She trotted after Thor, but kept a mental eye on the dog, who was now debating a nocturnal hunt. They stopped at the front door to the first powered-up shuttle, using the wings to hide them from the rear of the craft and the robots loading it. The shuttles, designed for local deliveries rather than interplanetary travels, looked more like large flying cargo trucks than spacecraft. A small two-person cab was at the front, with the storage area in the rear and a small door allowing access between them.
Jelena tried the handle, but it was locked. She glanced toward the dock, hearing the faint whir of one of the robots approaching.
Thor took her spot and rested his fingers on the handle for a couple of seconds. It clicked, and he opened it, nodding for Jelena to go in.
I’ll stand guard.
Jelena handed him her staff and slithered up and across the seat.
Do you want us to follow you down there and start checking the other shuttles? Erick asked. He and Masika were crouched atop the wall now.
Can you unlock doors with your mind?
Of course. I’m not an amateur.
Then yes. We may not have much time. An indicator in the cab showed the rear compartment loaded to ninety percent of its capacity. That made Jelena suspect this wasn’t the shuttle going to Sunset Island—how much wine could one family need?—but she still scanned the controls. She waved her hand over the navigation console, hoping a holodisplay would pop up. It did. And she was right. Her craft was heading toward a city on the northern continent.
I’m coming out, she warned Thor before scooting toward the door.
Wait.
She froze, her butt dangling out of the cab.
One of the dogs heard Ostberg jumping down. It’s coming over.
Far more worried about robots than animals, Jelena slid to the ground. She located the dog—it was the same overly alert one—and made him believe rodents were scurrying up and down the rows of the vineyard, cavorting under the starlight. The dog veered in that direction.
Jelena always felt bad about fooling animals, but there were rodents out there. Maybe the dog would catch something.
Next cab, Jelena told Thor while checking on Erick and Masika’s location.
A clang came from a few meters away. One of the rear cargo hatches shutting.
Thor led the way, skipping past two shuttles and stopping at a third. This one’s fully loaded and will likely leave soon.
Jelena ran for it, glancing toward the house, aware that the two hundred meters between it and them was quite open, with only a few shrubs in the backyard partially blocking the view.
Another clang sounded indicating another shuttle fully stocked and ready for takeoff.
Check that one, she told Erick as Thor unlocked the door to the first one. Its engine already hummed, preparing to leave. Nice of you to pick locks for me, Thor. She scooted across the seat. If you ever want to engage in a life of crime—of lesser crimes than assassination—you may have a calling for it.
What’s the route for that one? he asked, ignoring her comment.
The cargo hold was only fifty percent full, and it was heading to a town up the coast.
This isn’t it. As Jelena attempted to back up, the door she had entered through closed. She turned around and tried to open it. It was locked. Thor?
One moment.
A clunk sounded, followed by a couple of beeps. Damn it, the shuttle was taking off. With her in it.
I may not have a moment. Jelena gripped the handle and examined the locking mechanism with her mind. She wasn’t an amateur, either, but she also lacked an aptitude for the mechanical. She had no idea which part of the assembly inside the door moved that bolt.
Her shuttle lifted into the air. She tried to roll down the window, but that was locked too.
Thor, this isn’t the trip I was planning to take. She lunged across the seat to the other side and tried that door. It was also locked. She reached for the navigation controls. Overriding them would surely alert someone somewhere, but she didn’t have a choice. The shuttle was five feet off the ground already, and it would pick up speed as soon as it cleared the warehouse.
Just as she was going to fiddle with the controls, the door opened. She flung herself across the seat, paused only long enough to make sure the shuttle hadn’t risen abruptly to thirty feet, then jumped out. She landed on the pavement next to Thor, and a robot tipped on its side a few feet away. It wasn’t moving.
He handed her staff to her. I had to deal with a problem.
So I see. Do you think it reported our presence?
He gazed toward the house. I don’t think so.
An engine roared, another shuttle starting up.
Over here, Jelena, Erick barked into her mind. This is the one. And it’s leaving now. Right now.
Jelena and Thor raced around the fronts of three other shuttles on the way, and barking started up. She winced, thinking the dog had ignored her promises of rodents and was sounding the alarm. But the barking was coming from out in the vineyard. Ah, he’d found his rodents. And he was letting everyone know about it.
Two of the people by the fire pit stood up, and Jelena grimaced, hoping her plan hadn’t backfired. For now, they were looking out toward the vineyards, but if they peered toward the warehouse and saw people running around and robots tipped over . . .
Hurry, Erick urged, flinging a door open as their shuttle lifted off.
Cursing to herself, Jelena sprinted the last few meters. Erick leaned out, extending his hand. She jumped up and caught it, her ribs slamming against the frame of the shuttle. She bit back a groan as Erick pulled her into the cab and scooted in to make room. Thor, making another of his athletic—and no doubt mentally enhanced—jumps, almost landed atop her. He pulled the door shut, and all four of them—Masika was sitting in the pilot’s spot—squeezed together in a space meant for two people.
“This is cozy,” Erick remarked, as more lights came on below.
Jelena shifted out from under someone’s hip and peered through the windshield. More lights were on around the house and also along a road heading out into the vineyard. She thought she glimpsed a dog racing along that road, but then the shuttle banked and tilted its nose upward. Stars replaced the view of the ground.
“Any chance we got out of there before they figured out stowaways were jumping into one of their shuttles?” Masika asked.
Jelena thought of the robot Thor had incapacitated. At the least, the vineyard owners would know someone had been there. She hoped they didn’t have a way to monitor interior cameras of this shuttle and let the Sunset Island people know that intruders were riding along.
“Let’s scoot into the back.” Jelena nodded at the door behind the seat, though she wasn’t quite sure how to turn around and open it when she was pinned between Erick and Thor. “Where I’m hoping it’s dark. Just in case there are cameras in here.”
“Good idea,” Erick said, then shrugged his shoulders. He was just as packed in as she was. “Who’s going first?”
“Whoever doesn’t mind having everyone looking at his or her butt while he or she wriggles over the seat.” Jelena twisted, bracing herself for the attempt.
“That can’t be me then,” Erick said. “I’m shy about my butt.”
“I’ll warn your future lovers.” Jelena turned sideways, reached over the seat, and shoved at the door. Fortunately, this one wasn’t locked.
“Is it important that they be aware of his modesty?” Masika asked.
“If they’re fans of flamboyant displays of immodesty, yes.” Jelena pulled herself over the top of the seat, groaning again, and into the cargo hold. She promptly cracked her head on a pallet of boxes. “This is going to be a fun flight,” she muttered, deciding they would be just as squished in the rear.
“Let’s just hope the Vogels don’t already know we’re coming,” Erick said.
Chapter 20
“What’s the plan once we land?” Masika asked.
She and Erick hunker
ed by the door, while Jelena and Thor had ended up wedged between stacks of boxes a few feet away. It was darker than a coffin in the cargo hold, and Jelena had no idea where they were in their trip. When she reached out with her senses, all she detected was the ocean below and the sky above.
“Sneak out of the shuttle without being discovered,” Jelena said, hoping the winery workers hadn’t commed a warning ahead to the Vogels—or their sommelier.
“And then?”
“Yes, and then?” Erick repeated. “You’ve been oddly close-mouthed about your plan. You’re not usually close-mouthed about anything.”
“Only because the plan has been in flux. We’re going to sneak out, visit the Vogels in their bedrooms after they’ve fallen asleep, and convince them that our now-dead spirits are going to haunt them and do dire things to them if they don’t amend their ways by leading a nicer corporation that doesn’t experiment on people or animals or do whatever they were doing with those illegally acquired corpses.”
“Haunt?” Erick asked skeptically.
“Yes, haunt. And maybe we’ll hint that there are all manner of unsettled ghosts in this centuries-old castle that would help us in the endeavor. My plan was inspired by your brother and his ghostometer.”
“Inspired by Austin?” His skepticism turned to incredulity. “That can’t possibly work then.”
“My backup plan is to convince them by more forceful means if necessary, but that would involve revealing that we’re alive and didn’t crash after all. No matter what happens here, I’d prefer that they and the long arms of their corporation believe we’re dead. There’s no point in going after dead people for revenge.”
In truth, she’d started wondering if they needed to continue on to the castle at all. If the Vogels believed them dead, including Masika, then they shouldn’t have a reason to continue to hunt for them. But if they left a bounty out there for them, just in case, Jelena would never be able to travel without worrying about being found. It was also possible that some chance crossing in the future would result in the Vogels learning that they were still alive.
Jelena looked toward Thor, though she couldn’t see him in the dark. His shoulder was pressed against hers. He hadn’t commented on the wisdom—or ludicrousness—of her plan, but she doubted this was coming as a surprise to him. Did his silence on the matter mean he accepted it? That he thought it could work?
“We’re approaching their forcefield,” he said. Too busy sensing the route ahead to comment? If so, his silence might not represent an endorsement. “And . . .” he added, then paused thoughtfully.
Jelena tried to extend her senses, but he spoke again before she caught up with him.
“There are three ships in the air outside of the forcefield,” Thor said. “The two that pursued us down and one other one, a large one.”
“Is there a battle going on?” Jelena reached out with her own senses. No, the ships were flying around the castle on its island, as if on some kind of patrol. All three of them. “They’re not there because of us, are they?”
“I don’t know. It’s an android and robot crew on the larger ship. The humans on the smaller ships . . . They’re sleeping.”
“Sleeping? Well, that implies they’re not expecting trouble. I assume. Could this be the standard patrol that guards the castle?” Maybe the Vogels had irked more than just animal lovers over the years, and had so many enemies, they couldn’t relax fully even in their own lofty home.
“It could be.” Thor didn’t sound that convinced.
“Let’s hope so,” Eric said, “because if something is up, they may not open the gates for wine shuttle deliveries.”
“The sommelier would be disappointed by that, I’m sure.” Jelena shifted to her feet in case they needed to take action soon, but she didn’t know how much action she could manage while wedged in the back of the cargo hold.
“The forcefield is lowering,” Thor said.
“Good.” Jelena tried to get a sense of the castle itself as the shuttle sailed toward it.
They were heading toward a landing pad in a courtyard behind tall, thick walls, the stones worn by wind and time. The castle was made of the same stone, at least on the exterior, and did indeed feel like something out of the Early Colonial Era—or even medieval times on Old Earth. It had turrets and towers that looked out over the walls, along with several interconnected buildings accessible behind a portcullis blocking the way to an inner courtyard. In the outer courtyard, a barn and a fenced area rose to the side of the landing pad. It might have once been stables and a corral. Alas, when Jelena investigated further, she didn’t sense any horses in it. They’d probably moved out centuries ago, sometime before the castle had been repositioned to its current altitude.
“A lot of weaponry on those walls,” Thor observed, focusing, as usual, on different things than Jelena. “And forcefields on all the windows. The stone walls are reinforced, as is all the machinery under the castle, including a big generator. It takes a lot of power to keep that hover system working with so much weigh atop it. There are some shuttles in a smaller courtyard in the back. If we have problems and can’t get back to this one, they could be an option.”
“Assuming someone left the keys in the ignition,” Masika murmured.
“We’re eschewing keys on this mission,” Jelena said. “We have Starseers along.”
“Oh, right. I noticed that Blondie opened a locked door.”
“Blondie?” Erick protested.
“She’s given you a nickname,” Jelena said. “That must mean she’s developing a fondness for you.”
“Ah?” He sounded faintly bolstered by her observation.
Maybe she should keep such comments to herself, lest he think he might have a shot at pursuing a relationship with Masika.
The shuttle settled onto the landing pad with a soft thump. Thor stood up.
“Are we getting out right away?” Erick asked.
“Let’s wait and see if anyone comes out to inspect or unload.” Jelena pulled her staff close in case they needed to leave in a hurry. “I bet the sommelier stayed up late to oversee his shipment’s arrival in person.”
“A lot of people are up late,” Thor observed.
Yes, the humans on those ships might have been dozing, but Jelena sensed numerous men and women up in the castle. Some were closed away in bedrooms for the night, but many weren’t. She judged two hundred and fifty to three hundred people in the dwelling. The population of the place surprised her, but she supposed the fact that the Vogels kept a sommelier on the staff and ordered this much wine at a time indicated a sizable household. Some people were in a barracks, and she imagined those being security guards or even a small mercenary company. She’d always thought of the core planets as well protected by law enforcers and the military, but maybe Arkadius wasn’t as secure as she expected, at least for those living on their own private islands.
“Maybe they’re planning a party with their wine,” Masika said.
“They can’t be that eager for it,” Erick said. “Nobody’s running out to unload the cargo.”
“I wonder how long the shuttle waits for its boxes to be unloaded before deciding nobody is home and taking off.” Even though Jelena figured that would take a while, she patted around and picked a way toward the hatch. If nobody was paying attention to the shuttle, it seemed a good time to slip out.
“The men in the barracks are all awake and alert,” Thor observed. “And there are guards on the walls manning the artillery weapons.”
“Yeah.” Jelena didn’t like that the people here were expecting trouble, especially since she assumed it had to do with her team.
Clumps and grunts sounded as Masika, Thor, and Erick followed her to the hatch.
“Let’s head for that barn first,” Jelena said, sensing a side door in the structure, one that led to an alley that ran between the castle and the outer wall, a route that might let them bypass the wide entrance gate.
“There aren’t any ho
rses in it.” Erick rested his hand on the hatch handle. “Someone may have liberated them long ago.”
“Then I’m glad for them. We’ll go visit anyway.”
A soft clunk came from under Erick’s hand, and he pushed open the now-unlocked hatch. He only opened it a few inches at first, so he could peer into the courtyard. Jelena ducked and looked under his arm. She trusted her senses, but they didn’t allow her to see in the same way that her eyes did, so it was easy to miss things.
Despite all the people in the place, the well-lit courtyard was empty, the modern landing pad with its blinking lights seeming out of place adjacent to the old cobblestones. As Thor had said, guards stood atop the wall, manning the big guns. Their focus was outward, however, rather than down into the courtyard. Men’s voices and an occasional thump or bang drifted out from the barracks building at the side of the castle. The barn stood dark and empty.
Jelena hopped out first, her staff in hand, and ran in that direction. She climbed over the fence and ran for the wide doorway—it was open to the night, and she glimpsed vehicles and tools rather than stalls and hay bales. She almost crashed into an invisible forcefield blocking the entrance, but her senses warned her of it a second before she reached it. She halted at the same time as someone’s hand clamped onto her shoulder. Thor. He and the others were right behind her.
“I see it,” she murmured, turning to run around the corner of the barn instead.
The stone wall loomed up to the side, providing them shadows and shelter from the eyes of the men at the guns. Their focus might be outward, but that didn’t mean one of them wouldn’t glimpse movement in the courtyard. For that matter, an alarm might have gone off if she’d run into that forcefield.
“Nobody’s noticed us yet.” Thor had released Jelena’s shoulder, but he eased past her. “I’ll lead.”
She glowered at his back. Just because she’d almost run into a forcefield didn’t mean she couldn’t lead. “Do you know where we’re going?”