Page 138 of Almost Midnight

“I figured.” Nick exhaled.

Malek frowned. “Why would he do that?”

Nick shrugged. “I can think of a few reasons. But mostly, it smacks of desperation. I don’t remember that part of the war, like I told Forrest, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn they were losing the war when Yi gave that order. I suspect he decided he’d rather go out in a blaze of glory than retreat and live to fight another day.”

“But hedidlive to fight another day,” Malek pointed out.

Nick glanced at the young seer. “His followers didn’t.”

Malek nodded. “Yes.”

Nick leaned against the metal side of the armored vehicle. “I guess there’s one good thing. At least those seers who started the war won’t be returning to my home world again. I guess that’s a silver lining. Sort of.”

“No.” Malek exhaled air out through his lips. “They cannot. I think that is right. I think they never left here, Nick.”

“This place feels like a graveyard,” Nick added under his breath. “Doesn’t it?”

Malek thought about that, too.

“It does,” he agreed.

They sat in silence for a few seconds longer, then Nick looked at Malek again.

“I don’t think we should wait,” Nick said. “I think we should go tonight, Mal.”

Malek’s eyes were even more serious when they met Nick’s.

“I could not agree more,” the seer said gravely.

Something about the way he said both relieved Nick and made that uneasy feeling crawling around his belly and spine even worse.

CHAPTER31

THE CITY OF NICE

The scientistsinside the research bubble were surprised when Nick told them he wanted to leave right away.

They suggested Nick and his team rest first, build up their strength, eat.

Nick shook all of their suggestions off.

They offered to send a driver with them, but Nick waved that off, too.

He recruited Walker to co-drive the vehicle with him, then asked the science team leader to show them to the specific vehicle they would be using. That same head scientist, a dark-haired, East Indian-looking man by the name of Anand, grudgingly agreed, and led them down an underground passageway and into their site’s garage.

Inside, a slightly larger vehicle than the one they’d taken from the main dome crouched on a cement floor like an armor-plated dinosaur. After the engineering team checked all the shields and tested everything on the panel inside, including the emergency signals, flare guns, comms, and all the sensors, they reluctantly told Nick everything was ready to go.

“It could get dark before you arrive back,” Anand warned him.

Nick nodded. “It’s all right.”

“The sensors could go out. If it’s dark, you won’t be able to see.”

Nick smiled a little wryly. He found the man’s concern strangely touching.

“I’m a vampire,” he reminded the human. “I’ll be able to see just fine.”

The man blinked at that, as if he’d completely forgotten what Nick was, then slowly, but still grudgingly nodded.

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