Skyfire by Skye Melki-Wegner

Author:Skye Melki-Wegner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: 2014-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

The ball is held in an enormous tower in the centre of the city. It spirals high upon its support columns, glistening with the shine of a thousand alchemy lanterns. We lurk in a nearby alleyway to watch the guests approach.

‘Ready?’ Lukas says.

I force a smile. ‘Yeah, of course.’

In reality, though, I’m frozen with nerves. I’m the only one in our crew with no experience at flashy parties. Lukas is probably the best suited of all of us to deal with the pomp and ceremony of such an affair. I grew up in a threadbare apartment, where the closest I got to a grand ball was dancing around my father’s radio. After my family burned, I lived on the streets, scavenging for food and working whatever dead-end job I could scrape in downtown Rourton.

‘Gotta get out by midnight, yeah?’ Teddy says. ‘That’s when they do the unmasking.’

I nod. I don’t want to imagine what will happen if we’re trapped in the crowd when the masks come off. All it would take is one guard to recognise us – or one guest to notice my friends’ low proclivity markings – and we’d be hauled outside with pistols to our skulls.

From our hiding place, we have a full view of the tower. Lanterns twist up the sides of the spire, sprinkling shards of light upon the stone. Music billows through doors and windows: a grand operatic number, played by what sounds like half an orchestra.

I spot dozens of sólfoxes confined to outdoor cages upon a wooden platform. They snap and claw at the metal bars. These creatures must belong to highborn Víndurnics, or perhaps Hinrik’s garrison of guards.

Guests glide through the streets towards the party, veils flowing behind them. The ladies’ gowns are soft and sweeping, coating their hips like liquid. The men wear dark suits and coloured cloaks: black and white, crimson and navy blue.

And above their costumes … the masks. They twist across eyes and noses, curling up with feathers and beads and shining gemstones. Hazy veils sweep out behind them, concealing the backs of their necks.

‘Let’s get going,’ Teddy says. ‘Better to go in with the crowd, I reckon.’

I feel like a fraud just thinking about it. Surely we’ll be caught in seconds. We won’t make it into the building.

I glance at the others. Teddy did well with our costumes, which he pilfered from a nearby boutique, and Clementine has disguised our various scrapes and bruises with stolen makeup. She looks beautiful, of course – a sweeping crimson gown, a mask of gold, and her blonde hair twisted up into a knot. Maisy wears lilac with a mask of feathered black, while Teddy’s mask is gold above a crisp black suit. It’s obvious that he’s matched his mask with Clementine’s. Despite my nerves, the thought brings a tiny smile to my lips.

It’s Lukas, though, who truly looks the part. A black cloak drapes around his shoulders, matching his dark hair. His eyes shine at me beneath a mask of white, and I fight a sudden urge to reach out and touch his cheek.

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