Ryan had finally gotten to sleep when Jane came through with the news that the border patrols were thinning near LaGrande. It was time to move.
The late afternoon sun shone down hot and bright into the ash canyon where they'd been hiding out. The whitish gray walls had heated up over the course of the day, and the temperature was becoming almost unbearable. But Ryan was so exhausted that he'd slept a little despite the heat.
"Let's roll," came Axler's voice.
Ryan rubbed his eyes and sat up in the seat of the helicopter, snapping his vertebrae into line. "I'll help you get the camouflage netting off," he said.
"Already done."
Dhin powered up the rotors and they lifted off, headed back toward the compound above Hells Canyon. He vectored out and cranked up the jets to maximum velocity. Soon they were sailing across the border. Jane's plan had worked; they'd evaded the Tir border patrol through patience and proper intelligence.
A few minutes after they'd crossed into Salish-Shidhe territory, Ryan's wristphone beeped. It was Jane, and for a second he wondered why she wasn't using the communications relay in the helo.
"I needed to speak to you privately," she said. "It's about the Dragon Heart."
He brought the phone to his mouth. "What about it?"
"I hear you've decided not to carry out Dunkelzahn's mission."
"Has Lethe been talking to you? I-"
"Is it true?" Jane's tone was accusatory.
"Not exactly," Ryan said. "I just want to think about it first."
"What's to think about? You've always done the dragon's bidding. That's what you do. That's why he chose you." "Maybe I need more now," said Ryan. "Like what?" "I need a reason."
"A reason for what?" Jane's tone was sarcastic and grating. "To save the world?"
"A reason to risk my life for someone else's plan. A plan, I might add, that I know nothing about."
"You have to trust Dunkelzahn."
"Well, I don't anymore," Ryan said. "I don't trust anyone."
"So you're committed to this new course?"
"I'm keeping the Dragon Heart, Jane," Ryan said. "It was willed to me, and I can use it effectively against whatever enemies Dunkelzahn had. I'm going to track down whoever killed him, and bring them to justice."
"I'm afraid," Jane said, "that I will have to intervene."
Ryan laughed aloud. "Am I supposed to be scared?" But the line was dead before the words were even out of his mouth.
Slitch! Ryan thought. What can she do to me anyhow? He wanted this whole run to be over, and he needed rest. Soon they'd be on the ground again. Maybe then he could find a proper bed and get some sleep.