“This isn’t goodbye,” X said.
He hugged Layla, then Katherine and Phyl, and walked away at a brisk pace with Miles by his side. Michael ran to catch up.
At the end of the pier, Ton and Victor stood, still as statues, on a boat with a militia soldier behind the wheel. X helped Miles aboard, and off they went. Their destination, Renegade. The warship was fueled and waiting with Shadow in the distance.
The dark bulk of Elysium came into view in the moonlight. The massive training vessel and flagship of the Cazador Navy carried over a hundred Cazador and militia soldiers manning its cannons and machine guns, ready to defend the islands.
The ferry bore right, and a rig blocked the view of the flagship. X took a moment to look up at the airship he had called home for nearly all his life.
Scaffolding surrounded the sections of the Hive damaged by the skinwalkers’ attack. Sparks showered down from welders patching up the hull. The teams had worked tirelessly to repair the exterior and engineers were already fixing life-support systems inside the ship.
X wanted it ready to fly.
On the balconies, civilians and militia soldiers patrolled, some armed with nothing but crossbows. Everyone had pitched in to fix the Hive and to ensure it was defended from another attack at all costs.
“It’s our turn now, buddy,” X said, reaching down to pet Miles.
“X,” Michael said.
“Yeah?”
Michael unslung his backpack. “After the Sky Arena training the other day, I made something for you that I think will help you defeat Horn.”
He pulled out a contraption with leather straps and buckles.
“It’s not a robotic defector limb, but it should help you handle the spear better,” Michael said. “Half of it, anyway.”
He handed the prosthetic arm to X.
“Go ahead and try it on.”
X put the contraption around his stump, and Michael cinched the leather straps tight.
“What the hell am I going to do with this?” X asked.
Michael picked up Rhino’s spear from the deck and clicked the middle, pulling the shafts apart. Then he inserted one into a metal slot in the prosthesis and twisted until it clicked.
“Go ahead, try it,” Michael said.
X stood, the spear shaft and blade pointing down. For a moment, he just stared.
“Swing it already,” he said.
The shaft and blade whooshed through the air.
Michael smiled.
The half shaft wasn’t heavy and felt natural. After a few swings, jabs, and uppercuts, X smiled, too.
“Pretty smooth, right?” Michael said. “I borrowed the spear when you were in the library. Had to make a few mods, but it should work.”
X went to the back of the boat, where he could swing without taking anyone’s head off. For the first time in weeks, he felt as if he could fight again.
Once again, Michael had helped fill him with confidence. Just as when he gave X the fortune cookie quote on the dive that had separated them for a decade.
X raised the blade again.
The militia soldier steered the ferry around the decommissioned airship. X spotted motion on the decks of Shadow and Renegade. Even this far away, he could hear the voices of the crew, sailors, and Hell Divers.
X thought of the last decision he must make, one that had burdened him for days now.
Miles nudged up against his leg, and again X bent down to stroke the husky, trying to remain calm even though he felt as if he might puke.
He had to face what seemed an impossible task, rallying an army to fight battles he wasn’t sure they could win.
Miles’s touch and the renewed confidence bestowed by Michael’s gift did help with the anxiety, though.
“I really appreciate this,” he said to Michael. “I wish there were something I could give you to help you take out the machines.”
Before Michael could reply, the boat slowed, and Victor climbed onto the bow to fend off the hull of Renegade.
“King Xavier, you go first,” Victor said. His English was getting better by the day.
The refugee warrior grabbed a rope ladder hanging over the hull of the warship. X turned around and tucked Miles into his improvised canvas packsaddle. Then X hoisted him over his shoulders and started up the ladder.
Rodger and Magnolia were the first two people X saw when he got up to the deck. All the other divers stood around piles of gear bags they were taking to Discovery.
Surrounding the team was a group of Barracudas, including Mac and Felipe. They had selected twenty of the best warriors left in the Cazador army to fight the skinwalkers.
X looked them over. Many of them were bulky and muscular like Rhino, Whale, and Fuego. There were also lean women like Wendig, and one who reminded him of Sloan.
Trusting eyes locked on to X, reminding him of all the dead divers and soldiers who had trusted his leadership.
Brave warriors always rose when the brave fell. People like Colonel Mac and Felipe, and General Forge and several of his officers, fresh off Shadow for final orders. And Lieutenant Wynn and two of his soldiers recently promoted to sergeant, who would stay behind on Elysium.
X approached, wondering how many of them would perish.
“All right, gather around,” X said. “Imulah, up here with me.”
The Hell Divers formed the inner circle with General Forge and his men, while the Barracudas clustered behind them.
X dreaded talking tonight, but his words had never been more important.
Miles sat and looked up with his sapphire gaze. X smiled at the dog, then spoke.
“Tonight, we embark on two missions to save our home. Facing dual threats from the very machines that brought our species to the brink of extinction, and the evil men who worship those machines.”
He walked in a circle so he could see everyone while Imulah translated.
“If we defeat our enemies,” he pointed his prosthetic spear at the rigs around them, at the hundreds of torches burning on the decks where Cazadores and sky people had made their homes, “then we will have secured safety and peace for the next generation of humanity.” X looked to Michael. “Peace and safety for the children who will help us rebuild, repopulate, and thrive.”
X paused to look at Rodger and Magnolia. He had always believed that the only people who could save humanity were Hell Divers, which was why he couldn’t send them to Africa. The world needed them, and risking them all on one mission again could doom humanity. So he was sending them to Aruba. He couldn’t bear to lose Magnolia and Michael, although that could still happen if both missions failed.
If they did, there was still one final failsafe, noted in the letters in his bag.
“Some of you are wondering how we are going to win this fight,” X said. “Truth is, none of us know how much time we have, but I will gladly die to protect our home.”
His voice grew louder. “I will gladly die for the Hell Diver, militia soldier, or Cazador warrior beside me! We win this fight not just through skill and courage, but by relying on the men and women at our side!”
Michael clapped Rodger on the shoulder, and Arlo nudged Lena. All around, the group seemed to come closer together. Cazadores thumped their chest armor and clanked their spear shafts on the deck.
“Hell Divers never give up,” X yelled. “Even when the odds are stacked against us, we press on, we fight. We are the last guardians of humanity!” He raised his spear into the air. “We are the soldiers of the apocalypse, and we will fight so humanity survives!”
The Hell Divers and other warriors yelled in unison, raising weapons and fists. “Immortal!” shouted the Hell Divers and militia soldiers.