birthright. We will defend it from the Springers and anything else that tries to take it from us.” He looks at me. “Go, Em. Go and find out what new threat we face.”
Spingate is pregnant. And, somehow, Aramovsky managed to turn that into him ordering me to do what I just said I was going to do. That’s why he chose this moment, he knew it would stun me, he knew he’d be able to make himself look like a leader.
My eyes seek out the one person who always makes everything easier.
“Bishop, let’s go find that ship.”
Gaston was so mad I thought he might attack Aramovsky. I had Farrar watch them while I sent Beckett to use the pilothouse map, see if he could figure out where the new ship landed.
It landed near the Observatory.
We ride Coyotl’s spider. Five of us are aboard: me, Coyotl, Bishop, Bawden and a young, brown-haired circle-star named Muller. He’s as tall as I am; I wonder how big he’ll get in the next few years.
My fingers still hurt, although not as much. Smith put some bits of metal on them, which helped, and poked them with a needle, which helped even more. I glared at her the entire time—she refused to meet my eyes.
The clouds that block the stars are starting to break up. Twin moons cast enough light to see some detail of the vine-covered streets, the dark buildings that rise up all around us.
On foot, this trip took us half the day. Atop the sprinting spider, it doesn’t even take half an hour.
As we drive, Bishop plans our strategy.
“Em, you and Muller will stay on the spider,” he says. “Muller is a good shot. We’ll stop a few blocks from where the ship went down. Bawden and I will continue on foot. I’ll go left, she’ll go right, we’ll observe the ship from the flanks. Coyotl, once we get out, you wait one minute, then approach the ship straight on, but move slow, so the spider’s feet don’t make too much noise. Stay a block or so away, close enough so you can rush in if you hear gunfire.”
All around me, heads nod.
“What if it’s Grownups?” Bawden says. “Can we shoot them?”
Bishop shakes his head. “Don’t fire unless fired upon. Stay low, stay out of sight. We only have three muskets—if there are four or more Grownups, and they’re all armed, we’re dead even if all three of us kill on our first shot.”
The spider slows, stops. Coyotl steers the machine into the deep shadows of a smaller road.
“The ship is two blocks due east,” he says.
Bishop and Bawden hop over the side, hit the ground and vanish into the shadows.
Coyotl moves the spider forward, but much slower. I can barely hear the pointed feet touching down. We travel one creeping, slow block, then I see it.
The ship looks…lumpy. Moonlight plays down on smoke rising up from a long path behind it. Vines smolder, some even flickering with tiny flames.
I don’t know what to make of that ship. Our shuttle is streamlined, something born to slice through the air. This ship? It is a quarter the size and has no sleekness. Weird shapes stick out. I see rivets and bumps. Some parts look melted. Smoke—or maybe steam—rises up. A few spots are actually glowing, like metal heated in a fire. The machine clinks and clonks, as if someone is tapping on it with tiny hammers.
Moonlight intensifies. The cloud cover is breaking. I see something moving near the ship. It’s not a Grownup, not a Springer…it is a person, like us.
The wind picks up. I hear vine leaves start to rattle.
That person…it can’t be…
I grab Coyotl’s shoulder.
“Move in,” I say. “Right now!”
“What? But Bishop said—”
“Now! Go!”
The spider lurches forward so fast Muller and I grab at the protective ridge to stop from falling backward. The silent machine streaks in with nothing more than a rapid click-click-click of pointed feet.
The person hears us coming, turns.
As the spider slows and stops, the last of the clouds blow clear. Moonlight streams down on a long-sleeved white shirt, a red and black plaid skirt, pale skin…and wispy blond hair.
The girl looks up at me.
“Hello, Em,” Bello says. “I escaped.”
It can’t be. She’s gone. Bello is gone.
Bishop rushes in from the left, slinging his musket. He engulfs Bello in a hug. She laughs and winces, hugs him back, her feet dangling.
“Bishop,” she says. “Oh my gods, it’s good to see you!”
Bawden sprints in from the right, but she