Page 41 of Lunar Bound
Lunar moved to examine the drone's remains. His shadow essence flowed around the charred metal. "The transmission originated from high orbit.”
"They can find Eclipse from up there?" Rowan clutched the energy stone tighter. "There has to be something more we can do. We can't just sit here for two weeks while Milano..." She trailed off, as if unable to finish saying the thought out loud. “Please, Lunar. I can’t lose him.”
“I do not feel he is lost,” Lunar said. He awkwardly patted Rowan’s shoulder.
Rowan took the small comfort and nodded. She stared at the destroyed drone like it could give her answers.
Poppy's stomach growled, reminding her they needed to think about practical matters too. She headed to the shelves where Mack kept his supplies. "We need breakfast. Then we can figure out our next move."
“I’m not hungry,” Rowan answered.
Poppy pulled down cans of beans and fruit cocktail. It wasn’t exactly a gourmet meal, but it would keep them going. As she worked to heat the beans over the wood stove, her mind raced through possibilities. They had two weeks. Two weeks to find Eclipse, two weeks until the extraction window, two weeks until...
She glanced at Lunar, who had positioned himself in the shadows near the door. Two weeks until she might lose him forever. The thought made her hands shake as she stirred the beans.
She wanted to beg him to stay.
Maybe she should beg him to take her with him.
Outside, a storm was brewing as if to give a visual presence to what they were feeling. Dark clouds gathered over the canyon, promising the kind of sudden deluge that could turn desert washes into raging rivers within minutes. At least the weather would help keep Milano's helicopters grounded even as it trapped them indoors.
As she watched the storm build, Poppy couldn't shake the feeling that it was an omen. Changes were coming, whether they were ready or not.
Chapter
Thirteen
Poppy woke in darkness, her body stiff from sleeping on the cabin floor. She'd insisted Rowan take the cot, hoping her friend might finally get some real rest. The first hints of pre-dawn light filtered through the curtains, casting weird shadows across the room.
Something felt wrong.
She sat up slowly, letting her eyes adjust. Lunar's presence emanated from the darkest corner, but Rowan's cot was empty. A hastily scrawled note lay abandoned on the thin mattress.
Her heart sank as she read the words, “Gone to find Eclipse. Milano has him. Don't follow. Stay hidden. I'll be back.”
"No, no, no..." Poppy scrambled to the window, already knowing what she'd find. The jeep was gone.
"Lunar!" She turned to where his shadow form coalesced into a more solid shape. "Rowan's gone. She took the jeep."
“I know,” he said calmly. “I heard her leave an hour ago.”
“What? And you didn’t stop her?” Poppy ran out the front door and stared at the rough dirt road leading away from the cabin. Her friend was out there alone, driving straight into Milano's grasp.
Dammit, Rowan!
Poppy went back into the cabin to check their supplies. Almost everything seemed untouched. Rowan had only taken water and the basic emergency kit they always kept in the vehicle. Did that mean she was planning on coming back soon? What if he jeep stopped and Rowan got stranded without enough food or water?
“What was she thinking?” Poppy whispered to herself, trying to figure out what to do.
"The stone changed," Lunar said. His darkness swirled. "Its energy signature became different from yesterday."
"Different how?" Poppy asked.
"Eclipse started communicating through it," Lunar said, very matter-of-fact. "Somehow, his energy signature managed to reach her. He’s talking to her. They have a deep connection."
"We have to go after her." Poppy moved to go back outside.
"No." Lunar's form solidified as he moved to keep her from leaving. "Milano's forces are specifically equipped to detect our energy signatures. If I leave this location, I will draw them straight to her. I will not risk her life or Ellipse’s. I trust that if he called her, he has a plan. I must trust that plan."
