“I know,” she said. “He’s volatile. And he’s not used to having subordinates with minds of their own.”
Malcolm gave Rose a squeeze. He wished that they had more time together.
“You should probably go soon,” he said.
“Right.” Rose kissed him on the cheek. “Be careful, Malcolm.”
“You too,” he said. “Rosalina.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You aren’t going to start calling me that all the time, are you?” she asked.
“Of course not,” said Malcolm. “Only when I feel like annoying you.”
She gave him an exaggerated glare. They stared at each other for another minute, until the idea of being enemies became too painful for either of them to bear. Malcolm stood up and walked into his bedroom, and Rose disappeared into the shadows of the hallway outside the apartment.
Malcolm had three missed calls on his phone, one from Multi and two from Tapestry. He called Multi back first, not looking forward to having to explain how the assignment at the church had gone.
“Wind Runner,” said Multi, skipping hello. “Report.”
“A monster was waiting for us at the church,” said Malcolm. “Melt and I tried to take it down but… something happened.”
“What?” Multi’s voice sounded tired, with a gruffness to it common to heavy smokers.
“Melt… pushed it too far with his powers,” said Malcolm. “He turned. I saw him transform into a demon, and barely escaped before he attacked me.”
Multi released a torrent of curses into the phone. He exhaled, and then the line went silent for a good ten seconds.
“Multi?” asked Malcolm. “You still there?”
Multi sighed.
“Yeah,” he said. “Melt was a damn good field champion. This is the worst possible outcome. With his power, he can slip right out of his stabilizer.”
I hadn’t even considered that…
“How did things go at the junkyard?” asked Malcolm.
“They didn’t fall for it,” said Multi. “Never showed. We’re back at headquarters now. Stay where you are currently, Wind Runner. I’ll send Tapestry out to bring you in.”
“Sure,” he said.
Multi hung up. Malcolm stared at the phone for a couple of seconds, considering Melt and his descent into darkness. Just how much of it was his fault for trying to stop the fight, instead of backing up his fellow champion?
What could I have done? Kill Rose? No… Not now, not ever.
CHAPTER 33
Malcolm’s apartment felt stuffy and confining. Despite Multi’s order to stay where he was, he found himself heading toward the door. He went outside and climbed into Melt’s truck, starting it up and heading down the street.
It started out on as an aimless drive, and ended with Malcolm parked outside a vacant lot in an old, abandoned residential neighborhood. It was where his family’s house had been, back before the Phenomenon had started and he’d lost his mother and Danny.
The rubble had been cleared away, leaving just an empty, pointless patch of dirt. Malcolm stood at the edge of it, thinking about his family. Both his mother and brother had graves at the local cemetery, but given that their bodies had never been found, coming home had more meaning for him.
Malcolm let his thoughts wander. He wondered what his mother would think of his mixed allegiances. She’d probably just be annoyed that he wasn’t already giving her grandkids. Malcolm smiled.
He thought of Danny, as the brother he’d known, and as the demon he’d fought against. Strangely, as Malcolm tried to picture Danny’s face in his head, he instead conjured up the face of the bank robber he’d let go.
Is it all tied together? Did I help Rose find her sister because it was the right thing to do, or because of my own family issues?
He considered for a minute whether it had been worth it, and decided that it had. Even if he’d lost Rose to the enemy, she’d always been free to make her own choices. And at least now, she had a sister, albeit one that was still a stranger to her.
A car rolled to a stop in the street next to Malcolm. He recognized Tapestry’s BMW immediately, but didn’t turn around. She got out and walked over to him, standing by his side.
“Stalker,” said Malcolm.
“Hey, I’m following orders,” said Tapestry. “And I don’t think this is what Multi meant when he told you to stay in one place.”
Malcolm sighed.
“How’d you find me?” he asked.
“Your stabilizer,” said Tapestry. “I had Anna give me your updated coordinates.”
Malcolm nodded.
“Is this… where your family’s old house was?” asked Tapestry.
“…Yeah,” he said.
He waited, expecting Tapestry to bring up Danny as an excuse to raise her suspicions from before. His brother had been a demon. It only made sense that she’d think his judgment might be clouded, and maybe it was.
“I’m sorry,” she said, after a few seconds. “Do you want some time alone?”
Malcolm shook his head. He turned to look at her. She had on her leather jacket, along with jeans and a pair of sunglasses.
“Did Multi already tell you about Melt?” he asked.
Tapestry shrugged.
“He told me a little,” said Tapestry.
Malcolm waited, sensing that she had more questions.
“Well,” he said. “Are you going to interrogate me for more information?”
Tapestry folded her arms, frowning at him slightly.
“No,” she said. “I’m not. I had a… long conversation with Melanie last night.”
“Ah,” said Malcolm. “The wise sage Melanie has given you advice.”
“She likes you,” said Tapestry. “And made it very clear that she thinks I’m being unfair to you and overly suspicious. She said I should give you space, and be a better friend.”
Malcolm grinned.
“And your way of giving me space is apparently stalking me,” he said. “Wow, you really took that advice to heart.”
Tapestry punched him in the shoulder hard enough to hurt. Malcolm laughed through the pain. Their eyes met, and they shared a moment.
I wish I could tell her everything. Maybe someday… but not now.
“Anyway,” said Tapestry. “Multi sent me to pick you up and bring you back.”
“I have Melt’s truck with me,” said Malcolm. “How about I follow you back to HQ?”
Tapestry lifted an eyebrow at that.
“You? Driving a truck?” She smiled. “That’s hard for me to picture…”
“Hey,” said Malcolm “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s just, back in my day, the type of men who drove trucks were…”
She trailed off.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
He had more time to think in the truck’s cab on the way back, and he wasn’t sure if he really needed it. Luckily, Melt had an aux cable hooked up to the stereo system, and Malcolm took advantage of it, blaring Everclear and Third Eye Blind out of the speakers.
He parked the truck on the grass, wondering if it would default to him, now that Melt was out of commission. He followed Tapestry in through the main entrance, and the two of them almost ran directly into Greenthumb.
“Hello, Aubrey,” said Greenthumb. “Might I have a moment alone with Malcolm?”
Tapestry nodded, sensing something serious in his tone.
“Of course,” she said. “Malcolm, report straight to Multi after.”
“Right,” he said.
Tapestry headed down the hallway toward the training rooms. Malcolm waited, sensing what the conversation was going to be about.
“Multi tells me that Melt… turned into a demon, during your encounter at the church.”
Malcolm nodded. Greenthumb’s expression was blank, without a trace of emotion. It made the thin man appear robotic, as though he felt no emotion over having just lost his partner.