Page 23 of The Red Rider
“No one is going to blow us up, Ariel,” Leif said. “Dice is good at what he does.”
“It wounds me you think I’m not.”
“If you don’t trust Dice, trust us,” Aeron said. “We won’t let any harm come to you.”
I knew that. I knew it like I knew my last name. Still, there were bombs involved. I was starting to feel a little bit better. Dice was an angel. Surely, he knew his explosives. I mean, he hadn’t exploded Florida yet. That was a good sign, right?
All three angels snapped to attention.
“Leonard just left D.C. Dice had better get started,” Aeron said.
“Did you set up the medical clinic like I asked?” Leif said.
“Yeah, and I promised the people here a vaccine. We’ve been raiding and hoarding the supplies you asked for, so you’d better come through. Ariel, come with me. I’m going to be teaching you while I play with my bombs.”
Okay, that good feeling I had was officially gone. If I didn’t even want to be in the same state, I certainly didn’t want to be in the same room.
Chapter 14
I
t was so fucked up. Dice’s workshop was in the giant castle. The entire bottom floor had been gutted, and there was machinery everywhere now. I was pretty sure this wasn’t standard bomb diffusing stuff either. There was a dismantled car engine sitting on the table next to a beat-up couch.
Aeron dragged me over to the couch and flopped down with me. Leif was gone again. Dice showed him where the medical building was, and he disappeared to make vaccines. I missed him, but that was where he was needed. We didn’t need our allies revolting because Dice couldn’t deliver his promise of a vaccine. Leif kissed me and promised he could duplicate his work in Mexico without my blood. I trusted him. I trusted Dice in this room of explosives much less.
Dice plugged a device into a dock, and music filled the room. He started plugging things into a switchboard on the wall, and things began lighting up.
“Might as well get my radio show back up and running. I’ve just been playing music and not talking since I got to Mexico. It’s time they heard me again, and now I get to have guests.”
“You need to focus on Ariel, Dice.”
“I’d rather he focuses on those bombs.”
“I can do all three. Smile, you’re on the air.”
Was Dice seriously controlling all the airways with an MP3 player and a switchboard? How was he doing that, anyway? He flipped a microphone on and sat in front of some weird machinery. He didn’t seem to be playing with his bombs yet.
“Ladies and gentlemen, did you miss me? I know I missed you. It’s the Horseman of War checking back in. I’ve got news from across the world! A vaccine for the Rage Mutation should be coming to a city near you, courtesy of the Horseman of Pestilence. Also, pretty soon, you’re going to notice things falling from the skies. That’s not going to be the only thing dropping.
“When those pretties start dropping, the Rage Heads are going to start dropping dead. Yeah, we’ve found the perfect solution to mass Rage Head eradication. When I give the word, you want to make sure you stay inside until it’s over. And when it’s over, you’ll need to burn the Rage Heads. We can’t afford to bury them. Burn them. Find your loved ones, and put them to rest. It’s almost over, folks. Now, enjoy this tune from the Grateful Dead.”
Dice started pressing buttons with one hand while fiddling with his engine with his other hand. Music filled the room, and he hunched over his parts with his toothpick in his mouth.
“I thought we were going to be guests on your show?” Aeron asked.
“I thought it was a bad idea to let Isaiah know Ariel was alive. He’s already going to know we’re working on something to kill his zombie pets. Want to hear his tantrum?”
I raised my hand.
“I would.”
Maybe if I heard him again, I’d remember something or at least get some idea of how I’d react when I saw him again. I still didn’t know if I’d freeze or lose my shit. When I ran, I never planned on seeing him again. I told myself if he ever came for me, I’d kill myself before I’d let them take me. One of us was going to die when we met again, and I would have four angels as back up. Then again, he would have Satan.
Dice pointed a remote at his docking station. Before he could click a button, I stopped him.
“Hold on a minute. Are you controlling all the radio wavesandspying on my father from a fucking MP3 player?”
Dice just smirked at me.
