Alastair holds Perri as we all turn our attention to the cockpit window. My gut bottoms out when I realize how high we’ve gotten. It hits me suddenly that it’s the first time we’ve ever flown. It boggles my mind that it used to be common practice before the Rise.
Oliver has turned the Firefly towards the ocean, and we have an unobstructed view of the island and the Kraken. He’s getting agitated and two of his giant tentacles are destroying the temple and the lighthouse. I wonder if it’s the smell of Alastair or the other mutant’s blood that seems to have sent him into a rampage. The cultists will probably spin this to fittheir narrative. The old god is displeased about the death of his prophet, or some other bullshit.
Jude whistles. “To think this fucker was just taking a nap over there all this time.”
“I hope the prisoners had time to escape,” Perri says.
Smoke rises from the village on the coast, revealing the outline of theBeetleeven with her cloaking technology on. The cultists run away from her like ants on a burning anthill.
Helios’ voice echoes through the radio. “TheBeetlecalls theFirefly. Beet tells us you’ve got them? She’s in touch with Vex.”
Jude grabs the transmitter. “Sure do, all four of them. You can scrap.”
“Good. The idiots are shooting us with arrows, scratching our panels. Griffin will cause a massacre soon if they keep at it.”
Jude snorts. “Nevermind that. Did you notice the giant monster in their backyard?”
“The Kraken? Oh yeah. I’m so freaking happy. I never thought I’d set eyes on him. His last known location was the Bering Sea. To think he was so close to home all that time…”
“I won’t mind never setting eyes on him again, thank you very much. We’re dropping off the kids at their camp and we’re leaving. Tell Griffin I said hi.”
“Okay. We’ll join them soon. I can’t wait to meet the AI who got Beet all flustered.”
“I’m in love,” Beet says before the line goes quiet.
We watch the Kraken for a moment longer in tense silence, until Oliver turns theFireflyand takes us away.
I share a glance with Alastair. How strange must it be for him to meet the old god whom he gets his mutations from? He smiles tiredly at me and nods. His monstrous side is leashed once again. I reach for him and caress his face. He closes his eyes and leans into the touch, and my heart gives a painful squeeze. To think we almost lost him…
By the time we land at our camp a few minutes later, Perri, Alastair, and I are sagging with exhaustion. But we can’t rest yet, we need to put some distance between us and the zealots in case they decide to comb the area after the attack.
Perri hugs Jude, and to everyone’s surprise, Alastair offers a handshake to Oliver, who takes it after a pause, looking wary of the tentacles writhing on the King’s other side.
I offer my thanks grudgingly—I’m forced to admit they were a great help.
“Now it’s your turn to owe us a favor,” Jude says to me with a shit-eating grin.
I glare. “No. We’re just even, dickhead. ”
He ignores me. “We’ll get in touch if we need anything.”
“No, really. Don’t—” but it’s too late, he has slammed the door on my face.
As soon as theFireflyleaves, we are ready to head out, too. The windshield of Alastair’s truck is covered by a thin layer of snow and I swipe it with the sleeve of my coat.
Perri gets behind the wheel. “Let me do this,” he says when I ask him to switch. “You two have crossed half the country for me. Just rest, you deserve it.”
Alastair is too busy regrowing his arm to argue, eyes closed and head resting on the window of the passenger side.
I concede and take the middle seat after settling Vex in the camper at the back. She sat on the bed with a smile, looking entirely too relaxed. She doesn’t get exhausted like us humans, and I make a mental note to teach her how to drive. She might even keep watch at night while we sleep, just like Beet does.
The snow gets heavier as we drive through the forest. Thankfully, the truck’s enormous wheels have no trouble on frozen roads.
Half an hour later, Helios calls again to give us the location of a meeting point. They know a spot by a lake where we’ll be ableto rest for a few days, far enough away from the cultists to be safe.
Alastair slumbers and I hold his good hand tight. The tentacles on his left side are taking shape, regrowing his arm at an incredible speed. At this rate, he might be whole again tomorrow morning. I close my eyes and rest.
Perri drives for three hours until he agrees to let me take the wheel. Two hours later, we finally reach our destination. And not a moment too soon, the snow is accumulating on the roads, and soon it’ll be too difficult to drive, even with the King’s impressive truck.
