CHAPTERFORTY
Chemicals and oil began running along the sides of the road like tiny, deadly rivers. Assorted colors, black slick oil, bright green chemicals, things that would burn Muni’s nose if she rolled down the windows, oozed passed them. For now, it was off the middle of the pavement, but the more the rig spewed, the more in danger they were. The road would soon be too slick for the tires.
“Perhaps, we should speed up?” Vidar said, watching the rivers warily.
“Just be careful not to spark anything,” Eirik murmured. “Everything here is flammable and soon we’re going to be driving right through it.”
Brin, meanwhile, tapped away on his tablet, his fingers running across the screen. He grunted before looking up. “The name of the last section has been changed.”
Muni whipped her head around. “What? That’s against the rules.” Never before had the sections been changed in the middle of a race.
“Nevertheless, it was called the ‘Jeweled Forest’ before and now it’s called ‘Valhalla’,” Brin replied before holding up the tablet. Sure enough, the label for the last section said, “Valhalla”.
Clearly, the change was directed at them. Whoever was in charge knew they were coming for them, knew things were happening.
“Someone is toying with us,” Vidar said. “They know what you seek.”
Eirik nodded his head. “We should tread carefully. If they have the power to change the final section—"
“Then they have enough power to kill us,” Muni finished. “I understand. Only survival from here on out. We do nothing else.”
As they drove along the road, the next bend revealed a car pulled over to the side and parked. In the middle of the road stood the kelpie, Mazu Quing, her eyes on the large gushing rig. Unbearable sadness came from her aura, leaking from her, as if she couldn’t quite fathom what she was seeing.
Muni considered driving right passed her. After all, they’d just agreed on survival and nothing else. But the kelpie hadn’t tried to kill them. She wasn’t standing there waiting for them. She was simply watching the oil spill happening before her eyes. Muni began to slow.
“What are you doing?” Vidar growled. “Don’t stop.”
But Muni eased the car into neutral and came to a stop beside the kelpie anyway. The woman didn’t even look her way. She wasn’t injured, not that Muni could see. Her car looked intact and whole. It appeared as if the kelpie had simply climbed from her car to stand where she stood.
Muni rolled down her window. Vidar growled from beside her, clearly annoyed, but he didn’t try to stop her, trusting her instincts even if he didn’t like it. The scent of the chemicals and oil rolled inside the car immediately, making Muni’s nose hairs curl in revulsion. It burned her nostrils and made her throat feel funny, but still, she leaned out of the window.
“Are you well?” Muni asked the kelpie she’d seen enter race after race. She never won, never tried to win, but neither did she die. Kelpies were notoriously difficult to kill.
For a second, the Mazu didn’t respond. She didn’t even look toward her. Muni thought she was going to ignore her until the kelpie blinked and opened her mouth.
“It’s the plight of mankind and supekind to destroy that which we need to survive.” Mazu finally turned to look at her. “You’ve found your secret, raven?” Her head tilted unnaturally to the side, making Muni’s skin crawl despite being just as other. There was something about the kelpie and her power that unnerved her.
Muni didn’t ask how she knew. She didn’t have to. Her instincts told her right then that they were on the same side, that she was part of Theo’s plans. “I’ve found a hint of it,” Muni admitted, grateful that there were no drones right then. “I plan to search until I find the true corruption.”
“Good,” Mazu nodded. “They all deserve to be brought down by the hands they claim to feed.” She looked at the gushing oil rig again and her face twisted with sadness. “Though this realm isn’t entirely real, all that oil must go somewhere.”
“They can’t clean it up?” Eirik asked. When she turned her eyes on him, he flinched with the eerie black depths there.
“They won’t. A waste of resources, they’ll claim, as if the oil spill itself isn’t a waste. This will end up in rivers and oceans, will kill creatures both supernatural and natural. There will be terrible consequences for years to come, all for a dramatic effect in the games.” The kelpie shook her head, and though there was sadness there for the death of thousands, there was also the white-hot rage of a creature whose home would be impacted.
“We can help clean up,” Eirik replied despite being unnerved. “Reach out to companies who can help.”
The kelpie looked at Eirik for a moment before meeting Muni’s eyes. “You picked great warriors, Munin.”
“I know,” Muni replied with a smile. “But his words hold our promise. We’ll help once we’re able to. Do you need a ride?”
The kelpie gestured toward the track. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just to bask in the sadness a little longer before I plan my course of action. You go cross that finish line.” She took a deep breath. “Soon, the true hunt will begin, and no one will be safe.”
“May the wind be on your side,” Muni offered.
“And may the sea be your friend,” Mazu replied with a nod.
Muni shifted into first gear again and eased onto the road, leaving the kelpie behind. The oil continued to flow like a poisonous river beside them.