Right Through Me (The Obsidian Files #1)(95)

“You can’t do everything yourself,” Sisko said.

“What about Zade?” Noah demanded. “You really think that he should be involved in this? Mark has his f*cking codes. He can kill Zade in one second. From across the room.”

“Yes, that is a problem,” Sisko conceded. “Let Zade work it out. He’s not a kid. And Hannah--”

“No way. She can’t get near this.”

“Why? Because she’s your baby sister? She’ll tear you to shreds if you cut her out of the action.”

“Let’s argue about this when I’m not chewing nails.”

“You could spit out the nails,” Sisko suggested. “Just a thought.”

Then Noah saw the colors, slowly revolving on the walls and ceiling. Caro had sneaked out the bedroom door. She leaned over the railing, trying to listen in, her sig like a huge peony blooming in the darkness. He glanced up, and she pulled back with a guilty look.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked.

“Same reason you’re not, probably.”

“Don’t think so,” he said. “I do soldier sentinel sleep. It’s a Midlands thing. We toggle brain hemispheres, resting one while we function at a hundred percent with the other. You, on the other hand, need regular sleep. I can see it from here. Go get some more of it.”

Her sig got bigger, unfurling like the fan of some huge fantasy peacock, like it always did whenever her pride was involved. The image filled the room, silently defying him.

It drove him nuts. OK, he could be a controlling bastard. But for a damn good reason. Controlling people was sometimes the only way to protect them. Worked sometimes. Or it crashed and burned. He hadn’t been able to control Asa. He hadn’t been able to protect Hannah. But God, he had tried. So f*cking hard.

If he couldn’t control Caro, then he couldn’t protect her.

Caro ignored his command and descended the stairs, dignified as an empress. She seemed to drift an inch or so above the ground, in her swirling cloud of colors.

“How did you know I was there?” she asked. “That door doesn’t squeak.”

Sisko snorted under his breath. Noah shot him a quelling look. She didn’t need to know how acute their hearing actually was. At least not right now. Best to let details like that sink in gradually over time.

“Your sig. It’s really bright,” he said. “I could see you from space.”

“And I try so hard to be unobtrusive,” she murmured. The lights were ebbing now, Noah noticed. He wondered if she could control it.

“So what are you guys doing?” she asked.

He shrugged.

“Fill me in, Noah.” Her voice was adamant.

“You don’t need to know about things that don’t concern you.”

“How could you conclude that this doesn’t concern me?” she demanded. “I wrote that note to Mark myself, remember? You’re the Keyholder. Mark’s the Keyseeker. I’m the goddamn key. Me, Noah. So yes, I’m pretty f*cking concerned.”

“You’re not getting anywhere near it,” he said.

“I appreciate your protective instincts, but Mark won’t walk into your trap so easily. Plus, I assume you mean to take him alive, so you can question him about Luke. Then there’s the safe, which is a huge threat to everyone as long as he has it.”

“Anything else?” She was on it, he had to admit.

“So, with all that, you still think you have to go after Mark alone because only superduper you can handle him? Get over yourself.”

Sisko crowed under his breath. “Amen, sister. Nailed it.”

Noah exhaled slowly. “But it makes sense,” he said tightly. “It was my decision to let him run around loose for so long, so it should be me who makes it right. Plus, we’re evenly matched. Same advantages, no surprises. It’ll be like fighting myself.”

“Yes, except that he’s a psycho.”

“I don’t intend to fight fair,” Noah said. “When my AVP is running hot, I could give f*cking Satan a run for his money. I can send Mark a video of you when we make contact with him.”

“Send him what you want, but he still won’t show for a meet-up unless he knows for sure that I’m there,” Caro said. “And he’d be an idiot to come alone. So you can’t either. It would be a suicide mission. I’m vetoing it.”

“Is that right.” His hands clenched into fists as the data scroll speeded and flickered. “Since when did you get veto power?”

“Since I took it for myself.”

They stared at each other as her sig billowed out. If he were outside the house, he’d see it filling the whole dark forest. Rising up into the night sky.

“Throwdown time.” Sisko’s voice was hushed.

“Shut up,” Noah snapped. He turned back to Caro. “Got some brilliant alternative?”

“No,” she said. “So far, my biggest ambition was just to prove that Mark killed Dex, and see him go to prison. Everything’s different now that you guys are involved.”

“Yeah, well, somebody has to die,” Sisko said. “And it’s not going to be any of us. If he lives, he’ll punish us by hurting Luke. Unless we take him alive.”

“Don’t know if we can,” Noah said. “He was the best back in the day, and he’s had twelve years to hone his killing skills. And even if we did take him alive, that doesn’t mean we’ll get Luke’s location out of him.”