Nil Unlocked (30 page)

Despite the dark, I saw her cheeks flush. I don’t know why I enjoyed rattling Skye so much. Maybe because it took something heavy to rattle her, and it made me feel powerful. Powerful enough to shake Nil, powerful enough to shake
me.

You’re playing with fire, Rives.

I pushed that thought away. I’d kept my distance—until now.

“What—or
who
—are you thinking about?” she asked.

“Maaka.” I lifted the driftwood moon at my neck to show her. “He left this for me to find a few weeks ago. Now I’m wondering why, and what he wants in return.”

Skye’s hand went to her wrist, the one that used to hold the lettering
TFPL.
The letters had faded, replaced by Nil bling. She tilted her head at me. The torchlight made the flecks in her eyes glint like cool sparks.
Fire and ice
, I thought.

“Has he ever accepted anything from you?” she asked.

“No.” I thought of the mangoes, untouched by Maaka, no doubt breakfast for Michael and crew by now. “And I don’t think he ever will. Which is why I don’t understand his gift.”

“If it’s truly a gift, then there’s no expectation of something in return. But”—she paused—“if it’s not, the question is why? Has he ever asked you for anything?”

“Not really. The closest thing to a request was when he asked me—more like commanded—to not bring fire into the cavern. He calls it the Looking Glass cavern.” I shrugged. “Other than that, we just talk.”

“You talk,” she said slowly. “About what
,
exactly?”

“Mostly convoluted new-age crap that makes no sense,” I admitted. “He rambles a lot about how Nil is a ‘spiritual journey,’ and how we all have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but the middle is the most important, and this is his middle.” I shook my head. “It’s like the dude drank the Nil Kool-Aid. He worships this place.”

Skye absently fingered her bracelets. Her hand stilled and she looked directly at me.

“He wants
you
,” she said softly. “Your trust. You’re the only one he shows himself to, the only one he regularly seeks out. For whatever reason, he wants you. Not as an ally, more as a confidant. Maybe you’re part of his journey, or at least he thinks you are.”

Skye had a point. Because as much as Maaka played the loner card, no one truly wanted to be alone. Humans were pack animals, after all.

“Maybe,” I said. “But if he needs a confidant, why not Paulo? He’s more like Maaka than me.”

Skye shook her head, a smile lifting the corner of her mouth. “You haven’t met Paulo yet. You two are very different. Paulo”—Skye searched for words—“reminds me of Sy. From what little I’ve seen, you’re more like Maaka than Paulo, at least in the ways that count.”

“You mean chiseled and mysterious?” I teased. For an instant I felt like
me
.

“I was thinking more bossy and commanding,” she shot back. But her eyes were light.

“Speaking of that, you should get some sleep.”

She shook her head. “Not tired.”

“You will be if you don’t sleep.”

She arched a brow. “Speak for yourself.”

Her hand left her wrist and in the glint of firelight, I saw the moon. A carved wooden crescent moon, dangling from braided twine. I grabbed her wrist, gently turning it over to expose the bracelet. “Where did you get this?” I asked softly.

She lifted her chin to meet my eyes. “Jealous?” Her eyes flashed.

“Hardly. Maaka and I don’t have that kind of relationship.”

She almost smiled. “It’s not from Maaka. It’s from Paulo.”

I raised my eyebrow, fighting an unwelcome twinge in my chest. “Really?” My voice was sharp. “I didn’t realize you’d seen him.”

“I didn’t,” she said. “He left it by my pillow while I was sleeping.”

“He left it by your pillow?” My jaw almost hit Nil dirt.
How the hell did he get so close to Skye without me noticing?

She nodded. “He left it to make things even.”

“Explain,” I said curtly, silently reminding myself that Skye was safe. Despite me.

“After he told me about the cat that killed Archie, I told him about the hippos at the mudflats and the rhino I’d seen by the groves and he kind of freaked. I think the exchange of info put him in my debt, even though I was just trying to help. So now Paulo and I are even.” She turned to me, guilt flashing through her eyes. “And I owe you an apology. That day I saw Paulo, you didn’t make him run away. I did. I pushed him too hard about the gate. It was my fault.”

“Apology unnecessary but accepted.” I grinned, relaxing. “Now we’re even.”

She smiled but it vanished quickly. “Rives, you said I was keeping secrets. I wasn’t, well, other than my pushing Paulo too hard.” She looked guilty again. “That was the only secret I kept intentionally, but I’ve been thinking of my uncle’s journal, wondering what I missed because I didn’t know enough about Nil to know what was important. Yesterday after I got this bracelet, I remembered something. He had an entry where a girl, Rika, told him some weird stuff. She told my uncle that his destiny wrapped the island from beginning to end, but that his journey didn’t end here. She also told him that his time ended when the crescent moon rose over the heart of the island.” Skye paused. “She never put her name on the Wall, and he never saw her again. But he thought she was related to his island angel—the girl I told you about that gave him water. I don’t know what Rika’s words mean, but they feel important. Especially now that I have this from an islander.” She looked at me. “Where is the heart of the island?”

The Looking Glass cavern,
I thought.
Or was that Nil’s gut?

“I don’t know,” I said. “Did your uncle mention Rika having any tattoos or jewelry?”

“No, why?”

I filled her in on Ramia and the skeleton in the Cove tunnel.

“Weird,” Skye said. “But related, right?”

I nodded. Rika’s words about beginnings and endings also sounded suspiciously familiar.
I see a boy who knows the beginning and the end but does not see the middle, and the middle is the most important part
, Maaka had told me.

Different time period, similar words.

Same us
, I thought.
As in
not
us. As in them.

I scanned the dark Nil sky. The moon was an even half. No crescent.

My mind drifted to the skeleton in the cavern, resting in the darkest place on Nil. Meters away, the woods before us were equally black.

It is dark everywhere here, my friend.
Michael’s words, dead right.

The darkness shifted. Then it blinked. Twin golden orbs glittered, then disappeared.

“Skye!” I reached for my blade. “Get back!”

The sheath at my waist was empty; all I had was a torch. I raised it high as a growling, snarling blur of spots burst from the trees. The cat stretched long, suspended in the air, teeth bared, claws out.

I raised the torch and lunged. I’d barely moved when the leopard dropped from the air, struck by an invisible force.

Beside me, Skye lowered her arm, sling in hand. Her expression radiated lethal calm.

“Rives! Look out!” Dex shouted.

Meters away, the cat fought to its feet and shook its head, dazed, not dead.

I slammed my torch over my thigh, snapped it in two, and strode forward. Holding my stunted torch in front of me, I drove the other half into the cat’s chest. Blood spurted; it stained the golden fur like tar. A gorgeous animal, brought to Nil only to die because it tried to live.

Safaris were a joke compared to Nil.

I stabbed the cat again, feeling ill. The leopard didn’t move. I tossed the bloody piece of bamboo on the ground and walked back to Skye, still holding my torch.

“Nice shot,” I said.

She nodded. “You too.”

“Damn,” said Zane. “That was intense.” He stood beside Dex, his face pale.

“Did that just happen?” Dex asked, his eyes flitting between the cat, Skye, and me. “Who
are
you people?” He pointed at Skye. “We’ve got bloody Xena in our camp who just knocked out a ninety-kilo cat with a dog chew toy, popping off a shot like she takes out leopards for a lark while the rest of us are wetting our nappies. And you”—he looked at me, waving his arm wildly—“you’re like that nutter who snacks on tarantulas and wrestles crocodiles for fun—” Pinching his nose, Dex paused.

“Bear Grylls,” Skye offered.

“Right.” Dex pointed at her, nodding. “Bear Grylls. You’re like bloody Bear Grylls. Shotgunning deadsleep tea like it’s lager, waltzing up to a man-eating leopard and spearing it with an island shiv without even breaking a sweat.” Dex shook his head. “Bugger me. That was
completely
mental.”

Jason walked out of his hut, rubbing his eyes with one hand and plucking my knife off the post with his other hand as he passed. “Rives, here’s your blade.” He looked around, suddenly awake. “What’d I miss?”

“Just confirmation that humans are the biggest badasses on the planet,” Zane said. “Or maybe just Rives and Skye.”

“We’re down one kitty, thanks to the dynamic duo here,” Dex said, recovering slightly. “Tomorrow Skye is going to wrestle a hippo for kicks, while Rives takes out the rhino with a toothpick. Bloody hell.” Dex snorted, then grinned at me. “And for the record, I had your back, mate. I was
this
close”—Dex pinched his thumb and forefinger together—“to going after you and beating off the leopard with my bare hands.”

“Perfect,” I said. “The next leopard is all yours.”

“Right.” Dex swallowed. “Well, feel free to jump in early and steal my glory. I don’t want to be greedy.” Abruptly, he looked at Skye. “No wonder the tiger walked away on your first night in the meadow. You’re a bloody force of nature, Skye.”

Dex looked like he didn’t want to mess with her, either.

Skye turned to me, her eyes as sharp and fierce as I’d ever seen. “
Now
can we hunt that stationary gate?”

CHAPTER

42

SKYE

DAY 13, MORNING

After the leopard attack, Rives had agreed to head to Mount Nil to search for the stationary gate. His tight tether to the City had died with the cat.

We’d made our plans as dawn broke. Dex would stay back as Leader, and Jillian would stay back as Rives’s very unofficial Second. Ahmad too. Our special Search team was Rives, me, Jason, and Miya.

Rives led us, moving with grace and sure feet befitting a cat, which was a scary visual given last night’s attack, but it fit. Within a few hours, we’d passed smoothly through a black lava field and made it into a red one. Now broken rocks the color of dried blood stretched for miles, its dull color making the sky extra blue. It was both beautiful and creepy, like my uncle’s journal had described. I wondered if I was viewing the island through my eyes or his.

Behind us, Jason and Miya seemed to understand each other without talking, an intensity that occasionally made me feel like I was intruding. It made me think of Charley.

“Lava rock for your thoughts,” Rives said, tossing a small black rock toward me. I caught it on reflex. The oval rock was perfectly smooth with a slight indentation in the middle, like a worry stone. “What’s on your mind?”

“Charley,” I replied.

He gave a weird laugh. “She landed here, you know. In this field.”

“I didn’t,” I said. “I was thinking of how much she missed Thad.”

“You got that from this field?”

“No, I got it from Jason and Miya. They’re kind of intense sometimes.”

Rives shook his head. “Amplify that times twenty and you’re getting close to Charley and Thad.”

“Wow,” I said.

“I know, right?” Rives smiled, and the softness in his expression stole my breath. It was like he’d given me a glimpse into another Nil world, one full of tenderness that touched him, too. Rives was so powerful, so strong, but flashes like these made me melt without warning.

I realized I was staring at Rives, who was smiling at me with an amused expression.

With a very awkward smile, I looked away.

Pull it together, Skye,
I told myself.
You’re not here to drool over guys, no matter how hot they are.

“Hey!” Jason shouted. “Rives! Gate at five o’clock!”

Sure enough, a shimmering wall of air hovered over the red rock to our right, rippling and writhing. And then it moved,
fast.

“Go, Rives! It’s yours!” Jason yelled. “It’s a single! It won’t wait forever!”

A gate.

Rives.

He was leaving.

Suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

I looked at Rives; he was looking at me.

“Bye, Rives.” I squeezed his hand. “Tell Charley I got what I wished for.” I smiled.

Rives stared at me, his light eyes burning.

“Skye,” he whispered. Before he said another word, Jason’s shout rang through the air.

“Got a runner!” he said.

I turned to see Paulo galloping across the red rocks, running
away
from the gate. He glanced over his shoulder, terrified, then changed direction to avoid the streaking wall of air.

“What the hell?” Rives breathed.

“Paulo,” I said.

The gate was too far out for Rives to catch now. It sped away with lightning speed, away from us, and judging by Paulo’s ungainly sprint, covering ground quickly in this field wasn’t easy. Paulo took an awkward leap off a large heap of rocks and fell out of sight with an agonized cry.

The gate flew on, crossing the field and disappearing into the distance.

Rives gently pulled a curl of my hair. “Let’s go check on your boyfriend, shall we?” He winked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Rives laughed as he broke into a steady jog.

We found Paulo on the other side of the pile of red rocks, moaning on the ground and holding his leg. His eyes bulged when he saw us, his hands tightening on his leg.

“Don’t touch it!” he screamed.

“I think he broke it,” Jason said, eyeing Paulo’s shin. It was already swelling, and the angle looked off.