TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
Benny took a long breath and exhaled through his nose, revved the engine of his quad, and headed out into the desert.
Those records were out there. Six boxes marked with a big letter D.
He was going to find them.
15
NIX RILEY COULD BARELY SEE the blade.
She parried more by reflex than anything, and the spear caromed off her sword with such force that shock waves rippled up her arms. The next blow was even harder, and the next. Nix stumbled back, swinging and swinging, breath coming in painful gasps. Finally one blow caught her sword just above the guard and knocked it out of her hands. It thudded to the ground. Her attacker kicked Nix’s feet out from under her, and Nix thumped down, hitting her elbows, her shoulders, and the back of her head on the hard sand. She suddenly felt the sharp tip of the spear press down between her breasts—right over her heart.
“You’re dead,” growled Lilah. They were on a rocky shelf a quarter mile behind the dormitory hangar. Sheer cliffs rose behind them, and all around were the shadowy clefts of deep arroyos. A few sparse cacti and Joshua trees littered the landscape, offering no useful shade at all.
Nix couldn’t really see the Lost Girl. The tears in her eyes smeared everything, removing all precision and meaning.
“Concentrate,” barked Lilah as they set themselves to begin another drill.
But too many things were clattering around in Nix’s mind.
She needed to apologize to Benny, but he was gone. She’d seen him drive away on a quad. She’d almost gone after him, but hadn’t. This needed fixing, but Nix didn’t know which words would form the glue of that repair.
So she’d gone looking for Captain Ledger, to see if he’d give her another combat lesson. He nearly sicced his dog on her.
The ranger was an enigma, one of the many things about this phase of her life that Nix didn’t understand. Sometimes he was so gruff and rude that she wanted to feed him to the zoms. Yet sometimes he could be extraordinarily kind and wise. Almost like Tom.
Shortly after arriving at Sanctuary, Joe gave Nix a real sword to replace the wooden sword she’d carried from Mountainside. He’d offered one to Lilah as well, but the Lost Girl preferred her spear.
The sword Joe gave Nix was one of several top-quality katanas the ranger possessed. The handle and fittings were new, but Joe said the blade was ancient. Hundreds of years old.
“Isn’t it fragile?” Nix asked, terrified that she might destroy so beautiful a relic.
But Joe laughed. “This sword was made by Hoki Yasutsuna, one of the greatest Japanese sword makers of all time. It’s a superb blade. I’d take it into any battle without hesitation. And it has a name, Dojigiri.”
“What’s it mean?”
Joe grinned. “Dojigiri means ‘Monster cutter.’ Rather appropriate, don’t you think?”
The sword did not look particularly impressive, with plain black silk bindings on the handle and a speckled cord. However, Nix accepted the sword with wide-eyed reverence.
“Dojigiri,” she repeated, holding it as if it would shatter in her hands. “Monster cutter. This is crazy. This must be worth a fortune.”
“It’s worth whatever value you place on it, Nix. No one else is looking. The whole value system is a historical footnote.”
“But . . . this should be in a museum.”
“Used to be,” said Joe with a smile. “It was a national treasure of Japan and happened to be part of a collection of priceless artifacts on loan to an American museum. Lately, though, the only people visiting museums are zombies and scavengers, so I liberated it along with some other goodies. Not really theft, is it? Besides . . . the sword was made to be used, not to gather dust. I believe Tom was training you kids to be samurai, right? So . . . be samurai.”
Benny drew his kami katana and showed it to Joe. “I have a good sword too.”
The ranger gave him a tolerant smile. “Not sure how to break this to you, kid, but your sword is a good-quality modern blade, and definitely reliable in a fight, but it’s not what you’d call a ‘legendary’ sword.”
Benny was affronted. “This was Tom’s sword.”
“Sure,” agreed Joe, “and he put it to good use, but the fact remains that they made about ten thousand swords just like that one. Hell, that one isn’t even Tom’s original.”
“Yes it is!” Benny insisted.