Tracker and the Spy Read online

  “What? Women can wear either.”

  “Look around.” Kyle gestured to the busy square. “These shops are open and doing business because they’re getting merchandise from The Natural Order. The women are all dressed appropriately in dresses or skirts, and escorted by men. That’s your first clue.”

  Tan gave her a sidelong look. “That guy didn’t stare you down. You’re wearing pants, too.”

  Kyle cleared her throat. “I think it was your, uh, chest that gave you away as a female. I’m not so well endowed. He probably thought I was a guy.”

  Tan cocked her head, and for the first time since the cave, her gaze fell fully on Kyle. She warmed under the scrutiny. “I don’t think you look like a man.”

  Tan’s matter-of-fact tone instantly deflated Kyle’s swelling expectation. Expectation of what? That there’d be something more between them? That whatever connected them before was more than temporary breeding frenzy?

  Kyle shrugged, trying to cover her disappointment with nonchalance. “I doubt he approved of your haircut either. Hair should be long. It’s the adornment of a woman, according to The Natural Order. My father’s going to freak when he sees I’ve cut my hair again.”

  But Tan was no longer listening. She was staring across the square where a group of four young men had cornered a couple of teen girls in tattered clothes. Before Kyle could speak again, Tan was striding toward them. Kyle hurried to catch up.

  Two girls were backed against a storefront, one obviously scared and the other defiant. One of the young men toyed with a strand of the scared girl’s hair. “You’re very pretty. If you’d join The Natural Order, you’d have a husband to care for you and children as The One intends.”

  “We take care of each other,” the defiant one said, swatting his hand away. “We’re loyal to The Collective.”

  “You mean the starving Collective?” another said. The men laughed.

  A third man clutched his crotch. “Then maybe you’d like to earn a few credits so you can eat. We can help you with that, too.”

  Tan slipped behind the young man and slid her hand under his. “Maybe I could help you with that, stud.” Her other arm held him tightly around the chest. The man began to squirm and pull at her hand where she grasped his crotch.

  “Stop it. Son of a dung eater, you’re burning me. Stop.”

  After a moment, Tan released him.

  Kyle stepped up beside the two girls and faced the men. “I think you guys should move along, before I report you for offering to defile these girls for credits. That’s a direct violation of The Natural Order.”

  “She’s unnatural,” Tan’s victim said, pointing to her and clutching his scorched crotch.

  The other men ignored their friend, sauntering off and pretending they were bored with their prey rather than intimidated. “No harm intended, friend,” one said to Kyle as they departed. Tan’s victim followed, then turned back and spat one last insult. “Witch.”

  “Are you okay?” Kyle asked the girls.

  “Yeah, we’re good,” the defiant one said. She peered up at Kyle and wrapped her arm around the other girl. “They thought you were a guy.”

  “I get that a lot,” Kyle said, smiling at the girl. “I’m Kyle.” She gestured to Tan. “This is Tan.”

  “I’m Haley. This is Oni, my girlfriend.” She gave Tan a skeptical once-over. “I’m guessing you aren’t from around here.”

  Tan’s smile surprised Kyle. “We’re looking for someone who might have passed through here or could still be here.”

  Haley looked at Oni. “What do you think, babe?”

  Oni’s soft brown eyes searched Kyle’s face, then Tan’s. Then she nodded. “They’re good,” she said.

  “The network pretty much knows everything that goes on in the city,” Haley said. “Maybe we can help.”

  “The network?” Kyle was doubtful tracking could be this easy.

  Tan grinned. “Thought I spotted you.” She pulled up her sleeve to reveal a round tattoo on her upper forearm. “Third Continent, Montreal.”

  “Sun, you’re a long way from home.” Haley said.

  “I’m hunting a man, possibly with two others as guards. We know he was last seen in this area of San Pedro, but our people lost him here. He’s the leader of The Natural Order.”

  Haley exchanged a look with Oni, who nodded at whatever thought passed between them. “Come with us. I’ll see what I can find out for you.”

  Kyle had a million questions, and they multiplied as they left the thriving square for neighborhoods that looked increasingly poor and deteriorating. Tan, however, seemed confident enough in these young women to follow them, and she was the tracker. Finally, they entered a vacant multiple-story building. Most of the windows on the front of the building were broken out, and the staircase was dark as they walked up four flights, then down a long hall. Doors stood open to cold, empty apartments where moonlight exposed dirty, ragged carpet and broken glass.

  At the end of the hallway, Haley opened a battered door labeled Maintenance, and they stepped into a small room that had a single mop and bucket. She pressed her hand to a dirty spot on the wall, and when it began to move Kyle realized it was an elevator. Haley opened the door at the back of the room when they stopped, and they stepped into a bright, warm room where a dozen people of all ages milled about.

  Haley turned to them. “Welcome to the San Pedro network.”

  Kyle stared. “What is this place?”

  Tan dropped her pack on the floor and shucked off her outer clothes, obviously making herself at home. “The network is in almost every large city. The people you see here are probably all gifted in one way or another and have been rejected by their families or found it impossible to live in regular society because of their gifts. Not all of the gifted find their way to a temple and understanding mentors like Alyssa or have other nurturing gifted in their families like you. Some of us, like me, end up on the streets. That’s where the network finds us and gives us a home and a family that understands us.”

  “Oni is an empath,” Haley said. “I’m a shield.”

  Tan looked at her curiously. “A shield?”

  “I can put up a force field that can deflect practically anything.”

  Kyle’s eyes met Tan’s. That’s what Toni had done. She must be a shield. If Haley had the same gift, there must be others.

  “I’m guessing you have telepaths to pass the word along about the guy we’re searching for?” Tan asked.

  Haley grimaced. “We have one. But he’s a pain in the butt. He runs things just because he’s the only guy who can tap into what this cult is doing.”

  “I’ll take my chances with him,” Tan replied mildly.

  Kyle was suspicious of this calm, relaxed version of Tan that had replaced the intimidator, but she’d wait and follow Tan’s lead since she obviously knew more about this network than she did.

  They walked through several small rooms where people of various ages sat on loungers, engrossed in their digital tablets, networking or watching news vids or reading or answering d-messages. In the third, much-larger room, Haley led them to a dark-haired young male Kyle judged to be on the cusp of his third decade, still more boy than man and probably ten years her junior. He was handsome, with a sparse stubble of dark beard and huge blue eyes. He stood when they entered the room, his eyes roving over Tan’s muscular yet womanly physique.

  “Who do you have here, Haley?”

  “This is Tan and Kyle,” she said. “Tan is network. Third Continent, Montreal. Ladies, this is Zack.”

  Several inches taller than Tan, he circled and looked her over. “What beautiful skin. Darker than most of the women here. Love the hair. It’s so retro.”

  Tan stared ahead, her expression amused, as he murmured his appreciation. Zack paused and looked puzzled. Tan raised an eyebrow. “Problem, thought-stealer?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Either you know how to shield your thoughts, or there’s a steel plate under this l
ovely skull of yours.” Zack lifted his fist to knock on the shaved side of Tan’s skull, but a hand closed firmly around his wrist.

  “Show some respect, boy.” Kyle’s growl was low as she twisted his hand away from Tan. “You’re addressing a captain of The Guard, an elite unit appointed to protect The Collective.”

  Zack’s face contorted, and the young man turned into a whining boy. “Ow, let go. You’re burning my arm.”

  Kyle released him. She hadn’t realized she’d turned up her body heat. Isn’t that what Jael had cautioned her about? She had to learn better control. She glanced at Tan, expecting a rebuke. But Tan’s expression was smug.

  “You’ll have to excuse Blaze. She’s a pyro with a short fuse.” She laughed at her own bad joke and slapped Zack on the shoulder. “You should never probe someone’s thoughts without asking permission, pup.”

  He shrugged. “People just make it too easy for me to hear.” He cradled his right hand, the wrist red and blistering, against his belly and glared at Kyle. “I can hear everything you’re thinking. You think she’s—”

  A blue flame flared from Tan’s palm and licked at Zack’s nose, making him yelp.

  “You also don’t announce what you hear to general audiences.” The relaxed, friendly Tan was gone. She moved in front of him, nose to nose, and backed him up a step. “Did I mention that I’m also a pyro? My fuse is even shorter than hers.”

  Others had drifted in from the other rooms, watching the exchange. Tan turned to them. “We’re looking for a man named Cyrus. He calls himself The Prophet and is the leader of The Natural Order. He was last seen in San Pedro, but he might have left here. We believe he’s traveling with two or four bodyguards. If any of you have any information that could help us track him, or know anyone who might have information, you would honor The Collective by coming forward.”

  Kyle activated her IC to project a hologram of Cyrus.

  A man stepped forward. “And what is your intent?”

  “We’re an advance team of an army recently formed to stop this cult from its aggression on society,” Tan said.

  A woman spoke from near the door. “They’re hoarding food and medicine, and other supplies. We’ve managed to jam some of their communications and intercept some of their shipments and return them to the population, but not nearly enough.”

  “Everything you do helps,” Kyle said. “It’s good that people are fighting back now in the cities and towns, while The Collective’s army goes after the core group.”

  Zack still scowled, his arms folded carefully over his chest in deference to his blistered wrist. “How do we know you aren’t just double agents trying to infiltrate our network?”

  Tan walked over to him and knelt. “Look into my memories and behold The Guard and the dragon-horse army they command.”

  Zack hesitated, then slowly reached for her, his fingers lightly touching the smooth skin on either side of her Mohawk. He closed his eyes for several moments, then drew in a long breath. When he opened his eyes, they were full of wonder. “Sun and stars. Do such beasts really exist?”

  “Phyrrhos might take offense at the term ‘beast,’ but yes.”

  The others crowded closer. “What’d you see?” Haley asked.

  Zack waved his arms in a wide gesture. “An army of pyros riding flying horses. No. Not horses. Dragons. Or half horse, half dragon. They were incinerating these believers and sending them to their next lives right where they stood. It was like something out of a fairy tale.”

  “They’re very real,” Kyle said. She looked to Tan and, receiving a nod of permission, spoke to her IC. “Show Phyrrhos.”

  Those in the center of the room stumbled backward and gasped as a holo of a stunning copper-colored dragon horse, wings spread, glittered before them.

  “This is Phyrrhos. She’s bonded to Tan,” Kyle said. She allowed the image to remain for a minute, then withdrew it.

  Zack looked at Tan with new respect. “We’ll help.” He looked at the rest gathered in the room. “Let’s get the network humming. Circulate the holo of this man, Cyrus. No one has more eyes than we do.”

  The others scattered, tapping away on their digital tablets. A young boy about eight years old tugged at Kyle’s pants. She bent down so she could hear over the shuffle of feet and chatter as people connected with others via their tablets.

  “My cousin was supposed to get married, but her boyfriend says he don’t want to marry her now.”

  Kyle scanned the room for a parent or older adolescent who might be responsible for the boy. “Oh, I’m sorry. Your cousin must be very upset.”

  He nodded solemnly and touched his chest. “I can feel her sadness here.”

  Ah, an empath. She took his hand and led him over to a lounger, where she sat and patted the worn seat next to her. “It’s important that you don’t let her sadness overwhelm you. Is it your gift to be able to feel what others do?”

  He nodded.

  “People decide not to marry for lots of reasons. But it’s better that they discover those reasons before they marry than afterward. Your cousin will meet someone else she’ll like better.”

  He shook his head. “She loved Felipe with all her heart. But my auntie needed medicine real bad. My cousin went to the docks where a man said he could give it to her if she met him there. But he didn’t have any medicine. He made her touch him, and he touched her. Then he gave her credits to buy the medicine. Auntie’s better now, but Felipe said the man made my cousin dirty and he won’t marry her.” He looked as if his heart would break, and Kyle wondered how it must feel to be an empath, shouldering the sorrows of so many others. “Felipe wanted to kill him, but he got on a boat with the other men and they sailed away.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Kyle said, wrapping her arm around his slim shoulders. They sat for a moment in silence, and she wished she could somehow absorb his sadness and leave him clean again. Then it came to her. “Would you like to hear about my first ride on a dragon horse?”

  His serious eyes met hers. “You rode on a dragon horse?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I see the holo again?”

  Kyle hesitated.

  “Maybe smaller.”

  Kyle smiled and spoke to her IC. “Display desktop holo of Phyrrhos.”

  The boy studied the small holo. “It sparkles.”

  “They’re descended from the Akhal-Teke horse, known for the metallic-like coloring of their hide.”

  He frowned. “They’re skinny.”

  “I suppose they have to be, so they can fly.”

  He looked skeptical. “How come nobody’s ever seen them?”

  “During the day, they look like regular horses, but at sundown, they grow great wings and ridges down their neck and faces. They breathe fire like pyros project flame from their hands.”

  “Doesn’t the fire burn their feathers?”

  “Look closer. They don’t have feathers. Their wings are more like bat wings.”

  “Do you have a dragon horse?”

  “Not yet. I hope to. You have to bond with one, and it’s very dangerous. If they don’t like you, they can burn you up.” She produced a small flame in her hand and extinguished it with a clap. “Poof.”

  “Wow.” He stared at her. “But you said you rode on one.”

  “I did. I rode with a dragon-horse warrior, a friend.”

  “Were you scared?”

  “No. It was wonderful.”

  She closed her eyes to fill her mind with the memory and felt him press close to absorb her emotions. “I could feel his muscles gliding under my legs as his great wings moved up and down, lifting us almost effortlessly from the ground. And then, it was as if the wind just picked us up and carried us. We glided through the wind currents like an eagle does, smooth as glass. It’s not so scary at night because you can’t really see the ground, only tiny lights below. But the stars, the stars seem so close you want to reach out and touch them.” She opened her eyes and looked down. His were closed
and his hands clutched her T-shirt.

  “I want to ride a dragon horse,” he said, his voice a whisper.

  Finishing her impromptu conference with Zack and Haley, Tan knelt next to them. “What’s your name, little man?”

  He opened his eyes and looked up at Tan. “Pete.”

  “Where’s your family, Pete?” she asked.

  “My mom died, and my father took my sisters and brother and joined The Natural Order because they were hungry. He left me with my uncle because he said I was unnatural and I couldn’t go with them. But my uncle barely makes enough credits to feed his own family since The Natural Order stopped people from getting basic rations. Zack knew my cousin, so he brought me here. He’s teaching me how to build shields so I don’t have to feel everything around me.”

  “That’s very good, Pete. It’s important that you learn that.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you mind if I steal your new friend away for a few minutes?”

  Kyle was surprised the boy wasn’t intimidated by or at least shy of Tan because of her uncommon appearance. Then she realized that he must be reading her as an empath. She was relaxed and smiling at him, her brown eyes soft in the diffused lighting.

  “It’s time for me to go to bed anyway.” Pete smiled, too, and touched Kyle’s arm after he stood. “Thank you. I think I’ll dream about dragon horses now.” He ducked his head in a shy gesture. “You can sit with me at breakfast if you want, at Zack’s table.”

  “Thanks, Pete. We’ll look for you,” Kyle said, grabbing his hand and giving it a quick squeeze before he turned and trotted toward the door.

  Kyle studied Tan. She’d been as gentle with Pete as she’d been intimidating with Zack. But as she watched, Tan’s face returned to a stoic mask and her expressive brown eyes shuttered, becoming dark, unreadable pools.

  “Haley says they have a place we can bunk for the rest of the night,” Tan said, rising and gathering her pack without looking at Kyle.

  “We aren’t going out to look around for Cyrus?”

  Tan turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “Where? Do you think Cyrus frequents bars? They’re the only places open at night.”