Chapter 81 The Return
"Who are you?"
The question hung in the air like smoke. It was colder than the wind. It was colder than the ash.
I stared at Ryker. He was standing there holding the black stone—the Void Heart—in his hand. His body was strong again; the shaking had stopped. But his eyes... they were blank.
They were still gold. But gold like a coin and not one on fire. Hard. Calculated.
"I'm Elara," I whispered, choking on my own voice as I reached for his arm.
Ryker flinched back. Not exactly flinching. He just got out of range as if anticipating an attack from me.
"Elara," he said. He tasted the name, like it was some box he was reading a label for. "The Vessel. The Source."
He regarded Commander. "And you are Jaxon. The pilot."
He regarded Kael. "The scientist."
He regarded Vane. "The gun."
He knew our names. The Keeper had said he would not forget. Only the feelings linked with those memories had been lost. To him, I ceased being his wife; I was just another team member.
"Ryker," I said, stepping closer. "We are married. We are mates."
Ryker looked at me. He cocked his head. Then he checked the ring on my finger. Glancing at his own hand, there was no ring but a faint tan line there where one used to be.
"Okay," he said in a flat voice. "That's... impractical."
He turned his back on me to face the Keeper.
"We have the package; we're leaving," Ryker said.
He didn't say goodbye. He didn't thank the old man. He just turned and strode toward the exit of the cave.
"Ryker, wait!" I cried.
He paused, but he didn't turn back.
"We're wasting daylight," Ryker said. "If it's critical for the city, we simply must move. Walking speed has to be double what it was coming here."
And he began to walk. Quickly.
I stood frozen, with my heart wrenched out.
"He's gone, child," the Keeper said softly from where he was hiding. "The Wolf is still there. But the Man? The Man is sleeping in the stone."
I wiped my tears; I had no time to cry.
"I promised," I whispered to myself. "I promised to make him remember."
I ran after him into the gray wasteland.
The Long Walk Home
The way back to the ship was a nightmare.
On the way there, Ryker relied on me. We kept each other warm and talked in soft whispers in the dark.
On the way back, Ryker walked ten feet ahead of everyone, with the Void Heart tucked away in a pouch on his belt. The black stone seemed to push away the ash. The Dust-Eaters—the flesh-eating beetles—scurried away from him in fear.
He was a walking void.
"This is messed up," Vane muttered by my side. "He's acting like a machine. I'm the cyborg, and even I have more feelings than him right now."
"I just stick up for him," I found myself saying, though it hurt more than I could say. "He sacrificed for us. For the world."
"Saving the world by killing himself was not an admirable act," Vane spat. "I liked the old Ryker better, the one who punched me."
Time flew by. The silence of the Deadlands added to the silence between us.
When nighttime fell, we found shelter inside a shallow cave.
Cold. Too cold. We huddled together.
Usually, he would hold me tight, warming me with his body.
Tonight, it was Ryker seated by the entrance, all alone, staring into the darkness for threats.
I went over and sat next to him.
He didn't look at me.
"You ought to sleep," Ryker said. "You are slowing down; fatigue impairs the mission."
"I am very cold," I said softly.
Ryker regarded me. He didn't offer his jacket. He didn't offer his arm.
"The Commander has a thermal blanket," Ryker said. "Go ask him."
The words slapped me in the face.
"Ryker," I began, forcing my voice as steady as possible. "You remember the attic, don't you? In the North?"
Ryker blinked. "There is data on northern possession. You were my prisoner. I was warden."
"Do you recall... How did you feel... when you brought me soup? When you protected me from your father?" I asked.
There was a frown on Ryker's face. He looked rather like one trying to read a book that is missing pages.
"I know the events," he began slowly. "You were a valued asset; the King wanted you dead. I needed you to be alive because I needed to overthrow him. It was tactical."
"This is not tactics!" I grabbed his hand. "It was love!"
Ryker pulled away. He looked annoyed.
"Love is a chemical defect," Ryker said cold. "It makes you weak. It makes you hesitate. I don't feel it, Elara. Stop trying to invent things that aren't there."
He stood up.
"I will take the first watch," he said. "Go sleep."
I watched him turn away. I curled up in the dirt and sobbed until I passed out.
The Crash Site
The next day, we made it to the ship.
It was all a wreckage of the Vanguard Frigate. Burrowing into the rock had angled its tip about and had broken a wing, yet the rest of its hull remained intact.
"Can it fly?" Ryker turned to the Commander.
"The engines are dead," the Commander replied, popping open the landing gear hood. "There's no magic here to spark the core."
"Then fix it," Ryker commanded.
"Alas, I can't just 'fix' a magical engine in a dead zone!" protested Commander.
"Use the batteries," Ryker said, pointing to the emergency lights. "Route the power from the life-support systems to the starter. Bypass the magical fuse."
The Commander stared at him. "If I do that, we lose oxygen scrubbers. We lose heat. We’ll be flying in a tin can."
"We only need to fly for an hour to cross the border," Ryker said. "We can hold our breath. Do it."
A cold, brutal calculation. But it was smart.
Vane and the Commander got to work. They stripped wires. They sparked connections.
Ryker stood guard. Didn't put his hand to help. Just looking at the horizon while resting his hand on the pouch with the Void Heart.
"He's efficient," Kael observed, standing next to me. "I'll give him that. The Void Heart... it creates clarity. He sees the straightest line to the goal."
"He sees lines," I said. "He doesn't see people."
"Ready!" Vane yelled. "We have one shot! If the engine doesn't catch, the battery dies!"
So we ran in.
The ship was freezing. The life support was off. We rigged ourselves into the crash seats. Ryker didn't sit next to me. He sat in the gunner's chair.
"Hit it," Ryker commanded.
The Commander slammed the switch.
WHIRRR-CLICK-CLICK.
Nothing.
"Come on," Vane whispered.
WHIRRR-CLICK-BOOM.
The engines roared to life. Not a smooth hum, but a dirty, coughing roar. They were running on raw electricity, burning fuel inefficiently.
The ship shook. It lifted off the grey ash.
"Go!" Ryker shouted.
The Commander punched the throttle. We shot forward, skimming the dead ground.
We flew fast. The grey landscape blurred.
Then, ahead of us, we saw the wall.
The wall of color.
The Neon Jungle.
"Crossing threshold in ten seconds!" the Commander yelled.
"Brace yourselves," Kael warned. "The magic is going to hit us hard."
WHOOSH.
We crossed the line.
The silence vanished. The hum returned. The Origin Stone in my chest woke up with a jolt. It felt like being kicked by a horse.
I gasped, arching my back. The light flooded my veins.
Ryker gasped, too. But not from the light.
He grabbed the Void Heart. The black stone was reacting to the magic zone. It was hungry. It started to pulse, sucking the energy out of the air inside the ship.
"It is stabilizing," Ryker said, gazing at the stone. "It is feeding."
I looked at him. I hoped the magic would bring him back. I hoped the return to the living world would wake up the Wolf.
Ryker looked up. His eyes flashed... but not gold.
They flashed black.
The Void Heart was protecting him from the magic. It was a shield. He was immune to the Overcharge.
"Status report," Ryker barked, ignoring the beautiful, glowing forest below us.
"We're drawing near to the city," the Commander said. "And... oh god."
I looked out the window.
We'd been gone for two days. And in those two days, the Overcharge had gotten worse.
The Iron Sovereignty was no longer a jungle. It was a mountain of green, its plants grown so high they touched the clouds.
The worst part wasn't that, though.
It was the Storm.
A massive vortex of pure chaotic magic swirled above the city. It looked like a hurricane built out of rainbows. Every second lightning struck the ground.
"The magic is critical," Kael said, his face pale. "The atmosphere's saturated. If that storm breaks... it will shatter the planet."
"We need to get there," I said. "To the Spire."
"The Spire is gone," Vane pointed out. "Look."
And he was right, indeed. The Spire—the highest point in the world—layered with vines: it almost looked like a huge, mossy gravestone.
And there were nebalds circling this Spire.
The Coalition Fleet was up there too. Only they were not fighting with monsters anymore.
But with a storm right above.
"Ryker," I said, "we need a plan."
Ryker stood up. He walked to the window. He looked at the chaos.
"The plan hasn't changed," Ryker said cold. "To the center we fly. The Void Heart we implant. The magic, we kill."
"And the people?" I asked. "There are millions of people down there, trapped in the vines!"
Ryker turned to me.
"Acceptable losses," he said.
I froze. Old Ryker would never say such a thing. Old Ryker saved every life.
"No," I stood up. I blocked his path. "We are not sacrificing the city."
Ryker's gaze browse over me. I swallowed. He was bigger. Stronger. Completely empty.
"Move, Vessel," he warned.
"Make me," I said.
For a second, I thought he was going to hit me.
Then, the ship alarm screamed.
"MISSILE LOCK DETECTED."
The Coalition had found us.