“Not really,” he says. “I caught wind of some intel coming from within Kincaid’s web.”
“Good to know you’re still paying attention,” Falon says. She strides off. With her leather pants and simple black braid she’s intimidating, but we follow her as she exits through the dome’s hole onto the dock.
“Give her a few minutes,” Dante says. “She’ll warm up. She doesn’t like to admit when she’s worried.”
“And she’s been worried about you?” I guess.
“I’ve been preoccupied and with Kincaid hovering over you it’s been even harder to slip out.”
“So Kincaid doesn’t know about this operation?” Erik asks.
Dante takes a deep breath and then slowly shakes his head. “A lot of these people run refugees for him. It provides a cover and a living, but Kincaid doesn’t know about this place or everything our operation does.”
I look around at the workers. It’s a strange mix of people—many our own age, but plenty of older adults. They have belts with tools and goggles over their eyes or hanging at their necks for easy access. As we pass through the burst of steam that hangs over the dock, I see what’s at the end of it. The doors and windows I spotted are part of a metal box that hangs suspended from a balloon drifting in the air. Great steel ribs circle the envelope, locking in its shape. The aeroship is tethered to the dock by thick ropes. It’s the same type as the one I crashed on our first night here—the one I assumed was Guild.
I whirl on Dante. “Where are we? Who are these people?
Dante spreads his hands wide, gesturing to the bustle of activity around us. “Welcome to the resistance. Adelice, you’re in the heart of the Kairos Agenda.”
THIRTY
DANTE LEADS US ON A SHORT TOUR of the facilities, past instrument panels and groups poring over blueprints.
“What are they working on?” I ask.
“The grid,” Jax says, pointing to the panels. “We’re getting close to self-sufficiency.”
“You’re building a power grid?”
“The only way the Icebox—or any future city on Earth—can exist is with a power source,” Dante says.
“But Kincaid—”
“Is shortsighted,” Dante interrupts me. “He can only think of destroying Arras. He’s never considered what it will take to rebuild Earth after that. If we’re going to repopulate civilization, we’ll need access to power, and the last thing I want is to rely on Kincaid when that day comes.”
“We’re experimenting with an exclusively solar-based system,” Jax tells us. “We don’t have access to coal at this point. That’s still under Kincaid’s control, but I’ve built a photovoltaic array that is entirely dependent on solar energy. It will be easier when we have a power station with permanent arrays, but we’ll have to wait until the Interface comes before we can fully utilize my system.”
Jax and Dante answer more questions about their plans, but I stay silent. Not only is the Agenda alive, it’s growing. Dante and the other revolutionaries aren’t planning for war, they’re preparing for what comes after. As annoyed as I am that Dante hid this from me, I admire his foresight. It’s not something I’m naturally gifted with.
They take us to the aeroship and we step inside it to find a spacious viewing area that overlooks the ocean below us. Outside, a corridor exits onto an open-air deck, with ladders onto the rigid body of the ship. I can’t bring myself to ask the question waiting on my lips as I look around.
“They’re pulling the tethers,” Falon says, coming up to us. “I checked with the pilot and we have a confirmed rivet set up along the gathering route.”
“How many are coming through?” Dante asks.
“Only one with credentials, but he’s ensured passage for a few others,” Falon says.
“And what are we going to do with them?” Dante asks. “Kincaid is watching the Icebox too closely right now. It will be hard to get them safely established inside.”
“You’ll figure something out,” Falon says, her words more threatening than supportive. She won’t look at Dante, clearly still angry with him over the last few weeks.
“I don’t have the sway,” Dante says, grabbing her arm.
“Since when?” Falon demands.
“Since Kincaid got ahold of her,” Dante tells Falon. Their eyes swivel to me.
I love being in the middle of fights.
“Well, we can’t leave them now. They’re safely in the slub and they’ve been promised passage.”
“They’ll have to stay with the Agenda then, until we can distract Kincaid,” Dante says.
“Kincaid is already distracted,” Falon reminds him.
“But he won’t be for long, and your trick won’t elude him. He’ll be on the lookout for activity.”
“Anyone care to fill us in on what you’re talking about?” Erik asks. I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s having trouble following the conversation.
“Kincaid is on a fool’s errand,” Dante says in a grim voice.
“A fool’s errand?” I repeat, my heart dropping into my stomach.
“The intel on the Whorl was a distraction to get him away from the Icebox,” Falon says. “We needed to be sure that he was busy.”
“Why?” I demand, feeling sick: not only had I pinned my hope on them coming back with the Whorl, but, more important, Jost had as well.
“We have good reason to believe the Whorl is under Guild protection, and we couldn’t look for it with Kincaid nosing around,” Dante tells us.
“Does that mean you know where it is?” I settle into a chair, waiting for answers.
“Not yet, but we’re closing in on it—” Dante says.
“The most important thing”—Falon interrupts him—“is that we get to it first. We can’t risk the Whorl falling into Kincaid’s hands.”
“Why not? Kincaid wants to use it to sever the worlds,” I say. Getting to the Whorl was my best option for escaping the Guild once and for all. Even if Kincaid couldn’t be trusted, he could be used as a resource.
Falon’s head swings to the left and right as she looks to see who’s around, and then she shakes her head. “Kincaid isn’t Agenda.”
I suck in a breath. “Then who is he?”
“That should be obvious,” Falon says.
“Humor me.”
“He’s the bad guy.”
“Then we can’t go back to the estate,” Erik says.
“That’s exactly what you have to do,” Dante says in a rush. “What do you think will happen if you disappear from the estate?”
“You expect us to wait around and pretend we’re on Kincaid’s side?” I ask.
“If you place any value on the Agenda—” Falon begins.
“I don’t even know what the Agenda is planning!” I explode. “Where are we going now? Why should I trust any of you? You never came for us, and Dante’s been keeping secrets from us the whole time.” The questions and accusations flood from me, unleashed in a tidal wave of recrimination.
“I couldn’t tell you about this,” Dante says in a low voice, trying to draw me down from my rage. “It wasn’t safe.”
I wiggle in my seat, folding my arms over my chest. “And now was the right time?”
“No,” Dante admits, “but you were going to get yourself in trouble. You’ve both made that clear.”
“Maybe a little trouble is needed around here,” Erik says. I nod in agreement.
“We have enough trouble without a bunch of kids adding to it,” Falon says.
“Don’t get self-righteous with me,” I say, leaning forward and jabbing a finger in her direction. “I don’t care if Dante is my father, you and I are the same age.”
“You been in a lot of gunfights? Have you watched your best friend die in your arms?” Falon asks.
