He snorts. “The entire world is my doorstep, grumpy old man.”
“I’m younger than you.”
“And yet, I’m prettier.”
Oliver finally cracks a smile at his side.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “We tried to contact you through the radio, but you didn’t answer. Neither did my mothers. We’re here to ask you for your help.”
“Alastair, too?” Jude laughs incredulously. “I can’t believe…” but then his voice trails off as he surveys our truck. “Where’s Perri?” And he must have seen the devastation on my face, because all he has to say now is, “Shit.”
“He’s okay,” says Jude as soon as I’ve told them the entire story.
We’re sitting around a wooden table under the trees. Oliver is keeping a close eye on Alastair, who’s refilling the truck’s water tanks by the river. He has pulled his shirt off, revealing the expanse of his muscular back and chest, his dark skin glowing under the afternoon sun. Both mutants are now naked from the waist up, and it can’t be a mere coincidence. They’re posturing. I have to try really hard not to scoff.
My mothers have gone to cut wood for the log cabin, and they should be back at any moment.
“How can you be sure?” I ask.
“I know Helios, and I’ve met the Devil,” says Jude. “They’re both disgustingly nice.”
“The Devil buried his two swords in my gut,” provides Oliver, gesturing at the thin scars on his stomach. He healed pretty well, all things considered.
Jude rolls his eyes. “Honey, you deserved it.”
Oliver grimaces, but says nothing more.
“I need you to get in touch with theBeetle,” I say.
Jude recognizes my despair, and he doesn’t dally. “Of course. Follow me.”
They hid their slick aircraft, theFirefly, behind a rock formation. The reflective panels catch the sun filtering through the giant trees, making them shine like polished stone. Jude opens the vertical door and invites me to sit in the copilot’s chair. Oliver stands behind me.
Immediately, theFireflycomes to life.“Good morning, Mr. President. Good morning, Mr. Jude,”says Fyfe with a British accent. He’s the rudimentary AI controlling the aircraft.
“Let me tune in the channel, and we’ll be through,” he says. “Beet always answers.”
I try not to scream at him to hurry the fuck up. I can’t stand it any longer. After days of looking for Perri, my anxiety is coiled to strike like a snake.
A hand bumps my shoulder, and I look up at Oliver. “Jude is right,” he says. “My brother has a savior complex. Perri’s safe with him.”
Brother… That’s right. The mutants consider themselves to be part of the same fucked-up family. Which means Alastair, too, is supposed to be Oliver’s sibling. They were both created in labs during a twisted experiment.
I look down and realize Oliver is now wearing one of the colorful Hawaiian shirts Perri gave him, and I can’t stop thesmile from pulling at my lips. Trust Perri to take nothing seriously, including a murderous electric mutant.
“TheFireflycalls theBeetle,” Jude says to the transmitter. “Beet, it’s Jude. I need to talk to you guys.”
The answer is instantaneous.
“Oh, isn’t it my favorite dickhead?”says a female voice with mirth.
Jude’s smile is sincere as he says, “Hello, sweet nightmare of mine. Much as I would love to spar with you verbally now, we have an urgent matter. We heard you have Perri. His friends are here and worried sick.”
“We do!”she says excitedly, and my heart is about to explode.“We picked him up along the shore near San Francisco. He’s a sweetheart. One second, he’s coming.”
I can’t breathe until at last Perri’s voice echoes on the line. “Stellan?”
I lean forward, eager to be closer to where his voice is coming from. “Fuck…. Yes, I’m here, baby. Are you okay?”
