“You got me involved.”
“Roland got you involved.” He clenched his jaw to keep from shouting. “And he told me not to tell anyone.” Sky’s heart began to race, the feeling in the air, he couldn’t describe it. “No. I don’t want to see anyone else hurt.”
Con laughed, but it wasn’t friendly. He leaned in closer still, forcing Sky to stare directly into his black eyes, “I know, but you can’t stop it.” Con straightened and backed up a step. “You’re a stupid boy.” He growled. “The Man of Mist is not someone you walk away from. The only reason you’re still here,” Con face softened to an almost empathetic state, “is because he isn’t done with you yet.”
Sky swallowed hard, lost for words.
“It wasn’t really going to hurt anything to let Sara know, but there you go and just throw yourself on the fire and say you’ll go to Meral? Stop trying to do things on your own.” Con sighed “I’m scared for you. I’m upset that you didn’t come to me or Ellie and I’m truly disgusted that I had to learn about it from Roland of all people over a com message. Why didn’t you just tell us?”
“I…” He didn’t know why, it had never even occurred to him. “I didn’t really believe it had really happened. I already told you, I don’t understand it, I don’t know what’s really going on.” Sky pulled his hood up over his head and wrapped his arms around his head.
“Go home, Sky.” Con placed a firm, but somehow gentle hand on his shoulder, “We’ve got it from here, okay.”
“But, Meral-”
“You’re not going to Meral. Not unless you’re going there to recite poems of adoration to Sara. Then you can go, otherwise, there’s no point. There are no libraries in Meral.”
“But you said-”
“What I said was true, the information they want is in Meral, but ancient clans don’t write their history down and they would never allow anyone outside a True Blood know them.”
“Why did you say it at all?”
Con looked down with a devious smile, “I was just playing around.”
“But, that’s cruel.” He couldn’t believe it.
“I don’t like the way you handled this whole situation, but I will say I’m impressed by the way you protected your teammate, even if it was stupid and the wrong thing to do.”
“The wrong thing to do? What is that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t need to play the hero, Sky. There are no heroes in this war.”
Sky stopped in his tracks at Con’s words. Why did that sound familiar? “What war?”
Con looked up past the sky and let out a long, exaggerated breath, “The only war.” He looked back down to meet Sky’s gaze and smiled slyly, “Maybe I’ll tell you about it one day.”
He was too worn out to argue, or press the issue, “Whatever. So what happens now? What am I supposed to do?”
“You will do nothing. No more research. No more secrets. You go home, you get some rest. Understood?”
Sky nodded, for the moment, it sounded like the perfect plan. All he wanted to do was go home. He wanted to see his dad. He wanted to lie down and forget so many things. “I understand.”
Chapter Sixteen
There was no ship in the back lot when he got home. His dad was still gone. Of all the times to be late.
Sky collapsed onto his bed, debating on just falling asleep. Was any of this really real? He rubbed his chest, it felt real. It felt solid. Inside of it his heart pounded at his ribs, threatening to break free.
Springing up from his bed, he walked around the room slowly, going over the night before in his head. He had come home early – he wasn’t supposed to have been there. But that’s all he really remembered, he had come in, and after that…
He crouched down and looked under the bed, but nothing but the normal boxes and old clothes were piled under it. Disappointed, he sat up slowly, not sure what he had been looking for. He turned his head this way and that, but nothing seemed out of place, nothing had been taken that he could see.
It wasn’t until he brought up his hand to brush some stray hairs from his eyes that he noticed a tacky feeling on the palm of his hand and saw the deep red smear that covered it. He looked over the floor, but there was nothing there. Sky rubbed his fingers together and turned his hand over. “The hell?” He breathed. Where did it come from? And why did it look like blood?
Sky bolted up to his feet. There was nothing on the floor. He knelt down again, reaching out towards the bright, clean wood. Wiping his hand across the floor he could feel it. Thick and sticky in parts, thin and flaking in others. His floor was covered in blood - he just couldn’t see it.
There was tightness in his chest and a burning in his brain. With shaking hands he grabbed onto his bed frame and managed to lift himself up to it. It was wrong. All of it. He blinked and blinked again. There had been a gouge in the floor by the desk, but it wasn’t there. There had been a crack in the window, but it was gone, there had been a thin closet door on the opposite wall…but there was no door.
He shook his head, trying to clear it as he crossed the room. He distinctly remembered a door on that wall – a door to a storage closet, much smaller than the main one in his room, but he knew it had been there. He put out a shaking hand towards the smooth wall and felt along its surface. Sure enough, where there should have been a handle he felt the cool touch of metal against his skin.
Sky opened the door quickly, his breath held in his pounding chest. It was as he remembered it. He allowed himself to breath again and examined the inside quickly, seeing nothing out of place. A box marked ‘JoAnna’ caught his eye, but it was the slightest draft that caught his attention. He turned back into his room, but no, the draft was from inside the closet. The attic! Sky looked back into the closet, but this time, looked up. Above him the square ceiling entrance to the upper most part of their home sat open ever so slightly.
Sky scrambled up the stack of boxes and pushed open the small attic access and gasped as he poked his head through. It had been ransacked. Not that the attic had ever held much proper order, but this, this was an utter disaster.
Sky jumped back down and closed the door. The attic was storage for most of his dad and Zero’s stuff and that would lend to the theory that the Man of Mist had been there because of Zero, not because of him. He really had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The illusion that had been cast on the room, it had bought the Man of Mist some time, but eventually, it would wear off, so what did it mean? Why had he been left alive with his memory wiped and the evidence removed temporarily? It still didn’t make sense.
Sky crossed the hall into the bathroom to wash his hands clean from his own sticky blood. He stared at the water till the red ran clear, his head pounding with a steady throb - a pulse so deep he could feel it shaking the whole house. No, no that wasn’t it. No, that was the sound of a ship landing. That was the sound of the Regan Fortuna!
“Dad!” He screamed as he flew down the stairs, still way to far for anyone to hear him.
“Dad!” He bellowed again as he ran across the back field, the sharp yellow grasses whipping at his legs.
By the time he reached it, the ship had landed. The dull drone of the engines winding down filled him head to toe with pure relief. As the bay doors opened and the ramp extended towards the solid ground he felt as if he wanted to cry and only had a few moments to get a hold of himself.
“Hey there, Skyden!” His dad called from inside the ship.
Sky raced up the ramp as his dad came into view. “Dad!” He didn’t slow down, he simply drove himself straight into his father, throwing his arms around him in the tightest embrace he could manage. If he had let himself, he would have broken down into sobs of fear and joy, but instead, he just relished the moment of having his dad home at last.
“Hey.” His dad laughed, surprised at the greeting, “You okay?”
Sky forced himself to pull away, “Yeah, fine. I just,” He gestured around them, “I’m glad
you’re back.”
His dad winced at his words. “It’s only for a little bit, we’ve got another run in half hour, I just needed to grab a few things.” He took Sky by the shoulders and held him out at an arms length, “I’m sorry. I swear this is the last one and then Zero, me and you are going to go on a well deserved break, okay.”
“But, you just did two runs, back to back.” It wasn’t fair.
“I know, but, it’s really good money. If we pull this off, we’re gonna be set for awhile.” His dad gestured him down the ramp, “And I’ve got you to thank you know. Astrodeli’s owner, Mr. Harmos, his son speaks very highly of you, that’s how we got this contract you know.” His dad patted him on the back, as they made their way down to the ground. “And, if everything goes well, he might actually just buy us outright.”
Sky stopped in his tracks, “What does that mean?”
“It means a steady paycheck, time off-”
“He would own you.” Sky’s stomach twisted, he could almost hear Joshua’s words spat back in his face.
“Sort of, but that’s really not how employment works.”
“You can’t do that. You can’t just…sell out.”
“It’s not selling out, Sky, you want us home more right? Well, this might be the answer.” Sky didn’t want to fight, not now. “You’d be home more?”
A smile lit up his dad’s bright, young face, “A lot more, yeah.” He nodded. “Now, tell me all about school. Are you loving it?”
“Yeah, it’s great.” Sky shrugged and stuck his hands down in his pockets. There was no way he could tell his dad about what was going on, not now, not if he needed this job.
“That sounds convincing.” Zero strode out of the ship behind them, his rumbling voice laced in sarcasm. “You look terrible.” Zero embodied everything that most people would fear in an enemy – brave, loyal, strong and brutally honest. He was no bigger then Al, and wore his silver hair pulled back tightly so no one could mistake him as anything but a Telic or the branded marks upon his neck from the Enslavement years.
“Welcome back, Zero.”
“And Al, how’s he doing? You two getting into all sorts of trouble I’m sure.” His dad ruffled his hair once they reached the ground.
Sky nodded and forced a smile, “Yeah, he’s doing really well. He’s got the highest marks of the first-years and he’s made a whole bunch of friends.”
Zero scoffed. “So he’s finally run out of time for you. Can’t say I didn’t see it coming.”
“It’s not like that.” Sky took up the lead down the path to the house. If he stayed ahead of them, he wouldn’t have to face them. “We’re all just falling into our places. Al’s a part of REALM and I’m a part of Axis. We’re still friends - we just have different things to spend time on, that’s all. So, what did you guys need to come back for?”
Zero laughed behind him, “Oh, the master of the subject change has arrived.”
“We’re swinging past Haigon on this next run so Rinten asked if we could drop off some old books of ours.” His dad answered. “You want us to bring you back anything while we’re there?”
Sky stepped up the moss covered steps and through the back door, into the kitchen. He wondered quickly if they would sense something in the house; the illusion, or a lingering negative energy like Al and Lee had felt.
“He asked you a question, you know?” Zero snapped and pushed past him.
“What? Sorry, I zoned out there for a second.” He looked over his dad and threw a look over to Zero. Neither of them seemed to notice anything strange.
“You want me to bring you back anything from Earth? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. On both counts. I don’t need anything and I feel fine. I’m just a little tired, you know, we got mid terms coming up.” Sky looked absently around the room. “Some of the physical training is, uh, physical.”
His dad looked him up and down, his brow creasing with concern, “You look thin. And pale. Have you been eating?”
No, he hadn’t been. It was strange to realize that he hadn’t had a single scrap of food since the attack. “Yeah, of course.”
“I told you he wouldn’t eat when no one’s here to feed him. He’s like an infant.” Zero chuckled as he stomped his way up the stairs and out of site.
Sky offered up a smile and leaned as casually as he could onto the counter. “You can check the fridge if you don’t believe me. I ate everything you guys left and restocked it already.”
His dad kept his post by the door and crossed his arms with a wide stance, “How about the other Axis students? How are they?”
“Great. The other first-year is a native, a Blue Star. Her name’s Sara and she’s, well, she takes a little getting used to, but she’s kind of nice. And then there are our two mentors, Con and Ellie, and a junior professor, he’s an apprentice of Zeph’s, and the main guy in charge, Blanks, he fought for Phoenix Squadron, or led it or something, he’s pretty scary.”
“Sounds like quite the crew.” His dad nodded his head with a smile. “So you’re happy?” He paused and clenched his jaw. “Axis is a good fit for you then?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, at least that was true. “I feel like, like I really belong.”
“That’s…good to hear.” He nodded and looked away out the open door; a certain sadness overcame his face.
Sky knew that look. It was the look he gave him when he had first told him he had applied to Arche. “Do you really have to leave again?” But Sky already knew the answer.
His dad crossed the small space between them and grabbed him, pulling him into a strong embrace. “I’m sorry, I really am. I promise this is the last time, okay. I know I haven’t been around much lately…” He trailed off, but didn’t let go.
“Don’t worry about it. I get it.” Sky whispered through the tightening in his throat. He pushed away from his dad when he heard the quick and urgent footsteps of Zero coming back down the stairs.
“Skyden.” Zero yelled as he stormed back through the door, “What happened upstairs?”
Sky backed away from both of them. “Why? What? Nothing, what do you mean?” He stammered, cursing his immediate reaction.
“Ixanna’s favorite cat sculpture, where is it?” Zero shoved him in the chest, but retracted his hand as if he’d been shocked.
“Cat sculpture?” He had no idea. “I. uhh…”
“Sky, you know how she get’s when you touch her knick knacks.” His dad scolded.
He barely heard him – his attention was on the curious look Zero was giving him as he rubbed his hand.
“Anything to say?” Zero tilted his head and squinted his eyes.
“No. I mean, yes.” Sky was such a bad liar and everyone knew it. “I guess, I don’t actually remember, but, I’ll find it, I swear.”
“I bet you will.” Zero’s eyes remained steady on his chest. “So, what happened?”
“I said, I don’t remember.” He tried to sound forceful.
“I’m not talking about the stupid sculpture. You know what I’m talking about.”
“What is it?” His dad looked between the two of them. “Am I missing something?”
“I got hurt, okay – it was during training. It wasn’t that serious, and Roland, he’s our junior professor, like I said, he’s Zeph’s apprentice and real good at medical stuff so he fixed me up.”
Zero wasn’t buying it, his already narrow eyes got even narrower. “It wasn’t serious.”
He looked pleadingly at Zero. The two of them generally had an unspoken agreement not to worry his dad if it wasn’t necessary. “It wasn’t. Honest. Just a scratch.”
“Skyden, even if it wasn’t serious, anything that required medical attention should be communicated to me.” His dad hit that tone that Sky hated hearing.
Zero gowled, but didn’t push the matter further.
“Sorry, dad. Next time-”
“Let’s not have a next time.” His dad pushed him in the shoulder and gestured him tow
ards the door, “Come on, walk us back, okay.”
He faked a smile and nodded. As he led them back out of the house and up to the ship his mind raced with what his options might be. He could still tell them. Maybe he should. After all, if the Man of Mist had been there, it was Zero he was targeting. But that wasn’t really true, Zero wasn’t his objective - information on the Book was.
Sky stopped dead in his tracks, his stomach sinking right down to the ground.
“You okay there, kiddo?” his dad placed a hand on his shoulder.
Con’s words echoed in his head. The best information on the Book was in Meral.
“I just remembered something I still needed to do tonight.”
His dad eyed him with light suspicion, “Oh?”
“It’s Sara, the other Axis student, we were supposed to you know, study tonight.” He tried to laugh, “She get’s pretty upset if I keep her waiting.”
“Well, don’t let us keep you.” His dad smiled a little too proudly. “Wouldn’t want you to miss your date.”
He could literally feel the blood drain out of his face. “It’s not like that. We’re just going to study.”
“Sure. Have fun.” Zero winked with a sly smile and threw a hand up in farewell, “See you in a few days.”
His dad gave him a squeeze around the shoulders and pushed him back towards the house. “We’ll be back before you know it. Keep out of trouble.”
“I will.” He hoped it was true. He waved one last time and sprinted back down the hill, hoping to the highest Haven the transports to Meral were still running this time of day.
Chapter Seventeen
Sara sat on the floor of their apartment, leaning heavily against a tattered couch. She stared blankly at the cracked and molded ceiling, lit only by the thin stream of fading light that crept in through the shredded curtains. The only sound was the slow, steady snore of her uncle behind her. He was out cold once again. She would have just thought he was sleeping this time if it wasn’t for the dozens of little white tubes that littered the stained and matted carpet around him. It must have been his new drug of choice.
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