BACKTRACKER by Milo Fowler (e book reader txt) 📕

occasions, and tonight that old foolhad tried his patience. Perhaps when he had it to do over again—once theBackTracker was firmly in his possession—Lennox wouldn't kill Horton. He'd keephim around as a court jester or something equally amusing. Give him a quantumsingularity to play with.

Regardless, the boy knew more than he was letting on. And whetherhe wanted to or not, he was going to tell Lennox all of it.

SEVEN

Cade looked at the face of Cyrus Horton not as one who has seen aghost, but as one who cannot believe he is seeing the specter-made-fleshstanding before his eyes.

"Mr. Horton..." His voice trailed off.

Horton smiled, creases folding away from rows of crowded teeth. Hereached forward to clap Cade on the shoulder. "Good to see you, lad."

"I do not understand—"

"Plenty of time later for storytelling. Right now, we've gotta getout of sight. The locals will be more than curious if we don't skedaddle toot-sweet."The handheld light clicked off, and his face vanished into the ambientdark, but his voice came a step closer. "Stayclose now, Cade. Peter, Paul—lead the way."

Horton gripped Cade's shoulder with a vigorous strength, and hefelt himself pushed and pulled along as invisible feet around him surgedforward, running through the darkness, dashing first to the left, then to theright, switching from side to side as if dodging unseen obstacles. Twice Cadenearly stumbled, but he caught himself, aided by strong hands at his side.

"Where are we going?" he managed, his voice low.

"Someplace safe." Horton did not sound out of breath ashe whispered, "She said you'd be hot on her trail. We went out to find youas fast as we could. And a good thing, too. The freaks have been raising hellin these tunnels all week, and their bloodletting is getting out of control.Seems they're getting restless." A short chuckle. "Maybe they'vefigured out they don't really belong here."

Cade did not feel fear,only confusion.

"I know you've got questions," Horton said. "I'lldo my best to iron them out for you, once we're safe and sound."

Cade nodded in the dark. He accepted the fact that theywere in danger. He had been from the moment he left the Gatekeeper and ventureddeep into this hell-hole. At any moment, he expected to hear the excited squealof the first cannibal who caught sight ofthem, eyes accustomed to the dark and following their every twist and turn, itsteeth, painstakingly honed into fangs, dripping with saliva at the prospect ofa fresh kill.

Then there would be others. Their shrieks of delight would echolike a chorus of demons in the bowels of a subterranean cathedral. Cade woulddispatch all that he could with his blade, but he and these silent runners withhim would be outnumbered and overwhelmed in a matter of minutes, despite theirbest efforts against such ruthless assailants.

Though I walk through the valley of theshadow of death...I will fear no evil.

He did not fear the darkness thriving Underground, nor deathitself. He did not dread meeting his Master. No follower of the Way would. Itwas not desire for a safe haven from the bloodthirsty residents of theselong-forgotten subway tunnels that drove him through the dark. It was a desireto reach the one human being he had sworn his life to protect: Irena Muldoon. For her, he would have stormed the very gates ofHell. She was his charge, and until the day she was reunited with her husband,he would hold himself entirely responsible for her life.

"Get down!" Horton tugged on Cade's shoulder with suddenferocity, and the invisible feet of the others fell silent."Anything?"

The hoarse voice that had quoted the holy scriptures earlier camefrom a meter off to the left. "Unless these lenses fail me, we're alone."

Did he wear the same goggles as the Gatekeeper, able to pierce thedarkness?

"We must waitto be sure," came the resonant baritone from hisright.

"One ofour back doors,"Horton explained in a whisper close to Cade's ear. "We've lost three ofthem in the past month due to the buggersgetting too curious. Can't let 'em do that. Anytime they do, we've got to seal it up and make a new one. Getsrather inconvenient after a while, I've gotta say."

Again Cade nodded. He did not know if Horton could see him in thedark, but he was determined to appear attentive. This was, after all, the manwho had requested his services as bodyguard for the estranged daughter he hadnot spoken to in years. As Cade served Irena Muldoon by guarding her life, he also served Cyrus Horton.

"What do you think?" the lilting female voice came frombehind him.

"The coast is clear," said the hoarse voice.

"We should wait a little longer," the deep voice murmured.

"They're nowhere in sight," retorted the hoarse voice."We're good to go."

Silence. No one wanted to be the first to move. The deafeningblack threatened to turn them into stone for all eternity.

"I hear no one in pursuit," Cade said. He trusted hissenses, those which doubled their efforts when his eyes became useless. Theyhad yet to fail him. "We are alone here. For now."

"Good enough for me!" Horton squeezed his shoulder withanother quiet laugh. "Now Peter, if you would do the honors."

The invisible figure on the left stirred, and heavy steel scrapedagainst matter of the same density, rotating by the sound of it.

"This way, lad." Horton gave Cade's shoulder a tugupward and leftward. "Watch your head."

What could have been a hatch of some kind creaked, and Cade wasled through the black into a space where the air was thicker but less foul.Invisible footsteps padded all around him, and he felt their bodies brushagainst him. They were entering a confined space.

The creak came again behind them, followed by the metallicscraping, rotating like a wheel on the hatch of a bunker, locking into placewith a resounding clunk.

"We can risk a bit of light now." The flashlight clickedon in Horton's hand. He directed its beam down a long corridor toward darkrecesses in the distance. The neglected catacombs of a dusty concrete city."This way."

The bobbing light led them onward, shining its wide, hollow eyebefore them. Cade followed close behind Horton, and the others were shadowyfigures on his heel. They