Discovery at Nerwolix (21 page)

“Do we have to?”

“I think it’s time. Aren’t you hungry?
Because,” his free hand drops to his stomach, “I am.”

Yeah, I could eat
.

But that would mean facing everyone. That
would mean accepting that yesterday happened and that a new future
is waiting for me outside. But I guess it’s always been my
future…always been my past. I’m just not sure I’m ready for it
all.

“Got to face it sooner or later,” Reid
offers his free hand. “I’ll be with you.”

He’s right. I can’t pretend it didn’t happen
and I can’t stay in here forever, hoping everyone forgets about me.
And with everything else going on, I can’t be that selfish. I need
to do this.

Already dressed in my baseball tee and
jeans, I get up and take Reid’s hand, following him outside. He
squeezes me and threads his fingers with mine. “It’ll be okay.”

“I know.”

He leads us to Sampson’s home and when he
pulls back the curtain, we find everyone is already squeezed in
here, eating various types of fruits and talking about today’s
agenda. As if on cue, the entire room pauses with our arrival, all
eyes flickering between Reid and I, watching us as we pause at the
entryway. A solid moment of silence passes before Sampson
approaches.

“How are you this morning?”

Reid nudges my side. “I think that’s
directed at you.”

I nod, knowing I should use words. But I
can’t be honest. Because the truth is, I’m still shocked about
everything, still in complete disbelief even though I had last
night and this morning to ruminate over it. I need another few
hours—maybe days—to process it all, to really let it settle in. But
with everyone watching, I force a smile. “Fine,” I answer quietly,
following it up with a soft, “thank you.”

“Any melons left? Reid asks.

“Of course,” Sampson leads us past Walker,
Pratt, Mae and the Rogues, to the back part of his home where the
rest of the Dofinikes wait. No one says anything for a long minute,
their attention flickering between me and Clarence. I try not to
notice and instead, focus on the yellowish fruit that Sampson is
handing me.

“Hey guys,” Clarence finally breaks the
solid quiet. He clears his throat, “You both doing alright?”

I turn the melon over in my hands, the
sudden urge to be selfish rising again. I know it’s not the time,
but with everyone watching, it’s obvious they’re curious too.
Gripping the fruit, I ask something that’s been floating around my
head since yesterday. “What’s your real name?”

“Hmm?”

“You said you adopted the name Clarence,” I
bite into the fruit. “You said you heard it in town?”

“Clynse,” he nods with a smile.
“
Clynse
is my birth name.”

“Why don’t you use it?” I keep the melon
close to my mouth, covering it as I chew. “If it’s your real
name.”

Clarence inhales, pondering the question a
moment before he looks me in the eyes. “Anne knew me by Clarence.
It’s the only name I’ll ever hold.”

Sampson tosses Reid the same melon. “Eat
up.”

“Is that your only question?” Clarence
raises a brow.

Taking another bite, I keep the fruit by my
mouth. “For now.”

“Ask me anything you want, anytime.
Okay?”

I nod.

Another quiet moment passes and the air is
still rich in awkward tension. Finally Reid brings the melon to his
mouth. “So what’s the plan for today?” he takes a bite. “We got a
pretty good scope of the perimeter yesterday, except,” he throws an
eye roll to Walker, “I don’t understand why the beach won’t be
covered. It’s too large an area to go unguarded.”

“Hozfin doesn’t want his people far from the
inner ring of trees,” Sampson says.

“But we’d just be giving the Vermix an
advantage.”

“I agree,” Sampson sighs, “but Hozfin
doesn’t see it this way. He thinks he’s going overboard in widening
the perimeter to the Hylas Mountains. The beach is not a pressing
concern to him.”

“They’ll invade there—you know this.”

“How can you be so sure?” Walker approaches.
“If I remember correctly, the Vermix dropped in on us at the
Castle, not the jungle.”

“Yeah and who won that fight?” Reid spins,
crossing his arms.

“I’m not sure; I wasn’t around by that
point.”

“Take a guess.”

“It was a
massacre
,” Walker hooks his
hands on his hips. “And they
knew
we were expecting it. They
have no idea if the Zingfinolds are preparing for an invasion.”

“The Vermix wanted us
dead
,” Reid
snaps. “But this time, they want something. They’re coming to
obtain
something. They’re going to be smarter about their
invasion. They’re not just going to ‘drop in.”

“You still don’t know for sure.”

“Why don’t
we
watch the beach?”
Tucker jumps in. “If Hozfin doesn’t want troops out there, the
Rogues can watch it.”

Reid nods, turning to Sampson. “I think it’s
a good idea.”

“By yourselves?” Blovid frowns.

“There’s six of us,” Tucker says, “and it’s
better than nothing.”

“What about me?” Pratt asks, moving closer.
“I can help. I make seven.”

“And I make eight,” I add. “It’s not a lot,
but it’ll give us an edge if they decide to come from the far
south.”

“Forgive me, but what kind of edge would it
be?” Jothkore frowns. “Do not misunderstand me, I appreciate your
generosity and bravery, but if Reuzkimpart invades from the south,
the eight of you will do very little.”

“We can warn the others,” I say. “Give them
notice so they can prepare. Although,” I look between Sampson,
Clarence and Blovid, “we know Reuzkimpart’s going to spread his
forces. There’s really nothing we can do other than anticipate the
attack and once we know, tell the others.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,”
Clarence sighs, “I wish we knew where the Floating Ruby was. We
could protect it.”

“Reuzkimpart has the same as us—suspicions,”
Sampson says, “that it’s here in the south, guarded by the
Zingfinolds. The best we can do is protect the city and everything
surrounding it. The more eyes we have over the southern terrain,
the better.”

“But the fewer at the city,” Jothkore
counters, “the weaker it stands. And if everyone is scattered over
the southern terrain, they won’t stand a chance against his
forces.”

“It’s a no-win,” Walker sighs.

“We know they’re planning on attacking,” I
say. “We have that much.”

“I think,” Sampson uses his authoritative
tone and everyone quiets around him, “the Rogues and Fallon and
Pratt watching the beach is a good idea. But,” he turns to Reid,
“best not to strike. Come back here as fast as possible.”

“Come on…” Jace whines. “Not even a little
strike? I’m itching to use that Traxpire again.”

“Hells yeah!” Werzo chimes in. “Payback’s a
bitch.”

“I would prefer if you didn’t,” Sampson
shakes his head. “Best not to give away your position, especially
when you’ll be so outnumbered. Come back here and help hold down
the city. That’s where they’ll be heading first.”

“We’ll be suffocated,” Reid says. “If we
block ourselves in.”

“What about the tunnel?” Mae asks, all heads
turning to her.

Sampson frowns. “What tunnel?”

Startled to have all the attention on her,
Mae looks at Reid and he answers first, turning to the Fychu.
“There’s a tunnel in the Hylas. It leads right into the Nerwos’
territory. Perry told me about it.”

“Does Hozfin know about this?”

“I assume. She said some tribesman told her
about it. Hozfin must know.”

“I would like to see it.”

“We can go now.”

“Wonderful,” Sampson agrees, scanning the
room. “Everyone finished eating? Fallon?” he looks to me.
“Ready?”

I’m the only one still nibbling on my
breakfast. Quickly nodding, I’m about to toss the fruit but Reid
catches my hand. “Bring it with you.”

“Alright,” Sampson gestures our exit. “Let’s
take a look at this tunnel. It would be very beneficial to know if
the Vermix are sneaking in from another direction.”

Everyone shuffles out of Sampson’s home and
in a group, we move to one of the posts and down to the ground. A
few of the Zingfinolds notice our generous herd, watching as we
head back out for the Hylas mountains.

I finish the rest of the melon quickly, my
fingers sticky from the juice residue. Wiping them on my jeans,
Reid takes my hand in his and leans over with a whisper. “How you
doing?”

“Fine.”

“You eat enough?”

“I’m fine,” I laugh, a flutter in my chest.
“I promise. I’ll tell you if I’m not.”

“Reid?” Sampson calls. “Where exactly is
this tunnel?”

With a wink, he releases my hand and heads
to the front of the group with all the other Dofinikes. He quickly
falls into conversation with Sampson and Clarence in an exchange I
can’t overhear. Blovid, Qippert, Jothkore and Vix join the
discussion and with all the Rogues chatting amongst themselves and
Pratt and Mae in their own focused conversation, I follow along
quietly.

I was here just last night, but everything
looks different. And I was alone—well, I guess not quite alone. I
had the Lynzees. Are they going to come to me again? She—the
Mother—said there was stuff I had to do. What stuff? Would Clarence
know?

“What you thinking about there, bestie?”
Able grins next to me. “Looks like you’re in some deep thought. I’m
not interrupting, am I?”

“No,” I smile over at Able, my focus
dropping. “How’s your arm doing?”

“It’s still attached,” he rotates his
shoulder. “Pretty much healed. They slapped a good amount of
Vilbrees on it. That stuff really works.”

“It does.”

“Hey…” he leans in, lowering his voice.
“I…uh… heard what happened yesterday… about you and Clarence.” Able
flexes his brows. “
Weird
.”

“Tell me about it.”

“And you had no idea?”

I shake my head.

“Must’ve blown your mind.”

“I don’t know what to think,” I bite my lip.
“I talked to Reid a little about it.”

“What’d he say?”

“That nothing’s impossible. It’s just…” I
let out a deep breath. “It’s hard to believe. I have to keep
reminding myself, ‘oh hey, you’re not fully human.’”

Able nods. We walk in silence behind the
others. After a moment, he turns to me and with a tilt of his head,
says, “It could always be worse. You could be part Jabba the
Hutt.”

I laugh out loud, pausing with a hand on
Able’s good shoulder. He laughs along with me, Pratt and Mae
glancing back as the image of the wormy Star Wars villain races to
mind.

“Actually…” Able’s chuckle rounds into a
grin. “I think it’s kind of cool that you’ve got a little Dofinike
in you. Makes you badass.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Of course,” Walker sweeps up next to me.
“You’re like, the coolest chick ever now.”

“Well, she was pretty cool before.”

“Without a doubt,” Walker agrees. “But
baby,” he smiles at me, “you just took it to a whole new
level.”

“Badass you say?” I look between the
two.

“Hell yeah,” Walker nods. “There was no one
like you before, but now…” Walker actually blushes, “you’re one of
a kind.”

“I was going to say the same thing,” Able
looks over to Walker. “Stop stealing my lines.”

“You’ve got to be quick around here,
Rogue.”

“So wait,” I glance between the two. “How
did you guys find out?”

“Blovid spilled the beans,” Able says. “When
you came back and talked to Sampson, we were naturally curious, so
when Blovid came out, we sort of ambushed him. He told us what
happened and that they were finally telling you. And then he was
shocked to find out
we
didn’t know either. No one knew
except for the Dofinikes.”

“So everyone knows?”

“Pretty much.”

“But, like we said,” Walker continues, “It’s
only improving your stats. You’re just that much more awesome,” he
gulps, his cheeks flushing. Rubbing the back of his neck, he grins.
“You kicked ass as a human and now, you’re like, super girl or
something.”

“Wow,” I laugh, feeling my own blush coming
on. “I should talk to you both more often.”

“Anytime,” Walker’s smile widens.

“Um…” Able clears his throat, focusing on me
again. “So, you feel better?”

“Definitely. Not so much like a freak
anymore.”

“Good.”

“You’ve never been a freak, Fallon,” Walker
shakes his head. “You never could.”

“Thanks,” I turn to him. “And hey… I’m sorry
about yesterday.”

“I should’ve known,” he shrugs. “It’s
obvious how you feel about him... I was just hoping I was
wrong.”

“Walker,” I stop and he pauses with me. Able
keeps going, but glances back as Walker crosses his arms, staring
intently at me. “You’re a good guy. I know you are. And the
situation on Harrizel was shit. I get that. Maybe… maybe if things
had been different… I don’t know,” I pull on my thumbs, trying to
figure out what I’m trying to say. Finally I smile. “But I’m glad
we’re friends.”

“I’ll take a friend. I’ll take whatever I
can with you.”

His eyes soften and there’s something there,
some sort of gentle awe or deep fascination. I’ve seen it before.
When we talked that day during weapons training. When he couldn’t
believe I’d found the mutations.

“I don’t understand—why me?”

He steps closer. A lump rolls down his
throat, excitement flaring in his eyes like he’s finally been given
the opportunity he’s waited so long for. “You’re not afraid. Since
the day you got to Harrizel, you’ve been fighting back. You’ve been
fighting for more and you’re brave. You’re the bravest person I’ve
ever met. It
kills
me he claimed you first.”

“No one cl—”

“Fallon,” he sighs, “that day you stood up
to Tetlak… I wanted you. I wanted to
know
you. You were
something truly spectacular. I should’ve known he’d want you too. I
should’ve made my move first but by that point you were already
guarded. And then you found out what they were doing to everyone
and told us at Lecture…” he shakes his head, lowering it. “I
understand why Rox hates me but I can’t stand him either. He gets
you. And I’ll always hate him for that.”