The Stars Never Rise

We gathered around the small breakfast table—Devi stood as far from me as possible—and ate Reese’s bacon and eggs while we developed a plan.

“The uniforms will work as well for a rescue as for an escape,” Maddock said around a mouthful of bacon. “They won’t be looking for us in school clothes or at the press conference.”

“That’s because we’d have to be stupid to show up at the courthouse, where every cop in New Temperance is waiting to arrest us.”

I ignored Devi, and that was so much fun I decided to try it more often.

“They’re holding the press conference in the square outside the courthouse,” Reese said. “What can you tell us about the layout?”

The town square was almost identical to the courtyard at my school, but on a larger scale. “Um…There’re buildings on three sides—one is the courthouse—and at the center there’s a stone dais with leg irons for three, and room for hundreds to congregate in front.” And, of course, there was a giant television screen that could be set to show a news feed or a local feed, such as when they announced new Church positions or broadcast school ceremonies, like my third-grade Church creed recital.

“Any idea where they’ll be keeping your sister?” Devi asked as yolk dripped from her forkful of egg onto her plate.

“The police are headquartered in the courthouse, but I’ve only been in there once. Maybe Finn could do some recon and find out where the jail section is?”

Maddock stabbed his fried egg with his fork, and bright yellow yolk bled all over his plate like a sunshine hemorrhage. “He says he’s up for that.”

“There’s probably an entrance on the other side of the building, out of sight from the square. Fewer people would see us if we go in that way.”

Devi snorted in contempt and Reese dipped a strip of bacon in his yolk. “We’d draw more suspicion if we avoid the crowd than if we hide within it.”

“Oh.” I took a big drink of juice to cover my embarrassed flush.

Grayson gave me a sympathetic smile. “If the turnout is big enough”—and it would be; nothing this sensational had happened in New Temperance since the war itself—“we should be able to slip into the courthouse through an entrance in the square without being noticed. But it’ll be harder to blend once we’re inside.”

“We can’t all go,” Devi said, and I had to remind myself that she wanted to survive this just as badly as I did, and that she had more experience avoiding arrest than I probably—hopefully—ever would. “The more of us there are, the more attention we’ll draw.”

“The fewer of us there are, the harder it’ll be to fight our way out if necessary,” I pointed out.

Devi snorted again. “They have guns. If we have to fight, we’re already screwed.”

“Don’t we have guns?” Not that I wanted to shoot anyone, but guns make for a very effective threat. “Finn had—”

“That’s our only one,” Maddock said. “It stays here with Grayson. The rest of us will go in pairs. That way, if one pair is caught and forced to run, the other can keep going. Finn’s on his own.”

Something told me Finn was usually on his own.

Devi pushed her empty, grease-smeared plate back. “Maddy and I will approach the square from one direction, and Reese and Nina can go in from the other.”

Grayson shook her head. “You’re either going to have to pair Maddock with Nina or take me, so Finn can communicate with her.”

“We’ve been over this.” Reese plucked an uneaten strip of bacon from her plate. “You’re not strong or fast enough to get away if this goes badly.”

“I know. I’m a liability.” She looked distinctly unhappy about that. “I’ll stay here and finish packing.”

“That’s it, then,” Maddock said. “I’ll go with Nina. Devi, you and Reese find a spot within view of the side entrance of the square. Stay near the back of the crowd and try to blend, but if someone recognizes you, run. Don’t hesitate.”

That was when I truly realized how hard it would be for either of them to disappear into the hometown crowd. Even if their pictures hadn’t been flashed on the news, along with my own, Devi’s distinctive beauty would stand out in a sea of mostly pale faces, and Reese was several inches taller than the tallest student at my school.

Together, they would certainly stand out.

“What’s Reese going to wear?” I studied his build critically. “I don’t think we have any school clothes to fit him.”

Grayson jumped up from her chair, her brown eyes flashing with excitement. “Finn picked this up for him.” She threw open the coat closet and pulled out a long navy garment. At first I thought it was some kind of a coat. Then…

I turned to Reese. “You’re going as a cop?” As a pledge, since there was no embroidery on the fitted cassock.

He only grinned and chewed, while Grayson hooked the hanger over the closet door.