The Pearl Wars (24 page)

I feel the silver key press against my chest beneath my torn shirt.

“Join me, boys,” she continues, “and we’ll unlock it together. We’ll see this country flourish. We’ll take care of our people down here, every one of them, and we will be a family. You’ve always wanted a family, haven’t you Jesse?”

I watch Skandar and Eva kick at the soldiers holding them captive, then glance down at Avery, still unconscious on the ground. Some family.

I shake my head. “People in Fringe Towns, you’ve forgotten them. You’re trying to start a war with Skyshippers. That’s not family.”

Her expression hardens. “Cassius?”

He glances off to the side. “I don’t know … ”

She sighs, pivoting to face the two closest soldiers. “Very well. We’ll start with your friends, Jesse.” She nods to her men. The soldiers’ hands move to Eva and Skandars’ necks, closing in and gripping tightly. Their expressions strain as th
e soldiers choke them. Their arms are secured tightly behind their backs. There’s no way they can break free.

I rush forward. “No, wait!”

Madame raises a hand. The soldiers’ grip weakens. “Second thoughts, Mr. Fisher?”

“Don’t hurt them,” I say. “Please.”

She smiles. “Then you’d better do as I ask.”

“Let them go.”

“Not until you are escorted safely onto my shuttle.”

I mentally curse myself, wishing I had a Pearl in my hand. Or something … something to distract her.

I take one last look at Avery and step forward. Madame motions for the nearest soldier to grab me. I hold out my fists. The soldier removes a pair of shackles from a compartment on the side of his belt. Madame smiles.

Then a voice cuts through the silent city, calling my name in the distance. The soldier turns, distracted. A figure breaks through the line of soldiers, stumbling into the intersection.

The smog lifts from his grizzled features and I see Captain Alkine’s concerned face locked onto mine. He walks with a noticeable limp, a dark sack slung over his shoulder.

Despite my anger with him, the sound of his voice instantly raises my spirits. It’s the voice of safety. Reinforcements.

I wait to hear an agent shuttle overhead, or see a battalion of troops c
ome bounding through the line of soldiers to help me. But with each fragi
le step Alkine takes, my optimism wanes. And then it hits me. This is not the rescue I was hoping for.

It’s Captain Alkine, all right, but he’s completely alone. And worse yet, unarmed.

45

“Jeremiah.” Madame shakes her head and chuckles like she’s staring at some pathetic little kid. “It’s been too long.”

“Not nearly long enough,” he mutters as he staggers over my way.

She watches him approach, smiling. “Got a little limp there, I see. Not as spry as you used to be. Training children for so long must have tempered your fighting spirit.”

He ignores her, his eyes latched on to mine. “Jesse, I’m sorry. I should have told you everything. I never meant to put you in danger.”

Madame rolls her eyes. “It’s too late. You may have underestimated the boy, but I haven’t. Look around you, Jeremiah—250 fully equipped Unified Party soldiers, with more on the way if necessary. I will not let this go.”

He continues to approach me, ignoring her. “You see why we were protecting you now. They want a war, Jesse, but only if you’re on their side. Only if you’ll bring them Pearls.”

“Nonsense,” Madame scoffs. “The Skyship Community is just another terrorist organization masquerading as a gang of peace-loving idealists. They’re every bit as dangerous as the invaders.”

Alkine shakes his head. “You know that’s not true, Jesse. We’re your family. Come with me.”

Madame laughs. “You’re in a funny place to be making demands, Alkine.”

He glances at her, sneering. “You kill me and it’ll be the beginning of the end.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

He limps closer, unafraid of her. “Let the kids go, Jessica. Do what you want with me, but let them go.”

Eva and Skandar squirm in their captors’ grip. Madame’s eyes slit. She raises the control pad and whispers something into a tiny speaker. Before I realize it, three soldiers cree
p up behind Cassius and me.

Expecting them to attack, I jump away, fists ready to fight.

But they’re not after me. One removes a rifle from his side and points it at my heart. The others lift Avery by the arms and drag her off into the rubble.

“Let her go!” I rush toward them, but the guy with the gun fires a round into the concrete inches in front of me. Another hefts A
very over his shoulder and steps farther
back. “Please,” I turn to Madame. “Let her go!”

“She’ll be waiting for you at the Lodge,” Madame replies, turning to the soldiers beside her. “Kill the children.”

I watch in horror as fingers tighten around Eva and Skandar’s necks once more. Both struggle for breath, faces white and panicked.

“Wait!” Alkine shouts. “You’re forgetting something, Madame.”

Madame motions for the soldiers to loosen their grip. I crane my neck to see Avery, but they’ve already taken her away into the mist. The soldier with the rifle holds his position. If I move, he’ll shoot.

Madame strides forward, sizing Alkine up. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Reinforcements,” he mutters.

She chuckles. “Oh by all means, please bring your reinforcements.”

Alkine’s eyes dart up to the sky, to the layer of mist above the city. I follow his gaze, but there’s nothing to see. No shuttles or transports. Just the foggy ceiling.

Madame shakes her head, motioning for her men to raise their weapons. “Take him out.”

I hear the click of artillery. Hundreds of guns lock onto our small group. It’s a shooting gallery, and there’s no way of escaping.

Then the mist begins to swirl above us. A deafening roar, like a thousand freight trains, forces my hands over my ears. The sky darkens. Unnaturally fast. It’s at least an hour until sundown. This is more like an eclipse.

Madame looks above her for the first time, taking two steps back and mumbling to herself.

A jagged point pokes through the layer of churning mist like a knife reaching down to stab the earth. It’s needle-thin at first, but widens as it lowers. Soon it’s as thick as a tree trunk—then a rocket.

Waves of smog spread away from the vast object, revealing a canopy of dark weathered metal that blots out the sky above us—a constantly lowering ceiling to what’s become an intersection enclosed on all four sides. Rocks tumble down the sides of buildings as the behemoth settles down. The engines rumble above us like never-ending thunder.

Alkine smiles. He says something, too, but the thrusters above our heads are too loud to make out words. But I don’t have to hear him to know what’s happening. I’ve approached the hull of this ship enough times to recognize the scuffed underbelly.

Skyship Academy.

I back up, dwarfed by the shadow of the approachin
g Skyship. The southern spire drills into the ground, kicking up chunks of rock and dirt. I can’t believe it. The Academy … on the Surface. The engineers must have been working overtime to keep it cloaked from Madame’s cruisers.

Madame pulls in her jacket as the wind from the thrusters pummels the pavement. Her perfect
ly styled hair blows into a mess, sticking to her teeth. “You have no idea how many laws you’re breaking,” she shouts.

Alkine shrugs. “Never did like to play it safe.”

The thunderous engines die down to a low rumble and the bottom level of the Academy opens up. Shuttles shoot from all sides, bursting from around the perimeter like flower petals. Everyone in the intersection ducks. The soldiers lose their grip on Skandar and Eva. I spin around, looking for Avery. She’s long gone. I don’t know where they took her.

The Academy ships bolt out into the city, then loop up in the air and reverse their path, barreling down on the intersection. Explosions rattle the pavement.

Madame gives her troops the attack signal. They spread out, quickly filling the intersection like a hive of dark insects. Some run back to cruisers. Most raise their weapons and fire, aiming for the shuttles that dart underneath the Academy’s expansive hull.

Trapdoors open from below the shuttle. Agents rocket down into the intersection, aided by upturned ankle boosters that slow their descent until they land on the pavement with the grace of acrobats.

While she’s distracted, I lunge at Madame, grabbing the control pad from her hand and chucking it away into the chaos. “Where is she? Where did you take her?”

She slaps my face, pushing away and grabbing a small pistol from her belt. “This is not what I wanted for you.”

“No!” Cassius tackles her from the side, knocking her to the ground. She keeps her grip on the pistol, but the bla
ck cube tumbles into the intersection. Cassius dives to retrieve it, then grabs my hand and pulls me away. “Come on.” He drags me through the dense battle zone. Agent versus soldier, more of them every moment. Shots ring out through the intersection. An explosion pummels the ground to
our left, sending up a fountain of debris. Shuttles whiz by overhead, dropping detonators on large swaths of government forces.

A soldier bumps into me, pulling my hand from Cassius’s and dragging me back through the crowd. Seconds later, he slumps onto the ground, a bullet through the chest. I turn to see Alkine brandishing a gun in the distance. He tosses his bag to Eva, shouting something. I’m too far away to hear it. Then they’re both swallowed by the crowd.

Another explosion pulverizes the pavement behind me. Soldiers fly into the air. Cracks spread from the ground, snaking toward me. The concrete wobbles, then slants into a diagonal. I jump forward, careful not to be swallowed by the sinkhole, and collide with a Skyship Agent.

I turn to see August Bergmann standing before me, armed like the ultimate soldier, his buzzed hair already glistening with sweat. “Oh man.” He frowns, and for a second I’m convinced he’s gonna punch me in the arm. Instead, his frown curves into an amused smile. “Jameson was right. This
is
a rescue mission. Takes a freaking army, huh Fisher?”

I meet his eyes for a second but don’t respond. I’d like to see
him
survive what I’ve been through. Bet he wouldn’t think it was so funny.

“Relax.” He slaps my shoulder, nearly knocking me to the ground. “And don’t die, okay? Don’t be your usual stupid self.”

Then he’s gone. I look around for Madame. A hand grabs onto my arm. I push away before realizing it’s Cassius.

He frowns and motions for me to follow him between two walls of fighting soldiers. I watch as beams of energy shoot from cannons emerging from the hull of the Academy.

Cassius releases my arm. We squeeze between the remaining soldiers and sprint through what’s left of an empty alleyway. On the other side I see a line of cruisers, also empty. Every soldier Madame’s got has joined the fray back at the intersection. The alleyway’s dark, shadowed by the Academy overhead. Cassius cradles the cube under his arm. I grab him by the shoulder, stopping his mad dash to freedom.

He spins around, glaring. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t leave without Avery.”

“Madame’ll kill you,” he responds, keeping one eye on the far-off intersection.

“I thought that’s what you wanted.”

He shakes his head. “We have to get away.”

“Alkine will—”

He grabs my arm and yanks me backward, just as Madame bursts into the all
eyway.

Her jacket hangs halfway off her shoulders. Her hair is mottled with dirt and sweat. She breathes heavily, aiming the pistol at my heart.

“Come on,” Cassius coaxes, pulling my arm.

“Don’t move,” Madame warns as she steps forward, “or it will be the last thing you do.”

Cassius releases me, clutching the cube tightly under his arm.

Madame sighs. “My dear Cassius. I have regrets. I should have kept you out of this. I should have let you stay at the Lo
dge. You’re confused, as you have every right to be. We’ll sit down and talk when this is over. I’m sure that—”

She’s interrupted by Eva, who stumbles into the alleyway holding Alkine’s dark bag. Her arm restraint hangs from her left wrist. A large scratch runs down the side of her face.

Madame rolls her eyes, pivoting slightly and pulling the trigger. Eva lunges toward the wall and presses herself against the brick. The bullet whizzes past her and into the intersection.

“Don’t hurt her!” I shout. “It’s me you want.”

Madame turns back around, reloading the pistol and aiming it at me. “There are cruisers directly behind you. Step into one, and we can continue this conversation elsewhere.”

I watch as Eva tiptoes forward, grabbing something from inside the bag. A faint green light illuminates the back of the alley. Madame doesn’t see it. Yet.

“Okay,” I respond, trying not to stare at the Pearl Eva’s holding. “Okay, I give up. Just don’t shoot.”

Madame’s head cocks to the side, a suspicious frown on her face. “Into the cruiser.”

I nod and take a small step back. Eva comes closer.

Then Madame sees the glow coming from behind her. She spins around, but before she can do anything Eva hurls the Pearl into the air. It makes a wide arc above Madame’s head and shoots down to me.

I stretch out my right arm, tense my fingers, and stop it in mid-air.

The Pearl hovers between Madame and me, nearly blinding us in the dim alley. I motion for Eva to run back to the intersection. She lingers for a moment, watching me, before backing away.

Madame keeps her aim steady, approaching cautiously. “This isn’t funny, Jesse.”

I back up, focusing on keeping control of the Pearl. I wave my hand back and forth. The Pearl follows like a pendulum swinging in the air. Left, right. Left, right.

Madame watches, and for the first time I notice fear in her eyes. She knows what’s inside the Pearl, but I bet she doesn’t know what happens when it’s freed. Not firsthand.

I move my hand more dramatically and the Pearl follows course, slamming into the brittle walls on either side of us. Loose brick tumbles in piles onto the ground as the alley starts to cave in before me.

Madame stumbles back. “Stop it.”

I don’t. The Pearl continues to smack the walls with the force of a wrecking ball, adding to the pile of rubble in front of us. It’s nearly up to Madame’s waist now, blocking her path.

Then, just as I’m about to bring the entire alley down around her, I hear a gunshot and feel something prick my shoulder. I look down to see a silver dart lodged into my skin. She shot me. She actually shot me!

The Pearl wobbles in the air as my concentration fractures. Whatever’s in the dart races through my bloodstream. It’s all I can do to stay standing. Madame laughs. All other sounds fade into nothing.

I clench my fists and the world explodes in front of me.

A shower of rubble rains over Madame, burying everything in the alleyway—including her. The walls crumble around us as the Pearl energy tears through the derelict buildings, streaming out into the intersection. A glowing figure shoots into the sky, soaring up around the Academy and out of sight.

I fall backwards, watching as the Skyship’s hull absorbs the brunt of the Pearl’s force. Sheet lightning dances along the dark underbelly, illuminating the mist around Seattle. Just like that day—the day Cassius and I first landed on Earth.

Then, as the last of the energy dissipates, I lose consciousness.