Avalon

But at least he put up a fight, unlike me. Shame seared Jeth’s insides.

“Get up to the crow,” Jeth said to Celeste. “We’ve got to stop them.”

And with that, he switched on the targeting system and centered the crosshairs of the pilot guns over Avalon’s port-side thrusters. He exhaled, preparing to do the impossible and fire on his ship.

He pulled the trigger, a spray of gunfire bursting out from the Donerail, but the bullets fell short of the mark. “What the hell?”

“It must be interference from the border. They’re crossing through now,” Lizzie said. Then she gasped. “Oh God.”

“What now?” said Flynn.

“They’re engaging the metadrive.”

“They can’t,” Jeth said. “The metadrive is failing. The jump won’t work.” Or it might work, but not all the way. They might enter metaspace but never come out of it again, lost forever. Dead. Jeth pushed and pushed against the controls, his hands and forearms aching from the effort. If he could just get into firing range, he might be able to stop them.

A brilliant, pulsating light flashed in front of Jeth’s eyes, making them burn and half-blinding him. He blinked the tears away a moment later and looked out at the empty scene before him.

Avalon was gone.

Chapter 21

JETH STARED FOR A LONG TIME AT THAT EMPTY PATCH OF space where his ship had been. She’s gone. His Avalon.

And Milton.

He couldn’t believe it. Refused to believe it. This was just a dream, a horrible nightmare. Two of the most important things in his life had just vanished into the nothingness of metaspace.

He wanted to hit something, except his entire body had gone numb with shock. I won’t go back to Renford, Sierra had said. He closed his eyes, realizing his mistake. He should’ve made sure he and Milton were alone last night. He should’ve been more careful and less trusting. Milton must’ve been right about Cora. Calling Renford meant returning her to the ITA, and that was something Sierra would never let happen.

Jeth shook his head, refusing to justify Sierra’s actions. He didn’t care. Sierra had stolen his ship. He would kill her.

“Jeth?” Lizzie said from behind him.

He didn’t respond. He didn’t know how to without losing it.

“Um, Boss?” Flynn said. “You all right?”

Jeth closed his eyes, willing the numbness to retreat from his mind. He had to think about the others. He needed to be strong. His ability to lead under stress was one of the reasons Hammer had put him in charge of this crew in the first place.

Drawing a deep breath, he opened his eyes and nodded.

“What do we do now?” said Flynn.

And there it was, the question Jeth knew had been coming.

When he didn’t answer, Lizzie said, “I don’t get it. Why would they steal Avalon?”

“Because they wanted all the money for themselves and a great ship,” said Celeste.

“But they seemed . . . nice,” said Lizzie. “I really thought Sierra liked you, Jeth.”

“Shut up, Lizzie.” Jeth closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was so angry sweat coated his skin despite the frigid air.

“I’m sorry.” Lizzie cleared her throat. “But we’ll get Milton and Avalon back. We just got to figure out where they went. Can’t be too many options, assuming they really are headed for Olympia Seven and that they made as big a jump as Avalon’s metadrive can handle.”

“You mean as long as the jump even worked,” said Flynn.

Jeth opened his eyes in time to see Lizzie shoot Flynn a glare. “You’re not helping.”

“Oh, right. Need to be helpful.” Flynn clapped his hands. “Let’s see. We’re stuck in the Belgrave on a ship with no real power, no metadrive, and probably only a day or two of oxygen left with this many people on board. Not to mention all the freaky dead bodies. So what can I do that’s helpful? I know. I can kill myself now and get it over with.”

“You can start by not being such a jerk,” Celeste said, hands on hips.

“Well, pardon me for seeing the reality of things,” said Flynn.

“You’re just focused on the negative. As usual,” said Lizzie.

“Oh right, because there’s so much positive going on around here. Did you forget that the nav system we just installed doesn’t work? And it’s anybody’s guess about the comms.”

An all-out screaming match erupted. Jeth recognized it for what it was—channeled panic. Unlike him, they were frightened instead of angry.

“That’s enough,” Jeth said. He stood and everyone fell silent. “Celeste, you go check on Shady, make sure he’s all right. Flynn, Lizzie, see if you can repair the comm system so we can call for help.” Jeth glared at each of them in turn, daring someone to protest.

Nobody did.

“I’m going to the passenger deck to check something. When I get back we’ll figure out our next move.”

Jeth strode off the bridge and made his way back to the cabin where Sierra had shot him. He stepped in and pulled the door closed behind him, not wanting to be overseen. Then he ransacked the room, finding an outlet for his anger in the act. Even though he’d searched the room once before, he did it again, desperate to find anything that might help them out of this situation. He yanked out all the drawers on the dresser. He upended the mattress. He reached inside the hidden wall panel, scraping the bottom with his fingers. He even pulled off the air vent to see if she’d hidden anything up there.