Harry spun around to face her with his mouth agape, then shook his head in dismay. “They told me no,” he went on. “It was all me, Anna. Simple human arrogance. I thought I could control the power…”
“Oh, Harry,” Anna murmured. “It could have happened to anyone.”
Harry pulled out of her embrace and held the N’Jal up, studying it. “This thing cost me my daughter,” he whispered. “And I have to keep it because I have no idea what the Overseers will do if I don’t hold up my end of the bargain.”
“We can fight them,” Anna said. “Together.”
He shook his head. “I can’t risk it.”
With a thought, he let the N’Jal bond with him again. “Let” being the operative word. The device was alive. In a way, it was as much a symbiont as Anna’s Nassai. It wanted to bond with any host it could find. Unlike mos
