Page 87 of Black Mamba

I wave the particles away before I breathe them in, discovering a pleasant, sweet smell in the air soon after. For some reason, it reminds me of Lukys.

“What is happening?” He grasps me tighter to him. “We are leaving. Now.”

“You guys are leaving?” Greg tears his gaze from the veil to look at us. “I thought after seeing you around the last few days that you might be staying—or had decided to stay.”

I agree with Lukys. “We’re not staying.”

Now, more than ever, I just want to be back home.

Home…?

Down in the camp, people have stopped running to stare at the sky, at the powercell’s beam. At the same time, several more ships take off. I watch as one flies toward the veil, then through it. But instead of breaking or dissolving the shimmering dome, it bubbles open, reforms, then closes.

Lukys coils his tailtip around my ankle, tightening it in warning.

“If you’re leaving now, I guess this is goodbye then,” Greg says.

“I do not like this dust…” Lukys interjects with a hiss, waving his hand through the air. “It smells too sweet.”

I agree. But my brows furrow as I glance at Greg. “Wait, you’re staying?”

Greg sneezes and shrugs, way too nonchalant for what’s happening. “It’s particle matter from the powercell. Or the remnants of a stabilizing coating. Though”—he waves his hand like Lukys and catches some in his palm—“I’ve never seen it this thick before. If our ancestors used coating to keep the machine from degrading, they used a lot.”

“You don’t seem overly concerned?”

Greg lifts his face to the sky. “It looks like a shield. Maybe the powercell is more than a powercell.”

Lukys and I look up with him. I blink as dust gets in my eyes.

“A shield?”

“This is a military encampment, right? It wouldn’t be unheard of for them to install shields? It’s just too bad none of the shields were active when they were needed most. Trust me,” Greg sighs, “I have thought of leaving for another camp. But I’m no hunter like Lukys. Also, Levy intends to stay. At least here… There’s a pharmaceutical ship in the lot. And that’s as much as I think I can hope for.”

I take in his tired appearance and dirty hair. “We never had the chance to say goodbye before…” I realize this might be the last time I see him.

“I assume you didn’t find your sister then?”

I shake my head.

“I wish you luck, Elena. I’m sorry you didn’t find her.” He turns and levels with Lukys. “Keep her safe until she does.”

Lukys’s nostrils flare and catching his gaze, I see the anger return to it. Anger at me. When he reaches out his hand, I take it despite his disposition, straightening my back. I knew it might come to this.

“Bye Greg. Tell Levy I say goodbye too.”

With one last glance at Greg, who’s now walking away, I let Lukys guide me into the forest. The dust disappears as the canopy covers us. Still, I see the shimmering veil through them, warping the color of the sky to a brighter blue.

Where it ends, I don’t know. But as I squeeze Lukys’s hand in mine for reassurance, he doesn’t squeeze back.

THIRTY-NINE

VOWS

Lukys

I keep my grip firm even when she stumbles, too intent on putting distance between us and the human encampment. I want to remove us from unnerving events that just transpired there.

Right now, all I care about is Elena’s safety.