Page 46 of Eclipse Bound
A figure stood in the middle of the wash, waving urgently. Dani.
Poppy pulled up beside her, and Dani immediately climbed in, squeezing into the back with the aliens.
"Thank god you made it," she said breathlessly. "Milano teams are swarming everywhere." She looked around. "Where's Eclipse?"
The question hung in the air, unanswered but for a slight shake of Poppy’s head.
"We need to keep moving," Lunar said after a moment. "Milano will expand their search perimeter once they realize we've escaped the caves."
Poppy nodded and accelerated down the wash, following it until it joined a slightly more established jeep trail.
"I've got water, food, and some basic first aid in my pack," Dani offered, passing a water bottle to Rowan. "And we managed to grab these from the suite."
She pulled out a small metal object that Rowan recognized as Eclipse's energy stone, along with a few other alien devices.
"How did you know to take these?" Solar asked, surprised.
"I figured they might be important," Dani explained. "When Milano started closing in, one of Rowan’s alien enthusiast friends figured they shouldn't get their hands on any more alien tech. They gave it to me for safekeeping."
Rowan took the energy stone, cradling it in her palm. It hummed faintly, almost as if responding to her touch.
"Can we use this to contact him?" she asked.
"Possibly," Solar replied. "The energy stones are attuned to their owners. It might respond to Eclipse's signature if he's within range."
Rowan held the stone tightly, willing it to connect with Eclipse, to show some sign he was still out there. The stone remained inert, its soft hum unchanged.
"We'll try again when we're settled," Poppy reassured her. "Right now, we need to focus on getting to safety."
The jeep continued its jarring journey across the backcountry, gradually leaving the more traveled areas behind. The terrain became increasingly rugged, the trail sometimes disappearing entirely before reappearing hundreds of yards later.
"How much further?" Solar asked, his form flickering slightly with each major bump.
"About five more miles," Poppy answered. "We'll be there before sunset."
Rowan stared out at the passing landscape, the red rocks and scrubby vegetation blurring together. Her thoughts kept returning to Eclipse—his twilight energy expanding to protect her, his voice urging her to continue without him.
Had it only been this morning that she'd awakened in his arms, feeling more connected than she ever had to another being?
And now he was gone, possibly captured by Milano, all because she'd suggested that ridiculous reconnaissance mission.
"This is my fault," she said quietly. "We should never have left the suite."
"No," Solar responded firmly. "Milano was already tracking us. They would have found us regardless."
"Solar is correct," Lunar added. "Their technology is advanced. They were hunting us systematically."
"Which brings us back to how they got that technology in the first place," Dani pointed out. "I mean, energy weapons specifically designed to counter alien powers? That's not something they developed overnight."
"The missing Milano founder," Rowan remembered suddenly. "Darren reminded me of the rumors that Milano's founder disappeared after claiming aliens had abducted him."
"Perhaps not a claim," Lunar suggested. "Perhaps fact."
But none of that really mattered right now. The fact was Milano had the tech and they were hunting aliens.
The implications hung heavy in the air as the jeep bounced onward, deeper into the wilderness, the sun sinking lower toward the horizon, casting the red rocks in deepening shades of crimson and purple.
Twilight was approaching. Eclipse's time.
