Sky Raiders (33 page)

“L
egionnaires?” Cole exclaimed. “How many is lots?”

“One hundred and forty-four,” Mango said. “They’re west of us, coming this way in four equal groups, along four different routes.”

Jace yanked open the hatch to the compartment where their gear was stashed. He handed Mira her Jumping Sword, then Cole his bow and his sword.

“How’d they find us so quickly?” Twitch asked.

“They haven’t found you,” Mango replied. “They’ve fanned out over a broad area. They’re searching.”

“They might suspect we ran off this way,” Mira said. “Or they might just be checking everywhere. Either way, I guess they know we’re alive.”

“Like Declan warned us,” Cole reminded her. “Your father must be able to feel that you haven’t died. He must have told them.”

“What matters is what we do now,” Jace said, all business. “Mango, will they find us if we stay on our current path?”

Mango gently pecked at Mira’s silver necklace while talking. “If they don’t double back or change course, they’ll overtake you before the end of the day.”

“Can we go in other directions?” Mira asked.

“You could leave the autocoach,” Mango said, nibbling at one of the pins in her hair. “They’re sticking to the roads. But traveling cross-country on your own can be dangerous in Sambria, especially in a wild area like the north of the kingdom.”

“We should stay with the coach until we know we’re going to be found,” Twitch said. “You can warn us when they get really close, right, Mango?”

“Yes, sirree,” the bird replied.

“If they find an empty coach, they may heavily search the nearby area,” Jace pointed out.

“I don’t mean we should desert the coach a minute before they find us,” Twitch clarified. “More like an hour before. The autocoach will travel a good distance before they find it, and we’ll have time to get well away from the road.”

“Good thinking,” Cole approved.

“We want the autocoach as long as we can keep it,” Mira said. “We’ll be much slower on foot. And Mango is right. This part of Sambria is unsafe.”

“Maybe we can use that to our advantage,” Jace said. “Sort of like the cloudwall all over again. Is there anywhere we can go where the legionnaires won’t want to follow? Someplace they would expect us to avoid? Especially if it’s away from where they’re headed.”

Mango flapped her wings and gave a soft squawk. “There
are plenty of dangerous places. The legionnaires are west of you, some moving northeast, others southeast. Going west isn’t an option right now, and I don’t think you could get ahead of them cutting straight south. If you flee north, you’ll end up back in the Quiet Wood, and eventually you’ll get pinned against the Boomerang Forest. If you try to get around the Boomerang Forest to the east, you’ll end up against the Brink.”

“I don’t mind the Quiet Wood,” Jace said.

“But we don’t want to get pinned with nowhere to run,” Twitch said. “The Boomerang Wood is a dead end. With no skycraft, the Brink is too.”

“For most of us,” Mira said.

Twitch blushed. “We can talk about me later.”

“The Brink continues east of the cloudwall?” Cole asked.

“Yes,” Mira said. “The cloudwalls only mark off a portion of the Brink. The Boomerang Forest keeps people from looking behind the Eastern Cloudwall, just like the Briarlands keeps people away from the Western Cloudwall. But beyond the Boomerang Forest, the Brink keeps going. Floatstones don’t work there, so having skycraft wouldn’t matter.”

“What else can we do, Mango?” Jace asked.

“You can run to the northeast,” the cockatiel said. “That leads away from civilization and into some wild, dangerous territory. Plenty of places to get lost that way. Based on the current search pattern, they assume you’re fleeing there.”

Bertram cleared his throat noisily. “If they still want to reach Middlebranch and don’t mind a risk, Brady’s Wilderness would be an option.”

“I’ve heard of that place,” Jace said. “Isn’t it trouble?”

“It’s in the right direction,” Mango said. “Mostly east, a little south. They won’t expect you to risk going that way and won’t be eager to chance it themselves. It has quite a reputation.”

“I’ve heard of it too,” Twitch said. “Seems like you only hear about the really bad places.”

“You don’t hear about the worst places,” Mira said. “Nobody makes it back to spread the rumor. Didn’t a shaper go nova there?”

“ ‘Go nova’?” Cole asked.

“All shapers worry about going nova,” Mira explained. “When gifted shapers overextend themselves, they can lose touch with what is real and what is a semblance. Greed or paranoia or insanity take over, and they shape uncontrollably, usually until they kill themselves in the process. Sometimes it leaves a big mess behind.”

“What do we know about this place?” Cole wondered.

Mira shrugged. “I haven’t heard much.”

“Little is known,” Mango said. “Story has it Brady was a young child who came here from outside. He had a lot of power and a child’s mind. He shaped vividly but without control. This happened about forty years ago, and there has been no word of him since.”

“A shaper that strong doesn’t just disappear,” Mira said. “He must have shaped something that killed him.”

“Have you been there, Mango?” Twitch asked.

“Just the borders,” Mango said. “People don’t go there, so I’ve never monitored the area.”

“Are there still roads?” Twitch inquired.

“Three roads,” Bertram said. Cole noticed that the old semblance spoke with more clarity and authority when travel routes were involved. “Hard to guess their state of repair. We can hope they’re passable. If so, it would prove a clever shortcut to Middlebranch.”

“The soldiers don’t seem to be headed that way?” Mira clarified.

“Not presently,” Mango said. “There is no guarantee they won’t change course.”

“If the nearest soldiers turn toward it, would we arrive before them?” Twitch checked.

“Probably,” Mango said. “Barely.”

“I say we go for it,” Jace said. “We can handle whatever some kid dreamed up.”

“The place has a reputation for a reason,” Twitch pointed out.

“And we’ve all survived some dicey sky castles,” Jace said. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy. But this is more our thing than fighting legionnaires. Think of it as a big castle.”

“I hate the castles,” Twitch said. “Why do you think I ran away?”

“You hate them,” Jace said, “but you survived them. We have better gear than ever. We’ll be working together. The legionnaires won’t follow us in, especially if they have no idea we’re in there.”

“We can’t let the legion find us,” Mira said. “What do you think, Cole?”

Cole paused before answering. He certainly didn’t want
to head to deadly shaping grounds that might feel like a giant sky castle. But he wanted to get caught by the legionnaires even less. “Are there other options like Brady’s Wilderness?” Cole asked Mango.

“East of Cloudvale, the brink curves away more toward the north,” Mango said. “So you could go northeast or east. That seems to be where the soldiers are heading, probably because it’s the most sensible place to run. There are no decent hiding places that way unless you head off into the wild on foot. Even if you take the autocoach by the cleverest routes, if the legionnaires continue in that direction, they’ll overtake you by tomorrow.”

“It sounds like we should try the Brady place,” Cole said.

“I don’t love the idea,” Twitch said. “But I agree.”

“All right,” Mira said. “Bertram? Can you take us to Brady’s Wilderness?”

“Brady’s Wilderness,” Bertram said. “Then past there to Middlebranch, I gather?”

“Unless we’re forced to turn aside,” Mira said.

“I know how we’ll go,” Bertram said. “Let’s hope the roads have held together enough for us to pass.”

“I’ll keep scouting,” Mango said. “You’ll hear from me if we need to rethink our maneuvers.”

“Thanks, Mango,” Mira said as the bird leaped from her shoulder, wings flapping, and disappeared out the window.

“Didn’t take long for things to heat up,” Cole grumbled.

“Did you think those legionnaires would disappear?” Jace asked.

“I hoped they’d look in the wrong place,” Cole replied.

“It’s easier to check the right place when you look everywhere,” Twitch said.

They clomped along in silence for a moment. Cole glanced over at Twitch. “You never told us about the wings.”

“Oh yeah,” Jace agreed. “We have time now. You’re from Elloweer? One of the natives?”

“I guess the secret is out,” Twitch said with a nervous laugh. “I’m one of the grinaldi. People call us springers.”

“Never heard of you,” Jace said.

“Plenty of people don’t know about the grinaldi. We’re not numerous. We have wings, but we don’t fly for long distances. The wings are used to enhance our hopping.”

“How does the ring work?” Cole asked. “Did you bring it from Elloweer?”

“No,” Twitch said. “If I had the ring, I doubt I would have been taken as a slave. I found the ring in the supply room at Skyport and chose it as my special item. I’ve never had to use it until yesterday.”

“The ring shows his true form,” Jace explained.

“Why aren’t you always in your true form?” Cole asked.

“I sometimes forget that you’re new here,” Twitch said. “Elloweer is full of unusual beings. Some of them can’t leave Elloweer. They come up against a barrier. Others, like me, change to human form if they leave.”

“And the ring switches you back,” Cole said.

“Rings like this are rare,” Twitch said, holding it up. It was silver, with a strip of tiny blue gems all the way around. “They’re crafted by Ellowine enchanters. I’m not sure how one ended up at Skyport, but there it was, so I claimed it.”

Cole thought back to the slave wagons. “When the slavers were in my world taking my friends, one of them looked like a golden wolfman. I never saw him again.”

“One of the lupians,” Twitch said. “A warlike people. You don’t see many with golden fur. He must have reverted to his true form in your world.”

“Show us what you really look like,” Jace said. “I never got a good look.”

“Not when I was carrying you?” Twitch asked.

“My mind was on other things,” Jace said.

“Mira told us her secrets,” Twitch said. “We know where Cole comes from. But I don’t know much about you, Jace. Why don’t you tell us about your past, and then I’ll show you my true form.”

“Not much to tell,” Jace said with a slightly uncomfortable smile. “I’ve been a slave all my life. Never knew my parents. I hated being controlled, and nobody could break me. I still found ways to have fun. And I worked really hard at not working hard. Owners got sick of me. I was traded a couple of times, and finally they sold me to the Sky Raiders. Best thing that ever happened to me. I could finally live. It was dangerous, but I could do my own thing most of the time. Okay, let’s see your bug parts.”

Twitch rubbed his lips, one of his eyelids fluttering. “Thanks for putting it so delicately.” He unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. “My wings ripped the old one,” he explained.

Twitch slid on his ring, and a pair of insectile antennae appeared high on his forehead. A quartet of translucent wings were now on his back, two on each side, like a dragonfly, but
folded downward. Pulling up one pant leg, he revealed that his leg looked like it belonged to a giant grasshopper.

Cole flinched a little but tried to keep his expression composed. The bug legs were a little much.

“You’re knees are backward,” Jace said.

“From your anatomy, yes.” Twitch laughed. “But I can jump, like, twenty times higher. And I can kind of fly. Although I may not look it, I’m also quite a bit stronger.”

“Being human must feel so limiting,” Mira said.

“It does,” Twitch said, tapping his fingertips together in rapid succession. “It’s part of the reason I’m so careful. Picture if you were suddenly weaker and slower and your Jumping Sword was malfunctioning.”

“Were you a big risk taker back home?” Jace asked.

“I’m careful by nature,” Twitch clarified. “Among my people, it’s seen as a positive trait.”

“They sound really exciting,” Jace teased.

“We prefer quiet, happy lives,” Twitch said, taking off the ring. The wings and antennae vanished. “But we don’t always get what we want.” He started putting his shirt back on.

“What about you, Cole?” Jace asked. “What was your life like before coming here?”

“Easy. Compared to this, I mean. My parents took care of most things. We have a nice house. My sister thinks she’s awesome, but she’s not too bad, especially compared to slavers and scorpipedes. I went to school. I played sports.”

“Sounds like you were rich,” Jace said.

“I didn’t think so,” Cole said. “Maybe compared to some people. We were about average.”

“Did you ever get your hands dirty?” Jace asked. “Work in a mine? Or a field? Did you handle livestock? Build a house?”

“Nothing like that,” Cole said. “Mostly just school and sports and goofing off.”

“Rich must be average where you’re from,” Jace said. “Sign me up.”

“I’d love to,” Cole said. “Who knows if I’ll ever make it back there?”

“One step at a time,” Mira said. “Kind of like back at Skyport. First priority? Survive today. Second? Survive tomorrow.”

“How long until Brady’s Wilderness?” Twitch asked.

“Barring delays, we’ll arrive tomorrow morning,” Bertram said.

“Then I’m going to get comfortable,” Jace said, snuggling into his corner of the coach. “Wake me if something tries to kill us.”

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