“I won’t stay long,” Cassius continues. “Just a quick drop off. Use the others to create a distraction.”
“Yeah,” I say. “We’ll do what we can.”
Sem nods. “We need to be on the offensive. We can’t drag this out.”
“Good thing,” Cassius responds. “Because we’re almost there.”
– My knees shake with nervous energy. I think about last spring, when I was a simple Skyship trainee floundering in a program that, at the time, seemed too big and too difficult to bear. Now, only four months later, I’m planning an assault against a Skyship.
I think back to what Morse said in the Fringes before Theo killed him. I could be the trigger for this invasion. Has it already happened? If I would’ve stayed back at the Academy like Captain Alkine wanted, would we have had more time to prepare?
There’s no chance to second guess myself, now. We stand in the docking bay of Altair, watching the ship pull away. I don’t know what Cassius thinks he’s doing, going after Theo on his own. I’ve learned not to question him, but it doesn’t sit easy with me.
Before leaving the ship, I grabbed a pistol and tucked it in the waist of my pants. The cold metal is a constant reminder of the risk I’m about to take. It should raise my confidence. Maybe I’d feel better if I was a good aim.
“Find the main security center and keep watch.” I turn to the others. “If something happens, I’m counting on you guys to throw them off track. Create a diversion… or something.”
Eva crosses her arms. “That’s very vague, Jesse.” “I know,” I reply. “But if the Pearls are stored on the lower levels, I won’t be able to see what’s happening in the city. If they’ve got a security patrol after me, I’m blind against them.”
Avery shakes her head. “You’re not doing this alone, Jesse.”
“The fewer of us that go, the less obvious it will be.”
“You need a backup,” she says.
Sem nods. “The girl is right. Talan and I will scout. If necessary, we may be able to provide the distraction you need.”
I meet Avery’s eyes. I try not to let my heart make a stupid decision, but even weighing the pros and cons leads me to the same response. “Okay, Avery. You’re coming with me.”
Eva glances at a shuttle full of commuters in the distance. “Don’t feel too secure, people. Once Jesse starts breaking Pearls, it’s going to be like the Academy times a hundred. People will feel it. The entire ship will.”
I take a deep breath, turning to Avery and grabbing her hand. “You really wanna do this?”
“Do you?” She squeezes my fingers.
I don’t answer. Instead, I clutch the pistol under my shirt, say a few prayers, and hope for the best.
36
After ascending twelve levels, Avery and I arrive in a broad, low-ceilinged plaza just below the domed city at the very top of Skyship Altair. It’s an underground shopping center, reeking of perfume samples. The light overhead is impossibly bright, the faux-marble tiles polished and gleaming below our feet. Slow, hypnotic music plays softly in the background. It calms my rollicking heartbeat, if only for a moment.
I watch shoppers as they pass by. Even this early in the day, the wide plaza is crammed with activity. “The more people, the better chance we have of blending in.” I step forward. “We need to find a ship directory.”
We push through the crowd, past holographic advertisements and decorative fixtures. Fountains, indoor gardens, the latest gaming pavilions.
And then he catches my eye. He emerges from around the corner of an electronics store, still covered in his dark bodysuit. The red energy has completely faded, but I recognize his face immediately. It’s the face that I hoped was my father’s. The face in the swarm.
I grab Avery’s arm and pull her close. We flatten against the wall. “It’s the Drifter, from the red Pearl.”
She cranes her neck, but the Drifter’s quickly swallowed by the crowd. “Where?”
“Not far.” My bracelet buzzes. He’s getting closer. “This isn’t good.”
I scan the shopping center, searching for escape routes. I can’t see the Drifter anymore, but I’m sure it was him. The trembling of the Ridium confirms it.
“There!” Avery points to an exit on the other side of the plaza, in between a pair of clothing stores. We’ll have to cut through the crowd to reach it, and risk running right into the Drifter, but there aren’t any other options.
I stand on my toes and try to gauge the Drifter’s whereabouts. “Do you see him?”
“No, but it’s so crowded.”
“We’re gonna have to chance it. Follow me.”
We take off at a sprint across the plaza. The Drifter spots us immediately.
I watch his arm outstretch in the distance. People fall like dominoes around us, yanked sideways through the air before they land in a heap along the wall. Broken dolls. That’s what they look like after he’s done. They don’t even have time to scream.
Avery slams into my shoulder as I freeze, in awe of the Drifter’s power. She pushes me. “Come on!”
“How’s he-”
Floor tiles pull from the ground and explode in splinters around me. The Drifter’s hand glows red as he steps forward, eyes pinned onto mine.
I glance around the plaza, looking for something that I can use against him. Lights flicker overhead. The calm music continues to pour from speakers around us. Gaming pavilions function in the distance.
And then it occurs to me. It’s all electricity, everything around us. Energy. Pearl energy.
It’s a long shot, but I have to try.
I close my eyes and reach into the air with both hands. I was able to summon energy from the Drifter back on the island in Siberia. If I can do that, maybe I can rip it from the transformers and wiring inside this ship.
The mall continues to deconstruct around me, ripping violently apart at the red Drifter’s whim. Screams echo along the walls as the remaining crowd scatters in all directions. Benches fly into walls. Plants tear from their pots and shred into pieces. I don’t know how he’s doing this, but his shots have missed me so far. Other than a few small nicks, I’m fine.
My skin tingles. I pull down through the air and ball my fingers into fists at my side. I open my eyes. The lights shut off. The music dies and the pavilions fade to a stop. Thin streams of green energy fall from the ceiling like a fine rain. Inch-long slivers. Fragments. I push out and direct them toward the Drifter. They cut through the air like a thousand porcupine quills, puncturing his coat and lodging themselves in his skin. He stumbles back. This is hurting him. Good.
The red in his hand fades. Alarms start to blare in the distance. Bodies litter the ground. Those that weren’t hurt have escaped into the shops. They cower, watching us.
I grab Avery’s hand. “So much for keeping things calm.”
We dash through the darkness, past the exit, and arrive in an unadorned, concrete hallway-a claustrophobic underbelly to the mall’s hyper-lit, kinetic energy. These types of places are usually pretty empty. The alarms will draw any guards toward the shopping center, but we’ve got a few moments before they arrive.
Podlights flicker at equal intervals on either side of us. We rush around the nearest corner without a word.
“Did you kill him?” Avery huffs as we power down the second corridor.
“I don’t think so,” I say. “All I did was slow him down.”
As if in response to my words, the exit door breaks from its hinges behind us. I hear footsteps. Turns out I didn’t slow him down as much as I thought.
Avery grabs my wrist and steers me toward an emergency door to our left. My breath catches in my lungs as we barrel down another corridor. I can’t take much more of this before I collapse altogether. I’m not a marathon runner.
The Drifter’s feet pound behind us, an ever-accelerating drum pattern. He’s faster than I expected. Maybe it’s the red energy, or maybe I made him angry.
We plunge past another door and head deeper into the Skyship. Then another. I grab the pistol from my waist. With every turn we make, I expect to cross paths with a security force. But we’re good for now. This is maintenance territory-the inner workings. Unless there’s a problem with the ship itself, we should go unnoticed.