Above World - By Jenn Reese Page 0,88

it wasn’t enough. As long as the Kampii generators were here, his people would be in danger. Someday, he’d have to do what the Aviars had done — take back the power and the control and make the Kampii wholly self-sufficient.

Fathom was imprisoned in a stasis pod, just like the ones the Dome Meks used for extended sleep periods. Hoku had voted for a more painful and humiliating incarceration, but in the end, logic won out. If Fathom was a genetic copy of Karl Strand, then there was a lot they could learn by studying him, both mentally and physically. Not to mention his access to Strand’s tactical information. Aluna was right. They’d be foolish to destroy him.

“Hey, look, there’s Dash!” Aluna said.

Hoku watched Aluna jog ahead, content to stroll more slowly with Calli. The three of them joined Dash under the shade of a huge tree. The horse-boy was squeezing an apple with his new mechanical hand. The goal was to squeeze it as hard as he could without completely pulping it. The medteks had tried to save his mangled hand, but it had taken too much damage during his fight with the Upgraders.

Next to Dash, Zorro sat behind a pile of smushed apples, happily gorging himself.

“Zorro is going to get fat eating all of those!” Aluna said.

“Zorro saved my life,” Dash said. “He gets as many apples as he wants.”

“Well, then Calli gets an apple, too,” Aluna said. “I’ve lost track of how many people she’s saved.”

Calli blushed and stuttered, “Then you and Hoku and Dash should get a whole orchard!”

Hoku grinned and motioned to a spot under the tree. He and Calli sat side by side, a little closer than they used to, but still not as close as he’d like. Aluna sat next to Dash and reached a finger toward his new arm.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

Hoku could tell that she still felt guilty about breaking it back in the SkyTek dome. If it hadn’t been so useless during the fight, Dash might have been able to defend himself longer.

“I cannot feel much with it,” Dash said, shrugging. “But it is strong, not so easily broken. I will grow accustomed to it.” He smiled at Aluna. It was a very different sort of smile from the one Dash used with Hoku.

Aluna blushed and didn’t take her hand off his arm.

“So, when are we leaving for the desert?” she asked.

The Equian woman they’d saved, Shria, had relayed some terrible news. Another of Karl Strand’s clones — Sand Master Scorch — had been seen in the desert. If they stood any chance of rallying the Equians against him, they needed to move fast.

“We leave tomorrow, early, if that is acceptable,” Dash said.

“And I’m going with you,” Hoku blurted out. He’d wanted to tell Aluna sooner, when they were making plans, but he’d never found the right time. “I know I should go back to the Kampii, but I can’t. Not yet.”

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. He rushed on.

“I’ve always needed you, Aluna. You’ve looked out for me and taken me on amazing adventures,” he said. “But it’s all different now. I’m not the same. Nothing is the same. I’m figuring things out, more every day. Maybe now . . . I can help in ways that you can’t. And besides, this is my fight, too.”

“It’s our fight,” Calli corrected him.

Hoku looked into Aluna’s eyes, and suddenly her arms were around him. She hugged him tight, hugged Calli, and laughed her big belly laugh.

“I promise not to send you away again, or to leave either of you behind,” she said. “I used to think I could do everything myself, but I can’t. Not in the Above World. You’ve all saved my life, and I won’t forget it. You make me stronger than I am by myself.” She smiled grimly. “What did Sarah Jennings say? The world needs us, and we need each other.”

Hoku had said that nothing was the same, but he knew he was wrong. Aluna was still his best friend, and he was still hers. Underwater or above it, they were in this fight together.

First of all, thanks to Stephanie Burgis and Christopher East. They read each chapter of Above World as I wrote it and made me keep going. They are both incredible writers, cheerleaders, and unconditional friends. Thanks also to Sarah Prineas and Greg van Eekhout for almost daily support and inspiration on a whole heap of levels. Great friends do more than help you with your book — they help you with your life.

Thanks to my agent, Joe Monti, for believing in me and this story, and for encouraging me to include even more martial arts. Thanks also to Barry Goldblatt for creating a family, not just an agency.

Thanks to Sarah Ketchersid, my wonderful editor, for loving the book even more than I did most days. Her insights made Above World the book I wanted it to be. The whole Candlewick team has my gratitude, including Liz Zembruski, Kathryn Cunningham, Rachel Smith, Hannah Mahoney, Maggie Deslaurier, Martha Dwyer, and everyone in sales and marketing.

I have some of the best friends in the world, and they give me some of the best critiques. Thanks to Sally Felt, Michael Jasper, Samantha Ling, Eugene Myers, Tim Pratt, Erik Ratliff, and Shelley Stuart. Above World also went to the Blue Heaven novel workshop with Paolo Bacigalupi, Tobias Buckell, Sarah Castle, Deb Coates, Charles Coleman Finlay, Daryl Gregory, Sandra McDonald, Paul Melko, Sarah Prineas, Catherynne M. Valente, and Greg van Eekhout. These guys kept me from looking like an idiot (at least with regards to this book).

Thanks to my World of Warcraft guild. (Don’t laugh!) They’ve been with me on this journey from the beginning, particularly: Andrea, Andrew, Andy, Bill, Brenda, Danielle, Erin, Jamie, Leslie, Lisa, Mike, Mikiel, Paul, Rachel, Rob, Roe, Shelley, Steven, Tom, and Tommy.

Thanks to my martial arts family at White Lotus Kung Fu: Master Douglas Wong, Master Carrie Ogawa-Wong, Master Phil Jennings, and the rest of my brothers and sisters.

For all-around awesome advice, support, and friendship, I want to thank Christine Ashworth, Claudia Hoffman, Heather Shaw, and my buddies at SAGE and Cosmic Toast Studios.

And last, thanks to my family: Mom, Jeff, Jason, Maya, Griffin, and Cassell. I love you.

JENN REESE writes science fiction and fantasy and has published short stories and a novel for adults. She also studies martial arts, including kenpo, tai chi, kung fu, and traditional weapons. About Above World, she says, “I wanted to combine my love of martial arts, mythology, and adventure with the idea that anyone with a strong heart can change the world.” Jenn Reese lives in Los Angeles.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

First electronic edition 2012

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Reese, Jenn.

Above World / Jenn Reese. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

Summary: In a future of high technology and genetic modification, the Coral Kampii, like legendary mermaids, live isolated from the Above World, but when the devices that allow them to breathe underwater start to fail, thirteen-year-old Aluna and her friend Hoku go to that forbidden place to find help.

ISBN 978-0-7636-5417-7 (hardcover)

[1. Science fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.R25515Abo 2012

[Fic] — dc23 2011013668

ISBN 978-0-7636-5958-5 (electronic)

Candlewick Press

99 Dover Street

Somerville, Massachusetts 02144

visit us at www.candlewick.com

Table of Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Epigraph

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Acknowledgements

About the Author