Read Horizon for Free Online Page B

forehead and down her back. Vachir’s body was too warm under Aluna’s tail, her gray horse flank slick and darkened with moisture.
    Tides’ teeth, she felt
alive.
Maybe for the first time in weeks. She wanted to whoop and yell, to scream at her enemies and run, fast as sunlight itself and as far as she could go. And maybe a few months ago, she would have. But now she harnessed the battle rush, channeling it into her strikes, her precision, her technique.
    She watched Hoku running toward their spot, two Upgraders gaining ground right behind him. One of them shot a gout of sickly green liquid from a weapon in his hand, and Hoku twisted, flicked his wrist, let his force shield take the damage.
    But in that moment, in just a flash, his foot hit a rock and he fell. It seemed as if the entire world slowed down as his shoulder crashed into the hard ground and he slid, suddenly obscured by a cloud of dust and grit.
    “Hoku!” Calli screamed.
    The Upgraders would be on him before he could get back up. One raised her ax above her head, ready to strike. But Hoku hadn’t made it to the rhinebra. If Aluna went for him, everyone would see.
    “Go,” Aluna told Vachir. The horse leaped forward eagerly, out into the open.
    Even on the ground, Hoku had the brains to activate his shield for the first of the Upgrader’s attacks. The ax bounced off it with a shower of sparks. The Upgrader took the sudden recoil, spun the ax, and went for a second hit.
    And then Aluna was there, spinning her talons and wielding Vachir like a weapon.
    She heard someone behind her and assumed it was Calli, coming to pull Hoku out of the battle. “Get him out of here,” she said.
    “We will,” said a boy’s voice.
    Aluna turned and saw Pocket helping Calli drag Hoku back to the rhinebra. There was no time to argue. No time to figure out what this meant for their survival or their hopes of finding Karl Strand. Her enemies were still up, and in this moment, they were all she had time to see.

H OKU WATCHED ALUNA dispatch the two remaining Upgraders with the efficiency of a shark. She used to be angry when she fought, full of a wild rage that drove her strength. Their time with the desert Equians had changed all that. Now Aluna possessed a battle calmness that seemed far more deadly. If her family could see her now, they’d be astonished at the change.
    “You okay?” Pocket asked. Calli poked Hoku’s arm, looking for a break.
    “I’m fine,” Hoku said, trying to sit up. “Aluna, get back here! Maybe they haven’t seen you yet!”
    Vachir whirled and thundered back to their safe spot beside the rhinebra. Aluna unhooked her tail from the saddle and slid down Vachir’s side until she was balanced on her tail sheath.
    Quick as an eel, she grabbed the front of Pocket’s shirt and pulled him toward her. “If you say anything about this, we’ll have to kill you.”
    Pocket tried to scramble away, but Aluna’s grip held him in place.
    “Wait,” Hoku said. “Don’t hurt him. He helped us.” He climbed to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder and the warmth soaking through his shirt.
    “He knows too much now,” Aluna said. “Calli, what would your mother do?”
    “Break his fingers if he talks,” Calli said, far too easily. “Or worse.”
    Pocket cringed.
    “He won’t say anything,” Hoku said quickly. He didn’t know if Aluna and Calli were pretending to threaten Pocket, or if they were serious about hurting him. He hoped they weren’t, but he couldn’t take the chance. The sounds of battle were dying down and he could hear Odd giving orders to tie up the attackers that were still alive. “Pocket, get these Upgraders secured before they regain consciousness,” Hoku said. “I’ll tie up the prisoners again.”
    Aluna stared at Hoku, her dark eyes searching his. He kept his own gaze even and calm. He didn’t look away. Finally, she released Pocket. The boy scrambled backward like a crab, his eyes wide.
    Hoku bound