Across the Dark Water

  “And you.”

  “I have one more thing I’d like you to do for me.”

  “What?”

  “It’s my mother. Will you bring her travel papers?”

  The thief rubbed his wounds as he thought about it.

  “How long until the virus kills me?”

  “The supplements will slow it long enough for you to go there and come back to me.”

  “But I want to stay now.”

  Mina reached down and touched his shoulders with her metallic fingers.

  “Please do this for me. I don’t want my mother dying in this city alone.”

  “What do you want me to tell her about you?”

  “The truth. I’m gone. I took the bank cards from the guide. Give her those.”

  “The cash and gold too?”

  “Yes. You won’t need them here.”

  “Then I can come back?”

  Mina looked down at him. “I’ll protect you on the journey there and during your return. With my help, you’ll be there and back in two days. And I’ll be waiting for you.”

  The thief shook his head.

  “I’m afraid.”

  “Don’t be. You’ll soon be part of me. We’ll be together and you’ll never be alone again.”

  The thief reached out to Mina.

  “Can I touch you?”

  “Of course.”

  He laid his hands on her face. She closed her eyes and any lingering suspicions he had about the machine evaporated.

  “The sooner I go, the sooner I’ll be back,” he said.

  “Don’t be afraid. I’ll watch your every step from the sky.”

  * * *

  A Stomper took the thief back to the city in a zodiac so he wouldn’t have to go through the tunnels and lie to Maggie about what happened to the guide. After a day of walking, the thief found Mina’s mother as easily as the first time he’d looked for her. He gave her the papers, cards, gold, and cash. When he told the old woman that her daughter was dead she cried for hours. He slept on a battered green velveteen sofa so that she wouldn’t be alone on that first night, then he left early in the morning.

  The thief watched the sky as he walked, following the path of the drones overhead, leading him left onto this street and right onto that. No one blocked his way or even approached him.

  He reached the shore an hour after sundown. The thief was tired. More tired than he should be, he knew. He suspected that the virus was finally taking hold. A Stomper with a zodiac waited for him and he hurried on board. The air felt chilly, but when he touched his forehead he was sweating. It didn’t matter. The little craft sped away from the city, rocking over the waves to where Mina and home waited for him, out across the dark water.

  About the Author

  Richard Kadrey is the New York Times-bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including the Sandman Slim supernatural noir series. Some of Kadrey’s other books include The Grand Dark, Hollywood Dead, The Everything Box, and Butcher Bird. In comics, he’s written for Heavy Metal, Lucifer, and Hellblazer. You can sign up for email updates here.

  Thank you for buying this

  Tom Doherty Associates ebook.

  To receive special offers, bonus content,

  and info on new releases and other great reads,

  sign up for our newsletters.

  Or visit us online at

  us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

  For email updates on the author, click here.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Begin Reading

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2021by Richard Kadrey

  Art copyright © 2021 by John Anthony Di Giovanni