by Rachael Craw
I close my eyes and lean against him and listen to his heartbeat and concentrate on our signal humming through my bones. “Thank you.” I turn my face towards him. “That was a very good speech.”
He produces a grudging smile, emotion too heavy behind his eyes to make it light. He tips my chin and kisses me in a way that promises more to come.
The door opens and Helena returns with a small preloaded syringe. “Are you ready?”
My mouth dries. I think I nod.
“Jamie, support her back.”
He adjusts his arm behind me. “It’s okay if you want to change your mind.”
I hold his gaze and wish I wasn’t trembling so much. “Just because I’m afraid doesn’t mean I’m not sure.”
Helena leans close, gently squeezing my shoulder. “Schwester.”
Schwester. Sister? I blink at her in surprise.
“He’s right. You don’t have to–”
“Helena … I want my father, our father … our family, a life with the people I love, and if I’m stuck with this DNA I want to use it to save lives, not end them. I can have that here. Life and purpose. If there were any other way …” A shudder ripples through me and I grip the sides of the tank. “I’m ready.”
She blinks at me, watery-eyed. “Then let’s get on.” She inserts the needle into the side of my neck. I give a small gasp but the paralysis hits quickly. She touches my face then Jamie’s shoulder. “Count backwards from twenty then lower her into the tank.”
Jamie gives a sharp nod, his eyes wide, darting back and forth, his chest rising and falling in rapid repetitions. Helena retreats beyond my line of sight and I lie there, my body completely unplugged from my mind’s decent into panic, knowing the agony to come. Jamie counts, fixing his gaze on mine. I think distantly that I don’t know if I’ll do it like this next time. The intensity of his fear for me is making it worse. Maybe it would be better if he were out in the lab – I’d still be able to access his signal.
He gets to five … four … three … two … one … I love you … and he lowers me beneath the saline. The flood comes quickly and as the oxygen is starved from my organs so the pain comes too. Fire follows and after it … darkness. The ocean. The deep. Finally, finally, release. I remember who I am, where I am and what I have to do. I remember who I love, who loves me and who I’m looking for. I open myself to the bandwidth. I feel my strength, the colossal well of power, the tributaries adding their faith, their love and awareness: Jamie, Miriam, Helena. Jamie’s signal sings through mine. I am not alone. I draw the image of my father to the forefront of my mind. His green eyes, his rare sudden smile. I remember his hand cupping my face, his words to me in the cell block and a fierce certainty thrills through me as I reach. I will find him. I will have a life and a future.
This is not the end.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to my heavenly Papa for investing the love of words in my DNA and for a life that has allowed me to explore and cultivate that joy. Thank you to the people who have generously supported me over the last eight years of my writing journey, from the initial dream to this final instalment in the Spark trilogy, my family and friends for their unflagging encouragement and kindness, for believing in me and these stories. To Ian, Sophie, Isabelle and Evangeline who have lived with the not-so-glamourous reality of a wife/mother/author facing deadline and not turned me out on the street, thank you for your grace, patience and enduring love.
Walker Books Australia and Angela Van Den Belt, thank you for this amazing opportunity, for taking that risk on my first manuscript, for having the vision and heart to see its potential – my potential. I could not have asked for better support. Sweet Mary Very (Verney), editor, counsellor, cheerleader and supplier of Dean Winchester memes/pics/GIFs to carry me through the trenches of drafting, editing and conquering this wild book, thank you. I’m so glad we got to share this journey. Claire Smith, publicist, advocate, champion of literature you make this whole book-gig so much fun, thank you for your friendship and your inspirational words, and fashion advice when deciding on heels or no heels at events: “Rach, you just gotta back yourself.” Such advice should be rendered in cross-stitch on throw cushions. Amy Daoud, you are a woman of preternatural vision. Your cover design for the whole series fills me with awe, capturing the heart of the narrative in works of art. Thank you for making my books irresistible to the eye.
Thank you to clever editors, designers and Spark-enthusiasts Nicola Santilli, Virginia Grant, Mika Tabata and the inspired and ruggedly handsome marketing team, Simon Panagaris, Michael Windle, Steve Spargo – I’m looking at you. Thank you also to Leone Hodgson and the dedicated sales reps who put my books into the right hands and onto the best shelves, what a fabulous team.
Thanks to my agents Chris and Barbara Else for your ongoing support and wise counsel, Chris especially for taking the time to give me a dose of courage when I was flailing and uncertain in my early draft. To Hayley George for surviving another year of Sparkish adventures, for loving me and lending me your good eye, thank you. To Zac McCallum and all the brilliant librarians, to the hard working teachers and passionate booksellers who support local authors and promote children’s literature, you are amazing.
Heartfelt thanks to Trinity Doyle, Gabrielle Tozer, Ellie Marney, Rebecca James, Nicole Hayes and Fleur Ferris, you gorgeous Women of Letters. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, talent and heart with me, for being a safety net, a sounding board, a constant source of inspiration. Thank you for cheering, commiserating and laughing with me time and time again. I love you guys! Long live The Vault.
Most of all my Xena war cry of thanks to the #SparkArmy for all of the love and cheering and high-pitched squealing. Every Tweet, Facebook post, Instagram, email, letter, GIF, artwork, blog, review, article or kind word has been gratefully received and tucked deep in my tender authorial heart. It’s been a joy sharing this imaginary world with you guys over the last three years. Thank you for sticking with me and for loving Evie, Jamie, Kitty, Miriam, Ethan and all these characters as much as I do. Here’s to new adventures with new characters in new worlds together.
About the author
RACHAEL CRAW began her working life as an English Teacher after completing a degree in Classical Studies and Drama at the University of Canterbury. She dabbled in acting, directing and writing for amateur theatre productions and small independent film ventures. Her passion for dialogue and characterisation finally led to long-form writing with the Spark series. Rachael’s enthusiasm for classical heroes, teen angst and popular culture informs much of her creative process. She enjoys small town life at the top of the South Island of New Zealand where she lives with her husband and three daughters. Visit her online at: www.rachaelcraw.com
Published in 2016
by Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 22, Newtown
NSW 2042 Australia
www.walkerbooks.com.au
This ebook edition published in 2016
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
Text © 2016 Rachael Craw
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Craw, Rachael, author.
Shield / Rachael Craw.
Series: Craw, Rachael. Spark.
For young adults.
Subjects: Genetic engineering – Fiction.
Science fiction.
Young adult fiction.
NZ823.4
ISBN: 978-1-925126-87-7 (ePub/mobi)
ISBN: 978-1-925126-86-0 (e-PDF)
Cover image (woman) © mirela bk/Shutterstock.com;
Cover image (tree silhouette) © ksyproduktor/Shutterstock.com;
Cover image (lightning bolt) © Hubis/Shutte
rstock.com.
For the #SparkArmy
OTHER BOOKS BY RACHAEL CRAW
Spark (2014)
Stray (2015)
Kill Switch (prequel)
Black Room (prequel)
Scar Tissue (prequel)