Cage was on his third cigarette before she gathered both the courage and the strength to speak again. A question had been burning in her brain but she was almost afraid of the answer.
“Why did you say that?”
“Say what?” His voice was still coarse and gravelly.
“You said not to look at you. Why would you say that?” She laid her hand on his chest. “I rather like looking at you.”
Cage shook his head, taking another deep drag from the cigarette poised between two of his long, delicate fingers. “I don’t want you to see me like that.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t want you to see me as a monster. Out of control.”
“I could never see you as a monster.”
He laughed bitterly and pressed the dying ember of the cigarette against the night table. “I am a monster, Phoe. Don’t ever forget it. If I were to ever lose control of this beast inside of me, I want you to be prepared.”
Now it was her turn to chuckle. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
He propped himself up on his elbow, staring down with a ferocious glare. “I mean what I say, Phoebe. You fight me. Hit, kick, bite, kill me if you have to. I would never forgive myself if I hurt you.” He pushed loose curls away from his brow. “I won’t carry that burden again.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t used to always be this, whatever I am. Exceptional, sure, but hardly extraordinary. Not something you’d call natural.” He twirled a fingertip in a strand of her hair, toying with it.
“I don’t understand.”
His mouth twitched as if there were a memory lurking behind his eyes that was both sad and beautiful. “You’ve seen me. You know what I can do. Someday there will be others like me. Scores of them, all bred for the same purpose. To destroy everything in their paths. I am everything and nothing. Not quite human, not quite monster. I am the stuff of nightmares, Phoe. I didn’t want you to see me…”
He sat up, turning away from her to move to the side of the bed. His muscles worked beneath pale skin. She reached out, wanting to trace the pads of her fingers over the labyrinth of scars. Each one had a story, she was sure, and none of them had happy endings.
“I didn’t want you to see me as a monster. Let me keep this last shred of humanity.” He went silent again save for the soft gasp as he inhaled deeply on his cigarette, pulling the smoke into his lungs.
“Who is she?”
“Who?” he asked, not bothering to turn and face her.
“When you were sleeping. Back in Mercer, in that cabin. I went downstairs for a glass of water and you were sleeping on the couch. I could hear you mumbling something about Corinne. Who is Corinne?”
“Was. Who was Corinne.” He stumbled over the words. “She was my wife.”
“What happened to her?” Phoe asked, again unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
“Me. I happened to her. I didn’t mean for it to happen. Those in my former position are not supposed to fall in love. Sentiment complicates matters. Heart ruling your head and all that rubbish. But the moment I saw her, I knew that I had no choice. She was funny and smart and so beautiful. So full of life.” Cage turned, winked, and brushed a fingertip along Phoe’s cheek. “A bit like you, actually. I’d seen her over and over before I finally got up the courage to say hello. Imagine that, a person who routinely put his life in danger for the sake of king and country afraid of a girl in a coffee shop.”
He chuckled to himself and reached for another cigarette. Phoe moved closer, sitting up and winding her arm around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder.
“She was the love of my life. That is until our child was born.” With a click of the flint and a whiff of butane, a tiny flame illuminated Cage’s face, highlighting the carved cheekbones and high brow with shadow.
“Everything was so perfect. So perfect that I thought I could get out. That I could take Corinne and my child and go. Escape from a life of violence and secrets.” He inhaled deeply. “But that’s the punch line. You can never get out. Once they have you, you belong to them.”
He said no more, and Phoe was afraid to press.
They sat in silence, her watching him smoke until the inevitability of sleep was too much.
* * *
Twilight had fallen, turning the world outside to pink and gold fire. It would be time to move soon. Phoe was asleep. Her dark hair fanned over his chest, and he played with it idly, waiting for the sun to set. Her breath was even, and she slept deeply.
Several times Cage thought of waking her but decided that she needed the rest. Sadie had agreed to let them take her husband’s old truck into Tulsa. From there, he figured it would be safe enough to hop on a plane headed for Canaveral.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flicker of light coming from the pocket of the tatty jeans he’d been wearing. Disentangling himself from Phoe’s embrace, he padded quietly across the room and pulled his mobile out of the pocket. Several missed calls from Oliver. Cage pulled on the jeans, letting them rest on the corners of his hips as he crept into the hall. He kept one eye on the door as he dialed Oliver’s number.
“Cage,” Oliver answered on the first ring.
“You rang?”
“Where the hell are you?”
“I hope you won’t think I’m rude when I tell you none of your damn business.” Cage looked over his shoulder to be sure that Phoe wasn’t awake and watching. “What have you got?”
“No. I’m not telling you until you tell me where you are.”
“Believe me, Ollie. It’s much better if you don’t know. If you don’t know, then you can’t be forced to tell. We’re safe, that’s all you need to know.”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and for a moment Cage thought his friend had hung up. Or perhaps that someone else was listening in. “Fine. But you are far from safe, my friend.”
“Safe is relative.”
“Every badass on Mars and Earth is looking for you. And when you hear what I have to tell you, you’ll know why. Who the hell is that woman you’ve got with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look, I’m scared to talk to you about this over the phone. They could be listening.”
“Who? Oliver, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Look, Cage, that artifact is extremely dangerous. I need to see you and look for myself. They’re willing to kill either of you for it.” Oliver’s voice lowered, barely above a whisper. “Don’t trust anyone. They know you’re coming. We need to meet.”
“I don’t have any time to waste. I shouldn’t have agreed to any of this, but since I did, I have to see it through.” Cage paused, rethinking his options. An ever-shrinking list. There was every possibility that he was being set up. Oliver Manning was his best friend, but if his phone was tapped, he could be unknowingly leading them into a trap. Or be forced to lure him. Either way, at this point they didn’t have much choice.
“We’ll be in Tulsa by morning. If you can, meet us there.”
“Where?”
“I’ll find you.”
* * *
“Very good, Dr. Manning,” Machine said, setting the eSlate down on the table and letting it go to work with the trace. “I never knew you were such a good actor.”
Oliver threw down his mobile, staring down at it as if it were a dangerous insect that needed to be squashed immediately. He was ashamed at his own weakness, but what choice did he have? Machine had promised him asylum from the Interplanetary Union. After he and Cage’s adventures in chemistry, the Prime Minister had called for his arrest. They’d frozen all of his accounts, and he was forced to flee. Machine offered him funding and a place to work far away from the prying eyes of the IU. His sister, Eve, never missed an opportunity to remind him that she had saved his life and career by begging Machine for mercy on his behalf.
“I hope, for your sake, that he goes in the opposite direction from Tulsa.”
“You have so little faith in me, Doctor. I would think after all I’ve done for you, keeping you out of prison, furthering your career, that you would be a bit more grateful.”
“I’m not one of your lapdogs, Machine. I’m not doing any of this for you. I regret the day my sister ever became involved with you and your madness. The only reason I’m here at all is to keep her safe. If I get half the chance to take her away from here and undo the damage I’ve done, I’ll take it even if I have to walk over you to do it. Never forget that.”