Echo City by Tim Lebbon Page A

tapped her hip, aching a little after their long walk. “I’m not as fast as
I
was, you know.”
    “But I did a good job on that.” He looked at her at last, and she saw tears in his eyes. Tears, and something else: regret.
    And she wondered suddenly how she had been so fucking stupid all this time.
Old man
, she sometimes jokingly called him, but it
was
how she perceived him. Just what had he thought of those words coming from the woman he loved? She could never know. Even if Rufus had not come along, it was far too late, because they had become such good friends.
    “I’ll miss you,” he said.
    What do I say?
She hugged him tight, confused, and angry at herself for being so selfish that she had never seen.
    Penler held her. The three of them stood in silence, and Peer felt the pressure of that silence weighing on her.
He’s waiting for me to say something
. But she did not know what to say.
I’m sorry
just wouldn’t do, and time was passing.
    “You need to give me an hour,” he said, pulling away from her and staring back across the Levels.
    “When will we know it’s time to go?”
    “You’ll know.” He’d strengthened now, looking forward, bringing himself back to what needed doing to get Peer and Rufus away. Out of his life forever.
    “Penler …” she said.
    He smiled softly. “You’ll do fine.”
    “No, I don’t mean … I wanted to say …” But she’d been blind all this time, and opening her eyes at the end would be pointless.
    “Just remember me,” Penler said.
    “I will see you again,” she replied.
    His smile dropped, but only slightly. They both realized the likelihood of that.
    Penler gave Rufus a one-armed hug before he went, then weaved his way back along the narrow street and disappeared into the blackened heart of a ruined temple. As well as letting go of Peer, he was saying goodbye to this remarkable visitor from the desert.
    “Friends,” Rufus said, looking after Penler.
    “Yes, we are,” Peer said. A sense of loss hit her in the gut, and she sat down heavily against the wall. They had a while to wait. And for her last hour in Skulk Canton, Peer reflected upon how self-obsessed she had been.

The previous day’s rains had turned the Levels to muck. Peer could see the black pools from where they waited, and she knew that the crossing would not be easy. The Levels were not actually level at all; the destruction a century before had been rushed, and here and there some remains still stood. Walls were piled with debris, and the dark pits of exposed basements led down to older Echoes. She hoped that whatever Penler planned, he gave them long enough.
    Each of the three watchtowers she could see was manned. The guards in one were still cooking, and distant laughter came her way. In the second tower there had been movement as several Border Spites changed watch, and from the third she’d seen a guard pissing over the side.
    “You’d better be who we think you are,” she said mildly.
    Rufus still wore that lost expression.
    “You remember nothing from out there?” she asked.
    “Bones,” he said. “Sand. Dead desert.” He looked down at his hands, twisted in his lap.
    “And nothing from before?”
    Rufus shook his head. “Maybe … there is nothing.”
    “No,” Peer said. “I don’t believe that. I
can’t
. Do you feel sick, weak? No, you’re fine. You’re good. You’re getting
better!
So there’s something about you …”
    Rufus looked at her and glanced away again, perhaps not understanding. He stared across the Levels at the beginnings of Course Canton beyond. The buildings were low and stark,most of them abandoned this close to Skulk, but they still carried a heavy significance. Over there was freedom and choice. Over here was imprisonment and necessity. The Levels were where everything changed.
    “You told me I’m not her. So who are you looking for?”
    “I don’t know,” he said, perhaps too sharply. And the first explosion came from the