The Outskirts: The Sky Raiders (Jace x OC) BOOK 1

The Sky Raiders: 29

We launched off into the darkness. The improvised skycraft flew swiftly, rocking, bucking, and fishtailing.
The catapults started firing, the balls of flames lighting up the night, none can close to hitting us which was good. Soon, all light from the fires of Parona was left behind, and we were left in the dark.
I tucked my head down to block the wind. We jerked left so hard, I fell into Cole. I groaned when my leg hit the said of the coffin. It felt like we were in a paper airplane in a tornado. Sometimes the coffin lurched forward, or dove, or climbed almost straight up. I hung on to the sides as tight as I could and leaned against Cole to avoid falling out.
We had no chance to exchange words, the wind was to loud. The only reason I knew I wasn't alone was because Cole's arms around my waist.
As our wild flight stretched on and on, I began to doubt whether we would ever make it to the salvage yard. There was no way to gauge the direction, we could be going the totally wrong direction.
After a while of diving and falling and jerking in different directions, we thumped down in the salvage yard. Looking around I could see the lit windows of Skyport perhaps fifty yards away. It had stopped raining, but we're we all soaked.
"We're here!" I called to Mira and Cole.
"Finally!" Cole said. "I thought that would never end!" Mira nodded in agreement.
We had lost most of the items in the storm, including the painting and the chest of coins. Cole grabbed the bow and shawl and came to stand by us.
"Come on, we have to get indoors." Mira said, running towards the doors. Cole helped me walk to the doors, my leg was bleeding again, it just have happened when I bumped it in the coffin. While we were walking, I caught a glimpse of what looked like someone on the roof. Jace! I thought giddily. He had obviously not seen us.
Cole shoved his bow and shawl into the shadows under the porch as Mira pounded on the door.
"It's locked." She said. After a few moments, Eli opened the door.
"We'd lost all hope!" Eli said with a grin, steeping aside so we could enter. "Durny?"
Mira shook her head. "Just us."
His face fell a little, then swatted me on the arm with the back of his hand. "Did you have a nice landing on that cyclops?"
I gave a small grin. "Better for me than for it."
Eli shook his head. "Your absolutely mad. But here you are. Adam had some of us waiting up, in case you showed. I'd expect he'd want to see you."
Eli led us to the common room, where Adam sat on his throne.
"Oh ho!" Adam bellowed. "The castaways return! I had a feeling you might return. Is the shaper with you?"
"He didn't make it." Eli reported.
Adam scowled. "What? The man built a skycraft, then forgot to board?"
"Oh yeah." I said sarcastically. "That's totally what happened." I knew I shouldn't, but I didn't like his attitude.
He ignored me and turned to Mira.
"He died making it." Mira was saying. "He was crushed by a huge spider. It took all he had to make it."
"This is why we don't send our best shaper to collect floatstones! We have three less capable men that could have done it. Anyways, you three look like drowned rats. Are you injured?"
"We're fine, but Kendals hurt." Mira said.
"Eli, take her to Jack." Adam said. I took off all my jewelry and gave it to Cole.
Eli nodded and led me down the hall to another room. A guy named Jack opened the door.
"What's this about?" He asked Eli.
"She's injured."
"What happened?" He said as he inspected my leg. I gave him a brief recap of what happened.
"Well," he said. "Your going to need stitches. It will hurt, but it has to be done."
"Okay." I said.
He did the stitches fast, but it was the worst pain I've ever felt. I was done in about half and hour.
"There," he said. "Four stitches. Come back tomorrow so I can check them."
I said thank you, and Eli led me to me and Mira's room. I went inside and found Mira waiting for me.
"How'd it go?" She asked me.
"Four stitches." I said showing her my leg. "Listen, I need your help."
"What's up?" She said.
"I saw Jace up on the roof when we got here, and I want to go up and see him. Do you know how to get up there?"
She sighed. "Kendal, you just got stitches, you should wait until tomorrow to talk to him."
"No," I insisted. "Please, I really want to see him."
"Okay," she said, obviously reluctant. "Durny showed me how to get up there, it's a secret staircase, I'll have to take you."
"Thank you!" I said.
We crept down the hallway quietly. She led me down a hallway I had never seen before. She walked over to a wall, and pulled down on light that was mounted on a wall. The wall slid open, revealing a staircase.
"Woah." I said.
"This will take you to the roof. But you can't tell anyone I showed you this."
"I won't." I promised her. "Thank you so much."
"Your welcome." She said smiling. I quickly hugged her and limped up the stairs.
He was sitting at the edge of the roof, at the same spot we had sat a couple days before. His back was to me. I felt tears in my eyes. A few hours ago, I never thought I would see him again.
"Did you miss me?" I called, just loud enough for him to hear.
He whipped around. "Kendal?"
I just nodded, not trusting my voice.
I lost it completely when he ran over to me and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head in the crook of his neck.
"I never thought I'd see you again." He said. "They said they had to leave you guys behind and . . . How did you get back?"
"Durny used floatstones to make us a skycraft. He died finishing it." I wiped the tears from my eyes and leaned back to look him in the eyes.
His eyes widened. "Your hurt."
"Yeah," I said laughing. "I stabbed a cyclops through its eye, but it got me first. But I got  stitches, I'm fine."
He laughed. "Only you could kill a cyclops."
I wiped the tears from my eyes, laughing.
Then I punched him on the arm.
"What was that for?" He said with a grin.
"You were teasing Cole and Mira, and they found out about us, dummy."
He smirked. "Oh, so there's an us now."
I felt my facing turning red. "Shut up. Cole totally grilled me with questions! He knows that we came up here!"
He laughed. "I know. I had to tell him to get him to stop teasing me about-" He cut off.
"About what?" I asked him.
He blushed. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."
I was not about to let this go. "About what, Jace?" I said with a smile growing on my face.
"It's nothing." He said, but he wouldn't look at me.
I shoved him playfully. "He found out one of your secrets before me!? No fair!"
He laughed. "This is one I can't tell you."
"Ugh, fine." I said. "I'll get it out of you eventually."
He just laughed again. "How'd you get up here anyway?"
I knew he was changing the subject, but I was excited to tell him about the stairs.
"Mira showed me this secret staircase to get up here." I said.
"What? Where?" He said clearly confused.
"I can't tell you. Plus your keeping secrets too." I said, smiling.
"Touche." He said and I laughed.
We hung out for a couple hours more before going to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.