by Chad Queen
An explosion sounded outside, and he turned to the screen, trying to peer through the billowing cloud of smoke. The door of the ship opened, much to his surprise. This is it, he thought. It’s over.
Elon rolled into view, followed closely behind by Ashlyn, who was coughing. The door shut behind them. Jace could no longer hear the Skex beating upon the hull of the ship.
“How in the…?”
Ashlyn collapsed onto the chair next to Jace. She looked shaken. Her eyes were wide and distant. Neither she nor Elon spoke. Jace looked at the main screen before him that flickered to life. Near the ship, he could see Carlon and his men. “I see you had an escort,” he said. But the Skex continued to come, undeterred by the pyrotechnics of Carlon’s fighters.
Wraith energy cannon charge detected. Activating primary launch thruster, Eos’s voice sounded within the ship.
“Wait, what? We can’t leave. We don’t have enough power. You said so yourself!”
If we don’t leave, we will be disintegrated, replied Eos.
“Yes, but that doesn’t solve our power issue. Unless you have a lightning bolt or two you can send our way.”
We don’t have enough power to exit the atmosphere, but we can remove ourselves as a target for the time being, said Eos. Jace didn’t even know why he bothered talking with it. The engine was already spooling up, and he could feel the vessel’s hull creak and groan as it freed itself from its long slumber.
“What about those small ships we saw earlier? Are those yours?” asked Jace.
They are Wraith drone ships, Eos answered.
“Wraith ships? What can we do about them? They will shoot us right out of the sky!”
Cade will take care of it, replied Eos.
50
Recharge
I’m overloading my power core to assist you, said Eos. Before Cade could question this further, the blade began to shimmer and glow white-hot. He formed an encoding to diamond so he could keep it from burning him. It hummed softly in his hands.
Time to move, Eos. He twisted the blade, shattering the bolts of crystals that had formed around them. He rolled, dodging another ball of fire, and jumped to meet the ship head-on as it flew by him. He wielded the crystal blade in front of him and sheared the ship cleanly in half, laid to waste by the humming blade. Each half skidded and crashed into the building behind him, sending equal parts bricks and fire raining across the street.
I see, Cade thought.
Ninety-five percent power remaining. Eos’s voice cut through the chaos around him. The point was taken; he would have to move quickly.
He pushed forward, dodging pulse rifle fire as if the motion had been choreographed. Whatever he saw, he knew. A group of Skex charged him, and he sidestepped their blows, cutting effortlessly through them. Their bodies, still steaming, slid to the ground. He did not try to maintain a safe perimeter around himself. He didn’t have to. He knew where every strike would land and played their own attacks off each other.
Sixty-four percent power remaining.
Encoding to Eos, he felt invincible. For the first time since before the Wraiths came, he was not afraid. His fear was what had pushed him into the service and drove him to protect those around him.
Is this how the Wraiths feel? he thought. Are we just bugs to them, no greater than a Skex?
Do they fear us? He knew the answer.
Eos’s power level was dropping rapidly. Another metal object came hurtling above him, firing off a volley of charged blasts. He encoded to the object, and his body lurched forward, the force of which would have snapped him in half had he not been encoding tungsten.
He hurtled through the sky, and his mind felt clear. He knew what he had to do and how to do it. He struck hard against the small ship, which was no bigger than a railbus car. The vessel dipped low as he stuck to the side. The buildings. The ship skimmed the top of the bank, dragging him across the roof, trying to scrape him off. Sparks ricocheted off him as his metal-encoded body started to grow hotter and hotter. He loosened his hand and slid to the rear of the ship, allowing him to grip the rim of what looked to be the engine. The opening glowed with bright yellow light.
He raised Eos in his other hand and severed the engine, sending the ship careening toward the ground. He looked at the fast-approaching ground and could make out Carlon’s team fighting the Skex. Hells.
Cade repositioned himself to the sleek, pointed nose cone of the craft and gripped the sides. He felt his feet contact the ground, and he encoded to it, locking himself in place while his hands continued to grip the ship. The metal of the ship groaned and buckled, the abrupt force crumpling it like a tin can.
Fifteen percent power remaining.
He turned to see the astonished faces of Carlon and his team.
“Hell of a way to make an entrance, Elegy,” the large man said.
“Where’s the ship?” asked Cade.
Carlon pointed skyward.
Cade could feel Eos’s power waning, the vibration of the shard diminishing by the second. His hair once again began to stand on end. “Get your men back, now!” Cade yelled as a massive energy beam cut into the opening at the top of the Nexus, sending the opened bay doors crashing down to the ground around them.
Cade dodged a piece of debris and took off for the small starship. He rocketed through the sky, using an encoding to the ship to propel him through the clouds.
Cade managed to grab hold near the rear of the ship, crashing against the superheated metal. The panel, Eos’s voice instructed.
Connection lost, a monotone voice informed him.
I must be too far from the chipcoins, he thought.
The panel, Eos instructed. He glanced at Eos and saw the light of the makeshift sword was weak. He felt his gut lurch, and his gaze snapped to the ground below. The ship, which had been thrusting toward space only moments before, began to fall.
Cade tore off the panel Eos had indicated. At least he hoped it was the right panel. The interior of the opened compartment contained clusters of black, segmented cells inside, separated by silver bars.
He stared at the components. Eos said he needed to charge the ship. The ship continued to fall, the wind rushing past him, threatening to pull him free. Even though he was trying not to, he looked down. Cade felt the knot in his stomach tighten. He fought the urge to throw up. Focus, dammit, he told himself.
He grabbed one of the vertical bars between the cells and pulled on it. It did not budge. Cade closed his eyes and reached into the Firmere, scrambling for anything that could help him. Nothing in the barren expanse made itself known to him. The ship continued is rapid descent to the city.
One percent power remaining.
Eos, I can’t reach the chipcoins. They are too far away. Cade felt the power from Eos give out and a wave of force radiated from the shard, like the ripples from a rock thrown into an ethereal pond.
The world became dull as he felt Eos’s power drain from him. Even with the roar of the wind and sensation of flying through the sky, everything felt…dim, drained of life. The pain in his head returned, threatening to split and fracture as the phantoms gnawed at the periphery of his mind. He managed to stay in control, hands steady.
He held on, frantic and searching, until he noticed a faint mote of light in the Firmere come into view and become larger as the ship fell. A coin, somewhere on the ground below. Eos had managed to amplify the connection range with the last of her power. The orange light became clearer, and he grasped it within the Firmere and held it tight.
Connection established.
The familiar rush of power surged through him as the network of coins linked together under his command. He opened his eyes and could see the energy of the coins being absorbed by the bar he held within his hand. He grabbed another bar and encoded to them. Electrical energy arced through him, flowing into the cells of the ship.
The repulsion of the powerful electric force threatened to throw him from the ship, but he held, reaching for the al
l the chipcoins Ashlyn had placed for him to the bank’s vault. Almost as fast as he could grab more connections, others left, reduced to slag from overload.
Every muscle in his body contracted as the energy filled the power cell. The phantoms within him grew quiet, their voices hardly a whisper now. Just a bit longer…
51
Intruder
“Eos, talk to me!” Jace sat at the control panel, feeling helpless. Eos had been able to assume remote access earlier but had fallen silent. And now they just sat there while the ship fell from the sky. None of the systems were responding. Only a few lights remained, red ones, which blinked menacingly at them.
“I wish Cade were here,” he said, fighting the instinct to panic. Even though he knew it would not do him much good, he stayed strapped into his seat.
Ashlyn, who hadn’t said a word the entire time, spoke. “He is here. I…I can feel him.”
Jace bit his tongue. He did not press her. Poor girl, he thought. Unless Cade had sprouted wings, there was no way he was on the ship.
The city came into full view on the screen in front of them. It was getting larger, fast. Only seconds now. Were they foolish to think this would work? Who were they to challenge gods that could travel the stars as easily as one would take a carriage to town? At least I’ll die knowing I tried, he thought. He glanced over at Elon, who held her sister’s hand, eyes closed.
Jace kept his eyes open as the ground rose to meet them. “C’mon, Exilia, you can do it, girl.”
Auxiliary power charge nominal, a voice said as the ship’s systems sprang to life. Lights rippled on throughout the ship, different screens reporting status and beeping information.
The ship lurched and rocketed skyward, pinning him down. Jace gripped his seat, eyes wide with alarm. His stomach felt like it was in his feet, but he was too scared to be sick. The sky flew past them: first the clouds, then the atmosphere, and finally the blackness of space enveloped them. Almost as abruptly as it occurred, the force pinning him abated.
Gravity force normalization complete. All systems check. Estimated arrival to target in twenty minutes, Eos informed them.
Jace looked out the window in awe at the planet that lay below them. He glanced at Ashlyn and Elon, who were buckled into the seats next to him. They seemed not to notice they were the first Chalicians in space. Whatever had happened at the bank had taken its toll.
A red light flashed on the panels in the bridge. Threat detected. Foreign entity attempting access.
Jace turned back to the screen in front of him. “A what?”
Entity identified. Male human. Clothing indicates Wraith Acolyte. Attempting entry through service entrance five.
“Well, don’t let it him in!”
Intruder has forced open entrance five.
“Don’t we have weapons on this thing? Shoot him!”
This is a waste disposal vessel. It has no active weaponry, said Eos.
Jace buried his face in his palm. “Perfect. I finally get a starship, and it’s a flying garbage can.”
Elon cut in. “Can we lock him into a room?”
I am trying. He is a Bearer, stronger than a normal one. He is forcing open the secured doors.
Jace had expected Skex, but he would have never imagined they’d have to contend with Acolytes. “Eos, where is…”
Intruder forced entry to main concourse. Estimated arrival to bridge in one minute. Preparation for combat recommended.
Jace turned to Ashlyn, her expression calm. She placed her hands on her knees, stood, and lifted her head up high. “Let him come.” Elon, solemn, nodded and pivoted her wheelchair toward the door.
The door shuddered as something slammed into it with tremendous force. The intruder forced his hands though the crack between the doors. He pried them open as if they were nothing more than sheets of paper. Jace could hear the mechanics behind the door whir and grind in protest before falling silent.
The intruder stood, surveying them. Ashlyn gasped when she saw the man and took a step back.
52
Freedom
Cade still felt light-headed as he sprinted through the main concourse of the ship, but it was no time to rest. He saw a tall man in the doorway in front of him. He wasn’t too late.
The man who had killed his brother stood before him.
“Your fight is with me, Acolyte.”
The man turned around, glaring at him. His eyes were wild and hungry. He wore a twisted smile, the same one Cade had seen at the Taction. His movement seemed unnaturally controlled and calculated. Cade could tell this Acolyte was different from the others he had faced in the Thread. Where the eyes of the Acolytes at the Thread were blank and distant, this man’s eyes were present and filled with blind rage. Meeting Cade’s gaze, his eyes glimmered.
“For my brother.” Cade leveled Justice at the man and pulled the trigger.
The dummy shell missed as the man dodged by, encoding to the side of the wall. Cade cursed, wishing he had his imprinted caster shells.
The Acolyte moved fast, faster than he should have been able to. He encoded his fist and swung it at Cade’s head. Cade managed to deflect the blow before it contacted but dropped his caster.
“I can help you,” he told the Acolyte.
The man ignored him and followed through with another punch. Cade ducked underneath it and rolled to the side. Again, the man moved with unexpected speed, not allowing Cade a moment’s respite. The man raised his fist and to Cade’s surprise stopped.
“Lies. No one can help me.”
“I can. And you can help us. We can get back at them. You can get your revenge; pay them back for what they did to you.”
The man stood silent for a moment. He shook his head. “I do not want revenge.”
Before Cade could react, the man grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. “They were wrong about you, Protector. You are not strong. You are like the rest.” The man held him there for a moment, and Cade could hear the man’s teeth grinding back and forth as Cade’s legs struggled to find purchase.
The Acolyte seethed as his face twisted into a sneer, the perverse glee having faded away. “Why are you not strong?”
Elon tried to pick up Cade’s caster but was no match for the battle-tempered skills of the Acolyte. Even with his focus on Cade, the man batted Elon away as if she were nothing more than a small child. Good as the Acolyte was, however, he didn’t see Ashlyn attacking from the other side. Ashlyn’s blow landed true, and she brushed up next to Cade and managed to break the man’s grip. The man, angrier now, swatted her across the room.
Cade felt a weight in his pocket he hadn’t noticed before. He cast his eyes downward and noticed the largest diamond he’d ever seen within it. Clever.
The man recovered and lifted Cade back off the ground. Cade’s vision began to blur. His phantoms were weak; he’d have only one shot. The lights of the ship reflected off the Acolyte’s hands. The man, in his zeal, had overencoded his hands into solid metal.
Cade didn’t waste another moment. He grabbed the Acolyte’s neck with both hands, strangling him, and encoded as hard as he could with the diamond in his pocket. The Acolyte encoded tungsten to counteract the move. Cade had, however, overencoded his own hands with diamond, forcing the Acolyte to counter in kind. The Acolyte’s arms dropped to his sides, limp, and he collapsed to the floor.
Cade fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. He sat up and looked over at the fallen Acolyte. The man’s head was a statue of tungsten, the expression fixed forever upon his face. The expression was not one of anger or hatred, as he would have expected. Instead the man’s expression was calm, his eyes soft, and Cade could swear there was the hint of a smile upon his lips.
53
Hope
Once you’ve heard someone’s Song, it is difficult not to love them.
—From The Book of the Traveler
Cade looked down at his hands. They were now solid diamond and useless. The others s
tayed silent, too shocked to speak.
He moved his arms up and down. It felt strange to him, because he could still feel his hands. Coda masters he had trained with taught him about this. Once overencoded, a limb would feel as if it was still there, like a ghost. The sensation, he was told, never quite went away.
But the Acolyte…he could do it at will, he thought.
He tried opening and closing one of them, but it felt like it was trapped in hardened cement. He turned his hands over, trying to see if anything had changed. He looked at them, thoughtful.
Ashlyn walked up to him, expression somber, and rested an arm on his shoulder. “Cade…”
Eos broke the silence. Based on my telemetry, the Wraith cannon will be charged in another five minutes. Once they detect our presence, we are the next likely target. We will need to strike first.
“All right, to the loading bay,” urged Jace.
Cade, who had been staring at his hands, turned his gaze to the fallen Acolyte. “Please give me a moment.”
Jace looked at him, brow furrowed.
Cade faced the Acolyte. “Song that lingers unfinished…”
“No, no, no. Cade, he was a madman, he doesn’t deserve—”
“The one whose Sigh has escaped to the stars,” Cade continued. He could already feel the energy of the phantom gather around him as he spoke the words.
Jace just shook his head.
“Allow me to sing your final verse.” Cade looked up at Jace. “I will be the hope for those who have none,” he said, remembering his promise. “Let’s get to the bay.”
Jace cursed. “What do you mean we have no way to fire it?” he said, shaking his head.
This ship is not equipped to launch ordnance of any kind, it is…
