Reshi walked up to join us. We gave her a happy greeting. She looked well, though tired. My hopes soared upon seeing the spark of action in her face. She gestured proudly with multiple hands to the entrance.
“It’s not usually smoldering,” Reshi said with a dry smirk. “It’s good to have you back. We’ve made some improvements.”
Bravi abruptly pressed her comm, listening intently. “Understood.” She turned her attention back to our tour as we stood at the entrance. “Arlonne’s out scouting with Charrek to make sure there are no more of your invisible attackers out there.”
Reshi caught my curious eye as I admired the comm. “Do you like them?” she asked, and turned her head to the side, showing off a much glitzier version of a comm piece than I was used to. “I’ve been very busy. Of course, my version only works over short distances, and we don’t have many.”
“I see that,” I said with an awed laugh. “You’ve really done some amazing work. Your defense system looked incredible.”
She glanced over at Bravi, who listened to another report from the comm device.
“Arlonne’s doing one last sweep, but she says everything seems clear,” Bravi reported.
“It is,” Sen confirmed.
Bravi gave her an annoyed but restrained glance. “Look, usually I need to clear any new creatures coming into camp, but since they’re with you guys, it’s different. They don’t need to go through processing now…”
Processing? Things had gotten a lot more structured since we’d left. I glanced around the entrance of the camp, seeing a human run by in Bureau-issued fatigues. He met the medic and another injured vampire. They hurried past us. Well, maybe they don’t need our help rounding up the wounded. I felt a bit superfluous, but it was a sight to behold. The Coalition camp unfurled like ants coming out of a hill to show their true numbers. My heart leapt into my throat. There were two people I hadn’t seen, though…
“Where are Zach and Gina?” I asked, searching Bravi for any signs of trouble. I missed Zach and Gina terribly. I couldn’t get the vision of Gina out of my head. Bravi brushed off dirt from her gauntlet. She’s got some questions for sure. It was such a relief seeing her, even in the madness of battle.
“They’re fine,” she assured me. “They returned to the Mortal Plane several weeks ago. Unfortunately, they got stuck there, as our darling tear ate up most of the sky. It’s been highly unstable lately. He waited as long as he could for you to return, never losing hope, but eventually he felt he needed to go and tell your parents what had happened. He didn’t want them to have to hear that you were missing from the Bureau.”
I fought back the guilt and worry inside me as I looked up at the tear. My family was somewhere in the Mortal Plane without me. I wanted to hear their voices after so long. The tear looked angry. It was massive, as it had been when I first noticed it, but now… it loomed above us like a sentient thunderstorm as I took in its sheer size. We left our friends to follow Ruk to the Higher Plane, for necessary reasons, but the tear refused to wait for anything. It felt aware as it stared back at me, mocking my late arrival with its immense presence.
“Looks like a monster opening up its jaws to snap us up,” Bravi noted grimly.
Dorian gave a grunt of agreement. The tear extended over the mountains and the nearby city of Vanim. It unfurled into the distance, like an insidious infection, in the direction of Itzarriol. I can’t even talk to Zach and Gina here. I hope I can tell them that I’m okay soon. My only family being inaccessible to me at the moment hit me with a punch of sadness.
“So, there’s no travel through it?” I confirmed.
“Far too unstable,” Bravi replied. “Vampires can’t even use the portals nearest the tear. It’s bad. Navigating the tear itself has been impossible, unless you’re ready to lose a limb or get struck by lightning. Travel is only for emergencies. Luckily, our camp hasn’t been affected, since the tear is entirely in the air… for the moment.”
But… if the planes continued to meld like they were currently doing, then it would suck up or collapse the training camp first. Not great news. I shot Dorian an urgent look. He clenched his jaw with worry.
“The other generals will be in soon,” Bravi promised. “Let’s begin. I know you’re going to be impressed with what we’ve accomplished.” She smirked proudly at Reshi, who twitched her bat-like ears as if to agree.
Reshi eyed Aurora. “Perhaps we should let your friend take his wounded companion to the medics?”
Ruk pressed his lips into an unsure line, but he changed into his usual humanoid form. The return of his energy had given him a certain new vitality that was hard to put my finger on. He easily held Aurora in his arms, despite her long form.
“She just needs to rest,” he assured them in a gravelly tone. Bravi whistled, and two medics came running up, a vampire healer with close-cropped black hair and another who I immediately recognized. Sylas shot me a warm smile as he helped ease Aurora onto a makeshift stretcher. It was made from sturdy wooden poles with Hive waterproof fabric serving as the taut surface, likely sourced from what they brought with them. I whispered a soft thanks. Ruk watched them carry her off but kept quiet. If he wanted to, he could easily track her down.
"Welcome to the Coalition camp," Bravi said, and gestured to the bustling area as we entered it. The smoke had cleared from the air. Vampires and makers were hauling away the wreckage of skimmer remains. Reshi's eyes glittered as she rubbed her hands together. She ran off to help with the scavenging of resources. Bravi added, with a note of humor, "We don't waste anything here."
Perhaps that was why the Coalition camp had proved so efficient. I admired the overall plan, clearly lit by the lanterns at the moment. The first thing my suddenly hungry stomach registered was a mess hall with patchwork repairs from a previous battle. It had an open bar on the front where I could see makers working to prepare the next meal. Familiar dark green plants greeted me. It must’ve been interesting to plan for so many diets. I had no doubt that the Hive’s seaweed rations were in good use here, since they seemingly worked for all species.
“Are you guys running on seaweed?” I asked Bravi curiously. “I mean, not you, obviously.”
She let out a dark laugh. “That type of sparkling conversation, Lyra, is why I missed you. Yes, the makers created an inner aquatic farm in the mess hall you’re admiring. One side is devoted to seaweed farming. For the vampires… well, we’ve been dealing with quite a few attacks. We feed as much as we can afterward. We get our strongest to take on excess to ration later to the wounded. I suspect many of the vampires here have come to both appreciate and loathe the Immortal attacks on us. You’ll find no shortage of complaints among your Bureau humans who have grown to hate Immortal seaweed, but it’s nutritious enough for nearly everyone but the vampires.”
I was fine with seaweed, even if I hadn’t tasted any real food in months. It was strange to feel the beginning of hunger gnaw at my tired body, like I was slowly sinking back into my senses.
An impressive training area flanked the left side of the camp. Reshi helped haul the skimmers to this area with a team of makers and vampires. Stacks of empty shelves suggested that they kept weapons there, but I imagined everyone had grabbed one during the attack.