SHARD: Book One of The Shard Trilogy (A YA Sci-fi Teens with Powers Series)

by A. M. Pierre

  “Sorry, you’re not changing my mind on this. If I have to deal with the fallout of my decision, so be it. But I’m not going to hide because I did what my conscience told me to.”

  Daisuke shoved his hands in his pockets. “I think your conscience has a death wish.”

  “So, to sum up: Kaia knows where we are, and I’m the one who told her.” Connor flinched slightly, as if waiting for a blow.

  Gabriela, Vladimir, and Mikaël seemed to consider that. Then Gabriela shrugged and looked back at the handheld game she was playing. “That’s cool.”

  Daisuke tried to speak authoritatively, but his voice still came out high-pitched and sputtering. “B-But he wasn’t supposed to—he’ll get in trouble, and drag us down with him!”

  Gabriela didn’t even look up. “So?”

  Vladimir nodded his agreement. “Was the right thing to do, Dice. Kaia is needing to know we are on her side.”

  Mikaël nodded solemnly as well, then gave two thumbs up.

  “Besides,” Gabriela added, “I was already planning on taking her out this evening. Connor just beat me to it.”

  “This evening?” Connor’s eyes lit up. “Gabby, you’re a genius.”

  She smiled at him over her game. “I know.”

  “I’m going to go see what I can set up with Ms. Jones and the rest of the kitchen staff. I expect to see you all by the back staircase no later than ten ’til nine. Got it?” He waited for their nods of agreement before running out of the room.

  Daisuke glared at the three of them. “Thanks a lot, guys. Now we’ll have zero deniability. Ms. Smith will know we were all in on it, albeit after the fact.”

  Gabriela sighed in mild annoyance. “What are you so worried about, menino?”

  “She put me in charge, okay? Not in the ‘have fun bossing your friends around’ way but in the ‘if anything goes wrong I’m holding you personally responsible’ way. You know what she’s like when she’s angry. I mean, I know she’s never, like, done anything physical, but those eyes—they’re like two little icicles stabbing at you.” He made a poking gesture with his hands. “You wanna get assaulted by those ocular weapons?”

  Gabriela looked into the distance, her mouth setting into a hard line. “You know where I came from. You probably can guess about the things I’ve seen.” She turned back to her game once again. “What makes you think anything that woman could do would scare me?”

  * * *

  While still reeling from her earlier field trip (Louis XIV’s palace? Seriously?), the “9 o’clock secret meeting” Kaia was invited to was starting to take precedence in her mind. Hopefully it’s not some weird initiation.

  At least she didn’t have to wait much longer to find out—everyone was waiting for her at the end of the hall. Connor stood in front. He bowed slightly and gestured grandly towards an ordinary-looking door to his left. “This way, my lady.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked, still a little wary.

  “To the roof.”

  Of course. Where else would teenagers with chemically-based superpowers want to hang out? The mall? Pshaw! The topmost level of seventeenth-century architecture is where it’s at. After enough flights of stairs to make her breathe a little harder, she pushed open the door at the top.

  It certainly wasn’t what she had expected. Expected: a lovely view of the massive gardens. Unexpected: blankets, folding chairs, binoculars, and a rooftop picnic.

  Kaia swallowed the lump in her throat. It was kind. It was thoughtful. And it was all for her. What could she possibly say to that? Thankfully, Gabriela filled the silence. “Go on. Have a seat. Yours is the one closest to the front.”

  Kaia sat down in the comfortably padded folding chair. Taking a closer look at the food, she saw it wasn’t ordinary picnic-y stuff, but more elegant fare: chocolate-covered strawberries, miniature puff pastries filled with crème, tiny triangular sandwiches laid out in perfect geometric patterns, plates piled high with fruit and cheese—it kept going and going.

  “Compliments of the kitchen staff,” Dice said. “Their way of saying ‘Welcome to the Family.’”

  “And it’s about to get even better.” Gabriela motioned toward the gardens. “It should be starting any moment, now.”

  “Wha—” Kaia started to ask, but then music filled the air, a vibrant baroque piece that seemed familiar though she couldn’t place the name. The lighting shifted, and jets of fire sprang up in the middle of the main lawn, flames bursting in waves from barely noticeable pipes, all in perfect sync with the music. The fountains responded as well, and dozens of misty streams soared through the air.

  Kaia found herself swaying slightly with the rhythm of it all, and she started to feel how good music always made her feel—completely happy. She didn’t realize she was crying until the tears started collecting under her chin. “It’s . . . It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

  Dice spoke up behind her. “Yeah, Connor was—”

  Connor interrupted him. “Yes, I was thinking Gabby’s idea to come up here was really great. We all did, didn’t we?”

  Kaia turned around to see everyone but Dice (who was giving Connor a funny look) nodding in agreement. Vladimir sat down next to her. “Yes, is all very beautiful. Idea is to walk through gardens experiencing different musical environments as they relate to movements of water and light and thus more deeply understand composer’s intentions.”

  Mikaël gave him a dumbfounded look that needed no interpretation.

  “What?” Vladimir asked. “I read tourist brochures sometimes when I am bored. Is good to know what is happening in one’s home, yes?”

  That reminds me—I did want to ask . . . Surely they wouldn’t get upset with her for being a little curious. It was only natural, right? “About that—about our home, I mean—how come we’re living in a palace?” She looked in their eyes but didn’t see any of the normal looks she received when posing questions—the looks that said “What’s the matter now?” or simply “You again?” They all just looked . . . friendly.

  “Ah, yes,” Connor said, weaving his fingers together behind his head, “the obvious enigma of how a group of people who aren’t old enough to have credit cards managed to land the poshest flat in France. It’s an interesting story—not a lot of details, but plenty of implication and intrigue. I’ll let Dice explain.” He leaned over to whisper in Kaia’s ear. “He loves this part. It’s one of the few conspiracies he can prove is true.”

  Dice took his position near the edge of the roof, little more than an outline in the fading twilight. His smile stood out the most—like he was a particularly wild-haired Cheshire Cat. “Have you ever been to Versailles before?”

  Kaia shook her head no.

  “Tourists roam its halls surrounded by a carefully controlled illusion—the illusion that they are peering into the very soul of an ancient realm.” Dice’s voice had gotten softer and his gestures more extravagant, like he was telling a scary story around a campfire. “They discover things they had never imagined, while, unknowingly, that which matters most is hidden from sight. For how could they know what stalks the halls of this ancient manse once the tours are over? What sinister beings lurk in those dark depths beyond the well-worn paths their sneakers trod? What might be sleeping in the abandoned rooms of a lost empire?”

  “I don’t know,” Kaia said, almost breathless, “what?”

  Dice tilted his head questioningly. “Well, us, of course.”

  Kaia felt a bit stupid until Gabriela nudged her. “Don’t mind him, he likes being overly dramatic, is all. Go on, Dice, but tone down the theatricality, please?”

  Dice sighed, disappointed. “Fine. Here’s the deal: If you come here to go on a tour, you’ll see the big places—the royal bedrooms, the Hall of Mirrors, stuff like that. The thing is, this place is huge. I’m talking super-mega-freaking-huge. When Louis XIV made this place
from his daddy’s hunting lodge, he made it big enough to accommodate his entire court. That’s thousands of people. They all lived in Paris, but he had them all move out here with him. That way, he could keep an eye on them, and they’d have fewer opportunities to start any kind of rebellion. With me so far?”

  Kaia nodded. Not that she didn’t already know all this from history class, but Dice seemed to be enjoying himself.

  “Now all those tons of extra rooms weren’t as fancy as the royal rooms, of course, so when the government finally opened the palace to the public, they kept them closed off. Why show the paying customers anything less than the best, right? But, then again, you’ve got all this empty space that isn’t doing you any good. So, what do you do? You rent it out to the highest bidder. Clandestine organizations from all over the world found refuge in these walls—spies, rebels, advertising executives, you name it. At the same time, the government started including supposed pictures of those off-limit rooms in the guide books, making it seem like tourists were forbidden simply due to time constraints or convenience as opposed to there being something funny going on. The secret groups can hide in plain sight. The politicos earn a little more cash. Everyone’s happy. But that’s not the most interesting bit.” His Cheshire Cat grin glowed. “You wanna guess what the most interesting bit is?”

  More interesting than spies hiding in one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions? “You got me. What?”

  “All of those other organizations were in and out relatively quickly—a few weeks, a month at most. The government didn’t want to be seen as playing favorites to any one faction and incur their wrath. The advertising executives, in particular, could be downright ruthless. So how long do you think The Company has had their little setup here?” He paused dramatically. “Four . . . years. Apparently, The Company has an ‘understanding’ with the government.”

  “Maybe The Company’s actually a part of the government after all?” Kaia asked.

  Dice shook his head emphatically. “No, they’re completely autonomous. I’ve checked—thoroughly. I don’t know if it involves repaying past favors or good old-fashioned blackmail and bribery, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be leaving anytime soon.”

  Something about it didn’t make sense. “Wait, why didn’t any of the other people staying here ever expose it all after they’d left, especially since Mark’s Place has been here so long?”

  Dice nodded like an approving teacher. “Exactly. Someone should have sold us out by now. My theory? There’s actually a conspiracy within the conspiracy. We’re not looking at dozens of clients through the years. We’re looking at one client: The Company. I think they’re a lot bigger than we think they are, with a lot more tendrils spread out into a lot more shenanigans than they’re letting on.”

  “Shenanigans?”

  “Shut up, Connor. It’s a fun word, and I like using it. Anyways, Kaia, all it really means is we live in a wickedly awesome house with the best backyard in the world. So what do you think?”

  Kaia watched the fire and fountains continue their synchronized dance. “I think it was worth the wait.”

  Gabriela squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry we can’t go down and see it all up close. Besides it costing so much to get in the normal way, they’ve upped all the security measures this year.”

  Why would they,..? Oh. Duh. “Because of the . . . ?” For some reason, she didn’t want to say it, so she mimed a small explosion with her hands.

  Gabriela nodded. “Right, the Eiffel Tower bombing. It’s especially strict for nighttime events where it’s harder to keep tabs on everyone. Not only have they shortened the whole evening’s program, but now they take pics at the gate and run everyone’s UNID cards.”

  “Not that those particular precautions would pose us much of a threat,” Dice added, “but we are trying to maintain a low profile.”

  “Did any of you guys get to see it?” Kaia asked. “The Eiffel Tower, I mean. Before it was destroyed.”

  Gabriela, Dice, and Connor nodded. “We three were already here then,” Connor said. “The week before it happened, we took the RER train into Paris. At the end of the day, we rode to the top of the Eiffel Tower.” He had a sad, wistful smile on his face. “The city was beautiful from up there. It’s a shame no one will ever see that view again.”

  “So is that when you guys stopped going out? After the bombing?” Kaia asked.

  They all looked completely mystified. “What are you meaning, Kaia?” Vladimir asked.

  “I mean, is that when you stopped going outside during your free time.”

  They exchanged looks. “I’m sorry,” Gabriela said, “we don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re allowed to leave whenever we want, as long as we take basic steps to keep our cover. That’s it, though. No big deal.”

  Kaia felt suddenly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, but . . . all day today, you were all here, so I thought . . . I thought you couldn’t.”

  “Is very simple,” Vladimir said. “You could not go out, so we did not go out.”

  Kaia’s eyes widened. “You did that for me?”

  Mikaël nodded and bumped his fist over his heart.

  “Of course we did,” Dice said. “It’s like all for one and one for all and every other group-related cliché you can think of. If we don’t look out for each other, who will?”

  The warmth welling up in her felt so alien, so strange, Kaia didn’t quite know what to do. To be accepted. To be wanted. To have friends who would look out for her. Only one dark thought threatened to cast a chill over her heart. She really didn’t want to ask, but she knew she had to. “One last thing . . . If I had said ‘no’—if I had decided not to stay—what exactly would have happened?”

  Connor stretched nonchalantly. “We would have made sure everything was cleared up with the cops and with any famil—with anyone else we needed to, and you would have gone back to your original life.”

  “But how would I have got out of here without knowing where I had been?” she persisted.

  Connor raised one eyebrow. “I think you already know the answer to that. You would have left the way you came.”

  “You mean you would’ve shot me again.”

  “Well, I’m always saying how I could use more target practice.” He threw up his hands at the sight of her scowl. “Kidding! Sheesh. Yes, there have been people who have decided not to stay. Yes, they are currently living regular ordinary lives. Seriously, why are you asking this? You’re not leaving, so what’s the big deal?”

  Kaia wondered if she could put her feelings into words. If she even wanted to. You all have been nice to me and done things for me no one has before. And then . . . Her mouth caught up. “. . . this evening you all looked happy to be here . . . with me. You sacrificed your day off . . . for me. But I don’t know if you’re doing it because I’m going to be helpful to you or because . . .” Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t want to wipe them and risk setting off a waterfall. “. . . because you actually like me.”

  For a second, it looked like no one would come up with anything to say. A second longer, though, and Connor walked over. “Listen,” he began, looking over her head, “I’m a guy and I’m British, so feelings are not my favorite topic of conversation.” He took a deep breath. “That being said, when I first came here, somebody told me something important. It stuck with me, and I think you need to hear it, too. More than that, you need to believe it’s true, because it is.” He lowered his eyes to look directly into hers and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Whether you had said ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ we still would have been your friends while you were here. You’re a good person, and you deserve better than you’ve had.” He gave her a playfully light punch on the arm and a cocky grin. “Sorry, love, but now you’ve got people in this world who truly care about you. Deal with it.”

  Kaia wasn’t sure if Connor was on
ly acting nice because of her crying, but, whatever was going on, she was pretty sure she was blushing—and she was absolutely sure she didn’t want him to see it. “Connor, I—”

  “The fireworks!” Vladimir interrupted. “They are starting!”

  Kaia barely suppressed her sigh of relief as she was able to turn away from Connor toward the explosions bursting in the sky above her. “Are there any blue ones tonight?” she heard Gabriela ask.

  “Yes, I saw some.” Dice tapped Kaia on the shoulder. “What’s your favorite flower?”

  It took her a second to reply, but only because she was distracted by the arm-length gloves Dice had on—jet black and covered with wires and circuitry. “Um, tulips, I guess. What are you wearing?”

  “Oh, nothing much. Just a little something I invented that temporarily allows me to exert a minor influence over basic compounds containing my elemental affinity. While it doesn’t work for very long or on compounds in which the user’s element is in the minority when evaluating the compound by atomic weight, in certain circumstances it does allow—”

  Gabriela clamped a hand over his mouth. “It lets him do cool stuff. Enjoy the fireworks.”

  Kaia was still a little curious, but she soon forgot it in favor of the spectacle above her. Vladimir nudged her, a smile on his face. “My favorite part is coming up.”

  The music was reaching a crescendo, with the fireworks exploding in concert, when one especially large firework burst in a sphere of brilliant blue. It didn’t form a circle and then fade away, however. In the split second after it exploded across the sky, the circle morphed to form letters: FOR. A moment later, a second blue word formed. KAIA. Right on its heels, in the last furious barrage of color and light, a final image appeared, simple but clear and formed in blue: two tulips, with a bow tying them together.

  The music ended, and applause erupted from the tourists down below. Kaia’s eyes stayed on the sky, as if the glowing pictures still remained. “That was amazing,” she breathed. “How did you do it?”