By the Icy Wild

by Everly Frost

  Ruth’s voice rose. “EMP! Now!”

  Remembering what Snowboy had told me about Pip’s eardrums bursting the last time an EMP was activated, I darted across our room to protect him from the sound. Snowboy was a heartbeat ahead of me, placing his hands over the younger boy’s ears. I covered Snowboy’s with my own hands, seeping my shadows through the cracks in our fingers to plug Pip’s hearing. Just in time.

  A massive, soundless thud broke across the countryside. I flinched at the pressure, but Pip’s fearful eyes kept me grounded, pinned in place. He broke into a grateful smile as the pressure receded. “I’m okay. Thanks.”

  Relieved that he wasn’t harmed, I turned back to the screen, hoping to see dead drones littering the landscape.

  The beetles flew on.

  “The EMP didn’t work.” My words were echoed by my brothers and the Starsgardians in the control room.

  Moments later, the beetles fired from small cannons on their backs and the side of the tower exploded. The blasts were small. They weren’t enough to collapse the tower, but fire and smoke billowed from one of the lower levels.

  Ruth recovered from her shock within seconds, pulling herself together as everyone’s worst fears were realized. “Tower crew—get that fire out and bar all corridors. Not a single drone gets inside the tower!”

  On the ground in front of the tower, the beetles were only fifty feet away from the line of gray-clad Starsgardians and closing in with every moment. The drones were flying in a formation, some higher than others, forming a shape like a honeycomb.

  Ruth cried, “Ground crew—ready! Go!”

  On her command, the Starsgardians in the front row revealed weapons that looked like crossbows, each filled with a single arrow with a bulb instead of a tip. They took aim—some low, some high—and fired. The bolts cut through the air, each one hitting a drone. As soon as it touched its target, the bulb stuck to the drone.

  There was an expectant pause as the drones flew on.

  Then, each bulb exploded into violet light, lasers cutting through the beetles like knives through butter. Pieces of drones blasted across the space, smashing into the pavement and ripping up the gardens around the base of the tower. The archers fired again, but the remaining drones were upon them.

  The drones flew high now, zooming up and heading for the opening they’d created in the side of the tower.

  “Up!” Ruth cried.

  As the beetles flew over the top of them, the Starsgardians who had shot the crossbows dropped to their knees and the back row leaped up onto their shoulders, boosting themselves into the air.

  Knives in hand, the soaring warriors leaped high enough to slam their weapons into the beetles.

  The breath stopped in my throat. I’d seen that move before. I knew those people.

  The flying, leaping warriors were my old dance troupe.

  They’d danced with knives the very same way, throwing themselves into the air with complete abandon and never missing their target. Some of the Starsgardians might be real Protectors, but the rest were dancers from my old troupe. Their lithe grace shone from every line of their bodies as they pitched themselves at the attacking drones, throwing themselves higher than I thought possible, bringing the drones down where the other Starsgardians could finish the job.

  I couldn’t see the dancers’ faces, but I desperately wanted to.

  I wanted to see my friends again. I wanted to see Luke, my old dance partner, and Leah and Natalie, the two women whose dance routines were always flawless. They’d cried at my funeral. Luke had blamed himself for what happened with Seth, but it was never his fault.

  I tried to figure out which of the gray-clad people was Luke, trying to judge by height and silhouette, but it was too difficult to be sure. The Starsgardians had deliberately disguised themselves and I understood why: Olander would be watching everything through the drones. If he was targeting Councillors, at least this way he wouldn’t know who they were.

  Inside the control room, Arachne turned to Ruth. “Our fighters are doing well, but should I prepare the water vat just in case?”

  Ruth put her hand out. “No, not yet. The waterfall won’t distinguish between friend or foe.”

  Arachne nodded, but she looked worried as she followed the movements of the fighting people.

  “What about the solar grid?” Ruth asked. “How close is it?”

  It was Arachne’s turn to shake her head. “It’s not ready. We need more time.”

  Turning from their conversation, I willed the dancers to succeed. Please destroy them all. Show Olander he can’t attack Starsgard.

  There were only three beetles remaining and victory looked likely when one of the beetles abandoned its attempts to get inside the building and targeted one of the males instead. As the Starsgardian flew through the air, his knife ready to slash the drone, the drone reacted by shooting tethers from its underbelly. Each sharp needle at the end of its dangling legs suddenly turned into a projectile at the end of a metallic rope, like a hook at the end of a fishing line.

  Two of the six hooks latched onto his chest, two more shot wide of his legs, twining around them, and the remaining two latched onto his arms. His own momentum took him toward the drone and it retracted its legs at the same time, pulling the cords tight and attaching itself to his chest as the tethers around his legs and arms immobilized him.

  The guy shouted in alarm, loud enough to hear over the sound of fighting.

  He and the drone plunged downward. The drone was beneath him and for a moment, I hoped it would shatter on impact, but the other two remaining drones shot across the distance and connected with it just in time, yanking it upward and over so that the guy flipped onto his back, slamming into the ground with the first drone still attached on top of him.

  The other two drones rose up over them like guardians, cannons raised.

  “Hold!” Ruth cried to the fighters. “Wait! We don’t know what they’re going to do.”

  The beetle that was attached to the Starsgardian used its pincers to rip and tear at the guy’s mask, revealing his face.

  I gasped as I recognized him. It was Luke.

  Beside me, Snowboy asked, “Do you know him?”

  “He’s my friend.” My palms were suddenly clammy and I had to fight to keep the fire inside me under control. I wanted to lash out at the drone. I wanted to protect Luke and destroy all the weapons Olander had created.

  The two flying beetles latched onto the first and dragged it and Luke across the space away from the tower as if they were going to take him hostage. He struggled, fighting to get his arms and legs free. The other Starsgardians followed, keeping low, their weapons aimed and ready.

  Inside the command center, Arachne was trying to get Ruth’s attention. “Ruth! Ruth! He’s trying to hail you.”

  Ruth didn’t tear her eyes from the screen in front of her. “What? Who?”

  “It’s Olander,” Arachne said. “He wants to speak with you.”

  Ruth finally focused on Arachne, her mouth a thin line of anger. “Do we have a secure channel that he can’t hack into if we open our communication lines?”

  Arachne nodded.

  Ruth drew herself straight. “Put him through.”

  The screen directly in front of Ruth flickered. The one next to it showed her what was happening outside the tower, but she did a good job of not looking at it as Olander’s head and shoulders appeared.

  She didn’t wait for him to speak. “This is an act of war, Olander.”

  He acknowledged her with a solemn nod. “But I didn’t make the first move. You did that when you took the girl in.”

  Ruth’s anger flared. “She came to us for protection. From you.”

  “Look how well you protected her.” His sharp gaze never wavered. He didn’t smile either. There was no gloating, no smirking or triumph, only a cold calculation in his words. “You claim you wanted to protect her and yet you tell me she died under your watch. Which is it then? Protection or
death?”

  Ruth’s jaw clenched. “What do you want?”

  “I want Ava Holland.” He leaned forward as though he wished to reach through the screen and pluck me from the air next to her. “I don’t believe you failed her, Councilor Ruth Benedict. I believe you protected her very well and that you’re still protecting her. But the time for that is over. If you don’t give her to me, I will attack a different tower every week until midwinter. If you still haven’t produced her by then, I’ll launch a full scale attack on your country and, as you can see, I have the means to do it.”

  “You can blow up as many towers as you like, Olander. Starsgard has seen worse. You’ll never win.”

  “I’m not talking about destroying buildings.” The corners of Olander’s mouth turned down. “I’m talking about that young man on the pavement.”

  He held up a finger as Ruth’s eyes darted to the other screen, where Luke was still pinned by the drone. “One every week, Ruth.”

  The screen went blank and Ruth jumped toward the other one. “Protect Luke! Destroy the drones! Protect—”

  The Starsgardians raced toward the drones. The beetle that had caught Luke released him with a whine and I thought it was going to let him go. It looked like it was going to fly out of there and everything would be okay.

  But as it flew clear, wrenching its hooks from his body, the drone fired into his chest.

  It was a single, red bullet.

  It slammed into him so hard that his body kicked against the pavement.

  A shout died in his throat as his eyes widened. He gasped in a breath. He choked, moving his arms as though he wanted to grab his chest with his now-free hands, but they wouldn’t obey.

  “I can’t … breathe…”

  On the ground outside the tower, one of the Starsgardians ripped off his mask before the drones could flee.

  It was Michael, a ferocious determination on his face. He raced after the retreating drones, leaping high enough to catch two of them at once—one in each hand. He smashed both of them into the pavement, over and over, not seeming to care if they shot him too, until they were broken bits of organic mush. Farther up the path, one of the Starsgardian women took aim with her crossbow and blew up the final drone before it reached the cliff’s edge.

  The other fighters circled around Luke, one of them lifting his shoulders, telling him to wake up, but he didn’t respond.

  They didn’t know.

  They didn’t know what the bullet had done.

  Fear built in the bottom of my lungs, a terrible wild thing growing inside me, held at bay only by a sliver of hope. A tiny hope that he would heal.

  Michael pushed through the group, kneeling beside Luke—the boy who was our friend, the boy who had welcomed me into the dance troupe, the only one who ever treated me like I was normal.

  Luke’s eyes were closed and his body was limp.

  Michael lifted him up to see that the bullet had passed right through him and had struck into the pavement underneath.

  His face was pale. “It’s a mortality bullet.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  THE STARSGARDIANS around Michael shouted in horror. In the top of the tower, Ruth fell to the floor in shock and Arachne leaned over her, crying her name.

  Michael pulled Luke forward, cradling him against his chest. One of the Protectors leveraged the remains of the bullet casing from the pathway and stared at it. Just stared.

  Leah and Natalie removed their masks and dropped beside Michael. Tears soaked their faces as they reached for Luke as though touch alone could wake him.

  Michael balled up over Luke, his arms around Luke’s torso. “Luke, buddy. C’mon, man. Fight it. Clara will never forgive me if you don’t come back. Please. Please…”

  Then all I could see was myself leaning over my brother, willing him to wake up and regenerate, wishing for it with all my heart. I didn’t know when I’d collapsed to the floor, but Rift wrapped his arms around me, trying to comfort what couldn’t be healed. Olander had shot my friend and I was helpless. Completely helpless.

  Nearby, Pip was crying. His young face filled with pain beyond his years. Of course, he could sense my heart splitting apart. Snowboy had said that Pip was way too empathetic. I tried to quell the tide of my emotions, taking deep breaths as Rift’s arms tightened around me in support. Snowboy urged Pip out of the room. He didn’t need to see this.

  On the ground, Michael drew back, his face wet with tears. Still holding Luke, he stared at his free hand, stricken.

  Suddenly, for no reason that I could see, he stiffened. He stared from his hand to Luke’s face and back again. Then he pressed on Luke’s chest for a moment. In the silence, I heard him whisper. “He’s still breathing.” After another moment, he bellowed. “Get him inside!”

  The others stared at him in shock.

  Michael wrenched Luke upward, forcing Natalie and Leah up too. “Help me get him inside! Now!”

  “What … Michael…?” Natalie did what she was asked, supporting Luke’s head while others carried his body, but her expression clearly indicated that she didn’t understand the turn in Michael’s mood.

  Michael glared at the sky. “Olander’s watching! I won’t let him see us grieve! He doesn’t deserve it.”

  At that, the other Starsgardians crowded around Luke, and Michael disappeared among them. Then they were moving, protecting Luke’s body as they carried him swiftly inside the tower.

  “Guard the foyer,” Michael shouted as they entered the tower, and a group broke off and remained just inside the front door. When the elevator doors opened, he barked, “To the underground.”

  Leah hesitated. “Not up to the medical unit?”

  “No! We go down!” The tension in Michael’s body was palpable across space, the urgency in his words striking me cold as they ushered Luke’s body into the elevator.

  The doors closed and then they were gone.

  Ruth and Arachne raced from the command center into the elevators and disappeared from sight too. Only the guards at the tower entrance remained visible.

  Still holding me, Rift’s whisper was sad. “We can’t see the underground rooms. Ava, I’m sorry. We won’t be able to see if he lives or…”

  Not knowing what was happening drove a knife into my heart. Michael had said that Luke was still breathing, but he wasn’t taking him to the medical unit. He was taking him to the underground instead.

  I could barely find my voice. “Olander shot Luke. He’s going to die because of me.”

  Michael’s words repeated in my head: Olander’s watching.

  Olander, who had promised to kill one Starsgardian each week until they gave me up.

  But what had changed Michael’s stance? He’d looked at his hands and then he’d rushed Luke underground. He had to be trying to save him somehow. He had to be…

  I struggled to my feet and Rift followed me, staying close. I wanted to reassure him that I was okay, but I couldn’t manage more than a stiff nod. “Blaze, can you please show me the front of the tower again? The place where Luke was…” I couldn’t bring myself to say, “shot”—or worse, “killed.”

  Blaze did as I asked. “What is it, Ava?”

  “Michael said that Olander’s watching. Which means … he took Luke underground so Olander can’t see what’s happening. But why? I know he said he didn’t want Olander to gloat over what he’d done, but…”

  I peered at the spot where Luke had lain, trying not to stare at the blood on the pavement. Debris from the gardens and pieces of organic drones surrounded it. There were black smears everywhere and at first I thought it was from the drones. They were made from a black substance the likes of which I’d never seen before—it appeared to have a texture that was like a cross between the moss and the bugs that lived in the marsh pond. But then I caught sight of the edge of the garden, where the beech tree’s roots had been blasted open and exposed by cannon fire. Black liquid seeped from its broken boughs.

  “Look,” I w
hispered. “There’s nectar in that tree.”

  The others peered at the screen.

  Snowboy ran a hand across his head. “Michael picked up a branch when they took your friend inside. I saw it just before the others blocked him. Do you think he figured it out?”

  Hope rose like sunshine in my chest. “He must be trying to save Luke, but he doesn’t want Olander to see how.” It was impossible to keep the desperate hope from my voice, but my brothers were subdued, exchanging quiet glances.

  Finally, Quake said, “I hope he saves your friend, Ava.”

  “But you’re scared,” I said. “You’re not sure what this means for us.”

  My words fell into a new silence. I read their fear like it was written in front of me. We controlled the source of nectar and, by extension, the only defense against the mortality weapons. The Council knew where to find us. They’d wanted to destroy the source before, but now, all of a sudden, they needed it. Would they come for it now? Would they destroy our home and our safety in the process?

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered as the weight of everything threatened to crush me. “It’s all my fault.”

  Suddenly, it was all too much and I could barely breathe. Snowboy raced to my side and I knew he could tell my heart was bursting, the same way he’d been able to tell I was close to tears on the day I met him. Rift remained on my other side.

  Quake towered over us. “You’re tired. I’ll get some hot food ready. We could all do with a meal.”

  “I can’t eat. I’ve put you all in danger. I’ve put everyone in danger. You and every Starsgardian. The moment I crossed the border.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes. “This, all of this, has been like a dream. I wanted to believe it could be real: being here with you in a place I could call home. I love each of you dearly, but the reason Olander wants to attack is because of me. He wants me.”

  I looked to each of my brothers, relieved that Pip wasn’t there to see me cry. “We all know that I can leave Starsgard if I want to. The construction mech can get me down the cliffs the same way it got Mr. Bradley out. If I wanted to jump, I could do that too, and the moss wouldn’t stop me like it would stop somebody else.”