"Guards fighting to the death, though," Juneau chimed in merrily on the comm. It felt good to hold the Immortal Council's radio in my hand and see the city collapse, but the victory was hollow with Alan still out there.
Gomez came on the line, finally. "The harvester liberation is going according to plan. We've got the harvesters evacuating. Kane and Roxy are leading them to the river for an escape. Our defenses remain stable." He paused for a terrible beat. "I'm sorry about Zach."
"Thank you," I managed to reply. "We're going to regroup here and go after Alan." His name soured my mouth. I dropped my hand from the comm. Everything around me seemed to still. One foot after the other.
Another voice broke in on the line. A crumble of static followed a curse. "I'm here," Reshi muttered, sounding ruffled. My heart genuinely lifted for a moment, brief relief flitting through my numbness. "I had to dispose of Marek with the other Coalition members. The patrols attacking the room fled as well. Marek really tried to turn against us, but we put up a good fight. I can still work on the spells, if that's an option." Yes. It was our only way to regain control from Alan.
"Please do," I said into the comm. "We need to capture those revenants." If she could disable them, we’d only have Alan and his maker guards to worry about. I hoped. What if he was heading toward something worse than the airship? My pulse spiked with urgency.
"I'll do everything I can," Reshi promised. "It'll take us a few hours to undo this incredibly complex spell. We can release the revenants from Alan's control after that. I won't be able to turn them back the way they were, though… they're too far gone. I've already seen that in all my research…" I could practically see her frenzied form bent toward the screen in the control room. She would work tirelessly until she found something. My faith rested in her brilliance and my team’s determination.
"Reckless," Sen whispered as she bent her beak toward Ruk. I hadn't noticed, but his form was left frailer than ever after he’d shifted back. He looked like a starved monk in his emaciated humanoid form. His cheekbones jutted viciously beneath his taut skin. "You don't have enough energy left to run around like that." Sen looked smaller after healing our team, her bird form shrinking as she gifted us energy.
Ruk gave a sigh of relief as Sen poured energy into him. I registered the need to be grateful for their help, but pain and grief were blocking out every other emotion. I could barely focus on the tasks ahead of us, but I was thankful for Sen. She said nothing when I shot her a curious look. She’s more than neutral when it counts.
"We can do it," Dorian assured me. His hand gently squeezed my shoulder. "You're right. This is what Zach would've wanted us to do." I loved him for not immediately telling me that he knew exactly how this felt, although I knew that conversation would come later. I leaned into his touch for a moment. We would hunt down Alan. A fiery determination rose inside me. The string pulling me toward something—destiny, the end of the world, my own end. It tugged hard.
I met Dorian's gaze with a look of promise. "We will get him," I said passionately. His breath hitched for a moment as he took in my determined expression. If there was anyone I could count on, it was him. I pressed my hand over his and squeezed. "Let's do this."
Inkarri drew herself up and stepped beside me. Her resolve matched mine. "You're right. The Immortal Plane and your Mortal Plane aren't safe with that monster in the sky." She still sneered when she mentioned my own world, but her hostility was tempered now. "I can work with you once more. This stupid pact won't allow us to fight, anyway. Understand me, human. I fought for my father until his dying breath because it was my duty, but I don’t want the world to end any more than you do."
Something in her voice rang true, and I actually believed her. But that didn’t mean I trusted her. I studied her face, evaluating.
"And what's your duty now?" She had to be on our side for real this time if we hoped for this to work. I wouldn’t make any more mistakes.
"My duty is to stop the planes from collapsing and protect whatever remains of my city." Inkarri bowed her head slightly. "I'm still a warrior, bound by honor.”
As am I.
"Fine, but no tricks this time. You’re either with us, or you’re not. I've had the last I can stand of sudden betrayals," I said with dark warning, but I could see she was serious. Some part of her wanted to save the universe. I was sure that even with her complex grief, she wanted to avenge her father… or perhaps what he once stood for. I pushed down my resentment. If she’d resisted her father's orders and helped us, this might've been prevented. I can't torture myself with ifs.
I stared at Zach, a fire smoldering deep inside me. Gina quieted, her sobs growing more muffled by the second. She refused to let go of Zach. She would have to hold him for the both of us.
"The less time we give Alan to regroup, the better our chances," I said to our group. Dorian gave a sharp nod.
"We can have Bravi take care of the city. It's not like she'll need to do much, with everyone revolting against the rulers," Dorian said. He commed Bravi, reporting the sentiment.
Bravi let out a rough grunt. "Go hunting and leave me with the city. I'll send Laini and Juneau back to you if you send me the rest of your warriors. Juneau’s pretty face is more hindrance than help in this crowd."
Speaking of leaving… The ship had gone north, in roughly the direction of the energy farms, except it looked as if the ship wasn't heading there. I followed the line of where I’d last seen the aircraft in the sky. "Where are they going?"
"My father had a place northeast of here up the coast, past an inlet of the ocean," Inkarri answered. "It looks like that’s where he's going. My father used it as a retreat, but I don't know what he kept there. He never told me; he only shared the location and his plans with a discreet few. If Alan's group of makers is as good as they seem, he could've discovered the location." The information chilled me. If he’d hidden this airship, then he might have something even worse stowed away at this other location.
We had a direction and a target. It was time to destroy Alan. Not only for the world, but to avenge Zach's life. I motioned for our group to gather as Laini and Juneau arrived. Dorian hovered close to me, which I appreciated in a dull way.
"Wait," Gina cried. She eased Zach's body to the ground, finally tearing herself away from him. A final tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm coming with you." Angry motivation burned within her. My own cold determination understood her demand entirely.
For Zach.
* * *
Our ragged group managed to round up enough healthy redbills for our flight. The others roosted on the rooftop, watching us mount up. We left Irrikus to rest where he lay, but for Zach… Juneau gently fastened his own splendid outer cloak around my brother. Ruk worked a forcefield over him. Only Reshi or Bravi could break through it. If there was ever an option to come back and give him a proper burial…
The tears threatened again. I pushed them back with reminders of our quest ahead. Later. Everything would have to wait until after this battle was over. It was the most logical thing to do. Time was of the essence.
We flew. I rode Drigar with Dorian, flanked by Laini and Juneau on one side and Sen on the other. Gina and Ruk sat atop Sen, who’d maintained her avian form to make things easier. Ruk required more rest before he could pull off any more dragon-like bodies. Inkarri steered her own skimmer, having pointed out that the newly improved gem cannons were an asset. Sonia was on board with her, since Inkarri refused to leave her behind. I didn’t think Sonia was a bad person even if she made a mistake, but our priority was Alan at the moment. We had managed to check in with Reshi and left her to work in a frenzy with Bravi joining her. She informed us that she took care of Marek with the other Coalition members. They planned to take over the senate before the rioters could reach them.
Below us, the smashed and burning city of Itzarriol fell away.
A memory flashed in my mind. Zach laughing at Bravi for holding a cellphone upside down. It was right after our fight t
o defend Moab, and before our first official trip into the Immortal Plane. I remembered the way the laughter crinkled the corners of his eyes.
I held on tighter to Dorian.
Another memory overtook me. Gina and I working over Zach’s leg wound while we hid from the Bureau in the mountain resort. He’d gotten shot on the airstrip trying to help the vampires, even back before he was completely convinced the vampires weren’t evil. My brother had always had a golden heart.
I clenched my eyes shut.
The memories kept coming. Zach’s laugh. Zach with Mom and Dad. Zach helping me awkwardly introduce Dorian to our parents in our apartment in Chicago.
“I’ll cry later,” I whispered to myself, wiping the beginnings of tears from my face. Dorian stiffened, perhaps unsure whether he was supposed to hear that or not. His hand reached up to cover my own. His warm touch soothed me for the moment. I felt safe with him, even as we headed into another battle.
Every wingbeat brought my brother’s face back to me.
The landscape turned dark beneath us as we traveled farther from the city. My comm crackled in my ear with another report from Gomez, an update that things were going well on his end. Bravi added that a surge of immortal makers appeared to be fleeing from Itzarriol after sacking any ruler’s place for goods. She wasn’t stopping the servants from killing their rulers. This was their vengeance. She directed anyone who would listen to seek shelter at the Coalition camp.
I glanced over to Gina. She rode behind Ruk, staring sightlessly at the sky. A few amber lights floated above us. My stomach clenched with grief at the idea that Zach might be lost up there. Usually, the souls moved across the sky to the afterlife to reach their final resting place, but now… the souls moved erratically, even this far from the tear. The meld would soon be upon us.
Hours drifted by. The landscape changed as we flew on. I glared ahead at the ugly range of mountains below us. Jagged black rocks made up a barren wasteland. There were no plants or creatures in this area, making it a perfect choice for the emotionless Irrikus. The sight of it gave me the sense that we were headed into the gaping mouth of a black hole.
“We’re close,” Inkarri yelled. “It’s somewhere here in the mountains, underground. I saw a blueprint of it once. The entrance will look like a covert opening of some kind.”
I leaned toward Dorian, knowing that his eyes were better than mine. “See anything?”
“Black rock and more black rock,” he replied grimly.
Static from the comm crackled in my ear.
“Watch—”
It was Reshi, but her message was cut short. Her voice returned, weak and static-filled as she shouted, “Watch out! The revenants in the Mortal Plane are all moving at once through the tear. I can see—moving—at once. I don’t know what it means.” Her line cut off with a horrifying finality.
I smelled it first, the acidic ozone wafting into my nostrils. Above us, the sky ripped open, like the seams of the universe splitting apart. I gasped as Drigar suddenly lurched to the side.
The world around us tumbled in flashes of lightning and amber. A howling, aching sound hit my ears. My vision went black for a moment. The last thing I thought of was Zach in eternal slumber, unable to grace the world with his beautiful laughter ever again.
30
Roxy
A wayward branch pushed my red hair right into my eyes. I swatted the hair and the branch away.
“Let’s move,” I whispered to the pint-sized harvester kids beside me. We were evacuating a group of harvesters, protecting their hurried escape through the weedy underbrush of the northern outskirts of the ground they’d been mining. The wildlings with me worked fast. Their hands moved, creating thick vines alongside us which pushed bushes to the side to clear our path, making something like a hip-height tunnel.
Gomez came onto the line to report that the farm attack was still fine. Fine was not what I wanted to hear. I had wanted to hear Lyra’s voice over the comm to tell me everything was okay, but Zach was dead, so nothing was okay. I swallowed the pain the news had brought. At least nobody had pursued our group yet. I hurried the harvester children—turns out they reproduced asexually—along the escape route. They were slow for translucent beings, but the children were faster when I managed to wrangle their attention. I was a kid magnet, no matter where I went. It was like anything without a mother sniffed me out a mile away.
Their proportions looked strange to me, but maybe it was the plane’s weird fluctuations in the last few minutes that made them look peculiar. The harvester children looked basically like the adults, just oddly shrunken down. Maybe they didn’t always look like this. I hadn’t asked what happened to their parents. Not sure I want to know.
“Walking, walking,” the one on my left muttered happily. I’d nicknamed him Chipper because he liked to cheerfully jabber. He reminded me of a certain unfaltering leader who often annoyed the hell out of me. Now, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around Lyra.
I gritted my teeth with frustration as another wave of abnormal gravity washed over us. The entire group paused for a moment. As the wave passed through me, my limbs felt like they were bread dough being stretched. I clawed at the vine wall. Chipper never stopped humming, but I didn’t tell him to stop. He and his sibling had grown on me. I looked up ahead for Kane. He didn't care much for harvesters, who liked to whisper unsettling things to him, so he walked ahead with the scouts. He glanced over his shoulder, his serious face betraying a small smirk as he registered my presence with the kids.
They came to me, I considered huffing. In a perfect world, kids would be spared from war. But I knew all too well that the universe was far from perfect.
Sometimes, the vines gave way to buzzing sounds, and the wildlings fought hard to forge their plant magic ahead. They whispered in hushed tones about their powers not working correctly. At any moment, I expected the actual sky to just crumble and fall on us. I tucked Chipper and his brother, Junior, protectively under my arms. Kane and his vampire partner in the front looked out over a ridge as we approached from behind. His profile looked ruggedly handsome, even when my eyes sometimes crossed from these weird waves of gravity. He glared into the distance, studying something I couldn’t see. I hoped we’d made it to the river, where we expected to ferry these harvesters away to safety. The aquatic wildlings were supposed to be waiting for us.
Abruptly, Chipper hissed beside me. "Something is coming." The other harvesters buzzed in response. Soft mutters of confusion and fear traversed the makeshift tunnels like wasps. My heartbeat hammered hard inside me until I felt a painful throb in my skull. A tremor like a small earthquake under our feet passed through our group. The larger harvesters opened their mouths and let out wailing sounds. Their incessant babbling filled the atmosphere with maddening volume. The harvester kids stepped close to me, their ghostly hands grasping my shirt.
The smell struck me first. I gagged against the stench of ozone, but then my pulse staggered as I identified the scent. The tear. I would never forget the awful smell of that place as we flew through it. Lightning followed, cracking over us in a grand arc of light. I froze beneath the savage immensity of it as the yellow bolts carved the sky open. Another wave came, much worse than the others. When it passed through me, I wanted to crawl out of my own skin. It was like the swoop of an airplane when it dropped. I choked bile back from rising in the back of my throat as my entire body shuddered. My vision blurred.
I buckled to my knees as the ground rocked beneath me. Concentrate. Don't let it take you. I forced my head up, and buildings swam before me. Chipper and his brother were gone. In their absence, I was left staring up at a skyscraper with disbelief. A ranch house with a cactus out front flitted by. The ozone smell hit harder, but there was a new scent of desert air. I was hallucinating. Right? The buildings were growing out of the brambles of the vines the makers had constructed. Finally, I heard the harvesters again, wailing.
"The meld," one groaned from a few yards away.
Another one released something like a dying whimper from its ghostly throat. "It's coming. Like a dream. The fury is upon us."
I was good at chaos. I thrived on it. But this? My ears rang as the ground trembled. For a moment, my face felt as if it might melt off my skull. The meld was merciless. My blood turned cold as I fought to regain my senses. I thought we’d had more time. I searched for Kane's solid frame in the madness, but Chipper waved his ghostly hand in front of my face.
"It's coming," he whispered. His voice was half excited, half terrified. I wondered if harvesters felt pain like I did. The fierce desire to protect him rose up within me. The innocent didn’t deserve the world they were thrown into.
Voices faded in and out. My comm crackled to life.
Gomez shouted over the madness. "What's happening?" His voice sounded like it came from a tin can with a string. "Is this some kind of new Immortal Plane insanity?"
I forced myself to step forward, resisting the urge to inform Gomez that the end of the world was upon us. I pushed the kids ahead as best as I could, making for the ridge where I’d last seen the vampires.
"Kane," I cried, searching for him. "Where are you?" Crops of desert brush suddenly sprang up, only to give way to Immortal Plane vines again. I trampled everything under our feet, pulling the harvesters along like two wayward kites. We needed to get to the river. I needed something else—for Kane to look me in the eye and tell me I was hallucinating. If anyone could provide a dose of reality in this surreal moment, it was him. I loved his brutal honesty. Warm affection flooded me for a moment, making my body feel suddenly more tangible in the madness.
I ran, or tried to, at least. My perspective was off. The top of the ridge turned to the side, turning into a backward "C" shape that looked impossible to climb. Push forward. I let the warmth lead me, tugging the kids along. Somehow, we managed to claw our way to the top. Down below, Kane was near the river with a group of our wildlings and harvesters.
Darklight 7: Darkfall Page 27
