Horizon

by Jenn Reese

  “Name it,” Electra said.

  Calli glanced at Hoku. Despite his strange orange eyes, his smile washed over her like a spring breeze. “That you help me find the tunnel that leads to Karl Strand’s lair so I can go rescue my friends.”

  Electra raised a crisp hand to her forehead and saluted. “It will be my extreme pleasure.”

  WHILE HIGH SENATOR ELECTRA and Senator Niobe led the first flocks of Aviars up and over the Upgrader army, Calli said good-bye to her room. The colors were all light blues and whites, meant to mimic the sky that every Aviar longed for. Well, almost every Aviar.

  Calli dragged her fingers over the curve of an equation written in thick black pencil on the painted surface of the wall. Formulas covered every stylized swoop of wind, every puffy cloud — some repeated a dozen times, until her younger self had memorized the symbols, and some half-finished, old puzzles never solved.

  Books crowded her shelves and fought for space on every reasonably flat surface, including her wide, sturdy desk. Even now it was burdened with texts on electricity and aerodynamics, with notebooks and spare equipment. All shrouded in dust. She’d grown up in this room. No, that wasn’t right. She’d only lived and learned in this room, but she’d grown up out in the world.

  Her pack bulged with a few of the books she couldn’t bear to part with — the oldest, the rarest, and the most sentimental. One was a crudely illustrated adventure story her mother had made for her when she was six. By any standard, it was ugly and poorly told, but Calli didn’t care. Now her mother was on her way to Talon’s Peak, carried by four warriors not at all happy to be flying away from the war instead of toward it, and Calli had only the slenderest feather of hope that she’d ever see her again.

  If only she’d been able to talk to her mother one last time. Iolanthe would be proud of her for trying to rescue her friends. But, oh, how Calli yearned to hear the words.

  She’d thought about leaving an explosive for the Upgraders to find. Maybe something in the microscope on her desk, or in the telescope fixed to the window near the room’s highest perch. But what would that accomplish? Another senseless death, maybe to someone like Pocket or Squirrel. Her things, no matter how precious, were not worth a life. Not even the life of an enemy.

  Calli checked in one last time with Senator Hypatia, the brave warrior who’d volunteered to lead the holding force and keep the Upgraders occupied while the rest of the colony escaped. She had no words of comfort or inspiration, only thanks.

  And then Calli was flying up, up, up with the last squad of warriors. Up into the cold air and over the enemy army slowly strangling their home.

  On their way to the front, they stopped at strategic mountaintop roosts where they could store their treasures from Skyfeather’s Landing out of the reach of anyone without wings. The roosts were marked from above, easy to spot if you knew which symbols to look for. Calli packed her books into a crevice safe from water in the last one.

  The women were silent as they flew, both to conserve energy and because they were preparing themselves for battle. They soared over a large force of Upgraders — reinforcements for the battle at Skyfeather’s Landing — and Calli had to resist the urge to drop rocks on them. Instead, she offered another silent thanks to the brave women who had stayed behind.

  Later, more of Strand’s army started to appear below them, a slow line of ants crossing over mountain paths and swarming into larger and larger units of death. Calli and her sisters flew higher, looking for scouts from the earlier Aviar squad, and soon found Senator Niobe.

  “We’re glad you made it,” Niobe said. “High Senator Electra has set up camp on the far side of the mountain peak and has already been in contact with the Equians and Serpenti, who are coming from the southeast.” She twisted her face. “The Upgrader named Pocket has spoken to her, too.”

  Calli beat her wings harder in order to keep pace with Niobe. It had already been a long day, and she’d been fighting the wind since the last resting stop.

  “Are the other armies already here?” Calli asked.

  “No,” Niobe said. “The Equians and Serpenti are fighting their way in, but making good headway. Strand’s armies are falling back to the mountain on that side. And we think Strand sent another army toward Skyfeather’s Landing, which has weakened his forces here.”

  “He did. We saw them,” Calli said. She surveyed the distant ground and could make out wispy armies through the clouds. “Karl Strand’s army is weak here. It’s a good time for us to strike.”

  Niobe grinned. “Electra thinks so, too. I’ll tell her you approve.”

  “I’ll tell her myself,” Calli said.

  Niobe shook her head, opened her wings wide, and hovered upright in the air. “The rest of the squadron will meet Electra, but I’m taking you straight to the infiltration team. You need to be ready when we attack tomorrow morning.”

  Calli beat her wings slowly, keeping her place in the current. “So soon?”

  Niobe raised one slender eyebrow. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

  “Yes,” Calli said immediately. “The sooner we go after Dash and Vachir, the better our chance of rescuing them. I only thought we’d have more time to plan.” And more time to steel herself, too. Already she could feel fear coating the tips of her wings like ice. Too much, and she’d be frozen with it.

  “Maybe this will help,” Niobe said. She unhooked a retractable spear from her belt and handed it to Calli.

  Calli took it, rolling the scarred metal tube over in her hands. She recognized the weapon, of course — every Aviar in Skyfeather’s Landing knew President Iolanthe’s bright-gold and green markings. The spear’s name was Seeker.

  “Electra wanted you to have it,” Niobe said. “She said your mother would, too.”

  Calli pressed the release switch and the spear shot out to its full two-meter length. “It’s so light,” Calli said, giving it a test spin.

  “Don’t let that fool you,” Niobe said. “I’ve been whacked with that spear in more training drills than I’ll ever admit. Strong as your mother, I’d say.”

  Strong as my mother used to be, Calli thought, but outwardly she smiled. Many months ago, her mother had given her beloved talon weapons, Spirit and Spite, to Aluna. Calli hadn’t wanted them; at the time, she had rejected everything that the weapons stood for. But Calli was her mother’s only daughter and the gesture still stung. Electra must have known all along.

  Niobe whistled and another scout took over leading the squad. Calli watched them fly by in a flurry of wings and armor. Old and young, battle worn and green . . . they’d all be warriors by sunset tomorrow.

  “Come,” Niobe said. “I’ll take you to your team.”

  Calli followed Niobe, trying to catch the same updrafts, and beat her wings in the same rhythm. Her team. A team that would walk into the very home of Karl Strand himself. Niobe got too far ahead and Calli focused on her flying.

  Below them, Strand’s army grew like weeds among the rocky skirt of the mountain, their tiny fires blooming like lonely flowers. As Niobe led her past kilometers of camped armies, Calli felt her chest tighten. Hope made her feel light on the wind; right now, she was surprised her wings could keep her in the air.

  Niobe pointed to an Aviar symbol painted on the rocks beneath them. It was more subtle than the others, no doubt to keep it secret from the Upgraders’ dragonfliers. Calli and Niobe flew past it, to an area more protected by the mountain, and dove.

  Calli had never plummeted from so high. The wind screamed past, buffeting her face and trying to toss her like a toy. She kept her eyes slitted and her chin tucked to her chest. Her hair whipped around, lashing her cheek and forehead. She wanted to yell her fear and defiance into the raucous whoosh of air surrounding her.

  She opened her wings against crushing pressure and trembled with relief when they caught the wind and she started to slow.

  “Well done,” Niobe said. “That was no easy descent.”

  They landed on a
wide, flat rock. Niobe checked her compass and pointed. “That way, no more than two kilometers. You saw the mark on our way down?”

  “Yes,” Calli said. “Thank you.”

  Niobe grabbed her into a hug. Calli breathed in the woman’s scent, relished the softness of Niobe’s hair against her cheek.

  “Tell High Senator Electra that I’ll do my best,” Calli said. “Tell her . . . tell her to take care of my mother for me if I don’t make it back.”

  Niobe frowned. “You two can take care of the president together, after all of this is over.”

  “Of course,” Calli said, forcing a smile. “But please tell her anyway.”

  Niobe put a callused hand on Calli’s cheek, and Calli leaned into the warmth. “You are your mother’s daughter. Do not forget.”

  Then her hand was gone. Niobe sprang into the air, her wings snapping open with military precision. Calli watched, marveling at the beauty of her flight and wondering if she’d ever see another Aviar again.

  She picked her way over the rocks in the direction of the meeting spot. She hadn’t gone more than half a kilometer before the Upgrader girl Squirrel hopped onto the rock next to her.

  “This way,” Squirrel said. Calli tried to follow but her legs weren’t springs, and they weren’t particularly used to rough terrains, either. “Hurry,” the girl admonished, and Calli did her best to comply.

  The team was already assembled when Calli and Squirrel arrived. She stared at the familiar faces of Odd, Mags, and Pocket and introduced herself as if they’d just met. She’d been “cargo” the last time, and the formality felt right. Odd seemed a little more banged up than when she’d last seen him, but Mags, Pocket, and Squirrel seemed largely unchanged.

  “What, no kiss?” another voice said.

  Calli turned and found Nathif slithering out from a makeshift tent, his long tail undulating over the hard-packed dirt. A sly grin twisted on his face.

  “Nathif!” Calli said, and tackled him with a hug.

  “It’s not a kiss, but it will do,” Nathif said after he’d righted himself again.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” Calli said. “How did you get through the army?”

  “A lone snake may go where an army of hooved horse beasts may not,” Nathif said. “Oh, and Tayan says hello. She said it rather haughtily, of course, but you probably assumed that.”

  “Tayan is with the army, then?”

  Nathif laughed. “No. Despite her exalted status as Flame Heart Khan, she will never be fit for battle with her heart injury. I wanted to be the one to tell her, but alas, they let someone else do it.”

  Calli looked around camp. “Did anyone else come? I expected to see Rollin here, too.”

  “Rollin said her presence would harm us more than help us.” Nathif shrugged. “It is just as well. Her expertise is needed with the comm devices.”

  “Very well. Everyone, gather around,” Calli said. “The Aviars will attack tomorrow morning at dawn, and we need to be ready to infiltrate the secret tunnel.”

  She looked at each of them, spending long enough to make eye contact for a moment before moving on to the next person. She’d seen her mother do this in almost every important meeting in the war room.

  “If Dash and Vachir are still alive, we’re their only hope. We’re not going to let them down.”

  HOKU TAPPED THE COMM DEVICE on his arm. Tapping it didn’t do anything useful, but it made him feel better. Zorro, perched on his shoulder, seemed to agree.

  “Still nothing,” he said. “It can’t connect with the satellite or any nearby computer systems. Almost two days! We have no idea what’s happening with anyone else.”

  Aluna swam next to him, taking one powerful kick of her tail for every dozen of his ineffectual leg spasms. Daphine, Anadar, and Prince Eekikee flanked them, looking similarly sleek and effortless in the water.

  Just below them, the bones of a vast ancient city slumbered in the sand. They’d been swimming through its broken towers and ruined buildings for hours, using the ruins to hide their presence. Hoku tried to estimate how many Humans had lived in the city, but got lost in the numbers. No matter how many times he did the math, the answer seemed impossibly large.

  He caught Aluna stealing glances, her gaze lingering on the faint structures of the citywreck. A year ago, exploring this old place would have been their grandest adventure. But its mysteries had survived centuries, and they’d have to wait a little longer.

  “We’re nearing Karl Strand’s house,” Hoku said. He’d loaded some maps into his Datastreamers just in case he lost his connection with Seahorse Alpha. Now he pulled one up and overlaid it onto the landmarks around them. “Another kilometer or two, I’d guess.”

  “Oh, we’re definitely getting close,” Aluna said. She pulled to a stop and motioned for the others to do the same. Eekikee released a piercing shriek, and the Deepfell forces following behind them in a dark wave slowed.

  “Up there,” she said, pointing to the surface. “I see five great whites. They probably have cameras in their heads.”

  “And over there. Deepfell,” Anadar said.

  “Not Deepfell,” Eekikee corrected. “Slaaaaves.”

  Hoku stared at what appeared to be a kelp forest growing in the middle of the citywreck. But it wasn’t kelp. It was the sleek bodies of Deepfell arrayed in lines.

  “It’s not a large force,” Anadar said, “but it’s bigger than ours.” He cursed and adjusted the borrowed breathing shell at his throat. “I wish the Elders had given us hunters. Even a few, and we’d have a far better chance.”

  “I don’t like our odds,” Aluna said. “We could be fighting them for days, and the casualties . . .” She looked at Eekikee. “We can’t ask you to lose so many.”

  Hoku added the sharks and Deepfell slaves to his maps, then told Zorro to project the image into the water in three dimensions. Aluna, Daphine, and Anadar were used to his tech by now, but Prince Eekikee jumped. As soon as Hoku started explaining the image, Eekikee’s mouth hung open and he swam in closer to touch it for himself.

  “Strand might have more troops we can’t see, but this gives us a good idea,” Hoku said. He rotated the map with his mind and highlighted Strand’s ancestral house.

  “Strand’s forces surround the house,” Aluna said. “At least we know we’re right about it being important.”

  Anadar pointed. “Look. Something’s moving.”

  Hoku peered into the murky distance, expecting another platoon of Deepfell slaves or a few more great whites, but the creature was something else entirely. He told his Datastreamers to magnify the image, correct for light refraction, and add it to the map at the correct scale. Everyone gasped, including Hoku himself.

  It was an octopus. A giant octopus, its fleshy head inside a helmet of thick bars, its eight tentacles limber and metallic.

  Prince Eekikee emitted a string of low-pitched noises, and Anadar cursed again.

  “I could probe it,” Hoku said. “If it’s got a computer, maybe I can access it and turn the creature off or take control or something.” He pictured himself riding the octopus into battle, his foes scattering like fish before him.

  “Will the octopus sense you doing that?” Aluna asked. “We have the element of surprise now, while we’re hidden in the citywreck. I don’t want to lose it.”

  Hoku rubbed Zorro’s head and thought. “It might,” he said finally. “I haven’t had much experience with different systems. And besides, we don’t even know if it’s entirely mechanical, of if there are people controlling it like a vehicle.”

  “It’s your call, Aluna and Eekikee,” Daphine said. “We’re part of your army.”

  Eekikee continued to stare in horror at the image of the octopus. “No fiiiight thing is gooood.”

  Aluna nodded. “I agree with the prince. See what you can do, Hoku. Just . . . be careful.”

  Hoku calmed his breathing and closed his eyes. It was easier to read the output from the Datastreamers when he
couldn’t see his friends staring at him, silently asking him to be brilliant. His left hand was still threaded through Zorro’s fur, and he left it there, drawing comfort from the raccoon’s tiny body and unwavering adoration.

  He used his Datastreamers to search for computer signals. Maybe the octopus was being controlled from somewhere else, and he could take over the command signals. Text streamed in front of his eyes. Yes, the octopus was using a network of some sort. Hoku poked at it, looking for a way in.

  “What’s he doing?” he heard Anadar whisper. Because Hoku’s Kampii tech brought the sound directly to his ears, Anadar might as well have been shouting.

  “Shhh,” Aluna said.

  Hoku heard a smack, like a wet fish flopping on a rock, and Anadar said, “Ow.”

  Hoku found a security hole, and in a flash, he was inside the octopus. His Datastreamers had just started sending their invisible tendrils into the tasty new computer system when the octopus launched some sort of defense program. The glowing text streaming across his eyelids fell dark, replaced by only one phrase pulsing in the center of his vision:

  WHY, HELLO THERE. THIS IS FATHOM. REMEMBER ME?

  Hoku sputtered and snapped his eyes open, but the words still hung there. He told his Datastreamers to remove the words, to stop its attempts to connect with the octopus, and then, when he sensed Fathom was probing for him, to cut off all transmissions and lock itself down.

  “What? What is it?” Aluna asked. She took his arm, gently, and he shuddered.

  “Fathom,” he said. “That thing is Fathom.”

  If his reaction was bad, it was nothing to Daphine’s. Aluna’s sister hugged her arms and seemed to cave in on herself. Aluna and Anadar swam to her side instantly.

  “How could it be Fathom?” Aluna asked him. “We took him apart, limb by disgusting limb.”

  “But we kept his brain, his consciousness,” Hoku said. He put his hand to his head and pressed his temple. He didn’t need another headache now, not when he needed to think clearly and stay ahead of Fathom. “That’s why they attacked HydroTek. They stole his brain so they could transfer it to the octopus.”