Territory. We leave today to begin a journey that will take many weeks; and with luck, we will secure the numbers to beat Frank for good.
Saying good-bye to Blaine is so difficult it hurts. He wants to come, begs to even, but Ryder refuses. While Blaine is stronger, he’s still not strong enough. It’s his stamina. I worry he’ll never be quite the same. He puts on his best big brother face and tells me to be careful. Even though it is a vow larger than life, I promise him I’ll keep myself in one piece.
I head outside and wait for the group in the cemetery. There is a new headstone in the forefront, carved with Harvey’s name even though the Rebels had no body to bury beneath it. I stop beside it and watch my breath smoke through the late November air. A black crow joins me and takes to pecking at the stone.
“Go on. Get.” I swat at the bird. He caws at me viciously, black feathers gleaming in the white landscape. Footsteps approach, and annoyed by them, the bird flies off.
“You ready?” Emma asks. She wears a thick coat and is loaded up with gear, our medic for the journey.
I nod.
“I hope we can put things right on this mission, Gray,” she says simply, her dark eyes darting between me and her palms. “I don’t like when we are like this, so distant.”
“Me neither,” I confess. I should say a million other things, but I can’t find the words.
“It’s a long trip,” she adds. “Maybe we could talk a little.”
“Yeah. We should.”
She smiles and it is the first one I’ve ever been able to truly read. Her lips are wistful, pinched to one side and upturned, full of promise. It makes me hopeful, which is the clearest emotion I’ve felt in weeks.
I hear voices and turn my attention to the rest of the team that is appearing behind her. My father is first—he’ll be heading up the expedition—along with Xavier, Bo, and even Clipper, who will be our technical edge. Bo looks surprisingly ready. After several weeks of conditioning he has abandoned his usual hunched-over state for a limber, upright one. This alone made Blaine furious, but of course, Bo was never in a coma. A few other faces join us, additional team members. The rest of the captains are staying behind. There will be scouting missions and other things to attend to while we are gone.
And then Bree appears, stepping from the safety of Crevice Valley last, a pack on her back, rifle in her arms, and a scowl on her face as stubborn as ever. There is a thick hat pulled down over her ears, but her blond hair spills from beneath it.
“You ready to perform your first Heist?” she jokes.
“You know it.”
We shift the weight of our bags on our shoulders and start moving, following the team before us.
I hear the crow before I see him. He appears overhead, a dark silhouette against a pallid sky. He tails us for a while, overseeing our hopeful caravan and our boot prints, which leave soft impressions in the shallow snow as we head west.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Numerous people made this book possible. I’m near positive my gratitude could fill a second novel and then some, so I’ll attempt to restrain myself. Many thanks, in no particular order:
To my fearless agent, Sara Crowe. This has been one heck of a journey and I’d have lost my way a long time ago had it not been for you. Thank you for taking a chance on me. And for answering all my emails. Especially the ones that started with “This is probably a silly question, but . . .” You are a godsend.
To my brilliant editor, Erica Sussman, for getting it and loving it and making it better. Until your purple pen started scrawling questions in the margins, Gray’s story was only a fraction of what it is now. I can’t thank you enough.
To the folks at HarperTeen / HarperCollins Children’s for welcoming me to the family and being nothing short of awesome. Erin Fitzsimmons for a cover that still makes me giddy with happiness, plus gorgeous interior pages to boot. Alison Donalty, Alisdair Miller, and Howard Huang, who were also instrumental in the creation of Taken’s artwork. Tyler Infinger for the smile-inducing emails (and packages!). And to everyone else at Harper who worked on this book, championed for it, and helped see it into the world, please know I am terribly appreciative of all you do.
April Tucholke, for reading this novel countless times and always providing insightful feedback. You’re the best critique partner a girl could ask for.
All my writer friends in the Twittersphere and beyond: You’ve kept me sane. Particularly Sarah Maas and Susan Dennard. Thank you for squeeing with me at the high points and holding my hand at the lows. I owe you both a cupcake. Or four.
Every teacher who has touched and inspired, but especially Lynn McMullin. That creative writing class my senior year of high school changed everything.
Michelle Sinclair, for being a positive, radiant, inspirational force in my life. I adore you. Alanna and Tammy, for cheering me on and promising to buy a million copies. (I’m half-tempted to hold you to that.) Dave, for always brainstorming with me. And to the rest of my old coworkers who put up with my weird part-time schedule that allowed me to chase a dream, thank you. (Carin, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I had such flexibility.) You guys all rock.
Kara, Katie, Kristen, and Nikki, because friendship is priceless.
Ava, Becca, and Dave (see above).
My extended family, large and sprawling: It is a blessing to be surrounded by such wonderful people.
An endless thank-you to my parents, John and Maureen Snyder, for being the very best teachers around. For filling my childhood with books and adventures and travels. For encouraging me to dream big. And for not having cable television. I may have hated it when I was younger, but it was because of the mere two-channel reception that I spent so much time with my nose deep in books. Years later, I am eternally grateful.
My sister, Kelsy, for being my first reader, best friend, and number-one fan. This novel would still be a mere handful of chapters on my laptop had you not begged to know what happens next.
My husband, Rob, for being patient. And supportive. And believing in me all the times I stopped believing in myself. You are my bird and I’ll fly with you anywhere.
And above all, to you, dear reader: Thank you for picking up this novel. Thank you for loving stories and words and Once upon a time. Thank you for giving books a home. The world needs more people like you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Tamara Namaste (www.tnamastephotography.com)
ERIN BOWMAN knew she wanted to write from the moment she uttered her first “once upon a time.” Now a full-time writer, she lives in New Hampshire with her husband. You can visit her online at www.embowman.com.
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COPYRIGHT
Cover art © 2013 by ALISDAIR MILLER
Photo of boy and girl © 2013 by HOWARD HUANG
Cover design by ERIN FITZSIMMONS
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
TAKEN. Copyright © 2013 by Erin Bowman.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bowman, Erin.
Taken / Erin Bowman. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: “In the isolated town of Claysoot, every male is mysteriously ‘Heisted’ on his eighteenth birthday, and seventeen-year-old Gray Weathersby is determined to figure out why”— Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-06-211726-7 (hardback)
EPub Edition February 2013 ISBN 9780062117281
[1. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 2. Brothers—Fiction. 3. Government, Resistance to—Fiction. 4. Fantasy—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B68347Tak 2013
2012022150
[Fic]—dc23
CIP
AC
* * *
13 14 15 16 17 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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Table of Contents
Dedication
Part One: Of Heists One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Part Two: Of Walls Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Part Three: Of Rebels Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Twenty-eight
Twenty-nine
Thirty
Thirty-one
Part Four: Of Diversions Thirty-two
Thirty-three
Thirty-four
Thirty-five
Thirty-six
Thirty-seven
Thirty-eight
Acknowledgments
About the Author
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Copyright
About the Publisher