Page 23

RIVERA

T he morning sun beat against my face, warming my skin and waking me from a fitful sleep. Varek still slept beside me, his breathing more even than it had been yesterday. The fever had broken sometime in the night, and I allowed myself a moment of relief. He looked almost peaceful, the usual tension in his face softened by sleep. It was interesting because Varek looked different in sleep. Younger. Less carved from duty. I didn’t let myself linger, but the sight carved itself into memory anyway.

I checked his wound. The angry red streaks had receded, and though the burn still looked painful, the infection appeared to be retreating. My makeshift poultice had worked better than I'd dared hope.

"How bad?" Varek's voice startled me. His eyes remained closed, but he'd clearly sensed my examination.

"Better. The infection's backing off." I sat back on my heels. "How do you feel?"

He opened his eyes, golden irises fixing on me. "Functional."

I snorted. "That's a low bar."

"But accurate." He pushed himself up, wincing only slightly. Progress.

I handed him water from our dwindling supply. "We need to get moving. Hammond's not going to wait while you recover your beauty sleep."

Varek drank deeply, then handed back the container. "Then we move."

Getting him on his feet took more effort than either of us wanted to admit. He leaned heavily against me, his considerable weight making my knees buckle before he found his balance. Still, he moved under his own power, which counted as a win in my book.

"Hammond's compound can't be more than half a day's journey," I said, orienting myself by the twin suns. "If we push."

"Then we push." His voice carried determination that his body couldn't quite match.

The terrain grew rockier as we moved west, the vegetation sparser. Signs of the destabilization Hammond had triggered appeared more frequently – fissures in the ground, dying plant life, unusual heat pockets. Each indicator only strengthened my resolve. If we didn't stop him, this destruction would spread across the entire region.

Varek stumbled on a loose rock, and I caught him, my hands steadying his waist. His lifelines pulsed against my fingers, and my own markings responded with a rush of silver light. The connection between us grew stronger each time we touched, no longer surprising but still thrilling.

"I can walk," he insisted, straightening.

"Sure you can." I kept my hand at his back anyway.

We crested a small ridge, and I froze. Below us, clear as day, lay a discarded energy cell casing, the angular insignia of Hammond's security unit stamped on its side.

"Hammond's people," I whispered, dropping into a crouch and pulling Varek down beside me.

He picked up the casing, examining it. "Recent. The oxidation pattern suggests no more than a day old."

My heart raced. "They're searching for us?"

"Or patrolling their perimeter." He scanned the horizon, all senses alert despite his weakened state. "Either way, we must proceed with caution."

I took the casing from him, turning it over in my hands. "This is military grade. Hammond's upgrading his equipment."

"Using technology from the ruins?"

"Possibly." I dropped the casing, disgusted. "He's playing with forces he doesn't understand."

We continued forward, moving from cover to cover. Each step felt exposed, dangerous. My eyes constantly scanned for movement, my ears strained for any sound that didn't belong to the wind or our careful footsteps.

Near a cluster of rock formations, Varek suddenly stiffened. He placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"What?" I whispered.

He pointed to a small stack of stones – three flat rocks balanced on each other at an unnatural angle.

"Trail marker," he explained. "Nyxari."

Hope surged through me. "Lazrin? His team?"

"Yes. This formation indicates allies moving west." His expression darkened. "Recently placed. But where are they now?"

The relief I felt immediately twisted into concern. "If they're heading toward Hammond's compound... they could be in trouble. Or maybe they never made it."

"We must try to make contact." Varek straightened, new urgency in his movements.

We followed the trail markers, finding them at irregular intervals – small stone formations, broken branches positioned in specific ways, subtle signs invisible to anyone who didn't know what to look for. Each marker increased my anxiety. Our allies were out there, somewhere, but their status was unknown.

"There." He pointed to a ridge overlooking a small valley. "That formation offers height advantage and potential shelter. If we can establish communication from there..."

I nodded. "Worth a try."

The climb taxed Varek more than he wanted to admit. By the time we reached the sheltered overhang, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing came in controlled but labored breaths.

"Rest," I ordered, helping him sit against the rock wall. "I'll see if I can rig something."

From my pack, I pulled out the comm unit I'd salvaged from the ruins. It looked pathetic – wires exposed, casing cracked, power fluctuating.

"The marker stones," Varek said, pushing himself up and moving to the marker we'd found near our shelter. "They're not just trail signs. They're relay points. With the right energy signature, they might transmit."

"You're saying they're technological, not just rocks?"

"Both. Ancient tech disguised as natural formations." He placed his hand on the stone formation, his lifelines brightening. "But they respond only to Nyxari energy signatures."

"Or human markings?" I joined him, setting the comm unit beside the marker. "If we combine our energies..." He extended his hand to me.

I took it without hesitation. The connection flared instantly, silver and gold light intertwining between our joined hands. I placed my other hand on the comm unit, focusing my awareness on the technology.

"Channel through me," I instructed, closing my eyes. "Let's see if anyone is listening."

Varek's energy flowed through our connection, directed by my technical awareness. The marker stone hummed beneath our hands. The comm unit sparked erratically.

"Lazrin?" Varek spoke into the unit. "Eastern team calling. Anyone copy?"

Static crackled, thick and heavy. Then, faintly, fragments of sound – "...arek? ...ields... strong... Claire..." The voice, possibly Lazrin's, was almost completely swallowed by interference.

"Lazrin, can you hear us?" I shouted into the unit. "Report your status! Where are you?"

"...ammond... Zara... bypass... north..." More static, then a burst of noise that made the comm unit spark violently before falling completely silent.

I sat back, staring at the dead device. "That was... something. Maybe Lazrin? Maybe Zara?"

"The signal was too weak, too corrupted." Varek's expression was grim. "We cannot be certain they received our transmission, or what their status is."

"But they mentioned shields. Claire. North." I stood, pacing the small shelter. "It sounds like they might be near the compound, maybe stalled by defenses."

"Or captured. Or worse." Varek pushed himself up, standing straighter than he had all morning. "We cannot rely on uncertain help. We know what must be done."

I pulled out my scanner, bringing up the rough map of the region. "If Hammond's using shield technology from the ruins, the north sector must house the primary conduits."

"A vulnerability," Varek agreed. "If we can disable the shields..."

"Then maybe Lazrin's team, if they're still functional, can breach the compound. Or maybe we can." I traced a path with my finger. "Either way, those shields have to come down."

I looked up at him, our faces close. "It's risky. Hammond's patrols will be heavy there."

"We have no choice." His golden eyes held mine. "Claire's markings are the key to stabilizing the eastern ruins. Without her, everything collapses."

The weight of responsibility pressed down on me. Not just for Claire, not just for the Nyxari settlement, but for the entire region.

"Okay." I zoomed in on the north sector of the compound. "According to these energy readings, the main shield generator should be here. If I can overload it remotely..."

"Risky. Patrols will be heavy there." He pointed to another area. "I will create a diversion on the southern perimeter."

"No." I grabbed his arm, my fingers tightening around his wrist. "We stick together. I need you covering me."

After a moment's consideration, his gaze intense, he gave a brief, accepting nod. "Agreed."

Relief flooded through me. The idea of separating, of Varek facing Hammond's forces alone in his weakened state, twisted my stomach into knots.

"We'll approach from the northeast," I continued, focusing on the plan. "The ridge line provides cover almost to the perimeter fence. Once there, I can tap into the external power grid."

"Hammond will have guards posted."

"Which is where you come in." I met his eyes. "I need enough time to bypass the security protocols and trigger an overload."

"How long?"

I calculated quickly. "Five minutes. Maybe less if I can use my markings to interface directly."

"You'll have it." His voice carried absolute certainty.

I packed away the scanner and dead comm unit. "Then we move now. We need to be in position before dark."

Varek nodded, his warrior instincts visibly taking precedence over his physical discomfort. "For Claire. For both our peoples."

I shouldered my pack and helped steady him as we descended from our shelter. The weight of our mission pressed down on me, but the uncertainty about Lazrin's team only solidified our resolve. It was up to us.

My markings tingled beneath my skin, responding to Varek's proximity, to the danger ahead, to the energy of the ruins still pulsing through the landscape. Whatever happened at Hammond's compound, there would be no turning back.