Page 29 of Love, Nemesis
“All animals care about is survival. On the days when you are more man than animal, I appeal to the man in you. Lately, my options have been limited,” Manaj replied without hesitation.
“Of course,” Lethe nudged the horse with his heel. “See you later, old man.”
Manaj nodded, folding his hands behind his back. “One last thing. Last night. I know where you went.”
“Just reminiscing with friends,” Lethe replied, squinting against the morning sun. “You’ve really been on me lately, you know that?”
“You’ve made me more uneasy lately,” Manaj said. “I care deeply for you, and so one day, I hope you learn that demons of the past are not your friends.”
Lethe chuckled. “If you’d learned that a long time ago, I don’t think we’d be talking right now.” He raised an eyebrow.
“You are a psychopath after all, Jamie says,” Manaj joked back. His expression then became resolute. “You’ve done inexcusable things, but when they had to be done. Sometimes good people can’t find another way.”
“Some would say people are bad because they can’t find the other way,” Lethe said, stirring restlessly on his horse. “But you know I don’t deal in heroes and villains. I’ve met plenty who claimed to be either, and life was never choosy about how they bled.”
“You’ve seen a lot and made the arrogant mistake of thinking you’ve seen it all.” Manaj held his patient smile.
“Not keen on seeing anymore,” Lethe shot back as he shifted restlessly in his saddle, prepared to leave.
“I hope this trip is much longer than you plan for it to be,” Manaj replied.
Lethe raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”
The old man shrugged.
“Stubborn.” Lethe shook his head and faced forward, turning the horse away from the fort. He had a single objective, to find Evira and settle an old score. It shouldn’t take more than a few days. “I don’t like it when you say things like that. I feel like the universe does what you want.”
Manaj laughed. “Says the man who doesn’t believe in anything more than luck and chance.”
“I’ll see you in a few days,” Lethe replied, resolute. Without another word, he rode off, catching up with Cal who’d taken the southern road toward the State.
Cal turned around when he heard the horse, stopping as Lethe pulled up beside him.
“So, this means we have a deal?” Cal said when Lethe was within earshot.
“Take me to Evira and I’ll answer your questions.”
“You’ll talk about what really happened in the war?” Cal replied eagerly.
“I’ll share enough to get you some recognition, but there are some things that not even the greediest idiots in En Sanctus will talk about, and I didn’t get through the war by just being able to fight. I knew when to keep my mouth shut.”
“Works for me,” Cal said, and they started off.
It was a lengthy ride to the border, and Lethe watched the clouds above, speeding or slowing as they passed through the distorted time. Cal stopped at the edge.
“You ready to say goodbye?” Cal asked. “Evira is in Richter. It’s a coastal town a few days’ ride from here.”
Lethe didn’t look back. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 7: Heart
ANA SAT ON the examiner’s table, eyes perusing the posters and diagrams lined across the opposite wall. They were images of bones and muscles, smaller pictures of complex prosthetics followed by a poster of the latest proposed network Madness traveled as it moved through the body, the nerves concentrated in the eyes, tongue, and fingertips.
She was rereading the process for the installation of artificial nerves and robotic limbs when the door opened. Jasper walked through with a long raincoat, tapped Ana on the shoulder with a folded piece of paper, and strode through the exit.
“You’re clear. Let’s go!” The door shut behind him.
Ana waited for Mech to hobble through the door and fall back into her chair near a desk crowded with books and notes. She sighed, the old doctor looking weary even though the day was still young. Her gray coat was as wrinkled as her face, a burned out candle on her desk a seeming reflection of her spirit.
