Morning Rain

The crystal shattered.

The explosion of energy was silent, a vacuum that sucked the magic out of the air. The Shadow dissolved in Val’s arms. The walls of the Blackwood stopped bleeding.

Val fell onto his back, staring up at the gray sky. The rain felt cold. It felt good.

He turned his head. Lyra was lying a few feet away, unconscious.

"Lyra?"

He scrambled over to her, his movements sluggish. His regeneration was slow; the Shadow had taken a toll on his vitality. He pressed his ear to her chest.

* Whir... click. Whir... click.*

Val let out a breath that was half-sob, half-laugh. He picked her up. She was light, so incredibly light. He cradled her against his chest, shielding her from the rain with his own body.

\---

Val sat on the curb outside the Blackwood Hotel, a paramedic blanket draped over his shoulders. The morning sun was trying to break through the mist.

"Mr. Cross?"

He looked up. Lyra was sitting on the tailgate of an ambulance, her arm in a sling, a bandage on her forehead. She looked like she’d been through a war, but she was smiling.

Val stood up and walked over. "You okay, Vance?"

"Hairline fracture on the ulna. Minor concussion. Device needs recalibration," she recited. Then she softened. "I'm alive."

"Yeah," Val said. He looked at his hands. They were fully healed. "We both are."

"You were slow to heal up there," she observed. "You actually have a limit."

"Maybe," Val said. "Or maybe I just found something worth bleeding for."

Lyra adjusted her glasses, hiding a blush. "Well. The city council will pay out the contract tomorrow. I suppose you’ll go back to brooding in your office?"

Val reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled business card—his own. He handed it to her.

"I need a consultant," he said. "Someone to handle the 'key' stuff while I handle the 'shield' stuff. The office has terrible coffee, but the rent is paid."

Lyra took the card. She looked at the towering, silent hulk of the Blackwood, then back at the invincible detective with the tired eyes.

"I drink tea," she said. "And I require a dental plan."

Val grinned—a real one this time. "Don't push your luck, kid. Come on. I'll buy you breakfast."

They walked away from the cordon, into the waking city. The rain had stopped.