“It was hardly your fault,” Jonas said, before I could. “I don't think either Nuri or I would have done any better.”
I should have hit him harder when we were in Chaos, Bear said somewhat gloomily. It would have meant fewer problems.
“None of us were to know that he'd be so filled with hatred he'd side with Dream,” I said.
“And I'm not entirely sure he is doing that,” Jonas said. “He undoubtedly wants you dead, but I doubt he knows Hedda is actually Dream. I think he's merely accepted the contract, and that's as far as his involvement goes.”
“Except that he disappeared from Deseo, and as Bear pointed out, that rift was the only way he could have done so without them seeing him.”
“Also true.” Jonas hesitated, and half shrugged. “I just find it hard to believe he’d betray us in such a manner.”
“Except I don't think he sees it as a betrayal. I think he sees it as a service—he's ridding the world of a monstrosity that should not exist.”
“Possibly. Discovering your existence after losing most of his kin in the war... I think it has unhinged him.”
“You lost people in the war, Jonas. You're not unhinged.”
“Some would refute that statement.”
Branna didn't head immediately to Deseo after leaving the ball, Bear commented. He met with a woman at a cafe on Tenth.
“A woman who resembled the chancellor, by chance?” Jonas asked.
No, Cat said. She was dark-skinned and had green eyes.
“The same woman who watched Rath Winter slap me around via a comms unit?” I asked.
Yes, Bear said. That one.
Jonas swore and scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “Did you by chance hear what they were saying?”
No, Cat said. We didn't want to get too close, in case she sensed us. But she gave him a small bag.
“A bag?” I said. “What type of bag?”
A small leather one, Bear said. It didn't look like a gun. It was the wrong shape.
“Given he met her before he went through the rift, maybe it was a means to pass through it.”
“Maybe.” Jonas walked across to the door, his anger and frustration evident in every stride. “Either way, you'd better be careful when you're in Carleen.”
We could come with
you, Cat said. And keep watch.
I hesitated, and then shook my head. There was a chance—however minor—that the item Dream had handed Branna wasn't a device to slip through the rift, but rather some sort of weapon capable of dealing with ghosts. After the events in Winter Halo, she had to have guessed I had help that was not of flesh and blood. It was better that they kept out of the way for the time being—presuming, of course, Branna had ended up in Carleen when he'd gone through that rift. For all we knew, Dream had reprogrammed it to take him somewhere else.
But what if he attacks you? Bear asked, concern evident.
“Then I'll kill him.”
Good, they both intoned.
Once I'd again said goodbye to the little ones, I walked toward the now open door. Dawn was spreading plumes of pink across the sky and the air held an electricity that spoke of an oncoming storm.
“What is the range of the tracker?” I asked, as I stopped beside Jonas.
“Extremely long, hence the size of the thing.” He touched my back briefly. “Don't worry. We won't leave you stranded out there. Not this time.”