Free Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull Page A

him skeptically. “You want a straight answer?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Adam exploded with laughter. “You’ll be fine! There’snothing to worry about. One day it’ll be you sitting on this throne.”
    Cole frowned. “Wait. Give it to me straight.”
    Adam shrugged. “More than half our scouts survive their first ten missions. Maybe one in twenty survive all fifty. But the odds of coming home the first time are reasonable!”
    “I start tomorrow?”
    Adam nodded. “Today was slow out there, which oftentimes means the next day will be busy. I’ll want a report about your first outing.”
    “How can I prepare?”
    “There’s a proper attitude!” Adam said. “Durny, you’ve earned a rest. Have Mira show him about, get him equipped, give him some tips. And have her dig up some decent clothes. The boy looks like a storm-blown scarecrow.”
    Cole almost explained his costume, but Adam seemed through talking to him. Durny ushered him away and began asking people if they had seen Mira.
    Before long, Cole found himself facing a girl nearly his height. She wore boots, corduroy pants, a collared shirt, and suspenders printed with shamrocks. Her brown hair was chopped short. She wasn’t very clean, but that couldn’t hide her pretty gray eyes and cute face.
    “Find some new monster bait?” she asked Durny.
    “Go easy,” Durny said. “Boy’s had a rough week. Mira, this is Cole. He’ll be raiding tomorrow. He needs to learn the ropes.”
    Mira gave Cole a once-over. “Let me guess. He needs clothes, too.”
    “He’s all yours.”
    Durny moved away.
    “Not a lot of girls here,” Cole said.
    “We have more than you see topside,” she said. “Most of the girls stay below.”
    “In the basement?”
    “In the caves. This whole section of the cliff is honeycombed with them. That’s why they built here. We’re right above them.”
    “It’s a big building,” Cole said.
    “Big enough for most everyone to have a room topside. But some prefer the caves. When a storm comes, everyone prefers the caves.”
    “You get bad storms?”
    “It doesn’t get much worse than a castle landing on you.”
    “Has that happened?”
    “They’ve had close calls. Some damage. No direct hits.”
    Cole regarded Mira pensively. “Have you been here long?”
    “A couple of years.”
    “Really? You must have been young when you came here.”
    She shrugged. “I’m about eleven.”
    “ ‘About’?”
    “I’m an orphan. Nobody knows when my birthday is.”
    She didn’t seem to be asking for pity, so Cole tried not to give it. “Are you going to help me survive tomorrow?”
    “Survival is up to you. I can help you get your stuff.”
    A boy, maybe a year older than Cole, chummily clapped Mira on the back. “Did you finally find a boyfriend?” he asked.
    Her shoulders hunched uncomfortably until he removed his hand. “No, but I already have a boy-enemy.”
    “Nice,” he said, smiling. He stood a few inches taller than Cole, with a bronze complexion and dark hair. He held out his hand. “I’m Jace.”
    Cole shook it. “Cole.”
    “You’re my new best friend.”
    “How come?”
    “With Fiddler gone, it was my turn to scout tomorrow.”
    “Glad I could help,” Cole said.
    “If you get an easy one, we aren’t friends anymore. If you get killed, I’ll love you forever.”
    “Buzz off,” Mira said. “I need to show him the place.”
    “Listen to everything she says,” Jace advised. “Then do the opposite.”
    Mira punched at him, but Jace dodged away.
    “Come on,” Mira said.
    Cole followed her out of the common room and down a wide hall. They turned corners, passed some doors, then went down a flight of stairs.
    “Where are you from?” Mira asked.
    “Earth,” Cole said.
    “You’re from outside? How long have you been here?”
    “About a week.”
    For the first time he saw a flash of real sympathy in her face. She stopped walking. “A week?”
    “My friends got kidnapped by slavers. I