Page 84 of Circle of Death
Margo shifts her chair closer to mine and squeezes my hand under the table. “Just letting you know,” she whispers, “I’m not letting go.”
“Joined at the hip,” I whisper back. “Forever.” Maddy is sitting on my other side, with Bando on her lap. She looks more at peace than I’ve seen her in a long time. Our wise teacher is sitting at the opposite end. It’s a rare honor to have Dache break bread with the family.
But that’s not the most amazing part of the guest list tonight.
Because sitting across from me are four people I thought I’d never see again.
“Nice to be back—right, boss?” says Tapper.
Hawkeye stands up to propose a toast. “To the man of the hour!”
He doesn’t mean me.
Everybody turns—to Burbank.
Hawkeye raises his glass. “Here’s to the only man I know who could divert a killer drone at the very last second—with a jammer built from spare parts.”
Burbank almost smiles. “Itoldyou you never know what you’ll need,” he says.
Jericho raises his glass even higher. “I’ll never knock you for overpacking again!”
I pick up my glass and stand up halfway. Best I can do. “To Burbank!” I call out.
Everybody clinks and drinks. I can tell that Burbank is still uncomfortable being the center of attention, even when he’s more than earned it.
Jessica is at the other end of the table, spooning another helping of lasagna onto Dache’s plate. “Eat up,” she says. “I made it vegetarian just for you.”
Jericho turns toward Maddy with a booming voice. He’s already on his second glass of cabernet, or maybe his third. “So—Shadow Girl—how did all this craziness compare to the stories in your book collection?”
The table quiets down. Everybody waits for Maddy’s reply. She probably remembers more about the Shadow’s adventures than any of us, including me.
“It was right up there,” she says. “Pretty satisfying ending.” A little pause. “Except for one thing.”
I see Dache raise an eyebrow.
Maddy leans forward in her seat. “I have a lingering question,” she says. “And it’s a big one—mind-blowing, in fact. I’ve been thinking about it since yesterday.”
We all lean in.
Maddy rests her palms on the table and clears her throat. “Okay. The Shadow traveled back in time to kill Shiwan Khan, right? Hundreds of years in the past.” I shift my sore leg. I already know where this is headed. “So if Khan died back then,” Maddy continues, “how the hell was he still alive, ready to kill all of us, just last night? Why didn’t dying in his past negate his future? Is there some piece of the time–space continuum that I’m missing?”
Tapper thinks about it for a second, then goes back to his lasagna. “Way over my head,” he says.
“If he’s gone now, does it really matter?” asks Hawkeye.
“Actually, it’s a very good question,” says Margo. She looks down to the end of the table. “Maybe Dache can answer it for us.”
We all look in his direction. Dache takes a slow sip of his wine.
“How about it, Dache?” asks Maddy. “Does it mean Khan isn’t really gone? Is he lingering in some other dimension?”
Dache stays silent for a few seconds, as if he’s thinking it over. Then he smiles.
“Sorry, Madeline,” he says. “No lessons tonight. Only lasagna.”
“Good enough for me!” booms Jericho.
And that’s it. Everybody goes back to eating and drinking. Margo leans over to whisper in my ear. “I know what you’re thinking.”
