TheBeetlewon’t be able to cross the short distance separating the coast from the small island with the lighthouse and the temple. The water is too deep, so it’ll fall on us to do the rest.
We set camp for the night in an old camping ground to wait for theBeetlewhen Jude gets in touch on the radio. Perri’s excited voice pulls Stellan and me closer to listen.
“What is it?” Stellan asks.
Perri, still holding the transmitter, says, “They’re on their way to help with theFirefly.”
I blink.
Stellan looks as dubious as I am. “Really?”
“Yeah, well…” Jude says through the channel, “Margaret and Jess are worried. And we thought you might need aerial support.”
“Aaaaw you’re worried about us and Helios,” Perri says. “You love us.”
Jude sighs. “Don’t make me regret it. We’re on our way, we should reach you tomorrow morning. Give us your exact location and we’ll stay ready in case you need us. We can’t get too close. Griffin and Oliver aren’t really on friendly terms…”
“You don’t say,” Stellan mumbles, and Perri elbows him.
“We’re in touch with Beet and Helios, too. We’ll coordinate the diversion effort with them to give you time for your rescue mission. Try not to get yourselves killed.”
“We love you too, boo,” Perri says.
“Speak for yourself…” Stellan mumbles again.
Jude snorts. “Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow. Over and out.” And the line goes silent.
Perri’s smile is wide. “We might really succeed.”
I pull him into a hug. “Of course we will. Tomorrow, Vex will be with us.”
“You’ll love her,” he says against my chest. “She’s cute and unintentionally funny.”
I kiss the top of his head. “Just like Stellan.”
Perri snorts. “Oh yeah.”
Stellan is watching us with a frown that transforms into a tender smile, and I wink at him. He chuckles and turns his back to us to continue setting up camp. He likes to pretend he hates being called cute, but now I know better.
TheBeetlearrives at sundown. The ground shakes and there’s a shimmer in the air as she settles higher on the beach. Seconds later, the hatch opens and Helios jumps out first, followed by Griffin who never lets him out of his sight even for a second.
Perri hugs Helios like an old friend, and I’m surprised by Griffin offering me a handshake. His grip is a little too firm, but he shows me a rare smile. Building a relationship between the Traveling Market and theBeetleis promising for the future. The Devil of the Wastes has been known to save merchants but he stayed as slippery as an eel, always avoiding the spotlight. Now, at last, I might pull him out of the shadows
We set up camp for the night in the forest by the sea and plan for the attack to happen before sunrise in two days, when the cultists will be asleep. Helios pulls out a hand-drawn map of their village and temple, and we sit around an old stone table to smooth out the last details of the scheme.
The plan is simple. Griffin will blow some shit up south of the village along the coast, mainly empty stone buildings, to give us a much needed distraction, while theFireflypicks off the stragglers. In the meantime, we will sneak into the temple on the small island by boat and rescue Vex. I’ll be on the frontline with Perri and Stellan on my heels.
Griffin’s eyes darken when he learns that Oliver is close, but he says nothing. Perri gave me the missing pieces of what happened after Jude and his mutant escaped the Traveling Market. I knew they were the ones to end Maeve and the Highwaymen, but I didn’t know they did it to save Helios. Griffin and Oliver might never be friends, but they tolerate each other’s existence for the sake of Helios and Jude.
Tonight and tomorrow, we rest and prepare for the attack. Griffin wants to spend the next day observing the cultists some more to smooth out the last kinks in the plan. At night, he’ll steal a row boat for us to use to reach the island right before the assault.
Griffin rolls the map up just as the sun is setting in the west, towards our destination. He tilts his head to the sky and his nose twitches. “It smells like snow is coming.”
It’s much colder here, a nice change from the wastelands’ usual relentless heat. I’ve never seen snow, so I turn my face to the sky, too, hoping to catch the first sign of snowflakes.
Griffin points towards the horizon, beyond the dark sea. “What used to be Canada is on the opposite shore.”
“Have you been?”
