Jasper had left the shack with no plan. All she knew was that she needed to go somewhere, to do something, and maybe that would allow her to outrun the weight in her chest.
Despite Grace’s protests, part of Jasper still wanted to steer clear of anything that might scare her. But Grace knew by now what she was signing up for. And, Jasper had to admit, she wanted to believe that Grace was right about herself. That she was strong. More than just a sheltered girl who’d lived half a life.
Someone who really could be a hero.
“You’re going to keep following me even if I steal? Even if I go weird places?” Jasper asked. “Because I’m not changing my plans for you.”
“Good,” Grace replied. “I can handle it.”
“Great!”
“Why are you doing this, though?”
Jasper shrugged. “It’s called self-care.” The two reached the Humming Casino and walked through the front doors.
“Aren’t you hot in that coat?” Grace asked. “I’m dying in just a shirt.” Her wings rested flat against her back on top of the dark blue t-shirt she wore—Jasper was pretty sure it was the sleep shirt she’d dozed off in—but it was unlikely anyone who did notice them would give them much thought. Not here in Sagev.
“Nah.” Jasper scanned the crowd. “Maybe if we pick enough pockets, we can afford to hit up Atzy’s.”
“Atzy’s?” Grace asked. “Wait, we?”
“It’s a restaurant-slash-bar-slash-dance floor. Think Electroswinger. And are you with me or not? These people are too rich to notice some missing cash, anyway.”
“Whatever.” Grace rubbed her eyes.
“You tired?” Jasper asked as they crossed the casino floor.
“No, I’m fine—”
Jasper grabbed a glass of fizzy black liquid resting on a slot machine and held it out to her. “Nova Cora. Full of caffeine.”
Grace made a face. “No thanks.”
“Come on. Have you even tried it?”
“No. They don’t have it at the palace.”
“Of course. Rich people only put expensive drugs in their bodies. Not peasant drinks.” Jasper took a sip.
“I’m less concerned about the fact that it’s Nova Cora and more concerned about the fact you took it from some random person,” Grace said. “What if they’re sick?”
“Oh no, guess I’ll die. What a tragedy.” Jasper offered Grace the glass again. “Pretty sure I already mentioned that my immune system has seen worse. Are you saying your body isn’t tough enough to handle a couple of germs from a stranger?”
Grace’s eyes narrowed. She grabbed the glass and downed the rest of it.
“Great!” Jasper exclaimed. Her head turned. “Oh my god, it’s South Siren!”
Grace whirled around. “Where?”
Jasper laughed. “She’s playing twin suns. In costume and everything. They really don’t give a damn out here. The villains are all probably trying to have some fun before the race.”
“Should we avoid them?” Grace asked.
“Hell no. I’m Van Terra.” Jasper turned her head in the other direction as a group walked by. “Oh, hey, easy targets.”
One man paused and knelt to tie his shoe, and Jasper plucked a wallet from his back pocket. She grabbed a purse hanging off a chair as she passed and slung it over her shoulder.
“Jasper!” Grace hissed as she caught up.
Jasper wasn’t sure if that was about the theft, the villains, or something else entirely. Instead of responding to Grace, she opened the wallet and pulled out a stack of jano bills. “You ever played twin suns?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“Oh, this’ll be fun.” They stopped in front of the game table where South Siren was playing, and Jasper tossed the bills into the pile in the middle. “It’s a card game.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing!” Grace protested.
“Don’t worry about it. Just have fun.”
The dealer held out cards to them. Grace reluctantly accepted her hand.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Van Terra,” South Siren said from across the table. She tossed two of her cards face down in front of her. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is my associate, uh, Superangel. One word.” Jasper threw down one card. Grace’s gaze flickered between them. She put down one as well.
South Siren was dressed as she had been during the first race, in a sleeveless and very low-cut white bodysuit that had dark gray panels running down each side. There was no white glow in her eyes at the moment, leaving her with the same dark brown irises as Sarena Trench the popstar. But instead of Sarena’s matching long waves of hair—which Jasper assumed was a wig—her white hair fell straight, stopping just above her shoulders.
“Rumor has it Ringmaster’s up to something big,” South Siren said, lifting a dark teal hand to pat her hekten’s head. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Nope. Just here for the fame and glory.” Jasper assessed her hand and pursed her lips.
Other players around the table either threw down cards or drew from the deck as their turn came. Grace leaned toward Jasper. “What do the symbols on the cards mean? Are they related to the numbers?” she whispered.
“Don’t worry about it.” Jasper drew from the deck. “You’re doing fine.”
“I genuinely thought you would do better in the first race.” South Siren raised a white eyebrow. “A lot of people discredit you because you’re young and new, but you’ve pulled off some impressive stunts.”
“Well, I would have done better, but some Red Blades attacked me over an…unrelated issue.”
Grace threw down three cards without even looking at them.
“Still.” South Siren shrugged. “If I were with the betting crowd, I might have even put money on you.”
People were betting on the races? Jasper should have expected as much. “We’ve only had one race,” she said. “I’ll have plenty of chances to—”
“Drink, miss?” a server asked, holding out a tray of glasses. Jasper accepted. To her surprise, Grace took one too.
“You’re not even going to ask what it is?” Jasper asked as she drew again. Another awful card. Ugh.
Grace took a sip. “Nope. Am I playing this right at all?”
Maybe that Nova Cora had been spiked with something. Or maybe Grace had simply never had much caffeine or sugar before. That wouldn’t surprise Jasper. Still, bringing Grace had been a terrible idea.
Jasper swallowed her guilt. Grace had insisted, after all.
South Siren drew a card, and annoyance crossed her face for a split second before she masked it.
“You hear anything else about Ringmaster, or just that he’s up to something?” Jasper asked.
“I heard he’s working for someone, but he never struck me as the type. His name is Ringmaster, after all,” South Siren replied. “You could try talking to Cutthroat. He’s the one I heard it from.”
The man to Jasper’s left tossed down his hand. “I’m setting,” he announced. Everyone else around the table threw their cards down, some groaning and others cursing.
Grace put her cards down, and the attention turned to her.
Jasper whistled. “Wow, nice hand.”
“Impressive,” South Siren added, her tone walking a fine line between admiration and annoyance.
“What just happened?” Grace asked.
“You won all that money is what happened.” Jasper grabbed jano bills from the center pile and held them out to Grace, who stared in confusion. Sighing, Jasper shoved the bills into her own pockets. “Let’s go find Cutthroat.”
Cutthroat stood on a balcony overlooking the casino floor. He was dressed in his usual layers of black and purple leather, accented with silver buckles here and there. There were silver rings on his hands, and a couple in his ears, too.
Jasper had no idea where he was from, or what species he was. His skin was a pretty neutral shade of light brown, his hair and short beard were dark, and his only visible feature that couldn’t pass for human was his silver eyes that practically glowed in the low light. Maybe he was some kind of half-breed.
Jasper climbed the winding stairs leading up to the balcony and strolled toward him, Grace trailing behind her. “Cutthroat,” Jasper greeted him as she leaned against the railing to his left. “Space pirate. How is space?”
“What do you want, Van Terra?” The gruff response didn’t exactly suggest he was in the mood for conversation.
“Ouch.” Jasper tapped the railing. “I heard that you might have new information on Ringmaster.”
“And why would I tell you that?” Cutthroat asked. “You’re a teenage girl who thinks she can keep up with real villains.”
Teenage girl. Jasper’s fingers twitched. Now wasn’t the time for fighting. She could kick Cutthroat’s ass later, if she really wanted.
“You don’t have much by way of employees, do you?” Cutthroat continued. His gaze flickered to a spot farther down the balcony, where a few members of his pirate crew were chatting quietly. Was that supposed to be a threat?
“I have a crew. They’re better than mindless henchgoons.” Jasper jutted a thumb at Grace behind her. “In fact, this is my latest recruit.”
“Another child.” Cutthroat rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t know much about what Ringmaster’s up to. I noticed him earlier in a back alley while I was robbing some tourists.”
“Isn’t a big shot villain like you above mugging?”
“I wanted food and it was the fastest way to get money. I wouldn’t rob a bank just to buy a sandwich.”
“I would,” Jasper said.
“That would be wildly impractical.”
“And hilarious.”
Cutthroat shook his head. “Do you want to know what I heard or not? Ringmaster was on a call. I didn’t catch much of the conversation, but I got the feeling he’s working for someone.”
“Aw, cute, you finally figured it out.” Jasper laughed. “I’ve known who he was helping for some time now.”
“Really?” Cutthroat’s eyes narrowed. “And who would that be?”
Jasper stepped away from the railing. “Why should I tell you?”
She and Grace walked a few feet before Cutthroat stopped her. “Van Terra,” he called. “If you really think you’re as good as the rest of us—”
“I think I’m better, actually,” Jasper said as she turned around.
“Prove it. Come to Atzy’s. Most big names are gathering there soon. I doubt you can play our games with us.”
On another night, Jasper would have been tempted. But her other plans had her too distracted to worry about proving herself to the other Janus System villains right now. “Thanks,” she told Cutthroat. “But I don’t need to arm wrestle a couple of losers to prove myself.”
“Suit yourself.”
A thought struck Jasper. “One last thing.”
“I wouldn’t be above injuring you to make you shut up,” Cutthroat warned.
“It’s just a quick question. You hang out in space a lot. Have you heard of spacetime warps?”
Cutthroat’s reaction surprised Jasper. His eyes briefly widened, and his expression darkened in a way that sent a chill down her spine. “Where did you hear that?”
Jasper lifted her hands. “What if I told you I’ve seen one?”
“We’re not discussing them. Period. Go bother someone else.”
Alrighty then. Jasper led Grace back down the steps. “All right, Angel, I think I got what I needed to out of my system. Let’s head back.”
“Are you sure?” Grace asked, frowning. “It sounded like Cutthroat knows something about the spacetime warp thingies.”
“He’s not going to tell us anything. And I shouldn’t have brought you here in the first place.”
“Are you forgetting I have super strength?” Grace shot Jasper an exasperated look. “You can’t shelter me forever.”
“There’s a difference between sheltering you and keeping you from getting killed by villains.” Jasper liked that Grace was showing some fight, but in Sagev of all places? Jasper had expected her to shut down at the first sight of a villain.
“Why would anyone here want to kill me?” Grace asked.
Jasper lowered her voice. “Look, they probably don’t. I’m the only person who knows why Starr’s after you, and the only villain who wants to take him down, as far as I know. But it’s still dangerous out here.”
“It’s dangerous everywhere! You’re dangerous!” Grace flung up her arms. “We drove off a roof today!”
“Technically yesterday, since it’s past midnight—”
“And we’ve risked our lives a dozen other times. Because we’re doing what it takes to get to Ringmaster and Starr. And we know they’re after research on the warps,” Grace pointed out. “Whatever Cutthroat knows could help us figure out why Starr’s interested.”
She had a good point. A really good point.
Jasper paused and glanced back up at the balcony railing. Cutthroat was gone, probably on his way out to Atzy’s.
“Okay. We’ll follow him. If I keep pestering him, maybe I can get him to talk more about the warps.” The more likely scenario was him punching Jasper in the face, but whatever. Worth a shot. “We can walk, or we can go by rooftop. Rooftop would be faster, but—”
“Let’s do that!” Grace said. “I never get to fly!”
“Holly’s going to kill me if she finds out about this,” Jasper muttered. “Dax would be mildly disappointed. Thea would do that thing where she lifts an eyebrow and—whatever, let’s go.”
They found a stairwell in a dark corner of the casino and went up. Jasper gave the locked door to the roof a hard kick, and it responded with a shuddering crack.
As she finished forcing the door open, someone spoke behind her. “Excuse me, you can’t be up here—”
“Security guard!” Grace warned.
Jasper held open the door. “Run!”
Grace ran through first, and Jasper followed before throwing the door shut behind her. The two sprinted across the roof.
Jasper pointed to an emerald tower a few buildings over. “Atzy’s is the bottom floor of that building.”
Grace picked up speed and spread her wings and caught the air, letting it carry her over to the next roof. Jasper leaped and landed on top of a wall between the two buildings. She jumped, grabbed on to a fire escape, and pulled herself up. From there, she climbed to the roof where Grace waited.
“And you were worried about me? You’re the one who can’t keep up.” Grace laughed. A real, genuine, loud laugh, and Jasper realized it was the first time she’d heard it.
“You okay?” Jasper asked, laughing herself. “I thought you were the sane one.”
“My old life is gone for good.” Grace shrugged. “I think I have to change a few things if I want to survive this new one.”
Jasper froze. For a heartbeat, she was in a spaceport, a young child ripped away from her home. Her old life gone for good.
“Look, a swimming pool!” Grace pointed, oblivious to Jasper’s internal battle. There was a motel roof far below them, and beyond that, the pool.
Jasper snapped back to the present. “Huh?”
“I’m dying. It’s so hot out here.” Grace dropped to the lower roof, using her wings to slow her fall.
“Wait up!” Jasper hopped over the edge and used pipes running up the building to scale the wall.
“I bet you can jump into the pool from here,” Grace said as Jasper reached her side.
Jasper assessed the distance. Numbers flashed in her vision, telling her how far the water was and how high she’d need to jump, but she could hardly process the math with how fast her head was spinning. “I don’t know.”
“I’ve seen you jump farther!”
Jasper laughed. “Okay, okay.” She backed up. Took a deep breath. Ran. Soared over the fence below.
Crashed into the pool.
Everything slowed down. As Jasper sank to the bottom of the pool, the water muffled the sounds of people screaming and shouting. Gold glitter danced in the water. She sank farther. A figure stood over the pool, staring down at her.
Something plunged into the water above. Grace.
The world resumed when Jasper hit the bottom. She pushed off and broke the surface. Grace came up next to her.
“I called security!” a woman shouted. “They’re on their way!”
Uh oh. Jasper grabbed Grace and dragged her out of the pool. “Let’s go!”
Jasper vaulted the fence with ease. Grace awkwardly flew over and almost fell when she landed on the other side. Jasper helped her regain her balance, and they ran.
It didn’t take long to reach their destination from there. “There’s Atzy’s!” Jasper pointed to the entrance as she and Grace raced around a street corner. The two sprinted up the steps to the open doorway, soaking wet. The bouncers gave them weird looks. Jasper glared back. She and Grace entered without a problem.
They stopped just inside, both breathing hard as they took in the music and flashing lights and moving crowd. Jasper scanned the scene quickly. “Cutthroat’s at the bar,” she told Grace, nodding toward the far end of the main floor.
Jasper drew a dagger, strolled up to the pirate, and drove the blade into the counter next to him. The black surface fractured, distorting the neon lights it reflected. “You’re going to tell me everything you know about the spacetime warps.”
Cutthroat didn’t even look her way as he reached for the dagger’s handle. “I told you not to—”
Jasper grabbed his wrist and slammed it into the table. “How strong do you think I am? I’m not just some girl.”
Cutthroat finally looked at her, rage burning in his silver eyes. He tried to free his arm. Jasper smirked when she managed to keep it pinned. He pulled again, harder, and she nearly lost her hold this time.
“Listen here—” Cutthroat started.
A new voice cut through the chatter around the bar. “I’ll have a citrine tea.”
Jasper froze. Whatever Cutthroat said next went in one ear and out the other. “Tyrso?” she asked hoarsely, the name slipping from her lips before she could stop it.
“Yeah, Tyrso Starr’s here. The senile old man who keeps to himself and wanders the city at night.” Cutthroat raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, weren’t you in the middle of threatening me?”
Jasper wasn’t sure if she responded or not. She didn’t remember pulling her blade from the counter. She didn’t remember seeing Grace as she stepped away from the bar. All she remembered was pushing her way through the crowd with the weapon in her shaking hand.