“What?” Irene twists to the exit. “Why?”
We need to move, Javen’s voice firmly enters my mind. Something is off here.
I sense this too. Something’s been off since we left Franky’s site, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Everything had been too easy.
“Will they let you out the door?” Irene takes her aunt’s arm.
“Not likely.”
I straighten my back as my attention shifts to Irene’s cousins, who are still playing. “We need them to come, too.”
Ada’s breath hitches. “Can we get them out of here safely?”
“Come on Grace, Milo.” Ignoring her aunt, Irene waves them over, and their eyes widen in excitement. They have no clue that what’s about to happen could end horribly.
My heart races as the two kids flank Ada and she takes their hands.
“Just keep your head up,” I encourage, “and we’ll tell them we need a few minutes outside.” The others follow me as I walk straight toward the guard who brought us in here. “Hey, you think we can go outside for a few minutes?” I ask casually. “It’s getting stuffy in here.”
The guard’s face scrunches as he looks at me. “Air’s not any better outside.”
“Listen,” I lean to him, “it’s loud in here, and my friend wants to talk to her aunt. Outside is a better place.”
After throwing a brief glance at the other guard a few feet away, he tips his chin to me. “You got ten minutes.”
“Plenty.” I give him a sweet smile and push open the door.
Once outside, I scan quickly for an alleyway. If we can get to it, we can disappear without having to reveal what we can do to these thugs.
Several guards still patrol the streets, but I see a potential getaway spot a hundred feet away.
Smiling, I wave everyone forward. When we get there, I turn and direct my attention to Ada. “Please listen. We are here to get you out, and we’re leaving right now.”
“There’s no way we’ll get far. I told you, Franky doesn’t let go of his property.” She nervously shakes her head, keeping her voice down so the kids don’t hear. “I made a mistake. Don’t let us drag all of you—”
“Stop talking,” I interrupt her. “We’re not getting out of here the way you think. Just smile.” I plaster a fake smile on my face. “We’re going to take your and your kids’ hands. Something strange is going to happen, but you need to not show fear.”
Visions of Javen and me helping Irene escape the detainment center in Primaro run through my head. Javen only needed to worry about keeping me and Irene cloaked, and even that didn’t work. She ended up falling and then Javen lost his grip on her. Now we have two kids and Irene’s aunt to worry about.
Facing the others, I gesture with my head toward the alley. “We need to get down there and then cloak everyone immediately. Once we know Franky’s guards can’t see us, we can port back to Irene’s building to get our bearings. The exact coordinates to the alley are in your Connects.”
“What are you talking about?” Ada asks.
“Just do what she says.” Irene takes Grace by the shoulders and pulls her in tight to her side. “I know it sounds crazy. But it can work, and that’ll get us all out of here without anyone getting killed.”
Remaining cautious, I peer over my shoulder to the guards. But none of them seems to be paying attention. I nod to Beda, who's ready to lead the charge.
Irene bends closer to Grace, motioning toward Beda. “Go with this nice lady. She’s going to take you for a run, so I need you to hold her hand tightly. It’s like a game—who can hold on the longest.”
Grace bobs her head even though fear brews in her eyes. She reaches for Beda, who gently takes her hand.
“It will be fun,” Beda says. “Like a race. Let’s see if we can beat your brother.”
With that the little girl relaxes, her lips spreading into a wide, mischievous smile.
Javen grabs Milo’s hand. “Don’t worry. We can take them.” His tone is playful for the sake of the boy. Yet the energy pressing onto my mind is heavy, nervous.
I take Irene's hand as Yaletha moves in, taking Ada’s. Irene’s aunt hesitates.
“Do it,” Irene growls. “We don’t have time to waste.”
Finally, Ada takes Yaletha’s hand and slowly leads her toward the alley’s mouth. I keep my eyes on the guards, and as we move, one of them speaks into his Connect and eyes us.
“We need to run.” I squeeze Irene’s hand and she returns the grip. I’m sure the memories of what happened to her in Primaro are running through her mind, too.
Without wasting another moment, the group bursts into action, racing toward the safety of the alley.
“Stop them!” someone behind us yells.
A blue blast of energy flies past us. My heart goes wild. Everything in me wants to port, but I won’t let these people see.
“Franky said he needs the strangers alive,” another voice shouts.
“They’re planning something.”
Beda is in the lead, despite the small child in tow, and warns us by turning to look back.
Grabbing the child around the waist, she lifts her in one swoop and holds her in her right arm. With her left hand, she forms a ball of light. The warrior woman grits her teeth as she swings around and throws double blasts, hitting two of the guards square in the chest. They blow off their feet, flying backward across the ground.
“Go! Go! Go!” she screams, waving us past.
We rush past her and hit the alleyway in mere seconds, ready to cloak everyone from view.
But instead of the empty alleyway we expect, we discover Sol and five other guards waiting for us, their weapons raised.
We slam to a halt.
Sol stands with his arms crossed over his chest. “Franky knew you people were up to something!”
I pant, eyes wide, the anger building in my chest. A tingling surge engulfs my hands. No way I’m letting this guy ruin what we need to do. I don’t care anymore if they see us teleport. Grinding my teeth together, I thrust my hands toward them. A cyan ball of energy forms, and as it does, every pair of eyes widens in shock.
I can almost envision the CosmicCoin possibilities running through Sol’s head, despite his initial reaction.
“You need to let us go.” I allow the energy to swirl in front of my palm. “I can kill you all.”
Irene raises her blaster and shoots, but nothing happens. Franky must have had them disarmed.
“Cloak, now!” Javen orders.
My mind shifts immediately. The familiar cyan glow forms around us, thickening until we can see Franky and his men but I’m certain they can no longer see us. The kids start to wail. They have no idea what’s going on. Irene’s building is just a few blocks away, and then we can open the portal. No way can we open it here without causing mass panic.
“We need to go back,” I call out, urging everyone to act.
One of the guards behind Sol hears me and shoots off a blaster before we can port.
“We need them alive!” Enraged, Sol curses at the guy and then shoots him in the chest. That’s the last thing I see before I open my eyes in a rat-infested alleyway beside Irene’s building, the same one we arrived in earlier. A rodent scurries along the wall, but this time I barely pay it attention.
Everyone else appears, but my attention is drawn immediately to the limp child in Beda’s arms. Grace is shot. My stomach heaves with terror. Beda’s eyes are full, and her mouth is clenched as if she’s holding in a scream.
Irene and Ada seem too disoriented to notice yet. There might be a chance the Starfire can heal the child, but we need to get everyone out of here first.
Still holding Irene so we don’t lose our cloak, I shake her arm to get her attention. Who knows if Franky’s men are back here, too? He could have people everywhere if he wants to. “Activate the portal!”
Irene whips her head my way and then fumbles for her bag. From the corner of my vision, I notice Beda turning
her back to the rest of us. She knows everyone needs to be calm for us to escape. If Ada, Irene, or Milo discovers Grace is hurt, this whole thing might be over before we can escape.
I force down the urge to shiver while Irene finally pulls out the portal device with a trembling hand. Once the screen activates, she swipes, lighting the alleyway in a blue-green hue.
Beda darts into the portal. Javen goes next with Milo, then Yaletha and Ada.
Urging Irene toward the portal, I glance behind me, finding only rats.
My mind flashes with a sudden urge that grounds me to Earth. The fear I felt before disappears in an instant.
Max still needs my help.
Without wasting another second, I grab the device from Irene and then shove her into the cyan circle of light.
Her eyes widen as she peers back at me. “You have to come!”
“I can’t leave Max in this place.” I swipe the digital screen, closing it.
CHAPTER 12
Cassi! Javen’s panicked voice enters my mind just as the portal snaps shut.
I gasp for breath as my mental connection to him is broken and then quickly shove the device in my bag. I have to get out of here. Around me, the ghostly Starfire’s haze still lingers. At least the cloak is still working, but I need to get going before Franky’s people end up here.
But I’m too late.
Several guards round the corner, towing an old man who’s so skinny, it looks like he hasn’t had a meal in weeks.
“Is this where you saw it?” The guard shoves the thin man forward, nearly knocking him over with the force.
“Yeah . . . yeah.” The man takes a step and points into the alley. “Some crazy light thing appeared, and I hightailed it outta here. Thought the world was exploding.”
“You see any kids?” The guard’s buddies stride up behind him.
“N-no,” the guy stutters. “No kids, just a bluish light.” He raises his hands in the air. “Big light.”
The guard scoffs and shoves the man so hard he falls to the filthy ground in a heap.
Everything in me wants to help, but there’s nothing I can do that won’t give me away. So, I stand still, my eyes burning with moisture.
The guard spins on the other men. “Franky wants us to search the area. Question people, if you need to.”
My thought moves to the families upstairs. Are these men going to hurt them?
A tingle rushes through my body, and the same feeling I had before I closed the portal returns. I can’t stay here. If I try to help all these people, I’ll risk losing everything. It must be the Starfire spurring me to act.
But why does it want me to find Max so badly? Activating my Connect, I bring up the Earthscape program. I could try to port, but I don’t know this area, and it’s too dangerous. When Javen made an emergency port to get us out of the Capitol building, we had to jump out a window and ended up in a lake on Paxon. I only really know the route to where we met Franky, and I don’t want to go back there.
No way I’m doing that.
What I need is to find a quiet place to contact Max, get his location, and use the portal to get us off this planet.
Two guards start down the alley, probably to check out the area where we had opened the portal. So, keeping against the wall, I race past them, still invisible. Once on the street, I find more of Franky’s guards patrolling. Two enter Irene’s building, but I push away the urge to follow them.
From the Earthscape program, it looks like taking a left should be safer, with less building damage.
My heart pounds with the same force as my boots hitting the pavement. Something urges me on—so I run. Up ahead, there’s a cleared area with an open street. I visualize myself there, feeling the power rushing within me and, in the blink of an eye, discover that the thought has come true. Slowing my pace, I glance over my shoulder, checking the distance to Irene’s building—more than four blocks.
I let out a slow breath and jog with the Starfire’s glow still around me, still cloaking me from anyone’s view. As I walk down the middle of the mostly deserted, dust-coated street, I weave around more abandoned vehicles. I avoid looking inside, just in case human remains are inside one of them.
The sun, obscured by the polluted sky, arcs closer to the horizon, and so I keep moving. No way do I want to stay here later than necessary. Even cloaked, I would guess this place gets even more dangerous at night.
Ahead is a small, long-range hover vehicle with darkened windows, parked half up onto the sidewalk. I glance around. No one seems to be minding it at all, but I doubt the vehicle works. Franky, or someone like him, would have already taken it if it did. Still, maybe I can use the inside for some privacy. I flew one of those hovers once, but only for a few minutes on my grandmother’s property when I was pretty young. She only had one because she lived in the middle of nowhere. They’re basically designed to fly themselves, if you program the coordinates.
Approaching the hover, I try the latch on the pilot side, but it doesn’t give. Not wanting to give up, I close my eyes and hope that no one is inside. The interior of the vehicle comes alive in my mind instantly, as I picture it from memory. Warmth spreads over my body. When I open my lids again, I find the flight console in front of me. Biting the inside of my cheek, I twist to peer into the back seat.
Empty.
Just fabric-covered seats and a mess of empty reusable food boxes. Letting out a heavy breath, I lean back into the pilot seat, pushing my head into the rest.
What are you doing here, Cassi? You should be back in the Intersection with everyone else. Javen is probably going nuts trying to figure out how to get back to you. What about little Grace? Is she even alive?
I rub my temple, fingers tense, as my thoughts continue to ramble.
Dad is going to kill me for coming to Earth in the first place, let alone choosing to stay here all by myself.
I peer at my Connect. Max.
Steeling myself, I tap on the glass surface, bringing up the holo function.
“Max Norton, contact information.”
Max’s contact displays on the 3D screen, with a small version of his ID image hovering next to his personal information.
“Record message.” A dot in the corner blinks green at my command. “Max. I need to speak with you, now. Please return this message immediately.”
A pit forms in my stomach, and I pause. What if this is all for nothing? Max may not even get this message at all, and from his interaction with Dad and Vihann, it’s obvious that Max’s father is dangerous. He could be monitoring Max’s Connect. Unconsciously, I reach for the portal device through the fabric of my bag. If that happens, I have to leave Max here. I won’t have much of a choice.
Suddenly, my head spins, and the haze of cyan appears behind my closed eyelids. I inhale a quick breath just as my Connect buzzes with a message.
34°54'8.10" N, 110°09'29.45" W
Coordinates? There’s no sender listed. My heart drops into my stomach. Could it be Max? He’s the only person who might know I’m on Earth. What if his Connect has been confiscated? Sure, I want to find him, but there’s no way I’m going to a set of coordinates without knowing who this is.
“Is this Max?”
It’s a stupid thing to message back because anyone could say yes. Movement catches my eye outside the hover. A group of bedraggled people cross the road. Still, they can’t see me inside the hover, so they seem to pay no mind.
A woman in the group drags her foot as if it were injured and she had no way to repair it. Guilt floods my stomach. I probably could heal her with the Starfire inside me, but I won’t. I just can’t right now. It’s not worth getting mobbed or worse.
Before I can put any more thought into it, my body tingles with the crystal’s energy.
34°54'8.10" N, 110°09'29.45" W
The same message displays again.
Frustrated to no end, I rub my hand over my mouth. This is useless. I should return to Arcadia and forget everything.
Opening the sack, I pull out the portal device and peer out the window. My eyes carefully scan around for the group of people, but they are already gone. Instead, I spot another vacant area I should be able to duck into to activate the portal.
I close my eyes and visualize myself there but then open to my same surroundings—still inside the hover.
Confused as to why the Starfire isn’t working, I narrow my eyes. However, before I have the chance to figure out what’s going wrong, the dead hover’s console lights up brightly.
34°54'8.10" N, 110°09'29.45" W displays on the screen as our destination.
“What?” How did my Connect transfer that data? I didn’t even pair them. My fingertips touch the panel, hesitant. A cyan glow begins to emit from my hands, spreading over the display. My heart speeds up. I try to focus on what’s happening. This isn’t me. At least, I don’t think so.
I reach for the door to activate the latch. Before I can grasp the handle, the hover hums to life and the entire console lights up with a cyan hue. Dirt and debris crunch and scrape the vehicle’s bottom as it raises from the ground and levels itself.
My breathing comes in short pants and my hands grip the edges of my seat. What if someone tracked me, and contacting Max was a huge mistake? Dad said that Kole Harris stole the Starfire he and Vihann had brought with them. What if he somehow figured out how to use the crystals to find me?
“Power down!” I yell at the console. But against my order, the vehicle continues to rise several feet above the ground and makes a slow one-eighty.
Closing my eyes again, I visualize myself outside of the hover. A cyan burst lights in my mind, and with a snap, I’m still inside the hover. Trapped.
Suddenly, my Connect buzzes with a message. I bring my frazzled attention down to it and brace for the worst.
“Please relax, Cassi. You are going to be fine.”
“Ugh.” I turn over my wrist. An unknown messenger telling me to relax isn’t going to do anything helpful.
My frantic fingers wrap around the latch again, trying to force the door open, but it’s locked tight, and it’s not as if I can jump from a moving hover. Outside the window, I spot the group of people I saw before. One points up to me, but then I pass by their group in a blur, so fast that I can’t see them anymore.
The Starfire Wars- The Complete series Box Set Page 57