The Star Dwellers

Mep’s face is still lit up, as if it makes him happy to have put a smile on my face. “I’ve got to get back,” I remember, letting my thoughts flow freely. “My friend…”

“You haven’t even heard my proposal.”

Oh, yes, this great offer he has for me. “Make it quick.”

“Be my bodyguard,” he says, his eyes twinkling under the candlelight.

I sigh, pretend to consider. “And what’ll I get in return?”

“Food, shelter, information.”

“What kind of information?” The food and the shelter are covered by the army, but information is something I haven’t been getting a lot of lately.

He grins, like he knows he’s got me now. “I know most everything that happens in this town. Anything in particular you’re after?”

“How’s the army getting so many supplies?” I blurt out.

“Nothing’s free,” he says.

“I’m not going to work for you,” I say.

“I didn’t think so, but a couple of Nailins might do the trick.” He’s rubbing his hands together, like he can’t wait to feel the smooth weight of the gold against his skin.

I reach in one of the packs and flip him two Nailins. I see the face of the president flashing in and out of view. Tristan’s father. But not like Tristan, I remind myself.

Mep snaps them out of the air with unexpectedly competent hand/eye coordination. He bites down on the gold coins like he doesn’t believe they’re real. “I haven’t seen one of these in a long time,” he muses, his eyes greedy.

“The information,” I say.

“Right. I’m not sure if this helps, but there’s a supply truck that comes in every week, on Mondays. They back it up right against the loading dock so no one can see what it’s carrying. If you find out where the truck comes from, you might be able to solve your mystery.”

“Thanks,” I say, moving for the door. “And Mep…”

“Yeah.”

“Hang in there. Change might be coming faster than you think.” Before leaving, I grab the bag containing the last of our wafers and toss it to Mep. These kids need it more than I do.

Mep grins as he catches it, like he knew I’d see things his way in the end. “Farewell, my fair maiden,” he calls to me as I exit.

I’m no fair maiden. And this is not one of the hero- and adventure-filled worlds from the pages of the books that Mep reads to the kids. No, it’s nothing like that at all.

As I navigate my way to find the stairs, kids duck into doorways, hide in the shadows, watch me the whole way. My heart is sick. It shouldn’t be this way. Kids ru

The only problem: when I exit the crumbling building, Tawni is gone.

Chapter Sixteen

Tristan

Ram finds Roc before we do so I’m glad to see he hasn’t been pulverized. Maybe Ram’s decided to take it easy on us because it’s obvious something really bad has happened.

Or maybe not. “If you get lost again, sun boy, I’ll destroy you,” he says to Roc before handing him over to us.

Roc just stares at him, and I can tell he’s thinking getting destroyed by Ram might be a good thing. It might take his mind off of what he’s just found out.

“What the hell do you think you’re looking at?” Ram says, and I think for a second Roc might lash out at him, but to my relief he breaks the stare, and moves past me with his head down.

As I move to follow him, I hear Ben ask, “Where’d you find him?”

Ram laughs condescendingly. “He was near the edge of the eastern border. If he’d managed to get out into the broader Moon Realm, he’d have been a sitting duck for some star dweller soldier with a chip on his shoulder.”

I’m too far away to hear Ben’s response, as I jog to catch up with Roc. “Roc,” I say, “wait up!”

He ignores me and keeps walking. “Roc!” I try again.

“Leave me alone,” he says, bringing me up short. I watch as he disappears around a bend in the tu

Ben catches up with me and I’m glad to see Ram’s not with him. “Why’s that guy hate us so much?” I ask.

Ben shrugs. “He doesn’t trust people easily, especially sun dwellers. But believe me, he’s a guy you want on your side.” I believe him. Ram’s the last guy I’d want to face in combat.

Nodding, I say, “Roc won’t talk to me.”

“Give him time.”

“How much time?”

“A few hours.”

“He’s already had a few hours.”

“A few more.”

“Okay.” I don’t want to wait a few hours, but I’m glad he didn’t say a few days. I don’t think I could go that long without talking to my best friend, my half-brother. Especially with all this crap on my mind. “What do we do next?”

“Vice President Morgan has arranged a meeting with the other Vice Presidents who she believes will support us in a motion to join the star dweller rebellion. I need you there to help us convince them.”

“What if I can’t?”

“Then we’re screwed,” Ben says honestly, and I raise my eyebrows.

“Great.”

We both continue in silence, the only sound coming from our boots as they scuff and scrape along the rough tu

“Shortcut,” Ben says when I glance at him.

The gray rock walls continue to widen as the pathway heads uphill. Moisture trickles down the walls from the ceiling. As we move further along, the tu

When the water level nears the tops of my boots, I fear I may be getting wet feet very soon. “Uh, Ben? Are you sure this is the right way?”

He laughs, in a way that my father never could. “You scared of something?”

I turn away sheepishly and keep plodding through the water. I can handle wet feet if I have to. Just when I think my feet are doomed, the tu

“Wow,” I murmur. “Are those—”

“Yes,” Ben says. “This is the Diamond Lake. The water falls from hundreds of feet above, just a small waterfall. By the time the droplets get down here they’ve split apart multiple times creating the spray you see in front of you. Every once in a while a diamond comes down with it. We have no idea how far the gemstones travel before reaching us, but it could be miles, or even hundreds of miles.”

“What do you do with them?” Immediately my mind grabs hold of everything I know about the gemstone trade. This many diamonds would surely be suspicious if they started popping up on the commerce reports hitting my father’s desk.

“We haul them out, hide most of them away, and use a small number to fund our operations. We’ve been dormant for so long that we don’t need much to get by.”