“But what about the rest of us?” Pullo fumes. “I’m not going to be sent to Primus-Three to be used as someone’s lab rat!”
“We could try escaping,” Natalie suggests. “Ash has a plan to bring everyone over the border into the Northern Territories.”
“It was more an idea than an actual plan,” I admit. “I don’t even know how we’d get everyone out of the city.”
A Transporter flies over the ghetto, making the walls rumble. We hold our breaths until it passes by. It makes no attempt to land.
“How come the Sentry guards haven’t come to get us yet?” Day asks.
“I can only presume Purian Rose has ordered them not to take us until the deadline has passed,” Sigur says. “He wants the people of Black City to fail, to give him an excuse to burn the city to the ground.”
“Then why give us three days to hand everyone over?” Day says. “Why not firebomb us now, like he did in Ember Creek, if that’s his intention?”
“He needs the prisoners, so they can work in his factories or be experimented on in the Tenth,” Garrick says from the back of the room. “He made an example of Ember Creek, so the people of Black City would be scared into doing his bidding.”
“It worked,” I mutter.
There’s a bang as the oak doors to the Darkling Assembly burst open, and Juno and Stuart race into the room. They’re both breathless, their hair and clothing a mess, and Juno’s cradling her left arm. Stuart’s carrying his camera, which he immediately plugs into the digital screen at the back of the room.
“It’s madness out there!” Juno says.
Amy hurries over to her sister. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s just a sprain,” Juno replies. “You guys need to see this.”
Stuart presses Play on his camera, and everyone in the room quiets down as we watch the video recording. The first set of footage shows hundreds of people in the town square, demanding that Sigur send out the Darklings, while countless Legion guards line the wall, ready to die to protect their people. My people.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually glad we’ve got that bloody wall,” Roach says.
Stuart fast-forwards the video and stops on some footage of Sentry guards setting up more roadblocks around the city, complete with machine gun turrets and tanks. No one will be able to leave by the roads. The next shot is at the train station, where some families are being ushered onto an armored train.
“Hang on, are those people evacuating?” I ask.
Juno nods. “That’s this morning’s latest development. Anyone who hands over three or more Impurities to the guards will be given a ticket to leave the city.” She tosses a blood-soaked train ticket onto the table, with the words EVACUATION PASS printed on it in bold red letters. “I got that off a dead guy who’d been mauled by some Lupines. I guess he pissed them off.”
Garrick’s mouth twitches slightly.
“A few of them tried to grab me and Stu, but we fought them off,” Juno continues.
I turn the ticket over in my hands. It has a silvery rose-shaped watermark on it to prove its authenticity. It must’ve taken weeks to get these printed up. Anger rages inside me. Purian Rose has been planning this all along—he guessed I’d vote against him. I’ve played right into his hands!
“The rest of the country needs to see what’s happening here,” Roach says. “We have to warn them, before the airships move into their city.”
“Can you hack into the SBN news feed and broadcast this?” Sigur asks.
Juno shakes her head. “We already tried.”
“The government’s somehow jamming any signals going into or out of the city,” Stuart explains. “We can’t broadcast anything, unless it’s within the city limits.”
The video footage cuts to an image of a young couple hunched over a tiny figure lying in a pool of blood. Everyone in the room falls silent as the crying mother faces the camera.
“Why aren’t you helping us, Phoenix?” the woman sobs into the camera. “We supported you, and this is how you repay us? You’ve abandoned us!”
Juno mutes the digital screen, but it’s no good—I can still hear the woman’s words ringing in my head.
Roach strikes her palm against the com-desk. “We need to be out there, fighting!”
“But what about Polly?” Natalie says. “If we interfere, she’ll be killed.”
“And what about all those people who supported us yesterday?” Roach says. “They’ll be killed if we don’t act now. We have a duty to protect them.”
“Can’t we just wait until we know where Polly is?” Natalie says.
“Every minute we waste, more people are being taken,” Roach replies. “Is your sister’s life really worth more than theirs?”
Natalie lowers her blond lashes. “Do what you have to,” she says quietly, getting up from her seat. “If you need me, I’ll be upstairs.”
She leaves the room, and Day and Amy hurry after her.
Elijah stands up. “Excuse me, but I need to make a phone call.”
“You can use the telephone in my office,” Sigur says.
“Thanks,” Elijah replies, walking out of the room.
The others start planning our attack while I wander over to the window and gaze up at the sky.
A Transporter carrying another batch of prisoners cuts through the clouds of ash that hang over the city, making it rain with black snow. The aircraft is an armored tiltwing, nearly one hundred feet long and big enough to carry up to fifty passengers at a time. Painted in large, bright red letters on the side of the ship are its name and number. This one’s called Marianne 705. Nearby, a second Transporter called Roselyn 401 flies up to another Destroyer Ship hovering over the Park. I’m guessing the name relates to the Destroyer Ship the aircraft belongs to, and the number distinguishes it from the others in its fleet.
The giant digital screens across the city blink, and Polly’s image appears on the monitors again. She looks petrified. I tear my eyes away from her, ridden with guilt, knowing we’re about to sentence her to death by defying Purian Rose’s orders. God, are we doing the right thing?
Beetle catches my eye as I return to the com-desk and gives me a sympathetic look. This isn’t easy on him either; he’s gotten to know Polly well these past two months, since she moved in with Day’s family. I try to listen to the others as they discuss our plan to strike the Transporters, but I can’t concentrate. My eyes drift toward the muted video footage that Stuart took this morning, still playing on the digital screen. Families are being torn apart; people are being killed. You’re doing this for the greater good. There’s more at stake here than Polly’s life. Still, it’s a bitter pill to swallow when I see her terrified image broadcast across the city every hour.
Something Stuart said earlier suddenly flashes into my mind: The government’s somehow jamming any signals going into or out of the city . . .
I jerk bolt upright in my seat, alarming everyone.
“If the government’s blocking all broadcast signals coming into and out of Black City, how are they showing the live footage of Polly?” I say.
Everyone’s silent for a moment, then Stuart grins.
“The signal has to be coming from somewhere in the city!” he says.
“Where?” Beetle asks.
“Sentry headquarters?” Juno suggests.
“No, we’ve broken in there before,” I say. “It needs to be somewhere they know we can’t get access to.”
My mind races. If I had to keep Polly in the city, but somewhere out of reach, where would be the best place to hide her? The answer hits me. I peer toward the window.
“She’s in a Destroyer Ship,” I say.
11.
NATALIE
I CURL UP on the leather chair beside the stone hearth in Sigur’s office and watch the yellow flames as they dance in the fireplace. Amy and Day sit cross-legged on the antique rug in front of me, giving me concerned looks. It’s clear neither of them knows what to say, but what can they say? I’ve basically just signed my sister’s death warrant. I blink, and the flames blur through my tears.
“Maybe the rescue team will find her,” Amy says hopefully.
Pain knots inside my chest, and I try to knead it away with my fist, but it doesn’t work. I let out a pitiful groan and crumple in on myself, finally allowing myself to cry. Day rushes over, putting her arms around me.
I cling to her, hating myself for betraying Polly, and hating Purian Rose for tearing my family apart. Again. How can he do this to his own daughter? Would he save her if he knew the truth? Somehow I doubt it.
The door opens.
“Sorry,” Elijah says when he sees us. “I was going to make a call. It can wait.”
I wipe my eyes. “No, it’s fine. Come in.”
Elijah hesitates, then crosses the room toward Sigur’s desk. I try not to listen in on his hushed conversation with his father.
“Any news about your mother?” I ask when he hangs up.
He shakes his head.
“Your father must be worried about her,” I say. “I’m surprised she didn’t tell him where she was going.”
“They’re not together anymore,” Elijah explains. “My mom hates him. They rarely speak.”
I bite my lip. Good one, Natalie.
“Do you have Lucinda’s letter with you?” I say.
He takes it out of his pocket.
“Come on, let’s try and work out where your mother is,” I say, in desperate need of a distraction before my guilt over Polly threatens to devour me.
We gather armfuls of encyclopedias, atlases and old nautical charts from the shelves, then carry them back to the rug beside the hearth and sit down in a circle. Elijah places the letter on the floor between us. Day’s glasses keep sliding down her nose as she reads.
“So Lucinda’s gone to meet the twins,” she says. “Who are they?”
Elijah shrugs. “Mom never mentioned she knew any twins.”
“Well, the city they’ve gone to definitely starts with an m and ends with an r,” Day says. “And given that only a few letters are stained, we’re looking for a place-name that’s five or six letters long.”
“Okay, everyone look through the books and see if you can find anything that matches,” I say.
Elijah picks up one of the books. I’m sure he’s done this already, but without anything else to go on, it’s all we can do. Maybe he missed something.
I pick up an old atlas and flip through the yellowed, musty pages, scanning the tiny print for any reference to a city that could match the name in Lucinda’s letter. With every book I get through, desperation rises in me, my desire to save Polly getting muddled with the need to help Elijah. I furiously throw the last book across the room and sink my head in my hands, taking a few deep breaths.
“You all right?” Elijah asks.
I nod, drawing my hair back into a bun. “I didn’t find anything that matched. Only Maize, Mercury, Majesty, Monns Peninsula and Molten Lake.”
“Same here,” Elijah replies, tossing his book on the pile.
“Me too,” Day says.
“I found a place called Mountain Shade on one of the older maps,” Amy says. “But I don’t think the town exists anymore, after Mount Alba erupted.”
Elijah’s face crumples, the last glimmer of hope gone.
“I’m sorry,” I say, taking his hand.
The study door opens, and Ash and Beetle enter. They’re both breathless.
“There you are!” Ash says.
His sparkling black eyes flicker toward my hand, which is clasped around Elijah’s. I let go.
“What’s going on?” I say.
“We’ve worked out where Polly is,” Ash says.
I stand up, my heart leaping. “What? Where?”
“She’s in one of the Destroyer Ships over the Park,” Beetle replies. “Ash and Stuart worked it out.”
“He was able to trace the signal to the airship Roselyn,” Ash adds.
I run over to Ash and throw my arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. A tremendous weight lifts off my heart; we can save Polly!
He breaks the kiss. “It’s not going to be easy getting her back.”
“But we’ll try, right?” I say.
He nods. “The others have already started planning the rescue mission.”
Beetle nudges the pile of books on the floor with his boot. “What are you guys doing?”
“We’re trying to work out where Lucinda and Elijah’s mom have gone,” Day replies.
“But we can’t find any cities that match the place referenced in the letter,” Amy says. “We’ve looked through everything.”
“Maybe it’s a code name,” Beetle suggests.
“Oh!” Day exclaims, jumping up. “Oh!” she says again.
“What did I say?” Beetle asks.
“Sshh, I’m thinking,” Day says, pacing in front of the fireplace. She snaps her fingers. “I’ve got it! It’s the city’s nickname.”
Amy and Elijah exchange confused looks.
“Come on, guys,” she says, grinning. “Centrum’s nickname is the Gilded City—”
“Viridis is the Vertical City!” Elijah chimes in.
“And Thrace is the Mirror City!” She gives us all a smug look as she sits down.
“How do you know all this?” Beetle asks, impressed.