Ki Book One (29 page)

“
Hey, let us give you a hand,” the young
soldier stepped toward him immediately.

“
I’m counting on it,” Jackson waited until
the guy grabbed his elbow. Then he acted. He shoved back into him,
slammed his foot onto the cot, and kicked it forward. Yanking his
elbow free, he rolled over the cot and dropped to the
ground.

Flipping up, he kicked back into the bed,
forcing it into the two surprised soldiers behind him. Rolling to
the side, he got up just as the Falcon guard launched towards
him.

Jackson saw the flash of a knife. Doubling
back, he pulled the sheet from the cot beside him in a smooth,
slick move.

Jumping to the side as the Falcon guard
slashed at him, Jackson whipped the sheet around, fanned it
forward, and threw it over the man.

It was an unconventional move, but it bought
him a second. He fell to his knees and lashed out with is foot,
collecting the stumbling man behind his knees. He buckled forward
just as Jackson rolled back.

The two soldiers guarding Ki had snapped
in behind him.

“
Stop,” they shouted.

He whirled around, st
ill on his knees, and kicked again at the
cot. It slid forward, bumping into them. Launching up, he groped at
the small table to his left, swinging it around wildly as the
Falcon soldier finally pulled the sheet from his face. It collected
the man’s hand, but he suddenly surged forward, slamming into it
and forcing Jackson back.

The other soldiers were all getting to their
feet. Jackson could hear them.

He didn’t have long.

The Falcon guard screamed in anger, his lips
pulling back hard against his teeth. Jackson still held the table,
and the guard still pushed it back into him. Stepping to the side,
just as he could hear guns being raised behind him, he let go of
the table.

The Falcon guard stumbled forward. Jackson
moved in. Dropping down, he groped at the man’s side. Just as he
fell past, desperation pulsating through him, he grabbed it.

The grenade. Jackson snatched it from the
man’s belt.

Rolling, he got to his feet and pulled the
pin free.

“
Stop, drop the grenade, get to your
knees,” one soldier screamed at him.

They all had their guns pointed right at his
chest, their faces plastered with fear. Even the Falcon guard was
back on his feet, gun in one hand, a knife in the other.

“
Really? You want me to drop this?” Jackson
half opened his hand, revealing the pin and the grenade. “By all
means.” He loosened his grip, the grenade sliding down his
hand.

The soldiers all jolted.

Jackson tightened his grip, bringing his
arms wide as he stood back. Heart full and wild, he kept his gaze
locked on the Falcon guard. The man did not move. None of them
did.

Jackson had them hostage here. If he
dropped the grenade, they would all die. Shooting him was out of
the question.

He moved to the side, heading for Ki’s
curtains. “You all might want to step back. I can be clumsy
sometimes.”

The nurses and doctors in the room pushed
themselves up against the walls, all eyes on Jackson.

He made it to the curtain. Without turning
his back on the soldiers, he opened it with his free hand. “Ki,” he
called over his shoulder, “Ki?”

“
... Jackson?”

Relief washed over him as he heard her call
his name.

“
Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,” he
kept a firm grip on the grenade, holding it high for everyone to
see.

“
I’m tied down,” Ki answered.

He swore. Exhaling through clenched teeth,
he tugged her curtains, yanking them off the rails and throwing
them to the side. Backing up, he finally banged up against her bed.
She moved her arm against him.

“
Alright, anyone try anything, and we’re
all going to hell,” he half opened his hand again. “Everyone, move
over to the other wall,” Jackson pointed to the opposite side of
the room. When the soldiers moved sluggishly, he let go of the
grenade for a second.

They ran.

He could see them now. Working quickly,
glancing down at her straps only when he had to, Jackson somehow
managed to get her free while still holding onto the grenade.

He could already hear the alarm sounding
through the rest of the building. It set his teeth on edge and sent
a quick, horrid spike of anticipation through his back and gut.

There was no going back now.

He could hear footsteps reverberating down
the hall, headed towards them.

When she was finally free, she pushed
herself up, her large eyes quivering. “God, Jackson—”

“
No time,” his voice was tight. “Get up and
head towards the window.”

“
What?” she stared at him.

“
Just do it.” He moved around, facing the
door as several soldiers pushed their way in, guns at the ready. He
held the grenade high. “I’ll blow her up if you come a step
closer.”

They stopped.

He shifted back, staring at them warily.
“Ki, you at the window? Open it.”

“
What—”

“
Just do it
. Climb outside.”

“
Jackson, we’re eight stories
up.”

“
Ki,” he walked backwards, attention
swinging between the soldiers at the door and the ones near the
wall.

He heard the window grate open. Immediately
he felt a harsh, frozen wind buffet against him.

There was always a storm buffeting Avictus
Island, and tonight was no different. He could hear the roar of the
waves outside, relentlessly smashing against the wall that kept the
building safe.

“
Take it slow,” Jackson warned her. “There
should be a ledge—”

“
Found it,” she said, voice muffled by the
wild wind.

Jackson gulped, forcing down the lump that
had formed in his throat. He shifted back.

He banged up against the open window, the
pane of glass bumping into him as it was buffeted by the wind.

It was now or never. With one last look at
the Falcon soldier, Jackson climbed backwards out of the window
with a live grenade held in one hand.

He struggled to find his footing, boots
slipping in the rain. Then a hand grabbed his leg, guiding it
down.

Ki.

He looked across at her. She was standing on
the slim lip of rock that ran around the outside of the building,
holding onto a dip into the bricks behind her for dear life. Her
cheeks were pale, her already wet hair whipping around her in the
gale.

She was the most welcome sight he’d ever
seen.

But he could not relax yet.

The lights that usually shone from the
various turrets of the building suddenly shifted, searching them
out. They shone against the side of the building, darting this way
and that as their operators tried to pin Ki and Jackson down.

“
Move. Keep close to the wall. In several
meters it opens out onto a ledge. You can climb up onto a flat
section of roof,” he shifted his back into the wall, pushing into
it to gain as much purchase as the wet stone would
allow.

The wind bit into him, tugging at his
clothes, roaring in his ears. It was not enough to dampen out the
sound of frantic shouts from the sickbay behind them though.

“
Move,” he encouraged again, voice a
gasp.

Together they made it to the roof. Though
Jackson almost slipped several times, he managed to hold onto the
grenade.

Ki scrabbled ahead of him, pulling herself
up onto the flat section of stone and leaning out to offer him a
hand.

He grabbed it thankfully.

The rain pounded against them, coming down
in drenching, penetrating sheets. Rivulets splashed over his face
and neck, his eyes barely managing to see through the
onslaught.

Wiping at his face, he stared around him.
There was only one way onto this section of roof – the way they’d
just come. That’s why he’d picked it.

Jackson had been planning this for weeks.
He’d scouted out the whole compound. He’d planned this
perfectly.

Ki stood, wrapping her arms around her
thin hospital gown. Staring around her wildly, she began to shake.
“We’re trapped, there’s no way down.”

He shook his head.

Jackson pushed his hand into his pocket and
grabbed the small box he’d stashed there.

He brought it out slowly, almost reverently,
and handed it to her.

This was a risk, a huge, but unavoidable
one. He had no idea if it would work, but it was their only
hope.

She took it from him carefully, her bare
hands snow white. “What is it?”

“
The dust from the Zeneethian gun. I
removed it from the barrel. No one knew what I was doing. They all
thought it was just wear and tear, just muck in the chamber,” he
laughed bitterly. “I was in no mood to tell them anything
different.”

Her pale fingers closed tightly around the
box
. “What am I meant to
do with it?” she whispered.

He choked. “Use it. Make us
fly.”

“
Jackson, it’s not enough,” her voice was
small and quiet, barely making it over the wind. “It takes a device
as big as my palm to lift—”

“
A whole scout cruiser,” he interrupted.
“Just try. Try to make it lift us. Please. There’s no other way.
Ki, just try.”

She nodded.

Carefully she opened the box, shielding it
from the wind and rain with one shaking hand.

A blue glow erupted forth as soon as the lid
was pulled back.

Staring up at him, tears welling in her
eyes, she emptied the box into her palm. Then she closed her eyes
and she squeezed her hand shut.

Nothing happened.

Jackson heard shouts from below. He doubled
his grip on the live grenade, though his heart began to sink.

Seconds ticked by.

The lights from the turrets below still
searched for them.

It was over. If they could not float away,
they would not escape this island.

Just as Jackson’s heart gave up, something
pushed out of Ki’s closed fingers.

Light. Moving like water, it glowed like
blue fire.

Jackson pushed close to her. She brought
her hand forward, grabbing his.

They locked fingers.

She began to float.

That familiar, intoxicating light feeling
filled him.

It pulled him off his feet.

Together they began to lift into the air.
The wind still roared around them, pushing into their bodies, but
it could not pull them down.

Jackson waited until they were at least
twenty meters from the roof, then he dropped the grenade. Bringing
both arms up and around her, he flinched as it exploded far
below.

The light of the blast rippled out, but the
shockwave could not touch them as they continued to drift up into
the clouds.

They were out of the hornet’s nest, but
they were by no means safe. The storm still raged around
them.

What would happen next would be the riskiest
part of his plan. They were free, but unless they got lucky, they
would either run out of oxygen as they floated into space, or
splash into the unrelenting ocean below.

He was risking everything on his outdated
knowledge of trade winds.

“
Ki, we need to get above the clouds,” he
shouted into her ear.

She nodded against him.

With the wind raging against them and rain
lashing in every direction, he waited.

They continued to float up.

This would be the hardest thing he’d ever
done.

Or maybe it wouldn’t be. Falling to earth
would be easy. Fighting the Zeneethians would not.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Once they’
d risen above the surging storm, they’d been
pulled by the winds. Disoriented, freezing, nothing but sheer will
keeping them locked together, they’d drifted an untold
distance.

Ki had lost all track of time. Her mind had
all but shut down. If it hadn’t been for Jackson’s stiff fingers
sealed over her own, she wouldn’t have had the heat to keep the
levitation dust working.

With the both of them practically
unconscious, she forced the levitation effect to reverse through
nothing more sophisticated than a desperate, hopeless plea.

It worked.

They began to drop.

Plunging back through the clouds, she began
to black out. She could hardly keep hold of the dust, let alone
Jackson.

Clouds brushed against her as they picked up
speed, fleeting past in her ever-narrowing vision.

She held on long enough to witness as they
burst through the bottom of the cloudbank.

Yellow.

Below her she saw a flash of yellow, dim
under a waking dawn, but there nonetheless.

Land.

It was all she needed.

She commanded them to slow. Used her last
cogent thought to beg the dust to kindle back to life.

It did. With a gentle touch, it shepherded
them down to the surface far below.

They were both unconscious long before their
bodies landed with soft thuds against the golden sand. There they
remained, Ki lying face-down on Jackson’s chest, until she woke
hours later.

Pushing up, she stared at the desert,
pinning her dry hair behind her ear as a light breeze blew sand
over her legs and feet.

She couldn’t believe it.

They’d landed safely.