“We brought a lot of food,” Cole said.
“We never go hungry here. Some food comes from the castles. Plus, traders go out of their way to bring us goods. They know we can pay or barter.”
Cole looked around. “It doesn’t seem dangerous out here.”
Mira shrugged. “It’s safer inside the walls of the salvage yard than out in the open. But just because you don’t get killed tonight doesn’t mean you won’t get ambushed tomorrow. Bad things come up from lower down the cliffs at night. We seal the caves carefully. We have some tricks that help keep the night stalkers away from Skyport. But it can get plenty dangerous. A lot of people have disappeared because they braved the Brink at night.”
Her words made Cole less comfortable. Certain pockets of shadow suddenly seemed more suspicious. Had one of the sculptures shifted position a little?
“Maybe we should go in,” Cole suggested, standing.
“You go ahead,” Mira said, stepping out into the yard, head craned back to take in the sky. “I just need a minute to unwind after—”
She froze and said nothing more.
“After what? Mira?”
She looked at him, and for an instant he saw unbridled panic in her eyes.
“Are you all right?” Cole asked, looking up for signs of danger. All he saw were stars. What was he missing?
“I’m fine,” Mira insisted with an uncomfortable smile. “I just . . . I remembered something I forgot to do. Something important. I’ll come in with you.”
“Are you sure?” Cole asked. “For a second there, you looked like you’d seen a ghost.”
She gave a feeble smile. “Life of a slave. I forgot to do a chore that could get me in trouble.”
“Need help?”
He followed her through a doorway into a hall. She closed the sturdy door and locked it in three places. “I should do it on my own. Thanks, though. You’ve had a busy day. Go get some rest.”
Cole watched her walk away. He had a strong suspicion that she wasn’t being completely honest with him. While looking up, she had seen something that scared her, and then tried to mask her reaction. Could it have been a winged creature? Did the night stalkers fly? Maybe she’d glimpsed a threat lurking on the roof?
He looked back at the door. He could peek out to see if something had entered the yard. No, if some monster had scared her that badly, he didn’t want to take the risk.
But why would she try to cover up something like that? If she had seen a monster coming for them, why not grab him and race indoors? Why be secretive? Why make up an excuse?
Maybe her excuse was real. He supposed an important task left undone could explain her reaction. Looking at the sky might have reminded her. Or it might have been a coincidence.
Avoiding the boisterous commotion of the common area, Cole made his way to his room. He had already eaten, and decided he would take Mira’s advice and get some rest.
The narrow bunk room had a high ceiling and a pair of stacked bunks on either side. Cole found Twitch seated on a bottom bunk. His head jerked up, as if Cole had startled him, blue eyes wide and round. The short, skinny boy had a young face. He couldn’t be older than ten.
“I didn’t know you were in here,” Cole said. He hadn’t spoken much with him besides a quick introduction the night before.
Twitch licked his lips. “All the people can be . . . a little much. Do you need the room?”
“Not for anything special. I was just getting tired.” Cole had been assigned the bunk above Twitch, across from Slider.
“Don’t let me stop you. I can dim the lamp.” Twitch hopped out of bed and crossed to the oil lantern.
“Nice job finding all that fruit.”
Twitch gave a weak chuckle. “Don’t thank me for the fruit. Spotters handled that. Thank me for almost getting eaten by a plant. I barely got out of the way in time.” The lantern dimmed.
“Those things were scary.”
“They weren’t too bad once you knew what they looked like and could keep out of range.”
“But you had to find out the hard way.” Cole opened the trunk he had inherited and started changing into his sleeping clothes.
Twitch went back to sit on his bed. “A crazy part of me almost wishes the weeds got me.”
“What?”
“Just to end the suspense. It’s too much. If something is going to get me sooner or later, sooner might be a mercy.”
“Don’t think like that,” Cole said. “You have to aim for fifty.”
“I’ve done sixteen missions. I don’t want to even think about fifty. That isn’t the end, you know. After fifty, the danger isn’t gone. The scouts aren’t the only raiders who have accidents. The other jobs are only a little safer.”
“Well, you’ve done fifteen more than me.” Cole stashed his clothes into his trunk. “Is Twitch your real name?”
“Ruben.”
“Why do they call you Twitch?”
“Very funny.”
“No, I’m serious.”
He studied Cole as if measuring his sincerity. “I’m kind of jumpy. I guess I flinch a lot. That kind of thing. Some of them think I scout too slowly. If they don’t like it, they’re welcome to take my place.”
“Nothing wrong with being careful.”
“That’s what I say! It’s my neck I’m risking. I do it how I do it. Helped save me from those killer plants.”
“What item do you use? Jumping Sword?”
Twitch gave him a suspicious look. “Drop the act. Who put you up to this? Slider?”
“What do you mean?”
Twitch considered him. “Nobody knows what item I picked. I’ve never used it. Some of the other scouts are always trying to find out.”
“Why the mystery?”
“It’s not their business. I have little enough privacy. They know my birthmarks and the color of my underwear. My item is mine.” He shared a sneaky smile. “Not knowing drives Slider nuts.”
The door opened and Jace peeked in. “There you are! Man of the hour.” He came inside. “Already going to bed?”
“Long day,” Cole said.
“Busy night, too,” Jace replied.
“What do you mean?”
He wore a teasing grin. “I noticed you hanging out with Mira in the yard. Starry night, Shiver Moon . . . pretty romantic.”
“Stop it,” Cole said. “I just wanted some fresh air. She came out to warn me it could be dangerous.”
“We never go hungry here. Some food comes from the castles. Plus, traders go out of their way to bring us goods. They know we can pay or barter.”
Cole looked around. “It doesn’t seem dangerous out here.”
Mira shrugged. “It’s safer inside the walls of the salvage yard than out in the open. But just because you don’t get killed tonight doesn’t mean you won’t get ambushed tomorrow. Bad things come up from lower down the cliffs at night. We seal the caves carefully. We have some tricks that help keep the night stalkers away from Skyport. But it can get plenty dangerous. A lot of people have disappeared because they braved the Brink at night.”
Her words made Cole less comfortable. Certain pockets of shadow suddenly seemed more suspicious. Had one of the sculptures shifted position a little?
“Maybe we should go in,” Cole suggested, standing.
“You go ahead,” Mira said, stepping out into the yard, head craned back to take in the sky. “I just need a minute to unwind after—”
She froze and said nothing more.
“After what? Mira?”
She looked at him, and for an instant he saw unbridled panic in her eyes.
“Are you all right?” Cole asked, looking up for signs of danger. All he saw were stars. What was he missing?
“I’m fine,” Mira insisted with an uncomfortable smile. “I just . . . I remembered something I forgot to do. Something important. I’ll come in with you.”
“Are you sure?” Cole asked. “For a second there, you looked like you’d seen a ghost.”
She gave a feeble smile. “Life of a slave. I forgot to do a chore that could get me in trouble.”
“Need help?”
He followed her through a doorway into a hall. She closed the sturdy door and locked it in three places. “I should do it on my own. Thanks, though. You’ve had a busy day. Go get some rest.”
Cole watched her walk away. He had a strong suspicion that she wasn’t being completely honest with him. While looking up, she had seen something that scared her, and then tried to mask her reaction. Could it have been a winged creature? Did the night stalkers fly? Maybe she’d glimpsed a threat lurking on the roof?
He looked back at the door. He could peek out to see if something had entered the yard. No, if some monster had scared her that badly, he didn’t want to take the risk.
But why would she try to cover up something like that? If she had seen a monster coming for them, why not grab him and race indoors? Why be secretive? Why make up an excuse?
Maybe her excuse was real. He supposed an important task left undone could explain her reaction. Looking at the sky might have reminded her. Or it might have been a coincidence.
Avoiding the boisterous commotion of the common area, Cole made his way to his room. He had already eaten, and decided he would take Mira’s advice and get some rest.
The narrow bunk room had a high ceiling and a pair of stacked bunks on either side. Cole found Twitch seated on a bottom bunk. His head jerked up, as if Cole had startled him, blue eyes wide and round. The short, skinny boy had a young face. He couldn’t be older than ten.
“I didn’t know you were in here,” Cole said. He hadn’t spoken much with him besides a quick introduction the night before.
Twitch licked his lips. “All the people can be . . . a little much. Do you need the room?”
“Not for anything special. I was just getting tired.” Cole had been assigned the bunk above Twitch, across from Slider.
“Don’t let me stop you. I can dim the lamp.” Twitch hopped out of bed and crossed to the oil lantern.
“Nice job finding all that fruit.”
Twitch gave a weak chuckle. “Don’t thank me for the fruit. Spotters handled that. Thank me for almost getting eaten by a plant. I barely got out of the way in time.” The lantern dimmed.
“Those things were scary.”
“They weren’t too bad once you knew what they looked like and could keep out of range.”
“But you had to find out the hard way.” Cole opened the trunk he had inherited and started changing into his sleeping clothes.
Twitch went back to sit on his bed. “A crazy part of me almost wishes the weeds got me.”
“What?”
“Just to end the suspense. It’s too much. If something is going to get me sooner or later, sooner might be a mercy.”
“Don’t think like that,” Cole said. “You have to aim for fifty.”
“I’ve done sixteen missions. I don’t want to even think about fifty. That isn’t the end, you know. After fifty, the danger isn’t gone. The scouts aren’t the only raiders who have accidents. The other jobs are only a little safer.”
“Well, you’ve done fifteen more than me.” Cole stashed his clothes into his trunk. “Is Twitch your real name?”
“Ruben.”
“Why do they call you Twitch?”
“Very funny.”
“No, I’m serious.”
He studied Cole as if measuring his sincerity. “I’m kind of jumpy. I guess I flinch a lot. That kind of thing. Some of them think I scout too slowly. If they don’t like it, they’re welcome to take my place.”
“Nothing wrong with being careful.”
“That’s what I say! It’s my neck I’m risking. I do it how I do it. Helped save me from those killer plants.”
“What item do you use? Jumping Sword?”
Twitch gave him a suspicious look. “Drop the act. Who put you up to this? Slider?”
“What do you mean?”
Twitch considered him. “Nobody knows what item I picked. I’ve never used it. Some of the other scouts are always trying to find out.”
“Why the mystery?”
“It’s not their business. I have little enough privacy. They know my birthmarks and the color of my underwear. My item is mine.” He shared a sneaky smile. “Not knowing drives Slider nuts.”
The door opened and Jace peeked in. “There you are! Man of the hour.” He came inside. “Already going to bed?”
“Long day,” Cole said.
“Busy night, too,” Jace replied.
“What do you mean?”
He wore a teasing grin. “I noticed you hanging out with Mira in the yard. Starry night, Shiver Moon . . . pretty romantic.”
“Stop it,” Cole said. “I just wanted some fresh air. She came out to warn me it could be dangerous.”
