Lucy-Anne started crying, grasping her friend, burying her face in his jacket. Jack had never seen her so vulnerable. Whatever had happened to her, whatever she had seen, must have been terrible. He wondered what had happened to the boy Rook.
But he feared that finding out would only add to the weight of responsibility he felt. He had no power to counter that, no unknown star in his new universe that could temper the fates being piled on him. Rhali, the poor girl who'd had terrible things done to her, and he'd not even had the time to ask what. Lucy-Anne, his old girlfriend, confused and suffering and with so much to tell. Sparky and Jenna, still with him because they valued their friendship so much. Breezer. Even his father. That bastard Reaper, following him and protecting him, or perhaps merely playing with him now that Miller was no longer such an exciting plaything.
The bomb, London, Nomad, his expanding starscape of wonders, and his potential for contagion.
He wished he could shrug them all off and be on his own, unhindered and free. He closed his eyes but it didn't work. He hadn't chosen all this at all; it had been thrust upon him. Nomad was to blame.
When he opened his eyes Jenna was staring at him, and he thought of reaching out and touching her, as Nomad had touched him. His vision swam red. Red, for danger. What would I give her? he thought, and then his musings were interrupted.
“Where it all began,” Sparky said. He had moved into the boat's open bow and was staring to starboard, and they all watched as the London Eye came into view around a bend in the river. It was still quite awesome, even with everything it represented. The scar in its upper reaches was charred black and angry, and somewhere behind it on the embankment lay the remains of Nomad's helicopter. She had been Angelina Walker back then, a normal human being. She had changed everything.
“Maybe twenty minutes from here,” Breezer said from the cabin. “Make the most of the rest.”
The strange new smells of London, the sights, and occasionally the sounds—today this truly was the best view anyone could have of London, from the river at least. The Houses of Parliament remained as impressive and imposing as ever. Next to them, the clock on Big Ben's tower was frozen at a moment in time, the bell now silent. The moment meant nothing but the end of the clock's constant round of maintenance.
The quiet and stillness along the river was as unnatural as in the rest of the city, because this was a place built for life, bustle, and commerce. The only movements were the bow wave from their boat blurring the water's surface, and the flights of birds startled aloft by the engine. Sunlight reflected from dusty windows, hiding grotesque truths inside. Uneven huddles of clothing along the north and south embankments were too distant to make out fully, and for that Jack was glad. He knew they were bodies, but not seeing them meant he could pretend they were something else.
The stillness could not last forever. Jack saw the first movements just as they passed beneath Waterloo Bridge, and for an instant he was afraid they were Choppers. They'd be drawn to the noise for sure, but he'd hoped their journey would be so rapid that they'd be out of the boat and gone before anyone arrived. It could be that Reaper was still shadowing them—Fleeter didn't seem concerned with sharing that information, and Jack was not going to humour her by asking—but Jack would still ready himself to protect them. Reaper played games.
“See them?” Rhali asked.
“How long have they been there?” Jack asked.
“I first sensed them just a few minutes ago. They're not following us, I don't think. They're just coming to cross the river.”
“Like those weird women.”
“Yes.”
“So what is it they suddenly want south of the river?” Sparky asked.
Jack glanced at Lucy-Anne, but she seemed not to be listening. Eyes open, she was somewhere else.