Cassius frowns. “But the government’s retaliation efforts-”
“I told you I must carry this secret, Cassius. Our people demanded revenge. Someone had to pay. That someone happened to be a group of people that had been troubling our country for far too long.”
“Skyship was right,” I say, gritting my teeth. “There were no terrorists. Your retaliation… it was… murder.”
Madame pauses. For a moment I think that she’s gonna defend herself, but she just shakes her head, eyes shut. “No one knows what Pearls really are, what they carry inside. And nobody knows the terrible sins we’ve committed better than me. It’s our duty to correct our mistakes… to use the energy from the invaders to make this world livable.”
“And kill people in the process,” I say.
“They are not people,” she counters. “It’s Homeland Security. They’ve prepared this world for colonization… triggered environmental change and pitted us against one another. They thrive in heat, Jesse, and they’d prefer we lie down and die before they arrive. I cannot let them win.”
I look up at the charred, skeletal buildings around us, trying to imagine chemical-filled missiles shooting down from space. The only missiles I can imagine are the ones deployed by America after the bombings. It’s true what the Tribunal always said. The Unified Party is more than dangerous. They destroyed an entire chunk of the world. They’d do it again if they had to.
I cross my arms, glaring at her. “So what are you gonna do? Kill me?”
“No,” she replies. “Not unless you force me to.” She places her hand on her hip. “I’ve been watching you, Jesse Fisher. As soon as I saw what you were capable of in Portland, I had my team move into action. We caught the invader you freed and disposed of it. I nearly pounced on you then, but decided it was better to wait. You were heading to Seattle, after all. What better place to have this conversation? Vacant buildings all around us. No one need know.”
“Captain Alkine’s on his way,” I start. “My friends-”
“Oh?” She holds the device up to her lips and whispers into it, smiling. “These friends?”
Footsteps surround us. I notice movement among the rubble and watch as Unified Party soldiers approach from every angle, forming a wall around the entire intersection. Their uniforms blend into one another until we’re surrounded on all sides by a dark, unmoving circle. Two particularly large soldiers approach farther, positioning themselves on either side of Madame. One grips Skandar. The other pins Eva close to his chest. Handcuffs, leg restraints, gags. The whole deal.
Madame’s eyes dart from side to side, then settle back on me. “Your so-called Academy really needs to raise its standards.” She cranes her neck, snapping her fingers to get the attention of the soldiers behind us. Before I can turn around, they creep up and drag the Pearl girl away into the ruins. Avery lies peacefully beside me. Skandar and Eva stare at me with wild eyes, struggling with their restraints.
“I can destroy everything you love,” Madame says, “so I suggest you listen closely to what I’m about to say.”
I glance around at the ever-increasing wall of soldiers, so many that the ones in the back fade into the smog.
Several hundred, at least, and only one of me. One snap of Madame’s finger and they’ll rush in. I don’t really have a choice.
“Join me,” she continues. “We need you. You can control them… bring Pearls to us and away from the Skyships. We’ll restore America to what it once was. A beacon of hope, of progress.”
I grit my teeth. “Why would I want to help the Unified Party?”
Her eyes slit. “Because it is the winning party. Because we alone have the capabilities to harness your power and use it where it is most needed.”
“No,” I say. “Not you. I won’t help you.”
She scoffs. “Perhaps you’re not understanding. You’re not in a position to be disagreeing with me. If you don’t turn yourself in, I will kill you. Sure, it’ll make things harder on my end, but I can’t allow you to exist if you’re not working for me. It’s a matter of survival.” She advances. “Without a Pearl you’re just a scared little boy.” She glances up at the sky. “And I don’t see any Pearls falling, do you?”
Cassius shifts beside me, clearing his throat of the smog. “You lied to me.”
Madame stops in her tracks and turns to him as if she had forgotten that he was standing there. “Excuse me?”
“You said you’d find a cure,” he mutters. “You said you didn’t know where I came from. You lied to me.”
She shakes her head. “I was looking out for you, Cassius. I was protecting you.”
“No,” he continues, “you didn’t protect me on the Chute. You didn’t protect me afterward, in the desert.”
“There are very important things that you don’t-”
“There is no cure, is there?”
She sighs, dropping her hands to her sides. “This is what you are, Cassius. The reaction. Your brother unlocks the Pearls, you channel whatever energy he’s unable to control. It manifests itself as fire, an element native to this planet. I didn’t want this for you, but there’s no going back.”
He stares at the ground, dodging her eyes. “That’s what I am to you, then. A reaction. An afterthought?”
“That’s not it, Cassius. You’re very powerful.”
His head darts up and he shoots out his hand. A fireball erupts from his palm. Madame staggers back, shielding her face. The fire dissipates almost as quickly as it had appeared. “That’s right,” Cassius says. “I’m powerful.”
Madame adjusts her jacket, then motions for another soldier to approach her. This one carries a black cube half a foot long on each side. When he’s close enough, he tosses it to Madame. Cassius watches her catch it with great interest.
“The cube I brought to you in the infirmary,” she says. “It’s not a lie. When your bracelet had finished decoding its warning it… transformed-melted and dripped from my fingers right down onto the floor.” She cradles it in her hand. “Into this. This is your bracelet, Cassius. There’s one keyhole at the top, that’s all. Nothing will open it.”
I feel the silver key press against my chest beneath my torn shirt.
“Join me, boys,” she continues, “and we’ll unlock it together. We’ll see this country flourish. We’ll take care of our people down here, every one of them, and we will be a family. You’ve always wanted a family, haven’t you Jesse?”
I watch Skandar and Eva kick at the soldiers holding them captive, then glance down at Avery, still unconscious on the ground. Some family.
I shake my head. “People in Fringe Towns, you’ve forgotten them. You’re trying to start a war with Skyshippers. That’s not family.”
Her expression hardens. “Cassius?”
He glances off to the side. “I don’t know… ”
She sighs, pivoting to face the two closest soldiers. “Very well. We’ll start with your friends, Jesse.” She nods to her men. The soldiers’ hands move to Eva and Skandars’ necks, closing in and gripping tightly. Their expressions strain as the soldiers choke them. Their arms are secured tightly behind their backs. There’s no way they can break free.
I rush forward. “No, wait!”
Madame raises a hand. The soldiers’ grip weakens. “Second thoughts, Mr. Fisher?”
“Don’t hurt them,” I say. “Please.”
She smiles. “Then you’d better do as I ask.”
“Let them go.”
“Not until you are escorted safely onto my shuttle.”
I mentally curse myself, wishing I had a Pearl in my hand. Or something… something to distract her.
I take one last look at Avery and step forward. Madame motions for the nearest soldier to grab me. I hold out my fists. The soldier removes a pair of shackles from a compartment on the side of his belt. Madame smiles.
Then a voice cuts through the silent city, calling my name in the distance. The soldier turns, distracted. A
