Nil Unlocked

by Lynne Matson

  “As you wish, my Skye.” As gently as he had the first time, Rives kissed the back of my neck, then the side, then he trailed kisses down my collarbone, making me feel anything but cold.

  “How was that?” he whispered.

  “Amazing. Your stakeouts are definitely better than mine.”

  With a low laugh, he wrapped his arms around me, cocooning me in his warmth. He was so real, so solid. So alive.

  Mine, I thought, smiling. Our equinox plan had to work.

  Up ahead, the Cavern glistened like a mirror, like a riderless gate.

  As I was tucked against Rives, a languid feeling seeped into my bones, a peace that was all mine—until it wasn’t. An odd feeling tugged at my chest, begging me to sleep.

  Forever.

  And then it vanished.

  I turned around so fast Rives looked startled.

  “Rives, I just had the creepiest feeling. Like the island was trying to tell me something. I’ve felt it before, but never as strong, and I think I know why.” I took a deep breath and held his hands tight. “I think the island is tired. I know that sounds strange, but every time I think about our islandwide escape plan, I’ve felt relief. Bone-deep relief, like an exhale, but it’s not mine. I think it’s Nil’s. Like the island has had enough. I think the island knows its purpose has changed, and not in a positive way. I think Nil is ready to go. To let go. And to let us go. All of us.”

  I paused. “And I think maybe that’s why there are fewer animals coming. More inbounds with no riders. And more people leaving.”

  “And more people dying,” he said grimly.

  I nodded, struck by another thought and feeling its truth. “I think the island wants to rest,” I said quietly. “And that maybe it’s why I’m here. Do you remember what that girl told my uncle? Your destiny, she told him, it wraps the island from beginning to end; I feel it.” I looked at Rives. “I think I’m part of that, of his destiny. Like ours are entwined, mine and my uncle’s. And we’re nearing the end. The island’s end.”

  Paulo stepped out of the tunnel. He held a cane and still favored his injured leg. He was frowning—not in anger. More like in bewildered disbelief.

  “Who told your uncle that? Someone on the island?”

  “Eavesdropper,” Rives muttered.

  “Hi, Paulo.” I smiled. “How’s your leg?”

  “Better, thanks,” Paulo said, distracted. “Skye, who told your uncle about his destiny?”

  “A girl. Here, on the island. Someone who didn’t join the City or put her name on the Wall. Her name was Rika.”

  The blood drained from Paulo’s face.

  “Rika?” he whispered. “What else did she say?”

  I thought carefully.

  “My uncle asked her if she was leaving, meaning leaving the City. Her exact words to my uncle were: ‘Yes. But like you, my journey does not end here. My end stretches beyond, I have seen it.’”

  If possible, Paulo’s face paled even further.

  “There are seers in our culture. Rika was one.” He looked at Rives. “I heard what you said. About the crescent moon.” He paused, then seemed to make a snap decision. “It’s three days. Two nights. Where the island is at peace.”

  “Three days, two nights, one gate to get home,” I murmured. “Three-two-one-four.”

  Rives squeezed my hand.

  “And I heard what you said about the island being tired. I feel it too, Skye. Like a warm breeze that wraps around me. Sometimes it weighs on me; sometimes it pushes me. It pushed me away from that gate, the one in the field when I fell. And it pushed me into this tunnel today. Pushed me here.” He blinked slowly. “It won’t leave me alone.”

  He looked at me, only at me.

  “I won’t see you until the equinox, Skye. I promise to see you then, to say good-bye. Beyond that, I can’t promise anything except that I will think.”

  As he turned away, I said, “Wait! Paulo, why did you tell us about the peace? About the three days?”

  He stared at me. He held a cane but no longer seemed broken.

  “Because we’re friends,” he said finally. “And because Rika was my aunt.”

  CHAPTER

  66

  SKYE

  DAY 59, LATE NIGHT

  Paulo’s aunt knew my uncle. My uncle knew Paulo’s aunt.

  Talk about a shock.

  The web of Nil linked Paulo and me, a fluid net cast through time, capturing the past and the present and wrapping the island in the now. We’d arrived together, and I couldn’t stop thinking that we were meant to leave together, too, bringing our families’ destinies full circle. We had a chance for closure, for our families—and maybe even for the island.

  You always have a choice, I’d told Paulo once.

  I hoped he chose well.

  In thirty days I’d find out.

  CHAPTER

  67

  RIVES

  DAY 340, DAWN

  I floated past the whitewater, trying to get my head straight.

  My cerebral clock blared without break. My personal hourglass had twenty-five grains left, and the loss of each one felt more acute. More cutting, more stark. Me, bleeding time.

  I had twenty-four cuts left to endure.

  Twenty-five days until the equinox.

  Twenty-two days until we left the City.

  At least we had a plan.

  Before we left, Skye and Julio would sweep the island in gliders to look for people and predators. Eyeball any raiders or rookies from the air, and identify any animals that might pose trouble to the sweep teams.

  Then the next morning we’d leave. Bail on the City with no plans to return. Broken into teams, we’d sweep across the island, covering all quadrants in grids. We’d carry torches, unlit, and each person would be outfitted with a bamboo whistle. The whistles were Dex’s brilliant idea, a way to increase communication across large distances.

  Twenty-five days to go.

  Tick.

  Twenty-five days left with Skye.

  Twenty-five days weren’t nearly enough. Not even close.

  I wanted more.

  Watch out, Nil, I thought fiercely.

  In twenty-five days, I’m coming for you.

  I’m chasing that gate with everything I’ve got. Because I’m chasing it for me, for Skye. For us. I’m chasing it for a future that I can finally see, and you’re sure as hell not in it.

  And then I smiled. Because if Skye had her way, Nil wouldn’t be in anyone else’s, either.

  Fear hit me like a tsunami, rolling over me from behind.

  I whipped my head around, watching my back, seeing Mount Nil watching from a distance. If we could destroy Nil, I’d yet to decipher the cost. It was the last piece of the puzzle.

  An island finale.

  The truth was, I didn’t really care, as long as Skye wasn’t the one who’d burn.

  CHAPTER

  68

  SKYE

  DAY 74, EARLY MORNING

  Of course everyone was talking about the equinox plan. It was all anyone ever talked about, and it was making me crazy.

  Literally.

  For the past few weeks, I felt like I was tearing in two. Not torn between the past and the present, but torn between the island and me.

  I never heard Nil, but I felt it: The island clung to me like a weight, begging to be released, threatening to drag me under, making my ultimate end match my uncle’s.

  Lately I’d gone to bed afraid I wouldn’t wake up.

  Making things worse, my heart was heavy, too. Each time Rives caught my eyes, his had a wistful quality, like something was already lost. Maybe it was just time.

  We never had enough.

  Now we were putting Rives’s fate in one final noon, a frightening gamble no one seemed to grasp except me. With a sigh as heavy as my heart, I tuned back in to the firepit chat.

  “I vote for Operation Clean Sweep,” Zane said. “Every mission needs a cool name.”

  Dex rolled
his eyes. “That sounds like my mum tidying up the kitchen,” he said. “What happened to the cool part again?”

  Grinning, Zane pointed at Dex with his fish wrap. “Okay. How about Operation Island Annihilation?”

  “A bit much, don’t you think?” Dex raised one eyebrow.

  “Operation Exodus?” Zane offered.

  “Too short. Plus, a bit heavy on the biblical feel.”

  “Operation Star Gate? Operation Big Kahuna? Operation Mission Impossible?”

  That did it. I got up and strode off, unable to take another minute. Breaking into a jog, I made it about fifty yards down the beach before Rives caught me.

  “Hey,” he said, coming up beside me. “You okay?”

  “No,” I snapped. “I am not okay. You have fourteen days left, and Zane’s back there tossing out movie titles as if that’s important.” My fists were clenched. “It is not impossible; it has to happen. You have to make that gate.”

  “I know,” Rives said, taking my hand. “We all need to make that gate.”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  “I know what you mean.” Rives wrapped his hand around mine. “C’mon.”

  Somehow Rives understood that I needed to move; I was too restless to sit. The waiting was killing me. And maybe so was Nil.

  We walked south without speaking, hands entwined like our thoughts. We ended up at the Arches, and when we rounded the cliff, we weren’t alone.

  Maaka stood in front of the carving, staring at the Man in the Maze.

  “Find anything new, Maaka?” Rives said.

  “Perhaps,” Maaka replied, turning to face us.

  I studied Maaka, this boy who saw the island so differently from me.

  “Maaka,” I said quietly, moved to speak first. “I’m not an islander, or your relative. The island’s beginnings belong to you. But I can picture it, how it used to be. A magical place of peace and solitude, where people chose to come, bringing a goat or a chicken for health and luck, intentionally choosing to spend time away from their family, alone in a place where the food is plentiful and so is the time to think. To explore who they are, who they want to become.” I paused.

  “But the peace is gone. Now predators come, too, like lions and leopards, wild boar and bears. And other people come, too. People who aren’t from your islands, people who don’t want to be here, who didn’t ask to come and who don’t have your heritage and hope and knowledge. This island is a very different place now. It’s a bit crowded.”

  Maaka didn’t flinch.

  “Skye’s right,” Rives said. “Your people come willingly. They’re prepared, at least most. But the rest of us got snatched without warning, totally unprepared. And people are dying, Maaka.” Rives’s tone was tired. “For what? So your people can continue a tradition started long ago? A tradition that has outlived its purpose?”

  “The tradition has not outlived its purpose,” Maaka said. “A spiritual quest transcends time. The island,” he whispered. “It makes you a better version of yourself.”

  “Different, maybe, but not always better,” I said softly. “And a spiritual quest might be timeless, but this island isn’t. The island has changed. Even for your people, the island is no longer peaceful—or isolated. Your island is connected to the world now. Good or bad, it’s the reality.” I paused. “Don’t you see that, Maaka?” I kept my tone soft. “The island no longer serves its purpose. Its purpose has become twisted.”

  “Because of you!” Maaka cried. “Your quest for power turned the island loose!”

  “What’s done is done.” Rives’s voice was calm. “The island is not the same; it’s not what it once was, and you know it. You have the choice. You can end it now. Or let it live. The blood of innocents will be on your hands now.”

  For the first time, uncertainty rolled across Maaka’s face like a shifting gate.

  “My role is to be a protector of the island, not to destroy it,” he said.

  “What if that’s what the island wants?” I asked quietly.

  Maaka looked positively stunned.

  “The island is tired, Maaka. Tired of living. I feel it; you have to sense it, too. Ask Paulo if you don’t believe me.” I held Rives’s hand tight and took a chance. “Will you help us, Maaka?” I asked softly. “Will you be the ultimate Nil guardian and help set the island free?”

  Maaka turned toward Mount Nil. For a long moment, Maaka stood as still as the Man in the Maze. Thinking, searching his mind or the wind or the mountain for words we couldn’t see, for answers we wanted to hear.

  Finally, he looked at me. Me, not Rives. “I cannot answer you.” His soft tone matched mine. “Not today. But I will have an answer when the time comes.”

  “That’s all we ask,” Rives said quietly.

  With a troubled look at Rives, Maaka nodded and walked away.

  CHAPTER

  69

  RIVES

  DAY 363, DAWN

  I stole one last glance around the City, my home for the last 363 days.

  Images of people long gone flickered like ghosts. I’d been here less than a year, but it felt like a lifetime.

  I had three days left.

  Three noons.

  Tick.

  Three … two … one …

  Tock.

  Done.

  I blinked and the City vanished. I was carving Li’s cross in the dark; I was kneeling by Talla’s fresh grave; I was watching Thad leap over a yawning black hole. I was seeing Raj collapse; I was watching Nikolai fall.

  I was cased in invisible cement, my hands bound by invisible ties. I couldn’t help them, couldn’t block fate. Their die already cast; their end fully written.

  So was my end, but I couldn’t see it. Each time the future started to take shape, the scene vanished like smoke. Gone, before I ever got a clear glimpse.

  I closed my eyes, fighting to see.

  I was waking to Skye in my arms, feeling at peace; I was tipping her chin, shaking with hope; I was kissing her lips, drowning in want; I was holding Skye’s hand, walking down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, our faces tilted toward each other, the background falling away. No fear, no rush.

  No Nil, just us.

  More, the wind whispered. You want more.

  Yes, I thought, my desperation keeping me from locking Nil out.

  I want more.

  I want it all.

  I want Skye.

  Beside me Skye laughed. In my head, in my hopes, in the now. I was there, I was here, I was gone. My chest ached, my fists hurt; I wanted more so badly I shook.

  “Rives.” Dex’s voice yanked me back to the present. I relaxed my hands. My fingers were stiff from clenching. “You okay, mate?”

  “Yeah.” I shook out my hands. “Just ready to get this show on the road.”

  “All right then.” He clasped my shoulder and squeezed, his touch saying what neither of us could. “A parting gift.” He winked as he handed me a bamboo whistle. “Remember, three quick blasts means danger, and you can switch it into an SOS for help. Three short, three long, three short. One long is the call back signal. All clear?”

  “All clear.” I knew Dex was nervous. I slung the whistle around my neck, then offered my hand. “Be safe, Dex,” I said quietly, fighting the knot in my throat. “See you in three days. Don’t be late.”

  Dex gripped my arm, his expression fierce. “Same to you, my friend. Three days.”

  More handshakes. More good-byes.

  More. More. More.

  I fought the urge to clench my fists.

  Skye reached up and touched my cheek. A feather-light touch, running down my jaw, a single move that affected me more than Nil.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered, her eyes as fierce as I’d ever seen. “Relax. You’re gritting your teeth so hard I hear them.”

  I grabbed her hand and kissed it.

  She grinned and turned away. It took me a minute to figure out she was running a pre-Search check of her gear.

 
; Smart girl, I thought. I did the same.

  Everyone split up, separating into their designated teams.

  “Operation Clean Sweep is a go,” Zane hollered.

  “Yeah!” Ahmad hooted. Skye rolled her eyes.

  “Let’s pack and roll, everyone. Be smart and be safe. See you in three days,” I said.

  Now Skye was the one clenching her teeth.

  The teams split off. Ahmad went north with Kiera and Alexei; Dex headed northeast with Jillian and Zane; Macy headed south with Julio and had even managed to convince Brittney to come.

  Skye, Miya, and I were the final team. We’d head southeast and be the first ones at the mountain.

  The City was down to twelve, a shockingly small group. The numbers had never been smaller, even with the four still out on their own.

  Maybe Skye was right. Maybe Nil was letting go. Yesterday on sweep, Skye spotted Michael near the North Cliffs. But the rest of the island was empty.

  It was eerie. Like the island was a ghost town, like time was growing stale. Like the island might have an expiration date, too.

  “Ready?” I asked Skye.

  She looked like she wanted to say no. But her eyes flashed with steel and her hand crept to her sling. “Let’s go,” she said. Our eyes met, and I nodded.

  We had three days.

  CHAPTER

  70

  SKYE

  DAY 88, NIGHT

  I’d never sleep tonight. I doubted Rives would, either.

  We’d brought the cheetah pelt, which was a pain to carry but definitely made the nights outside better, but it wasn’t the lack of cushioning that was the problem. It was the looming day, the coming noon. Tonight was like Christmas Eve as a little kid, knowing that tomorrow was the big day, and you just hoped you’d been good enough for Santa to fill your stocking.

  Only I wasn’t sure being good mattered here, and we’d already established Nil wasn’t on Santa’s route. Then again, maybe goodness counted for something, because if Archie hadn’t stolen from the City, maybe he’d still be here. Or not. Nikolai was kind and good and lost to Nil forever; maybe Nil chose to keep him because he was good. Or not. Maybe Nikolai’s death was a fluke after all.