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“Bullshit,” Layden says, eyes on his phone. “I’m checking my sources to see if we can get eyes on the Devourers after they left the atmosphere.”
“Are they just trying to cover it up to stop people from panicking?” Hannah asks, pacing up and down the room while keeping one eye on her daughter circling the ceiling.
The newscaster holds his ear as if receiving incoming updates. “From the reports we’re getting, there’s more and more confirmation this was indeed all an elaborate hoax. The Internet has gone wild with conspiracy theories to the contrary. Barbara?” he says, throwing to his fellow newscaster.
“That’s right, James,” she says, also putting a hand to her ear in a way that seems overly performative. “But both NASA and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense satellites have no reports of the supposed creatures once they left Earth’s atmosphere, leading more and more credence to the fact that this was a ruse. This just proves the danger of realistic hoaxes that can cause public panic in this era of deep-fake technology. Looting and rioting in response to the perceived threat, however, have been very real consequences. Police and even military in some instances around the world are struggling to maintain control over a panicking public.”
“Did you see?” Everyone’s head swings back toward the door when Phoenix bursts into the room. Hannah turns down the TV volume.
Layden rushes toward Phoenix, halting abruptly as if he barely stopped himself from embracing her. Vlad stands behind her, eying the both of them.
“See what?” Hannah asks. “Them denying all of it as a hoax? They’re obviously covering it up to try to calm the public down.”
But Phoenix is only looking at Layden. “The rune-code. It’s all gone.”
He nods emphatically. “As if it never existed.”
“What does it mean?” Phoenix asks, brow furrowed. “The Devourers couldn’t have done anything to the spirit who created and was controlling the AI. Them leaving shouldn’t have had any impact on the AI.”
“I know,” Layden says. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Hannah hurries over to join them. “Unless Abaddon stopped them!”
“I didn’t.”
Now it’s Abaddon appearing at the door behind Vlad. Hannah pushes past Vlad to jump into her husband’s arms. “Don’t you dare run off like that ever again,” she shouts, banging him on the back even as she clings to him.
“Daddy!” Raven cries, flying at her father like a little torpedo. She lands on his back, wrapping her legs around his neck and hugging his head fiercely, tiny hands attached to his horns.
“Did you hear that?” Hannah cries. “She said her first word.”
I jump up and hurry over to where the little family is scrunched up at the door. With all these sudden returns, I can’t help expecting Remus to pop up the next moment.
But when I grab the doorway and look down the hall in hopeful expectation—
There’s no one.
Behind me, I hear Vlad start arguing with Layden and Abaddon about what happened to make the AI runes disappear. Theoretically, the nuclear attack was just a first strike. If the spirit driving it had control of the governments and really wanted to destroy the world, it could have just kept trying. Why then disappear, as if giving up?
“Well, something made it retreat,” Kharon says. “Can’t we just count that as a win? Maybe Remus was able to destroy the Devourers.”
“Why the hell did you let Remus be the one to take care of them?” Abaddon shouts.
“You’ve met Remus,” Layden bites back. “Does anyone ever let him do anything? He just flew off, and we haven’t heard anything for hours. And you weren’t around, taking off to play hero like that.”
“We need to be working on a backup plan. Remus isn’t exactly reliable! Maybe that’s why the spirit left. He knew he’d accomplished the end of the world in a different way than expected because the Devourers are eating the sun as we speak.”
“I came back up so we could try to make another circle to call the Devourers back,” Phoenix rushes to say. “We brought them in; we’re responsible for ridding this plane of them and sending them back where they came from—”
I can’t handle listening to them anymore. My heart is a double drumbeat, whispering two names over and over. Remus. Romulus. Remus. Romulus. I spin away and run down the hallway, bursting out into the courtyard and staring up at the gray sky.
Where are you, my beloveds?
I know being out here won’t bring them back any quicker, but still, I close my eyes and pray. It worked once. . .
Please, God or whatever deities may be out there. . . including my beloveds. . . Please. Please bring them home to me. Please let them be safe. I never deserved them the first time, but I beg you, please bring them home, and I swear I’ll never take another moment for granted.
I look up toward the sky.
