Above World - By Jenn Reese Page 0,54

her. Hoku seemed impossibly small crouched in front of her.

The Upgraders’ voices got louder.

“Better find us some true wired sparklies or we’ll be missing more than a few parts when we’s get back,” one of them said.

“I say we go for the harpy witches after this. Heard the tech they got is true wired! We’d eat like Fathom himself if we bring those generators back in flash and glory,” another said. “Imagine! New bits of shiny to play and sell. Been needing a new nose since my last one got blasted to bolts.”

A third uttered some words about the Aviars that made Aluna blush, and the other Upgraders chuckled and grunted with appreciation.

Hoku shifted his weight. Aluna could feel anxiety rolling off him in waves.

“Wait,” she whispered. “Not yet.”

His shoulders relaxed slightly. She tried to calm her own heart as well. Any fear she showed would amplify his, and Dash’s. Their lives were her responsibility, and she couldn’t afford weakness. At least not when the enemies were less than a spear’s throw away.

The Upgraders shuffled through the entrance corridor and into the room. From below the desk, all she could see were their dust-covered pants. One of them sported hidden-needle boots, like the man she’d fought at Skyfeather’s Landing. Another seemed to have bare feet, but they were made of dull-black metal. Even the toenails! If the Upgraders were Humans once, they’d left that legacy behind them, as sure as the Kampii had left the dry land.

Aluna cast a quick glance over at Zorro. The animal had burrowed into its pile of rags. She wouldn’t have seen him if she didn’t know where to look.

She held her breath. If any of the Upgraders decided to look down, they’d be discovered. And captured. And probably killed. But the Upgraders seemed more focused on their crowbars and their greed. They wandered deeper into the room. One of them smashed his crowbar into the desk a meter from Dash’s head. It bounced off harmlessly, and the Upgrader moved on.

Another man was getting closer and closer to Zorro. He seemed smarter than the rest, less focused on smashing things. She felt Hoku tense. She wanted to calm him, but didn’t dare speak. When the Upgrader reached for the top rag in Zorro’s pile, it was already too late.

“Zorro, play!” Hoku yelled.

The Upgraders looked over at their hiding place. At the same time, every screen in the whole room erupted with sound and color and motion.

“Welcome to SkyTek, our dream for the future!” four dozen voices said at once.

The Upgraders spun around, holding their tools like weapons. Lights flashed as images flickered from every direction.

“Now!” Dash said.

Aluna shoved Hoku toward the entrance and pulled Dash behind her. The Upgraders would see them, no question about it. But would they recognize them as enemies, or just part of the whirlwind of images and sounds filling the room?

Four dozen voices said, “With the world’s population growing past the point of sustainability . . .”

They darted through the corridor and burst into a courtyard outside the building. The day’s light was fading fast. They didn’t have much time before Dash’s poor eyesight would render him useless in a fight.

“The Upgraders came from this direction,” she said. “Maybe we can find the creatures they rode to get to the dome.”

“Good thought,” Dash said. “I have never seen them without mounts.”

She had to yank Hoku’s hand to get him moving. He was staring back at the building, and for a moment she thought he was looking for the Upgraders. Then she remembered Zorro and pulled him a little more gently.

They ran through the dome’s debris, following the Upgrader’s trail toward the rim of the dome. Hoku sniffled as he ran. Dash followed after him and made no noise at all. She checked up on him a few times to see if he was keeping up. He was. And the look of determination on his face told her that she needn’t worry about him again.

They made fast progress toward the edge of the dome. She had no idea if the Upgraders were right behind them. It was safer to assume that they were — safer to keep pushing until they found safety.

“We’re almost there,” she said. She didn’t know if that was true or not, but it seemed like something a leader should say. Her brothers were always telling her how important good morale was on their hunting expeditions.

They reached a towering wall of debris as the last of the sun’s