Book 2 - The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks

Author:Terry Brooks [Brooks, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction
ISBN: 9780345484130
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 2007-08-28T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter SEVENTEEN

FIXIT WAS DEVASTATED. He was in despair. Owl could see it in his face as she wheeled herself over to where he was still being congratulated for his daring rescue. He might want to believe that it wasn’t his fault that River’s grandfather was dead, but she could tell that he couldn’t quite convince himself. She knew what he was thinking. If he hadn’t been so quick. If he had just taken a moment to check. If he hadn’t driven so wildly. If he had not become distracted.

If.

She wanted to talk to him, to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault. But before she could reach him, Logan called out sharply. “All of you! Get away from the fence! Get back over here by the Lightning! Now!”

Everyone looked at him in surprise, and then to where he was pointing. Dozens of tiny machines had emerged from out of the complex, machines of all shapes and looks. Like ants, they swarmed over the corpses of their fallen brethren, extruding tiny welders and tools. Without pausing, they went to work on the larger machines, repairing or replacing the broken parts, slowly but surely putting them back together. Another dozen had come straight for the fence and were reattaching the damaged links. The entire concrete surface surrounding the haulers was alive with activity.

Panther snatched up his Parkhan Spray and swung the barrel toward the enclosure, but Logan shouted at him. “Leave it, Panther! We don’t want to give them a reason to come out here. Let them do what they were programmed to do. Pack it up, and let’s go.”

Reluctantly, Panther turned away, muttering something about “Creepers.” The Ghosts trotted back over to the AV and the shopping cart, where Logan assigned them their places. He put Candle in the front passenger’s seat of the Lightning and River in back with her grandfather. He was heading for Owl when she waved him off. Instead she wheeled herself up to Fixit. “Would you push me for a while?” she asked him. “I need to be out in the open air.”

Logan chained the boy with the ruined face to the shopping cart, told him he could walk for a while, put Bear next to him as guard, and ordered Panther to stay away. They set out within minutes, once more heading south, leaving Oronyx Experimental and its machines behind. They did not yet have the hauler they needed, but Logan told them not to worry. They would find something on the way, something not so heavily guarded.

The afternoon was waning, the sky losing its light and the shadows beginning to lengthen. There was an unusual chill to the normally sultry, stagnant air, but Owl didn’t want to ask Fixit to bring her a sweater or blanket because she was afraid of losing him. She wanted to keep him close until she had said to him what she thought needed saying. She didn’t speak to him right away, however. She let him push her in silence, let the tension drain away.

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