Juryokine

Chapter Thirty Five

"Toke, are you okay? Toke, answer me!"

Zashiel's hoarse voice sounded clear as a bell now that the Terracaelum was gone. The buzz of the kaosuryo, the whir of its turbines, and the roar of its engine as it fed off the gigantic battery had created a chaotic symphony of noise, and now that the nightmarish machine had taken off the ensuing silence was deafening.

"I'm sorry," Toke said, his thoughts slow and thick. He still lay with his side pressed against the wall, unsure whether he could move and unwilling to try. "I tried to stop him, but..."

"Are you all right?" she interrupted him, and he heard her gasp in pain as she struggled to stand up. The sound pulled him from his funk, and he rolled over just in time to see her get to her knees and fall to the ground again.

"Don't," he said. "You're can't—"

"Can you see me?" she interrupted again, and raised a hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"Did he break any bones? Can you feel everything?"

"I'm fine," he insisted. "I just need a minute."

They lay in painful silence for a few minutes, and Toke gradually felt the numbness fade from his limbs. He was lucky, he realized. That much jidoryo could have fried his insides like a Vlangurtian pie. Perhaps the jacket had absorbed most of the voltage, or maybe it really did just come down to luck. Whatever the case, he had come closer to death than he ever had before when Navras had thrown his spear.

"It was all for nothing," he finally said, breaking the silence again.

He expected Zashiel to argue with him, to shoot back a snappy retort that it was only over if he'd already given up. He wanted her to say it, in fact. Instead, she only closed her eyes, like she had fallen asleep on the laboratory's floor.

"We got this far," she whispered, so softly he could barely hear her, "and we let him win anyway."

Toke wanted to say something, but couldn't think of the words. Even from across the room, he saw the unmistakable twinkle of a tear running down her cheek, and his heart skipped a beat. As terrible as the situation was for him, it was a hundred times worse for her. Toke had helped create the Terracaelum, but it was Zashiel's people who would ultimately pay for it. The Sorakines had all been confined to Hashira, Klevon had said so himself. The entire Sorakine race, all in one place, just like Navras wanted.

Toke looked at her, and could tell that Zashiel had already figured all of this out. The stakes had been higher than either of them had ever thought, but by the time they'd realized it, it was too late.

"Is there nothing else we can do?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"No," Zashiel answered, her voice numb. She didn't open her eyes. "I... I still can't stand up. Without my wings, we'll never get up there."

Toke nodded his agreement. It was hopeless.

And yet, when he tried to sink into despair, he couldn't. His brain was working too hard.

This couldn't be the end of things, could it? Not after how hard he and Zashiel had worked. There had to be a way to fix this. He just had to think of it. Had to look at things from a new angle. He was an inventor, after all. That's what he was best at.

But he's up in the sky, Toke thought. The only thing that can reach him now is a Sorakine, and Zashiel's hurt too badly to fly.

There was no way, and his common sense demanded he accept that fact. But as Toke sat up and crossed his legs in thought, he just couldn't bring himself to give up. There had to be something... but what was it?