‘There you go with those compliments again.’ Veitch glared at Miller. ‘Should have realised this had your fingerprints all over it.’
‘No, this is me talking to you, Veitch. Ryan. From the heart. For old times’ sake. Don’t hand over the Anubis Box. Come back to us. Do the right thing.’
‘You really think I can wash all that blood off my hands just like that?’
Ruth remained silent.
‘Yeah, didn’t think so. Fact is, I’m the wounded party here. I’m the one who was led on — yeah, by you, right? Remember that? I’m the one who was abandoned by my mates and then screwed by Existence, left to rot until the Army of the Ten Billion Spiders gave me a leg-up.’
‘It wasn’t like that, and you know it! They used you, as much as those gods who manipulated you.’
‘And I’ve had enough of it. I’m bringing the whole fucking building down, and fuck the lot of you.’ He gripped the Anubis Box so hard, Ruth was afraid it would shatter.
‘It’s a childish gesture,’ she said. ‘Wreck everything just so you can stamp your foot and get back at everyone who’s hurt your feelings. And I so mean wreck everything — the whole universe! How insane is that?’
‘Yeah, well, I don’t do anything by half-measures.’ Veitch stared into the waters of the reflecting pool, deep in thought. ‘Okay,’ he said after a moment. ‘I’ll do it. I’ll come back and help you lot out.’
Ruth could barely believe her ploy had worked. ‘All right-’
‘All you’ve got to do is tell me you love me.’
Ruth’s mouth fell open. She could see in Veitch’s face that he was serious.
‘And mean it. I’ll know if you’re lying.’
‘I can’t do that.’
Veitch nodded slowly. ‘I know. Whatever you say, I’m not an idiot.’
The door swung open and Owein, Tannis and Branwen entered. Veitch was briefly puzzled by Etain’s absence, but then turned back to Ruth. The sadness in his face shocked her.
‘See, there’s no point in me doing the right thing.’
‘Of course there is. Do it for yourself.’
He shook his head. ‘I’m a lost cause, darlin’. You’re the only thing that matters, the only thing worth fighting for in this fucked-up world. For you, I’d do anything.’
Ruth was speechless.
As Veitch went over to the Brothers and Sisters of Spiders, Ruth sat down with Miller, touched and confused. ‘Why does he feel that strongly about me?’ Anger followed the confusion, but she didn’t know why.
The electric sound of Veitch drawing his sword demanded their attention. The black fire that leaped across the room was mirrored in his face. ‘Traitorous bitch,’ he snarled. Then, to Ruth: ‘Betrayed again, see? That’s what life is for me.’
‘I don’t understand. How did they communicate with you?’
Ignoring her question, Veitch replied, ‘Etain has brought that bastard Church here to get me when my guard is down. Only I’m going to get him first, and this time I’m not making any mistakes. He dies.’
6
Laura sat on the top of a dune and stared into the heat haze hanging on the horizon. The desert stretched out as far as the eye could see in all directions, as desolate as her heart. She smelled the odour of carrion long before the jackal appeared around the foot of the dune and sat on its haunches on the slope just below her. Its glittering, intelligent eyes fixed on her and it said in a low voice, ‘Laura, with the chosen name DuSantiago.’
This made perfect sense to Laura. ‘Got it in one.’
‘You are lost. You have been lost all your life. Is that correct?’
Laura didn’t answer.
The jackal looked to its left where a six-year-old blonde girl was being hit with a Bible by a woman. The girl was crying, but trying to smile through the tears.
‘Were you a dutiful child? Did you follow the path of right?’
‘You’re joking, aren’t you? First chance, I was out of there with one mission: take whatever life had to offer.’
A thirteen-year-old Laura swallowing an E before lying down to have sex with a long-haired man with a back covered with tattoos.
She watched herself in coitus. ‘I never did get his name,’ she said dispassionately. ‘You always remember your first time. I wish I could scrub it out of my mind with a wire brush.’
Another jackal wandered around the foot of the dune and settled to gnaw on a thigh bone.
‘Did you give back for the life that had been given to you?’ Anubis asked.
‘The life given to me?’ Laura snapped. ‘A mum who beat me into next week from when I was old enough to walk, and a dad who sat back and watched, making sympathetic noises and doing nothing. Yeah, it was one big celebration.’
‘Did you have any friends?’
‘I had myself.’
‘Did you honour your parents, who brought you into the world and nurtured you?’
Tears sprang to her eyes. ‘Let’s see that, shall we.’
To her right, she lay on the sand while her mother carved Jesus loves you into her back with a kitchen knife. ‘No, I don’t think I honoured them.’ She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, leaving a gritty trail of sand on her cheek.
‘What value did your life have?’
Laura watched numerous scenes play out of her drinking, taking drugs, having sex, committing petty crime. ‘None,’ she said. The weight on her heart was growing heavier by the minute.
More scenes unfolded, desperate and pathetic.
‘You agree that your existence was worthless?’
‘Yes.’ She stifled a sob. She had always known it, deep in her heart.
‘You have squandered that vital resource given to all living things?’
‘Yes, yes, yes! I always knew life was pointless. I learned my lesson well.’
Behind her, the sound of heavy movement. Fear bloomed inside her, taking root in the despair. She didn’t dare look around as the cold shadow fell on her back.
‘Does anyone stand with you?’
No,’ Laura sobbed. ‘Who’d stand with me?’
‘We would.’
Laura saw Church standing next to her, Caledfwlch in his hand, the blue flames licking gently in the desert breeze.
‘Lives are filled with disappointments and failures. It’s easy to focus on them, and once they’ve happened, they’re always there, tugging at your memory. It feels as if you can’t escape them.’ Church gently brushed the hair from Laura’s forehead.
‘You have no authority here,’ Anubis said.
‘It doesn’t matter what happened in Laura’s old life,’ Church continued regardless. ‘It doesn’t matter what flaws she still carries around with her — the kind of flaws we all carry. Because she’s aspiring to be something better, and that’s what really matters. She pretends she doesn’t care about anything, but we can all see the truth. She’s chosen to walk this path. She’s put her life on the line for others. She’s risked everything when there appeared to be no hope of ever winning. But do you know what the real proof of her value is?’
‘You have no authority here.’ Anubis’s words turned to an animal growl.
‘She’s found friends, the kind of friends you rarely make, who would lay down their lives for her.’
Laura thought she would cry.
‘You have no authority here,’ Church said. ‘We’re Brothers and Sisters of Dragons. We stand for Life. And I’m taking Laura away from here now.’
‘The judgment is not complete!’ Anubis bared his teeth and howled. As the furious sound rolled out, the desert melted away and the desolation faded with it until Laura was lying back on the slab.
‘Hello, darlin’. That’s going to leave a nasty scar.’ Hunter stood on the other side, pretending to be aloof.
‘You love this, don’t you? Playing the big hero saving the girl,’ she croaked.