Into the Still Blue

The blare of an alarm exploded into the chamber. Hess’s eyes snapped up to the speakers.



Perry’s balance faltered as the floor kicked up, a feeling like falling in reverse. He jumped off the cot as the room continued to rise in upward lurches. He found his balance and met Hess’s shocked gaze just before Hess fled the room.



The Komodo was on the move.



27



ARIA



How long have we been here?” Aria asked. “In the Komodo?”



“Forty-eight hours, give or take,” Soren said. “Why?”



“I had forgotten it’s mobile,” she said.



They had their established places in the room now. Soren on the lower bunk nearest the door. Her on the other. Roar alternated between sitting beside her and pacing the small space between the beds.



The Komodo had been moving for an hour; the constant vibration reminded her of train rides in the Realms but far rougher. Occasionally, the chamber jerked sharply one way or another. For the first ten minutes, she’d grasped the bed frame and braced herself when that happened. After a particularly violent jolt, she’d decided not to let go.



“Does this thing have square wheels?” Roar muttered beside her.



“Wheels are circular by definition,” Soren said. “But, no, the wheels aren’t square. They’re on a continuous track with advanced suspension designed for maneuverability and tactical strength, not for bursts of speed.”



Roar glanced at her, a crease appearing between his eyebrows. “Did you get any of that?”



She shook her head. “Not much. Soren, what did you just say?”



Soren sighed, exasperated. “This thing weighs . . . I don’t even know how many tons. It weighs a lot. Moving it is like moving a small city. To do that efficiently over any kind of terrain, each of its segments sits on a rail system—wheels that roll on a track, sort of like old tanks. The track distributes the weight over a large area and makes us stable, so you shouldn’t worry that we’ll tip over. We won’t. The Komodo can climb over anything. What you should worry about is the fact that they’re forcing a workhorse to be a racehorse.”



“I liked it better when I didn’t understand him,” Roar said.



“They’re trying to outrun the Aether storm,” Aria said, but that made no sense. Hadn’t Loran told her that running was futile? Hadn’t he said that Hess recommended weathering the storm in place?



Soren snorted. “That’s not going to happen. The Komodo doesn’t run; it crawls. My father might be an idiot, but he isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t have issued the order to move during a storm. The Komodo is more vulnerable when it’s mobile, since it makes a bigger target for the funnels.”



The answer clicked in Aria’s mind. “Sable overpowered the ship. Either that or he’s forcing Hess to move.”



“Neither one of those is good for us,” Soren said.



The lights in the chamber flickered on and off in an erratic rhythm.



Soren waved his hands in a there you go gesture.



They fell quiet, listening to the deep rumble of the engine. “I don’t think I ever thanked you,” Roar said to her after a little while, “for getting us out of Rim.”



She saw his handsome face in snatches between moments of darkness, and knew he was remembering that horrible night. Liv thudding onto the stones of the balcony. Their plummet into the Snake River. “You’re welcome.”



“Tough fall we had.”



“It was,” Aria said. “But we landed in one piece.”



Roar stared at her intensely. His eyes welled with tears, and he looked like he was concentrating. Like he was trying to determine if he actually was in one piece.



She put a hand on his arm. “We did . . . right?”



Roar blinked. He gave a slight nod. “There are moments I think so.”



Aria squeezed his arm, smiling. The possibility of wholeness was all she wanted for him.



Maybe his grief was like her wounded arm. Slowly healing. Gradually becoming less consuming as life delivered other worries and other joys. Other sources of pain and happiness. She wanted that for him. More life. More happiness.



Roar’s mouth pulled into a smile—a beautiful smile she hadn’t seen in weeks.



“Beautiful, huh?”



She drew her hand away, giving him a small push on the shoulder. “Don’t act surprised.”



“I’m not. Always nice to be reminded, though.”



“I give up,” Soren said, shaking his head. “Congratulations. You two are the first code I can’t break.”



“Just trying to see some good in the bad,” Roar said.



“You want good news?” Soren said. “I’ve got some for you. If the Komodo has a complete breakdown because of this Aether storm and it collapses and cracks open and we don’t die first, we might actually have a chance of escaping.”



Roar narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “I’d take those odds.”



Aria swept her hair forward, twisting it around her finger. “So would I.” She wanted the lights to hold steady. She wanted a shower. Coffee. A thick, soft blanket. And Perry, most of all. “If the Komodo has a complete breakdown, then I might too. Wait . . . I already did that.” She smiled at Roar. “My breakdown is out of the way.”



He lifted his eyebrows, smiling back. “You’re right. That is good news.”



A sudden bone-jarring jolt sent her flying. Her back smacked into the wall. She cried out in surprise, Roar’s hand clamping down on her wrist as blackness flooded the chamber.



28



PEREGRINE



As the Komodo shuddered to a halt, Perry sat up on the cot and counted off the seconds in total darkness.



Five.



Ten.



Fifteen.



That was enough sitting around for him.



He rose from the cot, his bare feet settling silently on the cold floor. His eyes needed little light in order to see, but there was none—not a single glowing point. Just an impossible blackness, as thick and heavy as iron.



He found the wall and followed it, feeling his way to the door. He stopped and listened. Muffled sounds came from outside—two men, arguing.



Guardians or Horns, he couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter.



He briefly considered trying to find a weapon but abandoned the idea. His chamber contained only a few towels and a cot that was bolted to the floor. He hadn’t even been given shoes or a shirt for fear he’d turn them into weapons. He might have attempted exactly that if he’d had either, but with nothing at his disposal, he’d just have to improvise.



Perry’s hands drifted over the control panel set in the wall beside the door. Hess and others had used it to come and go, but with no power, the panel was useless—which meant the locking mechanism might be useless as well.



He familiarized himself with the release bar for a few seconds. Then he unlatched it and pulled. The door slid open.



In the corridor, two Guardians were carrying on a panicked exchange. Perry spotted them easily, as both were using the red sighting lasers on their pistols for illumination. One man stood only steps away, his back to Perry; the other stood farther down the corridor. They broke off sharply at the sound of the opening door.



“What was that?” said the closest Guardian, wheeling around and searching the darkness.



The thin beam of red light from the other man’s weapon swept toward Perry.



“Stop! Don’t move!” he yelled.



No chance of that. Perry drove his legs the few short steps to the nearest Guardian. As he reached the man, he thought better of delivering a punch with swollen knuckles and fingers. He slammed his elbow across the Guardian’s face, pain ripping through his muscles. Then he grabbed the weapon and drove the stock into the man’s stomach.



The Guardian fell, smacking to the floor.



Down the hall, the other man opened fire.



A loud metallic ting exploded behind Perry. He dropped to his knees, shouldering the gun as he aimed for the Guardian’s legs and squeezed the trigger.



Nothing. The safety switch—something he never had to consider with a bow. He flipped it, pressed the trigger again, and didn’t miss.



Standing, he flew down the corridor, bursting with the need to take action. To find Cinder, Aria, Roar. With Hess and Sable chin-deep in a crisis, this was their chance of escaping.



Halfway down the corridor, a high-powered flashlight blinded him. He brought a hand up, shielding his aching eyes, blinking until he saw Hess appear at the far end.



Half a dozen Guardians stood with him, guns raised, demanding that Perry surrender his weapon.



Outnumbered and outgunned, Perry let out a curse and tossed the gun to the floor.



Hess came forward, his gaze flicking to the Guardians Perry had overpowered. “You make yourself very hard to like, Outsider.” The bright light swung to the end of the corridor. “Get them to the infirmary,” Hess commanded the men behind him. Then to Perry, he said, “We have only minutes. Come. Quickly.”



Perry followed. Guardians fell in behind him as Hess led the way, hurrying through the tunnels of the Komodo. Perry felt like tearing the walls down with his hands. He’d never spent so much time indoors in his entire life.



Far sooner than he expected, Hess took him into a chamber. He found himself staring at Aria, Roar, and Soren, Hess’s flashlight moving from one stunned face to the other.



Neither Roar nor Soren hid their shock when they saw the dark welts over Perry’s arms and chest. Shame made his face burn, but Perry stood as he always did, ready. Aria moved to his side, weaving her fingers gently through his, her touch bolstering him.



Hess posted his men outside, and waited until the door closed before he spoke. “This will need to be brief, which means you listen unless I ask you to speak.” He paused and they drew into a tighter circle, waiting for him to continue. Soren was smiling, failing to hide his pride. Hess acknowledged his son with a nod, and then lowered the beam to their feet, creating a pool of light across the floor.



“If we are to ally ourselves,” Hess said, “if I am to carry your tribe to the Still Blue, Peregrine, Sable will need to be expelled. His men will need to be thrust from this ship and my fleet of Hovers. That will require planning and coordination to execute successfully.”



Perry felt Aria shift beside him. This was what they’d expected. Sable was taking control. Hess couldn’t ignore it any longer. He was changing sides. “How long do you need, Hess?”



“Eight hours. We’ll move in the morning.”



“No. That’s too long.”



“You’re making demands already, Peregrine?”



“You’ve already taken a hit. Sable is commanding your men. He’ll take them all if you give him the time.”



“You think I don’t know that? That is precisely why I need to know how deep he has already struck before we proceed. A coup won’t work unless I can trust those who enact it. In eight hours, when everything is in place, we’ll leave the Komodo behind and take the Hovers.”



“Give me a knife,” Roar said. “I’ll end this in ten minutes.”



“Do you think I haven’t considered that?” Hess said. “What do you think the Horns would do if Sable were slain? Lay down their weapons and surrender?”