Lily covered her mouth and giggled.
“What’s so great about mecha, anyway?” Sevarin said, sitting down next to Milo. They made fists and bumped them together like old friends.
Gunner answered, readying himself for a dive. “They’re these huge war machines made by engineers in Ayrtoros. They have arms and legs, and a pilot can jack into them and control them from inside, like he’s wearing a suit of armor as big as a five-story house. Only Humankin can use them, though. Godkin have too much luminether in their bodies, or something like that.”
“Too much in their cells,” Owen said, brushing wet hair off his forehead as he treaded water. “It interferes with the neural link connecting the pilot’s brain to the machine’s mainframe.”
Gunner dove in, making an enormous splash. Emma’s hair got soaked. As soon as Gunner’s head popped out of the water, Emma grabbed the beach ball and smacked it full against his face.
“Huh,” Sevarin said. “Only nerds can use it. Gotcha.”
They all laughed at that—except Owen, who climbed out of the pond and gave a courtly bow.
Three months earlier, when the orphans had first entered the vault, Emmanuel gathered them in the dark, empty cafeteria. They ate a cold meal—some crackers with cheese and jam—as Emmanuel and Andres spoke at a nearby table. Not all of the orphans were there. The younger ones and most of the Humankin ones had retired to another area of the vault with Coral.
At one point Emmanuel got up to make an announcement.
“We’re leaving Taradyn,” he said, “and we’re going to Theus, the capital city of Ayrtoros. I can’t force you to come with me, so those of you who wish to stay in the vault with Coral can do so until I can get some of my people to assist you in relocating. Wherever you end up, you’ll be safely under the protection of the Forge.”
The orphans looked at each other and put down their food. After a moment of silence, Owen got up.
“I’m ready to go as soon as possible,” he said. “Taradyn can sink to the bottom of the ocean for all I care.”
Owen had been the first to stand, followed by Gunner, Sevarin, and Milo. That left Barrel, Oscar, Emma, Lily, and Calista. Emma rose soon after her brother with no more than a worried look in her eyes and a nervous twitch of her wings.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to stop them,” she said.
“Me too.” Lily jumped to her feet. “You’re the only family I have.”
Barrel got up with a defiant lifting of his chin. He had developed into a pleasant sight—short with pale skin prone to rosy blushes, and ash-blond hair that fell perfectly straight around his neck. His large blue eyes were incapable of showing anger or malice. During those three months in the vault, he became the favorite among the orphans, and he saw all of them cry at least once. Even Sevarin, Milo, and Owen had broken down crying on his shoulder during private conversations with him, when the pain and confusion had been too much to take.
“If Emma goes,” Barrel said. “I go.”
Emma held his hand and they smiled at each other. At times, Barrel seemed more her twin than Milo.
Oscar gave Barrel, Milo, and Sevarin an approving look and rose gracefully to his feet. He was wearing his REAL CARTAGENA soccer jersey, the holes of which Coral had sewn shut with her seemingly magic needle and thread. The look on the Feral boy’s face was one of fierce devotion. One of his eyes was orange, and the other brown.
Strangely, Oscar was so far incapable of phasing into animal form. His tail looked normal, but only one of his eyes had turned orange. Andres was convinced that his son was missing something; maybe a necessary nutrient or vitamin he hadn’t been able to get back on Earth.
And yet Oscar had proven himself the most agile Feral any of them had ever seen. Even Emmanuel could not account for the boy’s speed and reflexes. And then there was his strange ability to attract animals, like the homeless dogs back in Cartagena.
“Oscar’s special,” Emmanuel said more than once. “That boy is going to surprise us someday.”
Oscar’s tail lashed about as he stood smiling at the group.
“There is no way I’m staying behind,” he said in his characteristic Latin accent. His English was almost perfect now; he had learned it with stunning rapidity.
Andres gave his son a hard look. Despite the calm in his eyes, everyone could read the concern on the man’s face.
He spoke to Oscar in rapid Spanish. Oscar responded, then turned to Milo and said, in a voice that shivered with resentment, “He does not want me to go. He says that I should stay here with the army.” He turned back to his father. “You can’t make me stay, Papa.”
Andres responded in Spanish, in a worried voice. He tried to put his hand on his son’s shoulder but Oscar swatted it away and crossed his arms.
“It’s safe in Theus,” Milo said. “Theusians hate the men who rule Taradyn. And they accept Ferals. You could start a new life. Both of you.”
Oscar translated. He waved his arms in frustration when his father shook his head.
“No hero,” Andres said in English. “You are my son. Your mother die because she was different. I not going to see you die the same.”
Oscar bowed his head and said no more.
For a whole month after that, Oscar didn’t leave his room except when he had to. Milo, Owen, Sevarin, Barrel, and Gunner visited him and brought him comic books and toys, but the boy could not be moved. He would either sit there, depressed, or he would pace about the room in a rage, his tail lashing like a whip as he cursed his father, to whom he refused to speak.
Then one day he approached his father in the Eternal Gardens, where the man had gone to relax in the pond. Oscar showed up with a pair of gardening shears used to trim vines and branches.
Andres sat up against the edge of the pond. Brightly colored fish swam around his chest and arms. The man had not shaved in over a month and his beard was so long it touched the water’s surface even when he sat up.
“Oscar,” he said. “What are you doing with those?”
He watched as his son put the blades around the base of his tail. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, a pair of brown shorts, and beige sandals with straps that wove up around his calves. He turned so his father could see the shears and how close they were to snipping the tail off at the base.
“I’m not ashamed of who I am,” Oscar said in Spanish. “But if this tail is going to keep me from living my life and being with my friends, then I don’t want it anymore. I’ll find ways to be like them. I’ll hide the animal inside of me. I’ll hide my face if I have to.”
Andres rose from the water and approached his son. Oscar backed away but kept the blades in place.
“Don’t,” his father said. “You are beautiful the way you are, the way your mother made you. She loved you and she would not love what you are doing. Keep the tail. You are not an animal. Go with your friends and be happy, but I will go with you. I will protect you with my life, wherever you choose to go.”
Oscar looked his father in the eyes and saw that the man meant what he said. Then Oscar began to cry. He loosed his grip on the gardening shears.
“I don’t want to leave my friends,” he said.
Andres brushed water off his arms and chest and got down on one knee before his son. There were tears in his eyes. Oscar dropped the gardening shears. He fell into his father’s open arms and cried into his neck. His father spoke to him in a confident whisper.
“Your mother’s watching you from Heaven,” he said. “And she thinks you are an angel.”
That left only one orphan who had not risen to join the others.
Calista sat with her elbows on the table, chin resting on her palms. Her expression was one of glum defeat, like a child who has just been punished. She could not even look at the other orphans. Emma wanted to hold her friend’s hand, provide what comfort she could, anything to ease her off the bench. But this had to be Calista’s decision.
“Come on, Cali,” Sevarin said. “Get you
r butt off the seat.”
She shook her head, all dark features and white skin, her eyes hooded and sad. Her tail sat curled up on the bench next to her. Across the cafeteria the door opened and Coral walked in, wiping her eyes in silence.
“I don’t belong with you people.” Calista looked at Sevarin, then Emma, then back at Sevarin. “There’s nothing I want in Theus, or here.”
Emma felt flush with embarrassment. Calista couldn’t have been more obvious about her jealousy. Emma wished she could reassure her that nothing was going on between her and Sevarin.
“Come on,” Owen said. “We could use a fighter like you. You’re fast.”
“If it’s because you’re a Feral,” Gunner said, “then you don’t have to worry. People in Theus accept your kind.”
“I know that, idiot.” Tears cupped her eyes, and she gave a wet sniffle. “I just don’t belong in this group. I’m not a demigod, I’m no fighter. I don’t care what happens to Taradyn or the rest of the world. I’m not even an orphan. My parents live in Valestaryn. See what I mean? I’m different!”
She had shouted that last part, startling the orphans.
Milo walked slowly around the table in her direction. “No one holds it against you. Just tell us where you want to go, and we’ll make sure you get there in one piece. But also, know this: we’re here for you, and we would never…”
“I want to go home,” she said. “To Valestaryn.”
Coral had just sat down with the other adults. When she heard what Calista said, she slapped her palms against the table and heaved herself up.
“Calista! You remember what happened the last time you were there.”
“I know, but I’m older now. I can take care of myself.”
Coral, seeing the way the girl’s face was about to collapse in grief, shuffled over and embraced her. Calista cried into the woman’s chest.
“I’m sorry,” Calista said, curling her tail around the bench. “I’m so sorry.”
Emma stepped forward.
“We’ll be there for you, Cali. You’ll always have friends, OK?”
Calista pulled away from Coral, gently, not in anger. She spoke in a meek voice. “You promise?”
“I do,” Emma said.
Lily stepped forward. “And so do I.”
The others nodded their agreement. Barrel came forward in his courtly way, put his hands on Calista’s shoulders, and kissed her on the forehead.
“When you’re ready,” he said. “I’ll find you.”
She nodded. “I just need some time.”
With that said, Calista turned and ran across the room, phasing along the way into her cat shell. They watched the small, agile creature dart through the door and disappear into the corridor.
Chapter 79
“You’re going to military school.”
Emmanuel’s sunglasses flashed as he looked around the holding area of the shuttle. Housed in the garage levels of the vault, this was the biggest vehicle Milo had seen so far. He had noticed while climbing in earlier that laser guns were mounted on the sides.
Turning his gaze back to the orphans, Milo saw puffy eyes and sleep-heavy faces. They had all just woken up, and had eaten a breakfast of something resembling oatmeal with fruity berries that changed color every few seconds. The orphans jokingly called it “snot of the gods” and laughed about it, though Emmanuel had designed it to be maximally nutritious. Milo had eaten the stuff many times in the years since he arrived. To him, the vault was home; he’d almost forgotten what it was like at the ranch.
Lily stood next to him. He smiled down at her, taller by at least two inches. It felt good to be taller than her, finally.
“Don’t look,” she said, averting her face. “I look like a frog in the mornings.”
Aside from a slight puffiness around her eyes and a disheveled mane of hair that fell around her shoulders, she looked as pretty as ever.
“You look fine,” he said.
“So you don’t think I look skinny anymore?”
Wow! Milo was slammed with the memory. That Sunday brunch felt like such a long time ago. A whole two and a half years!
“Your hair is a little messy,” he said, “and your eyes are kind of puffy, but that doesn’t change what I see when I look at you.”
“What do you see?” She tilted her head a little. Milo drank in the sight of her eyes.
“I see the girl I’ve been thinking about for the past two and half years.”
Lily blushed. “I can’t believe you were by yourself for all that time.”
“I was never really alone. At least I didn’t feel that way.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too.”
She placed a hand on Milo’s arm, and then quickly pulled it away. He blushed. Together, they faced the group, trying hard to hide smiles of embarrassment.
The group now consisted of Oscar, Sevarin, Milo, Emma, Lily, Barrel, Owen, and Gunner. They all stood waiting for Emmanuel to continue. Milo heard Owen whisper, “Military school? Sweet!”
Gunner said one word. “Mechas.”
The only other adult present was Andres. He sat in the back, hunched over his knees, looking down at the floor. Milo sometimes felt sorry for the man, who always seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Military school?” Emma frowned and gave her wings a violent shake. “You mean, get up at the crack of dawn, stand in a straight line, salute your drill instructor, and shave your head military school?”
Emmanuel took off his sunglasses and examined her with his frosty blue eyes. What he said next really made Emma think…
“If that were the case,” her uncle said, “could you handle it?”
Emma dipped her head a little in shame and backed into the group. She didn’t know for sure if the answer to his question was a yes or a no. Would she really fit in at a place governed by uber-strict rules and even stricter men in uniforms? She would have to wait and see. At this point, there was no turning back.
“Don’t be afraid,” Emmanuel said, looking over their faces. “Theus is a peaceful city. It’s also the most technologically advanced city in both realms. You’ll be protected.”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small disc that looked like a miniature flying saucer. He tossed it forward with a flick of his wrist. It landed without touching the floor and hovered there. Emma had never seen anything like it, except in movies.
Using a remote control, her uncle dimmed the lights. Colors sprang from the disc and took shape before her eyes, forming a three-dimensional image that reached across the width of the shuttle. A world in miniature had sprung to life before their eyes.
Her uncle stood behind it, awash in colored light.
The camera (or whatever had recorded the image) started hundreds of feet above an ocean, then panned toward a mountainous coast. A city sprawled along the shore, facing the water and backed by the mountains in the distance. The camera zoomed in like a diving bird on the city, and the orphans gasped.
Tall, shining skyscrapers rose in clusters with lines of flying cars weaving among them, the silvery backs of those cars reflecting the colors of massive advertisements that hovered in the sky, three-dimensional holographic videos of men and women using various skin products and drinking soft drinks with names like Ambrosia and Nectola. The place was like New York City a thousand years in the future, and a thousand times shinier.
The camera slid further into the continent, toward the mountains, until it reached its destination. The orphans had thought Theus was impressive, but this place really blew their minds. The more Emma studied it, the more she realized that it was totally different from anything she’d ever seen.
It was like its own city, white and stony, built on a flat valley surrounded by protective mountains. A network of rivers wove among the streets and buildings, and there were dozens of bridges that arched over the water, providing footpaths and connecting roads. The school’s main
buildings were large and sprawling edifices surrounded by well-manicured fields of grass. Stone pathways and looming trees were everywhere, and the orphans could see people walking in pairs and groups throughout the campus. Something long and pale and snakelike coursed along the outermost edges, and they all realized after a moment that it was a train on elevated tracks that went all the way around campus, dropping off and picking up students at tall stations along the way.
“Theus Academy,” Emmanuel said. “Consisting of six schools where members of every race can develop their abilities and become world-class warriors, doctors, engineers, and scientists. Some of the most famous people in Astrican history studied here in their youth.”
Emma was wonderstruck. The school’s central building was actually a small stone castle surrounded by walls. There was a park with benches and a large stone fountain within those walls. Water gushed up and fell back into the fountain bowl in misty streaks. Emerging from the fountain was a golden statue of a lean, heroic-looking woman with wings holding a ball of fire toward the sky. The fire was an actual ball of flaming light that hovered above her open palm.
Emmanuel spoke in a serious tone. “Each and every one of you will be enrolled, regardless of age. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve already passed the entrance exam.”
“You get to decide that?” Lily said.
“Of course. I’m the dean of students. On paper, at least. But that’s neither here nor there. The important thing is that you all remember the danger you’re in. Someday Kovax and Iolus will come for you. When that happens, you must be ready. Theus Academy is no vacation. You will undergo the most intense training of your life, all to prepare you for battle. Some of you may not survive to see graduation.”
Emma spoke in a tiny voice. “You—you mean, we could die?”
Emmanuel nodded slowly. “It happens all the time. This is a military school, after all.”
There was a moment of silence in which the orphans all bowed their heads and considered their options. They looked at each other, and an unspoken message seemed to pass among them.
Savant (The Luminether Series) Page 42