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Chapter 1

Belém, Brazil

27APR2283

THE GIRL DANCED for an audience of ghosts

She twirled in a slow, graceful h the pristine white dress that draped her lithe forh the humid air with a poise and balance Skyler had not seen in many years

She’d yet to notice hiht sun, and he’d tucked hie of the secluded square Her focus lay entirely onThe cobblestones beneath her bare feet were cracked and uneven, like everything in Belém Aside from Skyler’s motionless form, two skeletal corpses lay in one corner of the courtyard, locked in an infinite ees She paid no attention to them, either Ghosts, all

The looted remains of boutique shops hid the square from the wide avenue beyond Skyler had only stepped in to find a defensible, quiet place to prepare his o or ten he couldn’t say For now he stood, whisper quiet, beneath a stucco awning that gave so sunshine and torrential rain Pillars, once white and elegant, supported the partial ceiling They were nearly encased in flowering vines now, just like the walls and surrounding rooftops Even the statue that stood watch over the woreen, tentacular liulfed, Skyler thought Just like everywhere else

Except Darwin, of course A different scourge consuainst the nearest pillar, wholly absorbed in the fluid irl was not beautiful, not in the classic sense Not like Tania She had short auburn hair that flared as dramatically as her dress, but it was dirty and matted Her deeply tanned skin showed traces of scars on the forearms When her skirt billowed on the more enthusiastic turns, Skyler could see welts and scrapes on her toned legs Despite her exquisite ure, she was a survivor

She was an ireat care, Skyler slipped a handheld radio fro, lest the frequent anxious calls fro wilderness around hiive an account of his findings, but the sighting of an iht

Skyler thuent!" boomed a frenetic voice from the speaker In one heartbeat the serenity of the courtyard vanished

Skyler had had the voluotten later to dial it back The crass sound echoed off the walls, sending a trio of parakeets fluttering froht herself Her eyes found Skyler and widened

He started to raise his hands, a universal sign of noble intentions, but he’d scarcely leaned away froirl turned and ran

"Camp Exodus to Skyler Come in!" Karl’s voice blared from the radio

Skyler’s hand flew to the device, knocking it loose It fell to the ground in a plastic clatter He knelt, snatched it up, and wheeled the volulanced back up, the courtyard was empty "Wait!" he called out She’d darted into an open archway on the opposite side of the square, and he ran toward it, not bothering to swing his un off his shoulder

He rounded the corner into the arched tunnel and almost had his head blown off

The crack froun blotted out all other sound The bullet passed so close to his earlobe he felt a tickle Skyler skidded to a stop and dove back the way he’d co out, sending chunks of cobblestone into the air mere centimeters from his feet

"Cease fire!" he shouted, barely hearing hih-pitched whine in his head

And she did The yard fell silent again

"I mean no harm," he called out "Just … relax"

No answer cah to clear one eye The hall beyond was empty "Dammit," he un instinctively in hand now, pointed at the ground five ht attached to the barrel and bathed the hall in a pale blue bea to white a second later as the bulb cath

Her bare feet left obvious tracks in the grimy tile floor She’d taken a turn, then another, h a crack, and julass Skyler repeated her route, wondering absently how long she’d lived here, and how many times previously she’d danced in the noonday sun without a care in the world

Often, till I caht

At the end of the hall he ca white dress lay in a heap in the doorjamb, a portion of the skirt hooked by a nasty splinter that jutted froarless trinket it was

Theon the far wall had been thrown open, and he could see the wide, churning waters of the Rio Pará beyond

In another corner he saw a green bedroll, upright and neatly tied in a circular bundle A lantern sat on the floor next to it

His ears still rang from the woman’s failed atte taunts at him from outside and he doubted he’d hear it Nevertheless he chanced a look out the

The young woes that fronted the swift river She was naked save for a pair of hiking boots on her feet In one hand dangled her pistol, and she clutched a heavy olive-green backpack in the other As he watched she shi over one shoulder, then the other, before disappearing from view

Not once did she look back

Skyler sighed "I’ the radio, he switched it on and immediately heard Karl’s frantic voice

"--in now Urgent!"

"What? What?!" Skyler growled into theanymore "You just scared off--"

"Skyler, thank God So with a tower"

He closed his eyes and willed himself to relax "They stole it?"

"No God, no They orking on the reservoir peri in the rainforest They’ve made no contact since"