A Despair of Demons (Travelers, Book 1) (16 page)

“Fine. But nothing’s changed, Jordan.”

“Fine. I won’t say a word. Yet.”

In the elevator, Jordan turned to her with studied casualness. “Why are you
so set against anyone knowing you’re with me?”

She sighed. “I don’t want to be scrutinized by the rest of the team.”

“You mean, you think they’re going to nose into your business and ask you
why you’re doing things and generally make your life messy.”

“Well, yeah. That’s what friends do. And when it’s over, it’ll be horrible
having to pretend—”

“What do you mean, ‘when it’s over?’ You planning on loving and leaving?”

“No.”

“Well, neither am I.”

She sighed again. “You don’t know that, Jordan. Something always happens.”

Another ah-hah expression flashed across his face. The man and his intuitive
leaps, seriously. Now what did he think he’d figured out?

The elevator dinged on level two, and the smell of green beans and meatloaf
wafted into the car. Jordan stepped out into the hall, and Liv matched his
pace, trying to think of something to say. Jordan was lost in thought until
they reached the cafeteria, a comfortable room with round tables scattered
throughout and a buffet counter along the far wall.

Liv picked up the least unappetizing sandwich and followed Jordan to the
table where the rest of their team already sat. When they got within earshot,
Ben said, “This is huge. They’re negotiating with demons!”

“It won’t be much of a negotiation,” Jordan said as he threw his tray down
on the table and sat. “Demons only want one thing—domination. They’ll
take whatever they want whenever they want starting the minute the deal is
made. I can’t believe we’re letting them make a deal with demons!”

Connor laughed bleakly, put his head in his hands and scrubbed his fingers
through his hair. “We get a day to set up and plan the details.”

Trent watched him until he lifted his head again. “You have to admit,
there’s not much to plan. We only get to go and watch.”

Connor glared at Trent.

Trent shrugged, unperturbed.

“It sucks,” Ben said.

“What can they possibly think we’ll hear?” Liv wondered.

Connor’s expression was troubled. “There’s more fear at the higher levels
than they’re letting on. We’d be sitting ducks if the demons decided to raid
Home World. Any idea why they haven’t yet?”

He was looking at Jordan, who shook his head.

Connor said, “No. Neither does anyone else. Not to mention that the DEPOT
would be blown out of the water—it’d be hard to keep Travelers secret if
hostile scary not-humans pop out of thin air in the middle of afternoon picnics
in the park.”

“We’re going to have to sit in a room with demons,” Jordan said. “The smell
alone is going to be terrible.”

“As long as the Wolf’s not there.” Liv shuddered. “I think I’m done eating,”
she said, and stood abruptly. She dumped her mostly uneaten lunch in the trash
on the way out the door.

*
         
*
         
*

Jordan stared after her and then turned to the rest of the team.

Ben answered his unspoken question. “She was a witness in the Home World
Wolf case. She was at the beach where he killed those kids. She wasn’t armed
and had to run to her vehicle for her personal sidearm. By the time she got
back on scene, he had disappeared. The police didn’t find him until he went to
a school playground and opened fire there. Liv thinks she should have somehow
been able to stop that from ever happening.”

Gin’s expression was horrified. “How? How can she possibly blame herself?”

Ben shrugged. “I probably would too. She was there, she’s got black ops
military training, but he escaped and more kids died.”

“You’re blaming her?” Jordan asked with a bite in his voice.

“Hell no. Everybody knows there was nothing she could do, but she still
can’t stop blaming herself.”

Connor asked, “Is she going to be okay with this mission? We’ll probably run
into Woolfe sooner or later.”

“She’ll be okay,” Ben said with confidence. “She wants payback. She won’t
fold. But it’s probably best she’ll be outside of the meeting room. If he’s
there, she might want to kill this Woolfe to atone for missing her chance with
the last one.”

Connor nodded. “As long as she follows orders.”

Ben snorted. “You realize this is Liv we’re talking about, right? She can
recite the whole protocol manual word for word.”

“Right.” Connor smiled. “Then I won’t worry.”

“I think I’m done too.” Jordan stood and followed Liv.

He knocked on her office door and let himself in when there was no answer.
Liv sat at her desk, staring at nothing.

“You okay?” Jordan asked.

“Oh yeah, totally fine.” Liv’s voice was jagged, higher pitched than normal.

Jordan went to the desk and sat down on the corner of it, facing her. “You
got him, you know. Woolfe is dead.”

She sighed. “No he isn’t. I thought he was, but here he is again. Doing the
same things again. I shouldn’t have been caught off-guard by this. I should
have realized that most worlds would have a Woolfe. I mean, since I found out
about Travel, I’ve thought of the worlds as the multiverse, not just our single
Home World, you know?”

Jordan nodded. He did know. Becoming a Traveler radically altered your
worldview. He secretly envied Liv; she’d had Ben to help her through that
alienating transformation of reality. When Jordan had turned ten and suddenly
found himself in some other world for the first time, he’d gone through it
alone. He hadn’t known any other Travelers, and while his parents were good
people, they would have had him drooling in a straightjacket after multiple
shock treatments if he’d mentioned the places he went or the things he saw.
Maybe that’s why he’d got on so well with the Muruwari: they believed in
mystical things as a matter of everyday life.

Liv said, “It’s just so much worse that he’s from Hell. I thought the Wolf
was the worst thing out there, but this one’s got to be ten times worse than
ours was.”

Jordan put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him. “Liv.” He
stopped, looking for the right words. She looked up at him, her eyes pools of
melting chocolate, and the expression on her face made him want to cradle her
forever against any harm. He settled for kissing the top of her head. “Maybe
you think he has some sort of connection to you after what happened here, but
remember, this guy doesn’t know you from Eve. He’s somebody else. None of that
happened in his life.”

“I know. But it helps to hear it from someone other than me. Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He held her a little longer, trying to be content with what she
was willing to give. He could be patient. When she sat up again, he reluctantly
stood, gave her a smile that she returned, and silently left.

*
         
*
         
*

Liv didn’t realize until after he left that she hadn’t once thought of
anything that had happened last night while Jordan was here. He’d just been her
friend Jordan, the guy who always made her feel better. Safe.

She wanted to think that it would be different, that this could actually
work.
He’s not Nathan.
But all she
could think was how much it would hurt to lose him when it finally ended.

Because he wasn’t Nathan. He wasn’t an asshole pretending to be a great guy
who would eventually revert to a woman-hating asshole.

Jordan was in reality what Nathan had only convincingly pretended to be.

She wanted to stop while there was still time to get out clean, but she
wondered if it was already too late. Certainly, for her it was. But maybe there
was a chance Jordan would let her walk away. They could still be what they had
been to each other and there would be no more complications.

She would just have to forget that there had been something more and go back
to being his friend and partner. It was better than losing him altogether,
right?

Right?

She sighed. She’d tell him tonight.

Her phone rang. “Greenwood.”

“Hey Liv.” It was Jordan. “We’re needed in the briefing to learn how to be
King’s Advisors.”

“Right. I’ll be there in a second.”

She’d tell him tomorrow. They needed to get through this mission first,
surely. She stood up and subconsciously straightened her spine. On a personal
level, she’d just avoid him as much as possible. Professionally, she had to go
see him right now.

She tried to ignore the lightness that brought to her heart, but she
couldn’t ignore her feelings or shove them down into the dark the way she had
before last night. Jordan had broken something loose inside of her, it seemed.

Well, fix it.

She would. She’d fix all of it. Tomorrow.

She locked her office behind her and headed to the briefing, a slight bounce
in her step despite all she could do to stop it.

Wednesday. Previously explored allied
parallel world, DEPOT designation X-1763Z, codename Trench World, corresponding
California.

Liv materialized between Ben and Jordan, the rest of the team loosely
clustered around them. They took stock of their surroundings—First Rule
of Travel—and found that they were right on target, standing on the
dew-soaked berm of a cobblestone road leading into King’s City.

Trent peered at his locator map and pointed left. “This way.”

They followed him directly to the palace. They greeted the first few
travelers they met, but abandoned such niceties as the deserted road became
more crowded. As they neared the center of the city, they were forced to weave
through the crush of early morning traffic: pedestrians, horses, and all manner
of carts and buggies pulled by oxen, horses, mules, and donkeys. Despite the
difficulty of finding a path through the throng, Liv tried to admire the
old-world European architecture and elaborately carved stone buildings.

It was better than looking at Jordan, who walked next to her, apparently
completely at ease. Although she tried to stop herself from thinking about him,
she couldn’t stop the ache in her stomach. Her anxiety over what she would say
to Jordan was compounded by the fact that today she might see the Wolf for the
first time since she’d watched his execution. Her stomach flopped wretchedly
before she could force the thought away.

Connor halted them at the palace’s wrought iron gates and gave fast
instructions.

“Ben, Gin, there’s your rooftop.” He pointed to the building to the right.
“Study your angles. We all saw the blueprints; you know the layout. Make sure
you have sightlines to the meeting chamber, the hallways outside of it, and at
least one of you have a lock on the main entrance as well.”

Ben and Gin both nodded.

“Liv, you and Jordan will report to the Head of State to get instructions.
You’ll be minor diplomats, scientific experts, which shouldn’t be too hard.
Keep your ears open.”

“Roger,” Jordan said.

Liv’s stomach was now trying to do backflips into her throat.

“Trent and I will be right behind you. We’ll report to the Head of Security
for bodyguard detail. If anyone gets into trouble, try to radio alert, two
clicks only. Don’t speak, for God’s sake. If you can’t alert, get the hell out.
Liv and Jordan, one click, Ben and Gin, three clicks, every fifteen minutes
except when we’re within earshot of demons. Clear?”

“Clear.”

Liv watched Gin and Ben trot to the tall building flanking the palace
grounds, each assembling a sniper rifle made specially for Travel. A normal
rifle was too big to Travel, but this one broke down into small pieces that
could be taken along. Because they had to stow all of the parts, they couldn’t
carry as much standard gear and weapons, but Liv felt better knowing backup
would be covering them every second through a sniper scope while they were
mingling with demons.

And the Wolf.

Liv turned away from Ben and Gin and followed the others to the entrance
hall of the palace. At the end of a hallway marked by incomprehensible
signs—Trench Worlders spoke English, but used a different
alphabet—Jordan pointed Connor and Trent right, and signaled Liv to
follow him left.

They picked up their advisor’s robes, threw them over their clothes and
weapons, and joined the other advisors in the hallway. Liv tried to swallow the
swooping nausea and stared out the window for any sign of arriving demons.

*
         
*
         
*

Jordan stood next to Liv, watching the crowd milling in the grand entrance
foyer. She was unusually on edge. Obviously, she was afraid the Wolf would show
up today. He was a little apprehensive as well; this was something he couldn’t
protect her from.

A collective gasp went up from outside the huge double doors that stood open
to the outside. Liv went rigid next to him. Moments later, a group of about
twenty demons stalked into the palace, led by a wide-eyed aide who was nearly
running to keep ahead of their gigantic strides.

The smell of rotting meat flooded the building like a herald, and Jordan
swallowed his gorge. Next to him, he saw Liv do the same. However, as the group
passed them by without a glance, she relaxed.

No Woolfe.

They followed the rest of the crowd up a wide plushly carpeted staircase to
a slightly smaller but still richly furnished hall.

Several of the demons followed the aide through the door into the meeting
hall. Jordan and Liv pressed back against the wall as the King’s retinue, which
included Connor and Trent as honor guard, filed past.

Benches lined a few of the walls, and Jordan and Liv sat, squashed in with
many of the other Advisors. The demons milled in the center of the hallway,
wings too broad to allow them near the walls.

Two demons stopped in front of them. Jordan stared fixedly at their backs,
concentrating on their words while being extremely careful to appear not to
listen. He was pretty sure they were paying no attention to the humans in their
midst, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Woolfe promised,” one said to the other in their squealing-grunting
bastardized version of Latin. “If we close this deal, we go after the DEPOT.”

Jordan touched Liv’s wrist in warning, making it look like an absent
gesture, and continued to stare out the window. She didn’t understand the
language, but she’d tensed at the word ‘DEPOT.’ He felt her relax back into a
bored slump and felt a surge of pride. He didn’t know anyone stronger or more
able.

“They’re just humans,” the other said. “Is it even worth it?”

“Their world has technology he wants. Of course, we have a presence there
already, but without the DEPOT’s interference, we won’t have to skulk and hide
anymore. And I want payback. One of those hairless monkeys shot Kilon’s eye
out. It didn’t regenerate.”

“Who’s Kilon?”

“My whelp-mate.”

“Why doesn’t he get his own payback?”

The demon made a weird gesture like a snake swaying its head. “He won’t go
near them again. Doesn’t want to lose the other eye.”

Both demons laughed, nails-on-a-chalkboard squeals.

*
         
*
         
*

Hours later, the demons had fallen silent, standing around like rotting
gargoyles. Jordan raised his head when the meeting room doors finally opened
and six demons trooped out. The demons in the hallway fell into line behind
them, marching down the stairs and out of sight. Jordan went to a window to
watch as they swarmed out of the Palace and dissolved out of the world.

Jordan returned to Liv as the king entered the hall, surrounded by a few
advisors including Trent and Connor. The king paused when he reached Jordan and
Liv. He looked exhausted.

“Thank you for being here,” he said to Connor. “I could hardly have sat in
the room with them did I not know you were at my back.”

Connor waved a hand. “It helped us too. We have new information. Hopefully,
there’s a way to stop this.”

“I hope so too, for I may as well have just signed my people into slavery.”

Jordan said, “You did what you had to do to keep them safe.”

The king looked unconvinced.

Connor gave them the signal to move out, and Jordan and Liv followed him out
of the palace. At the gates, they met Ben and Gin, who had presumably seen them
leaving the palace through their sniper scopes.

“What’s the word?” Ben asked as they left the city’s cobbled streets and
walked into the dirt roads and relative open of the surrounding country.

“We’ll tell you when we get back,” Connor said.

“Fair enough.”

“Then we’ll tell you what we have when we get back,” Gin said.

Liv gave her a skeptical look, but Jordan knew she wasn’t bluffing. What
could they have heard on an isolated rooftop that Connor and Trent or Jordan
and Liv hadn’t?

Connor answered, “Fair enough. Home World on mark.”

Jordan exhaled, reached for the space between worlds, and dissolved.