Silence of Stars Read online

  My chest constricted. “You’re one of them.” I should have been scared, but found myself studying him in fascination as he watched the road. One corner of his mouth raised.

  “Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it’s rude to stare?”

  “Sorry.” I continued staring. “It’s just hard to believe. You seem so—human.”

  “That’s because I am.” He glanced at me. “There is no genetic difference between the people of your world, and the people of mine. I thought the broadcast with Lieutenant Hardcastle would make that clear.”

  “In a way, but it’s different seeing someone up close. Your technology is so much more advanced than ours that I thought maybe . . .” I bit the inside of my lip.

  “Her appearance was a disguise?”

  I shrugged and he smiled, showing that irresistible dimple again.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not wearing some kind of alien suit. What you see is what you get.”

  “Oh, I’m not disappointed.” I realized how that sounded and looked out the window to hide my blush. “So where exactly is the meeting point?”

  “Your nation’s capital. All of the Recruits from your country are being taken there now.”

  “The airship is in D.C.?”

  “Yes.” He turned to look at me closer. “You’re smiling. Are you excited?”

  I touched my face, I hadn’t been aware of the smile, and lifted a shoulder. “To be honest, I’ve been dying to see a space—er—airship. It’s kind of an obsession, actually. I’ve never even been on an airplane, but I’ve always wanted to fly.”

  He tilted his head. “Really? That information wasn’t included in your file.”

  I paused. “My file?”

  He nodded, his profile strong as he glanced back to the road to change lanes. “All of the Recruits have a file. As your Guardian, it was my responsibility to learn as much as possible about you before you began training.”

  “Hold on.” I gripped my seat and turned to face him. “You’ve been studying me? Have you been watching me too?” My blood chilled as all sorts of mortifying possibilities flashed in my mind. Were there hidden cameras in my bedroom?

  His dark eyebrows pulled together. “I’ve only been watching from a distance to make sure you weren’t in danger before Recruitment. There are some who oppose the Freedom Fighter Program, which is why Recruits are assigned Guardians. It’s for your protection.”

  I relaxed my grip as the pieces fell into place. “That’s why you showed up last night.”

  He nodded. “That was the first time I sensed a threat to your safety. I just didn’t expect to have to protect you from your own kind. Your race has deteriorated far more than we initially realized.”

  No argument there. I swallowed and looked out the window again. “It didn’t always used to be this way. The people of my country used to have rights and freedoms protected by law. There used to be peace.”

  “It’s because you know this that you’ve been Chosen.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were Chosen at random.”

  His eyes flicked to mine and flashed for a split second before returning to the road.

  “How did you do that?” I asked.

  “Do what?” He stared straight ahead.

  “Your eyes flashed. Are you wearing LED contacts or something?”

  “No.”

  I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. Maybe I’d been too quick to trust him. “I thought you said you were just like me.”

  Gideon smiled out of the corner of his mouth. “I said our genetic makeup is the same. What’s different is our process of evolution.”

  “So you’re human—just more evolved?” My pulse quickened. “Do you have superpowers?”

  He laughed, but before he could answer a car bumped into us from behind.

  I yelped and looked in the rearview mirror. “It’s the police. They have their lights on. You’d better pull over.”

  Gideon’s face darkened. “That’s not the police.” He accelerated, keeping his eyes trained on the rearview.

  My breathing shallowed. “If it’s not the police, then who is it?”

  He set his jaw. “They’re called Lilthe. The ones I’m here to protect you from. Guess they finally showed up to the party.” He blew out a breath. “It never fails.”

  “Gideon, what’s going on?” I gripped the edge of my seat as the odometer crept past ninety. The fake cop car stayed right on our tail.

  He ignored my question, lifting his cuff to his mouth. “Our position is compromised. Requesting permission to use alternate deportment location.” He nodded as if hearing a voice in his head. “Affirmative.”

  The car bumped into us again.

  I dug my fingernails into my palms. “Are they trying to kill us?”

  Gideon reached for the dashboard, scanning through music on the touchscreen.

  My face twisted. “Seriously? We’re about to die and you’re worried about what we’re listening to right now?” I glanced behind my shoulder, my heart racing as the police car continued to push against our bumper, forcing us to accelerate faster and faster on the freeway. If there had been traffic we would already be dead.

  “Music helps me focus.”

  I turned wild eyes to Gideon as he found the song he was looking for.

  “Hold on.” He winked and pressed the screen.

  An intense violin solo filled the air as a five-point harness appeared from out-of-nowhere in my seat, strapping me in so I couldn’t move. I tugged at the straps. “What the—?”

  My words were cut off as we hit rocket fuel. I couldn’t breathe, certain we were skyrocketing to our death as everything blurred outside.

  Gideon remained calm, steering the car as though we were out for a joyride. He glanced at me and put a hand on my knee. “Only a few more seconds. We’re almost there.”

  Something strange happened when he touched me. It was like a small shock of light passed from his hand to my body. My mouth opened but no sound escaped. The force of his light flowed into me, calming like warm liquid. I moved my hand to grip his, increasing the energy flow until the fear was gone.

  I turned to look at Gideon, wondering if he felt it too. He met my gaze. I let out a small gasp at what I saw. His eyes burned like sapphires. Everything went still as we stared at each other.

  His light flow intensified for a moment before he turned away, removing his hand from mine and placing it on the steering wheel. “Brace yourself. We’re about to come to a rapid stop.”

  I gripped the armrests just before I was slammed into the harness. I let out a shaky breath and sat stunned for several seconds. My body trembled from adrenaline overload as the harness released with a clicking sound.

  “Are you okay?” Gideon’s eyes were back to their normal shade of blue.

  I reached a trembling hand to push the hair out of my face. “I think so. That was—wow.”

  His eyes tightened. “Unfortunately, that was nothing compared to what you’re about to experience. The Lilthe have interfered with our plan to transport you by airship. We’re going to have to take a wormhole.”

  I shook my head. “Slow down—who are the Lilthe again? And what’s a wormhole?”

  Gideon opened his door. “I don’t have time to explain. They’ll be tracking us, so we have to move.”

  I stumbled out of the car and jumped aside at the smoke coming off the tires. “Is this thing going to explode?”

  Gideon looked at the smoke and frowned. “The tires were supposed to have been modified.” He shrugged. “Must have been an oversight.”

  Before I could process that, he took my arm, causing a pleasant sensation that shot straight to my heart.

  “Come on. The wormhole will take a few minutes to activate.”

  I scanned our surroundings. We were in the heart of Philadelphia, at a place I’d visited countless times—but never when it wasn’t crawling with
tourists. The streets were eerily quiet as Gideon and I jogged toward the Liberty Bell Monument.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked.

  “The wormhole is in the Bell. We need to get to it before the Lilthe get to us.”

  “Wait—you’re telling me there’s a wormhole to another planet inside the Liberty Bell?”

  “Yep.”

  I shook my head as we reached the locked doors of the Monument. “You realize how crazy that sounds, right?”

  He didn’t answer as he entered a code on his cuff.

  I shifted my weight. “Couldn’t we find another way to get to the airship?”

  Gideon paused a moment to look me in the eyes. “The wormhole isn’t ideal.” He ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Frankly, it’s dangerous. But we’re out of options. For some reason, the Lilthe have targeted you and I’ve got to get you off-planet. Now.”

  Chills ran down my spine. “Okay.” I put a hand to my forehead. “But how are we going to get to the Bell? This is a national monument, with all sorts of alarms. We can’t just break in.”

  “Wanna bet?” He grinned and held his wrist up to the locked glass doors. There was a loud click before he held it open and gestured for me to go first. “After you.”

  I gaped at him and then tiptoed through the door, expecting an alarm to go off at any moment. When nothing happened, I relaxed my shoulders and waited for Gideon to unlock the second set of doors.

  He watched me in amusement as he held open the next door. “You still don’t believe me, do you?”

  “What? That you’re an alien?”

  “I prefer the term ‘Other.’” He gave me a teasing smile.

  I lifted a shoulder, eyeing his wrist. “Anyone can pretend to be Superman with a watch like that.” I sauntered through the door this time to prove I wasn’t scared.

  “Superman?”

  I spun around, my face slack. “Please tell me you know who Superman is.”

  Gideon shrugged as he brushed past me. “I told you I’m not from here.”

  I shook my head. “Either you’re legit, or you’re a very dedicated actor.”

  He rolled his eyes as we hurried down the corridor. The building wasn’t long and we reached the Liberty Bell in a matter of moments. I bit my fist as Gideon stepped over the roped-off partition.

  “You’re not going to damage it, are you? This bell is an important piece of history.”

  He reached into an inside pocket of his hooded jacket, eyeing the famous crack on the metal surface. “Looks to me like it’s already been damaged.”

  I glanced around before stepping over the rope to join him. I’d visited the Bell dozens of times, and had secretly always wanted to touch it. Slowly, I reached out to feel the aged metal. “No one knows how the crack got there,” I said, feeling a sort of reverence for the icon as I circled around it.

  “That’s because no one knows what it really is—a wormhole. The creation of a wormhole causes a scar on the object. In this case, a crack in the bell.” Gideon held something in his hands. It looked like a glowing white marble.

  “Whoa.” I stepped closer.

  “Stand back.” He raised his hand to stop me. “You don’t want to get close when this thing fractures.”

  “What is it?” I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the marble. Lights danced inside it like lightning.

  “An activator.”

  Gideon checked to make sure I was far enough away before he took the marble and threw it under the Bell. A loud cracking sound made me cover my ears. I stumbled back as the entire underside of the bell glowed with blinding white light. The words from Leviticus inscribed along the top were suddenly illuminated: Proclaim Liberty to all Nations.

  I stared open-mouthed at the bizarre beauty. It was like the Bell was on fire. “How long will it take until the wormhole is activated?”

  Gideon checked his cuff and I glimpsed a timer counting down.

  “Five minutes. Just enough time to get ready.”

  He reached to the inside pocket of his jacket again and pulled out two small shiny packets. He ripped the first one open, pulling out a clear filmy object. “This is your oxygen mask. Put it over your mouth and nose.”

  I eyed the object. “It looks like it could suffocate me.”

  “You won’t survive the wormhole without it.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek and then held out my hand. He watched as I took a deep breath and placed the mask over my face. The film instantly adhered to my skin like shrink wrap, covering my nose and mouth. When I touched it, it was firm. I turned to Gideon in alarm.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll take it off when we get to Lior, but for now you need to leave it on so you can breathe during passage.” He glanced over his shoulder and handed me what looked like a sleek pair of sunglasses. “You’ll also need these screens to protect your eyes.”

  I took the screens from him and put them on. The sides secured to my face like super-suctioned goggles.

  “How do I look?” I was surprised I could still talk normally through the mask getup.

  Gideon smiled. “Like you’re ready to own space travel.”

  I started to laugh, but it caught in my throat as the sound of dozens of footsteps reverberated through the building.

  “Quick.” Gideon pulled me behind him, pressing me against the bell. He shielded me with his body as he pulled a gun from beneath his jacket. “I’ll stall them until we can deport. If anything happens to me, jump under the Bell.”

  “But—” My heart seized in fear.

  “Promise me.”

  I swallowed, my throat dry. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes tight with worry.

  I nodded.

  His broad shoulders relaxed as he turned back around, holding his gun ready.

  The hair stood along the back of my neck as I heard strange clicking noises—almost insect-like, but louder. My breathing came in shallow gasps as I looked over Gideon’s shoulder and saw a group of shadowy figures approaching.

  They were men, dressed in business suits and wearing dark sunglasses. My stomach turned when I realized they were making the clicking sounds, which rose in volume and began echoing off the glass-encased room we stood in.

  The man who appeared to be the leader pulled out a gun much larger than the one Gideon held and made yet another series of clicking sounds. Gideon kept his gun trained on the leader as he answered in the same language.

  Tension clawed at my insides. “What’s going on?” I whispered.

  The lead alien looked at me and sneered, revealing jagged teeth. “I’ll speak in your inferior tongue so you can understand.” He held up his gun. “See this? This is a weapon. I’m going to use it to kill you and your Guardian before you can leave the planet.”

  “Let the girl go. You have no fight with her,” Gideon said, his voice deadly calm.

  The alien aimed his gun at Gideon. “Actually, that’s where you’re wrong. I have direct orders to see that Recruit Taylor is terminated before entering the Academy.”

  “Why her?” Gideon growled. “Why not go after the airship and take out more Recruits?”

  He smirked. “You thought you were so clever transporting her in an unmarked vehicle, thinking we wouldn’t be able to recognize that she was a Captain.”

  I touched Gideon’s shoulder. “What’s he talking about?”

  The alien laughed. “You don’t know what you really are?” The suits at his sides shifted impatiently. I glanced at the timer on Gideon’s cuff. There was still over a minute to go.

  Keep him talking, Lark.

  I let out a small gasp and dropped my hand.

  Gideon glanced at me over his shoulder, his sapphire eyes filled with awe.

  You heard me?

  I nodded, my heart skipping several beats. I’d heard Gideon’s words in my mind. But it was more than that—I’d felt them. His voice had woven to my very core until our souls were
intertwined. I’d never felt anything so intimate, not even close. My knees went weak with the sensation.

  Gideon stared at me for another second before the look of wonder was replaced by a mask. These guys are easily distracted. Ask him what it means that you’re a Captain.

  I shook my head to clear it before finding my voice. “Wh-what do you mean I’m a Captain?”

  The alien tilted his head, hissing with impatience. “Your death will be a crippling blow to the Academy, as will be the loss of this Cadet.” He cocked his gun and I pushed myself in front of Gideon.

  “Wait!”

  Gideon grabbed me by the waist with his free hand. Get back!

  I ignored him and stared the alien down, desperate to distract him. “At least explain who you are before I die.”

  The alien hissed. “We are the Lilthe.” He raised his sunglasses, revealing a set of horrible, lizard-like eyes.

  I swallowed. This was the kind of alien I’d been expecting, but now I wished I hadn’t been so eager. The sight of his inhuman eyes was horrifying.

  He tilted his head. “And you,” he took a step forward, his yellow irises narrowing to slits, “you are more than just a captain.”

  My eyebrows furrowed as the aliens made a series of high pitched clicking sounds. A low hum emanated from the Bell.

  Cover your ears.

  The Bell let out a deafening gong that knocked me to the floor. The vibration shattered the windows in the room. Gideon threw himself on top of me to shield me from the glass shards. As soon as the shower ended he forced me to my feet.

  Hold on to me.

  I wrapped my arms around him, drawing away when I felt something warm and wet at his side. My eyes widened in panic. “You’re bleeding. We have to get you help.”

  Gideon wrestled his arms around me as I struggled against him. “There’s no time. The hole will collapse after a few seconds,” he said, dragging me beneath the bell.

  We knelt in the blinding light. The Lilthe moved toward us, laser guns firing as we were sucked into the worm hole.

  I lost all sense of reality as we were hit by a violent G force. It was like being caught in a vacuum tube at the bank, with nothing but Gideon’s arms to keep me contained. I fought to maintain consciousness. Lights slashed through the darkness like lightning bolts as I tried to hold on.