“Pozz. A few. It’s not as hard as it seems, once you know their weaknesses.”

  “I can’t believe something like that has weaknesses.”

  “Everything has weaknesses,” Hayden pressed. “Including me. If you hadn’t tossed me out the window, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

  “I’m sorry, Sheriff,” Marcus said. “For forcing you to duel me. For trying to kill you. I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t a total failure. My father…King…he always made me feel like I was nothing. Insignificant. For everything I’ve been through, I always end up in the same place, feeling the same way. A grepping prisoner. That’s what I am. That’s what I’m destined to always be.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Fairy said. “You’re a good person, Marcus. You just need to stop basing your worth on your father’s ideals. Because they sound pretty messed up to me.”

  “Pozz,” Hayden agreed. “To me too. You may be King’s son, but that doesn’t mean you have to be like him. And I don’t think you are either.” He held out his hand, offering to pull Marcus back to his feet.

  Marcus stared at the hand for a moment. Hayden could sense the inner turmoil as the other man fought with who he wanted to be and who he thought he needed to be. It was a war Hayden didn’t think would end today. Even so, Marcus took his hand, letting him help him up.

  “I’m not like you, Sheriff,” Marcus said. “I’m not a good man. I went to Carcity looking for you. They wouldn’t give you up. Iagorth, he…” He turned his head toward Paul. “I killed them. I killed them all.”

  “What?” Paul said, breathlessly.

  Marcus teared up again. “I’m so sorry,” he sobbed.

  “You’re sorry?” Paul replied. “Are you kidding? You’re grepping sorry?” He lunged at Marcus, throwing a hard right hook that Marcus didn’t try to block or evade. It cracked into his jaw. “You killed them all? You grepping murderer!”

  He tried to hit Marcus again. Hayden grabbed his arms, holding him back as he struggled against the restraint.

  “I’m sorry,” Marcus repeated.

  The strength fled from Paul and he stopped struggling, collapsing to the ground, lowering his head into his hands to sob. Fairy went over to him, but he waved her away.

  “Leave me alone!”

  She looked at Hayden, who motioned her to stay back. He knew how Paul felt. He understood the anguish of loss all too well.

  “I shouldn’t be here, Sheriff,” Marcus said, wiping the back of his hand across his eyes. “Especially after what I did. I appreciate you trying to save my life even after I kept trying to take yours. But the truth is, I’m poison. I think I ought to go. It’s the best thing for everyone.”

  Hayden opened his mouth to respond, but he didn’t get the chance. Paul picked up his head, glaring at Marcus. “You don’t get to go anywhere,” he growled. “You can’t just murder an entire settlement and then walk away like it was nothing.With some bullshit self-pity to help you sleep better at night.” Paul got back to his feet, violently wiping away his tears. “You owe it to me and my family to help Sheriff Duke stop this thing before it gets too big to control. You owe it to me to fight.”

  Marcus froze under Paul’s gaze. Then he nodded. “You’re right. I do. I owe it to myself too.” He looked at Hayden. “I want to help, Sheriff. I want to fight, but...” He reached across to thin air where his missing arm should have been. “I’m at a distinct disadvantage. Again.”

  “We might be able to do something about that,” Hayden replied. “In the meantime, I need as much intel on Sanisco as you can give me. Especially regarding the part where you think your father is still alive.”

  “He is alive, Sheriff,” Marcus said. “I saw him. I talked to him. I know my own father.”

  “I’m the one who killed him, Marcus,” Hayden said. “I burned his corpse. Whoever you saw, it’s not your pa.”

  Marcus paled in response to the statement. “Then who or what the hell is it?”

  “That’s a good question. And one way or another, we’re going to find out. Paul, do we have enough fuel to get back to Carcity?”

  “Why do you want to go there?” Paul asked. ”I don’t want to get within a hundred miles of that place right now.” He glanced at Marcus, eyes still burning.

  “And I don’t want to get within a hundred miles of Sanisco, but I don’t have much of a choice. The trouble is, the only sure way I know of to neutralize Iagorth is to drop his pod back into the drink, and we need an aircraft in order to do it.”

  “The Osprey,” Vazquez said.

  “Pozz. I know it’s a bit out of the way, but does it have enough fuel to make it back to Houston?”

  “You want to go all the way back to Houston?” Vazquez replied. “What for?”

  Hayden didn’t answer the question right away, turning to Marcus instead. “You went to Carcity. What happened to Zorro?”

  “Zorro?” Marcus replied, confused.

  “My horse. I left him there.”

  “I should have known he was your horse, Sheriff. I unhitched him and sent him on his way.”

  “I appreciate that.” Hayden returned his attention to Vazquez. “One, I want to get Zorro somewhere safe.” She opened her mouth to object, but he put up his hand. “He may be just a horse to you, but he’s all the family I have left. I’m not too keen on losing him. Two, I know a borger an hour outside of Houston who can help Marcus with a replacement arm. That alone is worth the trip if we have the range to make it.”

  “We have the range,” Vazquez replied. “Our techs upgraded the engines to improve efficiency and there’s a booster in each of the nacelles. But you’re still talking five to six hours each way. Do we have time for that?”

  Hayden looked at Marcus again. “You’re the expert.”

  Marcus considered for a moment before he nodded. “We have time.”

  “That settles it then,” Hayden said. Then he turned his head to look down the road toward Haven. A cloud of dust and debris rose on the horizon, kicked up by the oncoming Custodian forces. He heard their engines in the distance. “We need to go.”

  Fairy, Paul and Vazquez immediately climbed back into El Monstro, leaving Hayden alone with a hesitant Marcus.

  “What’s wrong?” Hayden asked.

  “I want to help, Sheriff,” Marcus replied. “It’s just…”

  “Just what?”

  “Iagorth was inside me. Part of me. I sensed his potential. His power. I’m not sure we can win.”

  “I’m not sure we can win, either. But I can guarantee we’ll lose if we do nothing. Are you in or not?”

  Marcus smiled. “Yeah. I’m in.”

  42

  Hayden

  Night had fallen by the time Hayden drove El Monstro off the highway and along the old service road that led to Carcity. He had taken over for Paul halfway through the drive. The kid was both physically and mentally exhausted from everything that had happened in the past two days. Vazquez sat in the passenger seat beside him, while Marcus, Fairy and Paul all slept in the rear. Fairy had her head on Marcus’ shoulder, her hand on his leg as though she could protect him from whatever nightmares rose up during his slumber. Hayden had kept a constant, close eye on Marcus since they had left Haven, watching for any sign that the younger man was still under Iagorth’s thrall. It would be just like a Relyeh to play possum, to let him think he was gone only to pull the rug out later. He didn’t think it was likely. Not after having stabbed Marcus with the microspear. Still, he wasn’t quite ready to rule it out.

  He and Vazquez hadn’t spoken much during the drive, save for sharing a moment of grief over the loss of Thomas. Neither of them had known him all that well, but he had been a useful part of their hastily assembled team and was missed. Vazquez had also lamented the fact that he would never get back to Proxima to see his family again, a fate Hayden knew she was concerned about for herself. He understood that sentiment all too well. Just the idea of returning to Sanisco, to the place where Nat had died, left a constant sense of discomfort weighing on his chest.

  Not that he was about to run away from the fight, no matter where it took place. He had made a promise to his wife, and there was nothing that could convince him to break it.

  Carcity was difficult to spot in the dark. Only a few random lights had been left on within the outer walls of crushed cars. Dim beams managed to snake their way through the gaps in the metal, offering Hayden a macabre view of the settlement as he approached. El Monstro’s headlights caught the front gate a few minutes later, their light spearing the darkness and revealing the violence within. His heart clenched when he identified Zelda’s body closer to the center of the town, his hands clenching on the wheel at the sight of the other dead villagers. He glanced back at Marcus again, desperately fighting not to blame him for what had happened here. Paul had swallowed his distress in the name of stopping the real enemy. Hayden reminded himself to do the same.

  “Should we wake Paul?” Vazquez asked, keeping her voice low.

  Hayden shook his head. “Neg. There’s nothing we can do for these people now, and we don’t have time to bury the dead. Not until this is done. I only passed this close to steer us back to the Osprey.”

  “Copy that. Hopefully nobody from Lavega or random scavvies happened across her while we were gone.”

  “You must have put her down in a good spot, considering Marcus didn’t see her from the air when he arrived earlier.”

  “I tried, but you never know with the sav…with the folks out here.” She smiled, hoping Hayden would let her correction slide. He did. “I want to say thank you again, Sheriff. For not leaving me behind. I know we don’t see eye to eye on everything, but you’re an honorable man, and I respect that.”

  “I respect you too,” Hayden replied. “It takes courage to stand up against your own people when you know it’s the right thing to do. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.”

  Vazquez laughed. “To be fair, Thomas did have a gun to my head for the first half. Literally.”

  Hayden shared her laugh, keeping it low so he wouldn’t wake the others. He guided the modbox around the south side of Carcity, tracking along the wall to the east, taking the vehicle off road. The ride got a little more bumpy there, causing Marcus to stir. His eyes slid open slowly enough that Hayden kept watch on him out of the corner of his vision.

  “Sheriff Duke,” Marcus said softly, looking out both sides of the modbox. “Where are we?”

  “Almost to the Osprey,” Hayden replied. “How are you feeling?”

  “My head is pounding. And I’m starving.”

  “Did you see or hear anything while you were sleeping?”

  “What do you mean? Like what?”

  “I’ll take that as a no. You would know if it had happened.”

  “Should I be glad it didn’t?”

  “I’m glad it didn’t. Hopefully it means your connection with Iagorth is fully severed.”

  “I hope so.” Marcus turned his head, noticing Fairy leaning on him. He smiled, lowering his head on top of hers.

  “She insisted on coming with me,” Hayden said. “She was worried about you.”

  “I was worried about her too. I’m glad you got to her before Rasha did. What happened to that asshole, anyway?”

  “I killed him.”

  “Good.”

  “I don’t think so. He didn’t give me a choice.”

  “You would have let him live even though he’s your enemy?”

  “You should be my enemy too, considering you nearly killed me. But the difference between reason and savagery is as much about showing mercy as it is executing justice. Killing’s a lot easier than compassion, especially when you’re angry.”

  Marcus didn’t respond, gaining a thoughtful expression instead. Hayden doubted King or his Scrappers had ever tried to teach a lesson like that.

  They reached the Osprey a few minutes later, cresting one final rise before the aircraft came into view at the base of the slope. Hayden smiled when he saw Zorro grazing a short distance away. The horse lifted his head knowingly as the modbox descended to the craft and came to a stop.

  “Everybody up!” Hayden shouted, waking Paul and Fairy.

  Paul came to with a start, momentarily tense and fearful before realizing they had arrived and relaxing slightly. Fairy opened her eyes as Marcus lifted his head from hers. She looked at him for a moment, offering a caring smile before shifting forward between the two front seats to follow Vazquez out the passenger side door.

  “Marcus, can you grab my saddlebags on the way out?” Hayden asked. “They’re under the seat.”

  “Sure thing, Sheriff,” Marcus replied.

  Vazquez tapped in the access code to open the Osprey’s side hatch and then disappeared inside. A moment later, the back ramp started to descend. Fairy had already gone over to Zorro, stroking the horse’s mane as she took his lead in hand. He followed her back to the aircraft without complaint.

  “We meet again,” Marcus said to Zorro when Fairy brought him over. Zorro knickered and lowered his head to sniff Marcus for apples.

  “I told you I’d be back,” Hayden said, scratching Zorro’s chin. “I figured you wouldn’t go too far. Fairy, can you lead him on board?”

  “Gladly,” Fairy replied.

  “Sheriff,” Paul said, coming up behind Hayden. He turned around to look at the kid. He didn’t need Paul to speak to know what was on his mind.

  “You aren’t coming,” Hayden said.

  “I can’t,” Paul answered. “I need to go home. I need to put my people to rest.”

  “I can help you once we’re done in Sanisco,” Hayden said.

  Paul shook his head. “I’m only one man, Sheriff. And not all that good in a fight. Not like Marcus. And you promised Casey you would look after me. I know how you are about promises. I think we both know my place is here.”

  Hayden met Paul’s gaze with his own. Then he nodded. “Thank you for getting us to Haven and back. I’ll come back when this is over to help you finish up.”

  “You don’t need to do that, Sheriff. I don’t plan to stay. There’s nothing left for me here. I reckon I’ll follow the roads southeast toward Houston. Maybe I’ll catch up to you there.”

  “Pozz. We’ll see each other again, I’m sure.”

  “You’ve always been a good friend to Carcity, Sheriff. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. And for me.”

  “It was nothing special,” Hayden replied.

  “It was special to me.” Paul stepped forward, and the two men embraced for a moment. Then he backed away, turning to Marcus. “You know what you need to do.”

  Marcus nodded. “I’ll make up for what I did as best I can. I promise you that.”

  “Good hunting then, Marcus.”

  “Paul, my friends Klev and Jojo were headed to Houston too,” Fairy said. “You’re more than welcome to join our group when you get there. Just tell them Fairy sent you.” She smiled. “We all have to stick together, right?”

  “Right,” Paul agreed. “Maybe I will.”

  Fairy hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. “Good fortunes to you, Paul. Whatever comes next.”

  “Thank you. You too.”

  The Osprey’s turbines started whining. The rotors began to slowly turn.

  “We have to go,” Hayden said. “Take care of yourself, Paul.”

  “You too, Sheriff. Don’t let the bad guys destroy the world.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  He waved to Paul and then hurried onto the Osprey to the cockpit while Fairy led Zorro onto the aircraft and Marcus carried the rest of their gear on board.

  “Paul’s staying behind?” Vazquez asked.

  “Pozz.”

  “I feel bad for the kid. Nobody deserves to lose their family like that.”

  “No, they don’t,” Hayden agreed. “This is Iagorth’s doing, and it’s only going to get worse if we don’t stop him.”

  “Copy that. You said earlier you wanted to make a pit stop somewhere before heading for Sanisco?”

  “We need to go back to Houston to refuel. There’s a town less than an hour’s flight east of there called Miss Lou. The borger there; his name’s Halston. He can help get Marcus back to full strength. We’re going to need him.” Hayden looked over his shoulder, seeing that Marcus, Fairy and Zorro were all on board and secured. “We’re clear for takeoff.”

  “Copy that, Sheriff. Here we go.”

  Vazquez closed the back ramp as she lifted the Osprey off the ground, climbing straight up before rotating the nacelles forward into airplane mode and heading east. Hayden looked out the window, finding Paul on top of El Monstro waving to them. He waved back before settling into the co-pilot’s seat, the Osprey carrying them away from the blood-soaked ground of Carcity.

  43

  Hayden

  The sun was rising on a new day when Vazquez brought the Osprey to a landing in the parking lot outside Lincoln’s General Store. Having seen and heard the aircraft making its approach, both Lincoln and Cassius, along with a handful of new guards converged on the area in a pair of cars. They used the vehicles as cover as they took defensive positions, rifles up and ready as Hayden opened the side hatch to the aircraft and stepped out.

  Lincoln immediately ordered the guards to stand down, smiling as he walked between the cars and over to Hayden. “Sheriff Duke,” he said, putting out his hand. Hayden clasped it, shaking firmly as the man admired the Osprey. “Nice ride you got there.”

  “It gets me where I need to go,” Hayden replied with a wry smile, releasing Lincoln’s hand. He looked past the man to the guards behind him. “I see you’ve got a few new recruits.”

  “Looks like you do too,” Lincoln said as Fairy and Marcus disembarked.

  “Fairy and Marcus,” Hayden said, introducing them. “This is Lincoln.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mister Lincoln,” Fairy said.

  “Likewise,” Lincoln replied. Then his eyebrow went up, his gaze going past Hayden’s head. “And who is this?”