The Darkness Beyond Part 16

But first he had to get rid of the body. He probably should bury the Other, but he wasn't going to waste the energy. Right now, he had more important things to do. Grunting from the effort, he hefted the Other up and over his shoulder and carried him off into the darkness.

He set the corpse down in between a cl.u.s.ter of rocks and some scrubby trees. Would anyone miss this guy? Maybe. Once they were back across the barrier, he'd get word to Berk so that he could locate the two dead Others if he wanted to retrieve the bodies.

Satisfied that he'd done as much as he could for the dead, D.J. walked away. Time to focus on the living.

Chapter 14.

"Hey, kid, time to wake up."

A big hand landed on Cody's shoulder and shook it. Awareness came rus.h.i.+ng back as he fought his way up from oblivion. He wished he could've stayed there. Lately reality sucked. Blinking sleepily, he peered out into the darkness, trying to see where they were.

On the outskirts of Portland. Okay, he hadn't been asleep all that long.

"You back with me?" Trahern's voice rumbled in the cab of the truck.

"Yeah, I'm getting there."

Cody stretched to work out the kinks in his neck and get his blood flowing again.

"Sorry to conk out on you like that."

"Not a problem. I'd have let you sleep longer, but I need directions from here."

Cody glanced at the street sign on the side of the highway. "Two more exits north, go east."

Now that he was awake, he felt guilty. He was full, warm, and safe. Could the same be said for Reggie? Fear for his friend settled like a gray fog in his mind.

"Do you think she's okay? Reggie, I mean."

The Paladin glanced over at him. "Do you want the truth or plat.i.tudes?"

"The truth." He kept his eyes pointed toward the winds.h.i.+eld, not wanting the big man to see his fear.

"I keep wondering how long a human can survive in that alien environment."

Trahern spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, but then evidently he'd been dealing with weird for a long time. "The air is thinner than ours, but breathable. The ecology is all f.u.c.ked up because their suns are burning out, so the whole place is dim. Dusty and dry is how I would describe it."

"Sounds like you've spent time there."

Trahern's smile gleamed in the flash of another car's headlights. "I did. One of my buddies crossed over and met up with Barak's sister. She's what they call a Sworn Guardian, a warrior who polices their world with a squad of a.s.sistants. Everything went to h.e.l.l in a handcart from there. Cullen helped her smuggle her two adopted kids back across to our side, but Lusahn got captured along with Larem, one of her Blademates. They were sentenced to die for betraying their kind."

Trahern quit talking while he cut across two lanes to the exit ahead. "Where to next?"

"Drive straight for the next ten blocks and then hang a left."

"Got it. Anyway, Cullen, Barak, Lonzo, and I crossed back into Kalithia to rescue Lusahn and ended up dragging Larem back here, too. It was quite an adventure."

He paused as if considering his next words. "I have no idea why those two Others wanted to drag your friend into their world, but it can't be good. And why wait until now instead of when she first started playing cybergames with D.J.?"

Okay, that was a shocker. Reggie had been in contact with the Knightwalker for months and hadn't said anything? Right now he was too worried about her to be p.i.s.sed that she'd been keeping secrets, but they'd definitely have words when she got home.

If she got home.

Trahern was waiting for him to speak. "She wasn't playing. We work for a company that does internet security for other companies. Someone just hired us to track down a hacker known as the Knightwalker."

"I take it that's D.J.'s alter ego?"

"Yeah, the Knightwalker is a legend among hackers, but Reggie never said she already knew who he was. I do know she hacked into the Regents' server and printed out a history of the Paladins. Maybe that's why."

Trahern looked disgusted. "I swear, every time we think we've cut the head off the snake, it grows two more."

What did that mean? Before Cody could ask, Trahern started talking again.

"We've had some problems in the organization lately. Greedy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds robbing both worlds, that kind of thing. As soon as we caught wind of it, we started hunting for everyone involved. Obviously, we've missed a couple. They may have wanted to stash Reggie over there where no one could find her until the heat dies down. That would make sense if somebody on this side is calling the shots."

Trahern's answer was no help at all. It just meant Reggie was in danger, but they already knew that. Frustration had Cody pounding his fist on his thigh.

"d.a.m.n it, I should've gone with D.J."

Trahern's big hand caught Cody fist in midswing. "No, you shouldn't have. To be brutally honest, until we get your fighting skills up to par, you'd be more of a hindrance than a help out in the field. It's d.a.m.n hard to be stuck on the sidelines, but that's the hand you've been dealt. Believe me when I say that if I were Reggie, there's no one I'd rather have hunting for me than D.J. The man's fearless, and there aren't many who could best him at either tactics or weapons."

That might be true, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow. Glad for the excuse of giving directions to change the subject, Cody pointed out the winds.h.i.+eld.

"That's my building over there."

Trahern parked the truck and climbed out, obviously planning to go inside with him. Cody really wished he wouldn't. His apartment was barely one step up from living on the streets, furnished with stuff he'd picked up at yard sales or sitting by Dumpsters.

"If you'd rather wait in the truck, I'll just take a minute."

Trahern shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. I promised Devlin I'd stick to you like a tick."

The big man stopped inside the door of the building and looked around. "Cody, just so you know, a lot of us started off with nothing. h.e.l.l, I was living on the streets in St. Louis until I got lucky and ended up in the right judge's courtroom. Turns out he was a Regent and recognized what I was.

"I'm not the only one either. D.J.'s story is his to tell, but it's not much better. Bottom line, you've got no reason to be embarra.s.sed by where you live. h.e.l.l, you're going to college and have a good job. That's more than I was doing at your age. I'm impressed and I know Devlin is, too."

What could Cody say to that? It was hard to talk around the big lump in his throat.

"Then come on in. I'll throw a few things in my pack, and then we'd better get over to Reggie's place."

Half an hour later they were inside Reggie's apartment. Trahern had the same totally sick lock-picking skills that D.J. had. Cody couldn't help but admire the talent.

"Is breaking and entering a standard part of the Paladin training?"

Trahern chuckled. "Actually, I learned it on my own, but it still comes in handy once in a while. I'm sure we'll manage to squeeze it into your curriculum at some point."

"Cool."

As much as Cody had been looking forward to graduating, the future stretched out before him had looked pretty empty. Now it seemed as if the Paladins and the Regents might just fill in the gaping holes in his life. It felt d.a.m.n good to hear Trahern, Devlin, and even D.J. talking about his future with them.

But now wasn't the time to be thinking about anything except getting Reggie home safe.

"I'm going to log into Reggie's e-mail and contact our boss. D.J. wanted me to pretend to be her and tell Mr. DeLuca she's sick and will be working from home for a few days."

"Good thinking, but what about you?"

"I'll tell him I've got finals. He won't question it unless I'm gone too long."

"When you're done, pack up her laptop to take with us. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can't forward her phone numbers to our Seattle office so Cullen can monitor them."

It didn't take Cody long to send the e-mails. It almost felt as if he was turning in his resignation rather than just asking for a few days off. Who knew, maybe he was.

Trahern turned off the sole light they'd used. "Okay, I'm done. Let's. .h.i.t the road. We still have a long way to go."

Not as far as Reggie did, but Cody kept that comment to himself.

Just as they reached the truck, Trahern's cell phone rang. After answering, he listened for several seconds.

"Yeah, Dev, we just finished up. We can be there in half an hour or so."

As he spoke, he stared over at Cody. Where would they be in half an hour? The last Cody had heard, they were heading back to the Paladin headquarters in Seattle, at least a four-hour drive.

"See you soon. Yeah, I'll tell him." Trahern disconnected the call. "Hope you're not afraid of heights."

"Not as far as I know. Why?"

"Dev pulled some strings and we're hitching a ride back to Seattle in a helicopter."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Are you down with that?"

Cody grinned. "Oh, yeah."

"Too bad it's dark out. The view of the Cascades and the volcanoes is seriously b.i.t.c.hin' from a chopper. But hang with us and eventually you'll get to see the mountains up close and personal from the air."

"Sounds like fun."

The other man's face turned grim. "I wish it was, Cody. I really wish it was."

When D.J. returned from disposing of the body, Reggie took one look at his empty hands and seemed to shrink in on herself. At least the horror in her eyes had faded to a more manageable level, leaving her looking washed out and tired. And so d.a.m.n sad. When had she last slept?

At least she didn't ask him what he'd done with the Kalith's remains. Maybe she didn't care. More likely, she was just relieved that any reminders of what had just happened were now out of sight. Speaking of which, he headed back to the stream.

Kneeling down in the gra.s.s, he dumped all of her clothes into the water and let them soak for a few minutes. She was right about how cold it was. By the time he finished rinsing out her underwear, tunic, and pants several times each, his hands were d.a.m.n near too numb to move.

He spread her clothing over some nearby bushes, but doubted they'd dry by morning. When he had them all arranged, he wiped his hands on his pants and looked around for something else to do. With a maelstrom of emotions churning in his chest, he didn't trust himself around Reggie right now. Part of him wanted to wrap her up in his arms, do his best to soothe her fears, and then kiss her until this nightmare was only a dim memory.

His other half wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled for getting herself mired in his world. d.a.m.n the woman. If only she'd listened to him. But she hadn't.

He skirted the edge of the camp, gathering some more firewood and at the same time acquainting himself with their surroundings. Rain must not be a problem because the Others had laid their pallets out on the ground with no shelter of any kind. How would Reggie react to sleeping in a dead man's bed? It wasn't like they had a lot of choice right now.

Here they both were, trapped in Kalithia and hoping like h.e.l.l they lived long enough to tell the tale. Even if Reggie had the strength to hike her delectable a.s.s back up to the cave tonight, it would be hours before Barak dropped the barrier again.

Nor would she be out of danger once they crossed back into their world, not if the humans involved were still flying under the radar. Besides, she lacked his night vision and moving in the dark increased the risk that she might stumble and fall. The whole situation made him crazy. Once again his eyes automatically sought her out.

d.a.m.n it, she was s.h.i.+vering again. He had to do something about that. Neither of them had eaten anything and keeping up their strength was important. He'd brought just a few things in his pack, but it would have to be enough to see them through until morning. After dropping the firewood in the pile, he sorted through their options for dinner. At least the dead Kalith had put water on to heat. That would help.

Oh, goodie. There was powdered chicken broth and freeze-dried stew. At the bottom of the pack, he found his own personal favorite, dried eggs. It was better than starving-maybe.

Ripping open a packet, he poured the bouillon into a cup of hot water, stirring as he carried it over to where Reggie sat. The whole time, she watched his every move with wary eyes, as if poised to run should he make a single wrong move.

Did she think he was going to come after her next? Yeah, sure, seeing someone shot to death was probably a new experience for her, but it was either kill the b.a.s.t.a.r.d or watch her die. She'd seemed awfully d.a.m.n glad to see him earlier.

Had something happened to change that or was she just now really seeing him for what he was-a stone-cold killer? Maybe it was better if she was scared. Maybe then she'd listen the next time he told her to stay the f.u.c.k out of his life.

"Here. It's just chicken broth, but at least it's hot and will hold you until the stew is ready." He shoved the cup at her and then stalked off.

Reggie watched D.J. walk away as she wrapped her hands around the metal cup. The oppressive silence was getting to her. She'd never been one for camping, but back home, back in her real world, even the night had its own sounds.

Right now all she could hear was the crackle of the fire and the small noises D.J. made while fixing their meal. Intellectually, she knew the valley and hills were still out there beyond the firelight, but she couldn't see them; she couldn't even feel their presence. A city girl at heart, she was used to being surrounded by thousands, even millions, of souls.

Here in this alien place, there was just herself and D.J. From the way he was acting right now, she suspected he'd just as soon be alone. That hurt, but then she hadn't even thought to thank him for the things he'd done. Granted, her head was all muddled from everything that had happened, but at least he'd cared enough to come after her.

Would he forgive her for putting him in a position where he had to kill two Kaliths? Personally, she'd been too busy freaking out to think about good manners. Hopefully, better late than never.

"D.J.?"

She waited for him to look at her before continuing.

"What?"

"I wanted to thank you for everything you've done." Then she held up the cup. "By the way, this broth is helping. You may have noticed that I'm pretty much a mess."

His dark eyes stared at her, his mood unfathomable from across the fire. His voice was gruff when he finally answered. "Not much of a surprise considering all you've gone through in the past twenty-four hours."

She wasn't alone in that. After all, he'd been caught up in the ugliness of the situation, too. "I'm not the only one. I'm so sorry you had to kill both of those guys."

He flinched as if she'd hit him, his jaw clenched tight. "I'm not."

"Not what?" Although she knew.

"I'm not sorry." He came closer. "I won't lose a single minute's sleep over those two dying. Good riddance, if you ask me."