Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

“Klettastrond?” asked Eridani.

“That’s correct,” said Martin.

Eridani looked at Martin askance. “Just to be clear, you’re talking about the nation of Klettastrond, on the continent of Mirycea, right?”

“Also correct,” said Martin.

“That’s practically on the other side of the planet!”

“I know,” said Martin. He glanced at his datapad. “We should get packing.”

“It’s a little late for Eridani and me,” said Iona. “Marty, at the very least, the destination would’ve been nice to know beforehand.”

“My apologies,” said Martin. “Some cabbies like to talk, and I didn’t want to risk tipping my hand.”

“Iona, we have extra toothbrushes in the drawer under the sink,” said Aurora. “There’s lots of sweaters in the closet.”

Oliver regarded his daughter. “There’s a box of your old clothes in the closet too. Might even be somethin’ in there for Iona.”

Once more in agreement, they busied themselves with packing.

When they were ready to go, Martin led the group outside, along the rusted footpath to an elevator and descended to street level. They hurried along a sidewalk to a nearby white-panel sky truck. Heaving open the rear gate, he revealed two rows of hard plastic seats, and he indicated a boarding ladder.

Martin lingered with his wife, while the others loaded the luggage and climbed inside. He kissed Brittany good-bye and watched her board the sky truck. As they fastened their restraints, he sealed the passenger compartment. Walking over to the cockpit, he banged on the hull and exchanged nods with the pilot.

Martin dashed away, headed for his vehicle.

A moment later, the sky truck’s engines roared to life, and she lifted off. Inside the passenger compartment, a wide viewscreen flickered on, mounted to the cockpit bulkhead. An external camera feed displayed the world as seen from the sky truck’s nose.

Eridani sat staring at the overhead. “I don’t like this.” Aurora reached across to comfort her. “Actually, I hate this.”

Her parents shared a pained look. They held hands and eased back into their seats. Aurora leaned over onto Oliver’s shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head. Together, they lost themselves in the images offered by the viewscreen.

Racing across Rhyon’s northeastern continent, they skimmed the clouds as forested mountains gave way to a vast desert expanse. For an hour they zipped across the Sea of Sands. In time, it faded to rolling hills and grassy plains. Farmlands and swamplands leapfrogged until they reached the coastline, and for hours they traversed the ocean. The sun shined brightly over the cliffside coastlines of Klettastrond as they sped along. Soon, they reached a wooded expanse and a roaring waterfall, where they began their descent.

Chapter 9

Vagabond

Casey removed her headphones and unhooked her restraints. Yawning a bit, she sat up on the back of her chair, stood and stretched. She smiled as she approached the cockpit doorway, humming to herself. Taking stock of the others, she found them secure within their safety harnesses, for all appearances fast asleep.

Quietly, Casey made her way toward the latrine, but stopped short only a few paces in. Her eyes trained on April and Orin; they sat forehead-to-forehead. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she noticed a faint blue glow surrounding Orin’s hands, and his collar was nowhere to be seen. Lowering herself down to deck level, she scanned under the bench. Where’s the collar? she thought. Where’s the damn collar?

Leaning in close, she whispered, “April,” but her first mate didn’t respond. Casey lightly jostled her. “April!” she hissed, but April didn’t react. Glaring at Orin, she thought, I knew you were an exo—I knew it!

Carefully, Casey opened the locker. As she reached for her mag boots, she found the collar hanging from its hook. She glanced between Orin and the collar. With a shake of her head, she set to donning her boots. He’s clearly got control of April, and possibly the others, she thought. If I’m the only one who hasn’t been compromised, there’s only one thing I can do…

Casey returned to the cockpit. She fired reverse thrusters, and the compartment swiveled to face the nose in response. The very instant weightlessness took hold, she launched through the door. Gripping a nearby handrail, she angled into the airlock compartment, where she silently uncoiled a lengthy tether.

Casey retrieved her keys, approached Orin, and unlocked his wrist restraints. She unbuckled his harness. “Get up,” she whispered, her eyes like pools of fire. Deftly, she looped the tether around his waist, cinched it tight, and clipped it in place. “Get up!”

Blearily, he asked, “We’re there, already?” The blue fire vanished from his hands.

April winced as she pulled back and massaged the sides of her head. “I was so close,” she muttered. “Casey, what are you doing?”

Ignoring April’s question, Casey barked, “I said get up!” Heaving against Orin’s mass, she dislodged him and shoved with all her might. She sent him tumbling weightlessly into the airlock compartment.

Tangled up with the tether, dizzied by the motion, Orin strained for the doorjamb. Arms flailing, he only drifted across the chamber and struck the exterior door. He rebounded, gliding back toward the shuttle’s interior, where he collided with the inside door just as it swung into place. Reflexively, he gripped a nearby rail and managed to steady himself. Through the tiny glass viewport, he met Casey’s eyes.

She neither hesitated nor flinched as she reached for the exterior airlock release lever. Instead of cold steel, however, she found April’s forearm.

“Casey,” said April. Positioned upside-down relative to her captain, she had wrapped her legs securely around the handrail and tightly held the release lever’s handle. “You’re panicking. Stop what you’re doing!”

“Letgo!” snarled Casey. “I told you he was psychic!” She gripped April’s forearm with both hands and heaved, but April didn’t budge. “He’s in your head, April! You’re compromised!”

“Orin’s not psychic!” said April.

“Clearly, he is!” She curled her fingers under April’s fingertips.

“You don’t have…” Gritting her teeth, April repositioned her grip and squeezed