“Is it working?” I whispered.
Cambien shrugged. “There is no way of knowing until it happens.”
Five unbearably tense minutes later, the stone began to crack, splinters appearing in the surface. Jagged lines connected with one another, and chunks broke off, the crumbling stone falling to the mattress. Gradually, bits of gray skin showed through. The slow movement of Bashrik’s limbs caused the rest to flake away, and it all fell to pieces around him.
Bashrik shot upright, startling us all. “What the—!” he cried, shaking his head like a wet dog. What was left of the opaleine tumbled off his body, several shards flying out of his hair, narrowly missing the rest of us. Even so, a few dusty specks remained, a chalky residue covering his skin.
“Bashrik? Do you know who you are?” Angie asked, testing the waters. I could tell we were all anxious to see if there were any side effects.
He smiled. “I’m Bashrik. You just said so.”
Angie grimaced. “Do you know who we are?” she tried again.
“You’re Angie, that’s Lauren, that’s Navan, and that’s Riley,” he replied, looking confused. “And you’re Cambien, the one who made this happen,” he added, brushing some of the remaining dust from his arms.
“You remember me?” Angie whispered.
“Of course I do,” he murmured back, “and I promised I wouldn’t keep you waiting any longer.”
With a shriek of pure happiness, Angie flung herself at Bashrik. His arms wrapped around her tightly, his lips kissing her forehead, leaving some of the opaleine dust where he had grazed her skin. She held his face in her hands as she pulled away, planting a smacker right on his lips, surprising him in the best possible way.
It appeared we’d been lucky. Bashrik hadn’t forgotten any of us, nor did he seem to have lost any memories of who he was. It was an intense relief to see him back with his mind in one piece.
“I hate to break up the romance, but we just need to ask a few more questions,” Navan said apologetically, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“Sorry.” Angie blushed, clambering off Bashrik.
“Do you know where you are?” Navan asked.
Bashrik nodded. “Zai. Where else would I be?” he replied easily enough.
“And do you know what we’re doing here on Zai?” Lauren cut in.
“We’re preparing to leave, unless we can come up with a solution to the opaleine corruption,” he answered, though his words puzzled me. Something was off.
“On the Vanquish, you mean?” Lauren pressed, her expression concerned.
Bashrik gave a soft chuckle. “No, not on your ship. We would never fit on your ship—there are too many of us,” he explained. “Although, now that you mention it, Angie, you and I will have to discuss whether you will be following me or going with the others, back to Navan’s home planet. I don’t wish to be without you.”
Angie looked torn. What Bashrik was saying was very sweet, but something was clearly muddled in his memories. He had used the word “we” as a pronoun, in relation to the Draconians… Bashrik thought he was one of them.
“Bash, what are you talking about?” Navan asked, utterly confused.
“We can’t all fit on your ship. It’s faster and far superior, but it cannot carry an entire species,” he explained. “I was just thinking, perhaps you could all come with us, instead of going back to that cold planet of yours, Navan.”
Navan shook his head. “That’s your planet, too, Bash. You’re from Vysanthe.”
Bashrik burst out laughing. “You must be kidding. I would never set foot in that place, not after what they did to us! You’re an exception to the rule, Navan, and I cannot hold you responsible for the actions of your people, but you must be out of your mind if you think I’d go near that planet. If that’s where you insist on going, then I’ll be sorry to part ways with you all.”
“Look at your skin and your wings, Bash. You are a coldblood!” Navan insisted, his face panicked. “You’re exactly like me, Bash. We’re brothers!”
“Brothers in arms, yes, but you are a Vysanthean and I am a Draconian. How could we be brothers?” Bashrik countered, giving Navan an incredulous look.
“Bashrik, you’re a Vysanthean. Look,” Angie interjected softly, taking Bashrik’s hands and raising them to his face, making him see the gray color.
Confusion washed over him. “Well, this is just some cruel trick you’re playing, to try and fool me into coming with you,” he said firmly, after a lengthy pause. “You think you can convince me that I’m a coldblood so I’ll come back to Vysanthe with you, instead of traveling with my people.”
“We’re not. This isn’t a trick. You’re just a bit mixed up about who you are,” I offered, only to receive his angry glare.
“I know who I am, Riley,” he snapped back. “I am Bashrik. I am a Draconian, and Zai is my home. I’ll continue to help you with the opaleine, and with your gift of our high priestess’s most honored vial of blood, as I have promised to do, but once that’s done, I will not be coming with you.”
I realized it was going to take some convincing to get Bashrik to see the truth of what he was and leave Zai with us, but for now, he had reminded me of one important thing. We needed to get the vial of blood as soon as possible, before our five days were up. Orion would be waiting, and we had a lot to do in a short span of time. First, we needed to start work on reversing the corrupted opaleine and get the blood itself. Second, we needed to deal with Pandora. Then, we needed to figure out a way of fooling Orion and Brisha, so they didn’t immediately execute us for insubordination. I wasn’t sure which would be the more impossible task.
“It would seem your friend landed somewhere between compos mentis and completely baffled.” Cambien chuckled, evidently delighted by the mix-up. “At least he remembers who you are, which is more than can be said for most.”
Navan whirled around, getting in Cambien’s face. “Did you know this was going to happen?”
“I told you, it varies,” Cambien replied, squaring off. The two of them were evenly matched in height and muscle, but I wasn’t about to underestimate a Draconian’s strength, nor let them brawl in the middle of a hospital, with a very confused Bashrik looking on.
Steeling myself, I slipped in between them, pushing them apart with all the force I could muster. “Stop it, both of you! This isn’t going to do anyone any good. Right now, we need to listen to Bashrik and focus on our mission. We’re running out of time.” Keeping his eyes on me, Navan backed away from Cambien, who looked unbearably smug. “You can wipe that smirk of your face, too, Cambien. This is the part where the two of you have to work together, so I suggest you start acting like a team!” I chided.
“Don’t forget who we’re doing this for,” Lauren agreed. “If we can stop the corruption, you get your planet back, and we’ll be out of your hair before you know it.”
Cambien laughed. “I don’t have any hair.”
“Stop being a smartass. Nobody’s impressed,” Angie added, her tone scathing.
Suitably cowed, Cambien let out a weary sigh. “Very well. I suppose we should get going. If I have to work with this gray-skinned monster, I’d prefer to get it out of the way as soon as possible, regardless of the reasons,” he remarked haughtily. “You ready to kill a bunch of your own kind, Navan? I suppose it makes no difference to someone like you who happens to be on the receiving end of your blade.”
Navan scowled. “Let’s just get on with this, shall we? In silence,” he said. The pair of them headed for the entrance to the hospital ward, each vying to be in front of the other.
The rest of us were about to follow, Angie and me helping Bashrik out of the bed, when Lauren froze in her tracks, turning back to us with a despondent look. Looking across Bashrik, I saw the same expression on Angie’s face. Navan had also stopped in the doorway, Cambien going on ahead.
“What’s the matter?” I whispered.
Angie sighed. “Pandora wants us to come back to the s
hip for a debrief.”
Chapter Eighteen
What? Why does she want us to do that?” I hissed, exasperated that we were about to move forward in our mission, only to have Pandora call us back.
Angie shrugged. “She just wants us back now. It’s nonnegotiable.”
“She’s also asking why you’re offline,” Lauren said apologetically.
I leaned in to Bashrik’s ear, where his earpiece was still fixed in place by the barbs. “Pandora? I don’t know if you can hear me, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry about my earpiece. I thought there was an insect crawling in my ear, so I panicked. I stomped on it without realizing what it was,” I lied, hoping she would buy it.
“She says it doesn’t matter; you can pick up another one from the ship. She says you need to be less careless in the future,” Angie said, repeating Pandora’s words as they came through.
It didn’t do much to calm my fears. I couldn’t hear the tone of Pandora’s voice to gauge her mood, and that scared me. Plus, I had no idea how hardy the earpieces were. I mean, if one could survive being submerged in a hot spring, then maybe one could survive being crushed. I had squashed the earpiece pretty solidly under my boot, but that didn’t mean Pandora hadn’t overheard my mutinous conversation with Cambien. I just prayed she hadn’t. Today had already been a mixed bag of hopefulness and hopelessness—I didn’t want it to end in punishment… or worse.
Dreading our return to the Vanquish, we headed out of the Pyros’ hospital, with Navan resuming his position at his brother’s side, relieving Angie and me of the duty. Bashrik seemed wary of Navan, putting a reluctant arm around the latter’s neck and pulling a face as he touched Navan’s gray skin. It would’ve been amusing had the situation not been so serious, given that we didn’t know if his memories would remain permanently altered.
Cambien came with us to the petrified village in the volcano’s crater, but he wouldn’t go any farther. Instead, he padded to the edge of the mountain and stared out across the vast expanse of Zai, taking in the view.
“Come back to me when you’re ready to continue,” he said dryly, not bothering to turn around. “Although I won’t hold my breath. This woman’s call seems very convenient.”
I sighed. “It’s actually the opposite, Cambien. We don’t want this interruption any more than you do. We will be coming back, so just hang tight.”
Following his gaze, I remembered how long the journey had been up the volcano. The Vanquish was miles away, and we had no way of getting there, unless we walked. Navan could only fly with two of us, at a push, and it didn’t seem like Bashrik was going to get involved in coldblood pursuits anytime soon.
Knowing there was only one option, I gently touched Cambien’s shoulder, making him turn to face me. “We can’t get back to the ship unless you help us out. I know you can’t fly without using opaleine, but can you persuade Bashrik that you did something to him to give him temporary wings? We need to get to the ship fast, and the only way to do that is to fly.”
He smirked. “At least you’re starting to understand some of our frustrations as a species born to fly, kept grounded through no fault of our own,” he mused. “What’s in it for me?”
“We get back here faster and help you with your opaleine corruption,” I said simply.
“You have nothing else to offer?” he pressed.
I rolled my eyes. “No, Cambien.”
“It was worth a try.” He laughed. “Fine, I shall speak with Bashrik. Although, you have to adore the exquisite irony of a coldblood thinking he’s a Draconian.” A glitter of mischief danced in his unusual eyes, making me wonder if he had known something like this was going to happen. After all, he was the only one who’d actually awoken the plague’s victims before.
True to his word, Cambien walked over to where Bashrik stood, held up by his brother. Leaning in, he whispered something in Bashrik’s ear, and a look of wonder passed across the coldblood’s face. Navan frowned at the exchange but held his tongue, his gaze trailing toward me for an explanation.
“You chose me for such an honor?” Bashrik exclaimed, before I could answer Navan’s questioning look.
Cambien nodded. “You were the most qualified. Test them out, see if they work,” he encouraged.
Grinning like a kid on Christmas, Bashrik released the wings from beneath his shoulder blades and opened them out. The vast, leathery wings cast a shadow on the crater as he flapped them forcefully, sending a spray of dust and stone hurtling off the edge of the mountainside. He rose from the ground, the power of flight already second nature to him. The sound of him whooping with excitement brought a sudden pang of joy to my heart. He likely couldn’t remember flying as a coldblood, but he was getting to relive the experience as though it were the very first time. It made me miss my own wings.
“Now, do you think you can hold one of your friends while you fly?” Cambien asked, shouting up to the wheeling figure in the air.
Bashrik nodded. “Sure! Where are they going?”
“They’re heading back to their ship for a brief spell, and as their guide, you are to go with them, to ensure no harm comes to them,” Cambien instructed, not missing a beat. “We still need them to help us out up here.”
Bashrik smiled. “Thank you for these, Cambien! I’d forgotten what it felt like. It’s not quite the same as being in my true form, but it sure feels close.”
Cambien flashed me a look that said “moron,” but I thought it was sweet.
“Thank you for doing that,” I said.
“Just make sure you come back. Don’t make me regret breaking my rule for you,” he replied, a serious look taking over his face.
“Your rule?”
“Never do a good deed for an outsider,” he explained.
I smiled. “I won’t make you regret it, Cambien.”
“You know, your boyfriend doesn’t like me,” he remarked, reverting to his usual creepy self.
“Can you blame him?” I countered, as Bashrik landed back on the solid black plateau of the crater.
Cambien chuckled. “Do you want to know why he doesn’t like me?”
“Because you’re arrogant, and you keep flirting with his girlfriend?”
He leaned in close. “Those might be factors, but the truth is, he’s terrified I will make you see what he really is, by offering you an alternative. I have never killed another living being in my entire life, nor do I have a quick temper. Tell me, are those qualities you look for in a lover?”
“We’re done here,” I snapped. “We’ll be back when we’re finished on the ship. In the meantime, I suggest you adjust your attitude, before it’s you who finds yourself on the receiving end of his blade.”
Cambien’s cold laughter followed me as I strode away from him. I felt my cheeks redden with anger and embarrassment. Forcing myself to ignore his words, knowing they were intended to pick away at my mind, I walked up to Navan and wrapped my arms around his waist, nestling close to his chest.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, stroking my hair.
“Yeah, we just need to get going. I don’t want to be around that perv anymore.”
“Your wish is my command,” Navan said, unleashing his wings, their shadows stretching out behind him. “Bashrik, do you want to take one or two?” he asked, looking over at his brother, who was admiring the membrane of his own wings.
Bashrik looked up excitedly. “Two. I want to really test these babies out!”
With a sad laugh, Navan nodded, before lifting off from the crater’s surface, gripping me tight in his arms. Cambien was watching us, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let him get to me, not now, not ever. That was what he wanted.
“This reminds me of those first days,” I murmured against his neck, as I clung on. The wind rushed past us, whipping through my hair, refreshing my sweaty, weary face.
He smiled. “You still glad you met me?” he asked, his tone carrying a hint of worry.
“Of course I am,” I insisted. ??
?Why would you ask that?”
“I overheard what Cambien said to you,” he explained solemnly. “I’m not sure I could lose my brother and my girlfriend, both in one day.”
I clung tighter. “You will never lose me, Navan. Cambien doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Everything he says is a way of manipulating people. It’s probably how he got people to follow him in the first place. He’s charismatic, but he’s an idiot,” I whispered, kissing Navan’s cheek.
“I just don’t want you to think of me as a monster,” he said.
“I could never think that,” I promised. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Navan murmured.
We flew the rest of the way in relative silence, with Bashrik flying close by, gripping Lauren and Angie in his arms. Lauren looked terrified, her eyes squeezed shut for fear of being dropped, but Angie looked thrilled to be so close to Bashrik, cuddled into his side, her arms wrapped tightly around him.
At least he hasn’t forgotten how he feels about you, Angie, I thought. I hoped he never would, not now that it was out in the open.
Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the clearing where the Vanquish sat, its silver shell gleaming in the Zaian sunlight. Just seeing it sent a shiver of dread through me. Pandora was waiting for us in there, and we had no idea what she wanted. She had said we needed to debrief, but we had nothing further to offer her, in terms of our mission progression. What could we be debriefing about? Perhaps she wanted to object to what Navan had offered to do, to reverse the opaleine corruption. Killing coldbloods in place of Draconians would undoubtedly be an issue in her book. I supposed we were about to find out.
Touching down, we made our way up to the bay doors and rapped on the outer hull, the bangs echoing within the ship. A few minutes later, there was a crackle over the intercom, with Pandora’s voice following straight after. Bashrik looked startled at the sound in his ear, but kept quiet, his brow furrowed in contemplation.