Dragon Gate (25 page)

“No. I won’t let that happen.”

“You did what you could. I’ve had a few extra days of life thanks to you. But now I’m going to ask you to step away. My life was forfeit the moment we stepped through the gate. There’s no reason for you or anyone else to die.”

“I’m going to take the battle to the Marshalls.”

She shook her head. “You’re still on that kick? That’s suicide. You can’t do it alone, and Brand hasn’t recovered from giving away everything he was to try and save Kelly. He’s a regular man now. Less than that at the moment because he gave more of his life energy than was safe.”

“He thinks he’s fine.”

“Look into his eyes. When he turned to look at me a few minutes ago, his eyes were dead. He just wants to go out fighting. Die as a warrior. What he needs to do is stay here so he can be with Kelly when she wakes up.”

“If she wakes up.”

“He’s probably afraid she won’t wake up. He’s also probably afraid that she won’t want to be with him now that he’s not a Sekutar. I read people very well, Jonathan. I know you’d do whatever you can to kill the Marshalls and to protect me, but I don’t want you to do that. I don’t want you to die too. You are a complex but simple man. Almost a contradiction. I can see a good man inside you, but you’ve suffered so much, you’ve built armor around you that no one can pierce.”

“Wow, I wanted to talk to you to let you know about your brother, and now instead of grieving, you’re thinking of others, and you’re psychoanalyzing me.”

She forced a smile. “It beats crying.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Can we please not talk about death right now? I don’t want you going down that path.”

“That’s what lies on the road ahead, but it’s for the Marshall Clan, not me.”

“You can choose a different road.”

“So now you want to die?”

“No. I want to live.”

“Then let me do this.”

She gave me a half smile. “Listen to me. Last night, I was afraid to die, but there’s a huge difference between having destroyers wanting to rip you apart and kneeling down to allow someone to cut off your head. It’s partly a choice.”

“It’s a bad choice.”

“It’s not a choice for today, though. Today I’d like to celebrate life. Would you help me with that?”

I wasn’t sure if she was saying she wanted to make love with me or if she had something else in mind like a great meal at her favorite restaurant or a walk through nature. Regardless, I couldn’t understand how she could go there in the first place. My best friend in the world was lying in a coma in the next room. I didn’t know if she’d recover. Her lover was in a bad place psychologically too, and he’d proven himself loyal to her and to me. He was a friend. I knew Esther was scared, and I didn’t know what to say to her.

“I’m asking for your help,” Rayna said. “I can help you too.”

“Rayna, I don’t know what to say. I think—”

Esther popped into view beside me, startling me. “Kelly’s waking up!” she said and popped away.

“What do you think?” Rayna asked.

“Sorry, Esther just told me Kelly’s coming around.”

We rushed into Kelly’s room.

Brand still held her hand, but now he was on his feet. I rushed to the other side of the bed and took Kelly’s other hand in mine. She squeezed weakly. Her head moved slowly from side to side, but her eyes remained closed.

“I’ll get Ophelia,” Rayna said.

“Kelly, we’re all here for you,” I said.

I saw tears in Brand’s eyes. “I love you,” he said. “I know I’m an asshole, and you don’t like me to say it out loud, but I want to make sure you know that I love you more than life.”

Kelly opened her eyes. She looked weaker than a newborn kitten. She looked at Brand and tried to speak. We all leaned down to hear, and her voice came out as a broken whisper. “Don’t get sappy,” she said.

Brand laughed and kissed her forehead. “I’ll get so sappy, you’ll be able to play Lionel Richie songs to get the saccharine taste out of your mouth.”

Kelly looked over at me, blinked, and tried to smile.

“I’m here,” I said.

She managed a nod. “Always.”

Ophelia entered the room. “Okay, guys, give me some room.”

We stepped back and she took over, placing her hands on Kelly’s stomach. She closed her eyes and gently moved her hands over Kelly’s body.

Kelly tried to say something, but I couldn’t make it out. “What did she say?” Brand asked.

Esther grinned. “She said a little to the left.”

“That means she felt the pressure.” Brand smiled and wiped tears from his eyes. “She’s going to be fine.”

oOo

We visited with Kelly for as long as Ophelia would allow, which turned out to be five or six minutes. Now that Kelly was out of the woods, Ophelia wanted to continue the healing. Ophelia was still hedging her bets on whether she would make a full recovery, but she was optimistic that Kelly would at least be able to improve to some degree.

Out in the hall, I looked at Brand and Rayna. The relief seemed to take a major load off, but they still looked as if they could each use a week of solid sleep. I checked my phone for the time. It was nearly eleven.

“I don’t know about you two,” I said, “but I’m famished. Can you face fast food? If so, I’ll run get some.”

“I think I could eat now,” Brand said. “There’s an Arby’s over on Yosemite.”

“Works for me,” I said.

Rayna nodded. “A beef and cheddar does sound good right now.”

“This from a personal trainer?” Brand asked.

“I eat well six days a week,” she said. “The seventh, I eat whatever I want.”

“I eat what I want whenever I want,” Brand said, “but that might have to change now that I’ll be in a position to gain weight. Being a regular person is gonna suck a thousand assholes for that very reason.”

“Food will be here in no time,” I said.

“Hurry back,” Brand said. “Now that you mentioned food, I’m starving.”

I took the elevator to the lobby and approached the guard station. As usual, Phil was on duty.

“Hey, Phil, I need a favor.”

“They warned me you were in the building. I don’t do favors.”

“This one will take fifteen minutes, and it pays more than fifty bucks.”

“I have been known to occasionally accept a side job,” he said. “What do you need?”

“I need someone to run over to Arby’s and get some food for Brand and Rayna on the thirteenth floor.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Because I have something to do.”

Phil leaned back in his chair. “I’d have to get Joe to cover for me, and he and I are both bound to be hungry. It would be cheaper for you to delay whatever you have planned and bring back the sandwiches yourself.”

“Don’t be a dick,” I said.

“You want to get away without having to tell your friends you’re leaving. In my book, that makes you the dick.”

I pulled out my wallet and tossed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. “That ought to cover it.”

“What do they want?” Phil asked as he tucked the bill into his pocket.

oOo

I made a pit stop on the way back to Boulder. A friend of mine named Max is a bit of a survivalist. Okay, to be honest, he makes those doomsday preppers you see on TV seem sane.

He lived outside Superior, and he had a bunker filled with so many weapons, he could supply a large army. I phoned him in advance, and he met me at the gravel drive that led to his house.

“What’s up, Jonathan? Ain’t seen you in years!”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said, climbing out of the Mercedes.

“You must be banking these days.”

“The car? It’s not mine. I’ve still got the Firebird.”

“Well, we can catch up another time. I know this is a business call. You still carrying that stupid Beretta?”

“Yeah, I like it.”

“Dude, you need to update. Let me hook you up with a nice Glock 30S. Damn thing is perfect for concealed carry, and they slimmed down the slide. It’s nice: compact and accurate. Ten rounds in the mag plus one in the chamber.”

“I’m actually here because I need a good submachine gun.”

“I can hook you up with an HK MP5 today, m’man.”

“That’s the one the Navy SEALs use, right?”

“Fuckin’ A right, buddy. It’s the definitive submachine gun for special operations and counterterrorism units around the world. Delayed blowback, reliable, easy to maintain, safe. Well, provided you’re the one doing the shooting, of course. Fires from the closed-bolt position, so it’s big-time accurate.”

“Hook me up, bro.”

“Right this way,” he said and led me to his bunker. He unlocked it and we descended into the most extensive armory I’ve ever seen.

On the walls, shelves, tables, and counters were more guns than I could count in a month, plenty of ammo stacked in crates, RPGs, you name it. I even saw a cannon tucked into the back behind three crates labeled
Pancor Jackhammer.
The bunker extended farther back too, but there was a gated entry with a sign that read,
No Admittance—This Means You!

Max moved a few things around then turned and smiled at me. “Here we go,” he said and held up a submachine gun. He handed it to me then gathered up a bunch of magazines.

“Thanks,” I said.

“No sweat. I have more.”

Looking around, I suspected he had at least three of everything.

“Go on, take it outside.” He shoved me toward the stairs.

I carried the gun up and waited for him to follow with the magazines, but he didn’t come up right away. I waited a few minutes then started back down the stairs.

“Max? You okay?”

“Of course. I’ll be right there.”

He came back carrying a large box. The magazines for the MP5 were on top of it.

“At the risk of sounding like Brad Pitt, what’s in the box?” I asked.

“A bunch of Glocks.”

“I’m fine with my Beretta. Really.”

“What makes you think these are for you? I just don’t want to make another trip later this afternoon.”

“Okay.”

He grinned at me. “Some guys are coming out later to pick up some Glock 17s. They’re hooked on that TV show
Justified,
and the main character uses the 17, so I’ve been selling the living shit out of them the last few years.”

He set the box on his porch, opened it, and pulled out a gun. He held it out to me.

“You want me to be Raylan Givens now?”

“Huh? No, man. This is the 30S I was telling you about. Try it. You’ll love it.”

After some back-and-forth, he talked me into buying it. I suspect I overpaid, but then again, I didn’t have to deal with a waiting period. He’d have all the papers ready for me in a few days to make it all legit, but I knew I might not be alive in a few days, so I wasn’t worried about it.

“You want a sound suppressor for the MP5?” he asked as he walked me back to the Mercedes.

“No thanks. The loud noise might be beneficial.” I figured it would scare the Marshalls, and I needed every advantage I could get.

“All right then, partner. Put ’er there,” he said and held out his hand. I shook it and he pulled me in closer to bump chests in a manly hug. “Lunch next week sometime?”

“Sure,” I said. “Give me a call.”

oOo

Thirty minutes later, I found the castle Kelly mentioned. After parking off the road and out of sight, I did a quick surveillance. I easily spotted the various traps she told me about. As when she was here, there didn’t seem to be anyone home. I approached the building, the MP5 ready to go. I didn’t feel like a Navy SEAL, but there is definitely something to be said for carrying so much firepower.

I entered the building through a window and cleared the place room by room. Nobody home upstairs or on the main level. That left the basement, where Kelly had first discovered the cages with the destroyers or bolons or whatever they wanted to call them.

Descending the stairs, I kept the submachine gun ready. If any of those destroyers were out, I knew to aim for the eyes. There were two empty and open containers, no doubt the cages Kelly saw. In the back of the basement, I found two more of them. They were empty too.

It made sense to assume they had the animals with them. I was pretty sure I could take out both of them with the MP5. I turned to head back to the staircase. For a moment, I thought I saw Esther, but it had to be my imagination because she was still back in Denver with Kelly, and if she were here, she’d let me know. I wondered if someone died here during the construction of the building. Ghosts weren’t common but I could see them when they were present.

As I moved up the stairs, I heard the front door open, and all thoughts of ghosts vanished.

“Shit,” I whispered and backed down the stairs as quietly as I could. There were some shadows in the corner. I didn’t think they’d conceal me, but they might take longer to spot me should they come down here. I got down on one knee, aiming the MP5 up the stairs.