I sigh. A little, but not enough to be sorry about it. Treyu’s breathing is heavy, but he’s still with us.
“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Father couldn’t mention this to me?” Treyu says. “Dear Gods, he’s still my father, right?”
“He never mentioned it to me either,” I grumble. “And there’s no doubt that you’re an Orion. Hold off on worst-case assumptions until we can get to Father and figure this out.”
The wires are still finding connections in my brain. Stars are stars. They’re not supposed to mix with Gods. There are good reasons we can’t become angels until after enough ascensions. Once you’re an angel, Heaven owns you. It’s controlled.
No wonder his mother died. It’s as dangerous for a human to birth a star as it is for their own kind. Humans are comprised of stardust, they’re an extension of our DNA. If Treyu is part star part … god…? He’d be a star legacy. I don’t even know what vibration that would be.
“We’re leaving,” I decide out loud for all of us.
The ship rattles, and there’s a clang against the roof.
“Claws,” Boone says. “They’re nailing us to the ground. Let me out of here, and I’ll help you escape.”
He could run and save his own ass, but we don’t have much to lose. I slide the headband around my skull and connect to the ship’s consciousness, opening the bars for him. Boone scoops up his weapon as he runs by. “I’ll meet up with you, don’t worry about me.”
“Believe me, I’m not,” I shout as he runs out of the brig.
“Let’s go!” I race to the upper ship deck to the sound of more claws clanging against the exterior, but I’ve already given the command for lift-off. But of course, it’s optimal to be able to see where you’re going.
The ship tilts as I attempt to lift off, wrenching to starboard, and sending us flying. I catch the railing with one hand and Gemini with the other before he hurtles off the side. I swing him up in time with my legs. Zhang and Treyu cling low to the floor of the upper deck, climbing upward to get to the viewing screen.
“Shit, they brought the whole army,” Zhang says.
“What happened to their faith in me?” Treyu says. “We had a deal.”
“You had shit, little brother. We could use your God powers if you have any about now.”
“Yeah, I’m fresh out,” he says, scowling.
Boone’s on the ground, he curls into a crouch, on one knee and he’s … gathering energy? It’s like the opposite of what a star does. We are the source, and the power comes from us. We’re considered the powers of the universe. Boone’s gathering energy from the environment to himself. It builds, bathing him in electric current and crackling like wild lightning.
The boom reverberates through the forest, releasing from him like an army of runaway snakes made of pure energy. The ship shakes into place, righting itself until I try to lift us off again.
“Still one more,” I say as I assess the ship’s external landscape through the headband. With the area cleared of immediate danger, one of us could run out and cut the chain tethering us to the ground. We’d have to be fucking quick with the speed they’re closing in. No time to think it through.
I toss the headband at Zhang. “Catch!”
“Atlanta, no. You can’t go out there. Let me.”
“Like hell you are. Not something we’re arguing about,” I say.
“No, I’ll go,” Treyu says. “It’s me they want anyway. I’ll never forgive myself if it’s one of you.”
“Don’t you fucking dare, Treyu,” Zhang says.
We’re all going to die because we have no chain of command.
Boone has no other choice but to board his jet. He’s too far from the side of the ship tethered to the ground. Fuck it, I’m going.
A booted foot steps into the frame, and a beaming angel sword lifts, slicing clean through the chains. There’s aflapof wings, and Merrick appears in a miserable heap on the deck. “Go!” he shouts.
Zhang has the headband now. We lift free of the ground, making our ascent into Alcyone’s stratosphere.
* * *
At this rate, I’m willing to take my chances with the hawthors over Treyu and Merrick’s arguing.
