“I’ll pay for the damages,” she murmured.
“I’m gonna kill you,” I said, reaching out to touch her face.
“Get in line,” said a voice from behind me, and I was summarily shoved aside as Avery knelt next to his sister, gathering her carefully into his arms.
“Ugh,” she murmured, nose wrinkling in an expression I’d seen my own sister wear a thousand times, when looking at me. “Not you.”
“Where in the abyss have you been, Cace?”
“Everywhere. Couldn’t navigate. The stars were gone . . . they’re going . . . They’re . . .” She opened her eyes wide, sitting up in Avery’s arms and reaching out to grab the front of my shirt. “The stars are going,” she told me urgently, everything in her expression indicating this was of vital importance.
“Going where?” I asked.
“Dying,” she said. “They’re dying. FrostNight . . .”
Her grip on my shirt loosened, and her eyes lost focus. She passed out immediately after, going limp against her brother.
“Sir?” another voice said behind me, as I felt the air shift from Jai’s teleportation spell. Jai was sort of big on protocol, and he kept insisting he call me that as long as I was at the Old Man’s desk. Ordinarily it bothered me; right now, I was focused on Acacia.
“Go ahead to the infirmary,” I told him. “Tell them we have our first patient, then get back to the engine room. I’ve got things here.”
He spared a brief glance at Avery, then nodded. Avery got to his feet, cradling Acacia against him. He lifted her easily, paying no attention at all to Jai as he vanished. Now that they were both in the same place, the resemblance between them was more obvious—but even unconscious, Acacia had a fire to her that was different from her brother’s quiet intensity.
“This way,” I said, and turned to leave. As I turned my back, I saw a hint of green in my peripheral vision. Instinct took over, and I whirled and grabbed for Avery. One hand closed around his forearm, the other going to Acacia’s shoulder. Damned if I was going to let her vanish again.
“Let go, Harker.”
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Why?”
“Because she needs medical attention, and my people are better equipped to give it than yours.”
I couldn’t argue with that, and I didn’t want to. I wanted Acacia to be okay, even if it meant going back to TimeWatch and away from me—and for that reason, I hated what I was about to say.
“Your mission wasn’t to rescue your sister. It was to help us stop FrostNight, and Acacia has information about FrostNight. She needs to stay here until I get that information.”
Avery was already standing rigid, but he managed to straighten up even more as he stared at me. His eyes narrowed, and I felt his arm flex where I had a grip on his wrist. If he hadn’t had Acacia in his arms, he might have tried to throw me off him.
“Look,” I said, trying to pitch my voice to be reasonable, “I’m worried about her, too. But you said yourself that FrostNight would eradicate everything, including TimeWatch. You can take her back there now, but it won’t be safe. Nowhere will be safe until we stop it.”
“And what information do you think she has?” Avery asked. His voice was cold and tightly controlled.
“I don’t know, but any information is better than what we have. Just bring her to the infirmary, we can do what we can and find out whatever she knows, and then I’ll let you take her back. I swear.” I relaxed my grip on his wrist, then deliberately let go of him, dropping my arm to my side.
He stared at me for an uncomfortable moment, and I was inches from losing my temper again when he finally turned and started walking. He didn’t say a word, didn’t give any indication of his agreement except the fact that he was doing as I’d asked, and not vanishing in a green glow. It was a miracle this guy hadn’t already gotten on my last nerve.
The walk to the infirmary was short and silent, full of bare walls and long corridors. I was painfully aware of where the Wall had been; the hall seemed to stretch on forever, and the blank metal surrounding us was empty and accusing. I didn’t doubt the tradition of the Wall would start again. One of us would inevitably die, and it was more than likely that those who remembered would continue honoring the dead that way.
It should be Josephine, I thought, unable to help myself. I should look through her backpack, find something she loved. . . .
It was a nice thought, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not yet. Not when we might soon be nothing but memories.
Avery didn’t leave Acacia’s side for the next several minutes until she woke. Once he was satisfied that our rudimentary technology would be adequate to help his sister, he stepped back and listened while Jianae (she’d been picked up with Joeb’s team, and was one of the few medically trained Walkers we had) asked Acacia questions about her breathing and whether or not she felt dizzy or faint. If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend I was in a hospital back on my version of Earth.
“She’s severely dehydrated and malnourished, but the supplement shots will help with that. The cuts will heal on their own, but I’ve given her booster pills to make sure they don’t get infected,” Jianae explained, speaking to both Avery and me. “I can treat the symptoms, but I’ve never seen this kind of sickness before.”