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September 25

Selah launched herself from the back of the AirWagon and landed with catlike grace in a crouch behind it. Her long, dark brown ponytail swung across her shoulders as she inspected the area side to side. Her breathing played catch-up to her runaway heartbeat. She had no fear for herself but was scared for her mother and Dane as they hid inside the vehicle.

She slowed her breathing and concentrated on the directions of the shots. The serenity of the sun-drenched morning fled with the departing songbirds.

A barrage of weapons fire lit up the side of a nearby boulder, bathing it in starbursts and scarring its surface with white streaks as it propelled bits of chiseled stone in her direction. She ducked around the back of the AirWagon and pressed herself against the side.

The sound was unmistakable. Bullets. They’d been worried about another ambush on the way back to TicCity from WoodHaven since they hadn’t made contact with Taraji yet. Selah was just beginning to relax as they reached the final mile into town.

A bullet ricocheted off a tree stump, bit the dirt in front of her feet, and sent up a burst of dust. She flinched. “Somebody tell me where they are!” Her energy-thrusting skills were great for physical combat but lousy against lasers and bullets.

When their caravan cleared the forested bend in the road, Selah stood to survey the area. Gunfire slammed into her weapon, jerking it from her hands. Selah spun away and over the side of the AirWagon to get out of the line of fire. The pulse rifle’s demise saved her body from serious injury, but that full body twist was going to haunt her backside later on.

Mari slid a crossbow over the side of the AirWagon. “Here. I’ve got your mom and Dane secured.”

Selah slid the quiver over her shoulder and nocked an arrow. Mari slid down beside her with her own crossbow, and they worked their way around the thrusters and to the front. A metal shot sliced the side of the vehicle. They pulled back.

Multiple shots zipped by from at least two directions in front of them, pinning down the vehicle. Shots echoed behind the AirWagon where Bodhi and Mojica were defending the back side. They were surrounded.

Selah lay flat on the ground and edged around the landing wells and away from the shooting. She watched behind her where Bodhi and Mojica fought the bullets with laser shots. Elongated bursts of rapid fire belched from two guns hidden in the tree line.

She listened to the echoes from the shots and took aim at deep foliage beside a wide oak tree across the road. Selah sucked in a breath to steady her shot, and let it fly. The arrow sliced silently through the greenery and rewarded her with a solid thunk.

Mari sank a second shot into the bushes on the other side of the tree. Silence followed from the foliage. Selah released her breath. Her heart thudded. There was still hope.

She turned to the other end of the vehicle, listening for more gunshots to home in on their direction. The shots petered out. Bodhi and Mojica had taken care of the back assault.

Bodhi low-crawled along the back and down the side to reach Selah. “I knew I should have demanded you keep Mojica up here. There are more splinters up here, almost as though they know where you are,” Bodhi said, his laser dart at the ready.

Selah, trying to distinguish between two different gun sounds, patted his arm and ignored his scolding. “Mari and I have taken out the two on our left, and before you distracted me, I was about to get the other one. Excuse me a second.” Selah rolled away from Bodhi and peered out between the air-lift mechanisms. She could see the flash from the other shooter. These weapons confused her. They fired much faster than the old-fashioned guns she was used to.

Her hands started to shake, so she gripped her crossbow. She watched a half minute longer than normal when spotting, but she had to be sure. She nocked the arrow.

A huge weight slammed her to the ground, and her crossbow skittered several feet away. She changed her center of gravity and flipped the direction of the arrow in her hand. Bodhi, where are you?

She swung back hard, stabbing the assailant’s leg with her arrow. He roared in pain as she propelled him from her back. He flipped over, slamming his back and head into a tree.

Bodhi dove into fist-to-fist combat with another dark-clad figure. Bullets peppered the dirt on the far side of the vehicle. Selah clawed at the dirt to reach Bodhi’s laser dart. She rolled over and pulled the trigger before it registered that she wasn’t its authorized user. Nothing. She scrambled to her feet and gripped the barrel like a club.

Selah raised the laser dart to hit Bodhi’s attacker. The weapon jerked from her hands. She gasped and pivoted to face her new assailant.

He swung the weapon at her. Selah threw up her arms to shield her head. The others were too close for her to use an energy thrust on the man. She went into a fighting stance.

Mari fired an arrow, striking the man’s hand. The weapon jerked from his hand and skidded across the road to land behind Selah. She tackled the man below center, propelling them both against a boulder. He came up swinging and his gloved fist clipped her in the chin. Her increased strength absorbed the shock, but it still spun her to the ground face-first.

The assailant she had stabbed in the leg grabbed Mari from behind. She stomped on his foot, drove her elbow into his ribs, and head-butted him. He let go.

Tiny stones ripped at Selah’s palms. Her hands clutched at the dirt and sparkles invaded her vision. She rolled away to avoid another blow. Bodhi grabbed her attacker and spun him around into his waiting fist. Selah scrambled toward Mari.

An ear-piercing squeal.

Selah drew her chin to her chest and wrapped her arms around her head to shield her ears. The pain in her head weakened her knees. She stumbled a few steps into Mari and dropped to the ground along with everyone else. The brain-numbing sound ended, and TicCity security forces wearing sound-canceling headgear rushed to surround the group.

As the splinters rose with hands raised to their heads, the one closest to Selah made a break for the woods. Selah realized her new endurance would be tested. Five fast steps and she tackled him. Two of the TicCity security force rushed to her aid and took the splinter into custody.

Bodhi displayed his TicCity credentials to the security force. He hauled up the splinter he’d been fighting by the back of his collar and deposited him in a security vehicle.

Selah sat on the ground with elbows planted on her bent knees. Mari reached out a hand to help her up.

“That didn’t seem to affect you as bad as it did us.” Selah took Mari’s hand and sprang to her feet.

“It felt like the technology we use in WoodHaven. My appliance shielded me from some of it.” Mari held up her wrist.

“Let’s keep that to ourselves.”

Mari nodded and brushed her sleeve down over the appliance. “You go be Glade’s daughter. I’d rather not show my face too much in case we run into someone who could recognize me. I wouldn’t want WoodHaven to suffer because of my choices. I’ll check on Pasha and Dane.” She hurried through the crowd to the AirWagon.

Mojica marched around the AirWagon, escorting the two they’d fought at the rear. She reached Bodhi with her captives, and the security forces took possession of them. She and Bodhi strolled toward Selah.

Bodhi slid his arm around her waist and hugged her close. “Are you all right? Some days you really worry me, firefly.”

Selah rested her head on his shoulder, her nose pressed to the coarse fibers of his jacket. Everything he owned was infused with the gentle musk of his shaving scrub. It had become a soothing aroma to her, giving the illusion of safety even in the face of full-scale chaos. If only they had enough time to explore a life together. “We’ve come through once again, right? So it’s not yet the day to worry.”

Selah gave him a playful wink and disengaged from his warm embrace. It was becoming a common occurrence for her to go from a life-threatening battle one minute to joking around the next. At first she had thought this behavior a symptom of a mental break of some kind. But Glade had told her it would become a sanity-saving ability to leave the battle behind and still see the joy in every minute of life. She suddenly missed Glade and his wisdom.

Bodhi’s brows drew together. “You need to stop batting those green eyes and being flippant about such dangerous situations. Take them seriously or you could—”

“What? Fracture in nine months? I promise I do take these seriously, but if I don’t add some levity, the weight of the situation is going to crush me.” Selah instantly felt sorry for her snappy tone. She touched her fingertips to her lips and then to Bodhi’s. She’d feel a lot better when the transport got here. She was just not willing to accept that Taraji had been defeated or killed.

He tipped his head at just the right angle, and she glanced past his ocean-blue eyes to his head marking. She hadn’t seen it for a few weeks. It looks different. She reached up and brushed back his blond curls. But what’s different? She couldn’t put a finger to it. “Have you noticed any difference in your head marking?”

“No, I never pay any attention to it,” Bodhi said as he surveyed the activity around them.

“It figures,” Selah said, shaking her head. “You’d have to comb this curly mess to notice your forehead.”

Bodhi grinned. “I’ve got to see if anyone in TicCity security knows this bunch.” He strolled off in the direction of the command unit.

“Yeah, go on. We’ll talk about the haircut later,” Selah yelled after him. She watched his confident stride. Her heart ached with love . . . love that at this moment didn’t have a future.

“Hmm, this does not look good.” Mari sidled up to Selah and Mojica. “What I remember of TicCity politics from the times I came here with Glade is that the head of Council security never goes out on an operation. Her job is a ceremonial assignment.”

“They warned us at the last stop that we might find resistance from more splinter cells trying to capture me. Being the novarium and the hope of the world—whatever that means—coupled with my nine-month expiration date, and these hordes of men trying to capture me at every turn and I don’t even know what for—”

“Selah,” Mari said.

“What?”

Mari cracked a smile and shook her head. “You’re rambling again. Focus. The TicCity Council woman.”

Selah sucked in a breath. Every move she made had consequences for so many people, and at the moment they didn’t know if Taraji had succeeded. She squeezed her eyes then exhaled slowly. This would all work out. Her family could rest in peace in TicCity and figure out a careful plan to the West before she fractured. “I guess whatever the reason, it was fortunate to have TicCity security meet us on the road when we needed to be rescued.”

The tall, solidly built Council woman removed her head gear, letting long red hair spill from her helmet as she strolled toward Selah. She glanced at Mojica and offered a wry smile. “Well, finding you together saves me a trip.”

Mojica furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to reply. Selah shot her a look to cut her off. She understood what was going on. The Council woman thought Mojica was Taraji. Their Amazon-like stature and long dark hair made them almost resemble twins if you weren’t acquainted with either of them. It was easy to see how they came from the same clan. Selah decided she might need this mistaken identity to work in her favor.

“Thank you for coming to our assistance. My father would be pleased at your level of support,” Selah said. She didn’t like this woman. Glade had faced opposition from her at every Council meeting, but she had just saved the day, so gratitude was in order.

The woman pursed her bright red lips, which seemed out of place with the tan-colored uniforms, and looked down her nose at Selah. “Yes, well, it was purely circumstantial luck at best. We got word of Glade’s demise from the convoy of your survivors that arrived. This will be the last assistance you get from the Council security. With Glade’s passing, the regime has finally and permanently changed in TicCity.”

“Congratulations on your new job, but the fact remains that I’m still the novarium and the legends have finally been proven true. We’re going west in search of the Third Protocol,” Selah said, hoping Treva was with the survivors.

“Good, then you won’t be upset at my announcement,” the woman said.

Selah watched the security forces gathering up the assailants into TicCity Council transports. “What announcement is that?”

A bored expression spread across the woman’s face. “Out of respect for Glade Rishon, I’m giving you forty-eight hours to clear out of TicCity or be sold to the highest bidder.”