Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,39

with mic and handed it to Finn. "You're going to need this if you want to keep up appearances."

His distaste was obvious as he took it.

Kira couldn't blame him for his reluctance. As a Tuann, he was used to much more advanced technology. For him, the headset would be akin to a human using a tool from the stone age.

"Where's the package?" Kira asked.

Odin jerked his chin at the stands. "It's close by."

Kira glanced up at the stands, her interface already scanning for her niece's familiar face. Her shoulders relaxed as several seconds passed where she couldn't find a single sign of Elena.

Good. It looked like her niece was taking this seriously.

If even Kira, someone very familiar with her, couldn't find her, others wouldn't either.

Coupled with Graydon’s and Roake's presence in the stands, Elena couldn't be much safer. If anything happened, she could approach either group and receive protection.

From the starting line, a sharp buzz announced the next group.

From the pits around her, those racers who weren't already at the starting line headed toward the rest.

"You're up," Odin said. "Go be reckless."

"That's exactly the thing we don't want her to be,” Jin yelled from the depths of Finn’s hood.

Kira ignored the two, stepping onto the waveboard that was already waiting for her, having been cleared by the team officials.

Its engines softly hummed as its weight left the ground. Kira pointed its nose toward the starting line.

Kira was the last to arrive. Those already assembled ignored her after taking one look at her older model board and the modest hoodie she still wore. It was clear they classified her as a non-threat.

Kira was okay with that. She'd rather be overlooked and underestimated than be guarded against.

Waverunners had a habit of going after those they saw as a threat. She'd prefer to avoid any attempts at dethroning her on the starting line.

While they were occupied with each other, she also took note of them.

The Haldeel teen from before was there, her hoverboard a little different than her competitors.

There was evidence it had been modified for her species, eight protrusions where her prehensile appendages could wrap around to hold her.

It was a pretty smart design, allowing the Haldeel to lower her center of gravity and reduce the wind resistance.

Besides the Haldeel, there was only one other non-human competing in this bracket. A Tuann wearing an unfamiliar style of armor.

The man glanced at her before dismissing her in the next moment in favor of keeping an eye on the rest of the competitors.

All of whom were human and sporting various types of exoskeletal armor.

Jin whistled in her ear. "Aren't they spiffy? Look how their armor shines."

Kira snorted to herself. That armor might look pretty, but it would be dead weight when they got started.

"I wonder if they know that grade armor is useless in this environment," Kira said.

"Doubt it," Jin responded. "No one in this group is experienced."

If they were, they'd know you needed a much higher-class armor to survive a crash.

"Seems the quality of competitors has fallen," she said softly.

A pity.

Waverunner races weren't a place to venture recklessly. If you didn't have the talent, you could very well end up a bloody smear on the pavement.

"You concentrate on doing what's needed. Leave any would be idiots to their own devices," Odin instructed.

"Enough chatting. The race is starting," Jin said.

"Roger that."

In front of Kira, a human strode onto the course, a flare gun held at his side.

Engines rumbled to life.

The official pointed his gun into the air. Silence fell.

A boom sounded, and a flare of light shot into the sky.

Kira stomped the heel of her foot on the throttle. Her board heaved before coughing and shuddering. She landed hard; her board lifeless as the rest of the waverunners rocketed forward.

SEVEN

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Kira asked in disbelief as the racers left her in a cloud of dust.

Literally.

They'd already formed a pack.

She was supposed to be in that pack, smack dab in the middle until she made her move. Not still standing on the starting line with a dead board.

"Doing a system check now." There was strain in Odin's voice.

"Jin, what did you do to my board?"

"Nothing out of the normal," Jin defended. "I made a few last-minute adjustments based on your most recent training results."

Odin's head jerked up. "You didn't touch the power distribution, did you?"

Silence echoed over the comms.

"That may have been one of my fixes," Jin allowed.

A growl came from Odin. "You idiot. I adjusted the antigravs to compensate for the differences in