Page 30 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
He was not completely wrong.
No one seemed to be walking around the city, even though it was only early evening, the sun still hanging half a thumb’s length above the horizon. People should be out and about socializing, shopping, maybe even heading to the taverns for an early dinner.
But that didn’t mean the city was deserted.
In place of people, blue-tinged hovers patrolled the streets, zooming along ten feet above the ground.
Kase froze in his tracks. Those hovers didn’t belong to Jayde. When Jove had explained the mission to Tasava all those months ago, he’d said the Cerls were after more Zuprium. He’d implied that it was the Cerls who’d compromised the Jaydian mines.
Kase didn’t know for sure, but by the look of those hovers, that assumption was correct. They looked a little like Jaydian airships, but not enough, and the sheen…
There was something unsettling about the blueness of them. It was like they’d taken Zuprium and infused it with the hottest part of a fire.
These were sleeker than Kase’s old standard hover. The noses were more pointed, the wings more aerodynamic and tucked closer to the hover’s side. Kase wiped his sweaty hands on his trousers. These looked more like old fighter jets out of booksKase had read about warfare on First Earth. He didn’t think he wanted to know what sort of firepower these had. It couldn’t be good.
Kase briefly wondered if that had been the next step in his uncle’s research before he died, or if the advancement was a natural evolution from the secrets about infusing electricity with the metal he sold to them.
He wished he’d been old enough to remember more than a few fleeting glimpses of the man and his cousins. Jove remembered a little more, being nearly five years older. He’d always said he’d liked how his older cousins would let him play cricket with them in the courtyard. Not exactly helpful information, unless the Cerls were gearing up for a tournament.
“There’s a small cabin in the woods that way.” Kase retrieved his electropistol and handed off his pack to the older man before pointing to the thick trees about a mile to their right. “The man’s name is Ossie. Stay with him. If I’m not back in an hour, you’ll have to figure out another way to get to the capital. Find Jove Shackley.”
If he’s still alive.
Stowe slung the pack onto his free shoulder. “Don’t need to worry about me.”
Kase scratched at the healing cut on his cheek. “Hallie would.”
The man shrugged. “Somehow I don’t think you’ll be finding a motorcoach for hire.”
Kase hoped the guilt didn’t spill onto his face. “No.” He squirmed a second under the man’s steady gaze, then turned away, pointing to where the treeline ended near the other edge of the town. “Would it make you feel better to know I’m stealing a hover from people who want to kill us?”
Stowe’s features didn’t budge.
Kase continued, “Listen, it’s the only way we’re getting to Kyvena in a reasonable amount of time, and with the Cerls here…well, my brother needs to know what’s going on. It’s life or death.” Kase hoped he looked more confident than he felt. “I’ll do a quick scout of the airfields.”
Stowe handed back Kase’s pack and pulled a flashpistol from his own pack. “I ain’t hiding away while you run off risking your neck.”
Kase stared at the weapon for a second, feeling like his brain was going to burst. Why hadn’t Stowe used that in the cave when they’d thought they’d come across a Cerl? He’d chosen a machete instead, the absolute madman. “You’ve had that thewhole time?”
Stowe fished a few bullets from his pocket and loaded them into the revolving chamber. “Aye.” He shifted the chamber back into place with a loud click. “But it’s more dangerous to us in the caves. Ricochet and the like. Coulda ended up hitting us. Out here, it’ll find Cerl flesh just fine.”
He then fetched the machete and held it in the other hand like he was John Silver.
Kase still didn’t back down. “I appreciate the thought, but I’ll be much better off scouting by myself.”
“You’ve seen a lot, son, but you weren’t there when the Trips took Stoneset.”
Apparently stubbornness ran in the Walker bloodline.
Kase finally nodded. “Fine. But if we run into trouble…”
This was a terrible idea. Stowe couldn’t run quickly, and while he’d survived the attack on Stoneset, he didn’t have any skills that would improve their odds of evading Cerl soldiers. Kase would just have to make sure he didn’t do anything completely stupid.
“…Make sure you shoot straight,” he finished reluctantly.
With that, the duo skirted along the tree line, quietly making their way toward the airfields. Kase was intensely curious to see what Hallie had made of it with her crash.
The Jaydian military might have cleaned it up prior to the Cerls arriving, but if not…
