and fire far more terrifying and radiant than the unreasoning panic he’d showed moments before. “It all pulls apart like wet fucking tissue, and then everyone on it…” He juggled an imaginary handful of dice and threw them into the air. “All bets are off.”
Jack resisted the urge to swallow, but something hard and round had lodged in his throat. “This Harper, this thing, whatever he is, he’s here to end the world. How?”
“Like I said: every man, woman and child you’ve ever known, seen or read about in the tabloids, gone. Poof. Taken. This world will be wiped clean like a slate tablet. One second, they’ll all just be gone.”
“Where?”
“Taken. To a place far from here.”
“Where?”
Barry blinked slowly. “I don’t know.”
Jack jerked. “What?”
“I don’t know. I’m no all-father, mate. I don’t have all the answers. I’m just as much a pawn as you. But I do know what I need to know: somebody’s trying to tip a balance that can’t be, not without destroying everything—and I mean everything, all places, all times, all of All Where.”
“Why?”
Barry shrugged. “Above my pay grade. I’m just a soldier.”
Jack ’s second sight piqued, sensing a lie, but he let it go. “If he… Harper… if he’s here, what does that mean? Can you stop him from doing whatever he’s doing?”
“Dunno. Probably not.”
“Then what? That’s it?”
Barry gave a small laugh and rocked forward onto his haunches, whooping at the sight of his own shaking knees. “It’s been a while since I had my arse kicked like that.” He clapped Jack on the shoulder “The Web always gives a way. You’re part of it.” He pulled Jack towards him. “I messed up, Jacky Boy.”
“Jack.” Jack gripped him with all his strength, knowing it was a feather touch to the other-worlder but giving it all he had anyway. “My name is Jack.”
Those eyes, somewhere in all their inky depths, softened a shade. Barry’s lips tightened. “Jack. I made a mistake. By the Brothers of Solstice, I swear I didn’t know what I was getting you into.
“You are a creature of destiny, and I still need your help. I can’t make you do anything. Say the word, and you’re free to go. But All Where is calling on you.” He gave Jack’s shoulder a squeeze, managing a gentle pressure this time, less vice-like. “Will you help me, Jack?”
No. Say no. Spit in the bastard’s face and run .
Jack mashed his teeth together, bunching his fists. Despite himself, a mental film reel flashed before his eyes: his parent’s house in Minnesota, his classmates at college, Manhattan’s skyline at night, all those faceless crowds he passed every day, even Earthsea girl.
He deflated like an old balloon. “Yes.”
That squeeze tightened again, and he cried out with renewed pain. “But you have to quit that!”
Barry wasn’t listening. He grinned, clapping his hands together. “It always gets me. You people live such short lives, so fragile, but you’re always the ones to outshine the rest.” An odd severity invaded his countenance. “Reminds me that I know I’m fighting on the right side.”
Jack hesitated, then said, “How many like me have you used?”
He phrased it deliberately, and it had the effect he’d hoped not to see: Barry flinched.
For the first time, the Scot-but-not seemed unable to meet his eye. “If I told you, you’d never stop running,” he muttered. With a visible paroxysm of will, his eyes lurched up and fixed on Jack’s. “Are you still with me?”
“For my sins. Where to?”
Barry smiled thinly, yet his eyes seemed ever more haunted, and Jack saw his name being added to a list upon parchment that ran away into dark and forgotten ancient times; those who had flung themselves upon an eternal pyre for the chance to do some good in the world.
“Like I said, the Web always gives a way. Let’s give the Man in Purple a call.”
Wondering how Barry managed to make that sound ominous, Jack
Jack resisted the urge to swallow, but something hard and round had lodged in his throat. “This Harper, this thing, whatever he is, he’s here to end the world. How?”
“Like I said: every man, woman and child you’ve ever known, seen or read about in the tabloids, gone. Poof. Taken. This world will be wiped clean like a slate tablet. One second, they’ll all just be gone.”
“Where?”
“Taken. To a place far from here.”
“Where?”
Barry blinked slowly. “I don’t know.”
Jack jerked. “What?”
“I don’t know. I’m no all-father, mate. I don’t have all the answers. I’m just as much a pawn as you. But I do know what I need to know: somebody’s trying to tip a balance that can’t be, not without destroying everything—and I mean everything, all places, all times, all of All Where.”
“Why?”
Barry shrugged. “Above my pay grade. I’m just a soldier.”
Jack ’s second sight piqued, sensing a lie, but he let it go. “If he… Harper… if he’s here, what does that mean? Can you stop him from doing whatever he’s doing?”
“Dunno. Probably not.”
“Then what? That’s it?”
Barry gave a small laugh and rocked forward onto his haunches, whooping at the sight of his own shaking knees. “It’s been a while since I had my arse kicked like that.” He clapped Jack on the shoulder “The Web always gives a way. You’re part of it.” He pulled Jack towards him. “I messed up, Jacky Boy.”
“Jack.” Jack gripped him with all his strength, knowing it was a feather touch to the other-worlder but giving it all he had anyway. “My name is Jack.”
Those eyes, somewhere in all their inky depths, softened a shade. Barry’s lips tightened. “Jack. I made a mistake. By the Brothers of Solstice, I swear I didn’t know what I was getting you into.
“You are a creature of destiny, and I still need your help. I can’t make you do anything. Say the word, and you’re free to go. But All Where is calling on you.” He gave Jack’s shoulder a squeeze, managing a gentle pressure this time, less vice-like. “Will you help me, Jack?”
No. Say no. Spit in the bastard’s face and run .
Jack mashed his teeth together, bunching his fists. Despite himself, a mental film reel flashed before his eyes: his parent’s house in Minnesota, his classmates at college, Manhattan’s skyline at night, all those faceless crowds he passed every day, even Earthsea girl.
He deflated like an old balloon. “Yes.”
That squeeze tightened again, and he cried out with renewed pain. “But you have to quit that!”
Barry wasn’t listening. He grinned, clapping his hands together. “It always gets me. You people live such short lives, so fragile, but you’re always the ones to outshine the rest.” An odd severity invaded his countenance. “Reminds me that I know I’m fighting on the right side.”
Jack hesitated, then said, “How many like me have you used?”
He phrased it deliberately, and it had the effect he’d hoped not to see: Barry flinched.
For the first time, the Scot-but-not seemed unable to meet his eye. “If I told you, you’d never stop running,” he muttered. With a visible paroxysm of will, his eyes lurched up and fixed on Jack’s. “Are you still with me?”
“For my sins. Where to?”
Barry smiled thinly, yet his eyes seemed ever more haunted, and Jack saw his name being added to a list upon parchment that ran away into dark and forgotten ancient times; those who had flung themselves upon an eternal pyre for the chance to do some good in the world.
“Like I said, the Web always gives a way. Let’s give the Man in Purple a call.”
Wondering how Barry managed to make that sound ominous, Jack
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