Michio’s silken voice brushed over my back. “He’s gone, Nannakola.”
I rolled over and hugged him. “Tell me you’re okay.”
He looked up at me, his smile brimming his gorgeous eyes, a hand clasped to his throat. “Just a bug bite.”
“Did my stoic warrior just make a joke?” I rubbed my breastbone where it tingled. “How does one fight monsters and still look so damn beautiful?”
A scarlet flood drowned out his pallor. He shifted me up his chest, the movement sluggish. “You would know.”
The stomp of boots burst from the tunnel. Strong arms dragged me to my feet, the essence of oak enveloping me. Beyond Roark’s broad shoulders, Jesse lingered in the shadows.
Seeing them returned some strength to my wobbly legs. Dammit, my arms itched to wrap around them and hold on tight. But if I did that, even for brief moment, I’d fall apart. So, I dropped my hand to my cocked hip and said, “About time you showed up.”
A clump of gore plopped from Roark’s sword, at odds with his flirtatious eyes as they roamed my face with too much perception. He grinned. “Been a little busy, love.”
I wanted to give into my own smile, but, “Georges and Tallis? Darwin?”
Michio gripped Roark’s offered hand and stood. “Guarding the entrance.” His scorching lips found mine, caressing, lingering. “Let’s go home.”
My eyebrows climbed up my forehead. “Home? Where’s that?”
Jesse stepped away from the wall. “Nymph Mountain.”
Nymph Mountain. Where we could deliver the cure and save a life. Where we could heal under Akicita’s care.
Jesse held my gaze. “Say yes, Evie.”
The lazy roll of lava pushed between the canyon banks, its surface burnished and undisturbed.
I limped toward the tunnel, lips in full tilt. “Yes, Evie.”
The nymph’s cabin emitted an eerie calm. Its interior was ominous through the small window despite the glare of the late sun. Having been neglected by my ghosts since leaving Iceland, I shuddered at the memory of how I stumbled upon the isolated shack. Aaron loitering on the porch. His blood-drenched Booey clutched to my chest like a talisman.
A month had passed since the Drone’s fall. We carried a heavy burden on that walk back to the gunship. The weight of our gear. The deaths of our friends. But we also carried a cure, a hope that pushed us forward.
The gunship made one stop on its flight to the states. Georges knew of an underground supply of jet fuel in St. John’s, Newfoundland. From there, we flew to Camp Dawson, West Virginia and purloined another Hum-vee. Jesse led us through the Allegheny Mountains without compass or map. When we reached the foothill, I too remembered the trails to the sandstone wall that towered the tiny shack.
“Looks empty.” Roark leaned on his sword and rubbed the stubble roughening his cheek.
Small animal carcasses, fresh and old, scattered the porch and lawn. “She’s here.” Besides, she wouldn’t have left her children. “She’ll feel threatened if we go in. I’ll try to call her out.”
Michio stepped before me, armed with the capture gun loaded with my blood. “Please be careful.” He kissed me.
Ow. I pulled back, touched my mouth. Blood dotted my fingers. I reached up and peeled back his lip. Normal human teeth.
His tongue swiped out, caught the bead of blood on my finger. Something flashed in his eyes. What the fuck? He backed up and walked to the cabin.
“Wha’ in under feck was that?” Roark asked from my side.
“Glad you saw it. For a second, I thought I was having a flashback.”
“Ready?” Michio shouted from his position behind a tree.
Roark curled his tall frame around my back. Jesse slipped in front of me, his back to my chest, his arrow ready. Tallis, Georges and Darwin walked the perimeter.
Swaddled by skin, I felt my energy gather. Then I called the nymph from her damnation. Come.
After a few patient pushes, she loomed in the doorway. I bathed the link in consoling thoughts. Her feet slid over the rotten boards, creaking them as she stepped off the porch.
Michio released the dart. It struck her throat and she clawed at it, wailing.
“Evie?” Roark’s voice behind me.
She thrashed on the ground, her fear stabbing my gut. I released the connection. “I’m fine. Go help Michio restrain her.”
Roark held her as Michio checked her vitals and sedated her with Kampo herbs. She would survive the reversal. She’d have a doctor and guards to ensure it.
Overcome with a heavy weight in my chest, I paced away, pulling out my music player and adjusting the buds in my ears.
A sharp draft bumped up my skin. Jesse’s fingers slid over mine. At the tree line, Annie and Aaron flickered, took shape, holding hands in their pajamas. I schooled my breathing.
Aaron leapt forward. Annie grabbed the shirt of her runaway brother. He giggled as she tucked him under her arm. The human gesture made it difficult to remember they were just the remnant energy of my children’s memories.