Nil Unlocked (43 page)

Lately I’d gone to bed afraid I wouldn’t wake up.

Making things worse, my heart was heavy, too. Each time Rives caught my eyes, his had a wistful quality, like something was already lost. Maybe it was just time.

We never had enough.

Now we were putting Rives’s fate in one final noon, a frightening gamble no one seemed to grasp except me. With a sigh as heavy as my heart, I tuned back in to the firepit chat.

“I vote for Operation Clean Sweep,” Zane said. “Every mission needs a cool name.”

Dex rolled his eyes. “That sounds like my mum tidying up the kitchen,” he said. “What happened to the cool part again?”

Grinning, Zane pointed at Dex with his fish wrap. “Okay. How about Operation Island Annihilation?”

“A bit much, don’t you think?” Dex raised one eyebrow.

“Operation Exodus?” Zane offered.

“Too short. Plus, a bit heavy on the biblical feel.”

“Operation Star Gate? Operation Big Kahuna? Operation Mission Impossible?”

That did it. I got up and strode off, unable to take another minute. Breaking into a jog, I made it about fifty yards down the beach before Rives caught me.

“Hey,” he said, coming up beside me. “You okay?”

“No,” I snapped. “I am
not
okay. You have fourteen days left, and Zane’s back there tossing out movie titles as if that’s important.” My fists were clenched. “It is not impossible; it has to happen. You have to make that gate.”

“I know,” Rives said, taking my hand. “We all need to make that gate.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“I know what you mean.” Rives wrapped his hand around mine. “C’mon.”

Somehow Rives understood that I needed to move; I was too restless to sit. The waiting was killing me. And maybe so was Nil.

We walked south without speaking, hands entwined like our thoughts. We ended up at the Arches, and when we rounded the cliff, we weren’t alone.

Maaka stood in front of the carving, staring at the Man in the Maze.

“Find anything new, Maaka?” Rives said.

“Perhaps,” Maaka replied, turning to face us.

I studied Maaka, this boy who saw the island so differently from me.

“Maaka,” I said quietly, moved to speak first. “I’m not an islander, or your relative. The island’s beginnings belong to you. But I can picture it, how it used to be. A magical place of peace and solitude, where people chose to come, bringing a goat or a chicken for health and luck, intentionally choosing to spend time away from their family, alone in a place where the food is plentiful and so is the time to think. To explore who they are, who they want to become.” I paused.

“But the peace is gone. Now predators come, too, like lions and leopards, wild boar and bears. And other people come, too. People who aren’t from your islands, people who don’t want to be here, who didn’t ask to come and who don’t have your heritage and hope and knowledge. This island is a very different place now. It’s a bit crowded.”

Maaka didn’t flinch.

“Skye’s right,” Rives said. “Your people come willingly. They’re prepared, at least most. But the rest of us got snatched without warning, totally unprepared. And people are dying, Maaka.” Rives’s tone was tired. “For what? So your people can continue a tradition started long ago? A tradition that has outlived its purpose?”

“The tradition has not outlived its purpose,” Maaka said. “A spiritual quest transcends time. The island,” he whispered. “It makes you a better version of yourself.”

“Different, maybe, but not always better,” I said softly. “And a spiritual quest might be timeless, but this island isn’t. The island has changed. Even for your people, the island is no longer peaceful—or isolated. Your island is connected to the world now. Good or bad, it’s the reality.” I paused. “Don’t you see that, Maaka?” I kept my tone soft. “The island no longer serves its purpose. Its purpose has become twisted.”

“Because of you!” Maaka cried. “Your quest for power turned the island loose!”

“What’s done is done.” Rives’s voice was calm. “The island is not the same; it’s not what it once was, and you know it. You have the choice. You can end it now. Or let it live. The blood of innocents will be on
your
hands now.”

For the first time, uncertainty rolled across Maaka’s face like a shifting gate.

“My role is to be a protector of the island, not to destroy it,” he said.

“What if that’s what the island wants?” I asked quietly.

Maaka looked positively stunned.

“The island is tired, Maaka. Tired of living. I feel it; you have to sense it, too. Ask Paulo if you don’t believe me.” I held Rives’s hand tight and took a chance. “Will you help us, Maaka?” I asked softly. “Will you be the ultimate Nil guardian and help set the island free?”

Maaka turned toward Mount Nil. For a long moment, Maaka stood as still as the Man in the Maze. Thinking, searching his mind or the wind or the mountain for words we couldn’t see, for answers we wanted to hear.

Finally, he looked at me. Me, not Rives. “I cannot answer you.” His soft tone matched mine. “Not today. But I will have an answer when the time comes.”

“That’s all we ask,” Rives said quietly.

With a troubled look at Rives, Maaka nodded and walked away.

CHAPTER

69

RIVES

DAY 363, DAWN

I stole one last glance around the City, my home for the last 363 days.

Images of people long gone flickered like ghosts. I’d been here less than a year, but it felt like a lifetime.

I had three days left.

Three noons.

Tick.

Three … two … one …

Tock.

Done.

I blinked and the City vanished. I was carving Li’s cross in the dark; I was kneeling by Talla’s fresh grave; I was watching Thad leap over a yawning black hole. I was seeing Raj collapse; I was watching Nikolai fall.

I was cased in invisible cement, my hands bound by invisible ties. I couldn’t help them, couldn’t block fate. Their die already cast; their end fully written.

So was my end, but I couldn’t see it. Each time the future started to take shape, the scene vanished like smoke. Gone, before I ever got a clear glimpse.

I closed my eyes, fighting to
see
.

I was waking to Skye in my arms, feeling at peace; I was tipping her chin, shaking with hope; I was kissing her lips, drowning in want; I was holding Skye’s hand, walking down the Avenue des Champs-
É
lys
é
es, our faces tilted toward each other, the background falling away. No fear, no rush.

No Nil, just us.

More
, the wind whispered.
You want more.

Yes
, I thought, my desperation keeping me from locking Nil out.

I want more.

I want it all.

I want Skye.

Beside me Skye laughed. In my head, in my hopes, in the now. I was there, I was here, I was gone. My chest ached, my fists hurt; I wanted
more
so badly I shook.

“Rives.” Dex’s voice yanked me back to the present. I relaxed my hands. My fingers were stiff from clenching. “You okay, mate?”

“Yeah.” I shook out my hands. “Just ready to get this show on the road.”

“All right then.” He clasped my shoulder and squeezed, his touch saying what neither of us could. “A parting gift.” He winked as he handed me a bamboo whistle. “Remember, three quick blasts means danger, and you can switch it into an SOS for help. Three short, three long, three short. One long is the call back signal. All clear?”

“All clear.” I knew Dex was nervous. I slung the whistle around my neck, then offered my hand. “Be safe, Dex,” I said quietly, fighting the knot in my throat. “See you in three days. Don’t be late.”

Dex gripped my arm, his expression fierce. “Same to you, my friend. Three days.”

More handshakes. More good-byes.

More. More. More.

I fought the urge to clench my fists.

Skye reached up and touched my cheek. A feather-light touch, running down my jaw, a single move that affected me more than Nil.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, her eyes as fierce as I’d ever seen. “Relax. You’re gritting your teeth so hard I hear them.”

I grabbed her hand and kissed it.

She grinned and turned away. It took me a minute to figure out she was running a pre-Search check of her gear.

Smart girl,
I thought. I did the same.

Everyone split up, separating into their designated teams.

“Operation Clean Sweep is a go,” Zane hollered.

“Yeah!” Ahmad hooted. Skye rolled her eyes.

“Let’s pack and roll, everyone. Be smart and be safe. See you in three days,” I said.

Now Skye was the one clenching her teeth.

The teams split off. Ahmad went north with Kiera and Alexei; Dex headed northeast with Jillian and Zane; Macy headed south with Julio and had even managed to convince Brittney to come.

Skye, Miya, and I were the final team. We’d head southeast and be the first ones at the mountain.

The City was down to twelve, a shockingly small group. The numbers had never been smaller, even with the four still out on their own.

Maybe Skye was right. Maybe Nil was letting go. Yesterday on sweep, Skye spotted Michael near the North Cliffs. But the rest of the island was empty.

It was eerie. Like the island was a ghost town, like time was growing stale. Like the island might have an expiration date, too.

“Ready?” I asked Skye.

She looked like she wanted to say no. But her eyes flashed with steel and her hand crept to her sling. “Let’s go,” she said. Our eyes met, and I nodded.

We had three days.

CHAPTER

70

SKYE

DAY 88, NIGHT

I’d never sleep tonight. I doubted Rives would, either.

We’d brought the cheetah pelt, which was a pain to carry but definitely made the nights outside better, but it wasn’t the lack of cushioning that was the problem. It was the looming day, the coming noon. Tonight was like Christmas Eve as a little kid, knowing that tomorrow was the big day, and you just hoped you’d been good enough for Santa to fill your stocking.

Only I wasn’t sure being good mattered here, and we’d already established Nil wasn’t on Santa’s route. Then again, maybe goodness counted for something, because if Archie hadn’t stolen from the City, maybe he’d still be here. Or not. Nikolai was kind and good and lost to Nil forever; maybe Nil chose to keep him
because
he was good. Or not. Maybe Nikolai’s death was a fluke after all.

I could drive myself crazy with the what-ifs.

I already am
, I thought.

Rives had one day. One noon.

One clear chance of making it off Nil alive.

I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, not when we’d just found each other. Eighty-four days was a drop in the bucket compared to the future I so desperately wanted with him. No wonder my uncle went to Australia to find Jenny. No wonder Charley looked like she might break.

“So serious,” Rives murmured. He kissed my shoulder, and I reveled in his warmth. He never missed anything. He was always aware, always noticing. It was part of what made Rives so kind, part of what I loved about him.

I loved him.

The revelation was so crisp and real and deeply true that for a moment, I shocked myself. I didn’t know when it happened, but I knew it was true. Not a Nil truth, but a Skye truth.

I shifted back to look him in the eyes, fighting a rush of love so powerful that I struggled to contain it. “Promise me you’ll go first,” I managed. “Don’t wait until the end.”

Rives kissed the tip of my nose. “I don’t want you to be last, either.”

“Why not?” I frowned.
How did he know?
I was totally planning on being last. My gut said it should be me or Paulo.

“Because I’m worried that if we all leave—that
when
we all leave—that the island will exact a toll. Maybe on the last rider, I don’t know. But I don’t want it to be you.”

I thought about that. “You have a point. But whoever goes last needs to know that. And it should be their choice.”

“Not you,” Rives said. His eyes pleaded in the dark, light pools of hurt and hope.

“I promise to not be last if you promise to go first,” I whispered.

He didn’t answer.

Stalemate
, I thought, watching Rives close his eyes, watching him battle himself.

Be smart,
I thought, studying the beautiful lines of Rives’s face, willing him to go first.
Because I’ve fallen so deeply in love with you and can’t imagine losing you. I can’t leave you behind. Not now, not when we have a shot at more
.

But I stayed quiet. Because Rives had to make the choice, not me.

I lay there, wondering when I’d fallen in love with Rives and why it took me so long to realize it. The fear of losing him was real and awful and right now worse than anything else I could imagine.

If I lost Rives, I’d be fearless. And that scared me, too.

CHAPTER

71

RIVES

DAY 365, DAWN

I hadn’t slept.

Hell, I wasn’t even tired. The ticking in my head matched the pulse in my veins; I felt primed and awake, reveling in my last minutes on Nil. My last minutes with Skye, the girl I’d pegged as a Nil natural from day one, the girl with the power and will to take on Nil and destroy this Hell for good.

But she didn’t destroy me.

She saved me.

She made me laugh and ache and feel things I’d thought were lost; she made me want to
be
more. Her name was a perfect fit. Her uncle got an island angel; so did I.

And Nil brought her here.

I stared at Skye, my chest so tight it hurt to breathe. Her eyes were closed, her hair Skye-wild, her expression so innocent you’d never know she could take down a ninety-kilo leopard one minute and kiss me fiercely the next.