Part 25 (1/2)

I turned back around. She'd changed into jean shorts and a tank top. She had a bottle of NoRad in her hand and was shaking some into her palm. She reached up and started wiping it onto her shoulders.

”Do you-?” I started, but paused.

”What?” Lilly asked.

”Um, do you want me to do that for you?” I asked.

”Nah, I got it,” she said. She tossed me the bottle. ”You should put some on, too. Up on the ledges we'll be exposed.”

”Right.” I tried not to sound disappointed, but it seemed like everything was off, weird. There was some distance between us. Was it just because she was worried about the CITs? Or was it really because I was no longer a gill breather? But we were both still Atlanteans, so what was the problem? I couldn't tell.

”Trail's this way,” said Lilly. She was heading off to our left.

I finished putting the NoRad on and caught up.

”Now this.” Lilly traded the NoRad for a small package. An energy bar. ”Tastes like bedsheets, but I don't think we'll be dining with the rest of camp today.”

”Right,” I said. ”Thanks.” I tore open the package. I devoured the mealy, tan-colored bar, barely noticing the taste.

We hiked up through the pine trees, angling back toward camp. Soon, we hit a dusty trail that ran steeply up the hillside. We followed it as it switched back and forth, climbing steadily.

We started to be able to see out through the trees, to the sparkle of the lake and the distant gleam of the city. The trail became more uneven, and soon we were climbing up triangular rocks that formed a natural staircase. The trees were shorter up here, their branches tucked in tighter. The canopy gave way and we were in the bright SafeSun. It felt way hotter than down by the lake. I squinted and could see the lowest banks of globe-shaped lights, not that far up the wall. Their heat felt more direct, less like the sun. Back home, we'd had a pet lizard a few years ago that lived in a little aquarium with a heat lamp on top. That was what this felt like.

The trail opened up onto a short slope of crumbled rock, mica flecks sparkling within the dark-gray and brown boulders. Above, I could see the naked ledges of Mount Aasgard's summit, like a collection of kids' blocks piled quickly. Behind the small peak was the gray curve of the dome. A single ladder, painted to match the dome, ran up the wall. It was surrounded by a cylinder of bars for safety. I followed it up and saw that it became a staircase as the dome curved inward, and then a catwalk that led all the way out to the Eye.

From here we were close enough that we could also see the enormous triangular panels. This part of the dome looked nothing like the section over by the elevators. The panels were scarred with brown-and-red streaks from dust seeping through their seams. Black, spiderlike cracks zigzagged this way and that: radiation burns. Even the unscathed panels looked worn, beaten. This was definitely not a view that EdenWest would ever want its inhabitants to see.

We climbed up the scree slope and came out on the first of the ledges. I was breathing hard, Lilly less so. The ledge was long and narrow. A five-meter wall of angled rocks led up to the next one.

I noticed a long, straight cut in the rock by my feet, about a hand's length wide and only a couple centimeters deep. It crossed the ledge, ending at the wall. There was another one to my right, the same width, running parallel. ”Are these the Viking markings?” I asked Lilly.

”Yeah.” She whistled toward the higher ledge, making three short sounds, each curving from a lower to a higher note. ”Just in case they're here,” said Lilly. ”Don't want to barge in on them making out.”

We waited. No reply.

Lilly moved to the left side of the wall in front of us. There was a narrow crevice. She slid inside it and climbed, pulling up on fingerholds while bracing her feet between the two walls. I slid into the tight s.p.a.ce below her. It was stuffy and smelled like hot rocks. I started up, wondering if I could do it and hating that I was back to worrying about things like this, and then I promptly slipped, raking my knees on the rough stone.

”You okay?” Lilly called down.

”Fine,” I mumbled. I had to focus! I wasn't all the way back to being the turtle. I was just a dragonfly, changing. I gritted my teeth and started again, this time making it fine.

We crossed the second ledge, and I noticed more Viking lines carved in the rock. Looking down, I saw that these picked up where the ones on the ledge below left off.

We headed toward a low overhang of rock that created a black s.p.a.ce beneath. Lilly stopped at the edge of the shadow. ”You guys in there?”

There was silence for a second, then an answer, but it wasn't Marco or Aliah.

”Who's there?” a voice whispered.

”Who are you you?” Lilly replied.

I touched her shoulder. ”Wait.” I thought I knew the voice. I stepped into the shadows. ”Dr. Maria?”

Chapter 20

”OWEN?”

My eyes adjusted to the shade. Dr. Maria was sitting against the back wall of the small, low-ceilinged s.p.a.ce, beyond a little fire pit made of blackened rocks that were sprinkled with ash.

She was wearing a black jacket, jeans, and heavy brown boots, all coated with trail dust, as was her tangled hair. Her black backpack sat open beside her, the medical kit spread out on top.

Across her lap lay the Nomad bomber from two days before. His face was blotchy, old bruises and sc.r.a.pes turned a rotten brown, his tan skin now a sallow gray. His eyes were closed.

”His name was Carlo,” whispered Dr. Maria. She stroked his hair, only the hair didn't move. It looked wet, but her hand made a coa.r.s.e sound across it. There were spots of burgundy crusted on his ear and temple, deep stains on his collar. ”He died this morning. I knew it was bad, but he was still able to walk, and talk, enough that I thought if we just kept moving...” Her words dissolved into quiet sobs.

”What happened?” I asked.

”After the attack in the Preserve, Cartier tortured him for information. Drugs, and... other methods. He wanted to know what Carlo knew about...” Dr. Maria looked up at me.

”About us,” I finished. ”The Atlanteans.”

Dr. Maria nodded sadly. ”I'm sorry, Owen, that I didn't tell you more. I couldn't... I mean, at first I wasn't sure if you were even really the one, but, once I knew, I did what I could to help get you out. It wouldn't have done you any good to know what was really going on here, before you understood what you were. I thought my people could get you to safety, and get the skull....”

”It's okay,” I said. ”I know, now. I went to the temple. I found it.”

”I heard,” said Dr. Maria. ”Paul flipped out when we realized you were gone from the Preserve. When Cartier radioed in that he had found the temple room and the crystal skull but had lost you two, I knew Paul would be on the rampage. I also knew they'd have found your blood sample with the Nomads, and they'd know I was the one who'd been helping them. So I grabbed Carlo while everyone was searching for you. Marco and Aliah told me you were going to meet up here-”

”You've seen them?” Lilly asked.

”Yes, they came to see Evan at the infirmary yesterday. They told me they'd been waiting for you up here, but you hadn't shown up yet.”

”Where are they now?” Lilly asked.

”I don't know,” said Dr. Maria. ”I grabbed Carlo and ran right after that. I thought I could heal him.... So many complicated things I've done,” she whispered, ”but I couldn't save a simple life....” Fresh tears fell.

I had a thousand questions for her, but I tried to hold them back, to respect her loss.

”I wanted to bury him,” she said. ”His body deserves to be returned to Terra.”

”You know about that?” I asked.

”Yeah,” said Dr. Maria. ”There are those of us among the Nomads who follow the teachings of Heliad-7, based on the words of the old ones. Well, not follow strictly; I mean, Dr. Keller herself is as crazy as Paul, but her teachings follow the Atlantean way.”

”Pyra said there's another skull down in the south,” I said. I looked at Lilly. ”Maybe it's yours.”