Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 84
him."
Jordan blinked at her. This was too strange to question;
he could not fit any of it into his understanding of the world.
Lady May seemed to sense his confusion. "The rest is
simple," she said. "All 3340's agents are being hunted down
and killed. Axel Chan and I have come to find Armiger, and
destroy him. Destroy it; Armiger's not a human being like you
and me."
"But he died."
"And you went on receiving from him after he died?
He's not dead, although he might not realize it himself yet, if he
has gone insane. When we came here, Axel and I could not
discover Armiger, but we found you. And we found there was
maybe a way to use you to find him. Our intention was to hire
you away from your father, as an apprentice. I travelled with
Turcaret for credibility's sake, to negotiate that with Castor.
Castor would have none of it, though; maybe it was Turcaret
poisoning his mind about your sister, he realized he couldn't
shatter the whole family and chose Emmy. We were stuck until
your sister ran into the woods. You see," she shot him a
conspiratorial smile, "it was the perfect opportunity, and I
really had no time to explain."
"So you made me dream."
broadcasting a signal to his eyes and ears. Trying to summon
them home, maybe. A good happenstance, since we still can't
track Armiger directly through your implants. But you can tell
us where he is. Better and better."
"For you, maybe." He stood up and walked away from
the fire, to peer out the rain-runneled window. Instead of
telling him something he could make sense of, she'd prattled a
tale of insanity. "You're telling me you're from the stars, too."