Sky Raiders

by Brandon Mull

  Cole didn’t have to be told twice. He raced into the tunnel and held out his sword. Once he could see the ground, he pointed at it, shouted the command word, and sprang.

  Looking back as he fell, Cole saw Twitch leap into the air as well. Next came Jace, one arm around Mira, the golden rope now holding Quima. All three flew out of Carnag together.

  As Cole plummeted, he watched Liam swoop down to help. In midair, Jace let Liam take Mira. She made his disk wobbly, and he curved away in a rapid descent. Carnag reached out a hand and caught Quima.

  Sensing the ground approaching, Cole turned to watch his landing. After rolling to a stop, he saw Jace cushion his landing by coiling the rope beneath him like a spring. The rope was no longer connected to Quima, leaving her to Carnag.

  Liam and Mira landed roughly, the disk rolling away from their point of impact after the wipeout. Dust plumed into the air.

  “Are you all right?” Cole asked.

  “Alive,” Liam said. “My disk really wasn’t made for two people.” He was already running to retrieve it.

  “How dare you?” Carnag bellowed. A huge hand reached for Mira. As it got close, Mira waved her arm and the hand vanished. Released from Carnag’s grasp, the Shaper’s Flail fell to the ground.

  “Back off!” Mira yelled.

  “She’s taking your energy!” Quima shrieked. “She’s using your own power against you!”

  “My power!” Mira corrected.

  The hand holding Quima disappeared, and the woman plunged downward, skirt flapping. A new hand formed just in time to catch her. Instead of lifting her up again, Carnag set her down.

  “Contain Mira!” Quima screamed. “They want to destroy us! Stop them all!”

  A cage appeared around Cole, the bars sprouting up out of the ground and connecting overhead. Through the thick bars, Cole saw Mira and Jace trapped inside similar cages not far away. Mira was chained and gagged. Twitch and Liam remained free, both of them airborne.

  “Can you shape away the bars?” Liam asked.

  Mira shook her head and gave a muffled, “No.”

  “Carnag herself must be more vulnerable to you,” Liam realized. “The separate objects that she shapes are more removed from your influence.”

  Carnag stomped over to stand before Mira. A tendril slithered forward from one foot, and the fake Mira blossomed up from the ground at the end of the tether. She stormed forward angrily, stopping just outside Mira’s cage.

  “Now you’ve done it,” fake Mira said. “Now I’m furious. You’re going to free me from you, or I’m pounding all of you flat. Your friends first, Mira, then you, no matter what it does to me.”

  Mira gave an unintelligible response.

  Fake Mira waved a hand, and the gag disappeared.

  “Flail, attack Quima!” Mira shouted.

  The flail zipped toward where the dark-haired woman stood, still looking flustered from her near-fatal fall. When Carnag lunged to defend Quima from the flail, Mira yelled a different command.

  “Flail, attack me!”

  The flail boomeranged around toward Mira’s cage.

  Barely recovering from the lunge, Carnag dove, grabbing the flail just before it collided with the thick bars.

  Fake Mira waved a hand, and Mira was gagged again.

  Carnag slowly stood up.

  Cole craned his neck back to gaze up at the giant. She was so big! It was weird to think that something so enormous could come from Mira. According to Liam, the part that truly came from her wanted to return. Carnag was colossal and terrifying, but in the end, according to Mira, she was just a semblance.

  Cole fingered his shawl. Would it have a chance of influencing something so powerful? Could he put it on something so huge?

  “You’re willing to die,” fake Mira said. “And you’re willing to get your friends killed. So let’s demonstrate the result of your choices.” She pointed at Jace. “Father tried to deal with that one. How about him first?”

  “Get me out,” Cole whispered. “Open my cage.”

  “I’m not sure I can,” Liam said. “Even with Carnag’s attention elsewhere, it’d stretch me to my limits.”

  “You have to,” Cole said. “I have an idea.”

  “That’s more than I’ve got,” Liam admitted.

  Two bars on Cole’s cage disappeared. Liam lurched in the sky, almost falling from his disk, but he managed to right himself.

  Racing from his cage, Cole dashed toward fake Mira. She was facing away from him, her attention on Jace. Carnag tromped over to that cage and raised a foot above it.

  “Last chance,” fake Mira warned.

  “Don’t give in,” Jace demanded bravely.

  Running hard, Cole unclasped the shawl. Quima watched Jace’s cage. So did Mira. So did fake Mira.

  “Mmmmphf,” Mira said, pointing at her gag.

  “Fine,” fake Mira said. “Last chance. But if I don’t like what you have to say . . .”

  She waved a hand and the gag vanished again.

  Cole reached fake Mira and wrapped the shawl around her shoulders from behind hurriedly, clasping it with nervous fingers. Fake Mira looked over her shoulder at him, her expression perplexed.

  “Okay, Miracle,” Cole said. “I need you to lie down.”

  Miracle immediately squatted and stretched out on the ground.

  Heart hammering from his sprint and his desperation, Cole stared in stunned relief. He could hardly believe it was working! Not wanting to lose momentum, and trying to sound casual, he continued, “Carnag needs to carefully step back.”

  Carnag took a step away from Jace’s cage.

  Quima rushed at Cole, her eyes brimming with rage. Twitch slammed into her from behind, both of them tumbling to the ground. Liam landed nearby, waved a hand, and ropes bound Quima. A gag covered her mouth. Eyes bulging, Quima jackknifed frantically.

  “Miracle,” Cole said kindly. “All of Carnag should lie down. Gently, though.”

  The giant mishmash of objects and substances crouched down, then spread out on the field on its back. The people inside the cages clung to the bars as their floors became walls.

  “Very good,” Cole said. “Now open a way out for the captives. Once they’re clear, I’m going to ask you to part yourself from that big body. You’ll cut that little cord that connects you to all that junk and just be our size.”

  Before he had finished talking, Carnag’s cages dissolved. Jace’s cage evaporated. Mira’s cage disintegrated as well, and her chains fell away. On the ground nearby, Quima squirmed, desperately trying to make her stifled protests heard.

  Eyes shining, Mira hurried over to Cole. “You can get up now, Miracle,” Cole instructed. “Just your normal-size self. Let the big Carnag part of you stay on the ground.”

  With the tendril still in her back, fake Mira got to her feet. Legionnaires and other prisoners poured out of Carnag.

  “Everybody out!” Cole called. “Everyone back away!” He watched to make sure the cells were empty.

  “Looks good,” Liam said.

  “Go ahead and disconnect from that big body,” Cole suggested.

  There was a pause, and fake Mira’s lip twitched upward in a sneer. Then the tendril fell from fake Mira’s back.

  “The cloak is smoking,” Twitch whispered.

  He was right. Wisps of steam or smoke were rising from the shawl. Cole stood near enough to feel the heat. Despite this, fake Mira showed no discomfort. In fact, she looked serene.

  “Miracle,” Cole said hurriedly. “Your power actually belongs to Mira. The real Miracle. It needs to return to her. Give Mira her powers back.”

  “Oh wow,” Mira said, her voice choked with emotion. “It’s coming fast. I can feel it.”

  Fake Mira pivoted to face the real one. Anger ignited in fake Mira’s eyes. Then her face contorted in hate, and her body quivered. The shawl smoked heavily and burst into flames.

  “How dare you!” the fake Mira screamed, wheeling on Cole, her gaze promising
murder.

  With a wave of her hand, Mira sent the flaming shawl fluttering off to one side. “Miracle!” Mira commanded, her eyes intense. “Don’t blame him. I think you’re just angry with yourself.”

  Baring her teeth in a sneering grimace, fake Mira turned and charged the real one. Mira held up a hand, and fake Mira stopped short and started floating a little, her arms and legs spreading unnaturally wide. Mira glared at her duplicate, jaw clenched, sweat beading on her brow.

  “What are you doing?” fake Mira asked, her voice strained.

  “Taking what’s mine,” Mira said. She spread her hands apart, and fake Mira tore in half with a burst of light. When the flash was gone, so was all evidence of Mira’s semblance.

  CHAPTER

  34

  QUIMA

  Mira dropped to her knees. She stared at Cole with wide eyes.

  “You did that?” Cole asked.

  Mira nodded and let out a shocked giggle.

  “She’s gone?” Cole asked. “It worked?”

  Mira nodded again. “I got a big dose of my power back before she turned on us. Suddenly I could sense her tangible form more clearly than ever, brittle and false, but with so much energy boiling inside. Energy that belonged to me. I had the strongest urge to release it.”

  “You released it, all right,” Twitch said with a nervous laugh.

  “It worked,” Liam confirmed. “Carnag is gone. I sense none of her presence.”

  “I can feel my power,” Mira said. “It’s been so long. At the same time . . . it’s incredibly familiar. Like I only lost it yesterday.”

  Liam glided over to where the former prisoners had gathered after exiting Carnag. “Move along,” he announced from his floating disk. “You need to go find the people trapped in Carnag’s stronghold. The nearest road is that way. Nothing to see here. Smartest policy might be to pretend none of this ever happened.”

  Cole doubted whether anybody would be able to forget what happened, but the freed captives started trudging away. The giant form of the fallen Carnag lay inert, not disappearing like fake Mira, but utterly lifeless, no longer anything more than a baffling heap of random debris.

  “What do we do with Quima?” Jace asked, standing over her.

  “I have some questions for her,” Liam said, returning. “I want a little more privacy first.”

  His posture uncomfortable, Jace glanced at Cole. “Thanks. You really bailed us out.”

  “Thank Liam,” Cole said. “Thank Mira. Without them, we wouldn’t have had a chance.”

  Liam shook his head. “I helped. But Carnag’s power was much more than I could have defeated. Mira was amazing. But without your quick thinking, Cole, I don’t think any of us would have survived.”

  “You really were a lifesaver,” Mira said.

  Cole tried not to blush. The temperature of his face implied that he was failing.

  The nearest of the departing captives was now hundreds of yards away and getting farther with every step. “All right,” Liam said. “Let’s talk to Quima.”

  The gag disappeared from her mouth. “You have no idea what you’re tangling with,” Quima spat. “Today you crossed the wrong woman.”

  Liam shook his head. “I’m not sure that’s the lesson here. I think you crossed the wrong girl.”

  “Think what you like,” Quima said. “Mira has only delayed her ruin. This was one small piece of a much larger puzzle.”

  “Not surprising,” Liam said. “I want to hear more about shapecraft.”

  Quima’s smile was both knowing and taunting all at once. “Grant me permission, and I’ll show you.”

  “Considering what happened to Mira, I’m going to decline,” Liam said. “I’ve worked with some knowledgeable shapers, but I’ve never heard of shapecraft.”

  “After meeting Carnag, you’ve had a lesson,” Quima said. “I think that’s enough for today. Those who practice shapecraft have done so quietly for longer than you can guess. Our time is nearing. You’ll learn plenty before long. Be warned—what you don’t know can hurt you.”

  “Does my father practice shapecraft?” Mira asked.

  “To an extent,” Quima said.

  “Did he have help taking my powers?”

  Quima paused, eyes narrow. “There is more to my order than you can imagine, Miracle. Without us, your father would be the least competent in a long line of High Shapers.”

  “Who helped him?” Mira asked.

  “You’ll learn nothing more from me,” Quima said. “Mira, I’m no less dedicated to my cause than you are to yours. Let me show you how it’s done.” Closing her eyes, she made a tight fist.

  “What do you mean?” Liam asked.

  Quima opened her hand, revealing a pinprick of blood on her palm. “My ring hid a poisoned needle.”

  “You’d have to be careful with one of those,” Liam said.

  “I’ll be dead in minutes,” Quima promised. “No matter what methods you might have to extract what I know, they won’t work before I’m well out of reach.”

  “You may be right,” Liam said. “But surely you’ll share some last thoughts. Some dying hints. You don’t want to go out with a fizzle.”

  Quima gave a wide, evil grin. “If you wish. Carnag was weak. It was weak because it was docile. With a little more time, I could have overcome that tendency. The others will not be as frail.”

  “What others?” Mira asked. “Is this happening to all my sisters?”

  “That won’t be a mystery for long,” Quima said. “They have distinct shaping styles. Their powers will take form differently. None will be as pathetic as yours. And the semblances that arise from your sisters are only the beginning.”

  “What will come after?” Liam asked.

  “You’ll know when it arrives,” Quima said. “Assuming you’re still alive.”

  “I feel whole,” Mira said. “My father no longer has a share of my power.”

  Quima shook her head, as if Mira was missing the point. “Your father is the least of your problems. But even Stafford has not yet outlived his usefulness. His talents wane, but his authority remains. And he stole powers once . . .”

  Cole felt a surge of fear. “My friends! The High King was looking for slaves with shaping powers.”

  Throwing her head back, Quima laughed grandly. The genuine delight gave Cole chills. “You have friends among his slaves? Friends with shaping talent? They will learn of shapecraft. The experiments reserved for them may teach us all new lessons.”

  “What experiments?” Cole asked, fear flaring into anger.

  Quima shook her head.

  “Tell him what you know,” Liam said.

  “Or what?” Quima laughed. “You’ll kill me? Too late. You’ll get no more from me.”

  “What about your part in this?” Liam asked. “Carnag. Did you form it with your shapecraft?”

  “The power became a semblance because of shapecraft,” Quima said. “All part of a larger plan than you could possibly guess. Its creation wasn’t my doing, but I helped steer Carnag in the right direction.”

  “Did you steer it with shapecraft?” Liam asked. “Or with counsel?”

  “Use your imagination,” Quima said.

  “But you were planning to take control of it?” Mira asked.

  “I had control!” Quima said. “I should have taken full control.”

  “That would have required Mira’s compliance?” Liam asked.

  “No, I was just being polite,” Quima said. “We’re done. I fell short of my aims and failed my order. It is a small failure, inconsequential in the long run, but I’m ready to pay for it. Any second the symptoms of the poison will start.”

  “Yeah,” Liam said. “About that . . . I shaped your poison. I’m really good at analyzing substances. And changing them. I’m rather amazing, actually. You stabbed yourself with honey. If your palm could taste, it would have been delicious.”

  Cole couldn’t resist laughing at the stunned look on her face. Ja
ce joined in, and even Twitch covered a snicker.

  “Impossible,” Quima retorted breathlessly.

  “For some shapers, maybe,” Liam said. “Kind of routine for me. My boss will really want to talk to you, so I’m going to make sure you don’t harm yourself in the near future.”

  He waved a hand, and a golden strip of fabric emerged from the ground and bound itself around her mouth. She strained against the cords that held her.

  “I know you like hiding in private rooms, so I’ll give you one,” Liam said. Quima sank into the ground as if it were quicksand. Liam glanced at Mira. “Now we can really talk. Don’t worry, I’m putting her deep.”

  “What are you going to do with her?” Cole asked.

  “Like I promised, I’ll take her to Declan,” Liam replied. “He’ll be very interested to speak with her.”

  “Do you think you can find out what the High King wants to do to my friends?” Cole asked.

  “Hard to guess,” Liam said. “Declan may have the best chance.”

  “Maybe he wants their power,” Mira said.

  “That’s what I thought at first,” Cole said. “But Quima made it sound like there was more to it.”

  “She may have been trying to scare us,” Liam said. “Everything she told us could have been a lie.”

  “I have a feeling it’s not just a bluff,” Mira said.

  “Me too,” Liam said. “We’ll see what Declan can get out of her.”

  “He’s safe?” Mira asked.

  “Safe enough,” Liam said. “We had to leave most of what he built behind. Lyrus couldn’t come with us, so we left him in charge of the defense of Cloudvale. I’ve never seen him happier. The legion will have a very unpleasant job ahead of them. It’s possible that once they confirm we’ve fled, they’ll retreat.”

  “What now?” Mira asked.

  Liam glanced at the sky and looked around. “We find Bertram, send your captured legionnaire on his way, then wait for Joe to catch up. He had a message for you that he wouldn’t share with me.”

  “Any hints?” Mira asked.

  “I expect it’s important.”

  CHAPTER