activated that function right away, and even if she hadnât, Elizabeth was programmed to do it herself if she deemed the danger level high enough. Mason thought this was about as dangerous as it got.
Now was the time. The king himself had given them an escape route.
âElizabeth,â Mason said.
There was a chirp, followed by Elizabeth saying, âYes, Cadet Stark?â
The king looked over his shoulder lazily, like a lion amused that his prey had wandered close enough for an easy kill.
âLights out,â Mason said.
Every light on the bridge winked out, blanketing them in darkness. The stars were suddenly bright and vivid above them, mixed with the purple streaks of an ancient nebula. Each of the consoles still flickered brightly, but otherwise Mason was hidden.
Until the air lit up with crisscrossing green beams from multiple talons.
âThe shaft!â Tom shouted at Mason.
Mason was already heading there. Every room in the Egypt had two points of entry, in case the normal doorway led to an area that was damaged or without oxygen. If the hallway outside the bridge was damaged and the crew couldnât escape that way, a shaft on the bridge would allow them to drop down to a level that was still sealed.
âStop them!â the king snarled in the darkness. Mason heard his cape flutter, and imagined the kingâs steel-hard fingers digging into him again. The shaft was in the back of the bridge, near the exit. Mason tried to visualize the room when it was brightly lit, but he felt disoriented, almost dizzy with the rush of adrenaline. He had to make it the whole way through the darkness, with enemies all around.
âOpen the shaft, Elizabeth!â Mason shouted, running in what he hoped was the right direction.
A hole of light opened in the floor, and Mason dived through headfirst. He heard Tom hit the tube behind him and yell some command to Elizabeth. The shaft dropped straight down for a level, then curved and dumped them into one of many corridors that connected the two halves of the ship. They slid out right onto a moving track, like the one outside the cadet quarters.
Mason hit the track hard, somersaulting as it scrolled under him, as if heâd jumped from a moving object. Tom landed even harder a few paces back; Mason heard the wind get knocked out of him, and when he looked, Tom was on his back, arms and legs flailing like a flipped turtle. Once he got his bearings, Mason saw that the walkway was taking them to engineering, not crew. The starboard side of the ship, where Merrin and Susan would be. Perfect.
âDid it seal behind us?â Mason said breathlessly. He stood up and grabbed onto the moving railing as the wind rushed in his ears, then grabbed Tomâs hand to pull him upright.
Tom was grinning. âNot at the top. But I asked Elizabeth to shut the bottom, so whoever came after us is trapped inside the tube.â That made Mason smile too.
The windows blurred by too fast for Mason to see much out of, but they were nearing the end, where the segmented parts of the track would slow them until they could comfortably jog into engineering.
âWe need to take the track back to crew,â Tom said, nodding at the parallel track moving in the opposite direction. âMy mother told me that if anything happenedâ¦â He swallowed. âTo her. And the crew. If something happened, it was my responsibility to see the cadets safely off ship.â
If anything happened. Was that a precaution, or had she expected something to happen?
Mason didnât say, But your mother isnât captain anymore .
âTheyâre fine,â Mason said.
âI donât care if theyâre fineâtheyâre still on the ship, so they wonât be for long. And how can you say that when you really have no clue, do you?â
The track began to slow.
âI donât. But we canât let my sister give them the weapon. Thatâs the most
Now was the time. The king himself had given them an escape route.
âElizabeth,â Mason said.
There was a chirp, followed by Elizabeth saying, âYes, Cadet Stark?â
The king looked over his shoulder lazily, like a lion amused that his prey had wandered close enough for an easy kill.
âLights out,â Mason said.
Every light on the bridge winked out, blanketing them in darkness. The stars were suddenly bright and vivid above them, mixed with the purple streaks of an ancient nebula. Each of the consoles still flickered brightly, but otherwise Mason was hidden.
Until the air lit up with crisscrossing green beams from multiple talons.
âThe shaft!â Tom shouted at Mason.
Mason was already heading there. Every room in the Egypt had two points of entry, in case the normal doorway led to an area that was damaged or without oxygen. If the hallway outside the bridge was damaged and the crew couldnât escape that way, a shaft on the bridge would allow them to drop down to a level that was still sealed.
âStop them!â the king snarled in the darkness. Mason heard his cape flutter, and imagined the kingâs steel-hard fingers digging into him again. The shaft was in the back of the bridge, near the exit. Mason tried to visualize the room when it was brightly lit, but he felt disoriented, almost dizzy with the rush of adrenaline. He had to make it the whole way through the darkness, with enemies all around.
âOpen the shaft, Elizabeth!â Mason shouted, running in what he hoped was the right direction.
A hole of light opened in the floor, and Mason dived through headfirst. He heard Tom hit the tube behind him and yell some command to Elizabeth. The shaft dropped straight down for a level, then curved and dumped them into one of many corridors that connected the two halves of the ship. They slid out right onto a moving track, like the one outside the cadet quarters.
Mason hit the track hard, somersaulting as it scrolled under him, as if heâd jumped from a moving object. Tom landed even harder a few paces back; Mason heard the wind get knocked out of him, and when he looked, Tom was on his back, arms and legs flailing like a flipped turtle. Once he got his bearings, Mason saw that the walkway was taking them to engineering, not crew. The starboard side of the ship, where Merrin and Susan would be. Perfect.
âDid it seal behind us?â Mason said breathlessly. He stood up and grabbed onto the moving railing as the wind rushed in his ears, then grabbed Tomâs hand to pull him upright.
Tom was grinning. âNot at the top. But I asked Elizabeth to shut the bottom, so whoever came after us is trapped inside the tube.â That made Mason smile too.
The windows blurred by too fast for Mason to see much out of, but they were nearing the end, where the segmented parts of the track would slow them until they could comfortably jog into engineering.
âWe need to take the track back to crew,â Tom said, nodding at the parallel track moving in the opposite direction. âMy mother told me that if anything happenedâ¦â He swallowed. âTo her. And the crew. If something happened, it was my responsibility to see the cadets safely off ship.â
If anything happened. Was that a precaution, or had she expected something to happen?
Mason didnât say, But your mother isnât captain anymore .
âTheyâre fine,â Mason said.
âI donât care if theyâre fineâtheyâre still on the ship, so they wonât be for long. And how can you say that when you really have no clue, do you?â
The track began to slow.
âI donât. But we canât let my sister give them the weapon. Thatâs the most
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