Sky Raiders (19 page)

“It’s out in the yard,” Cole said.

“You bring back any goods?” Adam wondered.

Cole tried not to dwell on the bow and shawl he had chucked under the porch. “We tried. I think most of it fell out. It’s dark out there.”

“You have some jewelry,” Adam noted.

Cole grinned sheepishly. “That’s right.” He had forgotten the pendants and the rings. He started taking them off.

“Princely adornments. The two lifeboats that survived also off-loaded some nice finds. We’ll fly the
Vulture
while we make repairs to the
Domingo
. If nothing else, your boneholder should have some floatstones we can salvage. Cole, I understand you went back to help Durny and Mira after boarding a lifeboat.”

“He saved us,” Mira said. “The spider left us stunned, and a cyclops would have finished us. Cole killed it.”

“Not a bright move,” Adam said. “Most days, that would lead to three corpses instead of two. But it’s the kind of stupidity I can admire.”

“Thanks,” Cole said. “I think.”

Adam winked. “You two had a tough night. Take the day off tomorrow, and I mean completely—no chores, no responsibilities. Go dry off and get some sleep.”

15

C
ole could sense the sunlight through his eyelids. The sleep felt so good that he didn’t want to wake, but he peeked with one eye, then the other.

Daylight poured through the window. The room was empty. The other bunks were made.

Jace’s bunk had been empty when Cole came to bed the night before. The two other boys had been asleep. After putting on dry clothes and curling up under his covers, Cole had slept undisturbed.

He kicked his legs over the side of his bunk and dropped to the floor. Cole hadn’t had a true day off since arriving at Skyport. When he wasn’t out on a scouting mission, there had been chores to learn and perform. He hardly knew what he would do with a whole day to relax, but breakfast seemed like a sensible start.

In the kitchen, he scraped the bottom of a vat and ladled sticky porridge into a bowl. He grabbed some fruit as well—an apple and some sort of purple citrus. Fruit had been abundant lately.

Cole took his time eating. The common area was deserted. Outside, the sun glared across a blue sky as if the storm had never happened. The
Borrower
and the
Vulture
were probably out raiding.

The purple citrus fruit turned out to be the best part of the meal. Cole went and grabbed a second one. As he walked back to his room, Mira caught up to him from behind.

“Good morning,” she said. “You slept late.”

“Maybe I’ve been up for hours,” Cole said.

“Nope. I looked in at you a few times. We need to talk.”

She sounded serious. Cole tried to think what he might have done wrong. Did she know about the bow and shawl under the porch? He hadn’t taken the time to hide them well. “What’s up?”

Mira stepped closer and lowered her voice. “We mustn’t be overheard. Come with me.”

She led the way down multiple stairways, beyond the basement and into the caves. Although the floors, ceilings, and walls were natural stone, the addition of wooden walkways and steps made travel more convenient. Some areas of the caves had so many rugs, tapestries, and furnishings that Cole could almost forget he was underground.

A narrow offshoot branched from one of the main walkways. At the end they came to a door. Mira paused. “This is my room.”

“Not many doors down here,” Cole observed.

“True. Durny got this room for me. It’s isolated. I don’t bring anyone inside.” She took out a key, unlocked the door, and entered. “Come on.”

Cole followed her in and then stopped in his tracks.

The room was amazing.

A huge canopied bed with silky covers and mounds of pillows stood out the most. Other furniture included an ornate desk, two fancy sofas, a pair of stately armchairs, and a wooden table with matching benches. Beautiful paintings hung on the walls, some wider than his outstretched arms. Fine rugs softened the floor. Statues of animals prowled on shelves and crouched in corners. Crystal lamps made everything bright.

“How’d you get all this great stuff?”

“I made it,” Mira said.

“What?”

“I wove the rugs, painted the pictures, sculpted the animals, and built the furniture.”

Cole took a closer look at a painting. It showed a flying tiger swooping over a pond near a fanciful castle, its reflection somewhat blurred in the rippling water. The image looked beyond professional. “No way. You’re messing with me.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Mira said. “Please don’t mention the crafts I have in here. Durny tried to hide my talents, or Adam would have had me slaving every day as an artisan.”

“You’re serious? You built that bed?”

“Sheets, pillows, everything. Durny lent me some help. I used a little shaping.”

Cole chewed on his bottom lip. “If there was shaping involved, I might start to believe you.”

She sighed despairingly. “If you find
that
hard to believe, just wait.”

“I almost forgot,” Cole said. “There’s more. What do you want to tell me?”

“Have a seat,” Mira invited, sitting down on one of the sofas. Mira was normally so confident, but right now she seemed a little fidgety.

The two sofas were at right angles to each other. Cole sat on the near side of the other one.

“I have . . . some secrets.”

“Okay,” Cole said patiently. “The first step to telling secrets is admitting that you have them.”

Mira looked down. “My secrets could be dangerous, Cole. They could get you into trouble.”

“This place is nothing but trouble. What’s a little more? We’ve been through some harsh stuff already.”

She looked at him intently. “I know. It’s why I know I can trust you. I have to be careful about who I trust. At Parona, you didn’t have to risk your life for me, but you did. I don’t think anything less would let me confide in you. Without Durny, I need somebody on my side. Before he died, he told me it should be you. I think he was right.”

“He asked me to look out for you,” Cole said. “When we talked in private.”

“Should I tell you?”

“You have to now. I’m too curious.”

“It’s not just gossip,” she warned. “These secrets matter. People have died because of them.”

Cole thought about that. His life was already nightmarishly hard. Did he really want more danger? Mira obviously needed him. How bad could it be? “Go ahead.”

She gave a nervous giggle. “I’ve never talked about this with anyone who didn’t already know most of the story. You’re so new here. I hardly know where to begin.”

“Just go for it.”

“Do you know about Junction? The High Shaper?”

“Is he like the High King?”

“Yes,” Mira said. “The High Shaper is the High King.”

“Then I know he took some of my friends as slaves,” Cole said bitterly.

“Really?” Mira asked.

“Remember? I came here because my friends were kidnapped.”

“Right. But how do you know they were going to the High King?”

“After I was captured, this woman examined me. She said I had no shaping potential. But some of the others—the ones with potential—were set aside for the High King. That included Dalton and Jenna, two of my best friends.”

“Hmmm,” Mira said. “He must need more slaves with shaping talent. That could be good and bad for your friends.”

“How come?”

“Slaves who can shape get the best treatment. And if they’re going to be slaves, the royal palace is more comfortable than most places they could be working. But the High King is a maniac. Anyone who works near him is in danger.”

“What do you mean?” Cole asked.

“It ties directly into my secret. What do you know about how the five kingdoms are governed?”

“Nothing. I don’t even really know what they are.”

She nodded. “There are five major kingdoms in the Outskirts: Sambria, where we are now; Necronum; Elloweer; Zeropolis; and Creon. Junction lies more or less between the kingdoms. It’s the capital of the Outskirts. The five kingdoms used to be governed by five Grand Shapers. The High Shaper ranked above them all and lived in Junction City. Together they formed the Governing Council, and they ruled the Outskirts as a group. Except, around sixty years ago, the High Shaper decided he wanted all the power for himself. The Grand Shaper of Zeropolis became his puppet, and the other four went into hiding.”

“Is this the secret?”

“This is the background. You don’t know any of this, do you?”

“No. Who is the High Shaper now?”

“The same guy,” Mira said. “The more advanced shapers have ways to slow the aging process. They can live for hundreds of years.”

“The Grand Shapers are really powerful?”

“They’re usually the best of the best.”

“So what does this have to do with you?”

“I’m getting there. More than sixty years ago, the High Shaper lived with his wife and five daughters. The five girls all showed promise as shapers. Their father, not so much. Although he came from a long line of shapers, and married a woman who was a powerful shaper, he held his position more by pedigree and political games than by talent. Anyhow, one day, there was a terrible accident, and all his daughters died.”

“What happened?”

“Their carriage went off a bridge into a raging river. It was huge news throughout the Outskirts. All the kingdoms mourned. But I know some secrets about the accident. Secrets that involve the High Shaper. Things he would do anything to cover up.”

“Was he involved?”

Mira stared at Cole in silence. “We’re talking about the most powerful person in all of the Outskirts. And yes, he was behind the accident. He planned it.”

“His own daughters?” Cole asked.

“I don’t think he ever saw them as daughters,” Mira said. “Rivals would be more accurate.”

“The guy killed his own kids?” Cole exclaimed. “And he got away with it?”

“He still rules the Outskirts,” Mira said. “Almost nobody knows what really happened. The High King is ruthless and selfish. He destroyed his own family to get what he wanted. The more his power grows, the more people are seeing that side of him. And his power keeps growing every year. Every day.”

“My friends went to that guy?” Cole asked, feeling ill.

“Hopefully, they won’t work with him directly,” Mira said. “There’s more to the secret, but I shouldn’t share too much yet. The more you know, the more danger you’re in. The High Shaper has killed to keep these secrets and wouldn’t hesitate to kill again. But I wanted you to know enough to appreciate the seriousness of my situation.”

“How did you learn this stuff?” Cole asked.

“My mother is close to the High Shaper,” Mira said. “I
used to live in his palace. She still does. If I say much more, I’ll end up telling you everything. My mother sent me away for my safety and then sent Durny to watch over me.”

“Were you and your mother slaves?”

“We weren’t slaves,” Mira said. “I got marked as part of my cover, to help me hide. But whatever the reasons behind my bondmark, having it makes me as much a slave as you or anyone.”

Cole rubbed the arm of the sofa. If Mira was willing to become a slave in order to hide, that alone proved her desperation. “Why tell me?”

After glancing at her door, Mira lowered her voice. “Because Durny and I were planning an escape.”

“From Skyport?”

She nodded.

“How come?”

“My mom uses a special signal to let me know when trouble is coming,” Mira said. “The signal can also guide messengers to me. But she only uses it for emergencies. The signal showed up recently, and Durny decided we needed to relocate.”

“What signal?” Cole asked. “What kind of danger is coming?”

Mira studied Cole. “You can’t leak a word of this. To anyone.
Ever
.”

“I promise,” Cole said.

“My mom is a shaper. She can put a special star in the sky, right above me. Not a bright one, but it has a distinct pinkish tint.”

“Wait,” Cole said. “She can make a star?”

“She doesn’t create an actual star. That wouldn’t even be useful since the sky changes so much. Think of it as the illusion of a star, high up so it blends with the night sky. The first and only time she did it, my star stayed right above me until Durny found me, then it went away.”