The Blood Racer (The Blood Racer Trilogy Book 1) (20 page)

              After a moment, I was able to pry my eyes away from the feast to inspect the rest of the building. It was a warehouse, as I had suspected, but there was no cargo here, nothing waiting to be shipped. Instead, it was full of beds. Some were stacked atop one another, but every bunk was furnished with a fluffy white comforter and a pillow that looked extremely inviting.
              In the center of the large warehouse, a common area had been set up, complete with round tables for dining, padded chairs, cushioned benches, and an oversized radio that contestants could listen to. All in all, the place looked very comfortable. Compared to my hovel back in Adams, it was a vacation resort. There were only a few people in it, too. In the far corner, tucked away in a bunk, Audra was lying down with her back to the door. Aside from her, the only occupants were Grace Buchannon, who was listening to the radio in the center, John Deseo, who was currently filling a plate with food, Rigel, who sat and stared blankly from the edge of a bunk a few yards away, and Killian, who strolled up to greet us.
              “You made it!” he said warmly. “Well done. There are hot showers in the back, too…if you’re interested.”
              “You know I am,” Darby said smiling. She stepped forward and wrapped him in a huge embrace. Despite the fact that I still didn’t know him that well, I was too tired to care. I lurched toward Killian and Darby and gave them a giant hug of my own.
              Killian seemed just as surprised as I was at my show of affection, and laughed in my ear. “You made it to the halfway point,” he said, patting my back.
              I pulled away from them and began making my way over to the food. I would have liked to talk more with Killian, but my legs were acting of their own accord. Before I knew it, I had a plate in my hands, and was shoulder to shoulder with John, my eyes fixed on the large, delicious looking bird that he was carving. His oversized metal hand made the knife look like a toy, and it sliced through the meat like it was hardly even there.
              “They’ve got trumpeter swan this year,” John said to me, turning his face toward mine. For the first time, I was able to notice the scars across his left cheek and brow. He must have been in some sort of accident, just like Rigel’s father, Leo, had been. Though, something told me that John’s injury wasn’t due to harsh manual labor conditions inside a volcanic geothermal plant. In either case, both of his eyes were still intact, unlike Leo’s, and they were a bright blue. Despite being one of the privileged citizens of Shiloh, he seemed friendly enough.
              “I’ve never had it,” I told him, watching the slices of meat fall from the bone. It was true. I had eaten duck on one or two occasions, but since weapons were against Dominion law, they were tough to hunt. The first time I’d eaten mallard was when Rigel had pulled its mangled body out of a barge engine and cooked it for us. I remember it being quite good. Meat, in itself, was a commodity in Adams. And here, it was just displayed in mass, as if it were no issue at all, while the rest of us had to get our protein from soybeans.
              John flipped the carving knife on its side and dished a large hunk of juicy white meat onto my plate. “You look like you could use some real protein,” he said with a grin, apparently reading my thoughts. As his lips pulled back, I saw that several teeth on the left side of his mouth were capped in gold.
              “Yes,” I said dejectedly. “I wish I could take some home for my brother and sister.”
              His smile faltered a bit at my words, and his eyebrows looked like they were trying to pull together. After a moment, he exhaled slowly and nodded his head. “Silver, right? Elana Silver?”
              I nodded once.
              “Well,” he said, putting the knife down. “You’re a spectacular pilot, Elana. I mean it.”
              I wanted to thank him as he walked away, but I was too surprised by his compliment. After meeting Audra, who was also a resident of Shiloh, I hadn’t expected John to be any friendlier. I had been wrong, though, and I felt embarrassed about it. I felt like I owed him an apology. Even so, I still kept quiet. With my state of fatigue, and the relief of finally getting to eat and rest, I was feeling so very drained.
              After John had walked away, Darby and Killian arrived next to me, dishes in hand and ready to serve themselves a portion of the feast in front of us. Together, the three of us heaped as much of the food onto our plates as we could, and then made our way to one of the circular tables and began to eat.
            The food was like nothing I’d ever had before. Zanna could do wonders with a few vegetables and some spices, but this was a whole different level of deliciousness. Everything had been seasoned and basted to perfection, and it was so good. So impossibly good. It was like eating a meal that had been made for a king.
              As we ate, a few more contestants began to filter in through the locked door. One of them, according to Killian, was a New Eden man named Jackson Hawthorne, who went by the nickname of “Thorn” for short. The two of them exchanged a wave, but said nothing to one another.
              As we gorged ourselves on food and drink, I kept stealing glances at Rigel from the corner of my eye. He had gathered a small plate of food and some water, but chose to eat alone on his bunk, picking slowly at the meal with a fork. It was fine by me, really. At the moment, I didn’t feel much like being around him. No doubt, he was mortified that he had decided to betray me…just so that we could both end up at the same halfway stop. He had left me to try and gain the lead, and he had been thwarted by the mandatory rest period. We had both known it was coming up. The race always has a halfway checkpoint. It’s to ensure that there’s exciting competition throughout the entire event, instead of a few leaders leaving everyone behind for good.
              He had made a very poor choice.
              Instead of Rigel, I made conversation with my two friends from Ravencog. I discovered that Darby and Killian were both twenty four years old. This was actually pretty surprising, especially considering the fact that Darby looked and acted like she was my age. I also found out that Killian loved music, as I had originally thought, and that Darby had owned Georgie, her falcon, for over thirteen years. I was amazed by this. That bird was as old as Zanna, for crying out loud. Darby also made sure to slip some meat into one of the pouches of her belt so that she could swing by her ship and give it to Georgie later.
              Talking to them did wonders for my spirit. Killian had an absurd sense of humor, and when I asked him to play another song on his ocarina, he happily obliged. Darby and I both listened to him play a tune that was catchy and upbeat. After a moment, I found myself tapping my fingers to the beat, rapping them on the edge of the table as the tempo of the song gripped me. It made me sorely wish that I could play an instrument. I wanted to join in on the melody, to strum or whistle or pluck along with Killian and make the song even more brilliant. I couldn’t, though. All I could do was nod my head and listen to him. And I guess I was okay with that.
              After his song ended, Darby and I clapped our hands in appreciation, and I almost didn’t notice Rigel approach until he was already at the edge of our table.
              “That was excellent,” he said to Killian, giving a smile as he tapped his fingers nervously on his thighs.
              Killian gave him a nod. “Why, thank you, Rigel. Do you play?”
              Rigel shook his head. “Uh…no, I don’t, sorry to say.” He turned his head toward me, his eyes flitting across mine for a brief second. “Do you think…I could talk with you for second?”
              I felt the gazes of Darby and Killian shift toward me, and my ears began to warm. “I’m surprised you came
towards
me, instead of running away,” I snapped at him. It was harsh, yes, but it felt good to say.
              Rigel shifted uncomfortably under the stares. “Elana, I…I’m sorry. I just thought I needed to win. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t take an opportunity to win, if you had the chance.”
              There was a loud screeching sound as I shoved my chair back from the table. Standing up, I got within just a few inches of Rigel’s face and glared up at him. “No, I wouldn’t!” I spat. “Because I know what the race does to people! You do, too! I wouldn’t let it turn me into someone who stabs their own friends in the back!”
              The hurt on Rigel’s face was clear as day. He blinked at me as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying to him. Before he could muster a reply, however, Audra Carina appeared behind him, a handful of grapes between her fingers. I hadn’t even noticed her get up from her bunk.
              “What a childish thing to say,” she scoffed, shaking her head at me. Her curtain of black hair fell delicately across her dark, piercing eyes. “If you aren’t willing to do what it takes to win…then why are you even here? Why bother entering the race at all? You’re just dooming yourself to failure.”
              Forgetting Rigel, I turned my body towards Audra, putting as much disdain into my gaze as I could. “Shut your mouth. For all your ‘I’m-so-much-better-than-you’ talk, it looks like you’ve forgotten that we’ve ended up at the same place at the same time. You aren’t ahead of me at all. And it’s gonna stay that way. You’ll see.”
              She raised a thin eyebrow and gave me a smirk. “Impressive rejoinder,” she relented. “But it won’t do you any good. Come tomorrow morning, they only thing I’ll see is this rag-tag gaggle of children in my rear-view.”
              She took several steps back, enjoying the furious looks that were burning into our faces. “You should try the grapes,” she said, turning her back on us. “Enjoy the luxury while you still can.”
              My anger was clouding my brain. I couldn’t think of anything snappy or clever to shout back at her. The only thought I could process was how much I’d love to hoist my boot into the air and kick her in the teeth.
              “I
really
don’t like her,” Darby muttered.
              Killian nodded. “Yes. Rather unpleasant, isn’t she?”
              Rigel’s soft touch on my forearm brought my attention back to him. “Look, I’d still like to talk with you. In private,” he said quietly.
           I took a small breath and looked up into his eyes. “Actually, I need some sleep,” I told him, trying to will my face from flushing. “I’m gonna hit the rack. You should, too. It’s been a long day.” I turned and gave Darby and Killian a brief smile. “Sorry, guys. If you’ll excuse me.”
              Killian gave a nod, and Darby patted my elbow gently. “Sweet dreams,” she said with a sweet smile.
              Before Rigel could ask for another sit-down, I skirted past him and made my way to the back corner, the one opposite of Audra, and dove into the bottom level of a bunk bed. I stayed there for a moment, but I decided that I wanted to feel clean before I slept. I didn’t have any clothes to change into, but I still wanted a shower. I got up once more and made my way over to the walled-off area that housed the lavatories, noticing that Rigel had taken my seat at the table with Darby and Killian. This bothered me more than a little. Now he was the one enjoying their company instead of me. I realized how immature the thought was, and I tried to shake it from my head. Even so, I couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about.
              After my shower, which was long and hot and fantastic, I redressed in my same grubby clothes and made my way back to the bunk in the far corner, carrying my boots and jacket under my arm. I noticed a couple of new faces in the warehouse, but I paid them no mind. I was exhausted and I needed to sleep. Even my friends had all found beds to rest in. Finally, after what felt like a hundred years, I flopped onto a bed, onto the fluffy solace of the bunk, and closed my eyes. I felt something sharp poking me in the hip, and I reached into my pocket, adjusting the small metal key that I had gotten from Willow Timbre. I had actually forgotten that I’d had it. I decided it would be safe where it was, and I plunged into sleep before I could even roll onto my side.

              I awoke to the blaring, excited voices of Reed and Lex coming from behind me. I made to open my eyes, but they felt like they had been tarred shut. Getting them fully open was quite a task, as was lifting my head, which didn’t want to leave my pillow at all. My face was covered in my own saliva, and I was still lying in the exact same position that I had fallen asleep. I didn’t know how long I had been snoozing, but it definitely wasn’t long enough. Unfortunately, as I swiveled my head around to look out at the warehouse, I knew that I wasn’t going to get anymore sleep at the moment. There were now over a dozen people in the place. Probably closer to fifteen. Apparently, they’d been trickling in while I was out. They had the radio in the common area turned up to a ridiculous volume, and with food and drink in their hands, their raucous conversations were no quieter.
              With a sigh, I twisted myself around and sat up, wincing at the terrible ache of my sore muscles. I needed to get away for a bit. I wanted some peace and quiet, and I definitely wasn’t going to find it here. I slipped my feet into my worn leather boots and cinched them tight before standing up and pulling on my jacket. I also grabbed my helmet and goggles, mostly to prevent anyone from stealing them, and haphazardly strapped them to my skull. As I moved, I felt my joints popping and cracking, and I had to keep from groaning out loud, but I was able to make my way through the crowd without drawing any attention to myself. I made a cursory glance around the building, unable to stop myself from scanning the faces for Rigel, but I couldn’t see him. I spotted Darby lying motionless on a bunk to the left and I envied her ability to stay asleep through the noise.
             As I reached the door to leave, however, I saw yet another well-dressed man in a suit standing guard by the door. Unlike the last couple I had seen, this one was bald. He was also very tall and very broad. No doubt he was here to prevent any skirmishes between racers.
              As I approached him, he didn’t even look up from the clipboard in his hand. I made sure to scuff the heels of my boots as I walked, just to make sure he knew I was there, and he finally sighed as I stopped in front of him.
              “Name?” he said monotonously, his husky voice flat with apathy.
              I cleared the thickness from my throat. “Um… Elana Silver.”
              Immediately, his head snapped up in surprise. His eyes, which were dark enough to look almost black, focused intently on me. “Wow,” he breathed. “It’s…hi.”
              My eyebrows pulled together. “Hello,” I said back to him, my face betraying my confusion. This guy was easily three hundred pounds of brute force, but he looked almost nervous as he stared down at me.
              “You’re the Blood Racer,” he said. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was in awe of me.
              I sighed. “I guess I am. Is it okay if I go out for some fresh air?”
              He nodded enthusiastically. “Certainly, Miss Silver. Certainly.” Reaching to the door, he rapped hard on it, and I could hear the sound of the lock clattering against the outside. After just a second, the door gave a metallic screech and swung open.
              “The night is yours,” the man said. “My name is Gregory. If you need anything, just ask me. Feel free to explore the city, make repairs to your craft, fraternize with other contestants, anything you want. Just stay out of trouble.”
              I gave a tired half-grin. “I don’t think I feel very troublesome. Do you know what time it is?”
              Gregory fumbled in his jacket pocket for a moment before pulling out a shining, very expensive looking watch. “It’s just after five,” he said.
              I nodded. That meant I’d been asleep for about six hours, give or take. Maybe tonight, when everyone had calmed down, I could get some more. Until then, I needed some time alone. I had never had the chance to explore Shiloh before. Now seemed like as good a time as any.
              Rubbing my eyes, I suppressed a yawn as I walked past him. “Thank you, Gregory,” I said, patting him on the arm, which was solid as stone.
              “M - Miss Silver!” he called after me, his face looking nervous once more. “Do you think…when you get back, I could…have your autograph? For- for my son, I mean.”
              I looked at him for several long seconds, waiting for him to burst out laughing at his own joke, but he didn’t. He was serious. I wasn’t sure how to react. This huge guy wanted my autograph? Really?
Me
?
              “Um…yeah, okay,” I said to him. I couldn’t deny the small flicker of enjoyment I felt as a huge smile spread across his rugged face. I turned to walk away, escaping before I could say something stupid and shatter his perception of me.
              The docks weren’t nearly as full as when I had arrived in Shiloh. I didn’t dare venture down there, not while the sun was still up, but as I walked across the alley ways that led there, I could see that the crowd had almost entirely dispersed. That was fine by me. I didn’t feel like drawing any stares. Well…any more than usual.
              My dingy attire and low quality leather gear made me stand out more effectively than anything. People looked at me with concern and confusion, and outright disgust in several cases, like I was a blight on their city, like I was ruining it just by being there. I was used to these kinds of stares, though. The people in Rainier were just as vain and petty. It had stopped hurting my feelings a few years ago.
              I ignored the citizens and focused on other things, like the technology that was apparent in Shiloh. One look around the skies, and it was obvious. This place was like no other in the Dominion. Dozens of single-person hoverbikes and other small craft whizzed through the buildings, weaving in and out along unseen roads. From so far below, they looked almost like insects buzzing the rooftops. The bikes must have been how the majority of the population got around. In New Eden, they were more than content to walk, as they were in Rainier and Adams. Here, though, in the biggest city in the Dominion, I guess they needed a faster way to move. I couldn’t deny that I desperately wanted to ride on one. I doubted they had the capabilities to go very far beyond the city itself, but I still knew it would be fun.
              Aside from the hoverbikes, I noticed that the taller skyscrapers were all built with large gaps in the middle of them, which were clearly meant to be places to park the bikes, or even a ship, and to make repairs, if needed. If I had to bet, I would have guessed that they were almost exclusively used for rich people to get in and out of places without having to deal with anyone else. This city truly was remarkable. Not in its technological achievements, though they were very impressive. It was remarkable how a city with so many people could have so little humanity in it.
              As I walked along the shops of the main streets, I couldn’t help but stare into the windows, looking at all the things they offered for sale. In a way, it was exciting, seeing things that most people in Adams had never seen before. But in another way, it was sort of depressing. It reminded me that I had so little in this life, so few things to show for all I had endured. I supposed that the shops were meant to make you feel that way, to make you feel like you needed to buy the things that they offered. There were stores with fancy hair greases, shaving razors, whiskeys and other drinks, even exquisite gowns and jewelry that I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing. There were places to buy radios, decorative knickknacks for your ship, and shiny toys for children. Anything that the Shiloh residents could want, they could easily get. Even though I knew it was stupid and unnecessary, I couldn’t help but feel envious of it. These people never had to worry about any of the things I worried about on a daily basis. They never wondered where their food would come from, or their clothes, or if they could afford to fix a leaky roof at home. They were free to live their lives.
              I had only been walking for about ten minutes before my eyes caught sight of a bright green shamrock painted above a shop door. Turning my head, I saw the words Canter’s Crafting written over the shamrock in black. I was immediately excited. This was Dan Canter’s metal shop! I told myself I would make sure to personally thank him for getting me this far in the race, and now was my chance. Without hesitation, I changed direction and strolled right through the shop door, hearing a small bell jingling above my head as I opened it.
              Although he did much of the same kind of work as Nichols did, Dan Canter’s shop was much tidier. Items that were for sale were arranged neatly on shelves, and included everything  from tools and various machine parts to clocks and metal prosthetics, similar to the one John Deseo wore. Just like with Nichols, I was amazed that one man could create so many different things.
              As I let the door shut behind me, Dan Canter himself emerged from a curtained doorway behind his stone-topped counter. He was much shorter than I had imagined. He wore spectacles like Nichols, but his weren’t nearly as complex and intricate. They were just simple eyeglasses. His dark hair was slicked back on top of his head, and his face was totally clean shaven. Not even a mustache. He wore a thick leather shop apron, which was lined with various hand tools, but beneath it, he was thin and wiry, the polar opposite of the grizzled old muscles that Nichols possessed. I wondered if this was Dan Canter at all.
              “The store’s closed,” Dan said, using a rag to wipe off the counter in front of him. “I’ll be open again tomorrow morning.”
              I faltered in my steps, wondering if I should just turn around. But, since I wasn’t sure I’d have the chance again anytime soon, I stayed put. “Actually, Mr. Canter, I just wanted to speak with you for a moment, if I could.”
              He glanced up from his cleaning and pushed the glasses up on his nose. He looked me over for a second and then sighed, nodding his head. I don’t know what he saw that made him change his mind, but I wasn’t going to ask.
              I took the last few steps up to his counter and stopped in front of him. “I - I just came to thank you, sir,” I said, wishing I had thought of something to say before just barging in here.
              Canter raised an eyebrow behind his lens. “Thank me?”
              I nodded. “Yes. I - see, I’m in the race. I live in Adams, and I work for a man named Nichols.”
              “Alastair Nichols?” Canter said, his face becoming brighter.
              I nodded again. “Yes, that’s him. My name’s Elana Silver, and I just -”
              Canter instantly stood straight up at the sound of my name, his eyes wide and excited as he stared at me. “Egads!” he huffed. “Elana Silver? The Blood Racer! In
my
shop!”
              I was just as surprised as he was. I hadn’t expected that reaction at all. He’d gone from surly and guarded to ecstatic, literally within two seconds. “You know me?” I asked, as if the answer wasn’t ridiculously obvious.
              “Are you kidding?” Canter said loudly. “All of Shiloh is talking about you! You’re an overnight sensation!”
              I blinked at him, suddenly at a loss for words. “Oh, I…well, I…”
              “This is wondrous!” he said, sounding like a young boy. “I would have gone to the docks to see the racers come in, but I had to keep the shop open. I never imagined getting to meet you in the flesh!”
              He stuck out his hand toward me, beaming at me with a tremendous smile. Still reeling from his excitement, I was slow to offer my own hand. When I did, though, he shook it with more gusto than I would have thought possible. He may have looked rather slight, but he had an iron grip, for sure. When he finally released my hand, I clenched my fist just to make sure I was still able to.
              I cleared my throat. “Well…I’m glad we got to meet,” I said honestly. “I wanted to tell you that…you’re the reason I’m still in this race.”
              His eyebrows shot skyward and he looked happily taken aback. “
Me
? Whatever do you mean, my dear?”
              I grinned at his expression. “The last clue I got, I didn’t know what it meant. I was going to have to go back a leg. But, there was a canteen that they gave us. And your symbol, the shamrock, was stamped on the bottom. That’s how I knew to come here. If you hadn’t put your seal on that canteen, I would have had to turn back.”
              Canter clapped his hands once, very loudly, and cackled with glee. “Well, how about that!” he cried. “The Blood Racer wins the race because of
me
!”
              Now it was my turn to laugh. “I haven’t won just yet,” I reminded him.
              He nodded and pushed his glasses up onto his nose again. “Well, of course, of course…but you will, won’t you?” He froze in place, looking at me with his mouth hanging open in a huge smile.
              “I will…definitely do my best,” I stammered, trying not to kill his enthusiasm. Luckily, he continued laughing and put his hands on his hips.
              “My, my, my,” he said, still staring at me with stars in his eyes. “What an evening this has turned out to be. I leave the door unlocked for the courier, and who walks in instead? Elana Silver!”
              Before I could respond, the bell above the door gave a sharp ring from behind me. Canter stepped forward and waved. “Ah, speak of the devil, and he shall appear!”
              “Come on, Dan,” said a familiar voice. “You know I only do devil on weekends.”
              I spun around and felt my face light up. “Sparks!” I shouted. “Never thought I’d see your bald head around here!”