by Caryn Lix
Mia shook her head. “I’m not blaming you, Cage. It’s not about that. I just … I was never much of a people person. Maybe I’ve been around others too long. I need to be by myself, at least for a while.”
Cage examined her for a long moment and then did what I would never have dared, releasing my hand and stepping forward to hug Mia. She stiffened for a moment but then, although she didn’t actually hug him back, she relaxed, going so far as to tip her head onto his shoulder. “We love you,” he told her quietly. “Stay in touch, okay?”
“I will.” She bent and shouldered her backpack, flashing me a quick smile. “And you stay away from Omnistellar.”
“No worries there,” I said, glaring at the opulent building in front of me. I still hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do, but if it spit in Omnistellar’s face, I would probably be on board.
“Sorry about everything, Kenzie. Take care of yourself.” Mia nodded at the others. “Say good-bye for me.”
“We will.”
As she strode into the distance, Hallam, Cage, and I sank onto the grass. I ran my fingers through it. Grass, real grass, even if it was carefully engineered to look perfect. And it was alive because of us. Because of Rune. “Rune,” I said out loud, softly.
“Rune,” Cage agreed, laying his hand over mine.
Something popped to my right, and I pivoted to find Hallam lazily hefting a can of beer. “To Rune,” he declared. “She saved us all. May she rest in peace with a thousand smoldering alien corpses at her dainty feet.”
“Where the hell did you get that?”
Hallam took a long sip and grinned. “I have my secrets.” His face grew serious. “Your sister was something special, Cage. I hope you know that.”
“I always knew. I just don’t think I ever really appreciated it.” Cage stretched out in the grass and reached up for me. I took his hand and curled against him, blinking into the midday sun. We were actually, finally free, free of Omnistellar and aliens and monsters. Prisoners only to these chips in our arms and our own guilt. And as for those, well …
I rolled my head to scrutinize Hallam. “They chipped you, too?”
He seemed unconcerned. “Uh-huh.”
“And that can limit your … cybernetics?” Was that the right term? I didn’t think “robot parts” would go over well.
“Nah, they can’t do anything about that without killing us. But we were all anomalies to start with. The doc said you have to be, for the enhancements to take. And so …” He gestured lazily. “The chips.”
“And I’m guessing you have a way to get rid of the chips without alerting Omnistellar?”
He took a long drag of his beer and belched before answering. “Sure. You want in?”
I smiled at Cage. “What do you think? A pit stop before we head to Taipei?”
Cage flexed the muscles under his shirt and gave me his new, slightly sad smile. “Why not? After, well … who knows?” He hesitated. “I’ve been thinking. What Rune did … I don’t want her to be forgotten. And I don’t want Omnistellar’s version of her to live on as a hero, either.”
I made a face. I’d already seen the vids celebrating Lin Hu, the Omnistellar heroine who’d saved us all on the corporation’s behalf. Trace had made sure she wouldn’t be forgotten, all right. I’d spent an hour in angry tears after seeing the first vid. Cage had destroyed his hotel room in a fit of rage that almost got him thrown right back in prison. “No,” I said quietly. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’m not sure yet. I mean … there are still lots of anomalies in prison. Sanctuary might have been destroyed, but I’m sure they’ve started something new. We might have turned the tide of public opinion in our favor for a while, but Omnistellar is already working the narrative, strengthening their position, consolidating power.”
I considered that. “Rune …” I choked on her name. Cage looked away for a moment, blinking rapidly. Drawing a deep breath, I focused on the sound of Hallam loudly slurping beer beside me. Hard to grieve with a noise like that. “Rune would want them to be free. That’s all she ever wanted, I think. For everyone to be free. To live their lives. To know warmth and happiness and love.”
“Maybe we can find a way to make that happen.” Cage pulled me back to him and gave me a weak smile, his sister’s ghost reflected in his gaze. “Who knows?”
I curled against him and let the warmth surround me. Who knew, indeed? But somehow, after everything that had happened, I didn’t think I’d be content to lie back and enjoy the warmth for long. I was choosing to stay down this time, at least for a while. But there wasn’t a chance in hell that I wouldn’t get back up again.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A FEW YEARS AGO I sat down and wrote the acknowledgments for Sanctuary. I thanked literally everyone I could think of, mainly because I had no idea if I would ever get to write one of these again. Now I’m writing my third set of acknowledgments, but the list of people to thank hasn’t gotten any smaller. If anything, it’s grown.
Thanks goes first and always to my family: my mother, Audrey; my father, Lanny; my brother, Chris; my sister, Kim; and my nephew, Emmett, who is not old enough to read this book but is old enough to enjoy seeing his name in print. My wonderful family by marriage—Erin, Liz, and Brian—have supported me every step of the way. My husband, Dan, moved across the world with me and then spent half of his time in another country supporting me while I wrote this book, which would not exist without him.
Books don’t exist without readers, and I am truly, profoundly grateful to the readers who have loved Sanctuary, including readers and groups like the To Be Read and Beyond Facebook group, and especially my amazing students (and former students) at the Canadian International School in Tokyo and at St. Patrick’s Fine Arts in Lethbridge. Every time I see you at one of my events, every time you send me a message or tell me you loved my book, it just melts my heart a bit more. Soon it will be a puddle of goo, and it will be your fault. Keep at it.
I’m blessed with the most supportive friends and family. Timanda Wertz, Nathan Gilchrist, Sarah Taylor, John Harland … all of you who supported me—thank you. The staff at CIS and SPFA—thank you. Honestly, I couldn’t do this without you.
Books aren’t created in a vacuum, and this book wouldn’t exist (or at least wouldn’t be very good) without the help of my tremendous agent, Caitie Flum; Liza Dawson; Mackenzie Croft; my incomparable editor, Sarah McCabe; and the amazing designer, Sarah Creech, and cover artist, Jacey.
This is the end of Kenzie’s journey. Thank you all for coming on it with me. Thank you for reading. Thank you for imagining. I will miss these characters, these stories, but I know there are always more to come, and I hope you’ll be there with me for that journey as well.
More from this Series
Containment
Sanctuary
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author photograph by Tanya Plonka
CARYN LIX is a sixthgrade teacher with a master’s degree in English literature, specializing in children’s literature and fantasy. She and her husband are proud Canadian nerds and live with their annoying (but lovable) dogs.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Caryn-Lix
Simon Pulse
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CarynLix.com
Also by Caryn Lix
Sanctuary
Containment
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or rea
l places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition July 2020
Text copyright © 2020 by Caryn Swark
Front cover art copyright © 2020 by Jacey
Jacket art on spine, back cover, and flaps copyright © 2020 by Thinkstock
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Jacket designed by Sarah Creech | Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lix, Caryn, author.
Title: Salvation / Caryn Lix.
Description: First Simon Pulse hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2020. | Series: A Sanctuary novel; [3] | Summary: “Trapped on a strange planet, Kenzie and her friends must figure out how to end the alien threat and then find their way home”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019037484 (print) | LCCN 2019037485 (eBook) |
ISBN 9781534456433 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534456457 (eBook)
Subjects: CYAC: Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Extraterrestrial beings—Fiction. | Supervillains—Fiction. | Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.L5853 Sal 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.L5853 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019037484
LC eBook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019037485
