by SGD Singh
Now, three hours into the flight, Jax felt sleep threaten to overtake her as she stared at the blank screen in front of her and whispered, “Alarm button. Al arm butt on. Ala rumba baton…”
“You're giving me a headache,” Kai hissed. “Go to sleep already.”
“And what if—”
“If any of these dudes has high-tech tracking crap jammed up their ass it won't be activated until we're landing in Germany,” Kai whispered. “Think about it. The guy can't activate it himself, right? So if it didn't go off or whatever when we left, it must be activated by the plane landing. Pressure changes and shit.”
“Could be,” Jax said. “I've never heard of anything like that though. It's probably on a timer. When whoever controls it figures enough time has gone by to pass through our security, it will kick on.”
“In that case, it would've already been activated,” Kai said, straightening. “So you can go to sleep.”
Jax looked from him to her screen and back again. “Don't let me sleep for more than an hour though.”
“You got it,” he said.
Jax ended up sleeping for only half an hour, her nerves jerking her awake as soon as the initial exhaustion wore off. She stared at the screen in front of her until the plane landed in Hamburg without incident.
She would never know if Kai had been right about the tracking devices being activated by the plane's pressure changes, or if it was the civilians from Belgium and Germany who set off the machine.
All she knew was that two hours later, after the six new arrivals had successfully passed through her security and the plane was bound for the Sahara, her screen went crazy.
Chapter 19
Jax pressed the button on her watch before she could even take in everything the screen was telling her. She remembered at the last second not to look up or give any reaction, but there was no need to be subtle. Kai, Kenda, and Koko had already leapt to their feet, and Uma re-entered the cabin from the cockpit in a blur.
Jax refused to look at what, or who, was causing sounds of struggle within the confined space, even when she felt her stomach drop and her ears pop as the aircraft lost altitude, fast.
Was Chakori landing the plane?
Jax lurched to her feet, staggering away from the scuffle and toward the cockpit, which Uma had left open.
“All due respect,” she told Chakori, trying to keep her voice steady, “but this will be what they expect us to do.”
The Jodha flashed an orange glare at her, then returned to the controls. “Doesn't matter. We can't continue to the safe house like this. First step is get out of the sky.”
Jax argued. “We don't know what will be waiting for us.”
“Doesn't matter,” Chakori said again, and Jax heard the thought behind it. You think I don't already fucking know that, you stupid cow? But she said only, “Whatever it is, out here only our own lives are at risk.”
Jax looked out the cockpit window at the sea of desert sand in every direction. In the moonlight, the desert looked eerily like another planet. An abandoned planet, devoid of life.
Jax studied the readout on the aircraft's display. “We're a day's walk from the safe house. At least.”
“Correction,” Chakori said. “You are a day's walk from the safe house.” She flashed Jax a smile. “Don't worry, Civilian, we'll send someone for you. Now, buckle in. It's gonna be a bumpy landing.”
Jax had scarcely buckled herself into the copilot's seat when the plane hit the sand, throwing her forward against the straps with a violent jerk. The plane slid across a desert that was not nearly as flat as it appeared to be, jostling her bones for what seemed like miles before finally coming to a stop just before a large drop.
“Well!” Chakori unbuckled herself and jumped up. “That was fun. Now for some exercise with Reaver scumbags.”
Jax followed her out of the cockpit on unsteady legs to find the civilians all subdued in their seats—seats that probably none of them had realized were designed to keep them immobile should the need arise, with padded metal cuffs around their wrists and ankles.
Uma paced the narrow space in front of them, while Kai, Kenda, and Koko leaned against the exit, looking bored. Dhevan peered out one of the small side windows and frowned, mumbling something in Punjabi that brought Uma and Chakori to his side.
Jax watched the civilians closely. All of them looked ill.
Well, all of them except the American genius.
“Jax,” Uma snapped. “Which one is it?”
Jax lifted the flashing security-breach-detecting device and looked at the screen. She held it close to the politician from Belgium, and began to walk down the line, watching the red indicator. Uma stayed close behind her, peering over her shoulder, so that when Jax got to the Mexican ambassador and the lights multiplied on the screen unmistakably, Uma's knife was at his throat in an instant.
But the man's terror couldn't be faked, even by the best actor. His skin had gone chalk-pale, his pants soiled. Jax made a decision. “Wait,” she ordered, and Uma's knife froze, just touching his skin. “It's not him.”
Chakori looked at the screen. “How is it not him? Is that thing broken?”
Jax moved further down the aisle. “Both Mexicans have been implanted with tracking devices, but they're not Reavers.”
The first man, the diplomat from Mexico, stared at Uma. “What is a Reaver? Please, I don't understand.”
“You were given something,” Jax told him, “probably something to drink. Who gave it to you?”
The man's eyes flew to the American politician, and Jax felt her skin crawl at the satisfied expression on his blotchy face. But before the evil smirk could fully form on the Reaver's face, Chakori's knife was at his throat, slicing it open as a cascade of red ruined his suit.
The rest of the civilians screamed.
Dhevan never looked away from the window. “There's at least five of them,” he said.
Uma turned to him. “We could—”
“No, we couldn't,” Dhevan and Chakori said in unison, and Uma scowled.
Kai and Kenda looked out another window on the same side of the plane.
Kai said, “Is that a Chupacabra?”
“Dude. Chupacabras aren't blue, and their feet aren't on backwards.”
“But it's got spikes like a Chupacabra.”
Kenda made a noise of irritation. “You just like saying Chupacabra. Those are Ciguapa.”
“Ciguapa,” Kai said. “Just as fun to say. See-gwah-pa! I see three Ciguapa. Wait. Ciguapa or Ciguapas?”
The civilians stopped blubbering gaped at Kai and Kenda.
Koko turned to them with an expression of pity. “Don't worry, gentlemen. When giant desert snakes are stalking you, Ciguapa are the least of your problems.”
The Jodha waited for Uma and Chakori to choose a course of action, and Jax watched the civilians again. Reavers usually worked in groups.
Uma finally turned to Jax. “We don't have time to wait for the tracking devices to pass through. The Cera-Naga will open this plane up within an hour.”
She turned to the group. “The Mahatala Cera-Naga,” Uma said calmly, as if she were teaching a class. “Is the kind of creature that is always hungry. Always. It lives in the desert and travels through sand.” She waved her hand out the window. “Equipped with a very bad personality, the Cera-Naga has extremely sharp teeth and horns, and is extremely flexible. Lucky for us, they aren't very smart.”
“Why don't we just take off again?” The German diplomat sounded hysterical, and Jax didn't blame him. Whether he was a Reaver or not, he was still shackled to a chair attached to the floor while strange, violent soldiers talked about attacks from mythical beings.
“Because, Mr. Forward Thinker, it's too late.” Uma stood over the civilians, glaring at each of them. “Have you ever heard of a cursed object? That's what this aircraft has become. It will be met by Underworlders wherever it lands. Our only option is to defeat the creatures that are out there tonight, an
d then put as much distance between us and this aircraft as possible before tomorrow's sunset.”
The Mexican diplomat started to speak, but Uma snapped, “You and your idiotic assistant will stay here until you are retrieved. If you survive that long, that is. I hope you've learned not to consume things given to you by strangers suspiciously adept at kissing your ass.”
Jax was watching him closely, and so she noticed when the Canadian genius' pupils dilated with pleasure at Uma's words.
“Him,” she said, pointing. “He's a Reaver, too.”
The Canadian began screaming about his rights when Chakori approached him, but she only pressed a few buttons at the back of his chair. His restraints fell open, sliding back into the seat. The man looked relieved until Chakori pulled him to his feet and dragged him toward the door, where Koko held his arms twisted behind him.
“Anyone else?” Uma said, clearly disgusted. “Anyone else working with the very creatures who would destroy our entire world?” She screamed the last word suddenly, and every civilian flinched.
Every civilian except the Belgian assistant, Thomas Brent.
Uma moved to stand over him. “You,” she said. “What's your excuse?”
Instead of looking afraid, the Belgian raised his chin and met Uma's eyes. “I did it for my Margaux, and I'd do it again. A thousand times.”
Uma nodded, her entire demeanor understanding and kind. “Your Margaux, huh? I take it she's the kind of woman who'd like to see millions of people die horrible deaths? She enjoys watching starvation and suffering?”
“She was a child,” he spat. “And she meant nothing except money and research to every government we have created. We are all of us dying, rotting from our own shortsighted greed. We have no souls anymore.”
Uma turned to Jax, and her eyes were cold.
“Thomas Brent,” Jax said. She knew everyone's files by heart now. “Harvard graduate and assistant to the Belgian ambassador. There's nothing in the files about a—”
“But he is not Thomas Brent,” the Belgian geologist squeaked, his voice shaking with fear. “He is Niels. Niels Lambert. Thomas became ill. And…”
Uma's expression changed to something Jax had always hoped the white-haired Jodha would never turn on her, and Jax rushed to search her database for Niels Lambert.
“They look almost identical. Lambert must have stolen Brent's ID, then given him something to make him sick.” Jax knew she was talking too fast, sounding like a desperate person making bad excuses for their incompetence. She tried to breathe and kept her eyes on Uma.
“It is true,” the geologist said. “They look very much alike. They could be twins.”
“It doesn't matter now,” Chakori said to Uma, releasing Niels' restraints and marching him to the door to stand beside the Canadian, where Kai twisted his arm up behind his back. “We're here now.”
Chakori nodded to Jax and Kenda to release everyone but the Mexicans with tracking devices.
The nine remaining men leapt from their seats and gathered in a trembling group against the far wall and watched Uma with terrified expressions. Jax was now sure every one of them regretted agreeing to this job.
The two men with tracking devices cried softly in their chairs.
“Unluckily for us, Ciguapa are very smart,” Uma continued her lesson on Underworld creatures. “So here's what's going to happen. While these two tasty morsels,” she gestured at the Reavers, “keep the Cera-Naga occupied. We'll focus on taking out the five naked blue ladies.”
The Reavers started squirming in Kai and Koko's grasps, and with one fluid motion, the brothers smashed their faces against the wall.
Jax saw the young German engineer's eyes snap to the window when Uma said “naked ladies” and she almost laughed to think that he was imagining some kind of beautiful Na'vis. Instead, he saw a spike-covered creature with a gaping round mouth of barbed teeth, clawed hands, and a chest covered in four giant breast-like tumors.
He turned away, starting to hyperventilate, and Uma winked at him.
“Sexy, right?” She smiled. “Okay, people! Follow any order from Jax here, stay out of our way, and try not to get yourselves killed. Consider this furthering your education. Let's move!”
Jax stepped forward, feeling in no way qualified to lead the civilians. “But Uma—”
“Not another fucking word, Jax. You will stay here and wait for our signal, then run and keep running. Don't look back, understand? And if we survive the night, you can explain to a room of Commanders how three Reavers ended up on this flight.”
Dhevan's voice rolled across the cabin like thunder. “That's not fair, Uma. Jax voiced concerns about Reavers more than a week ago, and you damn well know it.”
Uma looked at the window, then at her husband. “Fine,” she spat.
“Don't be mean right before we could all be dead,” he told her. “We did our best.”
“What do you want me to do? Give her a hug and a big smooch?”
Dhevan wrapped Uma in his giant Tvastar arms, then reached out to pull Jax toward them. “Yes,” he said. “That's exactly what I want you to do.”
Jax would always wonder if Dhevan had been having a premonition when he said they could be dead.
Chapter 20
It was a good thing Kelakha thought of the bell thing, because after two weeks of babysitting Nidhan, Aquila had run out of bullshit ideas to feed his brother-in-law. First it was the “special training”, which technically was still happening for five hours a day. Then it was the “check the temple for signs of Underworlder activity”, which had been Ursala's idea and didn't work for very long at all. Now Kelakha had come up with the plan to give Nidhan “Tvastar chores” around the temple and village at the bottom of the mountain.
Through the monks, Aquila spread the word in the village that Nidhan could fix anything metal that needed to be fixed. They also said that he was always very hungry, and that he needed extra hospitality because the aunt who raised him had recently died, which definitely helped delay Nidhan on every outing.
Aquila joined Kelakha and Ursala on the porch of the honeymoon suite, which he now shared with three sweaty males instead of his bride. Nidhan had just left on an assignment to the village that would take at least two hours.
The sky was just beginning to lighten and the view of the valley was breathtaking.
Aquila tried not to think of Asha and failed miserably.
“We need a better plan,” Kelakha was saying. “He's getting more suspicious.”
“Dude, he's not suspicious,” Ursala said, piling food onto his plate. “What would he have to be suspicious about? No one has told him shit about shit.”
“Exactly. That's what he's suspicious about.”
Aquila filled his plate. “He's confused. He's not suspicious. But you're right. We need a better plan. Something that seems more ‘hero's journey’”
“That's it! Journey!” Kelakha waved his fork at them. “We'll wander around the wilderness in search of something for a month. Something really important…”
“Something only a Tvastar can find,” said Aquila. “I like it.”
“Hiking around for weeks freezing our asses off?” Ursala shook his head. “No thanks. If we're gonna hang around here, we might as well take advantage of the luxury accommodations.”
“Asha says it's just until after the winter solstice, then—”
Aquila's phone rang and the three of them looked at each other and then at the phone.
“It's Jax,” he said to Kelakha, then set the phone on the table, hitting speaker.
“Jax. What's the password?”
“Aquila,” she sounded exhausted and—hysterical. Maybe more hysterical than exhausted. “Are you alone?”
“No. 'Lakha and Ursala are here,” Aquila told her. “What's the password?”
“Oh, God, Ursala,” she whispered. She was definitely crying now, and Aquila could see that Kelakha was going to lose it if he asked for the password one more time
. “I… the password, um, shit, it's Keith Richards. No, that was yesterday's—Chuck Berry! The password is Chuck Berry.”
“Okay, what's up?” Aquila watched Kelakha's eyes widen at him, and mouthed, What?
“I didn't know who else to call,” Jax groaned. “Asha isn't answering her phone, but she said if I ever needed anything, to call you. I don't know what to do, and—”
Aquila straightened. “Slow down. Where are you?”
Jax sobbed, and Kelakha looked ready to panic.
“They're dead,” Jax sobbed. “Oh, Jesus, they're dead.”
“Listen to me, Jax,” Aquila knew he sounded angry, but seriously, who says shit like that and then starts blubbering? “Who is dead? Tell us from the beginning.”
“It happened so fast,” Jax said, sounding more like herself. “There were Reavers on the plane, and so we had to land in the desert. And they were waiting for us, the Cera-Naga. And there were four Ciguapa with them.”
“Holy shit,” Ursala whispered.
“And then Uma told us to run. She told me to get the civilians out of their way, and then they fed the Reavers to the snakes, and it seemed like we were going to be fine.” She sniffed again. “It seemed like we were going to win. Koko and the others, Chakori, they made pretty short work of the Ciguapa from the sky, even before the rest of us left the plane, but then…”
She started crying again.
Kelakha looked at Aquila like Say something comforting, but Aquila ignored him.
“But then what, Jax?”
She took a shuddering breath. “But then the civilians, they wouldn't listen to me. They didn't care that Uma had warned us the plane wasn't safe. They just… instead of running away, like I fucking told them, like everyone told them, they panicked when they saw all that empty sand I guess, and they turned back to try and get on the plane again. The Cera-Naga struck and killed three of them, so fucking fast, just like nothing, like popping blueberries in your mouth. And Uma, she tried to stop it, but by the time she reached us, it was too late.” Jax spoke softly then, as if to herself. “There was so much blood. I never knew people had so much blood in them… And then the snake, it turned on Uma, but Uma was faster—faster than anyone I've ever seen, and she dodged it, moving like lightning, like it took her no effort. She was beautiful, the way she spun and slashed her weapon along its side, each scale bigger than my head, totally unfazed by its giant fangs. And then she leapt into the air, with her silver braid trailing behind her like a whip, and stabbed it in the eye.”