Labyrinth of Stars(32)

“But they know how to find you?”

“We have ways. The same way we know when one of us has died.” He sighed and glanced at me. “I always knew this day would come.”

“They’ll try to kill Grant.”

“No, my dear. They’ll want to study him. A far worse fate.”

“They used a poison on him.”

“Of course. I’m familiar with it.”

“Of course,” I echoed. “Mary made Grant eat marijuana as an antidote.” I paused again. “You can’t imagine how that surprised me.”

“I’m surprised anything still surprises you.” Jack ran his fingers over the table—an idle, thoughtful, gesture. “The cannabis was native to their world. As was the poison, made from another plant. A delicate little thing with a red blos- som. We learned those secrets from them, you know. They needed to protect themselves from the Lightbringers, in case any went rogue.”

His fingers folded into a loose fist, and he rapped the table, lightly. “Some of us . . . seeded the antidote on as many worlds as we could manage. Call it a . . . protest, of sorts. For those who became disgusted with the direction of the war. We hoped that if any survivors found their way to those planets, they would have the comfort of knowing that . . . some protection was still theirs. That they weren’t entirely alone.”

A number of sarcastic comments filled me, but I didn’t indulge. This was an old conversation, old and painful, and if I could forgive Zee and the boys for their interplanetary genocide, then I could forgive my grandfather and accept his attempts at redemption.

The only difference, of course, was that the boys never tried to make excuses or paint their activities in a different light. They never pointed out the good they’d done, if any . . . because they accepted that no good outweighed the terror. No good deed lessened the bad. Making the attempt was a sign of weakness. It showed no honor.

“I asked the Mahati to set aside the head of one of the creatures they sent. You’ll need to look at it.”

“Of course,” Jack said, quietly.

“Do you know how they’ll strike again?”

“Just that they will. Two of our kind have died in the last five years, both on this world. That’s more than have perished in a million years, my dear. They sent a Messenger to question me, and she never returned, her connection to them severed. They’ll know that I couldn’t have done that.” Jack rubbed his face, shaking his head. “A Lightbringer. The only being in the universe who can kill us. Besides you. And I suspect they don’t realize what you’re capable of, my dear. Let us hope they don’t.”

“They know our daughter is a threat.”

“A worse threat than Grant. They can’t allow her to live. With the boys as her protectors, with your blood in her veins, they won’t be able to control her.”

“When they realize they failed . . .”

“They’ll try again. Throw you back in the Wasteland if they can. Attempt to separate you from the boys, then carve her out of you. She’s far more of a priority than Grant, trust me.”

My knees almost buckled when he mentioned the Wasteland: a sliver on the edge of the Labyrinth. The endless oubliette where things were thrown to be forgotten. No light. Nothing at all. Almost as bad as the void. I still had nightmares from that place. I’d lost my mind there, lost my humanity. I’d only survived because the boys had nourished, even breathed for me. A baby would never last. The idea of it made me ill.

I looked him dead in the eyes. “How did they do it, Jack? How did they hurt my daughter? All it took was a look.”

“Wasn’t just a look,” he said, sounding disgusted. “It took power. Perhaps, if it had been daylight, and the boys were protecting you, it would have been more difficult. I just don’t know. But we made your bloodline, my dear. We might not be able to kill you—easily—but you are not entirely immune to us.” He gave me a curious look. “You’re lucky Grant was able to save your child. I would have thought your immunity to his power would have extended to her.”

“Very lucky,” I said, deciding not to tell him about the bargain I’d made. “Is there any place that’s safe for us? If we leave this world?”

“No.” Jack hesitated. “Run, if you like. But the Aetar will find you, and it will be war.”

I stared at him, utterly deflated. “You should go take a bath. I’m getting cholera just from looking at you. And something’s living in your beard.”

“I got lonely.” He glanced down at the metal box in his hands. “Is there a safe place to put this?”