Tayel hissed through her teeth. The journal, Shy’s story, Shy’s sincerity — it all had the sensation of being real. It was an instinctual draw, a gut reaction.
“It’s a wild theory,” Fehn said. “That’s all.”
“Listen,” Shy said, “I know all of this seems farfetched. I’ve been dreading trying to convince anyone, but I trust my brother. His words are the only clues I have.”
Jace and Fehn weren’t going along with any of this. Tayel was suffering her own internal battle between believing it and not, but what they all needed was a strong dosage of facts.
“Shy, what do you need from us? Why did you bring us here in the first place?” she asked.
“I need fuel,” Shy said. “Bear with me. There are fuel tanks just inside the forest, a little ways behind the docks. Workers haven’t been locking the valves for whatever reason — I don’t know, maybe the need for constant use and their assumption that no one is going to steal it — it doesn’t matter. I’ve checked, and they’re not locked.
“With as much fuel as they’ve been using, they won’t notice if a little bit each day goes missing. My ship is a small class transport, and doesn’t need much. One barrel a day and it will take a week, tops. What I need help with is taking the fuel to my ship. I parked it in the forest a few miles uphill behind the fuel station, and there’s no way I can roll a full barrel of fuel up the mountain by myself.”
“So stealing,” Jace said.
The dull ache in Tayel’s skull turned into full blown pounding. Her foot tapped a beat of its own accord. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. Jace wasn’t wrong. What Shy was asking them to do was illegal, yet Tayel still considered it a viable option. Get fuel, leave Elsha, find Jace’s parents, and then find a way to stop the invaders — whoever they were. In that moment, it wasn’t unattainable.
“No one is going to notice it’s missing,” Shy said.
“It would be a little off the top,” Fehn said. “You haven’t seen those fuel tanks. They’re huge.”
“And you have seen them?” Jace crossed his wings. “I thought you believed this was all crazy nonsense, anyway?”
“It is crazy nonsense. It’s also a ticket off this rock.”
“Well, the fuel is the easy part,” said Shy. “What I really need is a new FTL drive. Can’t travel faster than light without it. None of the refugee shuttles come equipped with them, so the only place I can think to find one is, well.” She squeezed the tanned fabric of her pants. “Inside Castle Aishan’s hangar bay.”
Tayel felt a rush of adrenaline just hearing what Shy said. “So what, you want to break into the castle? The castle with the council you just said was taken over by shapeshifting aliens?”
“I haven’t come up with a plan yet. But I will.”
“Why us?” Tayel asked. “There are thousands of people here.”
“I admit, I was looking for someone who might be as desperate as I am,” Shy said. “I watched you and Jace go to the docks every morning. I listened to your conversations about home and family. I heard what you said about wanting to help stop the invaders. And you weren’t the only people I watched. There were others. Some finally found who they were looking for, some just stopped going to the docks… there are a lot of reasons you’re the best bet. And, if I would have had to drop my chosen helpers off somewhere else besides Modnik to get the assistance, I would have. The fact that a Deltian shuttle left for the planet is a coincidence which happens to simplify things on top of everything else.”
When no one replied she said, “Listen, this isn’t selfless. I need to find my brother. Going to Modnik is a chance for me to help him, to help put a stop to this tragedy. Locke is trying to end the war, I just know it. I have to find him, and it sounds like you need to go there too. Why not help each other out?”
“Why should we trust you?” Fehn asked. “How do we know you’re not actually a raider infiltrating this camp? How do we know you’re not just going to turn us in after we help you? Then you’d have your fueled-up ship all to yourself.”
“You all aren’t seriously considering this are you?” Jace asked.
“Because I’m the one putting myself on the line,” Shy said, ignoring Jace. “You could turn me in right now. If you told them where my ship was, they’d find it plain as day. They might even reward you. I could theoretically do all this myself, but it might take months, so I’m reaching out for help. I’m also offering you a way to find your family. And a way off planet. You might not get another opportunity.”
Voices grew louder outside. People were coming back from their meals. If Tayel was going to make a decision, it had to be now.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m in.”
Jace’s beak dropped. “What? Why?”
She squeezed her temple like it would pop out an explanation. “Even if the conspiracy about Rokkir is bogus, even if it is all the raiders’ fault, Shy is offering a way — the only way — off planet right now. Isn’t that what you want? Don’t you want a chance to see your family again?”
“Don’t use my parents as an excuse. Going along with Shy’s plan is ridiculous. You’ll all be breaking the law, and not just, some planetary government law — but council law. Stealing from a refugee camp? You’re not thinking straight.”
“There is no law, not now,” Shy said.
“Sheesh. I’m sorry, but I really don’t believe your conspiracy theories. You could be thrown in prison for years, and there’s no way of knowing if my family is even on Modnik. If you go there, it won’t be some organized refugee installment like we have here. You’ll be entering a battlefield. You could die, Tayel. Listen to me!”
“That’s why you all will be learning to defend yourselves,” Shy countered. “There’s plenty of time to train.”
Jace’s talons tensed into claws as if ready to strike. “Tayel, use your head. For once, just think it through first.”
Tayel snapped, “You know what? You kept thinking your parents were just going to show up in Otto’s arms, and look what that got you. I’m done thinking it through. I’m not going to sit here and wait while people are out there slaughtering your mom like they did mine.”
“That’s it, isn’t it? You just want revenge for your mom’s death!”
Tayel glared at him.
Jace shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tayel, but I can’t follow you into this. You’re going to get hurt, and I’m not going to get dragged down with you.”
She crossed her arms. Her mind wasn’t changing. The way he looked at her, and her mind still wasn’t changing. His chest puffed up. He stomped out of the tent.
Two weeks before, they’d been happy. Even in their poverty, even in a terrible, boring city, they were together. Didn’t he understand that she was doing this for him? Frustrated tears welled in her eyes, but she couldn’t go after him. She stood exactly where she needed to be.
“He’s going to rat us out,” Shy said.
“He’s all squawk,” Fehn said. “He’s not going to do a thing.”
Tayel didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. Stranger’s voices built outside until Shy shuffled her and Fehn out of the tent. In the light of the bonfire pit outside, he’d given her a concerned look, but no actual condolence. He left, but Tayel stayed. She stared at the flames, the crowd around her growing until she stood surrounded by silent, sad, shadowy faces.
Chapter 10
Tayel fell into step behind Fehn and Shy, pressing her back against the wall of the docks. She wiped sleep out of her eyes as her breathing settled, grateful to wait in silence for a little while. If they’d been seen, someone would have come for them by now. But no footsteps came close. No shouts echoed into the early morning darkness. Evidently satisfied they hadn’t been caught, Shy led the way forward. Tayel kept her back to the wooden wall and sidled along. Her heart raced, but even with all the anxiety, her head still drooped with fatigue.