Even though I’m breathing heavily by the time I arrive at the top, I can’t help but think how much more stamina I’ve built up during my training. Six weeks ago I’d have probably passed out after about a hundred steps.
Six weeks. Seems like a lifetime.
From up here, I have a moonlit view of all of Infiernos. About fifty yards ahead of me, at the base’s front perimeter, the sea crashes against the shoreline. Further down the beach, I can just make out the cove hiding the bay where the freighter docked on our arrival. Behind me and on either side, the complex stretches several miles inland-the giant dome, the other barracks, the training fields, the landing strips, the officers’ quarters-all surrounded by the massive pillars of the sonic fences, which occasionally spark when some unfortunate animal veers too close.
I strain my eyes, trying to make out what lies beyond the base, but even in the moonlight I can’t see anything through the darkness and haze. For a moment I wonder if we’re actually on an island at all … maybe we’re on a peninsula, and, if so, what is it connected to?
I turn my head back toward the ocean and lean over the railing, gulping a lungful of salty air from the rippling black sea, allowing it to wash away the mustiness of the barracks. I haven’t felt this invigorated in months-ever since Cassius’s betrayal.
Above, millions of stars blanket the night sky. Back home at the Parish, I don’t remember ever seeing so many of them, what with the smog from the Industrial Borough clogging up our skies. It’s beautiful and mysterious all at once. If I tilt my head at just the right angle, to block out my surroundings, it’s as though I’m floating in space, which seems about right.
I’ve never felt so far away from everything I’ve ever known.
Movement behind me.
Despite the roaring of the wind, I can hear my heartbeat. My grip tightens on the railing. Maybe I won’t live to compete in the trials after all. Maybe Cassius is planning to assassinate me before I get the chance to have my revenge.
I whip around.
Digory’s lips are curved in a dazzling smile, reflecting the moon’s gleam that surrounds him in a halo. His hair shimmers like liquid gold.
My muscles relax.
He holds his palms up, his eyes mirroring my surprise. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I called out your name, but I guess you didn’t hear me.”
I smile back. “Why aren’t you in bed?”
He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Couldn’t sleep. Just like you.”
I nod. “It seems everyone’s been tense lately. And not only about the Trials. Have you noticed all the anxious looks, and the whispering? I’m not just talking Slade and the other officers-the enlisted are looking pretty wired, especially those recon units.”
“I’ve noticed. And we’re not the only ones-Cypress mentioned it too, and so did Gideon. Something’s definitely up.”
The black jumpsuit I’m wearing is made of thin material, hardly protection against the chilly night biting into my flesh and making my teeth chatter.
“Here, take this.” Digory removes the jacket he’s wearing and wraps it around me.
I try to give it back to him, but his hands hold it firmly on my shoulders. “What about you?” I ask.
His grin captures the starlight. “I’ll be all right. I’m pretty cold-blooded.”
He means it as a joke, but I can’t help but wonder what he’s capable of when the time comes to defend his people during the trials.
What I’m capable of.
Silent minutes flutter away into the night. This is the first time we’ve really been alone since arriving at Infiernos. I brace myself for some well-meaning questions or comments about stuff I really don’t want to talk about.
Instead, Digory tugs up the jacket’s collar around my neck and nudges his face toward the sky. “I can’t believe how many stars there are up there.”
I inhale cool saltiness. “I’ve never been away from all that cloud cover in the Parish. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a really good look at the constellations.” I lean forward on the railing and point toward a particular cluster. “See there, I think that’s the one the ancients called Taurus.”
His shoulder grazes my own, his eyes following my finger as I trace an invisible pattern in the night. “Tau-rus? What’s that mean?”
“The legend goes that Taurus was a god disguised as some kind of animal-not sure what it’s called-a bull, I think. You see that outline that looks like a beast?”
He nods.
“Anyway, this Taurus fell in love with a beautiful princess while she was playing on the seashore and literally swept her off her feet, carrying her away and making her his lover.”
Digory turns and his eyes penetrate mine. “Leaving their symbol for all to see until the end of time. I like that.” He smiles again. “I don’t think I ever heard anything like that at the Instructional Facility. It’s one of those banned fairy tales the Establishment’s always going on about, isn’t it?”
I shrug, expecting him to bring up Cole’s story of the Lady, the story that Cassius used to damn us. He doesn’t. I exhale, plunging ahead before thoughts of Cole’s plight shut me down. “Apprenticing at the library and sneaking into the restricted section does have some advantages. The funny thing is, no matter how hard the Establishment tries to hide literature it doesn’t approve of from the world, the sky’s full of stories for all to see.”
Digory steps onto the lower railing, hikes a leg over the upper railing, and raises himself into a sitting position. “Like what else?” He holds out a hand to me. “Show me another story, Lucian.”
It’s as if one of those gods of the constellations is beckoning me, ready to sweep me away from the earth to live out the rest of my existence in the heavens.
I take his hand and allow him to haul me up beside him. “Let’s see.” My eyes scan the sky. “Ah, yep. That’s Orion.”
“Who’s Orion?” Digory’s face is lit up like Cole’s when I tell him about the Lady.
“Orion was a hunter.” I connect a group of stars with my finger. “You see how you can make out his bow and arrow?”
Digory laughs. “Yeah, I can see it. That’s incredible.”
“According to the restricted books,” I continue, “Orion hunted with two faithful beasts … now let’s see if I can … oh yeah … there’s one.” I trace another pattern in the sky.
Digory’s eyes squint. “I’m not sure I can make that out.”
“Of course you can. Here.” I take hold of his hand in mine and make the outline again.
“Oh, yeah. Now I see it, Lucian.” His smile fades. “Wait a minute. That looks like a Canid.”
“Very good, Mr. Tycho. You’re looking at Canis Major. And that”-our hands map out another cluster-“is Canis Minor.” I wink at him now. “Or the smaller Canid, as you’d call it. These two aren’t as visible this time of year as their master.”
“Hmm.” His brows knit in mock annoyance. “I’m not sure I like this guy Orion so much if he hangs out with Canids. Are you sure his name’s not really the Imposer?”
I actually laugh out loud this time. “It’s not like that at all. The hunter was actually in love with one of seven sisters known as the Pleiades.” Once again I guide his warm hand in mine, indicating six bright lights.
“That’s only six,” he says, his breath hot in my ear. “What happened to the seventh?”
I purse my lips. “Alas, she didn’t return his love and went far away, never to be seen again.”
He shakes his head. “Poor guy.”