The Blood Racer (The Blood Racer Trilogy Book 1) (11 page)

              “Copy,” I said, clicking my microphone off. As I drifted by the docks, I took note of several of the ships down below. They were all sorts of shapes and sizes, some looking like they could hold several people, some looking like they could barely hold one. There were pontoons and there were fixed-wings, some were colored brightly, some just glinting with finished chrome. There were a few that appeared to be constructed of wood alone, and I saw one that looked to be nothing but a massive engine with a single seat mounted within the casing. I assumed that one would probably be alarmingly fast. Through the patchwork of metal and cloth, I was able to see the small, spritely
Allegro
and the rounded edges of the
Foxfire
parked next to one another
.
That would be Darby and Killian. I was relieved to know they were here. At least they would be a couple of familiar faces.
              Wasting no time, I came in for a rough landing, barely giving myself enough time to lower my skids before I touched down. With the engine still dying down, I was already out onto the cradle and sprinting up to the docks. I needed to make it to the officials before they gave the signal to start.
              It was almost as if the crowd knew I was in a hurry, because no one seemed to be moving faster than a dead bird. The shouted conversations were so loud that no one could even hear me screaming at them to get out of my way. I had no choice but to shoulder my way through them, clawing at bodies that all seemed twice as big as me. None of them even seemed bothered by me worming my way through them. It wasn’t until I started getting to the radio broadcast tables that the crowd started to thin out. I was vaguely aware of Reed and Lex, the Dominion’s most famous on-air duo, chatting to one another over a large microphone. For years, I had seen sketches of them floating around, and I recognized Reed’s styled blonde hair and beard, as well as Lex’s shaggy dark hair and trademark horn-rimmed glasses, but I had no time to be star struck.
              I stopped and spun in place, searching for a sign of the officials. I knew Merrick Buchannon would be among them. Rainier was his city, after all. Even amongst the throngs of onlookers and mingling contestants, his raucous laughter was easy to hear. I jogged toward the sound of it, bumbling my way through the ornate dresses and immaculate suits. I found him huddled together with a small group of officials, including Beatrice Montgomery, another Archon. I knew I would be interrupting him, but I didn’t care. I could apologize for my manners, but I couldn’t afford to miss the start of the race.
              “Mr. Buchannon!” I called, panting for breath. “Mr. Buchannon, I need to enter the race!”
              At once, the entire group of them abruptly turned to face me, all of them looking slightly alarmed at my sudden appearance and outburst. “I’m sorry,” I wheezed. “I’m sorry I’m late. I need to…enter the race.”
              Two men that I didn’t recognize, both of them with absurdly grandiose mustaches, exchanged glances. Beatrice Montgomery stared at me appraisingly, seemingly not liking what she saw, but Merrick Buchannon took a step toward me, a tiny smile playing at his perfectly peach-colored lips.
              “My, my…Miss Silver,” he drawled, looking thoroughly amused at my predicament. “I must confess, I was rather hoping I’d see you here.”
              I nodded, ignoring the daggers that Beatrice was glaring at me. “Yes, sir. I…got a bit of a late start. But I want to be in this race!”
              “I’m afraid you’re too late,” Beatrice said from behind him. “The registration has already been closed. We are ready to commence as we speak.” She was a woman in her mid-thirties, but as she whipped her head toward the two mustached men, who had to be in their sixties, they looked at her as if they were terrified of her.
              “Um…yes, she is quite right,” one of them said. He held up a clipboard. “There has been ample time to enter your craft, miss. I’m afraid it is too late.”
              I felt my heart sinking. I had pumped myself up so thoroughly on the trip over here, and now I was starting to deflate. “But…But you haven’t started. Please, I need to enter! I can’t wait another three years!” I looked up into the lined, passive face of Merrick Buchannon. “Please, sir. I have to enter.”
              He continued to stare at me, no doubt taking some twisted pleasure in the fact that I was begging him for something. His tongue darted out past his lips as he narrowed his eyes in thought. What kind of factors was he considering? Finally, after drawing in a deep breath, he clapped his hands together loudly, giving me a start.
              “Gentlemen!” he said boisterously, transforming back into his public persona. “I think we can accommodate one more. The wider the field of competition, the better the race will be. That’s always been true, no?”
              The two men looked to another again, their mustaches twitching nervously. “But, sir…”
              “Come now,” Merrick said, moving forward and wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. “We’ve never turned away anyone wanting to compete, have we?”
              “No, sir. But-”
              “And we’re not about to start now,” Merrick finished. He was still wearing his smile, but his eyes were hard as iron as he looked back and forth between them.
              The man on his left, the one with the clipboard, cleared his throat. “Well, we…we would need to do a weapons inspection of her craft.”
            I felt a small spark of fear, remembering the revolver that I’d just inherited from Nichols, but I trusted that my secret compartment would do its job.
              “We’ll also need her transponder ID,” said the other mustached man.
              “451-FJ13,” I rattled off, looking desperately between the three of them. “It’s called the
Cloud Kicker
.”
              Merrick gave a nod and the man with the clipboard scribbled down the name and number with a charcoal pencil. “All right. We will…get someone to do an inspection at once.”
              “Terrific!” Merrick shouted, his eerily wide grin appearing out of nowhere. He released the grip on the pair of them and they hurried off in different directions, hopefully to make my entry official. Despite his friendly demeanor toward them, these two men were more afraid of him than of Beatrice. She, meanwhile, had her teeth clamped tightly together. She looked on the verge of shouting, but she kept silent. Instead, she slowly turned around, as if took all of her strength to do so. Her satin dress waved gently as she stepped out of sight, and I knew she was angry at me. Because of me, she had been overruled by an Archon even more revered than she was. I could accept it, though. As long as I was allowed in the race, I was okay with her not liking me.
              “Thank you,” I said to Merrick. “Thank you for letting me join.”
              He took my hand in his, holding it in a grip that was tight enough to almost be painful. “I couldn’t pass up such an interesting…revelation,” he said, his velvety voice almost purring on the last word. “The audience will love to see a generational like yourself. And I must admit, I have a bit of a…soft spot…for you, given our history.”
              I wondered what history he meant. I delivered packages to him once or twice, and we exchanged brief small talk, but that was the extent of our relationship. I couldn’t help but feel slightly unnerved by his words, and also by the fact that he had yet to release my hand.
              “Don’t make me regret it,” he said, speaking low so that only I could hear him.
              It took an alarming amount of fortitude for me to look him in the eye, and even then I could only hold it for a second before looking away. “I won’t. Thank you, sir.”
              With a satisfied grin, he gave my hand one final squeeze before letting it go. I instinctively drew it back to my side and flexed my fingers. His message was pretty clear. He had done me a huge favor, and I had better not make him look foolish for it. Fortunately, I had no plans to.
              “You’d better get back to your ship, Miss Silver,” he said, smoothing the collar of his grey, double-breasted suit jacket. “We’re about to begin.”
              I gave a nod and turned immediately, gathering enough of my wits to set off at a jog. As I once again passed by the broadcast table of Reed and Lex, I saw the mustached man with the clipboard waving me over to them.
             
Uh-oh.
              I was no good at dealing with any kind of spotlight. The Reed and Lex channel reached the entire Dominion, and they were waving me over for an interview. What would I say? What would they even ask? Quickly, I tried to think of fast answers to basic questions, but at the moment, I was having trouble remembering my own name.
              “Miss Silver!” Lex shouted, standing up and retrieving the microphone from his table. “Miss Silver, a quick word!”
              I shuffled over to them, feeling my mouth instantly go dry.
              “How are you doing this morning?” Lex asked, looking expectantly at me as he held the microphone in front of my face.
              My eyes shifted back and forth. “…Okay.”
              They both laughed, and Reed, who was actually much taller than I had ever expected, took over the mic. “Sounds like you’re a little nervous, which is understandable. Race Day is a big day for all of us.”
              I nodded, grateful that they were making an effort to relax me. They had clearly been doing this for quite some time. “Yes, I’m…just glad to be here.” I squeaked out.
              They nodded, and it was Lex’s turn again. “I’m not gonna lie to ya, sister. We’ve had plenty of people speculating on whether or not you’d be joining up this year.”
              I was taken aback by this. Really? People were actually discussing it?
              “Oh,” was all I could muster.
              Reed didn’t miss a beat, though. “Now, we’ve got you in as a late entry,” he said. “Obviously, this was a tough decision for you, and I think everyone who knows your history with the race can understand why. I’m curious as to what the final straw was. What was the deciding factor that made you get up and come here to race?”
              He held out the microphone, but I could only open and close my mouth feebly. Why exactly did I join? Because Zanna shoved me out of my own house and demanded that I go? Or was it something else? I honestly had no idea. The pair of them were looking at me intently, clearly waiting for an answer, but all I could comprehend was the fact that thousands and thousands of people were hearing my stupid voice. I needed a response, though, and the only thing that was even coming to mind were the words that Nichols said to me as I left his shop.
              “I don’t know. I guess…I guess it’s in my blood,” I said. My tone was a little sarcastic, but it didn’t seem to bother them.
              Reed and Lex looked at each other for a moment, and then burst out in excited chatter. From what I could decipher, it hadn’t been an answer they were expecting, but it was definitely a good one. I let out a small sigh of relief and took a step back from the table.
              “I should go,” I said bashfully.
              They didn’t even acknowledge me. It didn’t matter, though. I was already sprinting back toward my ship, fighting the horde of spectators every step of the way. I even nearly ran over another contestant, one that ended up being John Deseo, an entrant in the race three years ago. He was easily identifiable due to his huge, metal prosthetic hand. As I passed him, I caught sight of Audra Carina, standing next to her sleek and powerful looking ship, which was so shiny that it looked to be made of glass. She was standing tall and proud, and was even still wearing her showy, gaudy cape made of a fancy red fabric. I really didn’t care to acknowledge her. I was in too big of a hurry. Though, I wished I could see her face when she found out I was now a contestant. 
              By the time I got to my ship, the second mustached fellow was stepping out of it, accompanied by a younger man who was wearing a stained pair of mechanic’s coveralls. “Everything seems in order,” said the mustache, giving me a nod. Good. That meant my pistol and ammunition had remained hidden and undiscovered. From under his arm, he handed me a large, rolled up piece of parchment and a crisp white envelope. “Here you are. This envelope contains your first clue. I bid you good luck, Miss Silver.”
              “Thanks,” I breathed. I took the large parchment, which was clearly a star chart, and the envelope. As they walked away, I hopped into my ship and dogged the hatch. With my heart going a mile a minute, I sat down in my cockpit, jacked the radio cord into my helmet, and allowed my adrenaline to take over.
          
The race hadn’t even begun, and I couldn’t stop shaking. My lower jaw was quivering like I was in the snow, and both sets of my fingers were tapping ferociously on my steering yoke. Aside from that, my legs were possessed, doing some kind of dance along my pedals that I could not control. What was I doing here? Why had I entered this stupid race? And why on earth did I wait till the very last second to do it? Letting out a shaky breath, I tried to focus my mind on the voices in my ears. The starting signal would be coming over the radio, and I was going to be ready for it.
              I recognized two male voices immediately. Reed and Lex, the two radio show hosts I had just spoken to. They must have been selected as the official commentators for the race. Doing my best to forget my nervousness, I closed my eyes and listened to their mindless blather.
              “Well, we’ve got a lot of new faces this year, Reed,” Lex said dramatically. “Including a couple of them from Ravencog, if I’m not mistaken!”