Sky Raiders (22 page)

All around the room, raiders sprang to their feet. Many shuffled toward Cole. Another large group headed for the hall to the back door. Cole noticed Pickett slip into that hall, ahead of the mass of raiders.

Outrunning the other raiders, Jace and Twitch dashed by Cole. “Let’s get her out of here,” Jace gasped without slowing.

Sidestepping so he could face backward, Cole retreated, arrow nocked and ready. The oncoming raiders collided with one another as they crammed from the wide room into the bottleneck of the hallway. Some stumbled and fell, further clogging the passage. Jostling one another, they grimaced and elbowed and made slow progress. Eli was among the foremost. Giving Cole a meaningful look, he motioned for him to run.

Suddenly Cole got it. The raiders hadn’t turned into clumsy fools. They were deliberately blocking the hallways to give him a chance.

Turning, he sprinted down the hall until he reached the stairs to the caves. Bounding down recklessly, he followed the only underground route he knew well—the way to the landing bay. He could hear people running ahead of him—probably Jace and Twitch.

Why had the raiders decided to help them? Would they keep the halls plugged for long? He had no answers, but he knew that if Mira didn’t get in the air quickly, she probably wouldn’t get the chance. It was well into the afternoon. The salvaging parties had all returned. Would the landing bay be sealed? If so, could they open it?

While making his way toward the hangar, Cole heard footfalls behind him. Glancing back, he saw Mira. He slowed to let her catch up.

“Why are you behind me?” he asked.

“I had to swing by my room,” she said breathlessly, reaching him and then passing him. “We need an operator’s stone to fly a lifeboat.” He saw that she had grabbed her Jumping Sword as well.

Cole ran hard. Keeping up with Mira was a challenge. Her full sprint was a little faster than his.

They burst through the entrance to the landing bay to find all the cliffside exits closed. The hangar was sealed up tight, the three big skycraft looming in the lamplight.

Jace was yelling at an older guy named Martin.

“Adam will have your head if you don’t open it now!” Jace cried. “It’s a Situation Spoiled. He said it twice.”

“And if you’re lying?” Martin replied.

“Then we’ll be the ones in hot water!” Jace shouted.

“He’s not lying,” Twitch said.

“I have a stone,” Mira called, drawing her Jumping Sword and leaping aboard the
Vulture
.

Keeping hold of one end, Jace threw his golden rope toward the
Vulture
. Uncoiling, it stretched out longer than
Cole had seen it reach before, and the far end snaked around the mast. The rope then abruptly shortened, lifting Jace off his feet and pulling him aboard. After he landed on the deck, the rope unraveled from the mast.

Cole didn’t hear footsteps until just before Captain Pickett burst into the landing bay, sword in hand. Whirling, Cole pulled the arrow back and aimed low, at the legionnaire’s legs. Less than ten feet separated Cole from the officer. As Cole released, Pickett dodged sideways, and the arrow streaked past him.

Pickett lunged forward and Cole skipped away, yanking the bowstring back until another arrow appeared. Pickett charged straight, Cole released the arrow, and it pierced the officer’s thigh. Cole scurried aside as Pickett went to the ground with an anguished growl. Nobody came racing into the room behind him. For now, the legionnaire was alone.

Drawing his Jumping Sword, Cole pointed it at the deck of the
Vulture
and shouted, “Away!” As usual, the leap made his insides flutter. He held tightly to the sword as it hauled him up, over the railing, and onto the deck where he landed in a stumble. Twitch ran aboard the
Vulture
using the gangplank.

Mira and Jace were climbing into a lifeboat called the
Fair-Weather Friend
. Turning a wheel set against the wall, Martin began opening one of the smaller cliffside exits, not much bigger than a typical garage door. Late-afternoon daylight streamed into the hangar, outshining the lamps.

Cole hurried to the lifeboat. Jace sat in the rear by the tiller. A smooth, dark stone hung from a chain around his neck. He gave Cole a flat stare. “You coming?”

Twitch reached the lifeboat and jumped in as Cole hopped inside.

“You sure, Twitch?” Jace asked.

“I’m with you,” he responded.

“Hurry!” Pickett cried out. “They’re aboard the
Vulture
!”

Jace grabbed the tiller and tugged one of the levers. The lifeboat lurched forward, rocking Cole back. He clung desperately to the gunwale as the boat tilted enough to almost dump him over the side. After rearing up too steeply, the
Fair-Weather Friend
leveled out and dipped its nose toward the cliffside opening.

Legionnaires streamed into the room, swords drawn, some bearing bows. From his position on the floor, Pickett gestured manically at the fleeing lifeboat.

“Stop them!” Pickett cried. “Close the hatch!”

Several of the other legionnaires forcefully repeated the command as they raced toward the widening exit. Cole slouched down as arrows hissed into the air, some striking the stern of the lifeboat near Jace.

“You out of arrows?” Jace asked Cole, the skycraft wobbling as he tried to crouch and steer at the same time.

Cole wasn’t anxious to raise his head, but some shots at the legionnaires would force them to take cover and slow their attack. He sat up, pulled back his bowstring, and sent an arrow toward the soldiers, then repeated the action again and again, a new arrow appearing every time. Keeping low, Cole took little aim, focusing instead on speed and on not getting shot. An arrow whistled past, almost close enough to scratch him, and he ducked down again. More arrows thumped against the hull.

“Hold your fire!” Pickett called, his voice strained. “You might hit the girl. Block their escape!”

To Cole’s horror, he saw Martin slumped against the wall, pierced by three arrows. Mouth open, head lolling, the raider looked up at them blankly, one of his hands twitching. The lifeboat had almost reached the exit! The hatch hadn’t been raised very much, and many legionnaires were charging their way. It would be close.

“Heads down,” Jace ordered as the lifeboat rasped through the gap, the keel scraping the landing bay door.

After ducking, Cole looked back to see legionnaires appear in the cliffside opening. As the
Fair-Weather Friend
climbed away from the landing bay at full speed, Cole released arrow after arrow back at the opening, forcing the soldiers to stand aside. They got off a few arrows, but none hit the lifeboat.

“We’re leveling off?” Cole asked.

“If we climb too fast, the cavalry will use us for target practice,” Jace replied. “We’ll go higher once we’re farther from the Brink.”

“Of course today has to be clear,” Twitch grumbled.

Cole looked around. The sun was dropping toward the dark mass of the Western Cloudwall. The only normal clouds were high and wispy. The castles were few and distant. “Not many places to hide.”

“How long before they come after us?” Mira asked.

“They’ll demand skycraft,” Jace said. “Adam is in no position to deny them. He’ll stall a little, but not for long. Situation Spoiled doesn’t call for direct resistance.”

“They’ll also track us from the cliff top,” Twitch said. “Even at top speed, a lifeboat can’t outpace a horse.”

“Maybe not at full gallop,” Jace said, “but a horse can’t gallop forever.”

“The legion has good horses,” Twitch said. “They can probably gallop long enough to keep us from landing on the Brink before they have the skycraft after us. Even if we get ahead of them, on a day like today they’ll see where we return to the cliff and track us down.”

“If we’re doomed, why’d you come?” Jace snapped in frustration.

Twitch gave a little shrug. “I’m done with Skyport. We risk our lives on every mission. This seemed dangerous, but I’ll take one big risk over all the missions I have left. If we can stay free until nightfall, we might slip away into the darkness.”

The lifeboat was climbing again. Skyport shrank behind them, the horses and the legionnaires becoming an army of ants. With the fresh breeze in his face and the warm sun about to set, Cole could almost forget they were still in danger.

“What are our assets?” Jace asked. “I have my rope. Mira and Cole have their Jumping Swords. Where’d you score the bow, Cole?”

“On our last mission,” Cole said. “I stashed it away in case I needed it.”

Jace whistled. “That could have gotten you in deep trouble. I won’t complain, though. How long until it runs out of arrows?”

“Supposedly, never.”

“That’ll be useful if they get close,” Jace said. “You have rotten aim, but you can make up for it with volume. By the way, when a guy is coming for you, don’t shoot at his legs. If it’s worth shooting him, it’s worth shooting him dead. Aim for the middle of his chest. Trying to wing an enemy will get you killed.”

“I didn’t want to kill the guy just for doing his job,” Cole said, a little embarrassed by the reprimand.

“His job was to kill you,” Jace said. “They obviously want Mira alive, but they’d take out the rest of us without losing any sleep.”

“He’s right, Cole,” Twitch said. “The legion plays for keeps.”

“How about you, Twitch?” Jace asked. “What do you have that might help us?”

“Nice try,” Twitch said.

“It’s not a game anymore,” Jace insisted. “Tell us.”

“It was never a game,” Twitch replied, wringing his fingers. “I kept my special item secret before, and I’ll keep it secret now. Knowing what it is won’t affect our plans. You’ll find out if I have to use it.”

“Can it camouflage us?” Jace asked. “Make us invisible? Knock a skycraft out of the air?”

“If I could do something like that, I’d tell you. My secret won’t affect our strategy.”

“What
is
our strategy?” Mira asked. “Try to evade them until it gets dark? Hope for a moonless night?”

“The landing bay is opening up,” Cole said, eyes on the cliff. “All three of the big entrances.”

Jace nodded. “We’ll head as far away from the Brink as
we can. A lifeboat is a bit faster than the big skycraft. We’ll veer toward the Eastern Cloudwall. It’s almost twice as far from us as the Western Cloudwall, so we’ll have more room to maneuver. Plus, there are more castles that way.”

“How many do you count east of us?” Twitch asked.

“Five,” Jace replied.

“Six,” Twitch said, pointing. “You probably missed that little one down low.”

Jace leaned eastward and squinted. “You’re right, I missed that one. Not that it matters. It’s almost to the cloudwall. We couldn’t get there before it vanishes.”

“Do you think we could hide out at one of the castles?” Cole asked.

“Might be worth a try as a last resort,” Mira said. “The problem is that any castle safe enough to hide us will probably be easy to attack. We could end up cornered.”

“If they have a bunch of skycraft, they might corner us in the air,” Cole said. “Maybe one of the castles has defenses, like the catapults at Parona.”

“It might be worth checking out,” Jace said. “But only because we have so few options.”

“This won’t be easy,” Mira said. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t make us come,” Jace said.

“Why’d you stick your neck out for me?” Mira asked.

Jace shrugged, looking away from her. “They had no proof you belonged to them. It made me mad to think of them taking you away.”

Cole wondered if Mira really didn’t get how much Jace liked her. She seemed oblivious.

“It made you mad, so you attacked legionnaires and ran away with us?” Mira asked.

“I have a bad temper,” Jace mumbled.

“Did you really used to belong to the High Shaper?” Twitch asked.

“Who are you to probe at secrets?” Mira complained.

Blinking rapidly, Twitch gave a nervous chuckle. “I’m one of the guys who ran away with you and might get killed for it. I’m just wondering if their claim is legit.”

“The High Shaper knows me,” Mira said. “I was never his slave. I shouldn’t say more. It could put you in even greater danger.”

“Here come the skycraft,” Cole said, watching as the
Vulture
, the
Borrower
, and the even the damaged
Domingo
glided out of the landing bay openings and away from the cliff.

“We’re in hot water already,” Jace said. “We’ll probably end up captured, falling, or dead. What’s the Big Shaper’s attachment to you?”

“It’s complicated,” Mira said. “I’m not really a slave. The mark is real, but it’s a cover. Durny was helping me hide. Is that enough?”

“I guess, if it’s all you want to spill,” Jace said. “Did you know that guy from Zeropolis? Joe?”

“I’ve never seen him before,” Mira said, glancing at Cole. “I think he knows who I am.”

“I hope so.” Jace chuckled. “He probably got himself killed for you.” He paused. “The High Shaper sent four hundred legionnaires to track you down. That’s the craziest part. Why would he do that for anyone?”

“It was for Carnag, too,” Mira reminded him.

“Right, but the Brink is a good distance out of the way,” Jace said. “They could have sent a smaller group. But all four hundred came. Why?”

“Good question,” Twitch murmured, biting his thumbnail.

Mira looked at them. “The visit from the legion means I’m in serious trouble. The less you get involved, the better. My secret isn’t fun. It would make you targets for the rest of your lives.”

“We’ll probably get killed, anyway,” Jace said. “It would be nice to know why.”

Mira sighed. “Okay. Here’s the short version. The High Shaper is a monster. I know some things about the death of his five daughters. He planned it. He got away with murder. I even have proof. He would do anything to keep that secret.”

“You’re serious,” Jace said, astonished.

She nodded. “Four-hundred-legionnaires serious.”

Everyone kept silent for a long moment.

“The skycraft are spreading out,” Twitch reported. “They’ve deployed all the lifeboats. While heading this way, they’re also cutting off any retreat to the Brink.”