I’m not sure what he means, but I nod anyway. Something about his voice calms me.
Ryel scoots forward and extends his arm. Leaning in, his fingers make contact with the largest of the symbols. His face tenses in pain. His eyes close. Suddenly, the burning in my chest starts to numb. It dulls from raw stinging into something more distant. Then, when it’s nearly gone, Ryel pulls back.
He lets out a noisy breath, like someone’s kicked him in the gut, and rests his clasped hands in his waist. “Can you sit up?”
I push on my elbows and pull my body from its halflaying, half-sitting position.
Ryel rubs his temple. “The last sliver of Pearl energy, from deep inside of me. You’ll be more comfortable now.” He watches my fingers, as if he expects me to pick at the symbols. “Don’t touch them, not until they begin to fade. You’ll be thankful that you didn’t.”
Eva moves in closer. “What are those things?”
“A message.”
I shake my head, panicking more as I think about it. “I don’t understand. What did he do to me?”
I hear Theo’s voice in the distance. “Looks like knife work.”
Nobody responds.
Ryel shakes his head. “That wasn’t a friend out there. The energy alone was too much for me to bear. I felt it… the pain. It’s like poison.”
Eva kneels beside him. “What do those symbols say?’
“A warning,” Ryel replies, and I can tell by his tone that he doesn’t want to say anymore.
I wince as the burning flares up again.
Eva stares at Ryel, eyes wide. “Well?”
He swallows.
Cassius coughs. “Tell us.”
Ryel nods before taking a deep breath. “I am already here.” He pauses. “That’s what it says. I am already here.”
Cassius stands and shakes his head. “I’m getting us out of the swarm, as far away from that thing as possible.”
Ryel stays frozen as Cassius darts to the cockpit. Nobody says a word.
The words filter through my ears without sticking. I close my eyes and try to float away, but I can still hear the buzzing outside. There’s no escaping this. When I open my eyes, Ryel’s staring at me, so pointed and direct that I can barely look back.
“I don’t know how he’s tracing you,” Ryel says. “But it seems clear to me who this message is from.”
My lip trembles. I don’t want to say it.
“I am already here,” he repeats. Lines begin to show on his forehead. “It can’t be. There were rumors of Matigo’s exile, but no evidence that he’s made it to Earth.”
I grab my shirt from the floor and pull it over my head. The cloth scratches the symbols, triggering a short shock of pain. I try to ignore it. I pull my knees close to my chest and rest my head, shaking. I breathe deep and try to think rationally. The discomfort fades, replaced by a cold fear. “It could mean something else.”
Ryel frowns. “We must prepare for the worst.”
“If Matigo’s really on this planet… ”
“Then the invasion has begun,” he whispers.
26
Sunlight peeks through the upper windows on either side of the cabin as we ascend from the cloud of insects. Cassius brings us into the air without hesitation. I’m not sure where he thinks we’re going.
Ryel stands, keeping his eyes on me. “Do you feel strong enough to walk?”
I raise my head to answer, but don’t get anything out before the overhead speakers click on. Cassius’s voice streams through the cabin. “We’ve got trouble,” he says. “Three ships on the radar. I don’t recognize any of them.”
Eva straightens at attention. “I’ll head to the cockpit and see if I can help him.”
Before she can get there, the entire cabin shudders. The gray siding of a ship barrels past our starboard, perilously close. We tilt in its wake before Cassius stabilizes the cruiser. A second ship jostles us again, shooting past the opposite side.
Eva falls to the ground.
Avery grabs hold of her seat. “These are Academy ships.” She glances out the window. “I’d recognize them anywhere.”
Ryel staggers to the far side of the cabin, hand on his head. Cassius’s voice sounds from the speakers again. “They’ve got us surrounded. Damn, these things are quick.”
I swallow. The pain is nothing now compared with what’s outside. “Alkine.” I grit my teeth. “He’s found us.”
We rush into the cockpit. Cassius sits at the steering, banging his fist on the wall. Beyond the windshield I see a pair of Academy ships-the two that passed us moments ago. They’re flying close enough that I can read the identification numbers on their tail fins.
“There’s one behind us too,” Cassius says.
Eva rushes to the co-pilot’s seat. Cassius shakes his head. “Should we open fire?”
Avery steadies herself against the rocking cockpit. “We do that, and we might as well declare war on the Academy.”
“They know I’m inside,” I say. “That must be it. They’ve probably been tracking us ever since we left Siberia.”
Eva drums her fingers on the console. “I did the best I could. The radar-”
“It’s too late now.” I press my hands against my head, cursing. “Is there any way of hitting them without killing anybody?”
“At this range?” Cassius laughs. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“We can’t open fire,” Eva says. “Avery’s right. It would be seen as an act of-”
“Wait.” Cassius motions to the radar. “Do you see that?”
Eva leans in to examine the display. “The one behind us is pulling away.”
“Why would it do that?” I scoot between them.
Cassius grips the steering, sweat pooling on his hands. “I don’t like this… ”
An explosion rumbles behind us. The console lights flash red. Then the alarms confirm it.
“They’ve clipped our wing!” Cassius releases his grip.
Avery hunkers against the wall. “They’re opening fire on us?”
The cruiser takes a violent dip to the left. I try to keep my balance but end up crashing to the floor.
“The stabilizer!”
We begin to pinwheel. The Academy’s ships pull away from our nose as we lose altitude.
“Strap yourselves in,” Cassius warns.
A second burst comes from below us. By the sound of it, this one’s worse. Dark smoke obscures the sky outside. A deafening whistling pierces the air as we plummet.
“Strap in!” Cassius repeats. “Find a seat! I’m gonna have to pull one hell of an emergency landing.”
I scoot along the floor, fighting gravity as I reach for the nearest pull-down seat. Once I’ve got it, I grab onto the belt and force myself sideways up onto the cushion. In moments, I’ve got the belt secured around my waist. The cruiser rocks in a nauseous seesaw.
I watch as Avery and Ryel struggle to reach the remaining seats at the backside of the cockpit. The nose of the cruiser dive bombs into the swarm, spearing hundreds of thousands of insects. They splat against the windshield, covering it in thick splotches of oily gunk. It’s impossible to see. It might as well be dark out.
Pellets slam against all sides of the cruiser, helpless locusts colliding without a chance. Then, silence.
The skies open up. Insect guts fly from our windshield until there are just enough holes of light to see
