Aeromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 3)

“She’s right,” Joss said. “Let’s go to the library.”

They stepped into the big room. Joss served drinks and handed Bono a shot of Calvados. “How did it go?”

“Exactly as planned. Maya went into this freaky herbal store, got the parcel, and walked straight out. No one followed.” His laugh was deep. “She sure was pissed off about having to ask for a stinky feet cure.”

Lann checked his watch. “We have one hour.”

For the next fifty minutes, they sat around the fire in silence while they waited for Eve’s verdict. When the doctor finally entered, still wearing her overcoat, she looked tenser than ever. Eve walked to the center of the room, her hands shoved into her pockets.

“Eve?” Joss said.

“I think it’ll work.”

Kat didn’t get her hopes up, not just yet. The way in which Eve broke the news was too grave. There was more.

“But?” Kat asked.

“I can’t replicate it.” She shook her head. “Not in time. It’s a complex viral culture, and I’m not a virologist. All I can tell you is whoever fabricated it is a genius.”

“If they’re using a virologist,” Lann said, “how come we’re not?”

“It’s not the virus that’s the cure,” Eve said. “The virus is simply a means of transporting the cure through the body. Cracking the formulation of the culture may take months, even years.”

“How sure are you that this cure will work?” Joss asked.

“Ninety-nine percent.”

“Not one hundred?” Lann asked.

Eve gave him an apologetic look. “In science, there’s always room for error.”

Maya looked around the room. “What now?”

“I think that’s for Kat and Lann to decide,” Clelia said.

Joss walked to Eve and squeezed her arm. “Thanks.”

She nodded. Slowly, everyone made their way to the door, considerately giving Kat and Lann privacy.

When the others were gone, Lann took Kat’s hand. For a while they didn’t speak, each considering the facts quietly.

Finally, Kat said, “If I go with Vanessa, you can have us followed, and come for me. We can snatch the cure.”

Lann’s eyes filled with regret. “These people are powerful, maybe even more than Cain. You heard Vanessa. If any one of us comes after you, you’ll be dead.”

“Will they really know if you follow me?”

“Trust me, they’ll know. They’ll have safety measures as strong as Joss’s, if not stronger, warning them of possible intrusion, virtual or real.”

“To go with them is a risk then. We don’t know if we can trust them.”

He was quiet for some time. When he cupped her cheek, she knew what he was going to say and she didn’t want to hear it.

“No,” she whispered.

“Katherine,” his tone was urgent, “we don’t have a choice.”

She shook her head, but he took her face in both hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I won’t lose you if there’s a way to save you.”

“They could kill me anyway once Thomas is born,” she stammered.

“They’ll expect us to negotiate conditions. I’ll ask for a guarantee of communication with you.”

“What if they don’t honor their word?”

The color of his eyes turned to a pale shade of yellow. “Then I’ll go in and kill them all, regardless of the consequences. They know this too.”

Tears brimmed in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they fell in big blobs, rolling over Lann’s fingers. “I don’t want to give my child away.”

Lann squeezed her face to the point of pain. “Do you believe I would ever give up my child?”

“What will we do?”

“I’ll go back for our child once you’re safe and out of harm’s way.”

“You want me to go into captivity until our baby is born, give him up, and hope you can rescue him? What if you don’t succeed?”

“I will,” he said with conviction.

“You’ll have all the help you can get,” Joss said from the door. “Cain’s given you his full support. All of his resources will be available to you to rescue your son.”

Lann let go of Kat’s face to stroke his hands over her arms.

“I’ve just briefed Cain.” Joss seemed regretful when he said, “You have five minutes. We have to make a decision.”

Kat looked at Lann imploringly. “I don’t want to give birth without you.”

There was more behind her words than a fear of giving birth. It was dying alone that had her weak with terror. She swore she could see his heart breaking in his eyes.

“Neither do I, krasavitsa.” He wiped his hands over her shoulders and said with conviction, “If there’s a way of keeping you alive, we have to do it.”

He’d made up his mind. Kat could see it in the determined set of his jaw. Going willingly into captivity frightened her more than death itself, but she also saw the hope that shined with a new light in her husband’s eyes, something she hadn’t seen in those yellow pools for a very long time.

“I’ll make sure you’re safe, Katherine. I promise you. I won’t let them hurt you.” His gaze turned intense. “Do you trust me?”