J. Mitchell - The Severed Tower

They were still traversing the uncharted areas, and near as she could tell, they’d entered the second ring about fifteen miles back. It had been a casual affair, she hadn’t even mentioned it to Ravan. In fact, it was the easiest ring crossing she’d ever done, but that was because of where they were.

The Western Vacuum.

There were only three Vacuums in all the Strange Lands, zones devoid of Stable Anomalies. For whatever reason, they couldn’t take hold there. It didn’t mean Mira and the Menagerie were completely safe, there were still Unstable Anomalies to worry about, but most of those were visible.

Then again, the Strange Lands were different now. She hoped what Echo had said about the Stable Anomalies not moving proved right.

Echo…

The thought of him brought a mix of feelings, most of them sad or guilty. He’d sacrificed everything to get them into the Strange Lands, and she hadn’t thought about him once since the Crossroads. There just hadn’t been enough time, but that was her reality right now. It seemed like it had been for a long time.

“It’s getting darker,” Zoey said, next to her. “And it shouldn’t be, should it?”

Mira looked down at the little girl. It was one of the few times she’d spoken since they’d found her. Mira wasn’t sure what had happened while she was a captive, but it had had an effect. Mira didn’t push her. Zoey would tell her when she was ready.

Zoey was right, though. The skies shouldn’t have started darkening until almost the third ring.

“How do you know that, Zoey?”

“It just… feels like things are different, but I’m not sure how I would know.”

The little girl kept looking behind her every few minutes, staring back down the old roadway to where it disappeared into the horizon.

“Are they following us?” Mira kept her voice low as possible.

Zoey shook her head. “No, but it’s looking. It won’t give up until it finds me.”

“It?”

“The Royal one. I can’t hear it anymore, it’s too far away. But it will come.”

The little girl was clearly traumatized. Maybe if she—

“And what are we talking about?” Ravan had walked close, studying them with a calm detachment, her hand on the shoulder strap of her rifle.

“We were just wondering if the Assembly was following us,” Mira answered, looking away.

“Doubtful,” Ravan said. “The Portal was a long way from town. They’ll have to run search patterns just to find our tracks. By the time they sort it all out, we’ll be at Polestar.”

“If you’re lucky,” Zoey said offhandedly. “They’re Hunters. It’s what they do.”

Ravan studied the little girl. The pirate Captain was no fool, and the less she figured out the better. If Ravan knew that different Assembly factions were blowing each other up to get to Zoey, she might decide to kill the girl and be done with it.

“What are you going to do with us?” Mira asked.

Ravan moved her gaze back to Mira. “Haven’t decided yet. If I see some value in keeping you, then I will.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I’m sure you can figure that one out all by yourself.”

“I have a Solid.”

“And I honored it.”

“You didn’t honor anything. You cheated me. That Solid came directly from Tiberius, and when he hears—”

“Whatever debt he may have owed you was rendered null and void the moment you started traveling with Holt Hawkins,” Ravan calmly cut her off.

Mira stared back. “Why?”

Ravan just smiled. “If Holt didn’t trust you enough to tell you, I don’t see why I should.”

Mira looked away. The Menagerie was the group looking for Holt, she knew now, the one he’d been running from since she’d met him. Ravan had recognized him, that much was clear. In fact, it seemed liked they knew each other. If that was the case, did that mean Holt had been in the Menagerie?

Mira wouldn’t believe that. Holt was… Holt. He wasn’t a thug or a thief. He wouldn’t have been in the Menagerie.

What did it all mean then?

She remembered the way Ravan had touched him, how she’d whispered into his ear. It implied… a familiarity.

Why hadn’t he just told her the truth? Then she never would have gone to the Menagerie in the first place. Then again, what would she have done instead? No one else would have helped her. Holt and Zoey would still be in the Assembly’s clutches, if not for Ravan.

Mira sighed. Nothing was ever simple.

Zoey groaned next to her, holding her head with both hands.

Mira felt for the little girl. The headaches hadn’t lessened any, it seemed. She touched her tenderly. “Sweetie, you okay?”

“It feels like…” Zoey whispered. “It feels like something’s coming.”

“What does that mean?” Ravan asked dubiously, but Mira ignored her.

Mira had come to trust Zoey’s instincts, as unpredictable and strange as they were. If she said something was coming, Mira took note. “What’s coming, sweetie?”

“That.” Zoey pointed to the north. When Mira looked icy fear gripped her spine. A mass of swirling darkness was building there, and it seemed to glow faintly with blue light; massive, towering into the sky, out of sight for miles, and it was moving, toward them. Fast.

The sight was stunning. Everyone down the line stopped automatically to stare at it.

“Looks like a sandstorm,” Ravan said.

“It’s no sandstorm,” Mira answered in horror. “It’s an Ion Storm. ” Mira couldn’t believe it. Ion Storms were third ring Anomalies, but there it was, sweeping powerfully down the hillside, tumbling toward them, a wave of darkness that blocked out the dim sunlight as it moved.

“It’ll rip everything organic apart, down to the atoms. It won’t leave anything. We have to get inside something.”

Mira looked around wildly. There were a few abandoned cars nearby and an old tractor, but their windows were broken, they wouldn’t be any shelter.

“There,” Ravan pointed.

In the distance, half a mile maybe, a dirt road diverged off theirs. It ended in the middle of an overgrown field, where a small clearing was encircled by a large chain-link fence. Inside the clearing rested a group of five or six small, square buildings.

There was no indication of what it used to be, but it didn’t really matter. Even from here Mira could tell the buildings were made of concrete. If they were still sealed, they might survive the storm inside. Might.

“Tell your men to run,” was all Mira said. She lifted Zoey onto her shoulders and bolted down the road as fast as she could. Behind her Ravan shouted, and the pirates reacted instantly, following in a dash.

The storm swirled powerfully down the hill, and then leveled out and blossomed forward when it reached the valley.

It was coming fast. Too fast.

“Mira!” Zoey shouted. She had almost run past the road leading to the fenced area.

Mira’s feet slid as she turned and raced down it. She could hear the frantic footfalls of the Menagerie behind her. The storm was barreling forward. Mira reached the fence, and skidded to a stop in front of it.

There was a gate, but it was padlocked. Next to it, a rusting metal sign hung on, with a message that was barely readable.

Mira set Zoey down, ignoring the sign and kicking the fence. It was old, but it was strong. It wouldn’t break. “Damn it!” She kicked it again.

“Move!” Ravan shouted behind her. The rest of the Menagerie were coming fast. One of her men had pulled a pair of bolt cutters from his pack. Mira jumped out of the way as he placed its open mouth onto the padlock and squeezed. He groaned with the effort.