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throw himself on Xavier. Pelinor chose to be the one who faced Jode. Need I go
on?"
"None of them chose to die."
"But they knew they were taking risks. Some risks were more obvious than
others... but your friends knew the risks were there."
"And Rosalind?" I asked. "Did she know she was taking a risk? How could she
possibly realize her boyfriend was a killer in disguise?"
"She knew elopement was a risk. Marriage. Love. Sex. Not to mention the risks
of angering her mother, and running off to Niagara where she might run afoul
of her mother's enemies. But Rosalind chose her path willingly joyously and if
the result wasn't what she expected, that's just the human condition. Your
species has a severely limited ability to foresee the consequences of your
actions; and if some more advanced species can tell what's going to happen,
you invariably think you're being manipulated... when really you're just being
predictable."
"Thanks so much," I muttered.
"Don't be upset," the Lucifer-Rosalind said. "It's precisely your lack of
foresight that makes you valuable to the League. Smarter creatures always
pursue their goals in the best way they know how terribly boring! But you
humans are mostly blind to the future, no matter how much you believe you're
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taking precautions. That's why someday, you might accidentally..."
She stopped. "I've said enough. And now it's time for me to whisper in
Sebastian's ear."
The creature walked past Annah and me, a placid smile still on her borrowed
Rosalind face. She knelt beside the boy; she began to talk softly to him,
touching his cheek, caressing his hair. There was no way to tell, but perhaps
she was also linking with Sebastian's mind, showing him the same things she
showed me. Now that the boy had no nanite shell sealing him off, the Lucifer
could touch him directly.
Annah took me aside. "Do you really think she'll get through to him? He's
seen so many false Rosalinds; another might send him over the edge."
I shrugged. "If we were on Earth, he'd use his powers to reveal the truth;
then he'd probably make the impostor explode. But here, there aren't enough
nanites to allow psionic tricks. Sebastian can't send this Rosalind away or
make her shut up... so in time, I think she'll find the words to bring the boy
to his senses." I paused. "After all, this Lucifer is so much smarter than us
mere humans, it can say exactly what's required."
Annah didn't answer right away. Finally, she said, "Do you think that was
really the truth? All that stuff about the League hoping humans will do
something or discover something..."
"I don't know," I said. "Maybe it's just a lie to keep us happy to make us
think we're important, and that the League isn't controlling our lives.Oh no,
we aren't using you as puppets, you're too valuable to tamper with. Or maybe
itis the truth... in which case, we'll find out soon enough."
"How?"
"The Spark Lords will come for us. If the League really told the truth, they
can't have us free to tell everyone else what's going on. That would spoil the
experiment: ruin the naïve spontaneity that the League claims to value in the
human race. So the Sparks, acting on League orders, will either kill us or
conscript us... like War-Lord Vanessa did with Opal in the tobacco field.
We're loose ends now; we have to be tied off."
Annah made a face. "I wish you hadn't said that."
"You'd rather not think about it?"
"No. Now the Leaguehas to kill us or conscript us; that's the only way to
convince us they weren't lying."
"Sorry. Didn't think of that."
She smiled ruefully. "My Uncle Howdiri the greatest thief in my family always
had a saying. 'Don't be alittle paranoid; worry about everything, or let it
all go.' So shut up, Phil, and let's just enjoy the Earthlight."
Obediently, I shut up.
We held hands.
We drew closer.
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We enjoyed the Earthlight.
26: THE END OF THE RAINBOW
A sound caught my attention. Reluctantly, I turned from Annah and saw
Sebastian standing a short distance off. He looked shockingly pale, like
someone out of bed for the first time after a month-long illness; but the boy
was conscious and vertical, his eyes able to focus even if they didn't quite
meet my gaze.
The Rosalind look-alike was gone. A girl-sized mass of black slithered back
through the dust toward the main heap of cellules. That surprised me a bit I
thought the Lucifer might have remained in Rosalind form to prod Sebastian in
case he showed signs of a relapse. But maybe it was wise not to keep reminding
the boy of the girl he'd loved and lost: best just to wake him and get out of
the way.
Annah released her grip on me. "How are you feeling?" she asked Sebastian.
"Bad," he said. "But I'll live."
"Did the Lucifer explain everything to you?"
The boy nodded.
"You couldn't have known," I said. "There's no reason to feel bad because you
were fooled by a monster."
"That's not why I feel bad." He took a quick breath. "Let's get this over
with, okay?"
"You know what you're supposed to do?"
"I know what I'mgoing to do," he said. "Back to Niagara. Put things right.
Once the cage is working again, we can bring the Lucifer home."
Home. Interesting choice of words.
I'd tucked the -rod into my sleeve. Now I pulled it out and held it up.
"I'll go with you," I said.
"No." Sebastian gave me a hard look. "I want to do this alone."
"Youwill be doing it alone," I said, "but the first few seconds might be
messy. The rod likely takes us back exactly where we started which means the
middle of the cage. If the evil Lucifer is still there... well, it'll take
your nanite friends a moment to swoop to your rescue. I want to make sure you
survive that moment."
"You think I'm just a helpless kid?"
"No," I said, looking into his angry eyes. "After everything you've been
through, you aren't a kid. But you aren't a man either not if you let stupid
pride reject a reasonable offer of assistance. A true man knows when he can
use help."
"Oh good," Annah said. "Then you'll let me come too. I was afraid you'd want
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me to stay here until you big strong males made Niagara safe for womenfolk.
But if a true man knows when he can use a help..."
I glared at her. She returned a look of total innocence.
"Let's just go," Sebastian said. "I'm tired."
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