vN The First Machine Dynasty(87)

Good girl.



Growling, Amy rolled her legs to her chest and kicked her aunt in the stomach. That sent her flying – Javier's climbing mods were good for more than just jumping. She hopped to another container, again using her vantage point to survey the terrain. She saw a hundred blonde heads, but not the dark one she wanted. She landed as the ship rocked, and she slipped, the skin of her arm ripping still further as she grasped frantically for the raw and rusty edge of an old blue container. It teetered. She imagined being crushed under it as it fell. Then the ship righted itself, and her face burned on the container's chilly surface as she slammed back against it. Hauling herself up, she touched the wounds her aunts had left behind. It was her failure at Redmond all over again. She'd had no clue how to fight back. Her shove just happened to be lucky. A fraction of a second later, and her aunt would have taken them both down. Then she'd let herself get taken by surprise all over again, and now a chunk of her arm was missing.



From three container-lengths away, Amy heard shouting. Javier. She watched as a festering boil of her aunts' twisted bodies popped and out he flew, streaming silver smoke. They'd bitten him, too. They wanted what he had. What Amy had. That they couldn't get it wouldn't stop them. That a ravenous sea monster was currently gorging itself on their ship while they too tried to feast wouldn't stop them, either. They'd keep coming. They'd chew Amy and Javier down to the bone. And when they found Junior, they'd do the same to him.



Amy shut her eyes. She tried to cancel out the surrounding noise. "Give me what I need."



Well, look who's come crawling back.



"If I die, so do you."



I've already reproduced myself into those little Lolis, remember? I'll be happier inside them, I'm sure. They're much bigger thinkers than you are.



Amy opened her eyes. The fresh tide of Portias climbing up to her kept kicking each other in the face and chest as they struggled to gain ground. That didn't stop their slow surge forward. It delayed their progress only briefly while they paused to snap at their sisters or daughters or cousins.



"Give me what I need, and I'll give you what you really want."



Portia remained silent. Amy heard Javier yelling. She forced herself not to look.



You'd give yourself up? Portia asked. You'd let me take control forever?



"Forever." Amy stood up. "Help me save them both, and I'll promise I'll ride shotgun until the day we die."



Well, sweetie, Portia said, looks like you've got yourself a deal.



Javier landed behind her. Claw marks stretched across his stomach and down the undersides of his arms. Defensive wounds. "I can't get through. If you distract them–" He paused. "Amy?"



"I'm sorry," she said. "For everything. I held out as long as I could."



Comprehension rippled over his face. "No." He shook his head, and reached for her shoulders. "No. Don't do this."



Amy looked at her feet. Already, her legs were stiffening. "I already have." She looked up. "She'll help you. Better than I can. She–"



"¡Cállate!" Javier's raw hands trembled on her shoulders. He swallowed. "Fight her, Amy. Please." He leaned their foreheads together. "Just hold on a little longer, and we'll figure something out–"



The ship rocked beneath them. A shadow fell over them, and they ducked as a container toppled into the gauntlet of women below. It rolled down the wall of brightly coloured steel as the ship righted itself, crushing bodies as it went. A moment later, Amy's aunts began their crawl anew. "There's nothing more to figure out. Portia's the one you need, not me."



He shook his head. "That's not true."



"She'll be here in a minute, Javier." Cold crept up Amy's spine. "And she'll be staying. Forever." She rested her hands on his arms. Their grip hardened and Javier stared at them, his face a mixture of terror and something else that she'd never seen cross his features. Dread, maybe. Desperation. "I won't be here, any more. Do you understand me?"



He won't kill us, Amy. Haven't you learned yet how the failsafe works?



"Do you understand me, Javier?" Her throat began to close. "I want you to–"



His mouth closed over hers. His hands found her face and his fingers sank into her hair. It was a good kiss, as far as Amy could tell; it contained within it all the other kisses that should have come before and after it, and he moved like he was looking for something inside her and trying to draw it out. Her lips were the last parts to go cold.



When he pulled away, Portia licked those lips. "I guess that's why they pay you the big bucks, isn't it?"