The Blood Racer (The Blood Racer Trilogy Book 1) (40 page)

            
Here we go,
I thought.
Here it is, the final insult before she pushes a knife into my gut.
              Instead, she spoke only six words, none of them threatening, but all of them laced with venomous foreboding. Her lips lingered at my ear for a moment, allowing me to absorb what she had said. When she saw that I had no reaction to give, she slowly pulled away, giving me a devious wink. As the crowd and radio reporters closed in, she let my hand slip from hers and backed away, worming her way back through the excited horde of people.
              In an instant, they were on top of me, shoving large microphones in my face, patting me on the back, shaking my limp, blood-covered hands. I didn’t want to deal with this. I couldn’t handle this right now. I needed to lie down. I needed to rest. Also, I was pretty sure I needed a transfusion. I was too weak to fight my way through them, though. I could only stand there and let them surround me.
              Hundreds of bright, beaming faces needed me, though. They needed me to say something, do something to satisfy them. If I did that, maybe they would leave me alone. Maybe they would let me go away. I gave my head a shake, focusing my attention and allowing my ears to actually hear what they were saying. I saw Reed and Lex at the front of the radio hosts
              “Elana!” from behind them, one woman shouted at me, trying her best to keep her platinum curls under her large bonnet hat. “Elana, what happened to your transponder signal? Everyone thought you had gone down!”
              I nodded. “Oh. No, that…that was a storm. A lightning bolt hit me…knocked out my electrical systems. I was able to fix it eventually.”
              The crowd loved this answer, despite the fact that it was partially a lie. None of them knew that, though. They all loved knowing that I took a bolt of lightning and kept going. It was an answer vague enough to avoid suspicion and complete enough to pacify them. How I was able to come up with it in my woozy stupor was beyond me.
              “Miss Silver!” Lex shouted, cramming a microphone in front of my mouth. “I knew you could do it! How does this feel? How does it feel to finally win the honor that your family has been trying to achieve for…for generations?”
              The audience fell quite silent at this, all of them eager to hear my response to the question. It was clear they had all been waiting for a way to ask me the same thing. I looked out at them, gazing into all the eyes that were staring back at me. How
did
I feel?
              “Honor…” I muttered, searching my mind for what I really wanted to say. “No. No, there’s no honor in this. There’s no honor in this race.” I looked up into Reed’s and Lex’s surprised faces. “There’s no honor in something that costs so many people their lives. I never wanted to bring my family honor. I only wanted to bring them justice…and that’s what I just did. They kept me going through everything, through the worst of it. I had to win for them, for my brother and sister…for my mom and my dad.”
              I couldn’t stop the tears this time. Thinking of my parents, seeing their faces in my mind, it was too much to hold back. “I wanted…to make them proud,” I spluttered, my voice cracking noticeably. The crowd was now looking at me with empathy, every pair of eyes full of sympathetic sorrow for the Blood Racer who had finally justified her family line.
              I gave a sniff and wiped the tears from my face, not caring that I smeared blood across my cheeks as I did so. “I won for my friends. The new ones and the old ones. Nichols, Darby, Killian…and Rigel. I won for every person in the Gap that has to worry about where their next meal comes from. Alice, Jack, Dr. Pinbacker, Mayor Westward, everyone! This is for you!” Pointing toward Adams, I shouted the last line, still unable to quell the tears that were falling. Fortunately, the sound of the crowd exploding once more into cheering was enough to drown out my sobbing.
              After a long minute in which I received a hundred comforting pats on my back and shoulders, Reed came back in towards me with a final question, his hugely tall frame bending down to me. “Elana,” he said to quiet the onlookers. “Elana, what’s the first thing you’re going to do with your prize money?” He asked.
              I gave a watery laugh and sniffed loudly. “Fix my ship,” I replied, drawing a loud round of laughter from the spectators as a white-clad medical team finally made their way through. Mercifully, the fans and reporters all stepped aside as a very comfortable looking gurney was wheeled up to me by a group of medical personnel. I wasted no time in lying down on it, sighing with relief as I nestled into the padding.
              “We need to get fluids in her right now,” I heard one of the medics say. I didn’t care what they had to do. I was already losing consciousness. Darkness was pressing in upon me. It felt like I was back in the Veil, being swallowed up by the black fog. From somewhere very far away, I heard someone calling my name, but I didn’t care. I was too far gone to come back.

              When I finally forced my eyelids open again, I was in another place entirely. Everything around me looked brand new. The metal walls were smooth and polished, the instruments and packages of things that lined the shelves to my right were all neatly organized, and even the thin sheet that covered me was blindingly white and clean. Combined with the unmistakable scent of sterility, I could only assume that I was in a hospital. A real hospital. Not the ramshackle toolshed that served as Dr. Pinbacker’s clinic.
              I blinked my eyes, opening them wide to convince myself to wake up. Letting out a strained whimper, I raised myself up to a sitting position, feeling the bolts of pain coursing from my bullet wound. As the memories of the race finale returned to me, I lifted the thin, cotton undershirt that I had been dressed in and looked down at my ribcage. The wound had been fused together. It wasn’t open or bleeding, it wasn’t even scabbed. It appeared as though it had been cauterized, leaving just an ugly, discolored scar that looked to be about four inches long. I didn’t relish the thought of living the rest of my life with it, but it was a small price to pay. I lowered my shirt and sighed, taking another deep breath before summoning the strength to swing my legs over the side of the bed. This movement also hurt more than I thought it would, but the strange, metal brace on my left knee caught my attention.
              I stared down at it, remembering that I wasn’t able to fully walk on it after my ship had crashed. It felt fine now, but I was slightly concerned that it might also be scarred for life. As my mind wandered back to the
Cloud Kicker
, I could only hang my head. I still felt an odd sense of guilt for destroying it. That ship had carried me through everything. It had saved my life in every way, and I had just left it in ruin on the docks of Rainier. I wondered where it was now. What was happening to it? I suddenly felt very anxious. If someone had scrapped my ship, I would be devastated. I needed to make sure it was safe. Before I could even hop down from my bed, though, the door to my small room creaked open and a familiar, bald-headed, goatee-wearing face poked through.
              “Sparks!” I exclaimed with a smile.
              Upon seeing me conscious, he grinned and shoved the door open the rest of the way, appraising me with his sharp eyes. “Hope you can handle some visitors,” he said merrily.
              From the hallway, Zanna – still dressed in my father’s old clothes – stepped into the room, followed by Echo, who immediately dashed toward me and hugged my legs. Seeing my pained expression, Sparks reached down and hoisted my young brother up to sit beside me. “There you go, Little Bit,” he said.
              “Thanks for that,” I said to him. With one arm around a giggling Echo, Zanna looked up at me with tears in her eyes, shifting her weight nervously. She must have still been worried about the fight we’d had. I could hardly even remember what it had been about, really. It seemed like a hundred years ago, and couldn’t have mattered less.
              “Will you come here?” I said to her with a comforting smile.
              Letting out an embarrassed laugh, Zanna lurched forward and threw her arms around my neck. The force hurt me, but I couldn’t care at all. I sighed with relief as I held them both in my arms, feeling Zanna’s hair in my face, Echo’s little hands clutched around my waist.
            “Thank you,” I whispered to my sister.
            She let out a small laugh, glad that I had learned the lesson she’d intended. “You’re welcome.”
            I felt the tears coming, but I held them back. I wanted to keep the mood happy and light. This was easy to accomplish once Sparks wrapped his thick arms around us.
              “I want in on this!” he shouted, drawing laughter from all of us. We shared a collective hug for a few more moments before we separated, still chuckling.
              “Thanks for bringing them,” I said to Sparks, blinking away the mist from my eyes.
              Sparks gave me a nod. “No trouble. By the way, Rigel came with a barge. Took the
Kicker
back to Adams. Cradle eleven.”
              I tilted my head back and groaned with extraordinary relief. My ship was safe. It was in shambles, yes...but I would fix it. I would make it better than before. I had the money, now. I could do anything to it, make any upgrade I wanted, order any part that I felt like from any smith in the Dominion. The idea of this excited me. I suddenly couldn’t wait to get to work on it. Unfortunately, I knew that many other things would have to come first. The least of which was finding some real clothes to change into.
              “They said you dislocated your knee,” Zanna said, staring down at the black, metal bracing on my leg.
              “Oh,” I said. “I wasn’t sure. That’s not so bad, right? Just dislocated?”
              Sparks shook his head. “No. They’ll tell you to wear that brace for a week, maybe. But, you’ll be fine.”
              I nodded, feeling even more relief.
              “You got cut, too!” Echo exclaimed. “I heard the doctor man say it.”
              I looked down at my brother. “I got cut?”
              “Your ribs,” Sparks clarified. “They said you must have gotten sliced by something when you crashed.”
              “Oh!” I chirped. “No, that was a gunshot. Audra shot me when I tried to pass her on that last leg.”
              Sparks’ eyebrows raised slowly, Zanna’s mouth dropped open slightly, and Echo just blinked up at me. It didn’t occur to me that they had no idea about the gunfight in the air between the Gap and Rainier. They didn’t know just how close I’d come to death…or how close I’d come to killing Audra. I decided then that they would never know. At least not Zanna or Echo. I was sure Sparks understood without even asking.
              “Well,” he said, exhaling slowly. “Glad it…wasn’t more serious.”
              I laughed. “Me, too. Now, I would really like to get out of here. Has anyone seen my pants?”
              As Sparks had predicted, the doctor recommended that I wear my knee brace for a week. He insisted the soreness would dissipate shortly after that, but my knee would be fine. I was informed that my ribcage wound still had a great deal of bruised flesh around it, even bruised bone, and that nerve pain would likely plague me off and on for months. I was less excited about this, but at least it wouldn’t be forever. With a final recommendation to rest for next couple of days, the doctor finally allowed me to check out and leave. My bloodstained pants and shirt had been thrown away by the medical staff, but they returned my helmet, goggles, jacket, and boots, which all looked rather silly overtop my thin hospital outfit. As I put it on, the jacket, despite the large hole where Audra’s bullet had pierced through, was comforting to me. It reminded me of home, of the causeway and the plant, the docks and the shops, and of work and Old Man Nichols.
              I suddenly wanted to see him. As I exited the hospital with my siblings, I was intent on getting back to the Gap to visit him. One step onto the streets of Rainier, however, and I was instantly flocked by fans and radio reporters.
              “Oh, no,” Zanna muttered. “They must have seen us go in.”
              I reached over and took her hand, giving her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “We’ll be home before you know it.”
              At once, Sparks lifted Echo into his arm and took my hand before he began muscling his way through the crowd. Ignoring the shouts of protest from the reporters and spectators, he dragged Zanna and me along behind him, not letting the masses halt our exit.
              “Elana! A word?” I heard a man say. I didn’t even bother looking for him.
            Other voices were mixed together in a loud, buzzing din that assailed my ears. I kept my eyes on Sparks’ heels and my hand gripped onto Zanna’s. From the crowd, her name was also being called.
            “Zanna! Is this the start of a new Silver family tradition? Do you think you’ll enter the race one day?”
            “No way!” I heard my sister yell from behind me. I couldn’t help the smile from spreading across my lips.
              A microphone suddenly appeared in front of my face. “Elana! What was it like in the Veil?” another man asked.
              “Terrifying,” I answered honestly, keeping my answer as short as I could. Sparks gave my hand a tug and suddenly we were free of the mob, heading toward the docks as the warm afternoon sun shone down on me. I breathed a lungful of fresh air and closed my eyes, allowing myself to be led one step at a time. There was still a twinge in my left knee every time I put weight on it, but I could easily ignore it. I just wanted to enjoy the momentary feeling of freedom.
              As we made our way to the docks, we caught the attention of a few pedestrians, most of which were content to simply stare over at me, gawking in disbelief. I was blown away by this. I had walked these same streets hundreds of times, and no one had looked twice at me unless it was to turn up their nose. Now, suddenly, after winning the race, people were somehow in disbelief that I could actually be right in front of them.
              When arriving at the docks, one of the workers in charge of our cradle even asked me for an autograph. He was young, probably a couple of years older than me, but he seemed as nervous and excited as a child would. When he handed me a pen, I quickly scrawled a signature onto the sleeve of his jacket and he practically giggled like a little girl.
              “Thanks for…the support,” I said, smiling awkwardly. I had only given one or two other autographs before, unless you count signing shipping manifests. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. It seemed it was enough to satisfy him, though. After snickering to himself, he hurried off to help ready the
Narya
for departure.
            Beside me, Zanna let out a giggle of her own. “You handled
that
well.”
            “Shut it,” I snapped at her, rubbing my knuckles on top of her head. 
              In just a few short minutes, we were in the air, speeding back to the Gap aboard Sparks’ cramped ship. The
Narya
was interesting to me. The hull was a sizable, double-boom design - with a central nacelle built between them - but the cockpit was miniscule, having only two seats and a storage box for mail parcels. Zanna ended up having to sit on my lap, while Echo spent the ride up with Sparks. I noticed that his ship was much quieter and smoother than the
Kicker
. I couldn’t hear air whistling anywhere. I didn’t even feel the need to wear a seatbelt. Echo was asleep shortly after takeoff, and I almost wished I could join him. I just wanted to go back to sleep and wake up in my own bed, in my own house. I hoped there was no mob waiting for me at Adams like there had been in Rainier. It would be comprised entirely of people I knew, but that didn’t make it any more of a pleasant idea. With any luck, they wouldn’t know when or where I was arriving, and I could make my way to Nichols’ unnoticed.
              The ride home was short and uneventful. When Sparks had offered me the pilot’s chair, my first instinct had been to accept and put his ship through the paces. I ended up declining, though. For some reason, being at the helm didn’t really sound like a good idea, either. This was an odd feeling to me. I had never passed up a chance to fly before, but I just didn’t feel up to it.
              As we set down in cradle number ten, I peered out the windscreen over Sparks’ shoulder, hoping to see the docks clear of mobs. Mercifully, there was no one gathered. Even so, Sparks suggested that, while I ducked into Nichols’ shop, Zanna and Echo should head home, insisting to anyone that asked that I was still in Rainier hospital. It was as good an idea as any, and it worked marvelously. The entire town knew who Zanna and Echo were, and by walking in the opposite direction of me, they drew all the attention of the bystanders before I left the ship and scuttled down the docks toward Nichols’ shop. Pulling my helmet low over my face, I was able to hide my identity until I opened the door and slipped inside.
              Surprised by the sudden entry, Nichols looked up from his work, peering at me through his multi-layered eyeglasses. After a second, he pushed away the zoom lenses and looked at me through his normal spectacles.
              “Well,” he said, beaming wildly. “Look who it is. The Blood Racer herself.”
              With a hearty laugh, he shuffled around his cluttered work table, held his arms out wide and wrapped me in a huge embrace, which I returned as best I could with my ribs aching. I’d forgotten how surprisingly strong he was for an older man, and was tapping his back for relief after just a few seconds. He let me go and allowed me to catch my breath, chuckling serenely in is low, ragged voice.
              “Congratulations,” he said genuinely. “I knew you would do it, my dear.”
              I smiled and shrugged sheepishly. “Actually, your gun and your book were the only things that helped me win.”
              “See?” he said, grinning smugly. “Books
are
the key.” He waved his hand, gesturing to all the books on his shelf. “All of these have something to tell you. Remember that.”
              I rolled my eyes playfully. “All right, all right. Books aren’t so bad. Happy?”
              He laughed loudly and patted my shoulder. “Only happy to see you, young one!”
              He pulled out a stool for me to sit on, which I accepted, my sore body making me groan quietly as I leaned against the table. With a noticeable spring in his step, Nichols hurried up the small set of stairs to the ice box and retrieved a thin glass bottle from inside. As he picked up two glasses, I saw that the liquid inside the bottle was a bright, gleaming orange.