Chapter Thirty-Four

Nyko stripped down quickly tohis underwear and boots, moving in a precise and unhurried way, even though panic was a hot knot of twisted metal in his stomach. He strapped on an utility belt, briskly filling it with one sheathed knife and two flash grenades. Cylindrically-shaped, flash grenades contained a pyrotechnic concoction that exploded into an intense white flare when detonated, effectively blinding everyone nearby for about five seconds. The accompanying loud blast also caused temporary loss of hearing and messed with the ear's inner fluid, throwing off balance.

Not that he had anything against fragmentation grenades. He would've used them on the Om R?u in a heartbeat if he could've been sure that Faith and Pandra wouldn't be within the blast radius. But the Om R?u had just grabbed themselves a Royal Dragon and a half-R?u, half-Fey female; they wouldn't be letting such catches out of their sights any time soon. Already bonded to Thomal, Pandra shouldn't have been considered one of their prizes, but there was some question as to whether the Topside R?u-Fey race was immune to the procreation block rendered by Varcolac mating; which was why Raymond Parthen still hunted Toni.

"Stop what you're doing," Jacken ordered.

He was standing next to Nyko at the mouth of the Hell Tunnels in Stanga Town, his face reaching record levels of hardness, his eyes fierce. "In over a hundred years of living in these caves," his brother went on, "a Varcolac has never made it through the Hell Tunnels. You won't, either."

"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. Alex and I have already mapped over half the Tunnels. I only need to find my way through the other half." Piece of cake in a million-degree heat, right? He might've had a fighting chance if it was guaranteed he could get through the first half in a decent amount of time. But with all the sudden dips and sharp turns in those dark passageways, he'd only ever seemed to bump around on his practice runs.

"Listen to me." Jacken grabbed Nyko by the arm. "I know you're feeling like shit about losing Faith, same as every warrior in this town felt like shit about losing Gwyn. But do you remember why we didn't go after Gwyn, even though it was our fault and we owed her? Because there was nothing we could do. If you go in there, you'll end up dying for nothing."

"I have to at least try." Nyko shrugged off his brother's grip. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. This is all my fault." Once again. "Faith volunteered to go—she left the community—because of me." Because he hadn't done a danged thing to help her, just sat back with a bag of popcorn and watched her grow sadder and sadder. Congratulations to him. He'd succeeded in removing himself from hero status.

Yes, Faith's sister and her aunt had abandoned her, too, but those two had become too caught up in lives they'd never had before, or had ever hoped to have, to see what was happening. He'd seen, though. Which meant the sole responsibility for this sat squarely on his shoulders.

"Dammit, Nyko, stop being—"

"Faith's not Gwyn!" he shouted at his brother. "Take two seconds to imagine Toni in O??rat, Jacken, and then maybe you can understand what I'm going through. Faith is my woman, but I…I blew it. I let her down, and I'm not going to keep doing that. I'd rather die than do nothing, so if it comes to that, then it does."

A vein in Jacken's temple pulsed furiously. "Fuck it. All right. If you're so determined to do this, then I'm coming with you." He yanked off his shirt.

"No." He used his Big Brother voice for that one.

Thomal jogged up to them. "Hey, hold up."

Thomal had disappeared briefly to take Beth to Arc, who'd been in the rearguard battle with Nyko to squash Josnic. Their group of warriors had been waylaid by a new swarm of Om R?u, and both he and Arc had been injured, Nyko receiving a nasty knife wound to the left shoulder.

"I've been talking to Alex about the Hell Tunnels," Thomal said, "and I made this for you." He offered Nyko a large, flat rectangular-shaped something. "It's a map of the passageways. I drew it in three-dimensions, showing all of the hills and turns. It should help you get through the first part faster."

"You made this?" Nyko accepted the map, stunned.

"Yeah. I etched it into metal so it wouldn't melt in the heat, then edged the sides in high-grade rubber so you could hold onto it without burning your hands."

Nyko studied the map. Holy smokes, this was exactly what he needed. "This is fantastic." He gave Thomal another astounded look. "I can't believe you etched it."

Color rose in Thomal's cheeks. He shrugged. "I used to mess around with carving a while back. Anyway…" He pointed to the map. "See this fork here? Alex says that once you reach this point, you should be able to take either the left or right route and get into O??rat."

"Okay." Nyko took a breath and said, "Thank you." Thomal might've just saved his life.

Thomal nodded shortly. "I'd go with you, if I could."

But without any R?u in him, he wouldn't last more than a minute in the extreme heat.

Thomal's jaw hardened. "Just get in there and get back, Nyko, all right? That's my woman in there, too."

Really? Since when? Nyko grimaced inwardly. Kind of an ungracious thought to have, considering Thomal's major contribution to the rescue operation, but…true nonetheless.

"I'm going with you," Jacken repeated, then gestured at the map. "There's a good chance we'll make it now."

"Good? I'd say fair, at best." Nyko tucked the map under his arm. "Even though I may have a possible way into O??rat now, my ability to grab the women then get back out, with an entire town of Om R?u to face down, is still a huge IF."

"All the more reason for me to come along and help fight."

"No." Nyko remained adamant. The mission was still too suicidal for him to bring along his brother. Not with Jacken becoming a father any day now. Nyko laid a hand on Jacken's shoulder and lowered his voice. "You have a wife and a soon-to-be-born kid who need you a lot more than I do for this mission. You can't go with me."

Jacken's lips compressed into a thin line. He stepped back, his hands on his hips.

"I know you know that," Nyko said.

Turning aside, Jacken stared off into Stanga Town.

"I'm sorry, I just can't allow it," Nyko maintained. "I'll knock you out if I have to."

Jacken scowled, then cursed. "At least feed before you go." He gestured at Nyko's knife wound. "You've lost a decent amount of blood."

"I don't have time. Every second that passes puts Faith and Pandra in more danger. Josnic and Lorke could be doling the women out to their men right now." Nyko aimed his steps toward the Hell Tunnels, but then paused. His chest jerked once. He turned back around, keeping his voice soft enough for Jacken's ears only. "You won't admit it, but you're worried about what kind of father you're going to make. We were raised by a complete ass, so we don't have the best model for that sort of thing. But…you're going to be a great dad." Nyko's heart folded inward. Dang, he'd really wanted to meet his niece or nephew. "I need for you to know that."

Jacken's nostrils flared and quivered almost imperceptibly. He recognized a final goodbye when he heard it.

Nyko grabbed Jacken by the back of the neck and squeezed hard, giving him a firm shake. A big brother silent message for don't mess up your life when I'm not around to kick your butt.

Nyko turned around for the last time and took off into the Hell Tunnels.