The Gates of Winter - Mark Anthony [229]
Sympathy welled up in Travis. It was as much Travis's fault as anyone's what had happened to Max, what had happened to her. He was the reason the runelord Mindroth had come to Castle City, and the reason Duratek had come as well. All the same, until a moment ago Jace had been the enemy. It was not easy to realign his thinking.
“How much do you know?”
Her gaze moved past him, to Marty's corpse. “Not even close to everything, but enough. I know the things they call angels come from another world—the world you've been to, Travis. And I know they give people hearts of iron and make them slaves. Only slaves to who I'm not sure.” She crossed her arms. “I suppose I'll find out when they make me into one of them.”
Travis cast aside his suspicion. Whatever she had done, she was trying to help now. He touched her arm. “No, Jace. Never. You won't become one of them. I'll make sure of it.”
She looked up at him. Tears shone in her eyes. “There's only one way to be sure, Travis.”
Before he could speak, a burst of electronic static broke the silence. The static came again, along with a familiar voice. “Travis, can you hear me?”
He reached into his pocket, fumbling for the radio he had forgotten was there. “Deirdre?” he said, pressing a button. “Deirdre, is that you?”
“We're in the control room.” Her voice was clipped but understandable. “Anders is very good at persuasion, and the three producers in here have agreed to help us out. No one outside knows anything is going on in here. At least not yet.”
He let out a sigh. “What about Beltan and Vani?”
“They've retreated and are lying low.”
“That's good.”
“Yes, but this isn't.” Urgency sounded in Deirdre's voice. “The show's about to start, and we've got the videotape in, but there's a problem—we can't get the tape to show on the big screen onstage. Anders and his gun convinced one of the producers to tell us why. It turns out there's a panel onstage that Sage Carson uses to control the big screen. Unless that panel is activated, we can't show the tape.”
Fresh dread blossomed in Travis. If they couldn't air the tape, then all their effort had been for nothing. Even if he destroyed the gate, Duratek would remain. There would be nothing to stop them from constructing another gate. It might take them time, but they would do it.
“Travis?”
Jace. He lowered the radio and looked at her.
“I don't know what's on the tape,” Jace said. “It sounds important.”
“If we air it, it will bring Duratek down.”
“So it is important then. But you'll never get to that control panel. There are guards positioned all around the stage. I'm not sure, but I think some of them are ironhearts. Their mission is to keep everyone away from Mr. Carson.”
“Why?”
“I'm still not sure. He matters to Duratek, that's all I know. If you try to get onstage, they'll stop you. And once they realize who you are, they'll kill you.”
“I have to try, Jace.”
“I had a feeling you'd say that. You'd better follow me. I know an access stairway that will get us close to the stage before we're seen.”
Amazement filled Travis. He lifted the radio. “I'm on it, Deirdre. We'll flip that switch for you.”
Before she could reply, he turned off the radio. “We've got to hurry, Jace. The wraithlings know I'm here. They'll tell Duratek.”
She headed through the broken doorway. Travis cast one last glance at the bodies in the room. The ironheart who once had been a man, the crumpled form of the fairy. Jay and Marty.
It wasn't just that evil killed. Death was terrible, but in the end it came to everyone. Rather, it was that evil took good people and made them its own. That was its greatest crime; that was why he had to stop it.
Travis followed Jace. At the end of the corridor was a doorway. Jace drew a card from her pocket and inserted it into a slot. There was a click, and she pushed against the door. Beyond was a stairwell.