Strange Skies (14 page)

I shook my head. “Or it means that Sonya might not be as on board with us as we thought.”

Alec cleared his throat. “Sonya seems rather fond of James. I bet that’s what she was going to tell him. Maybe he can get the location out of her …”

I didn’t want James getting anything out of her. “Maybe Reed could find out, like, spy for us?” The moment the words left my mouth, I felt guilty. Reed shouldn’t endanger herself just because I couldn’t stand Sonya.

“Reed seems really nice,” said Markus. “Is it possible that she and I … you know?”

“No way,” Alec said. “She’s too sweet for you.”

“Thanks a lot.”

I turned to James. “Part of why I can’t figure out where the guns are is that Kale’s actions aren’t making sense to me. Why would he save my dad?”

James scratched the stubble on his chin. “Kale’s so power hungry now. It doesn’t make sense that he found out the leader of the Resistance was alive and took heroic efforts to rescue him. He likes being the leader too much.”

Alec looked up at the darkening sky and threw some logs into the fire pit. His face had softened, maybe into resignation, and he looked thoughtful. “Your dad must have something that Kale needs. It’s not the guns, so what else could he have that Kale wants?”

The truth slammed into me like a ton of meat monster. “The formulas.”

James’ eyes widened. Markus frowned and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“That’s it,” James said. “The equations to rekey the weapons. Then Kale and all his soldiers can fire them.” He looked at me. “Don’t worry. Your dad would never give those up to Kale.”

I gulped and looked down at the ground. “Maybe not, but he gave them to the Consulate.”

Chapter
THIRTEEN

A
LL EYES WERE ON ME
. A
BRISK WIND KICKED UP AS THE SUN
lost its grasp of the horizon and a deep gray settled over us. Alec lit the fire and tossed a handful of twigs on top for good measure. He glanced at me like he wanted to say something but bit his lip instead. Markus just gaped at me.

I didn’t want them to judge Dad, because I would have done the same exact thing if the situation was reversed, and I thought the Consulate was hurting him. “When I saw Dad, he told me he gave the equations to the Consulate officials back in the containment center when he thought they were torturing me. He didn’t give them all the formulas, but he gave them enough to eventually figure out the rest.”

“Well, that’s a crap load of hell right there.”

I sighed. “Always helpful, Markus. Thanks.”

James stood by the fire and snapped a twig in his hands.
“We have to find those guns fast … and get your dad away from Kale as quickly as possible.”

“I agree, but he’s still so weak.”

James came and sat by my side. “I know, but I’ll give him stronger meds next time and then I’ll find out where the guns are.”

“Speaking of guns and burners,” I said. “What exactly did Kale say about the Consulate, anyway?”

Alec looked grim in the firelight. “Kale spoke of ‘imminent danger’ and said a Consulate attack is coming any day now. It’s hard to know what’s real and what he’s saying just to get people to do what he wants.”

Markus studied the flames. “Fear is a hell of a motivator. It sounded real though.”

James nodded. “I agree. Which means he’ll likely put pressure on your dad about the gun formulas.… That’s why Kale wants me to get him better so quickly. He told me he wanted your dad ‘fixed’ by the time he comes back.”

Alec watched me across the fire. “Kale said he’s leaving at first light break tomorrow. He’s bringing a few recruits from a nearby moon but will be back by the second light break.”

I frowned, not understanding what Alec meant by “tomorrow” until I remembered the grooves that marked days on the timekeeping device at the bar.

James spoke slowly. “That gives us about eight hours to locate the guns, get your dad, and get out of here.”

My heart leapt in my throat, but I had to play it cool.
I stared directly ahead and watched the flames lick the edges of the twigs. “Does that mean we have a plan?”

James spoke in a low voice. “Of course.” He turned to Markus and Alec. “Gentlemen?”

Markus twirled a larger twig back and forth between his fingers. “Sure, but can some of the other people we bring along be of the female variety? It’d be a shame to leave all the good ones here.”

I scoffed. “I bet you can’t even name a single girl who has had the pleasure of your company these past few months.”

Markus shot me a wounded look over the flames. “I’m offended. Of course I can, there was a Sara in there somewhere I think, and … a Becca, definitely a Becca. Come to think of it, they might have both been there together.”

Alec’s face darkened. “I’d treat a woman so much better than that. She’d be the only name I remembered.”

“That’s touching,” said Markus, tossing the twig on the ground. “But sometimes it’s nice to have something other than a little fire to keep you warm at night.”

A meat monster howled in the darkness and Alec leapt to his feet. “I’ll go hunt. I’m hungry.”

“Want help?” Markus asked. He didn’t look like he had any intention of getting up.

Alec pulled out his gun and powered it up. “No, I’m
bueno
. Need some alone time.”

“Suit yourself,” said Markus as he stretched his legs out in front of the fire.

James had shifted closer to me and, without thinking, I moved my body several inches toward his.

I thought about everything we had to accomplish in the next few light breaks. And people I wanted to bring with us, like Reed. James would know who else would be good to have as allies, and Markus had a whole curvy guest list in mind. “Your ship isn’t that big, Markus. How will we fit everyone?” I asked.

“Hey,” Markus protested. “Watch how you talk about a man’s ship. It’s not the size that matters, it’s how well it holds up under pressure.”

“Max has his own ship,” James interjected. “He’d come with us. I’m sure of it.”

I watched James. “Have you thought about this before?”

“Yeah, when Kale returned with your dad, I started planning how to keep you both safe.”

Luckily it had grown dark enough to hide the blush I felt rising up my cheeks.

The carcass of the animal lay stripped of meat, and I licked my lips. Hopefully, the next planet would have meat monsters too, because I was getting used to this.

Markus belched and yawned. “Time for some shut-eye. We only have two light breaks before Kale leaves and I need me some rest.”

“Good idea,” said Alec. “I think probably we all could use some sleep.”

“James!” a voice whispered from the woods. “James!”

Sonya emerged from the trees, her hair wild and eyes bright. Markus stopped mid-step and stared at her as though entranced. She glared at me and looked back at James. “I looked for you in your hut, but should have known you’d be here again. I have something important to tell you.”

Part of me was disappointed that I’d been wrong about her. It was easier to dislike someone who was dishonest. But maybe I was about to find out where Dad’s weapons were. The thought made me ecstatic.

A sharp cracking sound in the brush right behind us made me jump to my feet.
What if she brought Kale here with her?
I whipped out my gun and aimed into the darkness.

James threw his arm across me and pushed my raised weapon down. I had a sudden flashback of him taking my weapon.
Not once, but twice
. My gut twisted in fear. I snatched my gun out of his reach and backed away.

“Don’t shoot. It’s just me. Sorry to scare you.” Max walked out of the trees toward the fire pit.

“What the—” I said. “Why the hell is everybody sneaking up on us?”

Max smiled. “James asked me to come. Guess he hasn’t told you yet?”

I frowned and looked at James. He wasn’t smiling. He looked like he’d just been kicked in the stomach. He stared at the ground. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

“Nonsense,” said Max. “I’ve got the ship ready and everything. You and Tora are scheduled for departure in
five minutes.” He watched Lucy chew on a gigantic bone. “Hey, did you guys save any dinner?”

Markus tossed him a rib the size of my forearm. “It’s all we got left. Sorry.”

“Departure for where?” Sonya demanded. “What’s going on?”

Alec took a step closer and his hand inched toward his gun. “I don’t remember anything in the plan about taking Tora away.”

The old familiar fear gripped hold of my gut, and the hand holding my gun started to shake. “Yeah, what the hell is going on, James?”

He ran his hand through his sandy hair. “I wanted to surprise you with something … something good. But I see you’re scared. You still don’t trust me.” He reached for my hand and held it between his.

I tried to ignore the electric jolt that I felt at his touch. “It’s not like surprises have been a good thing in my life so far. You of all people should know that.”

Sonya stared at my hands in James’, her eyes narrowed. I couldn’t read the exact emotions on her face but none of them were happy. “Wait, what did you want to tell us? Is it about my dad’s guns?” I asked.

Her eyes remained fixed on our interlocked hands. “Nothing as important as whatever you two are doing tonight, I guess. It can wait until our scheduled meeting. Sorry, I shouldn’t have come.” I could have sworn she had tears in her eyes as she headed back into the woods.

“Sonya, wait—” James started, but she fled into the dark without turning back.

“We should go after her,” I said, “and make her tell us.” We were so close to finding out the location of the guns.

“We won’t find her if she doesn’t want to be found,” James said. “Let her cool down and I’m sure she’ll come through when I meet with her.”

“Okay, not that I don’t appreciate good drama, but I’m freakin’ exhausted.” Markus saluted us. “Whatever you’re up to, be back on time. Night, kids.” He ducked into his hut and Lucy trotted in after him with the huge bone tucked between her teeth.

“No way,” Markus yelled from inside. “I don’t have many rules, but no bones in the hut is one of them.” The bone came hurtling back out. Remarkably, Lucy didn’t come chasing after it. She’d curled up with Markus instead. Guess I’d been wrong about her having the best sense of all of us.

I turned back to the others. Alec’s eyes gleamed in the firelight. He didn’t look happy. He didn’t strike me as a guy that liked surprises much, but I could relate. All the surprises that had happened in my life so far had sucked big-time. Still, I was curious.

“I’m not sure about this,” I admitted. “Maybe it’s not the best time for a surprise.”

Max walked in between James and me and grabbed hold of our arms. “You’ll have to work this out on the ship. No time to spare. It’s cutting it close as it is.” He pulled
us toward the woods and turned back to Alec. “They’ll be safe and sound, and back in two hours. No worries, man.”

James was silent as we walked.

“How far is your ship?” I asked Max.

“Not far at all. Just up ahead behind some brush.” He jerked his thumb toward James. “You wouldn’t believe the trouble this guy went through for you. It had to be at night to avoid Consulate flyovers, had to be in the right window of time, had to be—”

“Okay, Max, I got this.” James reached for my hand. I let him take it despite the doubt still gnawing inside me. Trust wasn’t a commodity I was used to trading in. I’d been positive I could trust James several times and he’d let me down—hard.

We walked in silence until we reached Max’s ship. Max bowed at the hatch door. “My lady,” he said and waved me inside. I hadn’t known Max long, but I liked him. I was all too aware of my well-worn T-shirt and the tendrils of frizzed hair that had escaped my braid, and knew the chances were slim that I’d ever be called “my lady” again.

I smiled. “Should I take my usual seat?”

He grinned. “Absolutely.” Max settled into the pilot’s seat and picked up a headset. “Settle back and enjoy the short ride. I’ll have this earpiece on so I won’t hear any, uh, conversing back there. Ready for takeoff, James?”

James strapped himself in and gave Max a thumbs-up sign. The ship rose into the air. I watched out the dashboard window as we hovered a moment, then sped off toward
the dark horizon. Max put on his headset and started moving his head to an unheard rhythm.

I turned to James. “Can you tell me where we’re going yet?”

“No, you’ll see soon enough.” He undid his seat restraint and knelt on the floor at my side. “Look, Tora, I owe you so many apologies that I don’t even know where to start. It’s just … the look on your face back there … like you thought I was going to hurt you. I’m not sure that’s something I can ever undo.”

I gulped. He could be right. “You can try, though. I’ve heard your explanation but it doesn’t take away the fact that you betrayed me … multiple times.” I thought of the time he’d taken my gun away, then pointed his own at my head. “I just don’t understand what you were thinking.”

James grasped my hand in his. “I’m sorry. I was cocky. Too cocky. I thought I could manage everything on my own.” His eyes searched mine. “I thought I was such a great shot that it would be no problem to shoot you, because I knew you’d live. Except then I didn’t. The moment I shot you, I was gripped with crazy worry that I’d actually killed you.” His voice broke. “When the Consulate soldiers started shooting at me, I knew I deserved it.”

My heart battled with my head as a tear slid out of the corner of my eye.
Dammit
. “But you lived. And I lived,
and
you found out who killed your family, so was it worth it?”

“God, no. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” He pressed my hand to his cheek. “You know how I told you
about the time Markus first showed me your picture and I couldn’t shoot at you when you came out of your bunker that day?”

I nodded. Tons of lasers had come my way, yet James had insisted that he shot everywhere but at me.

James sighed. “There was this sadness in your face in that picture. I recognized the same thing in myself. Then, after I got to know you, I had these feelings for you that I tried to push away. I was so torn between what I felt for you and what I thought I needed to do to avenge my family. The only thing I want now is your forgiveness, but I know I don’t deserve it.”