Nil Unlocked (40 page)

“But you could leave in the light.” Skye was looking at me, her face shining with relief.

“I can’t leave. Not yet.” Paulo shook his head.

“I know you want to stay for the honor, but this place is not what it once was. It’s not what your ancestors first found. It’s changed, and not for the better.” Her voice had softened. “Thank you, Paulo. We’ll go now.”

He nodded, studying Skye. I hoped he took her words to heart.

Outside, we walked toward the beach, where voices laughed and Miya might be waiting. Skye stopped me near the path.

“Rives, look at me.” She cupped my face in her hands, like I’d done with her this morning. “Paulo’s news doesn’t change anything. You’ll still have to go on Search. You can’t wait until the last minute.”

“Paulo’s news changes everything,” I said, my eyes flicking between Skye and the woods behind her. “It means that’s my noon. Our noon.”

Skye’s eyes widened, then narrowed, shooting silver sparks at me. “Don’t be stupid!” she cried. She dropped her hands to clench them into fists.

“Ah! Good to see everything’s back to normal,” Dex said, walking up the path with Jillian. “Skye shouting. Rives being a bloody idiot. What’s he up to this time?”

“It better not involve tea.” Jillian glared.

“No,” Skye said, her voice dangerously low. “But he might just have a death wish after all.”

“What?”

Skye ran through the equinox deal, throwing in my expiration date and her ambitious theory about destroying Nil.

“Bloody hell.” Dex stared at Skye in awe. “I don’t which is madder, Rives’s deadly dice roll, or your idea to cut Nil off at the throat. Bugger me.” His last words were a whisper.

“I know,” Skye said matter-of-factly. She missed Dex’s gob-smacked expression; she was too busy frowning at me. “But Rives can’t wait. He can’t take the risk.”

“It’s my risk to take.” I gently traced Skye’s cheek with my thumb as she stared at me. “Remember what I told you when we slept on the beach? Macy once told me we’re all here for a reason, but not the same reason. Skye, we’re here for different reasons, but they both hold the same end.” I paused. “And maybe it can be Nil’s end.”

“Can you imagine?” Jillian breathed. “A world without Nil? Where no more kids get snatched, sent here to die? I’m all for delivering the death blow. Hand me a spear.” She grinned, but it faded quickly. “But Rives, I agree with Skye. You can’t wait. Not even to see the destruction of Nil.”

Before Jillian had finished speaking, Maaka stepped from the shadows like a ghost.

“Evening, Maaka,” I said pleasantly. “I wondered when you’d come out. Eavesdropping is rude, remember?”

His face was hard. He only looked at me.

“Why do you think everything you do not understand must be destroyed?” Maaka said. “Because you do not understand it, you fear it. And then you want to destroy it. It is your way.” He practically spat his words. “Are you so arrogant to think that if it does not fit within your own narrow human logic, your fragile understanding of reality as you see it—that it does not exist? That it is not real?” He tilted his face toward the Nil sky. A look of reverence passed over his face. “Do you grasp the breadth of the universe?” he asked softly. “Do you think there is nothing beyond what we see? Human arrogance prevents sight, and prevents understanding.”

“I see more than you think,” I said calmly.

“You see nothing,” he said. “And Paulo is weak. He wastes his time here.”

“Time,” I said slowly, “is finite everywhere. Is it more valuable here than elsewhere? And is your time here more precious than mine?”

He stared at me, unflinching.

“By the way, Maaka, meet Skye. Skye, Maaka.”

Skye raised her hand. “Hi.”

A flicker of surprise passed across Maaka’s face at her name. After a scrutinizing look, he gave her the barest of nods, like she’d come up short.

I fought the urge to deck him.

“And that’s Dex, and Jillian.” My tone had cooled.

Maaka stepped back, distancing himself, unwilling to get drawn into the City. He read like an open book. A picture book, easy reading.

“See you around, Maaka. But definitely in March, at the heart of the island. Because if I ran the numbers right, you’re in your last season. The equinox gate is your ticket home, right? See you there. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your journey.” I paused. “Word of warning. Steer clear of the meadow. The cats are restless.”

Maaka spun around and strode off, too annoyed to pull his silent disappearing act.

“So that was the elusive Maaka,” Skye said.

“What the hell was that?” Dex said. “It was as if you were sparring with bloody Confucius, if Confucius was reincarnated as an angry footballer with more ink than me. Well”—Dex looked thoughtful—“not more ink. But his was quite impressive, although a bit stark. Anyway,” he waved his hand, “do we need him on board with this whole let’s-destroy-the-island scheme? Because he might be a tough sell.”

“He might,” I agreed. Then I smiled. “But he didn’t say it couldn’t be done.”

CHAPTER

59

SKYE

DAY 41, DUSK

Rives called a Citywide meeting on the beach. I think he would’ve waited until the morning, but the absence of Jason and Nikolai was painfully obvious and begged explanation. So much for our little under-the-radar quick mountain trip.

I still couldn’t think about Nikolai without feeling sick.

Everyone left in the City gathered around, except Paulo. I’d invited him, but I didn’t expect him to show, and if I really thought about it, he hadn’t joined the City, not really. He still didn’t engage with anyone but me, he hadn’t put his name on the Wall, and he sure didn’t lift a finger to contribute
.

Rives is right,
I thought.
He’s going to leave as soon as he’s physically able.

Despite Paulo’s slackness, the thought made me sad. I guess I still hoped he would be more. Plus, I wanted him to be okay.

“Okay, people, here’s the deal,” Rives said. He stood by the beach firepit, which only held a few logs, but it was enough. We were a small group. The orange sun fading over the water was extraordinary, a perfect backdrop to discuss the end of Nil. I wondered if Rives planned it this way.

“As most of you know, Skye’s inbound was different.” He went on to explain about the stationary gate, our trip, Jason, Nikolai, and the equinox gate, in that order. Miya looked relieved and stoic; Alexei burst into tears. Rives looked every inch the furious sea god and strong City Leader, but he also looked like Rives. The same boy who’d saved my life this morning, who’d carried me when I couldn’t walk, the same boy I’d opened my eyes to after my post-meadow meltdown, finding a tenderness in his expression that made me ache.

You can’t have the highs without the lows
, my dad once told me. I’d just never envisioned them all in one day.

I still felt raw.

I tuned back in as Rives outlined our plan to work toward March, gearing for a Citywide escape. But he still insisted we’d go on traditional Search as usual.

“If the stationary gate fails to open, we need a contingency plan,” Rives said. “It’s crucial that we don’t forget that Search works, that roaming gates have a pattern. That people can still make it home. We can’t let Nil slip back into a free-for-all. Everyone still has time.”

If the stationary gate fails to open. Everyone still has time.

Not you,
I thought, my eyes on Rives.
You’d be lost. Claimed by Nil forever.

I’d lose you.

The tremors were back. My entire body shook, the last of my strength gone.

Rives glanced at me. “That’s it,” he said quickly. “We’ll meet again tomorrow night to talk through questions.” He strode over to me and pulled me into his arms.

“What’s wrong?”

I shook my head.

He led me down to the pile of black rocks where I’d seen him sleeping on the beach once.

“Hey.” He brushed my hair away from my face, making my eyes meet his. “Talk to me.”

“I can’t lose you,” I said, shaking nearly as hard as I had this morning; I couldn’t stop. “I can’t. This stationary gate. Everyone’s counting on it, because of me. Because I showed up, and changed the rules. It’s worse than a ripple, it’s like the butterfly effect times one million. You can’t wait for that gate. You have to go on Search. If the gate doesn’t open, I’ve got time. But you don’t.”

He pulled me close, holding me tight. I focused on his heart, beating steady and strong, an energy I refused to let Nil take. Fury replaced fear, and the shakes stopped. Sensing the shift, Rives threaded his fingers through mine, holding us together as he looked me in the eye.

“Timing is everything here, Skye, and the timing feels right. What are the odds that my last day coincides with the equinox?”

“Literally, three hundred and sixty-five. But it happens every time with the islanders, right?”

Rives looked surprised, like that hadn’t occurred to him. “Actually, for them it’s the solstice. I’m just special.” He grinned, making me narrow my eyes. “But Maaka told me the island blood in me runs strong, Skye. Staying feels right.”

I shook my head, gripping his hands tight. “It feels wrong. You need to go on Search, at least try. Don’t give up yet.”

“I’m not giving up,” he said sharply. “Can’t you see that, Skye? I’m fighting harder than ever. For everyone.”

“I do see that.” Letting go of one of his hands, I reached up to gently trace his cheekbones, feeling the fierceness and strength of Rives in the lines of his face. “So does everyone else,” I whispered. “But I want you to be selfish. I want you to catch a gate now, to guarantee you get home and not wait until the last minute.”

The sad truth was,
I
was selfish. I wanted to know now that Rives would make it, that we had a chance to be more on the other side, especially because after watching Nikolai die, I knew things could change on Nil in a swift minute. Forty-eight days meant forty-eight opportunities for something strange and terrible to happen, and the instincts that got me here said putting all our escape apples in one equinox basket was a very bad idea.

“I’ll make it,” Rives said. “I’m not leaving until I have to. This is why I’m here, Skye. I feel it. Don’t ask me to not be me, okay?”

How could I argue with that?

Rives bent down and kissed me, and no one argued at all.

CHAPTER

60

RIVES

DAY 318, BEFORE DAWN

The countdown was officially on.

Forty-seven days.

Forty-seven noons.

I knew Skye was still reeling from Nikolai’s death. But our plan had charged the City. Jacked it up with hope and fire and a sense of power, like everyone had sucked down a hundred loaded Monster drinks to prep for an exam that was still days away. The fight in Skye’s eyes said that she was all in.

What I didn’t tell her was that me going on Search was pointless.

That if Nil chose to let me go, it would be on my last day. And it was a hellaciously big
if
. I didn’t tell Skye that on the day Pari left, the first gate of the set had flashed so close that I felt its heat brush my side.

You’re mine,
Nil whispered, crisp and clear and island cold.
Until I choose to let you go
. Then the gate streaked away, tapping a coal-black cat with snow-white paws instead.

Burton was gone.

But I was still here, and calculating Nil had her reasons.

Maybe I was the counterweight to Skye, or maybe someone else. Maybe I carried no weight at all, but my questions did.

How long will the gate stay open? And how can we make sure we clear the entire island of people?

I didn’t know about number two, yet. But number one? Maaka or Paulo had the answer, I’d bet my life on it.

Oh yeah, I already was.

CHAPTER

61

SKYE

DAY 45, SOMETIME PAST MIDNIGHT

I lay beside Rives, trying to sleep. But the ticking of time coursed so loudly through my head I couldn’t shut it out no matter how hard I tried. I’d tried counting sheep, but then I’d picture them eaten by lions. I tried counting stars, but without a clear view of the sky, that didn’t work at all. And I tried just plain counting, but each time my mind got stuck on one neon number: forty-four.

Forty-four days until the equinox. Forty-four days left for Rives.

The two were wrapped together so tightly now that I couldn’t separate them, and Rives refused to let me. He refused to relent about Search. The subject was closed.

I’d been here more days than Rives had left.

In that moment, wrapped in Rives’s arms and Nil’s darkness, I made a choice. If I couldn’t stop the clock, I’d destroy it, whatever the cost.

Even if that cost was me.

CHAPTER

62

RIVES

DAY 325, MID-MORNING

Tick.

Seven days.

Tock.

I had forty-one left.

“It’s been a week,” I told Dex.

We stood in the Shack, dropping off the morning’s haul of bamboo. The focus had shifted to preparations for Citywide escape rather than long-term City sustainability. Weapons took priority over clothes. If Skye was right, somehow we had to appease the feline guardians of the gate, or at least keep them from killing us. Torches were our best bet.

The stockpile of bamboo and oily nuts had begun.

“And your point is?” Dex raised an eyebrow at me.

“We need to send a team on Search. We can’t just wait around for forty days, wasting time. The more people leave now, the fewer we’ll have to round up at the end.”

“Excellent point.”

“I agree,” Skye said, shooting me a pointed look. She’d popped out of nowhere, carrying an armful of twine. I knew she wanted me to go, but it wasn’t happening. I had a date with the equinox gate along with everyone else.