Lightning Bringer: (Lighting Seeker Book 2)

Neon Light

A violent shift in gravity pulled Vale from the darkness. Her eyelids were heavy and the voices around her were muffled. "Be careful how ye drive The Veritas!" Someone barked angrily.

"Well if you would stop breathing down my neck and reaching for the controls like some crazed maniac! Honestly, if you want to drive this thing I'll step aside. Happily! But oh wait! It's the one vessel you haven't learned how to drive!"

A sudden smack sent the second voice into a groan and a string of swears. "Next time ye decide to run yer mouth, I suggest ye stay out of me arms reach."

Vale's eyes fluttered open. She squinted against the flickering neon lights that made up the ceiling above her and watched them dance around the room, her focus doubling up into a brilliant display of colors. The voices became clear. "If you stayed behind the line like you were supposed to, then I wouldn't be in the way of your monstrous arms! It's my job to dodge the obstacles outside, not you!"

Vale recognized the voice. Sparrow, a man in his twenties with black hair and dark eyes that went by the winged nickname, had worked on the Lightning Seeker ship with Vale and Mortem before the ship was destroyed by the AI's six months earlier.

He was sitting in the front of a long hover vehicle, clutching the wheel with his left hand, half turned in his metal scrap seat, one leg up on the dash. A pair of thick headphones sat lopsided on his head. One off his ear so he could easily hear Mortem's orders. Although why he needed to have either headphone off of his ears at all to hear Mortem was a mystery.

The hover vehicle was narrow and drove at an alarming speed through traffic. Vale was laid across a long cushioned bench seat that ran along the wall. Across from her was a wall of shelves. By the look of the entire space, it seemed to be a mix between a moving hospital, cargo bay, and a strange night club.

Sparrow noticed Vale sit up and a large grin crossed his face, causing the metal rings he wore along his lower lip to glisten in the bright neon lights. "'Morning sleeping beauty! You put on quite the show back there." Sparrow swerved the wheel, narrowly missing a bright double-decker contraption that was coming right towards them.

Vale lost her balance and hit the purple shag carpet that covered the ground. Mortem walked up to her, his heavy boots shaking the vehicle with each step, and stared down at her with cold disapproving eyes.

He gazed down at her for a long moment, a look of frustration crossing his thick black eyebrows. Then he quietly slumped down onto the cushioned seat she had clumsily vacated. "Ye nearly got yerself and Dash killed. He had to drag ye from the building like a sack of potatoes. If he 'ad run into anyone, you would 'ave both been dead." He ran his fingers down his beard, his eyes tired. "I know ye don't like my rules-."

"I have obeyed everything you've asked of me," Vale said, exasperated. "I have followed every order. Trusted you at every turn."

"And ye will continue to do so!" he barked, startling Sparrow into swerving the vehicle to the left slightly. Silence fell over the space as Vale and Mortem glared at each other. Another swerve tilted the vehicle, causing Vale to break her stare and steady herself by placing her palms into the carpet and gripping it tightly to keep her steady.

"I want answers on why ye disobeyed me. Why, after months of acting as me shadow, as someone I have come to trust with me life..." He cleared his throat and worked a muscle in his jaw. "Ye better have a good reason for why you suddenly changed yer mind and attacked a fellow Tradesmen."

"He got in my way," Vale growled. "He knew better."

"She has a point," Dash said from behind her. Vale turned to see him standing in the doorway, his face in shadow. She hadn't realized just how large the vehicle was. There was an entire other room behind him. "I did know better."

Dash walked through the doorway, coming into the light. A small metal plate covered his broken nose. The nose I broke. He walked under the neon lights, setting the metal plate and his raven black hair ablaze with bright color. The neon casting long shadows across his face and framing his strong jaw.

He stopped and leaned against the supply wall, his eyes unreadable. He crossed his arms and avoided Vale's gaze. "Mortem! I need directions!" Sparrow shouted from the front of the vehicle as he took another aggressive turn. "Unless you want me to get us seriously lost, I'd get up here!"

Mortem scoffed and stood to his feet, muttering to himself as he left. He grabbed the front door to the hall and slammed it closed behind him, leaving Vale and Dash alone. Vale turned to stare at Dash. "What the hell is going on."

She was tired of getting raked over scrap metal and wanted answers before she lost her mind. Dash glanced at her, his bright green eyes filling with frustration. She could tell he wanted to tell her something but looked reluctant to do so.

"Dash?" her voice was soft, more gentle than she had expected.

Dash sighed and slumped to the ground, running his fingers through his hair. "Not everything is black and white Vale. For one, Mortem outranks me here. Travel and fieldwork is his turf. I can't call the shots when I am out here."

"Try," she insisted, turning to face him. "Start with the real reason why you are here."

"I already told you, to take Ace and Geo back-."

"No. That isn't the only reason." She shook her head and leaned against the wall next to him.

He sighed. "You're right. That isn't the only reason." He stared at her, searching her face for a moment, his normally amused and mischievous gaze was replaced by a gentle look she didn't recognize. One that scared her. One that made her feel strong and delicate all at once.

"Why Dash?" Vale whispered. Dash searched Vale's eyes, looking for something in her. Bringing out a blush she hadn't expected. It's all this neon. It's making me dizzy, she told herself.

Something tender flashed in his eyes as he caught her sudden change in color and then it was gone, tucked away. "To warn you." Dash looked away. "But I had to convince Mortem to upgrade your clearance level..." He touched his broken nose. "And after that rebellious display... it wasn't easy."

He ran his fingers through his hair, looking once again like this was the last place he wanted to be, having the last conversation he ever wanted to have. "There's something you need to know about Sky."