Nil on Fire (42 page)

CHAPTER

68

RIVES

4 DAYS UNTIL THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX, LATE AFTERNOON

I worked on autopilot.

For the past three weeks, I'd gone through the motions. I'd hunted with Thad and brought back rabbits and a small boar. I'd tracked a rhino with James, where he was the master and I was the student, just to know where the hell the animal had settled. The answer: nowhere close to us. I'd scavenged with Paulo and stripped plants to make twine. I'd worked with Kenji and Hafthor to coat the twine with sap to amp up the flammability for the island fuse, a tedious process that couldn't be rushed. I'd gathered candlenut fruit and made torches, knowing we needed them to light our way on the last night, wondering with every move whether the torch I crafted would be the one to kill Skye.

If our plan worked, the island would die.

So would Skye.

“Rives.” Thad's voice broke into my brooding.

I sat on the sand, near the beachside pit lined in hot rocks, where the boar would be cooked by nightfall. I cared little. My appetite was nonexistent, like my future.

Sensing Thad waiting, I turned.

“Molly says there's a boy who just showed up on Black Bay,” he said. “Unlucky dude caught the late gate in, I guess. Want to go with me to greet him?”

“Not really.”

“Is that a yes or a no?” Thad waited patiently.

“A yes, I guess.”

We walked in silence. I was still pissed at Thad. He'd taken Skye's side. They talked constantly, at all hours.

Skye and I barely spoke at all.

“Skye could use your support, you know.” Thad's voice was quiet.

“Support her suicide? Are you insane?” Thad still had Charley, waiting back home and sending him mental love notes. I was making torches to send the girl I loved to her death.

I fought the urge to punch him. I glared so hard he stepped back and raised his hands.

“I'm saying support
her
. Right here, right now. While you can. You've shut her out, Rives, right when she needs you most.”

“Right.” Bitterness dripped through my words like acid. “
She
shut
me
out, Thad. It's her choice. Her decision. Half the time she sleeps on the beach.”

“Only because you won't talk to her.”

Silence fell. The Crystal Cavern glittered, full of Nil ice.

When we broke back into the open air, I turned to Thad. “You have no idea how I feel,” I said, my anger barely restrained. “None. So, please”—I clenched my fists—“don't tell me what to do, all right?”

Thad ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. “You're right. I don't know how you feel. But I do have a clue how Skye feels, and right now she needs you, even if she doesn't say it. Or
can't
say it. I'm your wingman, but you're hers.”

Not anymore
, I thought.

“Just think about it, okay?” he said.

“Trust me, it's all I think about,” I snapped.

Thad looked toward the beach. “Two more things. First, tonight's Nil Night. Skye insisted. For morale and good luck for our trip tomorrow. Her words.”

Good luck.
Right. I almost snorted.

“And the second thing?”

“Charley told me that we'll find what we're looking for.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked.

“I think—and I can't believe I'm saying this—that it's something to do with the light and the dark. Like if we look for the dark, that's what we'll find. Or if we look for the light, we'll find that, eh?”

“She's wrong.” My voice was flat. “It's all the same. The light, the dark, it's all Nil. All I've been looking for is another way. Another plan, another solution—one that doesn't involve Skye torching Nil and taking herself down in the process. I've got three days left to find it, Thad. Seventy-two hours. That's it. And then I need to convince Skye to go with Plan B, and I have no Plan B. That's what
I'm
looking for. So why can't I find it?”

Thad crossed his arms. “Charley told me that Skye needs to look inside. That Skye already knows the answer to the riddle, that the answer lies within.”

“What riddle? This whole place is a riddle.” I shook out my hands because they'd lost all feeling. Thad stayed silent.

“Did Charley give you anything else? Anything that can help? Something concrete?”

“Well…” Thad looked uncomfortable. “She also said, ‘All is not lost, yet.'”

“Obviously. Because Skye's still alive.” I turned away, wound tighter than Mount Nil and just as ready to blow. “Let's go find the rookie and get this done.” And by
this
, I meant Nil. It was a nightmare from which I couldn't wake.

The rookie sat huddled on the black sand, blinking. Judging by the marks in the sand, the kid hadn't moved far from his landing spot.

I knelt beside him. “Hey, buddy, I'm Rives. What's your name?”

He jerked to look at me. “Garrett.” His dark eyes were wide with fear.

“Well, Garrett, today's your lucky day. You ended up on Nil, an island that shouldn't exist. But the good news is, in four days you get to leave, so it's a short visit for you. Key thing is to stay alive.” I smiled, hoping it looked warmer than it felt. “Want some clothes?”

*   *   *

Hafthor, Paulo, and Zane were eating pineapple when Thad and I walked up and introduced Garrett.

Garrett looked up at Hafthor. “Half a Thor?” he asked, a quizzical expression on his face.

Hafthor held up both hands and nodded. “No hammer.”

“Oh my God, did you just make a funny?” Zane burst out laughing. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “It's official, guys. The end is near. Hafthor's making jokes.” He high-fived Hathor and something inside me snapped.

I swung at Zane but Thad stepped in front of me. “Take a walk, Rives,” he said quietly. “Go cool off.”

I strode away, then broke into a run.

Rivesssss
, hissed the sea.
I won. She's mine. And I own you, too.

Like hell you do
, I thought.

I still was desperate for a Plan B. Because if Skye had the answers, she sure wasn't sharing them with me.

Maybe there is no Plan B.

Cruel laughter echoed in my head, followed by a cold thought:
You're finally learning, Rives.

 

CHAPTER

69

NIL

JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT

Let them plot, let them plan
, the island thought with pleasure. The island took in this group's shape, took its measure. With a few measly exceptions, this entire lot was under the island's thumb. It made for a perfect picture of the island's now. No other human would be called, and no one would leave, not for the next three days.

And in three days, the carnage would be glorious.

In three days, the crescent moon would rise. In three days, all the humans here would perish. For the island had plans of its own, and these humans were no match.

But for now, the island rested. Waited. Prepared.

It inhaled deeply, reveling in the sweet scent of fear and the unprecedented surge of electria to come.

*   *   *

Molly tensed.

“Did you feel that?” she whispered to Davey.

“What?” He rubbed his eyes.

“A rumble. Like a laugh. I don't know.” Molly sat wide awake, cross-legged on her bed. “It was weird.” She gave a little laugh. “This whole place—this whole
thing
—is weird. My life has turned weird.”

Davey got up to sit beside her. She was all shadows and angles and bare legs, her hair as wild as the island now, her blue streak swallowed by the night.

“It's all weird,” he agreed. “But there is no one stronger than you, Molly. No one. You can handle anything this place throws at you, and then some. Okay?”

She tilted her face toward his. Her gaze swept over his eyes, his cheekbones, his lips, all in a slow, liquid way that set his blood on fire. “If it was always me,” she whispered, “why didn't you say anything?”

“Because JT told me he'd kill me if I ever touched you. Big-brother bro code and all that. And you told Lauren that you thought of me like a brother.”

“I lied,” she said, her voice husky. “And JT isn't here.”

Davey leaned forward, but stopped short of her lips. This moment was everything. “I wouldn't care if he were,” Davey whispered. He reached up to brush her jaw with his thumb. “If he were, I'd tell him the truth. That I'm so in love with you it would be worth any punch he could throw, and I was a bloody fool for not telling you sooner.”

With that, she kissed him. Fiercely, deeply, without holding back, as if this one kiss had to make up for years of waiting.

It
is
everything
, Davey realized. The chance to be with Molly, back in Oz, away from here.

And he'd bloody well fight for it.

 

CHAPTER

70

SKYE

3 DAYS UNTIL THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX, DAWN

Dawn opened like a million other Nil dawns before. Only this dawn ushered in the final countdown.

Nil's own clock was ticking—and so was mine.

I'd never been so tired. Nil's exhaustion and mine were woven together so tightly I couldn't tell where mine ended and Nil's began. I fervently hoped that in the end I had the strength to do what had to be done, and that Nil didn't pull a trick with me like it had with Paulo, or like it had done with me that first morning in the Looking Glass Cavern.

It felt incredibly good just to sit. It took all I had not to close my eyes.

Beside me, on another fire-warmed rock, Thad sat, arms crossed as he studied the group gathered around the firepit. Paulo's expression matched Thad's: intense and focused. Talking to Lana, Zane was smiling, perpetually happy as always; Lana, on the other hand, seemed pensive. Molly sat on my other side, eating pineapple, her legs almost touching Calvin's. He spoke quietly as she listened and nodded. Davey, Hafthor, and Kenji stood without talking, a trio more sleepy than stoic. Garrett seemed alone even though he sat on Thad's other side. Dominic leaned against a tree, trident spear in hand. Catching me eyeing him, he winked.

I smiled back. I took it all in, then my eyes found Rives, and stayed. My beautiful Rives. He stood brooding by the Wall, fingering the blade on his hip. If anyone had Nil in his head it was him. I wanted to shake him, to yell at him, to ask him to come back.

But he'd made his choice too. He'd chosen to see the worst in my choice, and in me.

We had nothing left but memories.

Rives strode over to Thad. He never looked my way. “Let's go over the plan one last time.”

Thad nodded.

Rives faced the group. “Okay, people, listen up. Quick recap before we set out. Molly hasn't seen anyone new other than Garrett, and as of today, there won't be any wild gates for the next three days. So we think Garrett is our last rookie, and hopefully the last ever.”

Garrett gave a halfhearted wave, his expression still slightly bewildered.

“But we need to make sure. To be certain that we've found all newcomers, we're going to sweep the island in teams and meet at the mountain in three days. Departure time is midnight, but we should be at the platform and ready by noon, just to be safe. We also need to find Carmen and warn her if we can. Skye, Zane, and Paulo did this last time, so they know the drill. Same for me. Stick with your group. Everyone has a whistle, in case you get separated or need help. Two quick blasts means
I'm here
, and two quick blasts back is the reply. Three quick blasts means danger, and you can switch it into an SOS for help. Three short, three long, three short. Everyone clear?”

Rives paused as heads nodded.

“Paulo, James, and Kenji will go northeast, sweeping the interior. Steer clear of the mudflats. Molly, Davey, and Dominic will go due north, sweeping the coast and northwest corner. Lana, Zane, Garrett, and Thad will go south, taking the coast and southeast corner. Skye, Hafthor, Calvin, and I will head straight to the mountain, covering the southwestern interior as we go. Everyone has a quadrant, don't mess around. Just sweep for people. We don't want to leave anyone behind.” His jaw muscles tensed. “Hafthor will carry the fuse. The rest of us will carry torches, extra twine, and food. Our goal is to meet up at the platform by noon in three days' time. Our team will get there first, lay the fuse line, and start lining Calvin's route with torches to help him see. I know he'll have his own, but the more light the better. At midnight, we'll all be in place, all torches lit. When the gate starts to rise, we all blow our whistles, and that will tell Calvin to light the fuse and run. He'll have less than two hundred meters to cover in just over a minute, so he can make it to the gate in time, no problem.”

He looked at Calvin, who nodded.

“By the time the gate locks into place, Calvin should be a good third of the way to the platform. We'll go through the gate one at a time. Skye has chosen to be last.” He didn't look at me. Molly gave me a kind smile.

Rives cleared his throat. “All right, let's pack and roll.”

Paulo came up as we were ready to set out. His dark eyes burned with emotion. “Skye, I don't think you're supposed to be last.” His soft tone was forceful. “I think it's supposed to be me. To make up for my mistake last time.”

I hugged him. “Paulo, you're sweet. But I know it's supposed to be me.”

He shook his head. “I've heard the island, Skye. You were supposed to
see
, to guide us, to figure out the end. But you're not supposed to die. You were supposed to solve the riddle, remember? I don't think you did.”