Repairer of the Breach (Stones of Fire Book 4) by Sarah Ashwood (reading eggs books .TXT) 📗

all the chaos there, answering phones is the last thing on their minds. Or else the explosion tore up their phone lines. I couldn’t think of anyone else to call except you.”

The rest of her explanation fell on deaf ears. All I heard was something Carter might need. My mind drew a blank. His gun? No doubt he had plenty of those, or access to them. What could the detective possibly have, and why would she care…

“The sword,” she said, putting an end to my mental guessing game.

The two words struck me mentally, emotionally like a pin pricking a balloon. The air went out of me. I sank back against the pillows. Of course. The sword that the angel—I believed it was an angel—had given Carter. How could we have forgotten it? As I recalled the sword and its giver, I recalled the strange adventure, the mini quest, in that other world. Of the value every creature I’d encountered had placed on Carter, calling him the Repairer of the Breach, making sure he survived. Making sure he returned home.

“Ellie? Are you there?”

“I—I’m sorry. Yes, I’m still here. I was thinking.”

“About?”

I swallowed hard. “About the sword and what it means to Carter. About this war he and Sean Costas are heading up. About the angel calling him the Repairer of the Breach.”

“The angel? Repairer of the Breach? What?”

So. The detective knew some things and not others.

“It’s a long story,” I said, pushing my body upright. Energy coursed through my veins. “Can you pick me up in about a half-hour? I’ll be ready to go then. Bring the sword, of course.”

“You’ll be ready to go where?” I heard the hesitancy in her voice. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I paused in trying to work my foot into my shoe, which had been on the floor next to my bed.

“I think we’re going to take the sword to Carter. He needs it.”

“I thought you were done with him and his war.”

“I was,” I admitted. “I thought I’d walked away for good. But I forgot about the sword.”

“You really think it’s that important? That it can change what’s going to happen?”

“Maybe not just change it,” I said soberly. “Maybe stop it—avoid the fight altogether. That title, Detective Ewing. It has to mean something. Everything we went through in the world the Stones sent us to—it has to mean something. If it wasn’t talking about this, then what?”

“I can’t answer that, because I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” the cop grumbled.

I half-laughed. “I know. If you can pick me up, I’ll tell you on the way to the Costas home.”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” she agreed, and hung up.

My earlier anger and anguish were forgotten. Renewed with hope, hope that perhaps I could stop a war, prevent bloodshed, and save lives—possibly even save Carter’s life—I flew to get dressed.

“Please don’t do anything stupid, Carter,” I pleaded under my breath. “And please stay safe. I’m coming. I’m coming.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Have you gotten a response yet?”

Carter glanced up from the computer screen in front of him to see his boss looking over his shoulder. James’ control room in the mansion was mostly intact and still useable. It had become the mansion’s temporary base of operations.

“I miss James being here to run this crap,” he admitted, rolling out his neck, “but with Eric’s help I tracked down phone numbers for some of Nosizwe’s people. They wouldn’t put me through to her directly, but I got the word to someone close to her. Told them to be at the Fossil Edge Nature Preserve at eight tonight. It will be closed. Plenty of room in the middle for privacy; plenty of room for a brawl with no innocent bystanders around to get hurt. And no witnesses to see anything. I told them we had Ciara’s red cap. I told them we had me.”

Carter released a breath. Never thought I’d be using myself as a bargaining chip in this war.

“Told them we’d talk or we’d fight, but we were ending it here. Nosizwe and Ciara show up with ten of their most trusted and we do the same. It’s gone on long enough.”

“What was her response?”

“Nothing yet. The message is being passed along.” He scooted the rolling chair back from the desk, stood. “But I don’t think it’ll be a problem. How can they not come?”

Ciara wanted her red cap, her ability to return to the sea, her true home and forever love. That’s what this was about for her, wasn’t it? Controlling her own destiny? Nosizwe wanted the power of the Stones. Only Carter could give that to her. He and Sean hadn’t worked out exactly how, but they were going to use her needs against her.

“True.” His boss nodded thoughtfully. “And when they do…what are we prepared to offer? Do we offer, or do we take?”

Carter jerked his chin towards the doorway. “Let’s talk outside.”

Sean didn’t dispute, trailing him as he passed outside what remained of the mansion and far enough away from the house, into the back gardens, that they didn’t have to risk being overheard. When they stopped, Sean pulled a cigar from the breast pocket of his shirt and a lighter from the pocket of his slacks. He lit it, waiting until he’d inhaled a couple of times before asking, “Still don’t trust everyone inside?”

“I don’t know what bugs James may have put up inside the house. For that matter, I don’t know what bugs James may have put up out here, but it’s not as likely we’ll be overheard if Liberty somehow still has access,” Carter admitted, glancing around at the darkened trees, benches, hedges…

James had been a force unto himself. Sure, he’d answered ultimately to Carter and to Sean, but he was so good at what he did that most of his work went unchecked. It would take time for Eric to fully navigate the intricacies of his system, and even in that there was risk. Who knew for certain if