by Jenn Reese
“Wait!” Hoku said.
She slowed down, irritated, and watched him unfasten the force shield from his arm. He plucked the comm device from its center and handed the shield to Aluna.
“You might need this,” he said. “I can still get messages from the others with the comm unit. I just won’t be able to send any back. Unless . . .” He looked at Zorro and the animal’s eyes glowed green. “Yes, yes, I can use Zorro if I need to, although I don’t want to compromise his systems unless I have no other choice.” He scratched the raccoon behind the ears. “What a good little universal communication system just waiting to be converted!”
Aluna secured the force shield to her left forearm. Such a small device with so much power. She’d have been killed sixteen times over in her battle with Scorch at the Thunder Trials if Hoku hadn’t gotten her that shield at the last moment. She suspected it would save her again when they found Strand.
Hoku told Zorro to turn off the map projection, and they surfaced in the back of the cave in the shadow of a rocky overhang. Aluna searched for threats, but the cave was empty. Not even a lone Upgrader left to watch the water.
“He didn’t think we’d find this place,” Hoku said.
“We wouldn’t have, without the old files from Seahorse Alpha,” Aluna said. “Maybe Sarah Jennings never told him what she was storing there.”
“Wait. Then why were Fathom and the Deepfell slave army out there?” Hoku asked.
Aluna groaned. “Tides’ teeth. If they weren’t guarding the entrance, then they were preparing to go to war.”
“Against . . . us?”
She nodded. “If Daphine, Anadar, and Eekikee don’t stop that army, I bet it will head straight for the City of Shifting Tides.”
Aluna clung to the rock wall and imagined what Fathom might do to her people. To her family.
“Strand,” Aluna said. “We need to stop him.”
“Strand,” Hoku agreed.
The cave had no sandy beach, like the Deepfell cave. Instead, a metal platform had been installed near the only doorway. They swam over and hauled themselves out of the water.
“I don’t have a sheath for my tail,” Aluna said. “Do you have any straps of hide or rope?”
Hoku dug into his satchel, pulled out an extra shirt, and began ripping it into strips. Aluna folded her delicate tail fin up and wrapped it around the bottom of her tail, where her calves used to be when she had legs. She used the cloth to tie it securely in place.
“It’s not as good as protective leather, but it’ll be good enough,” she said. “At least now I can fight with it.”
She hadn’t brought walking sticks with her, either, so she dragged herself through the door using her hands.
“Stop!” Hoku yelled, but it was too late. Aluna looked down and saw a thin line of light hitting her arm. In the distance, an alarm sounded.
“Barnacles,” she muttered. “Well, come on. They know we’re here now.”
The corridor outside the cave had been carved from mountain rock but filed smooth as plastic. They reached a fork in the passage and Hoku consulted his map. “Dash seems to be in the middle,” he said. “I can’t tell which path to take.”
“We need to know. Have you tried breaking into the system, or whatever it is you do with your new tech eyes?” she asked.
“Zorro is trying all the passwords I have on file from the water safe, and extrapolating — guessing — at new ones. No success yet.” Hoku looked back and forth between the hallways.
“Left,” Aluna said.
Hoku looked confused. “Why left? Do you have a feeling about it? Is there some data I’m overlooking?” His orange eyes flickered, and she imagined him scanning tiny files, looking for answers.
“Left because we’ll be dead if we just sit here trying to decide,” she said. “Now, pull your head out of your tech and run!”
She dragged herself down the corridor, her arms straining. Hoku caught up to her easily.
“There are doors ahead,” he said. “I’m trying to access them, to find somewhere for us to hide until they stop looking for us.”
Huge metal doors appeared on both sides of the hall, each big enough for a whole family of Kampii to swim through at once. Footsteps sounded behind them. People called out to one another up ahead.
“Open a door,” Aluna said. “Tides’ teeth, open a door!”
“Got one!” Hoku said, rushing ahead. Huge metal doors sighed open and Aluna pulled herself faster. As soon as she was inside, Hoku punched a panel on the wall and the doors closed behind them.
AN ALARM SOUNDED in the tunnel and Calli swore. “How do they know we’re here?” The team had made good distance so far, but they still hadn’t reached Dash.
“It is my fault,” Nathif said. “I dazzle without even trying. Curse my unforgettable nature!”
“Not funny,” Mags said. “Could mean they got Squirrel.”
“I apologize,” Nathif said quickly. “My tongue gets away from me sometimes.”
Odd grunted, but Calli had no idea what he meant by it.
“Can you run any faster, Pocket?” Calli asked. If only she were a little stronger, then she could carry the boy herself.
“I’ve got him,” Odd said, lumbering over.
“No, let me,” Nathif countered. “If we are attacked, you need to be ready to . . . bash things. I, however, have no purpose in a fight.”
Pocket didn’t argue and Nathif hefted him up like a small sack of grain. They sped down the tunnel until the sound of stomping horse hooves made Calli pull everyone to a stop.
Mags sniffed the air. “Squirrel says the evil woman was riding a chariot pulled by horse folk. Smells like we’re close.”
“They do have a distinct odor,” Nathif said, but almost to himself. Maybe he was trying to refrain from joking, but this was as close as he could get.
The horse smell became stronger as they approached a large, well-lit opening on the right of the tunnel. None of them were particularly stealthy now that Pocket was injured, so they had no choice but to creep forward, as inconspicuously as five strange people could.
Calli craned her neck and peered into what seemed to be a vast stable. Rhinebras, horses, and two giant insects stood in the closest stalls, their heads tied to the sturdy metal gates. A collection of saddles and two chariots sat nearby, ready for use.
There was no sign of Vachir.
Farther back, she saw the Equians. Two women stood together, their heads almost touching, next to two men. One of the men had his eyes closed, possibly unconscious, while the other dabbed his face with a bloody cloth.
“Dash’s fathers are in here,” she whispered to the others.
“We can get them after we save Dash,” Nathif said. “We cannot spare any time.”
“No,” Odd said, just as Calli opened her mouth to say the same thing. “Dash would want us to grab them first.”
“Agreed. You don’t know the boy like we do,” Mags said to Nathif.
Nathif hung his head, almost buried it in Pocket’s chest. The others didn’t know of his history with Dash, how Dash had risked everything to save Nathif from Shining Moon and its torture.
“There are no guards,” Calli said. “We’ll save the Equians and leave the animals tied up. We might need them for our escape.”
Odd grunted. “Good noggin work.”
It sounded like a compliment, so Calli took it as one. She was still smiling when she tried to step into the room and ran straight into a force shield.
Pain ricocheted through her body. She tried to scream, but couldn’t open her mouth. She tried to step back, away from the pain, but none of her muscles would obey her. She smelled something burning and wondered if it was her wings.
Gloved hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled. Calli came unstuck from the force shield and the scream inside her burst out, raw and powerful.
“Make sure she does not bite her tongue,” Nathif said. “Test her eyes. Do they still dilate?”
Calli felt Mags’s hands on her face, gentle but insistent. Calli blinked, grateful that her body was once again taking orders. Mags patted her on the shoulder. “You’ll be right as rocks, little bird. No more shocks for you today, though. Don’t want those wings all fried up.”
Calli nodded and let Mags help her to her feet.
“Controls are here,” Pocket said. He stood by another of those glowing control panels, this one situated at Human height. “Don’t know what to push.”
“Nothing,” Calli said. “Don’t push anything. The wrong combination might shock you, or set off another alarm.” She joined him and studied the panel. “I don’t have the right equipment to override the security. Scorch has the passcode, and Hoku could probably access the computer system and get it. We’d need one of them in order to shut off the force wall.”
“I vote for Scorch,” Nathif said, his eyes dark. “Willing or unwilling.”
“After we find Dash and Vachir, we’ll look for her,” Calli said. After one last look into the stable and a silent apology to Dash’s parents, she led them farther down the tunnel. Nathif had picked up Pocket again, and the boy called off their distance to Dash’s homing beacon.
“Two hundred meters.”
“One hundred fifty.”
“One hundred.”
Rooms and new hallways beckoned them from both sides of the tunnel. Four times they had to sneak past an open door where Upgraders were repairing weapons, cooking meals, or working at desks piled with scientific equipment.
“So few Gizmos down here,” Mags grumbled. “Not much of a secret base.”
“Perhaps Strand does not trust many of his own people with his secrets,” Nathif said. “Have you seen some of these Upgraders? Who can blame him.”
“Still prettier than snakes,” she countered.
“Keep moving. Stay quiet,” Calli said, and was pleased to see both Mags and Nathif look momentarily ashamed.
There were no troops down here, no wounded, no bustling war rooms filled with maps and screaming generals. The whole place felt . . . strange. Like an abandoned outpost or an ancient temple. Karl Strand was no typical warlord.
“Fifty meters,” Pocket said.
Calli flew faster and the others kept up with her. She could hear Nathif breathing more heavily, and sweat dripped down Odd’s brow, but no one uttered a word of complaint.
“There’s the door,” Pocket said. “It looks like Dash is inside!”
“I don’t like how easy this has been,” Calli said, and yet, she couldn’t make herself slow down. Her mother would have been more cautious. Electra would have chided her for her recklessness. But . . . Dash.
“The door is closed,” she said. “We’ll have to pry it open or —”
As she spoke, the wide doors slid open with a hiss. Some doors at Skyfeather’s Landing were pressure sensitive; this one probably was, too. Calli flew in and the others followed. As soon as Mags was inside, the doors slid closed behind them.
They were in either a laboratory or a torture chamber, or possibly both. Tables with restraints connected to hulking machines that beeped and flickered with lights. Drains dotted the floor at regular intervals. A familiar horse stood chained to the floor, her legs splayed for support, her head hanging so low that her black nose almost touched the floor.
Vachir. Alive. Calli wanted to weep with relief, not just for herself, but for Aluna.
“Dashiyn!” cried Nathif.
Calli followed his gaze. In the back of the room sat three small cages. Two stood empty, their floors smeared dark with old blood, but the third cage held a crumpled, unmoving body that she recognized immediately.
“Dash!” Nathif called again. He put Pocket on the ground, then burst forward . . . into another invisible force wall. Odd yanked him back immediately, and the damage was slight. Nathif groaned and put a hand to his head.
“Another force wall. It’s blocking off the whole room,” Calli said. “We’re trapped!”
A small woman walked out from behind one of the massive machines. Her brown hair and glasses were unmistakable, but it was her cruel smile that Calli remembered most.
“Scorch,” Calli said.
Scorch wasn’t tall, but she carried herself like a great eagle, as if there were no predator in the world dangerous enough to be a threat to her.
“I can’t tell you how pleased I was to find Aluna’s beast and this pathetic boy practically begging to be captured,” Scorch said. “But you know me — I never settle. I want it all.” She walked crisply to the other side of the force field. “Thank you for complying.”
A trap, Calli thought. It was all a stupid trap, and she’d fallen for it completely.
Odd ran back to the door and tried to pry it open with his fingers. Calli let him try, but she knew it was hopeless. Those doors weighed tons. They were stuck in five meters of empty space between the door and the force shield, and Scorch could do whatever she wanted with them.
Vachir lifted her head and let out a strangled cry. Calli winced. How she longed to run over and throw her arms around Vachir, to break the chains around her hooves and neck.
But Dash . . . Dash didn’t move at all. He lay on the floor of his tiny cell, and for the first time since they’d started this rescue mission, she realized that he might truly be dead.
“You’ve hurt them,” Calli said, her heart a painful rock in the center of her chest. “If you’ve killed them . . .”
“You will suffer if you have,” Nathif added, his voice anguished.
“Oh, the boy is not dead yet,” Scorch said. She smiled and tilted her head. “At least, not since I last checked. I wanted to catch a few more flies with my honey. Now that you’re here, well, I don’t need the boy or the horse anymore, do I?” She laughed.
Scorch walked over and stood in front of Nathif. “I remember you. You cured that fool Onggur and turned those ridiculous Equians against me. I might have to kill you first . . . after a little fun.”
Nathif’s face drained of color and he balled his hands into fists. Calli could see him struggling to hold himself together. He’d been tortured before, by Dash’s own herd. Even the mention of it seemed too much for him to handle.
“Leave the snake be,” Mags said. “You want to tussle, tussle with your own.” She motioned to Odd and Pocket and shoved her hands into her coat, no doubt selecting the perfect poison for the occasion.
Scorch ignored Mags and turned to Calli. “Ah, the girl I should have killed in the desert. Your entire race will be wiped out for what they did to my brother Tempest. Your precious mountain home is being sacked even now. When I see one of our people wearing feathers after this, I will wonder which one of your friends they killed.” She spat at Calli. Her saliva sizzled against the force wall. “I see you’ve won a few of the weaker-minded Gizmos to your side. What did you promise them?”
Calli glowered, but kept quiet. Anything she said now would only make things worse.
Scorch stalked back to Mags, ran her gaze up and down the Upgrader’s coat-clad body. “Actually, you look like a smart, resourceful sort of Gizmo.”
Odd lumbered over and stood next to Mags. He grabbed Pocket to his side and gripped his club in his other hand.
Scorch nodded appreciatively. “Big. Strong. And the boy has hidden talents, too, I suspect. So the question is, are you loyal?”
Pocket started to answer, but Odd clamped his huge hand over the boy’s mouth. Scorch smiled.
“We Upgraders need to look out for one another,” Scorch said. “The Aviars have never liked us. They live in their high towers and they hunt us! All of the splinters think they’re better than us. More deserving of respect. More worthy of life.” She leaned in toward Mags. “Whatever this Aviar is paying you, I will triple it . . . and guarantee that you’ll never
go hungry or want for anything ever again.”
Mags narrowed her eyes. “We’ll be safe?”
Calli held her breath. Odd’s kludge had wanted this from the beginning — a reward for turning her in to Karl Strand and the promise of an easier life. How had she not seen it? They’d been working with Strand’s Upgraders the whole time. No wonder it had been so easy to sneak down the tunnel!
“You’ll all be safe, even the quick rabbit of a girl outside,” Scorch said. “You have my word.”
No. No! Calli screamed, but the words stayed trapped inside her, like birds in a cage.
Scorch smiled and pushed her glasses further up her nose. “All you have to do is kill the girl and the snake-boy. Right here. Right now.”
WHEN HE TURNED AROUND, Hoku’s first thought was that they’d hidden in the trash room. Far overhead, stalactites hung from the natural cave ceiling, threatening to drop on their heads. Water trailed down the walls and dripped onto the towering piles of discarded items filling every centimeter of the vast cavern, except for the wide path leading from the door.
“What is all this stuff?” Aluna dragged herself to the nearest junk heap and lifted up a small cylinder made of glazed pottery.
Hoku told his Datastreamers to scan the item and cross-reference the image with the data he’d uploaded from Seahorse Alpha. The answer came back almost immediately.
“A vase,” Hoku said. “The ancients used to stick flowers in it.”
“Because . . . ?”
Data whirred in front of his eyes, telling him the object’s height, the circumference of its opening, and its probable weight. None of that answered Aluna’s question, so he took a guess: “So they could eat them later?”
Aluna snorted and put the vase back on the pile. “Let’s move away from the door in case they check in here,” she said, and began pulling herself down the path. “At least until the alarm stops.”
Hoku followed, his eyes filling with words he only occasionally understood: rocking chair, bathtub, sectional sofa, floor lamp, bookcase, mirror, alarm clock, refrigerator. His Datastreamers highlighted each item as it displayed its name. He struggled to understand the words, but something in here could be useful. Microscope, clipboard, telescope, centrifuge.
