The Continent (The Continent #1)(75)

“Miss Sun! Miss Sun! Are you all right?”

My vision blurred, I blink to see a double image of Mr. Cloud kneeling before me, his twin faces each a portrait of concern.

“Please,” I say, grasping for his hands. “I’m afraid. Please.”

He moves to the seat beside me and puts his arm around my shoulder, drawing me close, just the way my father might have done. “There, there, sweet girl. You just breathe now. Everything will be all right.”

The heli-plane is picking up speed, bright sunlight flickering into the cabin as we race toward takeoff. I squeeze my eyes shut, clutching Mr. Cloud’s soft blue sweater so tightly that the wool is wound around my fingers. The sound of the engine fills my ears, the gentle vibration moves through every fiber of my body.

The plane takes to the sky, and I faint.

I revive a short while later, sitting up with a start when I realize where I am. Mr. Cloud is still beside me; I realize with some embarrassment that I have been resting against his shoulder for an indeterminate amount of time.

I rub my temples, my head in a fog. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Oh, not long,” he says. “Twenty minutes or so. You had a bit of a shock, that’s all. Are you feeling better?”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly.

“Well. It’s all quite understandable.”

I look out the window to see the deep blue sea spreading out below in all directions. “The Continent is behind us then?”

“Yes, my dear. You’re on your way home.”

Home. What a curious word, and a fickle one.

“Actually,” I say, “I intend to return to the Continent as soon as I have treated with the Chancellery for their assistance.”

Mr. Cloud gapes at me. “You wish to…I’m sorry, of what assistance do you speak?”

I look carefully at him. “Do I have your word, sir, that what I say will stay between us? I should not like for anything I share to be revealed before I have the opportunity to speak with the Heads of State.”

“But of course, Miss Sun,” he says, looking a bit wounded. “I would not betray your trust for any purpose.”

I give him a smile. “I believe you. I only wanted to clarify that what I say must be held in confidence, at least for the time being.”

“On my honor, Miss Sun, I shall reveal nothing.”

“Then it is well we have a long flight ahead of us, for I have much to tell you.”

Mr. Cloud is a keen listener, absorbing every detail of my story with rapt attention. When I have told it all, he sits back, wonder and sadness alike mingled in his expression.

“I had no idea things were so bad over there,” he says. “We all knew the Topi had become more aggressive—their movements into the south were tracked with great interest by the tour pilots. But to think that the Aven’ei are now in peril of being utterly destroyed—what a terrible predicament. What a terrible predicament indeed.”

“I am relieved to hear you say so, Mr. Cloud. It gives me great hope that the Heads of State will prove to be as thoughtful and compassionate as yourself.”

“Well,” he says, looking uncomfortable. “I think you have a fair challenge ahead of you there.”

“But…I shall tell them all that I have told you—why should they respond any differently?”

He gives me an apologetic smile. “I am but a simple groundskeep er, Miss Sun. I am no politician. The folks in the Chancellery—no disrespect intended—well, they tend to have a different way of seeing things than a regular fellow might do.”

“Is there another way to see this situation? Can there be any other answer but to intervene?”

“If the Aven’ei will not emigrate, as you say, I don’t see any way that the Spire can help.”

I look out the window, squeezing my arms against my chest. “I hope you are wrong.”

“And perhaps I am. As I say, I am only a groundskeeper. What do I know of such matters?”

I turn back to him. “I ask you, Mr. Cloud: if it were in your hands, what choice would you make?”

He straightens, his chin coming up slightly. “Well, if it were up to me, Miss Sun, I should take up a sword myself to defend those in difficulties. But alas, I have no influence in such matters, or skill with a weapon, nor any right to speak against the rule of the Spire.”

This last point perplexes me. “Haven’t you?”

“Oh, no, miss. The Spire has kept us safe for an absolute age—not a single drop of blood shed in battle for more than two hundred years. That’s saying quite a lot, don’t you think?”

“It says a great deal. I should never deny the significance of the peace we enjoy—I only question whether it is right to wrap ourselves within it and turn a blind eye to the suffering of those less fortunate.”

He nods. “It is a fair question. But I, for one, would have great difficulty in putting it to those who rule.”

“Well, I mean to do it.”

“As you say.” He gives my hand a little pat. “I think if anyone were to bring about a change for the Continent, it would be someone like you.”

“Why not you, Mr. Cloud? You believe as well as I that the Spire should intervene.”

He laughs, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Oh, no, not I, Miss Sun! I don’t have the words to fairly express my thoughts—and I’d make a bungle of it if I tried. No, no, I leave that to your lot. After all, I am—”