“Could enemies follow the star to you?”
“If they knew what to look for. That’s why the secret mustn’t get out. Without help, somebody would have to know the stars really well to even notice it. My star is a distinct color, but pretty faint. Almost nobody really studies the stars here because the night sky behaves so strangely. It would be tricky to single out a new star in all the chaos. Even if a few people noticed the new fixed star, unless they understood what the star meant, there would be no reason for them to follow it and get directly under it.”
“Does your mom know Durny died? Will she send someone else to help you?”
Mira gripped the edge of the sofa. “The signal came before Durny died. I can’t imagine Mother knows I lost my protector. It’s possible the star is leading a messenger to me. But it might only be a warning. In all my years, the one reason she ever put my star in the sky was to guide Durny to me. That was it. But seven nights ago, my star appeared again.”
“Wait a minute,” Cole said. “Is that what you saw? You know, when we were out in the yard by the porch?”
“It was tough to cover up my surprise. I check the stars every night, just in case. There’s never anything there, but I still check. The last thing I expected was to see my little star above me. It scared me.”
“And Durny decided you should run.”
“Yes. In a way, the star caused his death. The star is probably more than a warning, since it has remained in the sky. A warning would only have stayed for a night or two. But since the star moves with me, a messenger could follow us wherever we went. After I told Durny about the star, he wanted to gather some floatstones to make a skycraft.”
“Why not just steal a lifeboat?” Cole wondered.
“Runaway slaves get treated harshly,” Mira said. “The Sky Raiders would be angry enough without us stealing from them. According to our plan, while collecting floatstones, Durny would have smuggled some extras. He would have assembled the skycraft outside of Skyport so we could leave at any time. We would have flown our little skycraft to the end of the Brink, near one of the cloudwalls, let it fall off the edge once we were done with it, and headed inland on foot. We would have disappeared without a trace.”
Cole leaned forward on the couch. “Do you still want to make a run for it?”
“I don’t want to escape,” she said. “It’s incredibly risky. The Sky Raiders will come after me and punish me if they catch me. But my mother’s warning was as clear last night as the first, and it wouldn’t be there if this wasn’t something important. If I run off, I might avoid the danger, and the messenger should still be able to find me.”
“What if it’s just an important message? What if there’s no big threat?”
“Then I don’t need to run. But the message almost certainly means horrible trouble. Probably life or death. I can’t risk standing still. Durny stalled too long already trying to get permission to personally gather floatstones.”
Cole considered all she was telling him. He could think of only one reason she would reveal so much. “Are you asking me to run away with you?”
She stared at him. “I’ve already waited for too long. I need to leave. The only questions are when, and how, and whether you want to come with me.”
Cole buried his face in his hands. This was a lot to digest. He had wanted to escape ever since he came here. He needed to go find his friends. It would be great to have company—especially someone who knew a lot about the Outskirts. And Mira apparently knew how he could find the High King.
“If we get away, could you show me how to find my friends?” Cole asked.
“I could tell you the way to Junction City,” Mira said. “But you’d be crazy to try to take slaves from the High King on your own.” Mira lowered her voice. “I know people who want to see the High King fall. People who could help you find your friends. People who could give you a chance to succeed.”
“Really?” Cole asked, not daring to believe her.
“I want the High Shaper to lose his throne,” Mira whispered. “If we can get away, I’ll help you get the aid you need.”
Cole was so relieved that he wanted to hug her. This was better than he could have hoped! The thought that he might not have to rescue his friends alone and unguided lifted an oppressive weight from him.
But they hadn’t escaped yet. Mira had people after her, and they were both marked slaves. How far could they get without being discovered?
“How do you think we should do it?” Cole asked.
“You’ll come?” The hopeful relief in her voice helped cement his resolve.
“As long as we put together a decent plan.”
“You don’t have to let me drag you into this. The coming danger probably isn’t a threat to you unless you’re with me.”
“Good point. You’re on your own.”
She stared at him uncomfortably. “I understand.”
He grinned. “I’m joking. It’s just funny that you’re asking for help and trying to talk me out of it at the same time. Mira, I’d do anything to save my friends. If I can help you, too, that’s even better.”
“We can definitely help each other,” Mira said. “But even though I’ll try to help, don’t forget that getting involved with me could get you killed. The High Shaper hates me, and he hates the people I know who might help you. The secrets I know are dangerous to him. If you get mixed up with me, he’ll end up hating you, too.”
“I kind of hope he does,” Cole said. “He took my friends as slaves. I’m not a fan.”
Mira took a deep breath. “Okay. So we’re going to escape together.”
“The question is how.”
“That’s where it gets complicated. On foot, leaving at night would be reckless this close to the Brink, but we’ll get noticed quickly if we sneak away during the day. Whether we take off on foot, or even if we steal horses, they’ll be after us in no time. I don’t think we’d make it.”
“Can we steal a skycraft?”
“You need to wear an operator’s stone to steer one,” Mira said. “Otherwise it won’t respond. I know where Durny hid a few in case we needed a lifeboat in an emergency. But taking one will make the Sky Raiders doubly mad at us. They’ll know how we got away, and they’ll hunt us relentlessly.”
“If they knew what to look for. That’s why the secret mustn’t get out. Without help, somebody would have to know the stars really well to even notice it. My star is a distinct color, but pretty faint. Almost nobody really studies the stars here because the night sky behaves so strangely. It would be tricky to single out a new star in all the chaos. Even if a few people noticed the new fixed star, unless they understood what the star meant, there would be no reason for them to follow it and get directly under it.”
“Does your mom know Durny died? Will she send someone else to help you?”
Mira gripped the edge of the sofa. “The signal came before Durny died. I can’t imagine Mother knows I lost my protector. It’s possible the star is leading a messenger to me. But it might only be a warning. In all my years, the one reason she ever put my star in the sky was to guide Durny to me. That was it. But seven nights ago, my star appeared again.”
“Wait a minute,” Cole said. “Is that what you saw? You know, when we were out in the yard by the porch?”
“It was tough to cover up my surprise. I check the stars every night, just in case. There’s never anything there, but I still check. The last thing I expected was to see my little star above me. It scared me.”
“And Durny decided you should run.”
“Yes. In a way, the star caused his death. The star is probably more than a warning, since it has remained in the sky. A warning would only have stayed for a night or two. But since the star moves with me, a messenger could follow us wherever we went. After I told Durny about the star, he wanted to gather some floatstones to make a skycraft.”
“Why not just steal a lifeboat?” Cole wondered.
“Runaway slaves get treated harshly,” Mira said. “The Sky Raiders would be angry enough without us stealing from them. According to our plan, while collecting floatstones, Durny would have smuggled some extras. He would have assembled the skycraft outside of Skyport so we could leave at any time. We would have flown our little skycraft to the end of the Brink, near one of the cloudwalls, let it fall off the edge once we were done with it, and headed inland on foot. We would have disappeared without a trace.”
Cole leaned forward on the couch. “Do you still want to make a run for it?”
“I don’t want to escape,” she said. “It’s incredibly risky. The Sky Raiders will come after me and punish me if they catch me. But my mother’s warning was as clear last night as the first, and it wouldn’t be there if this wasn’t something important. If I run off, I might avoid the danger, and the messenger should still be able to find me.”
“What if it’s just an important message? What if there’s no big threat?”
“Then I don’t need to run. But the message almost certainly means horrible trouble. Probably life or death. I can’t risk standing still. Durny stalled too long already trying to get permission to personally gather floatstones.”
Cole considered all she was telling him. He could think of only one reason she would reveal so much. “Are you asking me to run away with you?”
She stared at him. “I’ve already waited for too long. I need to leave. The only questions are when, and how, and whether you want to come with me.”
Cole buried his face in his hands. This was a lot to digest. He had wanted to escape ever since he came here. He needed to go find his friends. It would be great to have company—especially someone who knew a lot about the Outskirts. And Mira apparently knew how he could find the High King.
“If we get away, could you show me how to find my friends?” Cole asked.
“I could tell you the way to Junction City,” Mira said. “But you’d be crazy to try to take slaves from the High King on your own.” Mira lowered her voice. “I know people who want to see the High King fall. People who could help you find your friends. People who could give you a chance to succeed.”
“Really?” Cole asked, not daring to believe her.
“I want the High Shaper to lose his throne,” Mira whispered. “If we can get away, I’ll help you get the aid you need.”
Cole was so relieved that he wanted to hug her. This was better than he could have hoped! The thought that he might not have to rescue his friends alone and unguided lifted an oppressive weight from him.
But they hadn’t escaped yet. Mira had people after her, and they were both marked slaves. How far could they get without being discovered?
“How do you think we should do it?” Cole asked.
“You’ll come?” The hopeful relief in her voice helped cement his resolve.
“As long as we put together a decent plan.”
“You don’t have to let me drag you into this. The coming danger probably isn’t a threat to you unless you’re with me.”
“Good point. You’re on your own.”
She stared at him uncomfortably. “I understand.”
He grinned. “I’m joking. It’s just funny that you’re asking for help and trying to talk me out of it at the same time. Mira, I’d do anything to save my friends. If I can help you, too, that’s even better.”
“We can definitely help each other,” Mira said. “But even though I’ll try to help, don’t forget that getting involved with me could get you killed. The High Shaper hates me, and he hates the people I know who might help you. The secrets I know are dangerous to him. If you get mixed up with me, he’ll end up hating you, too.”
“I kind of hope he does,” Cole said. “He took my friends as slaves. I’m not a fan.”
Mira took a deep breath. “Okay. So we’re going to escape together.”
“The question is how.”
“That’s where it gets complicated. On foot, leaving at night would be reckless this close to the Brink, but we’ll get noticed quickly if we sneak away during the day. Whether we take off on foot, or even if we steal horses, they’ll be after us in no time. I don’t think we’d make it.”
“Can we steal a skycraft?”
“You need to wear an operator’s stone to steer one,” Mira said. “Otherwise it won’t respond. I know where Durny hid a few in case we needed a lifeboat in an emergency. But taking one will make the Sky Raiders doubly mad at us. They’ll know how we got away, and they’ll hunt us relentlessly.”
