Jordan (30 page)

Jordan hurried her from the ticket booth. He had no idea how long the effect would last. For all he knew the clerk could look
down, realize the paper was blank, and call security guards.

Vivianne’s eyes grew wide, but she said nothing until they’d joined a large group in a snaking line. “How did you—”

“I don’t know.” How could he explain? Placing the keys into the Staff had changed him on a fundamental level. Although he
wasn’t reading minds, he could hear background noise; a steady hum of thoughts overflowing, hunger, the need for sex, fear.
Men worried about their work. Women worried about their children. He shut down before the thoughts overwhelmed him.

“That wasn’t hypnosis, was it?” she asked, peering at him.

“It’s a form of mind control.”

“Can you do that to more than one person at a time? How long can you sustain it? Can you make someone think I’m their best
friend?”

“All good questions, but I’m afraid I don’t have any answers.”

“Do you have a plan to get answers?”

“I’ll figure it out as I go along.”

Despite security and cameras everywhere, the ride down to Pentar was uneventful. No different than riding in a crowded passenger
airplane. Without enduring the cold weather, they remained indoors and landed in an artificial crater, before taking a magnetic
levitation train into the city. So far no one seemed the least interested in them, but every time they swiped their identity
cards, a computer was tracking them.

Jordan wanted to get off the official grid, lose themselves in the city. The first opportunity he saw, he pulled her behind
a power-maintenance unit. He unsheathed the Ancient Staff and did a quick three-hundred-sixty-degree spin.

Vivianne frowned. “No matter which way you turn, it’s not pulsing brighter.”

“I know.” He resheathed the Staff. “I was hoping it would help us find the Grail the same way it did the Keys, but it’s not
working.”

Vivianne looked at him, her eyes worried. “So how do we find the Grail?”

Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly.

—L
ADY
C
AEL

T
his way.” Jordan took Vivianne’s hand and led her down a sidewalk. At first glance, the street scene seemed similar to a dozen
cities on Earth—if she discounted the artificial sky overhead. Right now the artificial sun shined brightly, and she wondered
if they ever programmed in rain, snow, or gusty wind.

She strode beside Jordan, who had shortened his stride to match the average citizen’s slower pace. “Where are we going?”

“To government headquarters.”

She asked, “Can you make them just
tell
us where the Grail’s kept?”

“No, but if they think about the Grail, I can track down the details.”

He sounded so certain. Was he reading the minds of passersby? “Suppose the military has the Grail?”

“It’s possible, but if they do, someone in the government will know that.”

Her stomach plummeted. Walking next to him, she’d never felt more exposed. Every time she saw security, every time they had
to swipe their fake IDs to progress, she expected someone to stop them.

For all they knew, the Grail might not still be on Pentar. Their intel from Honor was months old and may not have been accurate
to begin with. By now, the Tribes could have transported the Grail to the other end of the galaxy.

Still, she remained hopeful. Perhaps it was because at first these people didn’t seem that different from those at home. But
as she really looked at this society, she saw many cruel aspects. Young girls forced to walk behind grown men. Children who
didn’t smile or play. Men who didn’t look one another in the eye.

Everywhere, people went out of their way to give the security people wide berths. Fear permeated the air. The Tribes didn’t
appear happy on their own planet. Apparently their leaders subjected their own people to the same domination as they did the
rest of the galaxy.

Vivianne shuddered at the bleakness of their existence. They weren’t poor in things, but in spirit. There was no art, no graffiti,
nothing but basic, drab design. It struck her as a world gone stale.

Vibrant Earth would not go flat and banal like this place, she vowed. As they caught a streetcar that ran on tracks and magnetic
devices, then another train, she noticed that Jordan was very quiet. He hadn’t spoken in the last hour. While she understood
he didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing their conversation, when she turned to look at him, his eyes didn’t focus on her.

It was as if his mind was missing, and an icy chill slid down her back.

She swayed nearer to him in the crowded vehicle that ran along the underground street, past dilapidated apartment buildings,
gray storefronts, and windowless schools. “Jordan?”

He didn’t answer.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him. “Jordan?”

For a full minute, he didn’t move. Didn’t speak. A few people glanced at her, then looked away. If there was going to be trouble,
they clearly wanted no part of it.

Come on, Jordan. Damn it, you’re scaring me.

“S’okay,” Jordan finally responded, his speech slightly slurred.

Was he responding to her shake of his shoulder? Her voice? Or her thoughts? She didn’t have time to ask. As the train slowed
and motored into the station, he tugged her toward the door.

She kept her voice low. “I thought you said we were supposed to stay on this line another half hour.”

“Change of plans.” He sounded very sure of himself once again, and she had to hurry to keep up with him.

This railway platform was crowded with women pushing strollers, men carrying meal boxes, and several squads of security shoving
past civilians who scurried to get out of their way. When they exited the station, they spilled into a somber cement square
that was far from parklike. No greenery. No children flying kites or playing ball. No pets. Just people walking through, eyes
downcast, heads bowed under the strain of Tribal life.

Jordan crossed the square and headed into a narrow alley that ran between apartment buildings. “We’ve picked up a tail.”

“Security?” she asked, matching her pace to his and forcing herself not to turn around.

“Trendonis’s friends.”

Jordan had thrown his powerful enemy’s name at traffic control to allay their suspicions. His ploy had worked. Trendonis’s
name inspired fear. But apparently the man also had friends, who were now after them.

Her thoughts slid to a halt. The only way Jordan could know the tails’ alliances was if he were reading their minds.

While she was grateful he had a power that might aid them in staying safe long enough to find the Grail, she realized that
living with a mind-reading Jordan would be more than difficult. She supposed she shouldn’t be worrying about that now. The
chances of either of them living beyond this mission didn’t look good.

Especially as the alley dead-ended into a five-story stone wall. Jordan shoved her behind him and turned to face three dangerous-looking
men running into the alley. The leader, a burly man with a black beard and blacker eyes, had pulled out a blaster and aimed
at them.

Jordan stared at the man. She braced for death.

But the gunman didn’t pull the trigger. He didn’t change expression. He stood as still as stone.

“Boss?” One of his cohorts shook the leader.

“We’ll have to shoot them ourselves,” the other growled.

When Jordan stepped to one side, jerking her with him, the lead gunman remained totally motionless. However, his associates
raised their weapons.

Jordan kicked the blaster from the nearest opponent’s hand. Still spinning, he back fisted the last guy in the temple and
he dropped his weapon. As the man dived for the blaster, she kicked the weapon out of reach.

Jordan pounced and the men rolled. Jordan ended up on top, straddled the man’s chest, grabbed him by the throat, and glared.
“What do you want from us, Gridon?”

“You know my name?” Gridon’s eyes widened in fear. He glanced from Jordan back to his cohort, who still stood frozen.

“I’m only going to ask once more. What do you want?”

“My boss wants to know who you are.”

Jordan slammed Gridon’s head against the pavement and knocked him out. While she retrieved the blaster, Jordan rifled the
man’s pockets and stole his ID and credits.

“The frozen guy’s beginning to thaw,” she muttered uneasily.

Jordan slipped an arm around the leader’s throat, choked the man back into unconsciousness, then handed her his ID, too.

The entire fight had taken only seconds. Neither Jordan nor Vivianne had so much as broken a fingernail. Between Jordan’s
fighting and mental skills, they might just stand a chance. Still, she was shivering, shaking.

“Come on.” Jordan held out his hand to her, his eyes bleak. “Security’s noted a disturbance in this sector. They’re on the
way to investigate.”

“How far away are they?” she asked, taking his hand and jogging beside him.

“I’m not sure. All these buildings look the same to me.”

So he could see what Security saw? She stumbled, and he held her hand more tightly, preventing her from falling. Was he gaining
new powers, or was he simply learning new facets of the powers he already had? She supposed it didn’t matter.

She held on to the belief that even though he was reading other minds, he was
not
in hers.

Jordan pulled her around a corner and slowed to a walk so their movements would blend in with the crowd. When she saw a restaurant,
she jerked her thumb. “Why don’t we slip in there?”

“Good idea.” He opened the door for her, and they took a table in the back near the rear entrance.

They both ordered the “special,” the only meal the restaurant served. The food turned out to be surprisingly good. Dark bread
sandwiched a concoction of marinated meat. She downed two glasses of energy water, surprised she could eat and drink when
her nerves were so raw.

They didn’t speak. The other diners sat so close by, they could overhear any conversation. Besides, Jordan took on that “missing”
look, which indicated he was mind scanning. Perhaps he’d luck out and get a bead on the Grail’s location.

As far as she was concerned, the sooner, the better. Between Trendonis’s enemies searching for them, and Security now after
them, too, they were attracting attention. The last thing they needed was Trendonis himself to hear rumors and come after
them again.

As she paid for the food, her stomach churned. She tugged at Jordan’s sleeve. “We should leave.”

He refocused more quickly this time. “We need to descend four more levels.”

Four levels? She already felt suffocated under just one floor of concrete. “Is there an elevator?”

“I’m not sure. It’s strange, but the knowledge of how to navigate between levels is not readily available among the general
populace.” He ducked his head to speak into her ear. “But I picked up several hints that no one wants to live on a lower level.
Where we are now is considered the height of luxury.”

If the poor sections were below, it was likely to be more dangerous. On the other hand, there might be less security. Either
way, they had no choice.

She didn’t allow her concerns to show, but as he led her deeper into the city, her soul yearned to go back up to the surface,
to the light. Traveling deeper into the bowels of this world reminded her of that cave on Arcturus.

“This way.” Jordan’s voice was threaded with excitement. “There’s a staircase that should take us down to the central government
offices.”

“Do we need special IDs?” she asked.

“They have retinal scanners.”

She stopped walking. “We can’t fool the machines.”

Jordan slipped his arm around her. “People read those machines’ results.”

Uh-oh. Jordan had just revealed yet another new use for his skills. He could alter the minds of those who were in charge of
the machines. The little hairs on her neck stood up. “What if the techs who read the machines aren’t nearby?”

“I’ve got it covered.”

Could Jordan trace the current all the way back to techs who monitored the system? Control them from a distance?

Sheesh. She really didn’t want to think about it. So instead, she focused on trying not to slow him down. He seemed certain
they could pull off the theft of the Grail, and she refused to let fear freeze her.

She tried not to think about going into the bowels of the enemy world. Or being surrounded by the Tribes. Or never feeling
the sun on her face again.

Choose your friends by their character and your engine fuel by its color.

—A
NONYMOUS