Nick James - Skyship Academy

Madame motions for the soldiers to loosen their grip. I crane my neck to see Avery, but they’ve already taken her away into the mist. The soldier with the rifle holds his position. If I move, he’ll shoot.

Madame strides forward, sizing Alkine up. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Reinforcements,” he mutters.

She chuckles. “Oh by all means, please bring your reinforcements.”

Alkine’s eyes dart up to the sky, to the layer of mist above the city. I follow his gaze, but there’s nothing to see. No shuttles or transports. Just the foggy ceiling.

Madame shakes her head, motioning for her men to raise their weapons. “Take him out.”

I hear the click of artillery. Hundreds of guns lock onto our small group. It’s a shooting gallery, and there’s no way of escaping.

Then the mist begins to swirl above us. A deafening roar, like a thousand freight trains, forces my hands over my ears. The sky darkens. Unnaturally fast. It’s at least an hour until sundown. This is more like an eclipse.

Madame looks above her for the first time, taking two steps back and mumbling to herself.

A jagged point pokes through the layer of churning mist like a knife reaching down to stab the earth. It’s needle-thin at first, but widens as it lowers. Soon it’s as thick as a tree trunk-then a rocket.

Waves of smog spread away from the vast object, revealing a canopy of dark weathered metal that blots out the sky above us-a constantly lowering ceiling to what’s become an intersection enclosed on all four sides. Rocks tumble down the sides of buildings as the behemoth settles down. The engines rumble above us like never-ending thunder.

Alkine smiles. He says something, too, but the thrusters above our heads are too loud to make out words. But I don’t have to hear him to know what’s happening. I’ve approached the hull of this ship enough times to recognize the scuffed underbelly.

Skyship Academy.

I back up, dwarfed by the shadow of the approaching Skyship. The southern spire drills into the ground, kicking up chunks of rock and dirt. I can’t believe it. The Academy… on the Surface. The engineers must have been working overtime to keep it cloaked from Madame’s cruisers.

Madame pulls in her jacket as the wind from the thrusters pummels the pavement. Her perfectly styled hair blows into a mess, sticking to her teeth. “You have no idea how many laws you’re breaking,” she shouts.

Alkine shrugs. “Never did like to play it safe.”

The thunderous engines die down to a low rumble and the bottom level of the Academy opens up. Shuttles shoot from all sides, bursting from around the perimeter like flower petals. Everyone in the intersection ducks. The soldiers lose their grip on Skandar and Eva. I spin around, looking for Avery. She’s long gone. I don’t know where they took her.

The Academy ships bolt out into the city, then loop up in the air and reverse their path, barreling down on the intersection. Explosions rattle the pavement.

Madame gives her troops the attack signal. They spread out, quickly filling the intersection like a hive of dark insects. Some run back to cruisers. Most raise their weapons and fire, aiming for the shuttles that dart underneath the Academy’s expansive hull.

Trapdoors open from below the shuttle. Agents rocket down into the intersection, aided by upturned ankle boosters that slow their descent until they land on the pavement with the grace of acrobats.

While she’s distracted, I lunge at Madame, grabbing the control pad from her hand and chucking it away into the chaos. “Where is she? Where did you take her?”

She slaps my face, pushing away and grabbing a small pistol from her belt. “This is not what I wanted for you.”

“No!” Cassius tackles her from the side, knocking her to the ground. She keeps her grip on the pistol, but the black cube tumbles into the intersection. Cassius dives to retrieve it, then grabs my hand and pulls me away. “Come on.” He drags me through the dense battle zone. Agent versus soldier, more of them every moment. Shots ring out through the intersection. An explosion pummels the ground to our left, sending up a fountain of debris. Shuttles whiz by overhead, dropping detonators on large swaths of government forces.

A soldier bumps into me, pulling my hand from Cassius’s and dragging me back through the crowd. Seconds later, he slumps onto the ground, a bullet through the chest. I turn to see Alkine brandishing a gun in the distance. He tosses his bag to Eva, shouting something. I’m too far away to hear it. Then they’re both swallowed by the crowd.

Another explosion pulverizes the pavement behind me. Soldiers fly into the air. Cracks spread from the ground, snaking toward me. The concrete wobbles, then slants into a diagonal. I jump forward, careful not to be swallowed by the sinkhole, and collide with a Skyship Agent.

I turn to see August Bergmann standing before me, armed like the ultimate soldier, his buzzed hair already glistening with sweat. “Oh man.” He frowns, and for a second I’m convinced he’s gonna punch me in the arm. Instead, his frown curves into an amused smile. “Jameson was right. This is a rescue mission. Takes a freaking army, huh Fisher?”

I meet his eyes for a second but don’t respond. I’d like to see him survive what I’ve been through. Bet he wouldn’t think it was so funny.

“Relax.” He slaps my shoulder, nearly knocking me to the ground. “And don’t die, okay? Don’t be your usual stupid self.”

Then he’s gone. I look around for Madame. A hand grabs onto my arm. I push away before realizing it’s Cassius.

He frowns and motions for me to follow him between two walls of fighting soldiers. I watch as beams of energy shoot from cannons emerging from the hull of the Academy.

Cassius releases my arm. We squeeze between the remaining soldiers and sprint through what’s left of an empty alleyway. On the other side I see a line of cruisers, also empty. Every soldier Madame’s got has joined the fray back at the intersection. The alleyway’s dark, shadowed by the Academy overhead. Cassius cradles the cube under his arm. I grab him by the shoulder, stopping his mad dash to freedom.

He spins around, glaring. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t leave without Avery.”

“Madame’ll kill you,” he responds, keeping one eye on the far-off intersection.

“I thought that’s what you wanted.”

He shakes his head. “We have to get away.”

“Alkine will-”

He grabs my arm and yanks me backward, just as Madame bursts into the alleyway.

Her jacket hangs halfway off her shoulders. Her hair is mottled with dirt and sweat. She breathes heavily, aiming the pistol at my heart.

“Come on,” Cassius coaxes, pulling my arm.

“Don’t move,” Madame warns as she steps forward, “or it will be the last thing you do.”

Cassius releases me, clutching the cube tightly under his arm.

Madame sighs. “My dear Cassius. I have regrets. I should have kept you out of this. I should have let you stay at the Lodge. You’re confused, as you have every right to be. We’ll sit down and talk when this is over. I’m sure that-”

She’s interrupted by Eva, who stumbles into the alleyway holding Alkine’s dark bag. Her arm restraint hangs from her left wrist. A large scratch runs down the side of her face.

Madame rolls her eyes, pivoting slightly and pulling the trigger. Eva lunges toward the wall and presses herself against the brick. The bullet whizzes past her and into the intersection.

“Don’t hurt her!” I shout. “It’s me you want.”

Madame turns back around, reloading the pistol and aiming it at me. “There are cruisers directly behind you. Step into one, and we can continue this conversation elsewhere.”