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“In our new world, myths walk the earth and cross oceans. So, it’s not a surprise that new legends are born from rumors and whispers shared over campfires. They travel great distances thanks to the songs and reports of explorers and survivors alike. That’s how the stories of the Devil of the Wastes and his giant Beetle came to be. Different names and stories, all originating from the same mutant. A man with horns and red eyes. But, surprisingly, all those tales don’t speak of the kind of devil that strikes fear into the hearts of the people he encounters. Quite the contrary. The Devil of the Wastes is known to appear out of nowhere and provide help in life-threatening situations. I would know. I met him a few years ago on a fateful day when I found myself dying from thirst in Colorado after my truck had broken down. By then, the dehydration had made me hallucinate. So, when the Devil walked up to me with a cup of water, I thought him a creation of my raving mind. But the water that he poured down my parched throat was real. I would have cried if I could. He nursed me back to health for a day and gave me enough supplies to keep going. Then he climbed back into his giant beetle machine and they both disappeared, as if swallowed by the wastelands.

Weary travelers, do not fear the Devil of the Wastes and his machine, for if you come to cross paths with him when in need, you’re one of the lucky ones.”

Extract of Tales of the Traveling Merchant, by Megan Stoaks, 2059.

Five months later.

“I see them,” says Jude.

My hands shake as he offers me the binoculars. I’ve been expecting and yet dreading this moment for months. The Bug is standing on a small mountaintop, a good distance away. We noticed the giant beetle from the sky and landed on the desert’s ground.

And from the way the six-legged machine is poised, they have noticed us too.

One moment, it’s standing there, its hull shining under the sun like the scales of an old god, and then the next, it’s gone. It disappeared like a mirage.

We’ve been expecting it. The Bug has a reputation for vanishing into thin air, thanks to an unknown technology.

Jude pulls out a white flag with Helios’ name painted on it. It’s the only thing he could think of to get his friend’s attention. They haven’t seen each other since Bunkertown.

It must be working because moments later the Bug reappears on the mountaintop.

“Stay here,” Jude tells me.

I get a hold of his hand, unsure. What if Helios doesn’t have good control over his new lover? What if the Devil of the Wastes smells me on Jude and kills him on sight? Or decides to get revenge for the hurt I did to Helios?

I can’t lose Jude. I just can’t.

“If he touches you…” I start.

“I’ll be fine,” Jude says, smiling. “The Devil has been known to rescue slaves for years. And Helios has told me so much about him during that short time when we were together. I’ll be fine.” He squeezes my hand, and I have to let him go.

Jude steps away from the Firefly and raises his arms above his head. He walks for a good minute on the desert ground before the Bug finally makes a move. It climbs down the mountaintop.

They meet halfway, a few hundred feet from my position. The Bug dwarfs Jude. It truly does look like a man-made old god. I pace in front of the Firefly, keeping the urge to run to him in check.

A hatch opens from the side of the Bug, and a man jumps out with ease. Even from a distance, I would recognize that man anywhere. He’s the one who owned my heart and soul for years. Who made me believe in love in the first place. And yet, I never loved him the right way. Helios throws himself into Jude’s arms. My new lover spins him round and round.

I tremble as I watch my ex-lover and my new one reunite. Both men should want me dead.

The Devil of the Wastes steps out of the Bug. He’s much taller than Jude and Helios, and twice as wide. My mutant brother is unnaturally still as we observe the reunion. Even from a distance, I can make out the two horns rising above his head. They seem smaller than they were during our fight.

Jude and Helios turn to him, and Jude shakes hands with the Devil. They start talking, and I have never wished more to be able to hear in the wind.

At some point, the Devil takes a quick step forward, and Helios puts himself in his way. This is it. He might come and fight me here and now. I have decided that if he does, I’ll let him kill me this time. There can’t be a fight with Jude and Helios involved. It would have to be over quickly. This conflict will have to end, one way or another. And if my death is the price, so be it.

Jude would try to avenge me, but Helios will make sure he stays alive. From what I’ve witnessed since I captured him half a year ago, he hasn’t changed. Helios has a heart bigger than the whole world.

But the Devil doesn’t come running. He stands still as the two men talk to him. A statue in all aspects. Except his horns already look longer. They curve above his head. A stark reminder of the old god he shares his DNA with.

I start pacing around the Firefly. This was a terrible idea. What if they convince Jude to walk away with them? And he would be right to do it. I’ve spent my life fucking things up. It’s about time I paid the bill.

Maybe I should have taken the craven way out of this. We could have moved to the south or farther north. To the lands where the Bug is rarely seen.

I shake my head. This is not what Jude wanted. He needed to see his friend again, and I needed to be able to move on, one way or another.

They talk for an eternity, and I’m losing my mind.

Until, at last, Jude hugs Helios one last time and walks back to the Firefly. I hold my breath as he crosses the desert back to me.

Jude laughs as he sees my face. “You look a little pale,” he jokes.

“What did they say?” I ask.

“They don’t forgive you, but they consider that the debt is paid since you almost gave your life to protect them from Maeve. They heard rumors of a fight between two mutants at the Hoover Dam six months ago. Well, Griffin—the Devil—still wants you dead, but Helios seems to have a good sway over him, and he won’t kill you because it would mean going against Helios’ will. As long as you don’t bother them, they’ll be happy to let you live. I can still hang out with Helios from time to time. We’ve decided on a channel to contact each other. The Bug is actually called the Beetle. Figured.”

“Helios…agreed to let me live?” I ask.

Jude nods.

“But why?”

“I think he was relieved to learn that you survived. Even after everything you did, he still has affection for you.”

It feels like my heart is being crushed under a rock. A rock as big as a mountain.

Jude must have seen the devastation on my face, because he comes closer and puts a hand on my cheek. I close my eyes. The world is too bright.

“I also told them that I had you on a tight leash, and they didn’t need to worry about you,” he says. There’s mirth in his voice.

I laugh. “That’s entirely true.”

I drop to my knees in the dust and hug his thighs. I don’t care if the entire world sees me like this. They could make a painting of me at Jude’s feet, and I would pay good money to put it up for all to see.

“I love you. You know that, right?” I say to him, my face hidden against his body. “More than anything.”

Those are the words that we usually utter in the dark, when we’re raw and the night shelters us from reality.

But the sun is bright right now, and my heart is swelling to the point of bursting.

Jude’s hand tightens around the back of my neck. “I know,” he says.

And he drops to his knees too and kisses me.

On the horizon behind him, the Beetle disappears behind a rocky hill.

The End.

Stellan and Perri will come back in book three!