Rhino stepped forward, but his towering presence didn’t deter the woman one bit.
“And you!” she shouted at the Cazador general. “You promised you would kill Javier. Instead, you let him kill my boy.”
“I’m truly sorry,” Rhino said.
“You both disgust me,” Mallory shot back. She wiped a tear from her eye and looked again at X. “I knew Janga, and I believed her prophecy about a man leading us to a new home on the sea. You may have been that man, but this…” She waved her hand outward, encompassing the rooftop and the surrounding sea. “This is not the home that we deserve.” Mallory poked X in the chest with her finger. “And you are not the leader we all deserve. A real leader would have killed all these animals and never given them the chance to kill my husband and son.”
Mallory looked Rhino up and down. Then she spat in the dirt between his sandals.
Rhino did not say a word, though his muscles flexed for an instant.
“X saved us all,” said Cole. “It’s not his fault what happened in the arena.”
“Saved me just yesterday,” came a voice.
X looked for it and saw Ted Maturo, his silver hair seeming to glow in the moonlight. He nodded at X, and X nodded back. Maybe the young man had actually learned something from his dumb stunt.
“The Cazadores should not be allowed to have weapons,” said a farmer.
“Yeah, and the warriors should be banished at the very least,” a woman added. X was surprised to turn and see that Katherine had spoken the words.
“Listen, everyone, we’re here to pay our respects tonight,” X said. “Not debate the peace treaty we have with our…”
He stopped short of saying “friends,” even though the man next to him was indeed his friend.
“Allies,” X finished. “This is no different from how things were in the Old World, when enemies became allies after fighting each other for years.”
“This is not the Old World,” said a mechanic. “Allies don’t bash each other’s heads in like they did to my friend DJ.”
“Your peace treaty is as dangerous as diving through the storms,” said a familiar gruff voice.
X turned to see that it was Marv from the Wingman, the bar where X had spent far too many hours drinking far too much shine. Marv had lost an eye in the battle for the islands, and the one he had left was pinned on X.
“Eventually, every diver ends up dead,” Marv said. “And eventually, this treaty will fail and the Cazadores will slaughter us all.”
“X survived all the dives, and he won’t fail us,” Cole argued, his voice louder now. “We have to trust him.”
Mallory shook her head and walked away. Her son looked over his shoulder, his glassy gaze locked on X. The rest of the group dispersed, but X couldn’t bring himself to meet their eyes. He deserved this shame.
Mallory was right. Her son’s death was indeed his fault. If he had never reopened the Sky Arena, the boy would still be alive.
“She’s wrong,” Rhino said as if reading X’s thoughts. “Rhett’s death wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I should have killed Javier faster, before the kid could jump in.”
“Doesn’t change anything.” X bent down and patted Miles on the head. The dog had brought his bone with him and was chewing it once more.
The last of the people who had come to the graveside vanished around the trees. Only Ton and Victor stayed behind to guard the area. X felt better with them there.
He looked up at the sky. “Leave me,” he said to Rhino.
“King Xavier, I—”
“I said leave me,” X said. “I am fine on my own.”
Rhino didn’t seem convinced.
“Go to bed. Or, if you’re not tired, go put together that team I told you we need.”
When Rhino didn’t respond, X’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you can’t find anyone you can trust,” he said. “The Barracudas followed you into battle, and I know you’ve got plenty of others who would, too.”
“They are all dead,” Rhino said coldly. “Or they have turned on me because I now serve you.”
“I’m sorry,” X said, not knowing what else to say.
“I do not regret anything, and there may still be hope,” Rhino said. “I just need time to go visit an old friend who might be able to help.”
“Take as much time as you need. Until then, I’ve got these.” X gripped his sword in one hand and cinched up his belt of weapons with the other. A blaster was holstered at his thigh, a pistol on his waist, and a hatchet hung from the back of his belt. The weight made his shorts sag.
“Good night, King Xavier,” Rhino said.
When Rhino was out of sight, X whistled to Miles. The dog picked up the bone and trotted after him. They returned to the graves, and X knelt beside Katrina’s plot. He put a hand on the mound and bowed his head.
“What would you do with Ada if you were in my shoes?” he whispered.
He kept his hand there, trying to imagine her voice and what she would say to him. All he knew for sure was that she wouldn’t kill Ada as Rhino had recommended.
But he was less sure about how Katrina would handle the Cazadores. Perhaps Ada was right. Perhaps Katrina would have killed all the soldiers or, at the very least, banished them.
“King Xavier,” said a voice.
X rose to his feet, his hand instinctively going for his sword. He relaxed when he saw Ted step out of the shadows. He held a silver flask in his hand and held it out.
“Thought I’d thank you for saving my hide,” he said.
“You’re welcome, but my days of shine are over.”
Ted shrugged and brought the flask to his lips, then hesitated. He frowned and put it away.
“I’m sorry for what I did, and I hope someday I will have the opportunity to train again with the Hell Divers,” he said ruefully. “Seriously, sir, I know how stupid that was. It put everyone at risk.”
“You’re damn right it did,” X replied. “Kid, we’re all stupid at times. You were lucky, like I’ve been many times in my life.”
“Lucky you were there… I just hope you will someday forgive me and give me the chance to serve again.”
A female voice rang out before X could respond. He turned from Katrina’s grave, half expecting to see her ghost. Instead, he spotted Lieutenant Sloan running across the rooftop. Rhino was right behind her.
“Sir,” she said, stopping to pant. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“It’s Discovery, sir…” She took another breath and added, “We received a transmission.”
“And?”
“They ran into trouble at the fueling station.”
“What kind of trouble?” X asked.
Sloan finally caught her breath. “When Star Grazer reached the shore, they discovered the fuel outpost had been damaged,” she said. “Discovery descended to take a look and found it was destroyed.”
“Shit,” Rhino said. “They won’t have enough fuel to get to the city and back.”
“No, they did manage to get some,” Sloan said. “Discovery helped haul two tanker trucks inland to fuel up, but they were attacked by giant snakes.”
“Is everyone okay?” X asked.
“I think so. Apparently, Rodger helped kill the things. I didn’t get much more after that; the line cut out.”
“Rodger?” X said, then growled with realization. When Cole said his son had “left,” he meant he had gone on the mission.
“Reckless idiot,” X muttered. He looked to Ted. “See, stupid people doing stupid shit.”