Kingdom of Cages(193)

Chena scooped Eden up carefully and, cradling him against her chest, walked through the environment lock and up the tunnel.


Dawn had turned the horizon pink and white by the time Teal emerged from Farin’s tiny house with Tam and Nan Elle beside her. Elle had insisted they try to get at least a couple of hours’ sleep. It hadn’t worked. How could Teal sleep after hearing Tam’s description of the Eden Project and Mom’s part in it? How could she sleep after realizing that those eggs she sold to the tailors were probably going straight to the hothouse so they could make more of the things? The idea dragged down her whole body, leaving her feeling leaden and hot-wired at the same time.

As bad as she felt, Administrator Tam looked worse. His cheeks and eyes had sunken in until all the bones of his face were clearly visible. His mouth moved constantly, and he seemed frightened to put one foot in front of the other. What was that voice in his ear saying to him? Teal shuddered and decided she did not want to know.

The first fingers of sunlight reached across the quay, turning the waters blue and touching the dunes with their warmth. Teal wiped the tears from her eyes and looked inland. The cliffs stood in the distance, rust red under their green crown of trees. Chena was in there somewhere. Teal let herself smile. This was going to be one time Chena could not argue about who was saving whom, which was a petty thought, but she held it close just the same.

Nan Elle took the lead. The plan was to head for the fence duty house, find out who was on duty, and put them out of commission by the least aggressive means possible. Then they’d duck the fences and she and Farin would head for the caves, using the map tucked into Teal’s pocket. The three of them were already smeared with a layer of Chena’s goop to fool the mote cameras. Nan Elle and Tam would suss out the situation with the dirigibles and boats on the jetty to see who would carry them all away.

That was if Tam could still talk by then. Teal decided she’d better not think about that too much. The only reason any of this was going to work was that they had a hothouser with them. If he gave in to whatever was whispering in his head, they were screwed and blasted, and this time it would be for good.

“Do you hear something?” asked Farin suddenly.

Teal listened. She did hear something, a low droning, too deep to be a dirigible. She scanned the morning sky in front of her and saw nothing but a few streaks of cloud.

“Garden of God.” Nan Elle pointed her stick to the sky.

Teal swung around. A great black cloud hung over the tops of the dunes, humming with a sound Teal was sure should be familiar.

“Get inside!” shouted Farin, shoving Teal toward the dune.

Unnerved, Teal turned to run. In the next second, a locust dropped onto the tip of her shoe, and another onto her tunic sleeve.

“Get in—” Farin’s shout was cut short, and the world went dark.

Teal heard herself screaming as the locusts swirled around her, clinging to her clothing, tangling in her hair. She swatted at them, but they were everywhere, their tiny claws digging into her skin. Blind, she ran forward until she thudded into the side of the dune house, but the locusts were already there, and they crunched and chirruped and clung to her hands. Somehow, somehow, she found the door and darted inside.

“Hold still! Hold still!” Hands brushed against her, knocking the insects away. Teal forced herself to open her eyes.

Farin stood in front of her, clearing the locusts off her and crushing them underfoot. Nan Elle darted around the room with a broom to destroy the creatures that had poured through the door when they had retreated inside.

“Get the fire going, or they’ll come down the chimney,” she ordered, sweeping the insects from the walls and crushing them underfoot.

Teal knocked Farin’s hands away and dropped to her knees in front of the brick stove, tossing in handfuls of kindling and fuel until the flames roared and their heat felt harsh against her face. She was vaguely aware that Farin had snatched the cloth off the table and stuffed it into the crack under the door, and that Tam had collapsed in the middle of the room and cradled his head in his hands.

“Dionte,” he murmured. “She knows, she knows. She’s told the family. I should be back there. I should—”

“Shut up!” shouted Teal. “Just… shut up!” She ran both hands through her hair, half afraid she’d find another locust clinging there. “What in all the hells is going on?” she demanded.

“The hothousers.” Nan Elle stood, panting. A single locust clung to her apron. She snatched it off and tossed it into the fire.

“They found us out.” Farin peered out the window at the whirring darkness.