The Pearl Wars (25 page)

46

She’s got me. She’s escaped somehow and she’s got me.

It’s the only thing running through my mind upon waking. My back’s pressed against a leather seat. A belt stretches over my chest.

I’m in a government cruiser. Never been inside one before, but the Unified Party emblems etched into the control panel are a dead giveaway.

Dark sky forms a wall outside the window. I turn to my left, praying to see Alkine. Eva. Skandar. One of the good guys.

Cassius.

I jerk away from him, my mind still on survival mode.

“Relax.” He glances over at me, frowning. “She’s not here.”

I watch him pilot the cruiser for a moment in silence. His hands grip the wheel tightly. His steely gaze focuses on the path ahead of him.

“You’ve been out for over an hour,” he mutters. “Tranquilizer. It’s meant to keep you down for longer.”

I cough. “Where are we?” My throat’s still clogged with dust from Seattle.

“Halfway over Kansas, according to the radar.” His eyes shift to my face, then back to the front window. “Wichita’s on your right—below us.”

I look down at the Surface—an unending abyss punctuated only by pinpricks of light far off in the distance. Directly below us sits a cocoon of white lights, stretching up from the ground like a bee’s nest. Wichita. Chosen City #27.

My mind flashes back to Seattle. The alleyway. “Are you—”

“I’m not taking you to the Lodge,” he interrupts. “Nobody’s taking you to the Lodge from the looks of it back the
re. They’re outnumbered. Despite all of Madame’s planning, the Skyship took her by surprise. I didn’t think it was possible to surprise her.”

I close my eyes and see the pile of rubble crashing down on Madame. The thought of it makes me sick. “Was she … ? I mean, did I … ?”

“I didn’t check,” he replies. “I just left.”

I rub my eyes and try to wipe the image from memory. “She’s unconscious, that’s all. People like Madame don’t die.”

He scoffs. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d care.”

I look down at my lap for a moment. It’s not caring, definitely, but I don’t like the thought of killing anybody either. Even Madame. “Look, I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Don’t apologize,” Cassius says, and that’s the end of that.

I shift in my seat, wondering if I should just shut up and let him do his thing. He’s not exactly the most approachable person in the world. But I can’t stay quiet. There’s too
much I need to know. “So if we’re not going to the Lodge, where
are
we going?”

He sighs. “Somewhere people can’t find us.”

I groan inwardly. The last thing I want right now is another chase. My body couldn’t handle it. “Running again?”

“You got a problem with that?”

“I—” I catch myself and try to choose my words carefully, unsure what could set him off. “It’s just that … my friends. Avery.”

“She’s gone,” he replies. “They could’ve dragged her to any of the Unified Party’s compounds by now. Finding her would be impossible.” He pauses. “Your friends will be fine.”

I shake my head. “I should have been quicker. I should have stopped them from taking her.”

He frowns, his voice devoid of any expression. “You did what you had to do. You saved yourself. Now take a look at this.” He reaches down and grabs something from beside his seat. Before I can argue, he tosses Madame’s small black cube into my lap.

I catch it, expecting my muscles to strain. They don’t.

The cube’s unnaturally light, like paper or cardboard. I run my fingers across the smooth, cold exterior. It’s solid as stone, and seems like it’s been the same shape since the beginning of time. Not so, if what Madame said is true.

“Open it,” Cassius coaxes.

I glance at him in confusion. But then I remember the silver key around my neck. I lift the chain over my head and feel around the top of the cube for a keyhole.

Cassius reaches over and turns on the lighting panel above my seat. A dim glow falls on a narrow slit in the center of the cube. I grab the key and lower it into the hole.

That’s all I have to do.

Deep lines begin to form on the surface, starting from the center and spreading out on all four sides like a compass rose. It’s like watching an invisible knife cut through the material. Impossibly sharp. Within moments, the top of the cube’s portioned into four equal squares. The lines reach the edges and continue to cut down the sides of the cube. The key crumbles into dust, dissipating into the air. The roof of the cube blossoms out from the center, revealing an opening the size of my fist.

Cassius keeps one eye on the cube the entire time. When all the fanfare’s over, I shift my attention to him. He glances up at me, then back to the crumbled cube in my lap. “Go ahead.”

I nod, then cautiously reach through the hole and pull out a reflective disc the size of my palm. At first it looks like a hand mirror, but as soon as I touch it, an image flickers to life on the shiny surface.

It’s an electronic photo. A man and woman sit together, smiling. I hold it closer and notice two bundles of cloth cradled in their arms. Babies. It’s a mother and father.

Our
mother and father.

I can tell instantly. My eyes. Cassius’s chin. Both of us are right there, in our parents’ faces. Mom’s fair hair has a slight curl to it, like mine. The determined look in Dad’s eyes could set the world on fire. Both wear untroubled, cheerful e
xpressions, but beneath their expressions is something else—a slight downward tug in the smiles, a hint of worry in the tensed eyebrows.

Still, the four of us look like any normal, American family. No one’s got antennae or green skin. We aren’t wearing shiny silver jumpsuits or bulbous space bubbles.

I hand the disc to Cassius without a word. He stares at it for a moment, eyes fixed on the picture. “It’s true, then,” he mutters, “what Madame said.”

I nod, but before I can respond the open cube quivers in my lap. Worried, I lift it from my legs, but as soon as it touches my skin it melts like wax. Dark beads slide down the sides. My hand tingles with an iciness as the cube drips into a thick mess.

I crouch on the seat as the dark liquid falls between my fingers, only to lift up again like a yo-yo. The puddle breaks into two. A glob of blackness shoots across the cabin and clings onto Cassius’s wrist. What’s left coils around my arm. Another second and the material hardens into two smooth bracelets—one for each of us.

I claw at the thin band, searching for a break in the material to pry it off. It’s seamless, and too narrow to fit around my hand. For a moment my wrist is overcome by intense cold, but soon the temperature adjusts itself to meet the rest of my body.

I sigh, digging underneath the bracelet. “Well, that’s just great.”

Cassius places the picture-disc on the front console and flexes his arm in front of him, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. “What did you do?”

“Me? I didn’t do anything!”

He glares at me, but then something on the radar screen catches h
is attention. “We’re being followed.”

I turn in my seat, craning my neck to see behind us out the window. Madame. It’s gotta be Madame.

“It’s coming up fast,” Cassius continues. “It’ll be on us in a—”

Before he can finish his thought, a brilliant green glow
overtakes the cruiser. The cabin flashes dramatically as something hurtles overhead. We shake with turbulence, though I hardly notice it. I’m too focused on the green figure soaring through the air ahead of us. Losing altitude. Fast.

I point out the window. “It’s the person I freed in Seattle! Follow him!”

Cassius shoots me a questioning look but brings the cruiser down, speeding up to match the pace of the glowing traveler in front of us. I watch as the figure plunges to the dark Surface, leaving a trail of energy behind like a shooting star.

“Pearls,” Cassius mutters. “I think I liked them better when they weren’t shaped like people.”

The screens on the control deck flicker on and off as we follow the energy trail. The cabin lights power to full capacity until I have to squint to see through the brightness.

“Power overload,” Cassius says. “The cruiser can’t take all this energy. If this keeps up we’ll have to pull off course.”

I look down at the crazy light show in front of me. “Can’t you shut some of this stuff off?”

He shakes his head. “I didn’t turn it
on
.” He glances at the altimeter. “We’re getting close. Two thousand feet and dropping.”

I keep one eye on the green figure—an oversized firefly shooting through the night. Then in an instant, it disappears. The energy trail fractures into tiny sparks of light around us, evaporating into the air. It’s dark once more. Mass dark.

“Frag it.” Cassius switches on the emergency beams and pulls up on the wheel. I jostle in my seat as a wide rooftop comes into view just below us, spotlighted by our ship. We almost crash right into it, but Cassius stops us just in time.

After a moment floundering in the air, we make a cautious landing in the center of the roof. The surface beneath us bows with the weight of the cruiser. I wait for it to cave in altogether, but it holds. For now.

Cassius shuts off the power—everything but the emergency beams, which shoot across the rooftop in two horizontal pillars.

We’ve set down in the middle of a Fringe Town, and we’re the only light for miles. I hope we’re alone out here.

A man crouches on the rooftop between our beams. Back turned to us, he slumps over the ground, resting on his knees. His outline is utterly still. From what I can see, he looks human.

Cassius raises his armrest and strides back to a small locker protruding from the wall. After plugging a code into a nearby keypad, he pulls it open and rummages around inside.

I unbuckle my belt. “What are you doing?”

He turns to face me, inspecting the barrel of a pistol. “Protection.”

“No.” I stand, glancing back at the man on the rooftop. “Leave it.”

His eyes challenge me, but he says nothing. After an uncomfortable silence, he sighs and returns the weapon to the locker. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

I look down at his clenched fist. Sparks dance along his fingertips. Not enough to start a fire, but enough to tell me exactly how he’s feeling.

He shakes his head and walks to the side of the cabin, punching the button to release the doorway. Sweltering night air streams into the cockpit as the door slides open.

I step out first, knees shaking as my feet touch the rooftop. The air is humid, without even a hint of a breeze. Apart from the distant chirping of insects, it’s silent, too.

I round the front of the cruiser, eyes fixed on the figure spotlighted by our beams. Cassius follows close behind. As sneaky as we try to be, our footsteps echo like drumbeats in the tranquil night.

“Uh … excuse me?” My voice breaks, barely above a whisper.

The figure’s head darts up and slowly turns around to stare at us. He squints through the beams, his lips down turned.

Cassius and I freeze. The man’s eyes drill into us. Then they fall on my wrist—the bracelet. He recognizes it.

Immediately he jumps up and bounds toward us. A string of noise pours from his lips, nonsense words recited with the conviction of a lunatic.

Cassius and I back away until we’re pressed up against the front of the cruiser. Cassius holds out his hand, trying to get a flame going.

The man stops, inches away. He gapes at us for a moment, eyes wide and crazy. My breathing quickens. I try not to look at him, but his expression draws me in.

I take a step to the side, trying to get away, but he’s too quick. He grabs onto our wrists, fingers wrapped around the bracelets. His head shoots back until he’s looking up at the stars. A trail of energy leaks from both bracelets, streaming up into the atmosphere and plunging into the alien’s open mouth. Then, out of nowhere, he speaks English. Or rather, the
bracelets
speak, channeling words through his larynx.

“My boys,” his tone is robotic and expressionless, like a computer trying to recite a poem. It doesn’t fit. “If you are hearing this now, then you have safely made it to Earth. Your father’s transport system worked. You are the first, and the means of unlocking each that follows you.”

He pauses. I glance at Cassius.
Father
. This is a message for us, a recording of some sort, from our …

I don’t let myself finish the thought. There’s no telling who this is from. I can’t get my hopes up.

The bracelet sends shockwaves up through my arm. It doesn’t hurt, but it keeps me frozen in place. “We wish we could be there,” the voice continues to spill from the guy’s mouth. “We
should
be there, but fate has not allowed it. In our stead, I have programmed this device to guide you until you are old enough to take care of yourselves. Any of our people will know how to activate it, though this message is set for playback as soon as the two of you reunite. It will lead you to food and shelter. You will be lonely until others arrive, but you will need that time to build trust in one another and develop your powers. One to create, one to destroy: a shared burden to channel and transform the transport energy. It will grow easier with time.”

Cassius grabs onto the guy’s wrist and tries to yank his hand from the bracelet. But it’s like trying to move a tower. The guy stays utterly still, possessed by the words streaming from our bracelets.

“I didn’t want this for you,” the voice continues, “but you would have surely perished if we’d have kept you with us any longer. Our world is crumbling. The Authority seeks to colonize and conquer Earth. We cannot let that happen, so we must stay and fight … try to get as many members of the Resistance as possible off-planet before we take down the Authority once and for all.

“Of course, this means nothing to you. You’re only children. I’m sorry that it had to be children. An adult body would have rejected the serum necessary for transforming you … for giving you the power to manipulate transport energy.”