The Unfinished World (The Armor of God Book 2) (19 page)

“Dr. Mustang,” said Ezra, and looked at the others. “Nandi’s crewmember. He was born in Kerek. I remember him telling me.”

William nodded. “If he was, he was one of the lucky ones, like my brother, who apparently grew to become governor. Roue stands much stronger than Kerek ever did. They have the Creux, and, of course—well, um, they have the Creux.”

“You haven’t told us how you know Dr. Mizrahi,” said Ezra.

“Until recently, I’ve been in contact with her, working together to the same ends I assume brought you here. I personally knew her sister, Dahlia. She died in this very city, some years ago.”

Ezra looked back at Akiva, at Erin. None of them seemed to be any less surprised than he was. For once, information was being shared with all of them at the same time.

“Dahlia was convinced that the only way to make sure humanity survived this . . .
blight
. . . was to work together. She came all the way here searching for something she didn’t find. And when she didn’t, she dedicated herself to create ways to set up communication between Clairvert and Roue. In that, she succeeded.”

“You mean there’s been communication between the two cities? Why didn’t anyone in Roue know about you, then?” asked Akiva.

“That wasn’t my choice, it was Dr. Mizrahi’s.
Your
Dr. Mizrahi. Eliza. At least the people of Clairvert know about Roue—it gives them hope to know we aren’t the last ones left. I can’t speak for the other end. Maybe it was something Dahlia told her sister and not me. Maybe they had a good reason, but I don’t know it.”

“Sir, we need to use that link. We need to contact Zenith as soon as possible,” Ezra said in a hurry, then looked back at Erin. “We need to tell them about Tessa, about Lazarus. We can’t waste any time.”

“It’s not operational,” said the man before Ezra could go any further. “A few weeks ago, the creatures of the wasteland began to move into another fissure in this mountain. There’s been tremors every now and then since. One day, the system just died.”

“Did one of them do it?”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t think the system Dahlia created is exposed that way. My guess is that one of the tremors the Asili’s been causing might have caused a rockslide within the caves, and that damaged the repeater station below us.”

“Is there any way to fix it?” Erin asked.

“I was sure there wasn’t, but then
you
came along. If there’s something wrong outside the station here, the only way to fix it is from the other end, from where it was damaged.”

“You want us to go into the mountain, where the Laani are disappearing?” asked Garros, angry. “We’re not here to fix your radio system; we’re here to do something much more important than that, and we need your help.”

“I know exactly why you’re here: you’re here to complete Milos Ravana,” the man said, and the Creux’s name resonated with particular strength within this chamber. “And I’m showing you the next step in your journey. I’m not asking you to do me a favor, soldiers; restarting communication with Roue is for your benefit too.”

“You know, then.” Akiva got up and took a step towards William. “You know about what’s coming? About Lys and what it can do?”

“Know about him?” the man said, as if amused. “Son, I’ve
talked
to Lys. And if you get this done for me, I’d be happy to take you to him.”

Chapter 10

When the Sun Dies

Do you feel it?

Feel what?

That new strength.

I don’t.

I do. We’re close to the source.

Okay.

Don’t let it lie to you.

It felt good to be back inside Besoe Nandi
. Not once since he first synchronized with his Creux had he felt as helpless as he did when entering Clairvert, so wielding the Minotaur’s power again was a relief.

“We have to do it,” he had told Garros two hours earlier. Garros was the only one in the group who seemed reluctant to follow William’s orders and dive into the mountain. “You heard what he said.”

“What he said
makes no sense
!” he said. “Unless we’re too late, and this is all for nothing, Lys doesn’t
exist
like he says. We’re putting ourselves in danger to do this city a favor. This is not what your mother sent us here to do.”

“If we fix this, we’ll be able to talk to her,” Ezra protested. “Why are you being so stubborn?”

Garros was seething, but didn’t have an answer.

“Ezra is right,” Erin said. “For all we know it’s not as dangerous as we imagine. This won’t be the first time we fight Laani, and it won’t be the last. There is much more to win than we have to lose.”

“It’s easier for you to say that,” said Garros, and looked away, down the long hallway back towards Clairvert.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Erin said and followed him down, away from the rest though they could still hear their conversation. “I don’t want you to say things like that. I’ll throw you in the Caduceus myself if you don’t stop this weird behavior. I’m fine, Garros. I’m gonna be fine. We’re gonna be fine. This isn’t when we die.”

He remembered their talk back when they met Lazarus, when he and Jena heard that Erin was pregnant. Suddenly Garros’ apprehensiveness made more sense.

Ezra wished he couldn’t overhear them, so he tried to bury their talk with one of his own. He looked up at Akiva. “Do you think they’re in danger? My mother? Poole? Tessa is right there with them.”

“I understand why you’re afraid, but your mom is smarter than you can imagine,” Akiva said. “She’s always one step ahead of everything, always has a plan. If Tessa really is a danger to her, she knows, and she’s prepared. She’s probably using her.”

He didn’t understand why, but the words had a certain degree of credence when coming from Akiva. He thanked him and they walked together back to Clairvert. Jena held Akiva’s hand the whole way back.

At the mouth of the tunnel, where it opened up to the massive cavern that housed Clairvert, they found Erin talking to Farren. “We’ll be out and back in a few hours, I hope,” she told the captain. “Jena?”

“Yes?”

“Please stay here with William,” said Erin. “We don’t need five Creux inside the caves, especially if Milos Ravana is coming along; without your comms you’ll be more useful here than inside Jade.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Jena; he had never heard her address Erin that way.

“So, Captain, we’d like to get a good full meal for once, then we’re out of here,” said Erin.

Two hours of planning—and a meal—had gone by, and Ezra suddenly remembered what it was like to have a full stomach after weeks of eating barely enough to function. It was amazing what it did to one’s focus; suddenly he felt much more prepared to pilot Nandi.

They had walked out of Clairvert, through the Atrium, where Ezra searched for signs of Elena. Then, they stepped out onto the wasteland.

The Minotaur and all the others were waiting for them outside, untouched by the wild. He felt some remorse in seeing Jade Arjuna there, knowing she would remain unused, but still he agreed with Erin: Jena would play a better role in Clairvert, learning what she could from William.

“Hug this wall,” Farren said. “About a mile west, towards Kerek. There’s monster’s blood still splattered all over the largest crevice, on the floor. You’ll know which one it is when you see it. It’s the biggest entrance, the one the monsters used.”

It was true, what Farren said about immediately recognizing the entrance. Phoenix Atlas in the lead, they walked next to the massive stone wall, leaving Clairvert behind, until its surface began to crack. There were several entrances to the inside of the mountain, some human-sized, some monster-sized. It made Ezra wonder just how complex the network of tunnels inside it really was.

Then, they came upon a much larger fissure that descended into darkness. There were enormous traces of blood on the walls, on the floor, of the cleft.

“This is it,” said Erin. “This is Laani blood.”

“Why is there Laani blood here?” Ezra asked, and no one could answer. All he knew was that the sight gave the already terrifying entrance to the cave an even scarier look—like nothing had ever come out of it alive.

The entrance was big, too—big enough even for Quantum Ares to fit—but he imagined the tunnels wouldn’t always be big enough for them. Would they, at some point, have to abandon the Creux in the darkness inside?

It was a terrifying thought.

“Here’s some light,” said Erin, and the colorful pieces in Phoenix’s armor lit up. Taking it as a cue, Akiva did the same to Milos Ravana, and the lights built into the monster’s remaining shoulder pylon came to life. All Nandi had was its massive aqua eye.

Phoenix signaled Akiva to move ahead, and Milos Ravana was the first one to step into the darkness of the caves.

“Something’s strange,” he heard Erin say when they were deep enough into the tunnels that there was no more natural light coming through. “Do you feel that, the tingling?”

“I do,” said Ezra. “It feels like in the islands, only much stronger.”

“It’s the energy,” Garros added. “Whatever this Asili is, whatever it’s hiding, it’s huge. The energy I feel is much stronger than in Lazarus’ oasis. I had never felt Ares’ T-Core; it’s tickling the hell out of me.”

He was right; it was as though the invisible energy in the caves was adding power to Nandi’s core. No doubt this was the strength the Minotaur was talking about earlier.

“I don’t understand—if the energy repels the Laani, why did they come here willingly?”

“I don’t think it was willingly; that’s what scares me. They’re being
called
back here. They’re coming here because they were ordered to come here, return home, with every person and every animal they took,” Erin said as they came upon a small squeeze in the tunnels. “Do you realize this? We’re close to it, the source of everything that happened, the reason why we’re almost extinct. It’s less than a mile away.”

Even in Nandi’s guise, Ezra shivered.

Don’t be afraid
, Nandi whispered.
You’ll come out of this, even if I didn’t
.

“There’s something in here,” Garros said suddenly. “Do you hear it?”

“No,” Ezra replied. “I don’t have field hearing.”

“Then I’ll be your field hearing. There are echoes coming from the caverns. It’s far away, but I hear movement—Flecks. We’re not alone in here, so prepare for a fight.”

“What about the rock slides, and the tremors?” asked Ezra. “You were the first one who worried about that, back where we found Lazarus.”

“We’ll have to be careful,” said Garros, and his words lacked his usual confidence, as though Ezra had raised a good point he hadn’t considered. “Use your technomancy, not your fists, and aim true.”

“I wonder if there really was a rock slide; this place looks sturdy,” he heard Erin’s voice, and then the clicking of Phoenix’s clawed fingers hitting the walls, which were strangely smooth and glossy, even down here.

Ezra’s theory was that the energy was flowing through this mountain like wind—felt, but unseen. It was beautiful and empowering, but corrosive to the stone. He couldn’t think of any other explanation as to how these huge tunnels could have been made.

“How deep are we into the caves?” he asked, suddenly taken by the idea that if the need to escape should arise, they could be in trouble; he hadn’t paid enough attention to a map William had shown to them in the middle of their meal. “Are we even going the right way?”

“We are where we need to be,” said Erin, and pointed her finger ahead. There was faint red light near the floor. “Look below.”

Ezra could barely look down—the Minotaur’s heavily padded neck and shoulders didn’t allow for free movement of the head—to find subtle hints beneath him that someone intelligent had been here.

Milos Ravana stopped and turned on its left foot to raise a hand and make two signals with his fingers, conveying a message Ezra couldn’t understand—after all, back in Zenith, Akiva had been involved in training that didn’t include Ezra. Did they never expect they would have to communicate without an aural link, or was it another part of training he just ignored?

“I’m coming down,” Erin said. “You two cover us.”

Phoenix’s fists came together in a bump in front of her chest, then she raised both thumbs. Ares repeated the motion. This second signal was only meant for each other, which was strange, because Ezra recognized at least the first movement’s meaning:
stick together
.

“Please be careful,” came Garros’ voice, far more fearful than usual. “This tunnel is empty but I can still hear the Flecks. They’re not far.”

Ezra hadn’t been properly briefed on the plan, so the idea of Erin leaving her Creux was both scary and surprising. He saw Ares walk past Milos and Phoenix, both of whom kneeled down to let the pilots descend. “This is wrong,” he said. “I can’t hear anything. I should be getting down. Erin should stay here. This is a bad idea.”

“I’ll say,” Garros said, turning Ares’ massive chest towards the tunnel, waiting for a threat. He could tell Garros’ apprehensiveness pertained only to Erin’s safety, a concern that appeared to have grown greatly since leaving Zenith. He knew exactly what was to blame.