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A couple days later, I woke to urgent pounding on my bedroom door. My heart rate spiked. Was the airship under attack? “One moment!” I yanked on my camisole and pants and grabbed my vines, fastening them around my arms. I poked my head outside and jumped when Lance grinned back at me, bouncing on his heels.
“We’re going to Singapore!”
“What?” I cocked my head, confused. I’d managed to avoid Lance since our conversation with Jim, and while I still wasn’t sure how to address his lack of concern for the Community, he seemed perfectly content with life as he knew it. “Why Singapore?”
Before I could ask if there was a time stone there, he took my hand and yanked me from the doorway. “Take a guess!”
“I already asked why,” I snapped, jerking my hand free and rubbing my arms of the pervading coldness that came from waking up too fast. Lance might have gotten over our conversation, but I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that he didn’t want to return to the Community once this was over.
“Just take a guess!” Lance was already halfway up the spiral stairs to the second deck.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be guessing,” I protested, following at a much slower speed. Lance stopped right before the hangar, his face glowing through the tan he’d received in Cairo.
“Aren’t you going to ask how we’re getting to Singapore?”
I suppressed a yawn and twirled the flower charm’s chain between my fingers. At least I was still too stunned from being startled awake to get a memory attack. “Did Inese fix the car, or are we using the whirligig?” Neither seemed likely. It would be a miracle if Inese could fix the car, even with Mom’s help. As for the whirligig, it was too slow and we’d probably run out of fuel before we reached land.
“Not quite.” He flung the hangar door wide and ushered me in. “Isn’t it amazing?”
There was a new... something... in the hangar. I blinked, trying to make heads or tails of it in my half-asleep state. After a moment, I decided it was a cross between a sleek black jet and a transport shuttlecraft. Inese carefully inspected the new vehicle, which was twice the size of the car. It had giant jet engines below the body near the tail, and thin, collapsible wings. They were partially extended, revealing a horizontal rotor system within the wings to provide hovering capabilities. I could guess from Mom’s ramblings about other shuttles that the horizontal rotors got power from a different engine I couldn’t see at the moment, effectively making it a hybrid jet.
“Where did you get it?” I asked, still staring at the sleek contraption.
Inese rapped her knuckles on the hull, smiling at the responding hollow thumps. “South Africa is giving us this as our new vehicle, since our old one, well...” Her voice trailed off as she looked toward the pile of scrap metal barricading the whirligig. Mom sat beside what was left of the frame, wearing a welder’s mask and gloves, a glowing torch in hand.
“Can it turn invisible?”
Inese shook her head. “Not yet. Your mom’s working on reverse engineering that as we speak.”
The car’s old license plate clattered to the ground.
“That’s why we’re going to Singapore,” Lance chimed. “Your mom needs equipment that only Singapore has for the invisibility generator—at least, outside of the Camaraderie.” He grinned at me, and I doubted that he realized how much I didn’t like the idea of destroying the Community—and how much he did. If we were going to keep trying this dating thing, we were going to need to have a talk.
Inese looked toward Mom. “He’s right. We need specialized parts, and I think Liana will enjoy the trip. Actually, we’re planning on taking anyone who wants to come, since the jet can fit everyone. Might be nice to take a break after the Cairo incident.”
I frowned. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to go traveling again so soon. “Are there beasties there?”
“Shouldn’t be, and it’s far enough out to avoid the Camaraderie’s invasion of Japan.”
I frowned. I didn’t need a break. I needed information. Information on the pendants... the time stones... beasts...
“Do you think they’d know anything about the times stones or enchanted artifacts there?”
Inese cleared her throat. “It’s supposed to be a vacation.”
“But—”
“No buts. You’re coming with us, and you’re going to take a break from your research.” Her eyes fell on the flower charm. I flinched. My training session with Gwen yesterday had made it clear I hadn’t been avoiding beastie research like I was supposed to. But how else was I supposed to be helpful? I wasn’t going to go around being just another pair of feet on the ground that could kill beasts and Special Forces agents when they got in the way.
But it would be nice to stretch my legs where stretching my legs didn’t mean running for my life. I gently coaxed my vines around my arms into a loose, crisscross pattern. The design looked better than how I usually had them—free and ready for battle. Hopefully they would stay in this pattern.
I swallowed hard. I doubted I could convince Inese to let me go anywhere that would be considered “research.” But once we were there, surely I could find time to look for information.
“Okay. I’ll come.”
Inese arched a thin black eyebrow. Her insight power was probably warning her that I had multiple agendas on my mind.
“So... Jen...” Lance’s olive eyes sparkled in the hangar’s light. “I was wondering...” My vines constricted around my arms like a blood pressure monitor. Why did I have a bad feeling about whatever he planned to ask? He pushed a straggling strand of hair away from his eyes. “Since we’re going to be in Singapore a few days, maybe we could try going on a dinner date again?”
For the love of the Community, hadn’t he learned from last time? Me and dates... it didn’t work. I grimaced at the thought of him trying to sit too close and having a beastie tank memory ruining our plans.
“I was thinking of trying a candlelight dinner,” Lance continued quickly. “Something for just you and me, in a small but not crowded restaurant. You know, since the memory attacks seem to happen around crowds. And since it’s candlelight, that’ll put more focus on the two of us, which means we can efficiently focus on the ‘us’ part of the relationship.” He took a deep breath and worried his lips, waiting for my answer.
I blinked. Lance was actually taking the efficiency of the date into consideration? That was very... Community of him. And he’d thought about what would keep the memory attacks at bay. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Maybe there was hope for us yet. If he was willing to at least consider the Community’s ideals, then I’d be willing to try another date.
“All right,” I agreed. “I think we can try that.”
“Great!” Lance wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight, too tight, like having wires wrapped around me so I couldn’t escape, so no one could escape, his breathing hot in my ear like the breathing of a living vessel being forced to form—
I had to get out.
This wasn’t real—
I reached out with the telepathy charm, trying to feel for his emotions—any emotion that wasn’t mine—and got swamped with a mixture of elation and nervousness. I shivered, too warm, my palms sweaty from the start of the attack, but at least now I was back in the hangar—never mind that my vines didn’t like being squished.
“Thanks, Jen,” Lance babbled. “I promise I’ll find a place you’ll like.” He withdrew from his hug, still grinning. “Let me get packed.” He jogged from the hangar, side-stepping Lily as she entered. I shuddered. We really needed to have a talk about warning me first before hugging, or taking my hand, or anything remotely dating-related.
Lily gave him a funny look as he disappeared down the hall. “I haven’t seen him that excited since he got that Windwhisper novel.” She glanced at my crisscrossed vines, and then at me. “Improving. I like the design.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. I hadn’t thought she would notice. “Thanks.”
She grinned. “You’re going to Singapore, too?”
“Yeah.” I glanced toward the hallway, jittery, fiddling with my flower charm. “Apparently, I have a date.”
“Oh?” Her smile faded and disappointment radiated from her thoughts.
I dropped the flower charm abruptly and it thudded against my chest. I didn’t need to be reading her emotions. I really didn’t. I already knew that... well... my heart was pounding a bit too hard and if I wasn’t careful, I was going to blurt something utterly stupid.
“So... how about you?” I asked. “Are you coming, too?”
“That’s the plan.” She quirked her head and gave a cute smile. “Since we’re going to be there for a few days, maybe we can hang out sometime. There’s some fun things to do around Singapore. Might serve as a distraction from... you know...” She gestured to herself as if she was wearing the flower charm.
I swallowed hard. Yeah. A distraction...
She leaned forward and lowered her voice conspiratorially. My heart jumped to my throat. “Also... Quin mentioned you were asking about the pendants.”
I nodded, my eyes wide. No one else was watching us.
“I know an alchemist there. She stays low profile in order to avoid getting recruited by the OA, but if you have any questions, we might be able to stop by her place while we’re in the area.”
A grin pulled at my face. “You’re serious?”
“She’s got some nice artifacts. Nothing any of us can afford, but she likes making friends. She figures her customers will eventually have the money to come back.”
Thank the Camaraderie for well-traveled mercenaries.
“Count me in,” I whispered back.
“In that case, make sure to leave a little room in your schedule.” Lily paused. “Leave a bit extra room, and I’m sure we can find something fun to do, too. Something to help you relax after your business call.” She winked, and my stomach did a somersault. I was pretty sure I was smiling wider than I had in a long time.
“I’d like that,” I managed to say. My cheek muscles hurt.
She gave me a good-natured shoulder punch—avoiding my vines—and then rushed off, presumably to get ready. I needed to get ready, too. If we were going to be there a few days, I needed a change of clothes.
Once I arranged my luggage, I returned to the hangar. Lance made an “after you” motion and I stepped inside the jet. Inese sat in the cockpit. Unlike the car, we sat on benches with padded, sculpted seats facing each other. Even Gwen was coming along for the ride. Mom patted the seat for Dad to sit beside her, and I automatically fastened my seatbelt. This one fit snug across my waist and chest, more secure than the car.
Inese eased the jet out of the hangar, and then gunned it once we were clear of the airship. The inertia pressed me lightly against Lance, who braced himself against the seat, a green expression on his face. Quin closed his eyes and mumbled something under his breath that I couldn’t quite hear. I grinned. It wasn’t that bad.
“How fast can this thing go?” I called. Lance glared at me, muttering something about being a show-off with my powers.
“If you would practice, you wouldn’t mind either,” I retorted.
“Right now we’re going seven hundred and twenty-five kilometers per hour,” Inese responded.
Lily glanced toward the cockpit, both hands gripping her seatbelt. “This thing has been tested, right? Not that I’m Community...”
I chuckled. At last, something other than statues could faze her.
“I’m pretty sure we just broke the sound barrier,” Inese shouted from the cockpit.
I grinned. We certainly weren’t accelerating as fast as we could, but I was pretty sure Inese didn’t want us passing out. A moment later, Inese cackled triumphantly. “Two thousand, four hundred kilometers per hour! I’ll go ahead and slow down a bit for your sakes.”
I closed my eyes. A wonderful freefalling sensation shot through the pit of my stomach as the jet decelerated. I could sleep easily in these comfortable seats, the sound of wind racing past the hull—
A shiver raced through my spine. Maybe it was better if I didn’t think about the structure of the ship. It was too easy to start picturing the schematics of the Legion Spore with its metal frame and human occupants—
I focused on my flower charm, allowing myself to sense the emotions around me. I steered clear of Lance, who didn’t do well in fast-moving objects, and settled on the general relaxed state of Quin, who had decided on meditating in lieu of motion sickness.
Gwen nudged me mentally, a reminder that I wasn’t even supposed to be using the charm. But what was I supposed to do? It was that or a memory attack.
You could meditate as well, she suggested. Like I tried to show you last night.
I flinched. It was so much more efficient to piggy-back on someone else’s mediation. But I did as she asked. I closed my eyes and tried to relax myself, focusing on my breathing instead of my thoughts.
Not the easiest thing to do.
Fortunately, our fast speed meant the ride was short. We arrived in Singapore much sooner than I expected. Now that we had the jet, maybe we’d be able to make Quin’s day trip to South Africa after all. Well, depending on fuel. I wasn’t sure what this thing ran on.
Once we landed, Inese opened the door and warm, moist air flooded into the jet.
Also... something else. This place felt like it was calling me. I frowned, my leaves rattling with curiosity.
“Oh, wow,” Mom whispered. “Jenna, you should see this.”
I unfastened the seatbelt and pushed my way to the front of the jet, past an official who was finalizing the parking plans for the jet with Inese and where we would be staying for the next few days.
My jaw dropped the moment I stepped outside. Skyscrapers reached the clouds, half-covered in plants. Thick, woodchip pathways were lined by giant metal trees with tropical foliage wrapped around them and under the towering solar panels. We had landed in an open runway in the middle of a grassy park, where laughter permeated the air alongside the wafting smell of garlic and seafood. Behind us, the deep blue ocean glinted rays of sunlight that peered through the gray clouds. Whole families gathered together, enjoying a picnic or flying kites. Even better... they had powers. It was like the time when Lily and I went to the gardens in South Africa. One teen used his water powers while his friends had plastic water guns, and someone my age flew overhead, holding a laughing child. And the plants... they bloomed here like no place else. When I reached out with my power, I bumped into energy from other elementals who fed the flowers and the trees and raised them to greater heights than I imagined possible.
It was perfect.
“Welcome to Garden City,” Inese said, ruffling my hair. “Technically it’s both a country and a city, but the name stuck. Seems your vines like it.”
Tiny white flowers had blossomed from my vines across my shoulders and arms. “Uh... yeah,” I said, stunned. I would have preferred to know I was doing that, but they were certainly pretty.
“Can we move here?” Mom pointed to the gleaming skyscrapers. “I want to build those.”
Dad chuckled and kissed Mom’s forehead. “We’ll see. Singapore’s under Oriental Alliance control.”
“Singapore took a hit during the initial war,” Inese explained as she handed out plastic key cards, “but afterwards, the Alliance maintained a few elements they liked about the place. Hotel’s about eight kilometers that way. Directions are on the card.”
The card had a picture of a huge building with garden terraces on every other floor. The back had directions in four separate languages. Thankfully, English was one of them.
“I’ll stay at the hotel,” Gwen said, smiling, “though I might walk with you young ones a bit while the rest of you pick up parts.”
Inese flipped her sunglasses over her eyes. “By the way, try not to get into any trouble. We’ll be here a few days.”
A few days without beasties, spirits, or Special Forces? Maybe I didn’t want to worry about information hunting. I grinned. “We’ll try our best.”
“Are you kidding? You attract trouble like opposite magnets,” Lily said, clapping her hands together to demonstrate. “There is no way you’re going three whole days without some unwanted attention.”
I shrugged. “Maybe this time will be different. After all, it’s a community—even if it’s not the Community.” As if to emphasize my point, a security officer in a green and brown uniform tipped her hat to us in a friendly gesture, the OA’s red dragonfly stitched to her sleeve. “Come on,” I said, and then hesitantly took Lance’s arm. No sign of a memory attack; the meditation had helped. I smiled. Maybe we could actually have a date, a Community date, without any interference from the memory seeds. “Let’s see what’s around.”
I waved to my parents as they left. Lily joined me, Lance, and Gwen, while everyone else went on the search for generator parts. Part of me wondered if Gwen was tagging along to keep an eye on me, but I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to ruin the moment and, admittedly, I was kind of glad she was here. Past the huge park, the city streets bustled with people. So many people, I expected a memory attack to start just from looking at them.
But it didn’t.
I could get used to this. Beyond the crowds were lines of cars that were either brighter and shinier than any car I’d ever seen before, or so old and rusted that they were hardly safe. A young girl spun by on a bicycle and nearly crashed into an older man examining a window display. Everyone entered and exited shops toting bags that brimmed with souvenirs, and though I heard the occasional snippet of conversation regarding the invasion of Japan, most of them seemed more interested in the local cuisine or the latest fashion.
Was this what the world was like before the Camaraderie? No wonder Lance wanted this.
We stopped at a little shop that smelled like onions and peanuts. At Gwen’s recommendation, we purchased chicken and pork satay. I nibbled on the skewered chicken, wishing I had something to cut the spice in the sauce, while Lance devoured his in five bites. Lily was a tad bit dainty with hers, and she actually complained that hers wasn’t spicy enough. I argued that she was crazy, and that she must have killed her taste buds with too much hot sauce. She retorted that the Community had yet to figure out an efficient means of spicing their food with anything other than salt and pepper.
I kind of had to agree.
We continued down the sidewalk, chatting until we reached the hotel. It towered over us, framed by overcast clouds. Gwen showed us our rooms, and then stayed behind to let the three of us explore.
Time to see if we could actually have the vacation Inese was talking about.
