I hadn’t managed to make my mind emit so much as a single coherent thought, but when she grinned at me, something in me seemed to break. I gripped her, pulling her against me. I held her as tight as I dared, still afraid I would hurt her.
“How are you here?” I managed. “How did you get here? Cass! How are you here?” I clutched her tighter. “Cass...”
“How did we get here?” Cass demanded, shoving me playfully. “We heard you were dead! That you blew up in a bomb! In Pakistan, no less!”
By then, Jon reached me, too, and he pulled me away from Cass, crushing me in his thinner but still strong arms.
“Damn it, Al.” He kissed my face. “I can’t believe it. I’m so glad to see you.” He choked, and when I saw him fighting not to cry, I felt myself do the same, although my mind still hadn’t caught up. I could barely look at him.
“Jon...” I managed. I clutched his shirt. “Where did you come from?”
“Where?” He gave a strange kind of laugh, wiping his eyes. “We finally caught a plane from Istanbul. Revik’s going to freak, you know...like, lose it.”
I froze in his arms, but Jon went on talking, not noticing.
“We had to dig ourselves out of some hole in Georgia...as in Stalin, not banjos.” He let out another strangled laugh. “Since then, he’s been moving us in circles for weeks, worried we would lead them to you, and now you come to us, like some kind of...” Seeing my face, he trailed, as if confused by what he saw. “Your picture was all over the news. We thought you were dead...they said you were dead! Revik’s been talking to Vash since we got here, but no one’s heard from you since they dropped you off in Kolkata...” He wiped his eyes again. “They couldn’t say where you were going...some security thing.”
“Revik?” I managed. “Did you say—”
“Shit.” Jon stared at my face. “I can’t believe you’re here. I’d given up. I really had.”
“Revik?” I repeated.
“Yeah.” Jon did a double-take on my face. “You don’t know! He’s with us, Al. Terian got me and Cass in San Francisco. They brought Revik in a few weeks later. He looked like hell...” Jon gave a humorless laugh. “...Still does, if you want the truth. But he saved our lives...more than once. Of course, he nearly shot us dead, thinking we were more Terian bodies. Terian had him drugged, and we were all a little crazy by then...”#p#分页标题#e#
He paused, thinking. His eyes grew puzzled as he looked at me.
“Al,” he said. “You’re not here for us at all, are you?”
Cass laughed. “Who cares? She’s here!” She yanked on my arm. I stared at her again, unable to take my eyes off the scar. I looked at Jon’s bandaged hand. It looked too small.
I reached for it, and he pulled it away, smiling at me wanly.
“Don’t trip, sis. We’re okay.” His eyes remained on me, carrying an odd intensity I didn’t recognize. “And what the heck happened to you?” He held out my arms, looking at me. “Even in that get-up, you look like you should be carrying an uzi. You actually look...taller. What have those crazy seers done to you?”
I couldn’t force out words. I stared between them, feeling like I might pass out. Just then, Maygar seemed to have come to the end of his rope.
“Bridge,” he hissed through his teeth. “Who are these fucking humans? What is going on? If you don’t tell me, I’m going to start shooting people...starting with myself!”
Cass and Jon’s eyes swiveled, taking in the muscular seer who, I realized suddenly, still hovered over me, trying to decide if he should intervene.
Cass spoke first, looking Maygar up and down. She nudged my elbow, giving me a wan smile.
“Who’s the cutie?” she said. “You two-timing, girl?” Lowering her voice, she murmured by my ear, “...I hope he has insurance.”
I glanced at Maygar, baffled, not sure at first what she even meant...when the look on his face brought me up short. Maygar’s eyes were trained out through the study doors. As I watched, a deep scowl lined his features.
“I don’t believe it,” he said. “That son of a bitch has nine lives.”
Without thinking, I followed his gaze, and my eyes connected solidly and without warning with Revik.
He stood several yards back from the doorway, wearing a dress shirt and black pants, arms folded tightly across his chest, talking to Eddard. From his face and profile he looked about forty pounds lighter than the last time I’d seen him. I felt him notice my stare, even as I realized he wasn’t going to return it. I watched his hand comb long fingers through his black hair, noticed the absence of his ring, and suddenly the chain I wore felt heavy around my neck.