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I could see a faint worry in Black’s eyes as he looked me over. I knew he could see the anxiety on me, and probably wondered what the hell was wrong.

Or maybe he knew.

Maybe he understood it better than I did.

“It’ll be all right, doc,” Black muttered, steering around a car that had stopped in the middle of the road to make a left turn. He got us around the end of the marina, then followed the curve back south and east.

I glimpsed a sign showing an abstract image of a neanderthal skull and a bunch of words I might have been able to puzzle out with my rusty French if I’d taken a few seconds.

I didn’t bother to ask Black, who I knew spoke and read perfect French.

I did see the words“Grotte”and“Entrée Interdite!”with a skull and crossbones under it, and that was enough.

According to the sign, the site was only twenty meters ahead.

“It’ll be all right,” Black murmured under his breath. “We’ll take care of this, and we’ll go home. All of us will go home. Jem, Nick, the girl, Manny, Yarli. We’re not losing a single fucking person to this. We’re not losing a single fucking one of us…”

His voice sounded like some combination of prayer and threat by the end.

It felt like Black was warning whatever might be listening there’d be consequences if they tried to get in his way, or fucked with him on any one of those points.

I wanted to believe him.

I wanted to know, deep in my bones, he was right.

But I really didn’t.

35

LA GROTTE

Nick vanished as soon as the car stopped.

He snapped the door release, umbrella out, sunglasses over his eyes, hat and jacket covering most of the rest of his bare skin. He was already across the street at an unnervingly gliding run before the rest of us had even gotten our seatbelts off, much less managed to climb out of the car and go after him.

I watched Nick leave us with what must have been panic on my face.

“It’s all right.” Black laid a brief hand on my arm. “It’s all right, doc. Let him go.”

“But last time––”

“We’re right behind him,” Black cut in warningly.

I hesitated, then nodded.

He was right.

Nick wasn’t stupid. He’d scout ahead. He’d only go forward if it was safe. Otherwise he’d wait for us. He wouldn’t risk Jem. He wouldn’t do anything to risk Jem, so he’d wait for the rest of us to join him. He’d wait until he knew for sure we could stop him.

I hoped.

“Come on, doc,” Black murmured. He squeezed my arm, then released it.

For the first time, it hit me wasn’t using his mind.

I knew why. We were being shielded by infiltrators back in San Francisco, but Black didn’t trust that would be enough.

He thought it mightnotbe enough, not against Jem.