Airwoman

by Zara Quentin

  There was a shout behind her, but she didn’t dare look back. She just flew, as fast as she could. When Jade saw the carpet of bright green foliage spreading out below her, she blinked, then cursed. She should have taken the other direction. She should have made for the Portal.

  Curse it!

  Could she still make it? Jade whirled around, assessing her chances.

  She clenched her fists and cursed again.

  Cajun and Glade were behind her, bows drawn. They were directly between her and the Portal.

  Jade gasped to see their bows trained on her. She darted sideways, then circled. She flicked her tail, darting left, lunging right; quick, jerky movements to throw them off target.

  An arrow whistled past, narrowly skimming her leg. Jade jerked aside, gasping. Her own people had shot at her.

  Jade tucked into a barrel roll, risking a glance behind her to see Cajun and Glade rapidly approaching. They were both typical Special Protective Ops Travellers—ultra-fit and excellent shots. The best of the best. She wouldn’t evade them for long.

  Jade’s throat threatened to close over. Her only chance was to take cover. She looked down, pausing for a split second as she weighed up her options.

  She heard the telltale whistle of another arrow coming towards her. Instinctively, she leaned into a roll, the arrow whispering against the skin of her shoulder as it narrowly missed.

  Jade beat her wings twice and dove beneath the canopy.

  * * *

  After less than an hour, it became clear to Jade that Taraqans weren’t made for walking. The weight of her wings dragged at her back, her muscles sore from pinning them in place when they wanted to stretch. Not only that, but they kept getting tangled in the vines that hung from the branches overhead. The rainforest was so thick she was constantly ducking, weaving and pushing branches out of her path, but she still had scratches all over.

  At least the canopy provided shade, but sweat from the hot, clammy air dribbled down her back, between her wing joints. The ground beneath her feet was uneven, covered with dense moss and layers of fallen leaves, decomposing where they’d dropped. Moisture squelched between the toes of her bare feet, now blackened from trudging over the spongy ground.

  And they hurt. She hadn’t walked this far since, well, ever. Small stones and twigs kept sticking their pointed edges into her soles, and every step sent shooting pains into her lower legs.

  The worst of it, though, was her shoulder. She’d missed a dose of Neve’s medicine and Jade estimated that she was almost due for another. She used her injured side as little as possible, to protect her shoulder, and was soon slowly and awkwardly limping along.

  She came to a halt, leaning against the rough bark of a tree trunk. She took the knife from her belt and made a notch in the wood in the shape of a ‘T’, remembering Michael’s advice about leaving a trail.

  Jade licked her lips, dry and parched despite the humidity. For the first time since she’d arrived on Premye, she wished it would rain. Instead, shards of sunlight pierced the canopy. She paused, staring at the sky that peeped through the gap between trees and saw the tips of the mountains. On patrol they’d been a natural wall to the east. The sight of them now brought Cajun’s speculation to mind—that the Premyan settlement must be closer to the mountains. If she could find it, she was sure she’d find Axel.

  For the first time since she’d landed beneath the canopy, a seed of hope bloomed in her chest. She had a direction, at least, and it gave her the impetus to push on. Besides, there might be a stream up ahead too.

  She trudged uphill for the rest of the day, until the slope flattened out. Jade looked around for water or something to eat.

  Hanging in one of the trees, Jade saw a cluster of bright red berries. She reached for them, ready to cram the berries into her mouth, when she remembered Michael’s warning about plants growing in the forest.

  Her stomach rumbled, but Jade tentatively picked one berry from the bunch. She crushed the berry in her fingers, the first thing Michael had suggested she do before ingesting it. A smear of juice stained the tip of her finger, like blood.

  Blood on her hands; Jade saw Michael’s face in her mind.

  Almost immediately, her fingers started tingling and her thumb and forefinger went numb. Jade dropped the berry and wiped the rest of the juice off onto her shirt. The numbness spread to her hand, and she shook it to bring the feeling back. The numb sensation didn’t go any farther up her arm, but it took a while for the feeling to return to her hand. Her stomach grumbled and protested, but she moved away from the temptation of the berries. At least she’d remembered to test them before cramming them into her mouth. With a pang, she realised Michael had saved her life. Again. Even after he’d lost his. Her throat tightened, before she pushed the image aside, forcing herself to keep moving.

  She put as much distance between herself and the beach camp as possible. From the conversation she’d overheard, Vance wouldn’t let her go easily. Whoever he was, if he wanted her dead so badly, he wouldn’t be content until he saw her body. She had no doubt Cajun and Glade would help Vance to look good, if it boosted their own careers. They would follow her into the forest, if they hadn’t already.

  Jade came to an outcropping of rock, where the land fell away steeply. She stopped just in time to avoid falling straight over it. There was a little break in the dense foliage through which Jade saw mountains rising up ahead.

  At least she was still heading in the right direction.

  Jade looked around for a path down the slope. She pushed away strands of hair sticking to her forehead. All of a sudden, Jade became aware of a rushing sound in the distance: water. Her eyes widened as she looked around, straining to hear where it was coming from.

  Jade found a place where she could make her way down towards the sound of the water. She stepped carefully across the muddy ground. When she was halfway down the slope, something buzzed at her ear. Irritated, Jade swatted at it and the sudden motion threw her off balance. She slipped in the mud, throwing her body sideways, jarring her non-injured arm, but the angle of the slope sent her into a tumble. The world became a blur of blue and green and brown as she tumbled over and over. She cried out every time she hit her injured shoulder on the ground, but as she tumbled and slipped down the slope, she felt scratches and bumps all over.

  Jade fell only for a second or two before she came to a halt, but it took longer to overcome the disorientation. When she stopped tumbling, she found herself wedged up against a gnarled branch, which had grown at an odd angle as though it had bumped along the ground itself. She blinked the dizziness from her eyes and took a deep breath, testing her body for signs of injury. Her shoulder was more painful than ever, but other than bruises and scrapes, she didn’t seem to have injured anything else.

  A moment later, the buzzing sound returned and Jade swatted at it again. There was an unnatural glint in the twist of the sunlight and Jade peered at the pest. The dragonfly, returned from Zorman, finally came to rest on the dock fastened to her belt.

  With shaking hands, Jade released the dragonfly from the dock and pressed the green button. Almost immediately, it spoke in her uncle’s voice, “Jade, thanks for your message — it works! But I’ve got more important things to say. Let me be brief. Your friend doesn’t know the full story, it’s too long for this message, but you must believe me. Axel is responsible for your father’s death. If you want to bring his killer to justice, as I know you do, I urge you to arrest Axel and bring him back to Taraqa to face a hearing. We are all counting on you here. You’re in our thoughts. Z.”

  Jade closed her eyes, her thoughts in a tumult. Her head spun and her mouth was drier than ever. She had to drink. The injuries in her shoulder and her feet seared, pulsed, burned, and ached. The pain clouded her thoughts. It was difficult to concentrate on anything.

  She tried to focus on the message from Zorman.

  Axel.

  Killer.

  Bile pushed up the back of her throa
t and she leaned over and retched.

  * * *

  Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Jade collapsed back against the tree and closed her eyes. Fuzzy, incoherent thoughts swirled and danced—coming towards her consciousness, then skipping away before Jade could grasp them. Finally, the rushing water distracted her. She pushed herself to look over the branch holding her up. She let out a laugh when she saw the glint of light on water through the trees a short distance away.

  With effort, Jade crawled the short distance over to where the water was tumbling over rocks, the current making patterns in its surface. Desperate though she was, she paused at the sight of the open sky. The dense foliage opened out above the creek and Jade’s heart trembled as she realised how vulnerable she was. Not only could the Premyans be anywhere, but any Traveller flying overhead would see her. She loitered under the cover of the branches, weighing her options. Her thirst won out and she waded into the creek to where the water was less churned up with mud. Her eyes darted restlessly, watching the sky and trees overhead, as she cupped water to her mouth, slurping it up.

  When she finished, she retreated underneath the warped branches and let her feet rest in the water. The cool water washed away the mud and numbed the aches in her feet.

  Jade leaned her back against the trunk of a huge, gnarled and twisted tree, the rough bark scratching her skin through her shirt. She took long, deep breaths and, with every exhalation, she felt as though she was deflating as the energy drained from her body; she was exhausted.

  She couldn’t rest though. It was too much of a risk. Now that her immediate thirst was quenched, her mind cleared and she thought through Zorman’s message.

  She’d hoped Zorman had been mistaken about Axel, but she should’ve known better. She was always wrong about Axel. Her shoulders sagged and she wanted to sink into the ground and never get up. It all seemed too hard. How would she find Axel in this place? How would she find her way out again? Nobody knew where she was and the people who were supposed to look out for her were trying to kill her. Her throat threatened to close over as she thought of Vance’s words back at camp. She fumbled with the dragonfly and brought it to her lips, recording another message to Zorman.

  “Hi Uncle Z, I’ve left the beach camp because… long story, but I overheard Vance giving orders to kill me. They came from a man—maybe someone in his chain of command, he didn’t say. I don’t know why they want me dead—there must be more to this than we know. I know you trust Vance, but…” Jade trailed off. He wanted to kill me. Jade closed her eyes, her hands trembling. Then she remembered she was still recording and rushed on before time ran out. “I’m in the rainforest, a day’s walk from the beach, heading towards the mountains—I think that’s where I’ll find the Premyan camp. I’ve found a creek, I’ll follow it upstream. Waiting for your advice, as always.”

  She released the dragonfly into the air and struggled to her feet. She started upstream, paddling along the shallows, relieved that the cool water could still soothe her feet as she walked.

  * * *

  A branch thwacked Jade in the face, sending her stumbling backwards to land squarely in the mud. She cursed. It was drizzling rain, the air was clammy, the ground was like a swamp.

  Jade dodged boulders, ducked under overhanging branches and sloshed through the shallow, muddy water for as long as she could until the bank dropped off too steeply to continue that way. Then she’d climbed out to follow the creek on land.

  Now the shooting pains returned and Jade was soon hobbling again, keeping her injured arm still and pushing branches out of the way with the other. Vines hung from the canopy, twisting around her hair and wings. Jade stopped frequently to free herself.

  It made for slow going.

  At every rise, Jade searched for breaks in the foliage to make sure she was still heading towards the mountains. That way led deeper in the jungle where she could hide herself from Vance, Cajun and Glade and the rest of the Traveller Force. It also led, with any luck, to the Premyan camp where she would find Axel. With every step, Jade peered into the trees. Behind every trunk could be a Premyan waiting to kill her.

  The late afternoon light was fading when Jade carved another ‘T’ into a tree trunk. A hot pain shot down her arm and jabbed her in the side of her chest. Jade doubled over, gasping. She could barely move her arm and the pain fogged her mind. It was hard to hold onto her thoughts. She wanted to sink into the mud and sleep. Every step was a fight, her will against her body. She wasn’t sure how much longer her determination would win out.

  Jade forced another step forward, but a sticky vine tugged her wing. Again. She half-turned to free herself, struggling to reach it without moving her injured shoulder. She whimpered. Something buzzed and the dragonfly attached to her dock. Jade collapsed to her knees, a slick of mud coating her shins. Her hand closed over the dragonfly, relief washing over her. She pushed the dragonfly’s replay button. Once again, it spoke in Zorman’s voice: “Little Jay, your last message was concerning. I fear you misheard. I trust Vance with my life. I don’t believe he would do such a thing. But if it is true, then Axel is using his friends in the Force to get to you. Don’t let this distract you. I have the evidence of Axel’s guilt but it’s a long story. I wish I could have told you before you left but now there’s no time for it. Trust me—we’re all counting on you.”

  Jade rested her head in her hands, thinking through Zorman’s message. Had she misheard Vance? No. If she had, why did Cajun and Glade fire their weapons at her as she flew away?

  No, someone was after her. But why? Why was Axel doing this? Because of Papa’s link with the Traveller Force? She couldn’t understand it. Jealousy? Hatred? She had to admit, for all she’d thought he was her friend, she hadn’t known Axel at all.

  Zorman said he had the evidence of Axel’s guilt and he’d never let her down before. Jade curled her hand around her neck chain, finding the shard of fire crystal that Zorman had brought back from Adillique. He’d given it to her after Basalt’s death, when Mama and Papa were either absent or withdrawn, or they’d snap at her for no reason. One day, when she’d been given detention at school for misbehaving in class, Papa yelled at her while Mama cried. They hadn’t even listened to her side of the story. Later that day, Zorman returned from Adillique with her gift, and Jade sobbed her story into his chest. Later, she heard him confronting Papa to give him a piece of his mind. Afterwards, Papa apologised and started to spend more time with her, but Jade hadn’t forgotten that it was Zorman who had been there for her when she needed it most. Jade knew he was on her side—he always was—and would tell her the whole story when she returned to Taraqa. For now, all she could do was trust him.

  And find Axel.

  Jade heaved a sigh, trying to muster the energy to get up and keep going. She leaned her head against the mossy bark and closed her eyes. Just for a moment.

  One moment, before she kept going—to find Axel, to bring him to justice, to release Papa to rest.

  Jade fought to open her eyes, but exhaustion folded around her like a blanket.

  She’d keep going in a minute.

  Just one minute.

  * * *

  The sound of pounding water drew her up the slope. It had to be the waterfall that fed the creek she’d followed for the last day or so. The previous night, she’d slept—exhausted—curled up in the exposed roots of an enormous tree, waking only when shards of late morning light played across her face.

  She had woken with a longing to see the open sky and feel the wind rushing past her face as she flew. She couldn’t imagine how non-winged people managed walking on their legs. All the time? It was so slow. So painful.

  She had been tempted, when she’d woken, to take her chances and soar above the canopy. Reason had dissuaded her. Instead, she made her way towards the crest of the waterfall, hoping for a glimpse of the sky.

  The last part of the slope was the steepest and she took to her hands and knees, clinging onto rocks and digging her
fingertips into tree roots—anything anchored—to give her purchase enough to climb.

  It was tough going. Jade had hardly any movement in her injured shoulder now; although the pain had given way to a numbness that would have—should have—frightened her, if she had the energy for it.

  With one final effort, she hauled herself up onto the flat ground, but at the last moment, a rock gave way under her foot. She landed awkwardly on her injured side and tasted a mouthful of mud.

  "Aaaarrrgghhh!” Jade screamed out her pain and frustration. She rolled over, resting her head on the ground, the damp of the mud seeped through her hair and coated her neck. At least she was at the top of the rise. She heard the pounding of the water, close now. Jade told herself to get up, but her body wouldn’t obey.

  Then a sound behind her made her freeze. Crackling leaves, snapping twigs. The unmistakable sound of footsteps through the undergrowth. She jerked her head up and scanned the ground around her. The sound came from behind and she struggled to her feet to avoid pressure on her shoulder. Her pulse pounded in her ears.

  Jade had just made it to her feet when a set of hands grabbed her from behind. She opened her mouth to scream but a hand clapped over her mouth.

  “Sssshhh! Jade, it’s me.” Axel’s breath tickled her ear as he whispered to her.

  Jade breathed in his familiar scent. Her face broke into a smile as she turned around, falling against him in relief and exhaustion. Axel wrapped his arms around her, folding her into him, holding her tight. Jade relaxed into the comforting warmth of his body.

  Then her mind kicked in.

  It was Axel. The man who’d used her to kill Papa.

  Jade tensed, remembering that he’d lured her into a trap before. Then a hot prickle of anger surged through her. She put her hands on Axel’s chest and pushed him roughly away.