“Does the President know that they’re doing this? Using schools?”
She smiled-a cold, disenchanted smile. “There’s a reason the President’s in hiding, Cassius. He’d like everybody to think we’re as unified as our moniker suggests, but things are never that simple. Remember what I talked about last night? Small, unconnected moments. Sometimes it takes a person of fierce awareness to connect the dots. The President is not that man. He’s better suited to pacifying rebellious Fringers than worrying about Skyships and Pearls.”
“Well, if this kid is so important, why are you sending me to get him?”
“I trust you, Cassius. I wouldn’t be telling you any of this if I didn’t. I cannot trust anybody else in the Unified Party. As I said before, there are… things that we don’t talk about, that I don’t talk about. Things I’ve seen, things I know. Things I must keep a secret, even from you.”
He shook his head. “About Jesse Fisher.”
She nodded, glancing in his direction. “About a lot of things.” She cleared her throat. “Besides, an adult agent would never make it inside Skyship Academy undetected. They’re having a visitation day at the end of the week and you’re going to board their ship as a prospective student. I’ve already arranged a passport for you. We’ll wire a skin graft over the identification code on your wrist. Luckily your little stunt in the dormitories seared most of the residual Surface chemicals from your skin. Their scanners shouldn’t be a problem.”
“You really think it’s safe? You think I won’t be caught?”
She shook her head. “It’s as safe as we can make it. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble these past hours, Cassius. You shouldn’t have gone to Syracuse, for your own sake.”
He opened his mouth to apologize, but realized it wouldn’t do any good. As always, he couldn’t discern what she was really feeling. Her face remained stony and impenetrable.
After an uncomfortable gap of silence, Madame broke from her trance. “As Head of Energy, I have access to whatever military force I deem necessary. If anything goes horribly wrong, you will be well-supported. But I would prefer to keep this off the radar. For now.” She sighed. “Before I go, I’ve got something to share with you. If nothing else, it should inspire you to take on this mission.” She reached below the bed to retrieve a small black cube-about half a foot wide and equally as tall. “This is from your mother.”
“But-”
“Your real mother.” She ran her fingers across the smooth, shiny exterior. “When you came to me, so did this.”
Cassius analyzed it, trying to figure out what the cube had been carved from. It looked almost like marble, though it couldn’t have weighed much judging by the ease with which Madame had hefted it. The only mark was a small keyhole at the top center. No dings or scratches, though it was obviously very old.
“What’s inside?”
“A cure, I hope. For the fire within you.” She set the cube in front of him. “Other than that, I have no idea.”
Cassius touched the side of the cube. It felt colder than the rest of the room, like touching a tombstone. He glanced up at Madame’s face. His birth mother was certainly one of the subjects they never talked about. There wasn’t much to say. Why care about a pathetic junkie? But then again, he’d never known a junkie to carry around such a strange object. His mind raced with ideas of what could be inside. Inheritance, birth certificates, photographs. The last thought made his heart skip a beat. He’d never seen a photograph of his parents.
“Where’s the key?”
Madame frowned, pointing up to the ceiling. Cassius knew exactly what that meant.
Skyship.
He nodded. “Fisher.”
“Find Jesse Fisher, and in addition to a cure, we’ll get you that key.” She stood up. “Now if there’s nothing else, I’m going to see about getting you some food. We’ll start briefing tomorrow afternoon. I’ll need you strong from the get-go. I laid an extra uniform on the chair over in the corner. I’m sure you’re eager to get out of that hospital gown.”
She grabbed the cube from his lap and took a few steps toward the door before pausing and turning around. “And Cassius, remember this is just between you and me. Please keep it that way.”
He nodded.
“Fantastic.” She exited the room without a goodbye, leaving a mountain of unanswered questions in her wake.
6
I swirl a spoon through a bowl of the canteen’s leftover mystery chili, mentally replaying the events of the day. A janitor mops the floor by the kitchen. It’s just me and him tonight.
I sit at a circular table in the corner of the room. The chili’s cold. It tastes even worse than it smells. I can’t say our cooks know how to do Mexican. They should stick with what they do best-opening cans and dumping them into serving bowls.
The walls around me are the same color as the seven pitiful pieces of melted cheese that congeal into a rubbery disc in the center of the bowl. I would have been better off sneaking a couple pieces of fruit down to my room and calling it a night.
“Well,” a figure enters the canteen, “I can’t wait to join this fun little pity party.”
I look up and smile, even though she’s twenty minutes late.
Avery Wicksen: fellow orphan, snoop extraordinaire, and totally unattainable eighteen-year-old post- grad.
She skips over to the corner of the room, plopping down on the seat next to me. Her straw-colored hair’s tied up away from her face. She wears a pale-blue tank top and loose-fitting jeans, and couldn’t be more beautiful if she tried. She stares down into the bowl, shaking her head. “That is a crime against nature. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
I push the bowl away. “I was wondering if you were gonna show up.”
She grins, the faint cluster of freckles on each side of her smile dancing up and down. “Ran into some trouble with Dolores. Trouble in the sense that I couldn’t escape her. I swear that woman is in love with me.”
I lean against the wall, facing her. Dolores Anderson is the fossil-old librarian that Avery works with during the day. Given her less-than-stellar training record and knack for ditching classes, the teachers stuck Avery with mass boring library work rather than graduating her to full-blown agent status. Hanging out with her is like taking a look at my own future. If only our similarities were enough to hypnotize her into falling in love with me. “You two have tea again?”
She nods. “Ever since her husband died she’s been so clingy. Part of me wishes they’d just send her off to one of the retirement ships. Rigel, maybe.”
“Yeah, right. Once you’re up here, you’re here to stay. Unless you wanna let the Tribunal do a full mind wipe.”
Avery shrugs. “ Nature’s doing a mind wipe on Dolores. Sometimes I think she mistakes me for her daughter.” She pauses. “But enough about her.” She grabs my wrist. “How are you?”
“Been better,” I reply.
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.”
She leans in closer, squinting and placing her fingers on my cheek. An orchestral symphony swells inside my body. For a second I’m convinced that she’s gonna kiss me. My mind frantically searches for the right thing to do. Lean forward, grab her shoulder, pucker up. Then she opens her mouth.
“Are you aware that you have an imprint of a brick on the side of your head?”
My inner symphony hits a bum note and the orchestra lights flicker off. “Yeah, I’m aware. It hurts like hell.”
She chuckles. “Did someone brand you?”
I lean back, knowing that the red mark is the least of my worries. “I told you I don’t want to talk about
