Marcus—their leader and our soon-to-be executioner—sighs deeply and walks to the horse still on the ground. He places another bolt in his crossbow and, ignoring my pleas and screams, shoots the bolt between the animal’s eyes.
6
The chase.
“What attracts the titans? It’s a question we’ve been trying to answer since they rose from their slumber. Most will hunt humans on sight, either to exterminate or devour us. But, strangely enough, if they’re fed, they won’t attack other large animals. The Kraken has been seen ignoring whales entirely but attacking any ship within a ten-mile radius. It’s been theorized that they react badly to technology. Something about it seems to send most of them into a murderous frenzy. Do they see us as their rivals on Earth? As the enemy to eradicate? We haven’t found the answer yet. But those who started to call them old gods often came to the conclusion that there must be a divine explanation for their presence on our planet and their awakening. Pile of horseshit, if you ask me.”
Audio transcription of a radio podcast, 2048, Unknown.
STELLAN
We set camp for the night on a hill near the road that Perri took on his way to the city. This is the best spot to wait for him. If he takes the same itinerary, we won’t miss him. The surroundings are now crawling with merchants and scavengers heading to his coordinates and the underground lab. They know to be on the lookout for him. He’ll find his way to us, one way or the other.
The hill is barren and offers an unobstructed view for miles. Leonard and Janice built a small fire in the camping wood burner. It’s enough to reheat the beans and meat they brought from the Market.
I ask for the first watch and sit on the highest point with a blanket and a mug of herbal tea. I’m restless. Until Perri is safely back in my arms, I won’t be able to relax.
I keep my eyes on the road below. He won’t travel in the dark. He would prefer to find a spot to hide and spend the night, but it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out and make sure we don’t miss him.
The two mercenaries are happy to go to sleep early, and they disappear inside their truck. They’ll get the second watch of the night. Which means the King is the one who’ll keep me company.
Right on cue, Alastair walks back from his truck and sits beside me. He’s so quiet for a big man; I would have missed his arrival had I not kept an eye on him.
“I can already smell the sea,” he says, eyes on the dark horizon.
I wish I could. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the ocean.
I don’t feel like talking, and yet I ask, “Don’t you crave it? The ocean?”
He shares the DNA of the monster of the abyss, so one would expect that he’s meant to spend his time on the coast.
“I do,” he says. “Terribly. That’s why I stay inland. If I get in the water, I find myself unwilling to come back.”
“You could just let it go and never come back.”
Alastair shakes his head slowly, his white locks cascading over his wide shoulders. “The Market is my kingdom and my home. The same way Perri is yours.”
I nod, understanding. I would sooner take a bullet to the heart than leave Perri behind.
I drink my tea, and Alastair watches me. His pale eyes reflect the lamp’s glow. It’s unnerving.
“What?” I say after a while.
Alastair smiles. “I think yesterday and today are actually the first times we really talked.”
I frown. “I don’t talk much.”
“You don’t like me.”
“No,” I say. “But to be fair, I don’t like anyone.”Beside Perri and my mothers.
He chuckles. “That’s a lie. You liked Jude enough to risk my wrath by harboring him and his new lover.”
He’s talking about the time last year when Jude came in the dead of night with his new aircraft and Oliver, then his captive. Jude was still a wanted man for stealing from him.
There is an edge in his voice now. Concealed resentment and icy anger. Our punishment for helping Jude had been to work for free on a few vehicles. Evidently, it hadn’t been enough.
“I thought you forgave him,” I say in defiance. “And I don’t like him. Perri does.”
