Crusade Across Worlds (41 page)

On his feet, Reid fires over my shoulder,
into the tail end of the stampede. Orange explosions shoot past me,
colliding into the backs of the Dofinikes, igniting screams and
howls as their bodies collapse onto one another. Finding the
closest Traxpire I can, I toss it back to Booker who rushes past
the rock wall next. He catches it with ease and comes out
firing.

Now that the other Vermix have noticed
what’s going on, they’ve started to turn around. All of them. But
the boys are firing behind me, lighting up the tunnel with orange
explosions that I’m easily able to dodge. I hear Reid call to the
others, telling them to be careful, but I don’t want them to stop
firing. They need to shoot. They need to kill as many Vermix as
they can.

Just like me.

I don’t know what triggers it, but I take
off in a sprint. I know I shouldn’t. I know I should stay where I
am, lined up with the boys, helping hold our solid line of defense.
But I can’t stop. I can’t turn back. Something is propelling me
forward. Something is driving me to finish this, to end them. End
as many Vermix as I can. And in the last moment, when I’m about to
collide into the snarling, snapping stampede—when there’s no other
way but
through
—I launch myself onto the closest wall,
continuing my sprint over their heads, running horizontally.

I don’t have to time to stop and think. To
understand this. Any of this. I do what I was trained to do: feel
my surroundings, use them and trust them.
Focus and
believe
.

Racing along the wall, I crack the whip,
cutting into the thick herd below, over and over and over again.
Orange blasts burst through the swarm as I attack from above. Able,
Pratt and Mae must have been given a Traxpire because suddenly,
Maddox’s form collapses.

But not into a pile of rocks.

Into nothing.

I’m about to call to him when a huge boulder
flies past me and pummels into a loyalist, smashing him against the
wall. The Vermix falls and the boulder soars back through the air,
into another Dofinike. More appear—rocks of varying sizes and
shapes—all launching themselves through the green mob, pegging
Vermix in their temples, eyes and chests.

Less than half of the Vermix remain, so I
jump back down, landing next to Reid. He fires on the remaining
Dofinikes as I crack my whip, removing heads and claws and slashing
through faces and stomachs. A pattern has started: the whip first,
followed by an orange explosion and then Maddox moving in to smash.
Howls and blood erupt but we don’t stop. We can’t stop. Not
now.

With only a few Vermix left, I speed up time
as Walker and the Rogues gun down the remaining loyalists. When the
threat is finally gone, and a massive pile of corpses blocks access
to the level below, I drop my arm.

“Anyone hurt?” I move through the others,
searching for injuries. But everyone seems relatively unharmed, if
not overwhelmingly exhausted. I stop by Werzo and Qippert, scanning
them. “Everyone okay?”

“Are you?” Reid clutches my elbow.

I nod through my own breathlessness and
glance to the slain pile of Vermix. There must be close to fifty.
Maybe more. I turn to Maddox. “Is that all of them?”

“There are no more Vermix in the tunnels,”
he confirms. “Some continue to roam the surface, but they will not
make their way down any time soon. If you wish to do it, now would
be the time.”

“Do what?” Jace asks.

“Retrieve Jothkore’s body,” Reid says
without missing a beat. He offers me a soft look before turning to
the others. “How are we going to do this?”

“I guess we should carry him,” Booker
says.

“I’ll help,” Jace offers.

“Me too,” Able adds.

“Then we should probably get started,”
Walker heads away from the corpses and the boys begin to
follow.

“I’ll get him,” I say, stopping them before
they get too far. “I’ll bring him down here.”

They look around one another, and then at
me.

No one says a word, so I focus on where I
want to go and the cave fades. The red and yellow surface
reappears, a hot wind sweeping past. Before, thousands of bodies
lined the rocky distance but now there’s no one. And nothing.
Nothing surrounds me. Nothing except the discarded body of a former
ally. My chest tightens but I force myself forward. I have to do
this. I have to take him back with us. After a few steps I’m
standing over the former Arizal. A former friend. Unable to help
myself, I peer down at his face, getting lost in his glazed eyes,
frozen in their final expression—one of disbelief and defeat.

I’m so sorry, Jothkore.

I crouch down beside him.

And gently take his wrist.

Focusing on the rust-colored tunnel below, I
picture Maddox and the others and when I open my eyes, I find
myself in the center of them. Everyone is silent. Everyone is
still. They all stare down at Jothkore beside me, all focused on
the red slit across his throat.

“We should close his eyes,” Mae
whispers.

Everyone nods but no one moves. Not even me.
And even if I wanted to, there’s no way I could force my fingers to
move, not to close his eyes. Not to send him to his final slumber.
But I don’t have to. Mae crouches beside me. Gently, she draws his
green lids lower, covering his blank yellow orbs. A silent moment
passes before Maddox moves to the right of me.

“He is with the Mother now.”

Someone sniffles. I think it’s Pratt. But I
can’t be sure. I can only stare at Jothkore’s motionless form,
knowing that he’s gone and that nothing can bring him back.
Allowing my eyes to lift an inch, I find Werzo and Qippert against
the wall, both conked out, both so close to death themselves. I
think of King Hozfin. And the Zingfinolds. And Tucker…who’s left of
those we left? The ache in my chest grows, the guilt and grief too
heavy to ignore.

And I shouldn’t.

I’ve been ignoring it long enough. Now is
the time to do something about it. Now is the time I need to be
fighting in the real battle, the one where I’m most needed. Now is
the time I do my part—something I should’ve done since the
beginning.

I get to my feet. “Everyone stay here.”

Reid takes my hand. It startles me, but
before I’m able to tell him that it’s better if he stays, he’s
threading his fingers with mine. He knows what I’m planning—some
part of it. And he won’t let me go at it alone.

“Bestie?” Able frowns, looking between Reid
and I, the same question painted across his face as the others.

I turn to Maddox. “Protect the others. Hide
them.”

“Of course, Miss Fallon.”

Pratt steps forward but Arosin is already
disappearing. Reid squeezes my hand and I focus on the cold planet
where we’re headed. Where we are.

Larupip is just as we left it—in a bloody
state of battle.

Green, sage and gold bodies blanket the
white landscape, crashing and cutting into one another as red mist
sprays and orange explosions whip past. Screams, snarls, booms and
blasts add to the chaotic scene, which is only a hundred yards
away. This is it. This is the pinnacle of what Sampson has been
anticipating and preparing for, for the last three months. With the
Floating Ruby already in the hands of the Vermix, we have to focus
our sole attention on protecting the Shadow Bag. It should be off
planet by this point. But where? And who would have taken it?
Sampson? Blovid?

It doesn’t matter.

This needs to end today.

Right now.

If we can kill Reuzkimpart, we can stop the
Vermix and in their confusion, steal back the Floating Ruby. It’s
now or never. We need to find Reuzkimpart so I…

…So I can kill him.

Reid squeezes my hand.

I look at him. I wish I could tell him. I
wish I could confess the truth—that
I’m
the one to end this
war by ending Reuzkimpart. It’s up to me. No one else—just me. But
I can’t tell Reid. I can’t tell him I’m going to seek out the
Supreme Leader. He wouldn’t let me. Even if I told him it was my
destiny—that it was part of my path and always has been—Reid
wouldn’t let me walk into that kind of situation. It’s just not in
him. Either I get away from him…or I lie. And I can’t be anything
other than honest with Reid.

He turns to me. “You know where Sampson
is?”

I close my eyes and focus on the Fychu.
Sampson, where are you?

Fallon? You’re on Larupip?

We’re here to help.

All of you?

Reid and I. Sampson—where are you?

Nearly to the edge of the forest. The Vermix
are strong. I think Reuzkimpart has brought the majority of his
forces.

Is he here?

Yes.

We’ll be right there.

I open my eyes. “Ready?”

Reid nods and I bring us to the edge of the
forest. It takes a few minutes of shuffling past our firing allies
before we spot the Fychu grouped with Clarence, Blovid and Vix.
Reid and I rush up and the four look us over, relief in their
eyes.

Sampson meets our eager approach. “Are the
others safe?”

I can’t tell him about Jothkore—not now.
I’ll have to tell him after this is over, when he’ll have time to
process it, to grieve. “They’re on Arosin, below in the
tunnels.”

“Is the Shadow Bag still here?” Reid
asks.

“For the time being,” Blovid nods. “Although
I am uncertain where to take it as every other place is just as
vulnerable.”

“What about Thias’s?”

The Dofinikes look at one another until
Clarence breaks the silence. “Thias forbids us to bring the Gift
there.”

“What? Why?”

“He believes it is safest with this army,”
Blovid explains, a quick glance at Sampson. “He is also offended
that both Gifts were not taken to his kingdom first. He does not
see why, if his protection was not first choice, it is needed now.
It is a…pride thing.”

“Always a pride thing with these Nerwos,”
Clarence mumbles.

“But who cares about pride? We have to
protect the Shadow Bag—”

“As I have tried explaining,” the Arizal
Leader continues, “but he will not have it. He does not want the
Vermix invading his land again. He will send more support if we ask
but that is all. We cannot bring the Shadow Bag there. And with
every other place compromised…”

Then that’s it. There’s no point fleeing
from moon to moon if he’s just going to follow us everywhere we go.
This battle could go on for days or weeks—even months—unless
something is done to stop it. Once and for all.

It’s now or never.

“Where’s Reuzkimpart?”

Clarence motions through the trees, to a
hill in the distance beyond the forest. “Hiding on the other side
of that cliff.”

“He ever coming out?” Reid asks.

“Unlikely,” Sampson says. “There’s no point
getting bloody if he doesn’t have to.”

Then that’s where I have to go—into enemy
territory, to his side of the fight. If he doesn’t want to come
out, then I’ll have to go to him. If it’s the only way, then I’ll
have to do it. My hands shake down by my sides and my heart pounds
hard at the truth. I have to do this. It’s my destiny. I know
because I saw it in the last piece of the Glass Chamber. I’m going
to end it all today.

Right now.

Reid stands in the center of the Dofinikes,
filling them in on what happened back at Arosin. Now is my chance.
They might not even notice I’ve disappeared until it’s finished. If
I do it really quickly. Just jump over there, slit his throat, and
be done with it. Squeezing the whip’s handle, I take a step back,
convincing myself not to believe the fear wracking my body. My
heart pumps furiously, my hands silently shaking. I step back
again, easing myself out of the group. I take another step. Then
another.

“Fallon,” Clarence frowns. “What’re you
doing?”

I squeeze the handle like a lifesaver. “I
have to.”

Realization strikes his face. He lunges for
me, but it’s too late. My great-great-grandfather’s face vanishes,
instantly replaced by swarms of Vermix, all pushing forward, firing
on the forest ahead.

I try not to blink.

Or vomit.

Vermix.

They’re everywhere. All around me, in every
place I look. I can barely see snow through their charging bodies,
all pouring over the hill to the forest at its base. But they don’t
see me. They can’t. I’ve slowed down time to seek out the one I
need, the one that can end this once and for all. And I’ll find
him. But I have to be careful. There are too many Vermix here.
Entirely too many. One wrong move and I’m dead. I’m dead times a
thousand. I wanted to be in the middle of the enemy and here I am.
Right fucking dab in the middle.

Breathe, Fallon.

And concentrate.

Reuzkimpart.

I have to find Reuzkimpart.

I inhale through my nose, soaking in the
energy around me. Anger and determination. Hate. Revulsion. All
around me, vibrating within every living being. And then I feel
him. I feel him like a force, like a pull through the air, the
scent of hunger and pride drifting closer, stretching its black arm
as if to summon me. To taunt me.

I know where he is.

Like a beacon amidst the creeping onslaught,
Reuzkimpart stands atop the highest level of the cliff, not more
than a few yards away. My heart pounds. My hands shake. Terror over
what I’m about to do engulfs me, but there’s no going back. Not
that I could if I wanted to. This day has been over a hundred years
in the making and I can’t stop because I’m afraid. This isn’t just
about me. It’s never been just about me.

Concentrating on my calmness, on the power
and strength radiating within, I close my eyes and relocate once
more.

I look out.

Reuzkimpart stands feet away, his side to
me, his focus on the battle ahead.

Now. Do it now.