The Outskirts: The Sky Raiders (Jace x OC)

Part 29

The lifeboat was climbing again. Skyport shrank behind them, the horses and the legionnaires becoming an army of ants. With the fresh breeze in his face and the warm sun about to set, I could almost forget we were still in danger.
"What are our assets?" Jace asked. "I have my rope. Mira, Kendal, and Cole have their swords. Where'd you score the bow, Cole?"
"On my last mission." Cole said. "I stashed it away in case I needed it."
Jace whistled. "That could have gotten you in deep trouble. I won't complain, though. How long until it runs out of arrows?"
"Supposedly, never." Cole said.
"That'll be useful if they get close," Jace said,
"You have horrible aim, but you can make up for it with volume. By the way, when a guy is coming for you, don't shoot at his legs. If it's worth shooting him, it's worth shooting him dead. Aim
for the middle of his chest. Trying to wing an enemy will get you killed."
"I didn't want to kill the guy just for doing his job," Cole said, obviously embarrassed.
"His job was to kill you," Jace said. "They obviously want Mira alive, but they'd take out the rest of us without losing any sleep."
"He's right, Cole," I said. "The legion plays for keeps."
"How about you, Twitch?" Jace asked. "What do you have that might help us?"
"Nice try," Twitch said.
"It's not a game anymore," Jace insisted. "Tell us."
"It was never a game," Twitch replied, wringing his fingers. "I kept my special item secret before, and I'll keep it secret now. Knowing what it is won't affect our plans. You'll find out if I have to use it."
"Can it camouflage us?" Jace asked. "Make us invisible? Knock a skycraft out of the air?"
"If I could do something like that, I'd tell you.
My secret won't affect our strategy."
"What is our strategy?" Mira asked. "Try to evade them until it gets dark? Hope for a moonless night?"
"The landing bay is opening up," Cole said, eyes on the cliff. "All three of the big entrances."
Jace nodded. "We'll head as far away from the Brink as we can. A lifeboat is a bit faster than the big skycraft. We'll veer toward the Eastern Cloudwall. It's almost twice as far from us as the Western Cloudwall, so we'll have more room to maneuver. Plus, there are more castles that way."
"How many do you count east of us?" Twitch asked.
"Five." Jace replied.
"Six," Twitch said, pointing. "You probably missed that little one down low."
Jace leaned eastward and squinted. "You're right,
missed that one. Not that it matters. It's almost to the Cloudwall. We couldn't get there before it vanishes."
"Do you think we could hide out at one of the castles?" I asked
"Might be worth a try as a last resort," Mira said. "The problem is that any castle safe enough to hide us will probably be easy to attack. We could end up cornered."
"If they have a bunch of skycraft, they might corner us in the air," Cole said. "Maybe one of the castles has defenses, like the catapults at Parona."
"It might be worth checking out," Jace said.
"But only because we have so few options."
"This won't be easy," Mira said. "I'm sorry."
"You didn't make us come." Jace said to her.
"Why'd you stick your neck out for me?" Mira said.
Jace shrugged, looking away from her. "You're like my sister. They had no proof you belonged to them. It made me mad to think of them taking you away."
"It made you mad, so you attacked legionnaires and ran away with us?" Mira said, trying to stifle a laugh.
"I have a bad temper," Jace mumbled. Me and Mira giggled.
"And I had already agreed to go. We just had to leave sooner than expected." I said.
"I knew something was up!" Jace exclaimed and we all laughed. It was silent for a few moments.
"Did you really used to belong to the High
Shaper?" Twitch asked.
"Who are you to probe at secrets?" Mira complained.
Twitch gave a nervous chuckle. "I'm one of the guys who ran away with you and might get killed for it. I'm just wondering if their claim is legit."
"The High Shaper knows me," Mira said. "I was never his slave. I shouldn't say more. It could put you in even greater danger."
"Here come the skycraft, " I said, watching as the Vulture, the Borrower, and the even the damaged Domingo glided out of the landing bay openings and away from the cliff.
"We're in hot water already," Jace said. "We'll probably end up captured, falling, or dead.
What's the Big Shaper's attachment to you?"
"It's complicated," Mira said. "I'm not really a slave. The mark is real, but it's a cover. Durny was helping me hide. Is that enough?"
"I guess, if it's all you want to spill," Jace said.
"Did you know that guy from Zeropolis? Joe?"
"I've never seen him before," Mira said, glancing at me. "I think he knows who I am."
"I hope so." Jace chuckled. "He probably got himself killed for you." He paused. "The High Shaper sent four hundred legionnaires to track you down. That's the craziest part. Why would he do that for anyone?"
"It was for Carnag, too," Mira reminded him.
"Right, but the Brink is a good distance out of the way," Jace said. "They could have sent a smaller group. But all four hundred came. Why?"
"Good question," Twitch murmured, biting his thumbnail.
Mira looked at them. "The visit from the legion means I'm in serious trouble. The less you get involved, the better. My secret isn't fun. It would make you targets for the rest of your lives."
"We'll probably get killed, anyway," Jace said.
"It would be nice to know why."
Mira sighed. "Okay. Here's the short version.
The High Shaper is a monster. I know some things about the death of his five daughters. He planned it. He got away with murder. I even have proof. He would do anything to keep that secret."
"You're serious," Jace said, astonished.
She nodded. "Four-hundred-legionnaires serious."
Jace looked at me suspiciously. "I take it you already knew that?"
"That part, yes." I said. "But I don't know that much more than you. And what I do know, I'm keeping a secret."
Jace groaned and I smirked at him.
Everyone kept silent for a long moment.
"The skycraft are spreading out," Twitch reported. "They've deployed all the lifeboats.
While heading this way, they're also cutting off any retreat to the Brink."
"Can we just keep flying away from the Brink?"
Cole asked. "It looks like it goes forever."
"It might," Jace said darkly. "We can't. If we get far enough from the Brink, the sky won't hold us anymore. The same thing happens if we go too high, too low, or inland. It doesn't change all at once. We'll feel the boat start to slip when we get too far out, beyond where any of the castles go, near where the Cloudwalls end."
"The cloudwalls end?" Cole exclaimed. "Can we fo around them?"
"The skycraft won't work that far out," Twitch said "There's no way over, under, or around them."
I frowned. "So we're boxed in."
"Pretty much." Jace agreed
"Think we can dodge them until dark?" Cole wondered.
Jace stared at the oncoming skycraft. "We're about to find out."