The Complete Circuit Trilogy by Rhett C. Bruno

Author:Rhett C. Bruno [Bruno, Rhett C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635764253
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2017-10-24T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE—SAGE

One Last Lie

Sage held onto Elisha tightly as she guided the freighter through the thick atmosphere of Titan. Friction had the command deck’s viewport wreathed in a fiery skirt. She expected the ride to be bumpier, but Cassius’s upgrades to the hull made the freighter far more than just a Conduit-to-Conduit transport.

When the ship broke through, Sage found them in the heart of a storm. Precipitation lashed across the hull and dense clouds obscured her view. With the navigation systems disengaged it would’ve been impossible to find where to go if she hadn’t made the trip before. She could just distinguish the faint outline of the crater which bore Edeoria, sitting beneath the blurred shadow of the Ascendant.

She looked down at Elisha, expecting to see a terrified girl entering atmosphere for the first time. Instead she was wide-eyed and propped forward like she wanted to swim through the storm.

“Is that water?” she asked, awestruck.

“Not exactly,” Sage replied. “Methane mostly. Some other—”

“Where’s it coming from? The pipes must be huge!”

A smile tugged at Sage’s lips. Sometimes she forgot that most people in the Circuit had never been to a world with clouds. Most people had never walked upon the surface of the Earth beneath her scorched sky, hoping for the faintest sliver of light to peak through the clouds. It never did. “No pipes. It’s all natural. Titan is a world wrapped in clouds, like Earth.”

Elisha looked up at Sage excitedly. “Have you been there?”

As Sage opened her mouth to respond, the image of her last time on Earth rushed through her mind—Caleb’s smile followed by flashes of fire and blood. She took a few deep breaths to try and center herself. “Yes, I’ve been there.”

They didn’t exchange another word while Sage navigated the near impossible conditions. Elisha seemed content to just stare out into the storm. After a short while, Sage piloted them safely into the hangar of Cassius’s compound. The heavy outer seal quickly shut behind them to hold the frigid air of Titan at bay. There was a much different greeting party awaiting her than the last time she had arrived. The White Hand was missing, and in its place were a few small Tribunal transports. The smallest of them had a pointed top which gleamed like a wet pearl. The rest of it was of a similar luster, except the folded wings, which were painted to look like the black silhouettes of hands wrapping around its green chassis. It was the personal transport of a Tribune, which meant Benjar was there with his esteemed Hand, Yavortha.

An honor guard marched into the space, their capes fluttering like leaves in wind. Yavortha was in the middle of the pack. She could tell by the golden emblem on his pauldrons as well his distinctive, hawkish nose. Behind him was Benjar. He wore a carbon-fiber chest-plate over his viridian tunic and held up the cloak draped over his left arm so it didn’t drag across the floor.

She expected seeing him

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