“You’ve been through quite an ordeal,” she said. “I understand.”
“Stop it. Stop talking like that.”
“Like what?”
He grit his teeth. “Like you’re being filmed or something. Like you’re playing a different person. I don’t want you here. I hate you.”
She remained silent for a moment, eyes on the sky.
“You have nowhere else to go. Word of this will spread, and spread quickly. The Tribunal will blame an event like this on the Unified Party-”
He grabbed his hair, face shielded from her. “I don’t care.”
“True or not,” she continued. “That’s what they’ll do. This may trigger the war we’ve always feared. It will be traced back to you and Fisher. Maybe not immediately, but it will happen. You are not safe anywhere.”
He looked up at her, eyes watering. “And I’m safe with you?”
She sighed. “You are familiar with me. That will have to do.”
“I could kill you right now.” He shook his head. “All it takes is a thought.”
“You could.” Madame smiled, then let out a soft chuckle. “But you won’t. We both know that.”
Cassius turned away. He couldn’t look at her anymore. He couldn’t watch her smile as everything sunk around them. He glanced out his windshield.
A flash of red.
“What was that?” He pivoted to get a better look. Madame’s face bristled. She moved her attention back to the skies in time to see a second orb of red energy shoot past them like a comet plunging to Earth.
She laid off the accelerator, visibly shaken. The red energy came and went in less than a second and the air was clear again. Her mouth opened.
“I’ve never seen-”
“A red Pearl.” Cassius leaned forward.
She turned to him. “What?”
He felt the emptiness on his wrist. Theo may have perished, but Matigo’s son had accomplished his goal. The bracelets were gone, and with them the scrambling power of the Ridium. “You don’t know as much as you think you do. You don’t know anything.”
She swallowed. “None of the scanners detected-” A second Pearl interrupted her, carving a turbulent path about a hundred yards to her left. She gawked out the window and watched it fall before turning back to the controls.
“History,” Cassius said. “You wanna forget the history between us? We’re gonna be lucky if we have any history left.”
44
They start falling soon after the wreckage of Skyship Altair disappears from our view. Eva’s the first to see one, but soon all five of us are plastered against the windows, staring out at the Surface below.
They drop like regular Pearls, but far more frequently. It’s like Cassius said. Without the opposing force of our bracelets, the floodgates have opened. There are dozens of them at any given moment. Even without seeing it directly, I know they’re everywhere.
Some might be striking Skyships or Chosen Cities. Many will hit the Fringes. There will be Pearls in Siberia, dangerously close to the Academy. They’ll land in Africa. The Commonwealth. The ocean, maybe. They’re blanketing the Earth. And here we are-six of us in a tiny cruiser. Insignificant.
Avery’s shoulder touches mine. I can feel her trembling. “They’re not stopping,” she whispers. “They just keep falling, like a hailstorm.”
I shake my head. “They’re coming too soon. There are too many.”
We did everything we could, I tell myself. We followed the breadcrumbs. We were careful. Would things have been any different if I’d listened to Alkine and stayed at the Academy, confined?
I’m a disaster. One after another, my allies have been ripped away. Killed.
Mr. Wilson. Ryel. Morse. Bergmann. I didn’t listen, and now they’re dead. And I’m sure it won’t be long before the rest of us follow suit.
I turn around and lean my back against the window. I can’t look outside anymore. I can’t watch them land.
I can almost hear Theo’s laugh echoing in the sky. He’d love this. He’d consider it the greatest honor-the son paving the way for his father.
I kick at the floor and let out a deep sigh before burying my head in my hands. Then, allowing tears to spill over my fingers, I wipe my face and stand. “I should go see Cassius.”
But before I can take a single step, the door to the cockpit opens and Cassius walks out. He takes a breath as he scans the cabin. Then, voice trembling, he speaks. “We’re going underground.”
We turn to look at him. Eva crosses her arms. “Where?”
“There are Unified Party bunkers spread all around the Fringes. The closest is in Nevada. Madame has access. We’ll be safe until we can figure out what to do.” His eyes meet mine, pleading not to argue. I sense that he’s already had a difficult enough time talking with Madame up front.
“We can’t stay on the Surface,” he continues. “And we’re not in a position to… ” He stops himself. “We’re going underground. That’s all.”
I expect someone to challenge him, but nobody responds-not even Eva. There’s little choice, really. We don’t have the energy to fight. We wouldn’t know where to start if we did.
All of a sudden, green light filters through the windows, bathing the inside of the cabin in a soft, calming glow. I turn back to the window and see them instantly.
The Drifters fly on either side of our cruiser, encircling us in a protective formation. I can see their faces from this distance, and make out their plain white clothing. They’re here, Sem and Talan and every one I freed on Altair.
I spin around. My heart beats faster, or maybe it’s the energy outside. “Look,” I point. “In the sky. It wasn’t all for nothing. They’re here. They’re following us.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Cassius says. “We’re going underground either way. We can’t do anything like this. We’ll die, and then we won’t be of use to anyone.”
I nod, even though I hate the thought of it.
I am already here.
Now Matigo has his army.
The cruiser lurches beneath us. Skandar rushes to the window. “We’re heading down.”
Avery crosses her arms. “That was quick.”
“The ground’s opening,” Skandar continues. “I see it.”
Cassius sighs. “Say goodbye to all of this, at least for a little while.”
I take a last glance into the sky and watch the storm of red Pearls. Is it defeat? Are we running away? What would my parents want us to do?
I shut off the questions. They’ll drive me crazy if I let them control me. Cassius is right. We can’t do anything in this condition. The world will have to defend itself for now.
The windows darken.
The ground swallows us whole and everything’s silent.
45
Thirty-eight hours later:
The silence is what kills me.
