The Unfinished World (The Armor of God Book 2) Read Free Page A

hallucination,” he grumbled, looking away from her at the thick clouds above; day was finally breaking.
    “You know how the Creux plays with your head,” she replied. “Remember how we keep hearing things and words, and how at first we would forget some things we saw while we were piloting. It takes a while for us to get used to it.”
    He had already heard this attempted explanation, but he didn’t believe any of it. Ezra knew what he had seen, and how horrible it had felt to see it, and do nothing about it.
    “You know . . . there’s nothing I want more than to believe that what you’re saying is true,” he said, scrubbing his chest under the water so hard it hurt. “I would really just love to think that it didn’t really happen—that Tessa didn’t kill Barnes and Kat and probably Dr. Yuri too—like when you wake up from a nightmare. I can’t, though. I know when something’s real, and that was real. I saw their blood, I saw their faces, I saw—”
    He had to stop, and sank underwater so she couldn’t tell that he was close to crying. He wanted to stay down there, numbed by cold water, and never come out, but her hand drew him back up.
    “I believe you, Ezra,” she said.
    “You do?” he said, relieved but incredulous.
    “You don’t have a reason to lie. I believe you think you saw what you saw.”
    “But you don’t think it actually happened,” he said, and he had had enough of the conversation. Ezra swam back to the muddy bank and crawled out of the water, leaving her alone.
    Though the water was cold, the day was not, and the warmth was pleasant to his naked body. The warm humidity was something else that was new to him. Suddenly he wanted to go elsewhere to be alone for a while; he had grown tired of their company.
     
    Still wearing only the black underwear issued to him by Zenith, Ezra had fallen asleep leaning against the Minotaur’s shoulder plate. They had put their Creux to rest on their backs at the edge of the oasis, and that’s where he had found some semblance of peace: being in the only company he presently enjoyed. The thing’s massive shoulder armor was by no means soft, but it was remarkably smooth, and provided some decent support for his back and head.
    He had begun to dream again, but any moderately peaceful dream would always be interrupted by a betrayal of his imagination; he’d dream of suddenly being attacked by a monstrous Laani creature, without the protection of Besoe Nandi to save his life. He imagined being skewered or torn to pieces by the creatures, who sought revenge for all of those Ezra had killed in the guise of the Minotaur. He imagined being struck by a Carrier type, and becoming infected himself, slowly transforming into a horrible creature his friends would have to tear apart.
    Just like Jena’s father.
    Ezra shivered himself awake and was startled by a huge thing standing in front of him, silhouetted against a backdrop of deadened clouds. His eyes focused and he finally recognized Garros.
    “How long have you been standing there?” Ezra asked, using his hand to cast some shade on his eyes.
    “Not long, what do you take me for?” Garros said and took a bite of fruit—it was probably his third or fourth piece; he never seemed to be full. “Here.”
    Garros dropped a clean uniform by Ezra’s feet.
    “I noticed both your suits were a mess; I cleaned up the uniforms in the pool but they’re still wet, and you don’t want to wear them if they’re wet.” Ezra grabbed the uniform—it was far too big for him. “I was able to pack four of mine before leaving, so you can use this one while yours dries.”
    “Thank you,” Ezra said, feeling a small bit of the resentment fade away. Garros was right; the uniforms were not designed to be worn when wet—they became extremely uncomfortable, enough to impede good synchronization with the Creux.
    “I overheard you talking in the pool, Blanchard. I get how you feel, but you need to understand Erin and I