by Jenn Reese
“I’ll get them,” Calli said.
“Extra clothes for Dashiyn, and medicine,” Tayan said. “Dantai will know what to bring. Be discreet. Weaver Sokhor and his allies must not see you.”
“They won’t.”
Hoku mentally scanned the contents of Rollin’s tent, trying to think of something that might help Aluna track Tayan through the desert. “Iron!” he said. He lowered his voice. “Tayan, can you carry a filled sack on your back without making the other Equians suspicious?”
She furrowed her brow as her hand drifted to her sword hilt. Her thinking look, alarmingly similar to Aluna’s. “Yes, we will have some supplies with us in case something goes wrong. You can never be too cautious on open sand. One more pack will be easy to hide.”
“Good,” Hoku said. “You’ll need to ride on the side of the group. There will be a small hole in the sack so the iron can trickle out while you run.”
“What’s the iron for?” Aluna asked.
He knew he was talking too fast, but when the ideas surged inside his brain, all he could do was open his mouth and hope that something sensible came out. “Tech hunting,” he said. “The Upgraders build these amazing artifacts that can locate metal — all kinds of metal — even when it’s underground. They use the scanners to find old tech and spare parts and even entire citywrecks that have been buried over the years. Rollin has two: one calibrated for iron and one specializing in lighter metals. The iron one is more sensitive.”
Aluna rolled her eyes and motioned for him to continue. Could she really not see where he was going with this? He crouched down and rolled back a section of carpet, exposing the sandy earth. He drew a line with his fingertip.
“Tayan goes with Dash and leaves a trail of iron behind her. It’ll be too small for anyone else to see. But there’s not much metal in the desert.” He drew a circle at one end of the line. “You know where she’s starting from, so you can use Rollin’s device to see the iron. It should be as obvious as a school of glowfish all swimming in a line.”
Tayan clomped over and looked at his simplistic diagram. “We will be running for hours. I will not be able to carry enough iron to mark the whole way.”
“Vectors,” Hoku said. He leaned down and, with some small additions, turned the line indicating Tayan’s path into an arrow. “If you start the trail and stay on the same trajectory — keep going exactly the same direction in a line — then Aluna can use her compass to stay on that line even after the iron has run out.” He extended the line in the sand all the way to the edge of the next carpet. “Just don’t alter your direction after the iron runs out. If you suddenly veer south, Aluna will lose you.”
Aluna looked at Tayan and raised an eyebrow. Slowly, Tayan nodded.
“This will work.”
Hoku hopped to his feet. “Meet me at Rollin’s tent with your supply bag so I can get the compasses and we can test the iron dispersal.”
Tayan turned to Aluna. “Is he always like this?”
“Only when he’s awake,” Aluna said.
ALUNA STOOD WITH HOKU in the darkness, a small, battered compass gripped tightly in her palm. She’d sent Calli into the sky, hoping the girl might see the dust clouds from Tayan’s group when they left Shining Moon. If she knew her prey’s starting point and direction, then Hoku’s tricks would do the rest.
Tal stood nearby, her back laden with supplies, and huffed. She wouldn’t let Hoku touch her, but she’d allowed him to attach the metal scanner to her packs. Aluna made sure he explained how it worked within earshot of Tal. She had a sneaking suspicion that the horse might be smarter than she was.
Now they stood in the darkness, waiting for the signal and listening to the word-weavers call to the sun around Shining Moon’s fires. Aluna’s stomach grumbled and whined. She struggled to still her muscles and her mind. Her entire body felt coiled, ready to spring. Did all warriors feel like this right before battle?
“Where will you go after you rescue him?” Hoku asked. He kept his voice low, so only she could hear him.
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s too big a question. I need to stay focused on the first part — on the impossible task of finding a single boy in the middle of an endless desert.”
“Your family would be proud of you, you know,” he said. “Probably even your father. You’ve done so many brave things.”
She shook her head and looked down at the compass in her hand. “And so many foolish things, too. I should have found a way to save Dash before now. I should never have let him get captured in the first place.”
“He’s got his own mind, Aluna,” Hoku said. “You can’t control him any more than he can control you.” He nudged her shoulder with his own. “Besides, that hardheadedness is one of the reasons you like him.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but clamped it shut when she saw the huge grin on Hoku’s face. He was baiting her, the little squid. After years of it, she ought to have developed some sort of defense.
Hoku turned back to the stars. Calli was up there, but even with her Kampii dark vision, Aluna couldn’t see her in the night sky.
“You’ll find him,” Hoku said. “I’ve never seen you fail, not at something you attack with all your heart.”
Aluna wrapped her fingers around the compass and squeezed. “Hoku . . .” She’d imagined telling Hoku about her tail in the middle of a fight. Clash, clatter. “Guess what!” He’d have no time to ask questions, to yell at her for not telling him sooner, or worse, to offer pity.
But the Ocean Seed inside her assaulted her body unpredictably. If it happened while she was stranded out in the middle of the desert, there’d be no medics, no water to wet her blooming scales, no hope of comfort from a friend. And if the Ocean Seed she swallowed had gone bad — a possibility since she’d carried it around for so long — then who even knew what it was doing to her?
“Hoku, I’m growing my tail,” she said quietly.
He continued to stare at the sky. “You mean, eventually? Are you sure? Legs are stupid underwater, but they’re kind of fantastic up here.”
“No, I mean I’m already growing it. Back in HydroTek, I wanted to rescue my sister from Fathom. So . . . I made a trade. I swallowed the Ocean Seed and told Fathom he could observe the process.”
Hoku turned his pale face to hers. She could count the freckles on his nose and cheeks.
“You stole the Ocean Seed during the ceremony?” he asked.
She nodded.
“And you kept it the entire time we were traveling? At Skyfeather’s Landing and the Deepfell cave? All the way to HydroTek?”
She nodded again.
“And you never told me? Not even after you swallowed it?”
She cringed but said nothing.
Hoku ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Well, you probably know how I feel about all that. Not good. I told you when I had my first crush on Elder Maylea. I told you when I gave her that seashell and she patted me on the head. I won’t dwell. I know it’s not the right time. But seriously? I tell you everything. You know what I eat for lunch, all my favorite foods, and even the first meal I’m going to share with Calli once I figure out a way to get her beneath the waves. And yet something like this — something that changes everything — and you don’t tell me even when you have months to say something?”
His anger pulsed like a wave, rising up and crashing, then pulling back and rising up again. She let him go. She deserved it.
“Aluna, don’t you see? The time for secrets has passed. We’re not children, and this isn’t a game. You know that better than anyone. You were the one who found Makina’s body in the kelp, who found the Deepfell slaughtered on the beach, who barely survived a fight with Fathom.” He kept his voice hushed, but she could see his frustration building. He threw up his hands. “You’re about to go out into the desert in the middle of the night, on a freak horse, without knowing how to ride, to rescue a boy condemned to death. The time for secrets is over.”
&n
bsp; He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. He wasn’t strong, but it still surprised her. “If you’d told me sooner, maybe I could have helped. I could be researching genetic resequencing instead of playing Rollin’s games. I could have been helping you this whole time! Don’t you see?”
She could see him straining to keep his voice under control when he clearly wanted to yell and scream. His pain cut through her like a spear.
“Now you’re leaving,” he said. “You’re leaving and I can’t help you. And if something goes wrong, I won’t be there. I won’t even know. You could be lying out there somewhere, in the sand, dying, and I won’t ever even know where you are. Do you see? Do you understand?”
She grabbed him. He shoved her, tried to push her away, but she was stronger. She pulled him in and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Everything you’ve said, it’s all true. I’m sorry. You’re my best friend. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
And just like that, all the fight dropped out of him. He stood in her arms and let himself be hugged. After a minute, she felt his arms start to hug her back.
“You’re my best friend, too,” Hoku whispered.
She snorted. “I don’t deserve to be.”
“I know,” he said. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
Tal clomped her hooves. A moment later, Aluna felt the horse lipping her hair. Tal grunted and lifted her head to the sky. Aluna followed her gaze and saw Calli plummeting toward the ground. She released Hoku.
“Calli’s seen something,” he said. “It’s time.”
Aluna tucked her compass into a pocket and leaped onto Tal’s back from the ground. The packs made it more difficult, but she’d been practicing all week and managed to do it with minimal embarrassment.
“Barnacles,” she said as her bruised backside hit Tal’s bony withers.
“That explains all the groaning you’ve been doing this week,” Hoku said.
“Remember how bad we were after the rhinebra?”
“I’ll never forget,” Hoku groaned.
“Well, this is worse.” She patted the pocket with the compass. Still there. Hoku helped her adjust the metal scanner so it wouldn’t clank against her leg as Tal ran.
Calli landed with a whoosh of air and a great cloud of dust.
“Northeast,” she said quietly. “They started near the foundry, where they make weapons. I think they were holding Dash somewhere near there.”
Aluna nodded. “I’ll give them a few minutes and then head out. I can stay closer at night, since my vision in darkness is better than theirs.” She clicked on the scanner. “I hope this thing works.”
“Rollin’s been using it for years,” Hoku said. “Then again, she hasn’t found very much.”
“I am filled with confidence,” she said.
“Be careful,” Calli said. The girl’s cheeks were red from her flying. From Aluna’s position astride Tal’s back, Calli seemed small despite her wings.
“You too,” Aluna said. “The politics here are more dangerous than in our colonies. If you become one of Sokhor’s enemies, it may not be safe for you. Especially because of your friendship with Dantai.”
“While the khan lives, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Calli said. “If he dies or is killed, Hoku and I will run.” She reached out and pressed one of Aluna’s hands between both of her own. “Don’t worry about us. We can take care of ourselves.”
“So I’ve heard,” Aluna said, looking at Hoku.
She stared at him, wanting to remember every detail. She’d need something to hold on to in the coming days.
“It’s time,” Hoku said. “Swift currents, Aluna.”
“Swift currents,” she replied. She turned to Tal and patted her on the neck. “Let’s swim.”
Tal took a few steps forward, then vaulted into a gallop. Aluna never looked back.
ALUNA AND TAL raced over the sand. The cold desert air felt almost like water as it washed over Aluna. Lit only by the stars, the desert became a beautiful shadowy landscape not unlike the ocean floor. Cactus were almost like kelp, but more straight-backed and stubborn. Tiny animals darted out of their path, just like goldenboys and shiny-blues, little fish too quick to be caught. Aluna imagined that they were racing along at the bottom of the sea, sand puffing up behind them in the water.
She hated stopping, but she couldn’t risk losing Tayan’s trail. Tal didn’t want to stop, either. She whinnied her objection but slowed to a trot, then a walk. The metal scanner beeped weakly. They zigzagged across the sand until the signal strengthened. Once they’d found it, Aluna pulled out the compass and checked their direction. The needle always pointed north, which meant they were heading a little north of east.
“Got it.” She pointed and Tal bounded off again.
For days, they’d been practicing their riding in the desert. Stopping and starting, galloping and trotting, turning quick like a shark. Aluna did not ride well, but Tal’s occasional nips at her feet or snorts of irritation helped her improve quickly. If she’d been sitting atop a regular horse instead of an Equian, she’d still be at a walk.
The next time they slowed, Aluna couldn’t find the trail of iron with the scanner. Either she’d read the compass wrong or Tayan had. Or maybe the two other guards had altered the group’s direction.
Tal weaved north and south along the path they’d been following, trying to pick up the iron trail. The scanner offered a weak beep every few minutes, but nothing Aluna could follow. The minutes passed painfully. Each one meant that Dash was that much farther away, the trail that much colder. If the wind picked up, it might blow the light iron dust into the air and scatter it kilometers away.
Even in the cold of darkness, beads of clammy sweat formed on her scalp and dripped slowly down her forehead. “Beep, you stupid artifact. Beep!”
The scanner ignored her. She checked the settings, hoping nothing had been broken or dislodged during their run. Hoku had told her not to touch any of the knobs, but what if they’d moved while she and Tal were galloping? She’d never figure out how to reset them.
And then a miraculous beep. And another. And a whole stuttering cluster of them.
“Tides’ teeth,” Aluna muttered. She and Tal navigated back to the trail. “They’re headed due east now,” Aluna said. “We’d better stop more often.” Tal whinnied in disgust but didn’t argue. She vaulted into a gallop, and Aluna barely had time to grab hold of her mane.
They rode for hours. Aluna sipped sparingly from her canteen, wanting to save as many of her supplies as possible. Dash would need food and water badly when she found him, and who knows how many days they’d be traveling after that. She offered water to Tal, but the horse shook her head and ran faster.
Aluna smiled. Tal was more similar to her than her own siblings were.
Eventually the sky began to lighten and Tayan’s trail ended. The signal had grown weaker and weaker on the scanner until, finally, they couldn’t find any trace of iron at all. Now everything depended on the compass, and on Tayan’s ability to keep the group headed in the same direction.
The sun peaked over the gray mountains, and the air started to warm. Tayan and the other guards would have abandoned Dash by now and might even be headed back this way. Even so, she stayed on course. She’d rather run into the guards than risk missing Dash.
A dark smudge appeared in the distance, a black lump lying on the blinding gold ground. Tal slowed as they neared, and Aluna’s pulse quickened.
An Equian. Dead. One of Dash’s guards.
She dismounted and toppled into the sand, her legs refusing to hold her weight. She landed on her hands and knees beside the body. Her nose wrinkled at the smell. A deep-red stain soaked the cloth of the man’s tunic near his Human stomach. A gut wound, the most painful kind. He’d lived long enough to run from whatever he’d fought but hadn’t made it far.
Another wave of stench assaulted her nose. She turned and retched into the sand, painfully aware of how much water she was
wasting with such foolishness.
Tal stomped a hoof and whinnied.
“I don’t like death, either,” Aluna said. “No one does.”
She pushed herself to her feet. Her legs obeyed this time, and she was relieved that their earlier betrayal had more to do with riding for hours than with her growing tail. She stumbled back to the dead Equian and unhooked his canteen from his packs. Water was too precious out here to waste just because she didn’t want to touch a dead body.
A stain in the sand a few feet away from the Equian caught her eye. The guard had been bleeding as he ran.
“Come on,” Aluna said to Tal. “We have a new trail to follow.”
Tal trotted over. Aluna hefted herself onto the horse’s back with a groan. Her legs ached, but she found her seat.
“There,” she said, pointing. Tal burst into a trot. The trail proved easy to follow, far easier than the iron had been. Even the guard’s hoofprints were still visible in the sand. “Whatever happened was recent.”
Who had killed the Equian? Had the group been attacked by bandits? A rival herd? The Serpenti? Scorch? If the others were alive, why hadn’t they followed the dead guard and tried to save him? Tal seemed to sense Aluna’s growing unrest and ran faster. She had no trouble following the trail without Aluna’s help.
And then, in the distance, she saw the rest of them. The rest of the bodies.
Her heart thudded painfully inside her chest, her rib cage suddenly too small. Tal slowed instinctively. Aluna’s eyes struggled to resolve what her mind didn’t want her to see.
Tayan and the other guard, down on the sand. Down, though Equians never chose to lie down, not even when they slept.
A flash of silver. The third figure looked up at them, his eyes bright and alive, a long, bloody sword clutched in his hand.
“DASH!” Aluna cried. Tal galloped forward. Aluna swung her legs over and dropped to the ground before the horse finished slowing to a stop.
