SHARD: Book One of The Shard Trilogy (A YA Sci-fi Teens with Powers Series)

by A. M. Pierre

  “He is Burkinabé—from Burkina Faso,” Vladimir interjected. “He is not great speaker, but great person.”

  Kaia studied Mikaël’s unsmiling, unblinking face. “You must be really good at staring contests,” she said, trying lamely for a joke.

  “Yes, yes,” said Vladimir, enthusiastically. “He has never lost a match.”

  Mikaël gave her a stony-faced thumbs-up.

  “I’m Gabriela!” The second girl waved at Kaia, her smile stretching from ear to ear. Kaia guessed she was Latina, with the kind of face that would never require make-up but still always look amazing. Kaia did her best not to hate her. “I’m from Brazil, originally. Rio de Janeiro. I lived in the Favela da Rocinha. Have you heard of the favelas? Most people haven’t, but they’re shanty towns that go up the hills around Rio—right up the hills! It wasn’t really a nice place to live, you know, because of the drugs and the guns and the shootings and stuff. Still, we had a great view. There’s no view here. Well, not right here. Near here, yes. Right here, no. Did you have a nice view where you are from? What’s in Pennsylvania? There’s a bell with a crack there, right? Why would people want to see a bell with a crack in it—or to see a bell, period? If it’s cracked, it wouldn’t chime. A bell that doesn’t chime isn’t much of a bell, don’t you think?”

  Kaia waited until she was sure Gabriela had paused. “I don’t know. I guess not.” Lame, but a talker like that’ll be too self-centered to notice. Kaia looked at the girl’s name tag. Gabriela Lopes. “That’s interesting. I thought Lopes was spelled with a ‘z.’”

  Gabriela frowned slightly. “In Spanish, yes. And it’s pronounced Low-peace.”

  “I’m sorry, I thought you said you were from Brazil.”

  “Yes, Brazil.” Gabriela’s tone was icy. “We speak Portuguese, not Spanish.”

  “Don’t take it personally, Gabby,” Connor said. “She’s American. You know they’re rubbish at geography.”

  Before Kaia could glare at him in an appropriately irritated manner, Dice spoke up. “Me next!” He pointed proudly to his name tag: 山本大輔. “I’m not trying to be mean or anything by writing it that way, but most people can’t pronounce my name right no matter how I write it. So I figured I’d keep it real.” He made a double “peace sign” gesture with his hands. Everyone at the table stared at him.

  Kaia cleared her throat. “So what is your full name?”

  “Yamamoto Daisuke.” He took out a pen and wrote it on a nearby paper napkin. “Seems backwards, I know, but family names come first in Japan. You would be Davis Kaia there. Anyways, I got tired of saying ‘It’s “Dice-kay”’ every time someone saw my name and called me ‘Die-sook’ or ‘Dice-key,’ so I started going by ‘Dice.’ It’s just easier. Plus, ‘Dice’ sounds cool.”

  “I guess it is my turn next,” the Mediterranean cutie said.

  “Not ‘ladies first’? I thought you were a gentleman.” There was a teasing tone in the French girl’s voice.

  “Oh, I am truly sorry. I did not mean—”

  She laughed. “I’m not being serious, silly thing. Go ahead.”

  He looked back at Kaia. His eyes looked so sad and yet so kind. “My name is Ezio Rossi.” It sounded like there was an invisible “t” in the middle—“Ets-yo.” Kaia repeated it in her head so she didn’t embarrass herself later. “I am from Italy. Roma, to be precise.”

  “That’s what Italians call Rome.” Connor sounded like he was talking to a five-year-old.

  “I know,” Kaia hissed, then looked back at Ezio. “Wait, I thought Connor said your name was ‘Zed.’”

  Connor burst out laughing. Ezio gave him a stern look. “It is simply a difference in British English. They pronounce the last letter of the alphabet, which is in my name, as ‘Zed.’ Connor likes to use it as a nickname for me.”

  “Oh. Thank you.” She glared at Connor, then turned back to Ezio. The way he had looked at Connor. So commanding . . . “So, are you the leader here?”

  “What makes you say that?” His sad eyes looked away as if he was embarrassed.

  By the question or by me? “I don’t know, it’s just,” Kaia looked down at her plate, “you seem like a natural leader.”

  She heard Connor groan, but before she could ask him what his problem was, the French girl coughed to get Kaia’s attention. “And my name is Alizée Laurent.” Her voice was ice cold. “Ah. Lee. Zay. It’s probably pointless to say, but make an effort to pronounce it properly, would you?”

  Kaia blinked. So I was right. Mean girl.

  Ezio looked confused, too. “Alizée, are you all right?”

  “Fine. A bit nauseous.”

  Connor nudged Kaia. “Bit of friendly advice: don’t mess with the Alley Cat. She has claws.”

  Alizée glared at him. “Stay out of it, Connor. You don’t know anything about me.”

  “Oh, no?” A mischievous grin appeared on Connor’s face. “Care to test that theory?”

  Ezio broke in. “Can we please have one dinner without you two squabbling?”

  Connor crossed his arms. “Sorry, Dad, I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  Vladimir quickly spoke up. “Does anyone know what chef is making for dinner?”

  “Hamburgers and fries—to help Kaia feel more at home,” Dice said.

  “That sounds great!” Gabriela was practically bouncing in her chair, the Spanish/Portuguese issue apparently forgotten. “It’s been ages since I’ve had a hamburger.”

  Alizée rolled her eyes. “Hasn’t been long enough.”

  Ezio held out his hands for silence. “We all know from experience how difficult this adjustment can be, so I want us all to do whatever we can to make Kaia feel welcome.” The door behind him opened, and an older woman in a white coat rolled in a cart piled high with food, which she transferred to the table. “Thank you very much, Ms. Jones. Everyone, dig in.”

  Kaia wasn’t sure how they’d known, but they’d made her favorite meal. Thick, juicy hamburgers, French fries dusted with seasoned salt, baked beans with ham—it was perfect. As she started in on her burger, she could almost forget she was a kidnap victim.

  And then Ezio reached for the fries.

  Kaia watched, frozen in mid-bite, as the large metal bowl rose up and glided down to Ezio’s waiting hands. She stared at him, her mouth still open. He gave her a questioning look. “Is something wrong?”

  This had gone on long enough. She had to ask. “How . . . how do you guys do that stuff?”

  Ezio turned to Dice. “You did not explain it to her? This whole time and she still does not know?”

  Dice squirmed in his seat. “Connor explained a little bit to her at the airport, but I doubt she remembers, since, you know, he shot her with a tranquilizer dart right after . . .”

  “Again? Connor!”

  Connor stared at his plate. “I thought you knew, Z. Trust me, I really really wanted to tell you myself since I always enjoy getting yelled at, but I honestly thought you would’ve read the mission report by now.”

  “I was busy dealing with the fallout from the India mission, so no.”

  Gabriela spoke up hesitantly. “Ezio, I think your burger is getting cold.”

  Ezio smiled. “I am sorry, Gabriela. You are right. Connor and I will finish discussing this later.”

  “Looking forward to it,” Connor muttered under his breath.

  Ezio stared at him for a second longer, then turned back to Dice. “Daisuke, if you would kindly explain things to Kaia so she does not continue thinking we are a bunch of deviants who go around kidnapping people from airports.”

  “But of course!” Dice grinned and ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it down, but it stuck out even more than before. “All right, Kaia. Here goes. Ezio can lift the French fry bowl . . .” He held his hands in front of him as if to hold back the tension. “. . . because
he’s iron.”

  Dice let his arms fall and flopped back into his chair, a satisfied look on his face as if that explained everything.

  That explained nothing. “He’s iron?”

  “Yep. His element. It’s iron. You know, like what’s in steel.” Dice picked up the French fries’ dish. “Stainless steel? Ezio’s iron, I’m copper, Connor’s oxygen, and so on.”

  “I know you think you’re being clear, but I really don’t know what you’re saying.”

  It was Dice’s turn to look confused. “Sorry, I thought you had figured it out already. Each of us can control one of the elements. Not like earth, wind, fire, but the actual elements—the building blocks of the world.”

  As insane as that sounds, it’s not like I can think of any better explanation. But still— “So why am I here?”

  Dice tilted his head, clearly puzzled. “I thought it was obvious. It’s because you have powers, too.”

  * * *

  She was laughing. Connor had seen several different reactions at orientations—stoic disbelief, curiosity, outright elation—but laughter usually preceded a complete freak-out. “So, you gave me a criminal record, drugged me, and kidnapped me—all because you think I have superpowers.” She giggled in between the words, and her voice kept getting higher, shriller. “I want to go home, can’t go home, need a home, want to go home now.” The laughter didn’t slow down even as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  An exasperated sigh came through the earpieces they all were wearing. “If one of you doesn’t calm her down soon, you’ll have to dope her and try again later.” Connor saw Ezio reach under the table for the syringe he always kept next to him during these introductory meetings. All it would take was for Ms. Smith to give the order, and Ezio would do it without hesitation.

  No. I am not about to let that happen to her again. Connor racked his brain for another way to derail her hysterical mental track. Slapping her might work, but there’s no way Connor could bring himself to hit a girl. A thought crossed his mind, and he grimaced as he reached across the table. It wasn’t going to be pretty, and she was sure to hate him even more, but it beat the alternative. “Calm down already, you nutter!” he yelled and tossed the entirety of his very large glass of Coke in her face. He immediately closed his eyes, cringing.

  There was a momentary silence. Connor decided to sneak a peek. Well, at least she wasn’t hysterical anymore. “How dare you, you little—”

  “I am so sorry about that.” Ezio stood up to blot her arm. “I am sure Connor was only trying to help.”

  Thanks a lot, syringe boy. Let me be the bad guy, as usual.

  Gabby rushed around the table to Kaia, napkin in hand. “I’m not sure if Dice showed you the showers yet, but I’ll take you—oh, and we have a Jacuzzi, too! Have you ever been in a Jacuzzi? It’s like a bath but fizzy. I’m sure Ms. Jones will save your dinner for you. Your hair is really pretty. Have you ever had those little braids put in it? Why do they call them cornrows? Corn’s tall, and they’re short. I don’t know what got into Connor. He usually doesn’t throw things at people he just met . . .” Her voice faded away as she led Kaia from the room.

  Ezio fell back in his chair and rubbed his temples. “Thank you, Connor. I was having a hard time finding,” he searched for the phrase, “more pleasant alternatives.”

  Connor didn’t even want to look at him. “So glad I could be of assistance.”

  “What is your problem?” Alizée said. “You know Ezio wouldn’t have had a choice. You do a good thing, he thanks you, and you still give him attitude.”

  Connor glared back at her. “Sorry, but I don’t have the same reasons to defend him that you do. I can call it like I see it, and I see a leader who needs to lead a bit more and cower a bit less.”

  Alizée’s eyes blazed, but Ezio spoke up first. “I hope you never have to find this out, Connor, but sometimes being a leader means making decisions you do not like.”

  “And sometimes it means thinking for yourself instead of doing everything the voice in your ear tells you to.” Connor pulled his earpiece out, practically slammed it on the table, and turned to go. “I, for one, have had enough ‘orders’ for one day. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Daisuke tensed in anticipation of an outburst from Ms. Smith as Connor stormed out, but nothing came. Either she hadn’t been listening or she’d decided Connor had been pushed far enough. Probably the latter.

  Alizée was still fuming. “Arrogant little . . . He needs to show you more respect.”

  Ezio smiled tiredly. “But I am only the leader because I am the oldest. It does not mean I am going to be a natural in the role.”

  “But you are a natural, Ezzie.”

  Ezio gave her a sharp look. “Do not worry about it, Alizée.”

  She bit her lip, then nodded. “I understand. I still don’t like the new girl, though. Did you see the way she was looking at you?”

  Daisuke decided he had had quite enough drama for one evening. He looked over at Vladimir, who glanced at Mikaël, who directed the stare back to Daisuke. All three nodded in silent agreement, then stood up simultaneously. Dice waved to Ezio and Alizée. “It’s been a blast, guys, but there are some pressing matters we need to attend to.”

  “Yes, yes,” Vladimir agreed. “Much pressing needs to be done.”

  Mikaël nodded, and all three walked together towards the door.

  “Rec room. Ten minutes,” Daisuke muttered under his breath. “I feel the need to go online and beat up some unsuspecting gamers.”

  “That is sounding good to me.”

  Mikaël gave a thumbs-up.

  Daisuke’s thoughts flicked back to Kaia again, to how much his stomach had churned when she’d started crying. He blinked the image away. “I’ll get drinks. Vlad, Doritos. Mikey, pizza rolls. See you in ten.”

  The alarm clock’s blaring. Not my normal station. Some jazz type stuff. Bed too comfy, need to find the snooze button. Wait . . . bed too comfy?

  Kaia jerked upright. Right. Not my room. Not my country. The jazz music floated out of a speaker bolted high on the wall. A woman’s voice came in over a particularly nice saxophone solo. “Rise and shine, everyone. Breakfast will be served in 30 minutes.”

  Kaia groaned and stared at the carved wood ceiling of her prison cell. Not that it looked like one, but the door being deadbolted from the outside all night made it one, no matter how warm and comfortable the bed was. She honestly had no idea what she was going to do. She wasn’t sure she bought the whole “control the elements” story, but it was obvious something weird was going on. It was equally obvious they had gotten the wrong girl.

  Should I try to run? Convince them it’s all a mistake and hope they let me go?

  Whatever she decided, she wouldn’t be able to do much of anything on an empty stomach. She rolled out of the ridiculously fluffy bed with a sigh and plodded to the closet to pick out some clothes.

  * * *

  “Rise and shine, everyone. Breakfast will be served in 30 minutes.”

  It was bad enough Ms. Smith only played old jazz music. She could at least change what she said. Maybe “Up and at’em!” Or “Good morning!” Or even “Get out of bed, you lazy gits!”

  Connor stared at his ceiling for a good five minutes, as if the longer he put it off the easier it would be. Breakfast. Sitting next to her. The her who was probably still seething about the tranq gun and the kidnapping and the Coke on the head . . . and was probably unwilling to hear any explanations, no matter how hard he tried. Brilliant.

  He looked in his closet only to remember he hadn’t picked up his clothes from the laundry last night. All he had was the boxer shorts he had worn to bed. Absolutely brilliant.

  * * *

  The beginning of another marvelous day. Daisuke crunched happily on a piece of toast loaded with jam and w
aited for everyone else to arrive. He thought he’d seen Connor racing past the dining room door in his underwear, but he’d been moving too fast for Daisuke to be completely sure.

  He knew he was alone in his opinion (in this house, anyway), but he loved the mornings. Getting up bright and early to soothing jazz music, enjoying some tea and toast while he waited for everyone else to arrive, and (when the windows weren’t boarded up due to new arrivals) gazing out at the beautiful fountains and gardens. On this morning in particular, Daisuke could barely contain his excitement. It was his first time determining a new recruit’s element, and he was really looking forward to it. As soon as breakfast was over, everything would begin.

  * * *

  Kaia couldn’t wait for breakfast to be over. Sitting next to Connor again was bad enough, but the overall tension in the air was so thick she could hardly breathe. She kept catching little sideways glances from the others at the table, as if they were afraid she would have another meltdown while she ate her scrambled eggs.

  Ezio finally spoke right as she was finishing up her cheese Danish. “I hope everyone slept well. We have a big day, today. Alizée and I will be preparing for our next mission. Vladimir, Mikaël, and Connor will be testing Dice’s latest round of inventions. There are some very interesting new toys in this batch, so you three should enjoy that. And last but certainly not least, Daisuke and Gabriela will be determining Kaia’s elemental affiliation. Any questions?”

  Quite a few, actually, but not any Kaia felt brave enough to ask. She followed Dice (who had given her a little “follow me” gesture) and Gabriela (who had given her a blinding smile) from the room. Here goes nothing.

  * * *

  Connor waited until everyone but Ezio had left. He took a deep breath, swallowing his natural inclination to let things be. “Sorry about yesterday. It wasn’t you specifically I was mad at. It was, you know, stuff in general. No hard feelings?”

  The corner of Ezio’s mouth ticked up in a relieved grin. “No hard feelings. We have all been under a lot of stress lately.”