Above World - By Jenn Reese Page 0,30

the hit, and blood dotted the corner of her mouth.

Four guards surrounded her, their spears set to kill. High Senator Electra positioned herself between Aluna and the president, a murderous look in her eye. Aluna studied them all like a trapped animal waiting for its chance to strike.

Hoku couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t blink. If anyone moved, people would get hurt. People would die. He couldn’t bear the thought.

“Enough!” President Iolanthe yelled. “Stand down, Senators. Release the warrior.”

Reluctantly, the senators raised their spear tips and stepped back. Electra was the last. She moved ever so slightly to the side, still trying to keep herself in between Aluna and the president.

Aluna stayed crouched and wary.

“Well done, Aluna of the Kampii,” President Iolanthe said, smiling. “I am greatly impressed.” High Senator Electra looked as if she’d swallowed a stinkfish.

The president continued, “If only our own children exhibited such bravery and resourcefulness.” All eyes turned to Calliope, who squirmed in her throne and kept her eyes down. “Yes, we are quite impressed with the gift our waterlogged brethren have sent us. We are impressed, and we accept.”

“Gift?” Hoku ventured. “Gift” didn’t sound good. Not good at all.

“Gift,” the president said. “The Kampii girl Aluna will be appointed aide to the vice president. She will instruct my daughter in the ways of the warrior spirit and help prepare her for her future rulership.”

“But —” Hoku and Aluna said together.

“Men are not permitted to stay at Skyfeather’s Landing,” the president continued, “but we will make an exception for the boy Kampii —”

“Well, that’s something,” Hoku muttered.

“The boy will be kept as our honored guest, to ensure the continued loyalty of his friend,” the president finished.

“Mother, no!” Calliope said. “You can’t do this!”

Everyone in the room stared at Calliope. Her defiant pose wilted immediately.

“I see my plan is working already,” President Iolanthe said, clearly pleased with her daughter’s brief outburst. “Yes, yes. This will work nicely. Guards! Take the boy back to his cell.”

“Wait!” Aluna said. “I’ll agree to stay and help your daughter, but only if you promise to keep Hoku safe, and if you give us what we want in return.”

President Iolanthe waved her hand. “Now, this is a bargain I can understand, Aluna of the Kampii. Very well. No harm will come to the boy while you remain at my daughter’s side,” she said.

Aluna finally stood up from her fighting stance. “And you’ll tell us how to find HydroTek.”

The president looked at Aluna for a moment, then nodded. “I will tell you what we know, although I don’t think you’ll enjoy hearing it.”

PRESIDENT IOLANTHE leaned back, her real wing rustling. “History is not a fixed truth. It changes with the speaker, just as no two feathers will ever find the same path in the wind. So first, our story.”

Aluna shifted her weight to a more comfortable standing position. History may be different, but Elders were the same everywhere.

“Hundreds of years ago, when we were all Human, the world started to run out of space,” Iolanthe began. She spoke loudly, her voice filling the Oval Chamber and echoing off the Aviars carved into the ceiling. “Humans were spread across the land, crammed into every niche and nook that could support life. They were using up the world, and their time was running out.”

“So they changed,” Calliope said. She blushed when everyone looked at her, but stammered on. “They looked at the places that couldn’t support Humans, and they made themselves fit anyway.”

“Like the Kampii and the Deepfell, and the Aviars,” Hoku said. “We live in the oceans and you live in the skies.”

Calli grinned at him, and that silly fish grinned back at her.

“Yes, boy,” President Iolanthe said. “And like the Equians and the Serpentis in the deserts, and like all the splinters whose names have been lost to us. Some Humans even made skyships and left the world altogether.”

“The legends say they wanted to go to the stars,” Calliope said.

“In order to live in these places, the LegendaryTek companies — HydroTek, SkyTek, SandTek, and the others — gave us wings or tails, or four fast hooves to cross the endless sands. They became our saviors. Do you see? Once we agreed to modify ourselves and rely on the tech they created, they exerted complete power over us from their domes. They kept us weak.”

“Yes, weak,” Aluna said. “And helpless. That’s how I felt in the City of Shifting Tides. That’s why we need to find HydroTek.”

“You don’t need to find HydroTek,” President Iolanthe said.