Logan Trilogy (27 page)

And for warmth
… said Liath.

She pressed another section of crystal—and a fire bloomed to life in the center of the floor.

Incredible
.

We want you to live here with us, Logan
, Dia told him.
 
Share our home, our lives…our love
.

Liath's thoughts flowed in:
 
There are just the two of us. One is nearly always with father at the Bridge. We
 
alternate
.

When Liath is gone, it can be lonely
…

For me, also, when Dia is away…We need you, Logan
.

Need you
…

A pairbond
? questioned Logan.
 
Between all three of us
?

It could be beautiful, Logan
!

And Logan thought:
 
Jaq is gone.

Gone
, they echoed.

Jess is gone.

Gone
…mind-whispered Dia.

And we are here
, said Liath.

A night—A day. Another night…

Logan found joy with Dia and Liath. Their minds and bodies rioted together in a spillout of sensual delights, a crossfire of thoughts, emotions, impressions, shared experiences…

But there was a barrier.

Your eyes, Logan. They blind you to sight
.

Dia was with him. They were lazing nude in the slow ocean tides along a sun-tinted stretch of yellow beach.

Logan smiled.
 
I see the sun on the water. I see gulls in the sky
…He touched her body.
 
I see your beauty
…

But I see more
, she told him.
 
So much more, Logan
!
 
My vision is achieved with the inner eye, and is on a scale
 
beyond your conception. Whole worlds are open to me which are closed to you. I want to share them
.

How
?

You must free your inner eye—allow it to expand your total consciousness.

For me, Dia, that's impossible
.

No, you're wrong. You need only remove the barrier of your outer sight to free that greater sight which is within
 
you. It waits to be released.

Are you saying that I should—blind myself
?

She shook her head, smiling softly.
 
No, I'm saying you should free yourself…enter our world…Liath's and
 
mine. Become truly bonded to us. You have the ability as few others have it. As we are gifted, so are you.

And how would I do this
?

There is a heat shield in the castle…of sunmetal. Its surface is as bright as the sun itself. Stand before it, gaze full
 
into it with your physical eyes—and it will free you. It will take away the barrier which separates us.

Is it really possible
?

It is, Logan, it is
!

That night, in the castle, Logan could not sleep. Existence had no reality, now, beyond the daughters of Andar. Dia had saved him from certain death and, in a way, his life was hers.

She had asked nothing of him; she had only given. Now she wanted to give more…wanted to give him her inner world, share it with him.

Why was he so afraid of losing his eyes? He had seen the cities, the cruelty, the terror and frenzy of runners fleeing the Gun. He had seen the plague run its terrible path across Argos, destroying his friends, all the people he had come to know and trust. He'd seen the Wilderness People, lost and helpless against the ravages of nature. He'd seen his son's sprawled body…

Jaq was dead. Jessica was dead. What more was there for him, in this world of shadows?

Noon. The sun tall and direct above the castle. The three of them standing before a high, curtained object. W
 
hen we move aside the curtain, look full into the shield
, Dia told him.
 
Do not blink or shift your gaze
.

For ten seconds. That's all it will require
, assured Liath.
 
There will be no pain—only an intense brightness.

I understand
.

Dia embraced him, kissed his lips.
 
Trust us, Logan.

I do. I trust you both.

Ten seconds—and you will be with us forever
, said Liath.

Logan braced himself, teeth clamped, jaw muscles tight. He nodded.

Open the curtain
!

Dia moved to the shield, drew back its wine-red cover.

Brightness! Incredible, penetrating brightness…a sun-glare of fierce light so intense that Logan flinched back from it.

Yet, he did not blink.

Six seconds!

Seven…

Three more seconds
, Logan!

A rush of sound above them. Blades chopping air. The red curtain swirled, lifted itself, settled to half-cover the shield.

Logan turned away to a wild cry from above: "Logan! Quick, Logan! I have news!"

The voice of Jonath.

In a fantail of sand, the paravane came to rest on the beach. Jonath leaped from the machine, ran toward Logan, waving, shouting.

They met at the coral's edge.

"I flew here the moment I heard the news. I would allow no one else to bring it."

"What news, Jonath?"

The Wilderness leader gripped his friend by both shoulders; his eyes blazed with the words: "She's alive! Jessica's alive!"

JONATH

"All right, tell me everything you know," Logan said tightly.

They were in the castle. Jonath was seated on a fall of snowpillows, sipping green seawine which Dia had brought him. She and her sister hovered near Logan, who was never entirely still. He paced constantly as he listened to Jonath, questioned him on details.

"An ex-Sandman named Evans brought me the news," said the Wilderness man. "He told me—"

"Evans 9?"

"Yes," said Jonath.

"I've known him since childhood. We worked the Angeles Complex together."

Jonath nodded. "He said he was your friend—that he'd become a runner because of you."

"Evans…running?"

"You made it to Sanctuary and so he decided to try for it—but he couldn't connect with Ballard's people. Evans was hiding out when they penetrated the Line at Steinbeck."

"Why would he tie in with Gant?"

"After the Thinker died he told me he just naturally gravitated back with other ex-Sandmen. When Gant took command of their group Evans followed along."

A flash of instant mental communication between Logan and the sisters: 
Who is Gant
?

A monster. The worst of the Sandmen. He hates me.

Why
?

He was in charge of Angeles Complex when I became a runner. My escape to Sanctuary was a personal
 

embarrassment to him, a black mark on his record. I was the only Sandman to ever reach Sanctuary, and he hates
 
me for it
.

"Evans and Gant argued," said Jonath. "Gant tried to have him killed. He got away, came to us, looking for you. He wanted you to know that Gant bought Jessica on the Market."

"That Borgia bitch lied to me," said Logan. "She had me convinced that Jess was dead."

"To protect herself, obviously," said Jonath. "By shifting the blame to Prince, she thought you'd let her go."

"But I didn't," said Logan flatly.

Dia looked agonized.
 
You're leaving us! Your thoughts say it.

I'm going after Jess.

But Gant—he'll never let you have her.

I'll take her.

He'll kill you, Logan
!

He'll probably try.

The Sandmen are with him. You'll never
—

"Where is she?" Logan asked Jonath. A muscle danced in his cheek. "Where does Gant have her?"

Jonath told him.

DAKOTAS

Deep green below them. A forest flow of pine-thick wilderness, broken by high granite cliffs and jeweled lakes, darkened by the swift-sliding shadow of the paravane.

The Black Hills of the Dakotas.

"When we get there," Logan said, "I want you to stay with the ship until I bring Jess out."

"Negative. I'm going in with you," said Jonath. "You'll need all the help you can get."

"Then take one of these." He handed Jonath a Fuser. "Courtesy of the Borgias."

"I've never fired one."

"Nothing to it. Just aim and press the gripstud with your thumb. It's laser-powered. The beam will cut through any surface."

"Do you think we've actually got a chance of bringing her out?"

"Would it make any difference if I said no?"

Jonath sighed, idly turning the weapon in his hand. "The fact that you know he's got her…that dictates your action."

"But not yours," said Logan. "Why did you come with me, Jonath?"

"Because you're my friend." He smiled. "And I happen to place a high value on friendship. It's one of the few real things I can count on in this brave new world of ours."

"Did Evans tell you how many Sandmen Gant has with him?"

"At least two dozen…maybe more. He wasn't sure."

"It's Gant himself I worry about," said Logan. "The man's a total fighting machine. And he doesn't

make mistakes."

"Evans told me Gant thinks you're dead, that the Borgias killed you at Steinbeck."

"Good. That means he won't be expecting our visit. Gives us a slight edge going in."

They rode in silence above the Dakotas.

Logan thought of Liath, and of Dia. Of ocean sunsets and midnight sands and clean sea air—and of lying with them in soft coral darkness…They knew he'd never return to them. And when he left they'd sent their farewells soaring after him as the paravane lifted away from the beach…

We love you, Logan
!…
 
We'll always love you.

Always.

Always.

Fading. Dying out behind him…

Always.

Always.

Always
.

"There!" Jonath pointed excitedly downward. "Rushmore! We're close now."

The rippling shadow of the paravane flowed over the somber granite heads of Mount Rushmore.