I Am Not Junco Omnibus: Books Four - Six (56 page)

"What happened to the fox?" she asks, barely a whisper.

"Darlin', this is the best part so make sure that when you see Junco up there in the sky ya tell her, OK?"

Silence.

"When Jupiter's eagle saw the God’s swan princess he fell instantly in love with her and when she told him of the trouble she caused just to get to him, the eagle promised to protect the little fox from Jupiter's arrow forever."

I wait for my little fox to respond but her breath is shallow and she's going very pale.

The elevator doors open then and Annun and Hando come out. "Tier?" Annun calls.

"Up here."

I listen to his boots climb the stairs and when he gets to the top he's out of breath and red-faced. "You've got about thirty seconds, then the transmission will start."

I nod and he goes back down, leaving us alone.

"That's not the end, Little Fox. Yer gonna miss the end if ya leave me now."

"How's it end, Tier?" Her words do not even qualify as a whisper but I hear them and force myself to continue.

"It ends with the eagle giving up everything to spend eternity with the God’s swan princess. Not for one night a year, darlin'.
Forever
."

My heart beats in my chest like it's gonna explode as I wait for her reply, but HOUSE is gone. I feel the coldness sweep through and the life leave her body as her heart stops pumping.

I look up to the infinite depths of space and hope as the transmission manifests as a pure white light.

I let go of the girl and shield my eyes, and when the light is gone—so is my Little Fox.

Chapter Thirteen

I get up and look down at my warrior and John Hando. "Dude, you are so fucking dead," Annun states matter-of-factly. "I sure hope HOUSE went up in the sky, because man, Junco is gonna be one pissed-off little psycho when she gets back and finds out you dissipated her HOUSE!"

I think I love Annun. I think he's Braun and Isten all twisted together in one obnoxious asshole and I think I love Annun because he believes in me. In us. In himself. In Junco. He's so Goddamned simple and honest.

My wings unfurl and I jump down to the ground. Hando just raises his eyebrows at me and shakes his head. "I think it worked, man. I really do. She disappeared, and I think that's a good sign."

I'm still thinking about this when the elevator doors open and the Web AI exits. "Mr. Hando, there are avian warriors outside demanding to see the Captain and this"—he looks Annun up and down with an obvious disdain—"warrior. They have urgent messages for them."

Hand looks at me. "You done here? Or you want me to go grab the message and bring it to you?"

I look up at the top of the Sagitta building one more time. It's not called the Arrow for nothing. It
is
the arrow. Jupiter's arrow, the constellation in the sky that sits in front of Aquila the eagle, is called Sagitta.

"No, I'm ready. We did all we could. Caleb says Junco is coming home, and I trust him. He would not lie to me. We did what we could."

We all enter the elevator together and stand in silence as we descend back to earth. Downstairs I can see my warriors even though I can't hear them. The building is soundproof, but there's no denying that what's going on outside is almost out-and-out war.

"Can you give me tech access so I can tell them to stand down?" I address Web, not Hando this time.

The AI stares at me for a second, then nods. "Of course, Captain."

My vision screen comes to life and I have several hundred waiting messages. I clear them all and order a ceasefire.

Most of the battle comes to a halt, and then I notice Web's vacant stare and figure he's called off his rockets or whatever the hell he has out there.

The doors slide open and we all exit together.

Tessen is running up to Annun talking wildly while Pike and Merkar shove her aside and try to take over. I ignore them and look to Arel instead.

"Anything change?"

He nods. "Yeah, there's some movement in the Seventh, but it's not all that spectacular."

"I'm gonna go back to Peak City and wait it out, OK? If you guys—"

"Tier!" Annun is running up to me now. "Wait! They found her!"

The wave of nausea that rumbles through my stomach makes me swallow hard. "They found who, Annun?"

"The baby," he whispers.

I look around to see if anyone else heard. Arel has already moved on but John Hando is still next to me so I play it down. "You have standing orders, Annun. Carry them out." I turn to walk away and put an end to this conversation.

"Tier!" This time it's Tessen. I turn just in time to see Merkar and Pike yank her back by the arms, but she elbows Pike in the chin and he lets go just as she knocks Merkar down with a well-placed foot sweep and runs over to me. "I'm not on board with this, do you understand? I am not on board!"

"I don't care, Tessen. I gave the order. All you have to do is carry it out. If you refuse, then get the fuck off my team." I stare at her and wait for her defiance but she stands down, not willing to lose her position I suppose. But she does find her voice.

"I want to hear you issue that order again then, Captain. So when Junco gets back I can tell her I heard those words come straight out of your mouth."

I let out a long tired breath. "Do you know what that thing is, Tessen?"

She just shrugs and begins to talk softly. "It doesn't matter what it is. Things can be killed but they can never be unkilled. If you do this, Tier, you'll regret it. And let's face it, we've all collected up enough regrets for one lifetime, don't you think?"

I look over her shoulder at Pike and Merk and sigh. "Drug it into unconsciousness and contain it." I stare at her eyes and watch them reflect the red in my own. "If you let that thing wake up and get out, Tessen, I'll—"

But she's already running back to her team.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"Exactly what it sounded like, Hando."

I wait for the judgment I deserve but he stays silent for a few moments. "Hey," he finally says with some sympathy. "You got a place to stay? You want to come meet my family?"

"What?"

He shrugs and pulls out a com, swipes his fingers a few times as he stares down at it. "I have a nice family, Tier. You'll love them. And they love Junco to death. Let's wait it out at my house." He ushers me over to his vehicle and pushes me into the back. He climbs in next to me and puts his com away. "They'll come back, I think."

"Maybe," I say. "Or maybe we'll just all be dead in a few days."

"Yeah," Hando says without malice or anger. "You probably have other people you'd like to hang out with then. You got your own family and stuff? You don't have to come home with me. I get it."

Who do I have?

Lucan and Rikan are with Amelia, Sera is who knows where, Ashur has Selia, Annun and the fledgling team are working, Ryse wants to kick my ass over Esta, and Arel is way too busy to hang out. Braun would've been my first choice, but he's dead.

I look out the window, search for the stars, and then point up. "They're up there, John. They're both up there."

They are the only two people I care about right now. They are all I have left.

And I
would
sell my soul, I would give up my promised eternal salvation, if I could just get one more chance to make it right for them.

I Am Just Junco, Book Six

By J. A. Huss

www.iamjustjunco.com

Three years ago Junco Coot was an insane sniper. Three weeks ago she was a prisoner being tortured in a morph tank. Three days ago she was nothing but billions of molecules floating in a sea of darkness.

Today, Junco Coot is the key to saving or ending the world.

Three years ago Raubtier Aves was the captain of the Avian Military. Three weeks ago he was trying to forget Junco ever existed. Three days ago he was given a gift of eternal salvation.

Today, he will give that gift back.

The Angels are here, the end is coming, the Demons have been released and Lucan has a past that ties it all together. Seven thousand years of waiting for revenge is over and there’s just one more question that needs to be answered?

Who will be there at the end?

Prologue—Isten

Pillar Seven

It’s weird.

Not having wings, that is. And being dead. Inside this Pillar with my twine.

Especially since she’s not here. But that’s Junco for you. Always doing shit her own way. But at least when she was on Earth before her morph she
tried
to follow orders. Now? I let out a long breath. Now, she’s not interested in what anyone says. Not Gideon, not Tier, not Lucan, not Caleb, not Sera, not anyone from what I’ve seen.

She just does not give a fuck and that’s bad news for us.

I study the virtual programmed into Pillar Seven so we can connect and finish what we started. It’s the same one she had with Charlie. The old wooden dock. The mountain lake. And the cabin.

I want to go check it out but it feels wrong somehow to be here without her. To see her personal place. So I stand here on the edge of the dock and wait.

The sun never sets. The water never gets rough. The temperature never changes. It’s just total stagnation.