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He closed his eyes and concentrated on Nox.
Unmoving defects lay collapsed in the field.
“The fighting stopped.” He touched his temple. “It’s quiet.”
“Why does that seem like it’s too simple?” Dr. Dante nodded at the box. “Just click, and that’s it.”
“You know how fast those things move,” Phillips said. “Would you really want to do more than push a button if they turned on you?”
Dr. Dante adjusted his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose, then ran a hand over the top of his head, leaving his hair sticking up on end. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s just…”
“These men weren’t techies,” Seung said. “They were soldiers.”
“Soldiers who didn’t know what they were going into?” Johnathan said. “That’s bad leadership or stupidity.”
“At least one of them had some idea.” The man with black eyes who’d looked right through Luca. “And he had no problems with killing one of the other men when he freaked out.”
Phillips returned to the M-ATV.
“Did anyone say anything that might give a hint as to who they were or how they found us?” Dr. Dante sat beside Luca.
“I tried to ask, but he went for his gun and Seung’s wolf….” Luca glanced at her. “It did what it had to do.”
Dr. Dante leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“He did say one thing, though, right before the Fenrir killed him.” Luca tried to remember the word he’d never heard before. “Timblig? Themblig?”
“Thimblerig?” Dr. Dante said.
“Yeah.”
Dr. Dante scrunched up his nose.
“Do you know what it means?” Luca said.
“It’s another word for a shell game.”
Phillips walked over to the body slumped beside the M-ATV. She pushed the man over with her foot. Her expression didn’t change but she shook her head.
“If you know something—” Johnathan said. “—say it. Because right now, we don’t have the luxury of keeping secrets.”
Phillips glanced at the dead man. “This man’s name is David Manlin.” She returned to the van. “He’s anequam.”
“What the fuck is that?”
“It’s what we call Wardens who don’t make the cut. Usually, before they take their first test, sometimes after.”
“I take it he failed.”
“He broke in the first five minutes. And he took the test after it had been dumbed down.”
“What do you mean bydumbed down?” Luca said.
Johnathan answered. “They lowered the bar on their selection process. Happens when you get complacent and forget your roots.” He shrugged. “Even when my father has recruits who come from families who’ve held onto the belief the Sarvari existed, they rarely have the level of training they should have.”
“And people who fall that hard tend to follow, not lead.” Phillips looked at Luca when she said, “Who stabbed him?”
“He had light brown skin, kind of like me. But wore a mask and I couldn’t see his face. His eyes were dark, though, really dark. And he was the only one who seemed to know what to expect.”
