’t always need to be ready for battle, but perhaps it wasn’t too late to make them see that not every battle involved claws or a blade.
Maybe, along the way, she could finally convince herself of the same thing.
C HAPTER 13
A LYSIA SAW C HRISTIAN go down but couldn’t spare any attention to see how badly he was hurt. Tristes were tough to kill—most people weren’t crazy enough to try. At that moment, she had to put all her focus on the two vampires who were flanking her.
And then there was one
, she thought as Christian reached out and dragged one of them away from her. Judging from the bloodsucker’s shriek, Christian used more than his bare hands. Tristes were famous for making vampires their preferred prey, and an injured Triste was probably in no mood to be gentle.
Alysia saw the sniper just past where Christian was grappling with his vampiric target, and managed to throw her opponent in front of the next bolt that came her way. Shefollowed him down with a stake, but the archer reloaded too quickly; before she could get under cover, she felt the impact in her flesh. A steel-and-aluminum shaft shattered her kneecap on its way to burying its head in that vulnerable joint, sending black pain through her.
She was more aware of shadows and movement than she was of events in the next few seconds while she struggled to breathe, to somehow get her body ready to fight.
She looked up again to find Christian standing, facing the direction where the archer had been a moment ago. The attacker must have decided flight was the better part of valor.
Thankfully, he didn’t see what Alysia saw, which was Christian stumbling back so he could lean against the car and slide slowly to the ground, gray-faced. The blood on his lips spread further when he tried to talk and ended up coughing instead.
It took all Alysia’s willpower to move herself closer and not scream as the bolt in her knee shifted. The distance couldn’t have been more than a couple feet, but the move sapped all her energy. By the time
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