House of Ravens (The Nightfall Chronicles Book 2) (21 page)

He does, looking up at me oddly. "What?"

I stop walking and take the book from him. "This isn't a dedication. It's a map. Nineteen nights. Nights is spelled wrong because it represents North. Nineteen degrees North and one hundred and fifty witnesses is one hundred and fifty degrees West. Those coordinates are in the proximity of Hawaii, which is where Evie speculated we were. This must be where the base is!"

Wytt smiles widely. "You are truly a gorgeous genius!" He kisses my cheek.

I laugh and click my eGlass. "Evie, map these coordinates, and tell us where to go." I give her the numbers and she says the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. "Scarlett, walk north fourteen miles."

"Guys, we are officially on our way to the base."

They both cheer as we alter our direction. Wytt walks next to me, staring at the book in his hand. "I'd never have figured that out," he says. "So why did I get the book?"

I shrug. "You would have figured it out eventually."

He looks down again. "Maybe."

The walking doesn't get any more exciting, but knowing for sure we're heading in the correct direction helps a lot. We make good progress over the next few hours, despite sore feet (all of us) and a deepening thirst for blood (I'm hoping just me).

We're stopping for a quick lunch of more coconuts—yay—when we hear it again. The huge thing. This time, though, it seems a lot closer. Around us the ground shakes, the coconut milk splashing up from the shell, and then a sound sends shivers up my spine. A kind of growl that's more dinosaur than anything.

"We have to hide," Wytt says. "That thing is getting closer."

He's right. It's running now, and it's coming straight for us.

We drop our coconuts, grab our backpacks and scurry away from the beast, tripping over rocks and bushes until we find a large dead tree to crawl into and hide. Our breathing is heavy as we crouch in the darkness. Bugs scurry from their hiding places, crawling over my feet and hands in their quest to escape.

I peek through a hole in the tree bark and see bits of something giant with scales that glow green.

Wytt looks through the hole as well and pulls back, his face white. He holds up the spear Garin made. "I don't think these sticks are going to do the trick."

A tree branch snaps in the distance and through the hole in the tree I watch the beast turn, distracted, and run away from us.

"I think we're safe," I say.

"The danger's not over yet," says someone outside our hiding place.

"Kai!"

He crawls into the tree trunk with us, and I scoot over to him.

He hugs me and kisses my cheek. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Is Corinne here too?"

"No," Wytt says. "We can't find her."

He frowns and I ask, "Do you know what that thing out there is?"

He drops his hand to the hilt of his sword—his Boon was useful at least—and shakes his head. "No. But whatever it is, it's been hunting me for the last two days."

"What do you mean hunting you?" I ask, gripping his arm.

"I don't know," he says. "But I haven't been able to lose its trail for long. It seems to be tracking me."

Garin glares at Kai's sword. "Of course you got a weapon. You all got Boons, naturally. Connections."

I don't even bother responding. We wait in the tree quietly for what feels like forever, just to make sure the beast is truly gone. When we think it's safe, we crawl outside, and I take a deep breath and stretch, my body cramped from crouching for so long.

Kai brushes a strand of hair off my face. "You should go on without me. If this thing is following me, I don't want you and Wytt at risk."

"I agree," says Garin. "That's an excellent plan."

"Nope," I shake my head. "We're not leaving you."

Wytt agrees. "We stick together." He looks over at Garin. "You're free to go if you're scared. But my brother stays."

Garin grunts. "Fine."

"Besides," I say with more excitement. "We have coordinates for the base camp. They were part of Wytt's Boon."

Kai raises an eyebrow. "That's excellent. Let's get going. But we need to stay where the trees are thick. And if we see the beast again, run while I distract it."

I'm about to argue but he stops me. "I have a sword. It makes the most sense."

I reluctantly agree, and I explain the route Evie has laid out for us. As we start to hike again, my head feels dizzy, and I know I need blood or Life Force soon or I'll be too weak to keep going. I might have to sneak off and eat an animal without anyone seeing, and hope there are no cameras watching me.

We're hiking up a large hill, my thighs burning the higher we go, when we hear someone scream. Kai looks west and points. "It came from a field over there."

"We should see if they need help," I say.

Garin shakes his head. "Let the loser save himself. We have enough problems."

The man screams again, and Wytt sighs. "We should go help. It's the right thing to do." He doesn't sound happy about that, but we head west and find Bartholomew fiercely battling… bunnies?

I look closer. "Are those bunnies or… "

"Hybrid bunnies with cat DNA," says Wytt. "At least that's what they look like."

It's true. They have bunny ears, but the long tail of a cat. They're adorable, and small and seem relatively harmless. Though Barty boy appears to disagree.

"Hey Bart, need some help with the kitty-bunnies?" Kai calls.

Even Garin snickers at that, despite this being one of his friends.

"These beasts are not cute, they are evil!" Bart shouts.

We walk over and the creatures run off into the bushes, more scared of us than we are of them. But Bart is still running around screaming like his pants are on fire. Kai smacks him in the face. "Shut up. We can't make noise right now."

Bart stares at Kai, shocked. "Did you just hit me?" He shoves Kai in the chest, and I step next to Kai.

"Back off, Bart," I say.

"Bartholomew. My name is Bartholomew. And when my father hears about how I've been treated here—"

"Shut up, dude," says Garin. "No one wants to hear about your father."

Bart glares at his friend. "Why are you even hanging out with these losers?"

I laugh. "You know what? You two go on. We can handle the rest of this ourselves. It's time to break up into groups."

"No way," says Garin. "You got maps and eGlasses and swords."

Bart looks at Kai's sword and sneers. "Of course they got the best Boons. Doesn't matter. With my skill and expertise, I don’t need one."

"I'm over this," Kai says. "Which way next, Scarlett?"

I point north, and we start walking with Wytt by our side. The rest can figure out what they want to do.

I hear Bart arguing with Garin, but unfortunately for us, they do keep following. I wish we could mute them.

Kai reaches for my hand and I let him take it, enjoying the feel.

"I was worried about you," he says.

"I was hoping we'd find you," I admit.

We walk in silence for a while, listening for sounds in the forest.

We're getting closer to the base as the sun sets on our second day, and I feel confident we'll have no trouble reaching base by lunch tomorrow—plenty of time before deadline. We still haven't seen Corinne yet, and Kai is worried.

"She's okay," Wytt says as we search for a place to rest for the night. "She got high grades. She probably got a map and a truck or something."

I laugh. "No doubt. That'd be nice."

It's getting much darker, hard to see even a few feet in front of us, and we still haven't found a place to sleep. "We need to stop," I say. "We're going to be tripping over ourselves soon."

"Agreed," says Kai.

I let some power flow through me to increase my night vision until I see more around us. I point to our left. "There's a grove of trees over there. We can camp in the middle with some shelter at least."

Kai squints and frowns. "I can't see it."

"Trust me," I say, pulling him forward. They follow me, Garin and Bart finally quieter after hours of arguing.

We don't have much to make camp with, so we do the best we can with brush and leaves and settle in. Kai, Wytt and I sleep close to each other for warmth. Kai holds me in his arms, which isn't unpleasant, and I lean my head on his shoulder and listen to his heartbeat.

Bart starts rubbing wood together for a fire, and Kai stops him. "No fires. There's something dangerous out there and we don't want to draw its attention."

"But I'm cold," whines Bart.

"Suck it up, buttercup," says Wytt.

Garin snorts and leans back against a tree. "I'm out. Tomorrow this will be over, and we can all go back to hating each other."

"Who said we stopped?" says Bart, rolling over and facing away from us.

I doze on Kai's shoulder, falling into a half-sleep haunted by shadow dreams, when something wakes me. My eyes open, and I see Bart sitting in front of a small fire warming his hands.

He grins. "Care to join me?"

I sit up and my movement wakes Kai and Wytt. "You have to put that out, idiot."

"Forget it. You don't make the rules for me," he says stubbornly.

"Then leave. Go find another group," I tell him.

Kai puts his hand on my arm, and then I hear it. The ground rumbles. A great roar fills the night sky.

The beast has found us.

We scramble up and use whatever we can find to diffuse the flames, but it's too late. The beast is hunting us, moving closer as it smells our fire, or our fear—I don't know which.

"Should we run or stay put?" asks Wytt.

"For now, stay under the cover of the trees," I say.

We push into the spaces within the large trees and wait and listen.

Our breathing is so loud I feel like we can be heard for miles. And it's getting louder.

Bart starts to hyperventilate. He begins groaning and drops to his knees. "I can't do this," he says. "My father would never allow this if he knew."

I kneel to face him. "Bartholomew, look at me. Look at my face." He looks up, and I hold eye contact with him. "It's going to be okay, but you have to calm down. We'll get out of this. Just breathe."

I think I'm getting through to him. He takes a breath. Then another. Then the creature roars again, and Bart can't keep focus. He screams and jumps up. "No! No!" Then he runs out of the grove and into the night, screaming.

We all follow him, calling his name. Once out of the cover of trees, the full moon brightens our path, giving us just enough light to see the beast, a great shadow like a mountain, with teeth the size of my hands and sharp as swords. It's scaly with big glowing green eyes.

And as Bart runs through the brush, the beast turns his head.

I have no time to react, to run or help or stop him.

In one move, the beast opens its giant jaws and drops them onto Bart, eating him in one horrifying crunch.

***

I'm paralyzed as I stare in horror at the bloody remains of the man who stood there a second ago.

Garin's shaking from rage… or maybe fear.

Kai tenses next to me as the beast turns his focus on us again. "I'm going to distract him while you three escape," he whispers.

I grip his arm. "Not alone."

He kisses my head. "I have to. It's me he's after, and I'm the only one with a weapon." His purple eyes are filled with concern, but not for himself. "Get my brother to safety. Please."

I swallow the lump in my throat and nod. He'll be distracted if he thinks Wytt's in danger. I can protect him better by doing as he asks. For now. I nod. "I'll keep him safe. Don't die."

He grins in that cocky way I've come to love. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Night."

And then he runs out. The beast swerves its head to follow the scent of Kai, and I tell Wytt and Garin to run in the opposite direction.

Legs pumping, heart pounding, I try not to look back, not to think about what's happening with Kai as we run for a rock formation that should offer us a way out.

We arrive at the rocks, and I push Wytt to climb up first. "Go! Don't argue."

"I'm not leaving you out here alone," Wytt says.

Garin pushes past him. "Then I'll go." He climbs up the rocks and disappears through a crevice.

"Wytt, I promised your brother I'd protect you. I'm Zenith, you're not. Go!"

He obeys, reluctantly, climbing through the crevice as I stand guard with my spear.

I hear Kai yell at the beast to keep its attention. The beast charges and traps Kai between a mountain and itself.

Wytt calls for me from behind the rocks. "Scarlett, hurry up."

"Kai needs help. Go! I'll catch up."

Wytt yells for me. "No!"

But I'm already running toward Kai. I can't let him die. Can't let him get hurt. I did what he wanted. Wytt is safe. Now I must save him.

I'm running faster than I ever have, my powers surging through me. I want to unleash my wings, but if I do, it's all over. I can't take the risk. Not yet. There's still time. Kai is fighting the beast. He's not injured. I can make it without revealing who I am.

When I'm within reach, I take my spear, aim, and using extra force and power, I throw. The spear impales the beast's backside, and it cries out in pain and turns toward me. "Kai, run!"

The beast isn't slowed by a piece of wood sticking out of it. It probably feels like a splinter. I've basically just made it mad. And now it's chasing me. I run away from Kai, away from Wytt, but Kai isn't getting to safety, he's following me and the beast, and now the beast is confused. It wants to attack us both.

It changes directions, chasing Kai again, who's running fast but not as fast as needed and in the wrong direction. "Kai, the cliff!"

I try to catch up, to stop him before it happens, but I'm not fast enough. Not without my wings.

Time slows as the beast and Kai run to the edge of the cliff. Kai realizes his mistake at the last minute and turns to face the beast, sword held high to fight. But the beast is huge and doesn't have the breaks required to stop in time. It crashes into Kai, and they both disappear over the ledge.

"No!"

I have no choice. It's not even a thought, just instinct. My wings of light stretch out from my shoulders and I fly, swooping down over the cliff. I see the beast and Kai both falling. I push myself faster, passing the beast and reaching for Kai. "Grab my hand!"

He reaches for me. Our hands link. I try to hold onto him, but his hand slips away.

He's too close to the ground. I push harder, flying faster. My heart is beating so hard it hurts my chest. I reach for him again. Our hands clasp and I pull. Hard.

My arms wrap around his waist and I hold him tight against me as I slow our descent.

We crash into the ground, but without the fatal splat I feared. The beast falls next to us, shaking the earth. Instead of dying as I'd hoped, it rolls onto its legs and charges us.

It's so close I can smell its rancid breath.

I grab Kai's sword from his sheath, spread my wings and fly straight at the beast. It swipes at me, gouging my arm with its claws.

I push the sword through its eye.

It twitches, lunging once more at me, but it can't complete the move. As death steals its life, it falls to its side.

I crumble to the ground, my wings still flicking silver white light behind me. My arm burns, and I feel dizzy, sick.

The sun is just starting to glimmer in the sky, but the moon hasn't yet retired for the day. It's mostly dark as they share the sky. I look around, trying to breathe, trying to focus my thoughts. We're in some kind of grove where glow-in-the-dark mushrooms and bugs create a magical ambiance. Night flowers glow in pink and yellow and orange lights.