Silence of Stars

by Holly J. Wood

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Clara Johannson.”

  “I’m Lark.”

  She gave me a shy smile and nodded before returning to her pan. I didn’t say anything more, watching as she made several variations of egg dishes which piled up on plates on the counter.

  “You can have some, if you’d like,” Clara’s Guardian said, her glances to Gideon growing more obvious.

  “Thanks.” I took a plate of scrambled eggs and Gideon reached for a serving of sunny side up. Clara watched me out of the corner of her eye as I took a bite.

  “Mmm.” I nodded, pointing my utensil at the plate before swallowing. “So this is what fresh eggs taste like.” I smiled. “They’re delicious. You have a gift.”

  “Definitely,” Gideon agreed. His egg was almost gone.

  Surrounding Recruits were paying attention. They exchanged smiles at the praise for Clara.

  “I can’t wait to taste what else you come up with,” I said.

  A rosy blush warmed her pale cheeks as she ducked her head. “Thank you.”

  “Your grandmother would be proud.” I touched her shoulder. “Think of all the things you’ll be able to show her once you’re back home.”

  Her smile grew as she straightened her posture. “That’s true,” the smile faded, “so long as we find fresh food to work with.”

  “You never know.” I winked, dropping my hand. “Take care, Clara. Thanks for letting us try your food.”

  She dipped her head. “Ingen Orsak.”

  I gave her an uncertain smile before Gideon and I walked off.

  “What do you think that meant?” I whispered.

  “Swedish for ‘you’re welcome,’” he said.

  I gaped at him and then closed my mouth and shook my head. “Showoff.”

  He chuckled and placed his hand on the small of my back, sending delicious shivers up my spine as he guided me down another row. We browsed the other cooking stations. I took notes in my journal of the things I observed. Laughter sounded on the far side of the room and I knew Rusty was working his magic.

  All of my former anxiety was gone. This wasn’t only easier than I’d expected.

  It was fun.

  CHAPTER

  Twenty-One

  When the cooking class ended, we made our way to the Conservatory to observe Botany. I took in a deep breath as we entered the expansive greenhouse. The moist, earthy air was invigorating.

  “It’s a little warm in here,” Rusty said, pulling at the collar of his tunic.

  Gideon turned to Slade. “Show him how to work his regulating mechanism.”

  “You show him,” Slade snapped, looking past him. “I’m busy.” He walked away and I saw that he was headed right for Skye and Isabel. They smiled and waved at me and I waved back before turning around.

  Gideon helped Rusty with his cuff.

  “If you swipe this screen and select ‘regulate,’ you can set the temperature you’re comfortable with and your suit will adjust.”

  Rusty’s eyes widened as he looked down at the material of his tunic. “I’ve been wearing a super suit all this time and didn’t even know it? What else can it do?”

  “It can also be programmed to act like armor, but that’s pretty much it.”

  Rusty raised a fist to his mouth. “No. Way. I’ve secretly always wanted to be Iron Man. This is the best day of my life!”

  Gideon shook his head. “Not that kind of armor—more like a bullet-proof vest.”

  Rusty’s face fell. “Oh.” He lifted a shoulder. “Still cool. How do I activate that?”

  “You can try that later. For now, set your regulator and get mingling,” Gideon said before turning to me. “Are you too warm?”

  I shook my head. “It feels great.”

  His blue eyes met mine and suddenly I wished we were alone. He must have read something in my expression because he turned away. I realized I was still recording. I needed to be more careful.

  “Where do you want to start?” Gideon asked.

  “Let’s go talk to Skye and Isabel,” I said.

  “I’ll go with you guys so I can catch up with my stellar Guardian.” Rusty rolled his eyes and followed as we moved past Recruits working the soil. The instructor walked among them, giving tips for planting as they worked. He was a peculiar looking older man with a tan cap covering his long gray hair.

  “Is he going to introduce us to the class?” I asked, gesturing to the instructor.

  Gideon shook his head. “Professor Atwood is extremely quiet. That’s why he walks around the field instead of having everyone watch him. I doubt he’ll acknowledge us.”

  That was fine by me. I’d had enough attention to last a lifetime.

  We made our way to where Slade stood talking to Skye. Isabel crouched in the soil nearby, digging a hole to make room for a small plant.

  Skye beamed as we approached. “Hey, guys! Glad you came over.” Her eyes flicked to Slade and back to us, giving us a look that said “Save me.”

  Rusty took the hint. “Come on, Cadet, let’s start mingling,” he said.

  Slade turned to him with a scowl. “What do I look like? Your nanny? You can do your own mingling.”

  Gideon narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. “You know your responsibility as Guardian. Stop acting like you’re above it.”

  Slade puffed out his chest. “Watch your mouth, North. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

  Gideon folded his arms. “Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?”

  Isabel stopped planting, her brown eyes wide behind her screens.

  Rusty held up his hands to break the tension. “Look, Slade, I’m gonna go talk to people. You can come with me or stay here. It doesn’t matter.” He gave a parting salute before walking toward a group on the far side of the Conservatory.

  “You’re going with him, right?” Skye asked.

  Slade shrugged. “When I feel like it.”

  “In case you’ve forgotten, Lark is recording all of this and Lieutenant Hardcastle will be watching the footage,” Gideon said.

  Everyone turned to me. I twisted my hands. “It’s true.”

  Slade glared at Gideon. He unfolded his arms and took a step closer until they were inches apart. He jabbed his finger into Gideon’s chest. “Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?” he mimicked.

  Gideon’s face remained impassive. Slade sneered and turned to Skye. “Consider my offer. I’ll give you until after school to get back to me.” He strode off after Rusty.

  I frowned and turned to Skye. “What’s he talking about?”

  “It’s nothing.” She shifted her weight, her eyes darting to Gideon and then back to me. “Did you come to ask about the Flight Deck?”

  “Actually, I came to see what Isabel was doing,” I said.

  At the sound of her name, Isabel snapped out of a trance. She used her trowel to push the soil around the base of the plant.

  I crouched beside her as Professor Atwood droned on about medicinal herbs a few rows over.

  “Those are pretty daisies.” I fingered the petals of one of the delicate white flowers.

  Isabel smiled. “It’s Chamomile.”

  “I’ve heard of that. Didn’t it used to be used for tea?”

  She nodded. “It’s edible, and has many medicinal uses.” She gauged my reaction.

  I made a note in my journal to show I was impressed. “That’s interesting.” Why was small talk so hard for me? “Are you liking class so far?”

  She nodded. “I’ve always loved growing things. Professor Atwood says we’ll be spending a few days on herbs, and then moving to food-based crops. I have a feeling I’m going to learn a lot.”

  “That’s awesome.” I picked up a handful of the loose soil, letting the dirt sift through my fingers. While these classes were interesting, I couldn’t see what cooking or botany had to do with helping the people of Earth chan
ge for the better.

  Isabel glanced over at Skye and Gideon. I turned and noticed we’d moved out of hearing range. She looked back at me, her brown eyes serious behind her screens. She scooted closer, pretending to examine the leaves of her plant.

  “Do you think they can be trusted?”

  A chill ran up the back of my neck at her tone. “Who?”

  “The Others. Do you think they’re telling us the whole truth?”

  If what Grace had told me was true, Isabel wouldn’t know anything about Earth’s liability, but I had promised not to talk about it. “Why are you asking this?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “A feeling. My mother always said I had intuition . . . a sixth sense about things. Maybe it’s from the plants.” A corner of her mouth hinted a smile before her face grew serious again.

  I glanced at Gideon and Skye. They were still talking, but Gideon was watching me. I turned back to Isabel and patted the dirt around the plant. “Can you give me any reason—other than a feeling—that’s making you uneasy about the program?”

  She fingered a leaf on the Chamomile before meeting my eyes. “These herbs we’re learning about?”

  I nodded.

  “They’re for survival.”

  CHAPTER

  Twenty-Two

  “Lark, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  I jumped at the sound of Skye’s voice. She and Gideon stood above us. Gideon’s eyes searched mine and I knew he was curious what Isabel and I had been discussing. I stood and brushed my hands off on my tunic before giving Skye a smile. “What’s up?”

  Her eyes sparkled. “I just wanted to tell you that I talked to my superior and he gave me permission to bring you up to the Flight Deck—isn’t that great?”

  Gideon titled his head, his eyebrows furrowed as he turned to me. “I never heard anything about this.”

  I avoided his glare and grinned at Skye. “I can’t believe it! I don’t know how to thank you.”

  She smiled mischievously and pulled me aside. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have an ulterior motive,” she whispered, her eyes darting to Gideon and back to me. “Walk with me.”

  I clenched my teeth to keep jealousy from flaring, but allowed her to take my arm as we walked down the row of plants. Skye pretended to be absorbed in the work going on around us and threw out the occasional compliment to Recruits. When we were a safe distance away from anyone in hearing range, she stopped and faced me.

  “I got clearance to take you up to the Flight Deck, but I couldn’t get permission to take you flying.”

  My shoulders drooped. It had been too much to hope for. “Thanks for trying.”

  She reached over and turned off the recording button on my cuff. I gave her a sharp look as the yellow hue disappeared from my field of vision. “I’m not supposed to turn this off while on campus.” I moved to turn the button back on, but Skye stopped my hand.

  She lowered her voice, “I couldn’t get permission, but I’m willing to sneak you in a flight if you’ll do me a favor in return.”

  I folded my arms. “Even if I could do a favor for you, I promised Gideon I’d abide by the rules.”

  She shook her shiny blonde hair. “You’d be with me. I’m a Guardian, so you wouldn’t be breaking the rules. I could come get you at night when everyone was asleep. I do practice flights at night, so no one would suspect a thing.”

  I paused, hating myself for considering the offer. “I’m listening.”

  She held my gaze. “Convince Gideon to ask me to the dance, and you’ve got yourself a flight lesson.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. “I can’t do that.”

  Her glossy lips twisted into a pout. “Why not? You’re with him all the time, I’m sure you could at least put the thought in his mind.”

  I did have a thought in my mind, and it was taking all my willpower not to share it. I shook my head. “Sorry. I just don’t feel good about it.” That was an understatement. The very thought of Gideon holding Skye in his arms at the dance made me physically ill.

  She sighed. “Fine.” A smile crept to her lips. “But you’re going to change your mind after you see the airships.”

  I shrugged. “I should get back to my observations.” I hit the record button and made my way back over to Gideon. He was reading something on his cuff and glanced up when we approached.

  “Skye, what time were you wanting to bring Captain Taylor to the Flight Deck? We have a pretty full schedule.”

  “Would after school work? I think the sooner the better.” She gave me a meaningful look and I cleared my throat.

  “I’m not sure I have time.” I turned to Gideon. “Don’t I have that—thing?”

  Gideon shook his head, not taking the hint. “After school should be fine.” He gave me a smile that made my heart skip several beats. “I’m glad you got clearance. You’re going to love it.”

  I frowned, suddenly desperate to keep Gideon away from Skye. “What about Isabel? That means she’ll have to stay after too, doesn’t it?”

  Isabel stood and brushed off her hands. “I’d love to see the Flight Deck.”

  Skye nodded. “I had to get clearance for you anyway since I’m you’re Guardian.” She took hold of Gideon’s arm and I dug my fingernails into my palms. Why did she have to look like Malibu Barbie? I wished I’d never asked to see the airships. I didn’t trust Skye. All of the girls at the Academy were obviously crazy for Gideon, but Skye was different. Calculating.

  “Then it’s all set. We’ll meet you up top right after school,” she said.

  “Great.” I gave a tight smile. “I’m going to go talk with some of the other Recruits now.” I turned without another word, feeling only slightly guilty that I was leaving because I knew Gideon would follow.

  As I walked toward a group of Recruits planting seeds, I felt someone’s eyes on my back. I turned and saw Professor Atwood watching me. He looked away as soon as our eyes met. Something about his behavior made me uneasy and I thought about Isabel’s suspicions.

  “You alright?” Gideon asked.

  “Fine.” I forced a smile, shaking the thoughts from my head. I trusted Gideon completely, but the fact was, he wasn’t one of us. He was one of them.

  He held my gaze a moment longer. “Okay.”

  I turned and watched the Recruits as they planted seeds. It all seemed perfectly harmless. Isabel was just being paranoid. Weren’t all plants used for survival?

  I glanced over my shoulder at Professor Atwood, but he was busy helping a Recruit on the far side of the field. I turned back around, chiding myself.

  Who was being paranoid now?

  >

  Rusty dusted his hands off as we made our way to the Commons. “That was fun. Nothing like playing in the dirt before lunchtime.”

  I laughed. “Leave it to you to look on the bright side. I bet you made some new friends, too.”

  As if in answer to my question, a group of Recruits from this morning’s cooking class called out to him as soon as we entered the Commons. Rusty waved back and turned to me with a small shrug. “I can’t help it. People are drawn to my charm.” He winked.

  Gideon snorted and headed for the food line. Slade stalked off without saying a word. When I looked back at Rusty, his face had grown thoughtful.

  “Everyone except you, that is.”

  I smirked. “Uh oh—am I not doing a good job of feeding your over-inflated ego?”

  “I’m serious, Lark.” His smile faded and he took my hand. “You know I have feelings for you, right?”

  I pulled my hand back, checking to see if he was teasing again. His expression told me he wasn’t.

  I folded my arms across my chest. “Rusty, I like you as a friend, but any more than that—” I shook my head. “I just met you yesterday.”

  “Actually we met years ago, remember?” His hazel eyes searched mine. “We have a connection. I know you feel it too.”

  I g
lanced around and then gave him a weak smile. “I’m flattered, and joking aside—I think you’re pretty incredible. But maybe this isn’t the best time to talk about this.” A blush crept up my neck when I realized I was still recording. I thought about turning it off, not wanting to record something this personal, but decided against it. Hopefully I could change the subject.

  “Which food line looks best to—?”

  “Will you go to the dance with me?”

  I blinked. “Wh-what?”

  One corner of his mouth lifted as he took a step closer. “You heard me. Will you?”

  I glanced to the food line where Gideon was watching us while pretending not to. I looked back at Rusty. His hazel eyes were so hopeful. I didn’t want to hurt him. Besides, what was I hoping for? To go with Gideon? That definitely wasn’t happening, but I couldn’t shake the desire.

  “Um . . . give me a little while to think about it?”

  “Why? Are you hoping for a better offer?” He glanced to where Gideon stood in line; the implication clear.

  “Yeah.” I smirked, my pulse picking up. “I’m really hoping the kid with severe allergies from Cooking will ask me.”

  He laughed.

  I shifted my weight, chewing my bottom lip. I needed to do a better job of hiding my attraction for Gideon. And I liked Rusty. He would be a fun date. I needed to distract him and any other Recruits from suspecting something between Gideon and me.

  I smiled at Rusty. “Okay—my answer is yes.”

  “Really?”

  I nodded.

  Rusty let out a whoop, drawing the attention of the entire Commons. He grinned and cupped his hands over his mouth. “Listen up, Recruits—I’ve got me a date to the dance!”

  I blushed as the room erupted in cheers and catcalls. I glanced at Gideon. When our eyes met he looked away, his face a mask. I watched him take his food to the table where Cypris and Nadia were sitting.

  “That’s right, boys! Captain Taylor is spoken for, so better luck next time,” Rusty continued.

  I cringed and took his arm. “Alright. Let’s take it down a notch.”

  “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” He gave me a charming sideways smile.