He looked over at her. “I don’t understand it, either. But it isn’t my place to refuse. If the Lady asks it of me, I am required to comply. It is in the nature of my oath as a Knight of the Word.”
She could tell that his mind was made up, that there was no arguing the point. His sense of duty was too strong to be swayed by anything she might say.
“Hey, Owl, we’ll be all right. We can manage without Mister Knight of His Broken Word.” Panther sounded angry. He practically sneered. “Come and go as he pleases, that’s him. No matter who saved his life, he’s gonna do what he wants to do. We can be damned, for all it matters.”
“Shut up, Panther,” Catalya snapped.
“Yeah, shut up!” Sparrow echoed.
Panther stared at them, then shrugged and walked away. “Do whatever you ladies say,” he called over his shoulder. “You just ask.”
“I’m leaving the AV,” Logan told Owl. He looked around, found Fixit, and tossed him the keys. “You’re in charge. You know best how she works. Take good care of her until I get back.”
Fixit nodded but said nothing.
Hawk walked over. “We know you have to go,” he said. He waited for Logan to look at him. “It’s all right. Don’t worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. We’re together now, and we have Cheney. We’ll be careful.”
“Yeah, don’t be worrying about us!” Panther echoed from twenty feet away.
Logan shoved the last of his supplies into the pack and stood up. “I know I don’t have to worry. But I will anyway.” He glanced again at Owl. “Listen to her advice. She’s the one who will do the best to take care of all of you. Do what she says.”
Hawk gave him a faint grin. “We know that.”
“I’ll be back as quick as I can manage it.”
“Quicker, if it’s possible,” Owl called to him.
She watched him sling the backpack over one shoulder and pick up his black staff. She saw him start to say something and then stop. He shook his head.
All at once Candle came running over to him and threw her arms around his waist. “Come back to us,” she said, her voice so soft that only Owl and Logan heard clearly.
The Knight of the Word put a hand on the little girl’s head and pressed her against him. “I will, Candle.”
He met Owl’s eyes briefly and looked away. Then he disengaged himself from Candle and began walking down the freeway. He took long, steady strides, the tip of his staff clacking softly against the pavement.
Owl and the others watched after him until he was out of sight.
EIGHT
T HE DAY IMPROVED with the passing of the hours as the sun brightened, the haze lifted, and the sky cleared. Logan Tom made good progress following the highway south through the foothills, the slopes he was forced to climb gentle enough that they did not wear him down. He knew he hadn’t recovered from the aftereffects of his battle with Krilka Koos; he could feel it in the ache of his muscles and stiffness of his joints. But whatever Hawk had done to bring him out of his coma had also healed the worst of his injuries. Walking helped loosen him up, the blood and adrenaline pumping through him working like a restorative.
He kept a sharp eye out for any sign of danger, but saw nothing. Now and then a bird would wing its way overhead, sometimes more than one, and once he saw what might have been a fox. He couldn’t be sure; he was too far away to make it out clearly. He passed abandoned, rusted-out vehicles and piles of debris. He passed downed trees and limbs, pieces of fence wiring, and old tires and axles, all reminders of what was past, all of it useless. Even after so many years, it made him sad.
In the welter of his sadness, he found himself mulling over what he knew about the direction of things. The world’s destruction was imminent, its end a certainty. All the terrible things that had happened before were just a prelude to this finishing off, this endgame. When it was over, everything would be changed. What would the world be like then? What shape would it take in the aftermath? Would the people and creatures led to safety by Hawk be all that were left? Would anything else survive, anything outside the protection of the safehold? How long would it be before they could reemerge from hiding?
So many questions, and no answers to be had. He wondered if even the Lady knew how things would turn out. He thought that maybe she knew better than he did, but perhaps not so well as he imagined.