31
Banished
Jenny woke with a throbbing head in her room on the Endeavor. She pressed her palms against her eyes to relieve the pain, and fire lanced through her shoulder. That’s right, Jenny thought. Someone shot me. She lifted her shirt and looked under her uniform. White bandages covered her chest and back. A stain of red revealed the location of the wound. She tested her arm. It felt stiff, but it moved well enough. The bullet must have passed clean through. Wait, where is my burstepi? Jenny rolled out of bed and looked around the floor. Her heart pounded and a pit formed in her stomach.
Billo had her closet doors open, and she was folding and packing her clothes into a bag.
“Where is it?” Jenny approached her roommate.
“Where is what?” Billo tilted her head toward the door.
Jenny turned and stumbled backward in surprise. Two Tyran soldiers stood in the doorway. They each wore a black uniform and helmet with a tinted mask. Pistol carbines hung from their shoulders.
“Calm down,” Billo said.
“What’s going on?”
“They’re sending us home.” Billo shoved toiletries into her bag and zipped it up. “Hurry up and pack. I’ll wait for you.”
“Home,” Jenny said numbly. While glancing at the soldiers, she opened her closet doors with trembling fingers. Her Topo was on a shelf with a bullet embedded inside of it. It must have protected me from a potentially lethal round. Her burstepi lay on top of her duffel bag at the bottom of the closet. She sighed in relief. But is the Riftkey still inside? Jenny reached inside the burstepi and felt the hard angles of the Riftkey. She wanted to talk with Cobol but—she glanced at the guards—it wasn’t worth the risk to remove even the handle.
Jenny thought of returning home, and her face burned with guilt for not saving the Selkans. She quickly stuffed the contents of her closet inside the burstepi along with the picture of her mom from the ceiling over her bed.
Taking one last look at her room, Jenny slung her packed bag over her uninjured shoulder and followed Billo to the stairwell. As Jenny climbed, the diamond-steel steps seemed to gnash at her boots like snarling dogs. When they reached the top, the guards shoved Jenny onto the platform. She blinked at the sudden brightness of the midday sun.
Victus crossed his arms behind his back as he surveyed the operation. Two Tyran spaceplanes accompanied Jack’s and Cabin’s on the cement platform. Four armored soldiers in their huge red armor walked around shouting orders. The one with the white face skull and gold accents stood next to Victus. Sadi stood on his other side. She had already exchanged her gray Cabin uniform for a black Tyran one. Her long, curly brown hair was in a single braid, and her glasses were gone.
Cabin recruits were lined up under the guard of twenty soldiers in black uniforms. There were fewer recruits now than at the start of the day, and many wore bandages like hers. Behind Jenny, a gray-armored soldier approached from the stairwell. He pushed Winchell, the custodian, into the mass of people and approached Victus. “Sir, that’s the last of them.”
“Excellent.” Victus turned to address the Cabin recruits and personnel. His blond hair flipped about in the wind, and his black armor reflected the midday sun. “I am Vae Victus, a peacekeeper of the Tyr Ministry of Defense. You are fortunate that Tyr has no interest in you.” He looked out at the Selkan islands. “My mission is to retrieve stolen military property, not to punish accomplices. Sergeant Alberta will now oversee your evacuation.”
The armored soldier with the white face skull and gold accents stepped forward. “You will be sorted into two groups based on your origination,” she barked out to the Cabin staff.
In the distance, the roar of engines drowned out the soldier’s shouts. Four massive spacecraft skimmed the ocean’s surface and came to rest in a surge of water near the Selkan islands. Victus approached Jenny and cradled her chin in one hand. I know what you are, he spoke into her mind. You are like me. His black-eyed gaze crawled across her face.
A trickle of sweat raced down Jenny’s backbone. “You killed Lin,” she said aloud. “And you didn’t even let me say goodbye.”
Victus’s lip curled. “Relationships are a weakness.” He pushed her away. “The only thing that matters is power. You have some potential, little one. Return with me and I could make you great.”
“You disgust me.” Jenny turned and approached the group for the Cabin plane destined for Acacia City. Billo, Adriana, and Kensei all joined her, along with three blue-uniformed recruits. She recognized one of the young men. It was Ezra.
Jenny looked around. “Where’s Moeshe?”
Ezra shook his head and looked down.
An icy pit formed in her stomach. Jenny thought of Lin and the others who had lost their lives. She glared at Victus, and her blood turned to fire. How can I share the same abilities as that man? Jenny shuddered at the remembrance of his touch.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Ezra. “Were you two close?”
“No.” He shook his head. “We never even met before all this, even though we were both from Acacia City.” He looked at Jenny with red-rimmed eyes. “He was a good guy.”
Jenny nodded and looked over at her half-sister. “It’s funny how big a city seems. Then you cross a universe, and everything seems so small.”
“Yeah,” Ezra agreed.
A commotion erupted behind them. Aindriu walked among the other group carrying a canvas rucksack. People were shouting at him.
“What’s going on over there?” Kensei asked. Leon stood tall on his shoulder as if to get a better look.
“No idea,” Jenny said.
After a few minutes, Aindriu walked over to their group. He had a pained expression on his face, like a dog caught in the act of ransacking the rubbish bin. He didn’t seem to enjoy his new role within the Tyran ranks. Without making eye contact, he held out the canvas rucksack. “Remove your keys and put them in the bag.”
“You’re taking our keys?” Kensei asked.
“Yes,” Aindriu hissed.
All around them, the Tyran soldiers slid their fingers over the triggers of their firearms. Jenny lifted the chain around her neck and gazed upon Astrea’s key. This was a piece of her history. How could she just hand it over? “No,” Jenny said. “We earned these.”
Kensei looked incredulous. “Yeah, they can’t just take them away from us.”
Jenny flinched as she saw the soldiers tense. Would they kill us? Jenny thought. Probably. Either way, it’s not worth the risk. She looked around at the injured people and thought of those who didn’t make it. “Here.” Her shoulder flared with pain as she lifted the key over her head and handed it to Aindriu.
“What are you doing?” Kensei asked.
“Lin is dead,” Jenny said. “I don’t want anyone else getting hurt, so I’m playing along.”
“Thank you, Jenny.” Aindriu pointed at the amulet around Jenny’s neck. “What’s that?”
“It’s just a necklace.”
“Hand it over.”
“But it’s not a key.” Jenny clutched her mother’s amulet in her hand.
“I have orders to remove all unusual items.” Aindriu grimaced and took a step toward her. Glints of metal still showed under his knuckles. “Remove it or I will.”
The Tyran soldiers took a step closer and raised their pistol carbines. This time everyone noticed. Jenny’s hands shook. She couldn’t undo the clasp. Suddenly, Aindriu reached out and yanked the necklace. It came free of her neck and took a piece of her soul along with it.
Billo and the three blue-uniformed recruits followed Jenny’s lead and dropped their keys into the sack.
“Now you,” Aindriu said to Kensei and Adriana. He squared his shoulders and adjusted his stance. “This doesn’t have to get messy.” He flexed his pectoral muscles and rolled his neck.
Leon stood on Kensei’s shoulder and mimicked Aindriu’s flexing routine.
Aindriu clenched his jaw and glared at the little creature.
&nbs
p; “Just give it to him,” Jenny said. “It’s not worth it.”
“Why are you doing this?” Adriana cupped her key in her hands. “Why did you join them?”
“This world will be—”
Leon screeched and interrupted Aindriu.
“A lot bigger after the Terminal gets unlocked—”
Leon screeched again.
“And I’m going to be on the right—”
Leon screeched a third time.
In a blur, Aindriu grabbed the sugar glider from Kensei’s shoulder. With a quick twist, the tiny body hung limp. Aindriu tossed the dead sugar glider back at Kensei. “This is not a game. Do you want to get us all killed?” He glanced back at the Tyran soldiers and spoke in an urgent whisper. “Put your keys in the bag, now.”
“You bastard.” Kensei cradled his dead sugar glider in his arms. “I’ll kill you.”
Aindriu stared into Kensei’s eyes, daring for him to make good on his threat. He yanked Kensei’s key off of his neck and dropped it into the sack. Adriana glared at Aindriu with tears in her eyes, then she lowered her own key into the bag. He pulled the string tight and walked away. The guards directed them to the Cabin plane.
Jenny dragged her feet up the ramp and slumped into the first empty seat. She watched numbly as Kensei took a spare shirt from his bag, gently wrapped up Leon, then placed his body inside the backpack. Adriana squeezed Kensei’s shoulder and gave him a hug before sitting down. Jenny chastised herself for not giving Kensei support, but what was the loss of a pet compared to so many people?
Aindriu walked through the plane and entered the cockpit. Apparently, he was their pilot. One of the Tyran soldiers stood guard at the cockpit door while two more took seats near the front. The entire plane tipped backward as one of the huge armored soldiers boarded the plane. The ramp closed behind them. The engines revved.
Across the aisle, Kensei rocked in his seat and chanted, “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him.”
Jenny was lost in her own grief. She thought about her mom, Lin, and Moeshe. Jenny felt her neck, naked without the weight of the amulet and the key. She barely noticed the plane lift off the platform and drift out over the ocean.
Gray waves stretched out endlessly beneath them. Then there was light. Red, orange, and pink clouds could be seen in the distance. The ice-cold numbness that gripped Jenny’s heart thawed, and a spark of hope kindled into a fire. Mazu is still out there somewhere.
The Cabin plane landed around eight that night. Jenny grabbed her bag and followed the others out of the plane. A chill wind from the bay made Jenny shiver. The clouds against the evening sky were the gray of rats. Spaceport security looked the other way as the Tyran soldiers escorted them across the tarmac to the terminal.
The interior of the Acacia City Spaceport was an incredible feat of architecture. Curved supports resembling an enormous rib cage lifted the glass roof a hundred meters above their heads. Shops and restaurants lined the passageways. Advertisements broadcasted messages on humongous displays and holograms. Thousands of people, both alien and human, rushed through the spaceport’s terminal.
Did they know an enormous warship orbited the planet?
They exited the spaceport’s terminal and waited in Departures. The Cabin recruits huddled together on the sidewalk. Jenny chuckled at the juxtaposition of the giant armored soldier and the regular commuters waiting to be picked up. The other recruits looked at her like she was crazy. At least I can still find humor in all this darkness, Jenny thought.
When a large black van arrived to take them to the Waypoint, Jenny looked longingly back at the spaceport. I’m leaving the one place I truly belonged, she thought. The Endeavor was my Shangri-la. Where else can I hone my Æon skills or train my ability? Tears flowed from her eyes as she said goodbye to the non-Astrean recruits. She gave Ezra a hug before getting into the van.
Two of the normal Tyran soldiers took the back seat, and Aindriu took the front seat. They drove to the historic sector of Acacia City and parked near the plaza. Tourists went about their business, though signs of the raid persisted. Broken windows and burned-out structures lined the cobbled street. One of the umbrellas outside The Buzz stood crooked in its stand, its black-and-yellow fabric torn. I can’t believe it’s been only two days since the raid.
Four Songbirds, armed with polearms, stood guard at the gazebo steps.
“Ho,” one of them said. “What’s going on here?”
“This is Tyran business,” one of the soldiers said as he raised his pistol carbine. “Back off.”
The Songbirds retreated.
As Jenny climbed the gazebo steps, she thought about the person in the black cloak. “You know”—she looked at Kensei—“we never did discover if Sadi was involved in the raid.”
“And we never will.”
“You’re idiots,” Aindriu said as he climbed up the gazebo. “Sadi had nothing to do with it. Now, get on the Waypoint.”
“You don’t have to send us away.” Jenny looked at Aindriu. “Just let us go.”
“You’ll be safer back home.”
Home, Jenny thought. Would it be so bad to go home? Time and distance were having an effect on her motivations. For the first time since she’d left, she began to feel homesick. She missed her room, her music, and even her school. As she stood there thinking, Kensei stepped in front of Aindriu, breathing hard through his nostrils and clenching his fists.
“What are you going to do?” Aindriu stood centimeters away from the taller but thinner Kensei. The muscles in his scarred neck flexed, and metal glinted under the skin of his knuckles. “Take your keys back and fight against an entire army? Don’t be stupid. This is the only chance you have of saving your lives. Take it.”
Jenny loved Kensei, but even after the treatments, he was as awkward as a deer taking its first steps. She knew how this fight would end. “Don’t do it.”
“Listen to him,” Billo urged.
“Please, no more fighting,” Adriana added.
Kensei’s shoulders slumped, and he turned away. His eyes were red and wet as he entered the Waypoint.
“That’s better.” Aindriu slid down after him and pulled out his key. “Best to avoid more bloodshed.”
Jenny rubbed at her injured shoulder, then lowered herself into the Waypoint. Adriana and Billo followed her down. They all huddled together as Aindriu inserted his key into the Waypoint. He set the dial for the Esperanza Woods and pushed down. The air shimmered as the buildings of Acacia City disappeared. An uncomfortable sensation of movement twisted Jenny’s guts.
Suddenly, the smell of moss and soil filled her nose. A natural gazebo, formed of bent trunks and branches, enclosed them. Farther out, a ring of tall trees lined an extensive grassy clearing. Birds chirped and giant insects buzzed. Back in Acacia City, it had been late evening. Here, the sun was at its zenith.
“Everyone off,” Aindriu commanded.
They did as he said. Jenny looked back at the Waypoint and saw Aindriu still inside the bowl. In a moment of clarity, she knew he was about to abandon them in the Nimue Realm. “Wait! How are we supposed to get home?”
“That is not my concern.” Aindriu disappeared in a flash of light.
Billo gazed up at the ancient, towering trees. “Does anyone know how we actually get back home?”
“No, I don’t,” Jenny said. Adriana shook her head.
Kensei knelt down in the wild grass. He opened his rucksack and removed Leon’s silent form. The tiny sugar glider looked like it could be sleeping. Kensei pulled out a knife from his bag and dug into the topsoil. After forming a shallow grave, he placed Leon inside and covered him with loose soil. He stared at the dark mound for a minute before he stood and joined the group.
“If I ever see Aindriu again, I’ll kill him,” he said, though, after his brief confrontation with Aindriu, his words seemed empty.
“Ho there,” came Rygelus’s voice as he crossed the rings of trees. Nimue, his ghost daughter, accompanie
d him. Her outline had solidified since Jenny had last seen her, and the similarities between father and daughter were shocking. He stopped in front of Jenny. “What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”
“Lin is dead.” As Jenny said it, emotions welled up inside of her. She dug her fingernails into her palm to keep her mind in the present.
“I’m sorry.” Rygelus put a hand on Jenny’s shoulder and studied the faces of the other recruits.
“We were—” Jenny started.
“Wait.” Rygelus stopped her. “I want to hear all about it, but not here.” He looked around as if expecting something to come through the trees. “Come up to the treehouse.” Rygelus turned and led them away from the Waypoint. “Brock will want to hear your story as well.”
“Yeah, okay,” Jenny nodded and followed.
Kensei walked beside her and whispered, “You know him?”
“Yeah, he’s the one who found me in the woods.”
“Ah.”
Rygelus stopped at the foot of a titanic tree. They entered the shed at its base. One by one they climbed up the rope ladder and entered the treehouse through the trapdoor. Inside, it was all hand-carved wood and craftsman styling. Jenny and the others stood in the living area. In one corner, there was a small sitting area with two simple chairs. In the other corner was a dining table made of a slab of live-edge wood and four stout legs. A furry, glowing creature sat on a dining chair. A plate of small cleaned bones lay in front of him. His head, with its long fox ears, barely cleared the tabletop.
“Whoa.” Kensei jumped back and pointed at Heather. “What the heck is that?”
“Heather is Alfur,” he answered.
“What’s an Alfur?”
“Alfur is Heather.”
“That’s as clear as he gets,” Jenny said.
“Isn’t this the creature that got you lost in the forest?” Billo asked.
Jenny noted the notch in the Alfur’s ear. “He is.”
“Heather.” Rygelus cleared his throat. “I believe you remember Jenny Tripper. These are her friends.”
“Nice to meet friends.”
The Key of Astrea Page 36