Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Jacaranda

“ T he swamp is too tight near the temple for you to park this ship there,” Rex advised, pointing to the map in the café. “We would do best to park here and walk the rest on foot.”

“Why are you trying to separate us from my ship, Rex?” Deacon asked, his defenses already high.

“Because your ship is too big to park between the tight trees by the temple,” Rex said in a reasonable tone, before adding, “You know, you were better at following orders when you were younger.”

Deacon seethed. “I don’t take orders on my ship.”

“You were good at following orders, save for one—”

“Deacon.” I stepped in, already tired of their verbal cock fight and we’d only just arrived. “Rex is right. Look at the map.”

I pointed to the alleged location of the conduit temple. It was invisible from the overhead, due to the trees, or so Augur had told us. Whether I trusted her information was up for debate.

“There’s no way we’re needling Allegiant through all of that,” I said, trying to be the voice of reason. “Drift is a great pilot, but he can’t make trees disappear from our path.”

Deacon visibly gritted his teeth. “ Fine .”

Deacon left to speak to Drift about the new plan of action. Not that he needed to leave—he could have called him on comms, but I assumed he wanted separation between himself and Rex.

“Are you sure I’m going to need all this gear?” Sarah asked about her rucksack. “How long is the walk to the temple from where we’re parking?”

“Two hours, tops,” Augur said. “Less, if the swampfolk don’t bother us.”

“Swampfolk?” Sarah asked, her eyes bugging out at the word.

Omen jumped in to explain. “The creatures in the swamp, whatever they might be. There’s swampfolk, waterfolk, airfolk, it’s all conduit shorthand for that which lives in a specific environment.”

I hadn’t spent much time in swamps, so I was curious. “Augur, what kind of swampfolk should we expect?”

“Could be anything.” Augur shrugged. “Could be nothing. Though, if you hear nothing , run. Run, and don’t look back. Ever. Same if you ever see me running.”

Sarah’s brows leapt for her hairline at Augur’s unhelpful description. “Oh. Goody.”

Based on Rex’s suggestion, Drift opted to park near the edge of a wet forest. When the cargo bay door opened, the stink hit first. It permeated everything, like the stench had a mind of its own and was coming for our bones.

I couldn’t stop from wrinkling my nose in disgust. “Augur, does that smell right?”

She smiled and breathed deep. “Home sweet home. Come on.”

We followed her out of Allegiant , and the door shut behind us. I hoped it hadn’t been down long enough for that stench to fill the ship.

“It’s like smoky sour death,” Sarah choked out.

“This is one of the better nights, to be honest,” Augur said as she walked ahead of us. “At least the reechids aren’t blooming.”

“Small favors,” Sarah mumbled.

The ground became soft, setting me even further on edge. Leaves and sticks had been half-digested by the ground, and the humus was airy enough that my boots sank in. But the ground wasn’t muck yet, so my shoes didn’t stick. The trees were close together, with broad trunks at the base that narrowed toward the top, where they were filled with spindly branches and even spindlier leaves. I was certain Deacon could have told us everything about the trees, from their name to their biological requirements, but I wasn’t about to ask. For me, trees were trees. I didn’t care about the details.

Birds swooped in the leaf-filtered moonslight, soaring from tree to tree above us. Nothing to be worried about, but if there were birds, there was something for them to eat and that could vary. Swampfolk, Augur had called them. A simple word for what I assumed could try to kill us.

Swamps had always held a strange part of the Ladrian imagination. There were few on Orhon—nothing as large as the swamps of Earth or other planets I had visited. Buggy, putrid, sticky, they were seen by Ladrians as places that bred disease. Most of Orhon was developed into property for the wealthy to enjoy, so nearly all the swamps had been cleared out hundreds of years ago.

Sarah glanced up at me as she tromped along by my side in her own boots, while Deacon stayed ahead of us, clearly wanting his own space. “Why do you look so nervous?”

“Swamps are not my favorite place to be.”

“How come?” she asked, then scrunched up her nose. “I mean, besides the horrible smell.”

I adjusted my rucksack on my shoulder. “Growing up, did you hear ghost stories?”

She smiled instantly. “Elizabeth used to tell us ghost stories at night sometimes. Why?”

“Ours were always set in swamps. If they weren’t stories of our faith, I mean. But the spooky stories for kids, they were set here,” I said, glancing around, looking for any lurking danger. “So I have never been overly fond of swamps.”

“Cheer up,” one of Rex’s grunts said as he brushed past us. “Could be worse.”

“How’s that?” Sarah asked.

“We could be heading to the bottom of the Diamond Sea to hunt for these bitches,” he griped.

Sarah bristled at him. “They are conduits. Show a little respect.”

“I did.” He stomped ahead of us, I assumed to speak to Rex or Augur, or perhaps one of the seven other men Rex had brought with him. Either way, I was glad he was gone.

Sarah scowled after him. “I do not like that man.”

I nodded. “Same here. But hopefully, this will go smoothly and if not smoothly, quickly .”

“What was that about searching for them at the bottom of the sea?” she asked curiously.

“Since ghosts don’t have to breathe, some have tried to live in the water to be left alone,” I explained.

“Hmm.” She thought for a moment. “I can see the appeal.”

I fought the urge to gawk at her. My mouth went dry as my own fears of drowning reared their ugly head. “What appeal is that?”

“Sorry.” She grimaced, obviously realizing her mistake. “I know yesterday probably made the idea of living under water seem like hell—”

“That is an understatement.”

“But I always liked swimming,” she continued. “My sisters and I would sometimes go to a community pool and swim there. I didn’t like talking to all the other kids. Not like Jenny, who was always laughing and flirting with someone. Or Elizabeth, who was so pretty all the lifeguards had a thing for her. So, I was always by myself in the crowd, and I’d go where they couldn’t see me. Sinking to the bottom of the pool, where it was quiet and peaceful.” She smiled at the recollection and sighed.

Then the swamp became quiet and peaceful. For a moment, I wondered if her powers had made it happen after her happy memory hit her. We still don’t know everything she can do—maybe this is her work. But then I saw Augur running ahead.

Fuck. “Run!” I hissed, remembering what the conduit had told us earlier.

To her credit, Sarah did. My eyes searched for the danger—whatever had caused the swamp to silence its voice. All fourteen of us ran as fast as we could, with no goal in sight, other than distance from trouble. But trouble found us.

A mob of Drecks ran after us, no doubt looking for a midnight snack. The four-legged creatures were as tall as Deacon at their shoulder, and their long necks made their tooth-heavy heads nearly drag to the ground. They snarled and roared, having fun chasing us. Hoof steps sounded like thunder that was catching up to us. Hot snout breaths sprayed against the back of my neck.

They are faster than us. We need a new plan.

“Up!” I shouted.

I grabbed Sarah around her waist and hoisted her over my shoulder, before I snatched onto the nearest tree branch and swung us onto the next one. I set her to her feet on the branch.

“Climb!” I ordered.

She tried, moons above, she tried. A dreck paid us too much attention and started for our tree.

“Hang on!” I picked her up again and settled her onto my back. She clung to me as I climbed for the both of us. We were near to the top, when the dreck lost interest and ran for the others.

“Deacon!” I shouted, not knowing which direction he’d gone.

There was no reply.

“You stay here!” I said, placing her on the thick branch. “I’m going to find him—”

“Don’t leave me here!” she said frantically.

“Drecks can’t climb,” I assured her. “You’re safe.”

She nodded, her eyes still wide with terror. I waited as the mob of drecks passed, before I climbed down. Things were eerily quiet again, like the swamp was holding its breath. I began to run after everyone until I heard a whistle.

In the dark, I saw Deacon’s gauntlet driver, lit up and waving around behind some bushes. My feet moved before I thought. It was too far—just a handful of meters, but it was still too far.

When I got there and tucked in under the bushes, relief hit me when I found Deacon hiding there. “Are you hurt?” I whispered.

“I’m fine,” he said in a low voice. “Where’s Sarah?”

“Sarah is up in a tree, where I left her. No injuries.”

“I’m fine, too, thanks,” Omen said in a wry tone from behind him.

I would have chuckled had our plight not been so dire. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

“We need to find the others,” Deacon’s one-track mind insisted.

But soon, the others had begun to climb out from their hiding spots, as well. Rex and his men emerged, scurrying down trees, popping out from bushes. I saw all those I recognized, with the exception of Augur.

“Who pissed off the moons?” Omen asked in a panic as she pointed over Deacon’s shoulder.

Jem’hora, those shimmering eyeless birds of prey, had begun to swoop in beneath the canopy of trees and land on the path in a line. Half as tall as me and with talons the size of hands, they were the stuff of nightmares. Worse still, they had a taste for Ladrian flesh, particularly babies. Every muscle in my body froze.

The others ducked back into their hiding spots.

“Fuck,” I grunted. “We do not need this now.”

The only defense we had against jem’hora were androids, and ours weren’t with us. An oversight.

Two of the predators flew up from the ground into the trees.

Into the tree where I had left Sarah.

Sheer horror gripped me, and I lunged out of the bush, Deacon beside me. We ran toward the flock, shouting and arms waving to get their attention. To our detriment, it worked. But it didn’t stop the two that had flown after Sarah.

“Go get her,” Deacon ordered. “I’ll let them chase me, go!”

I made for her tree, but a dreck must have heard the commotion and came back. It bolted toward me, giving me another reason to get up her tree, fast . As I started to climb the base of it, the strangest sight locked every muscle in my body.

Sarah, holding onto the talons of the two jem’hora that had come for her. They flew her down to the ground, gently placing her in the middle of their flock. Then, she pointed at the dreck, and the flock went after it. Shock and awe riveted me as their powerful talons shredded through the thick hide, like a child tearing paper. The dreck roared in pain, calling out to the dreck mob. They returned to defend their kin. The jem’hora did the same to the rest of the herd, and a battle of talons and teeth played out before us.

They’re helping us. We need to help them .

I shouted at everyone who was armed. “Come on!” and began to attack the dreck myself with my bone knife.

Deacon and Omen were next to throw in, and then Rex and his crew joined us. With the jem’horas’ help, the drecks hobbled away after they lost two of their own. Then, the birds had them as a feast as payment. We walked among them, but kept a distance, still wary of their temperament. All of us, but Sarah.

As we stared at her, she smiled, watching the birds eat. She occasionally petted the silver feathers that crowned their heads, and each one nuzzled into her palm. Deacon had told me of the strange night he had found her sitting in their midst at his father’s yard, but nothing he had said could have prepared me for the sight of the nightmare birds cuddling with her or our ability to walk next to them without being attacked.

She murmured sweetly to them, “Thank you, my friends.”

The bird nearest to her cooed happily with its bloody beak, before it returned to its meal. It had fucking cooed. I didn’t even know they could.

“Uh, Sarah?” Omen quietly asked.

“Yes?”

“ What the fuck ?” Omen asked the question on everyone’s mind.

She shrugged. “They like me.”

Omen stared at her in disbelief, just like the rest of us. “Yeah, I’m gonna need a better explanation than that, because I just fought alongside creatures that have tried to kill me, and I’m not sure what to make of that.”

“Leave them to their meal,” Sarah replied, giving a bird one last affectionate caress. “They earned it. We should find Augur.” Then she walked down the path ahead of the rest of us.

I exchanged glances with Omen and Deacon, before I shrugged and followed.