CHAPTER 8

Zoë stayed vigilant on the roof top of the church, focusing her mind on protecting the crew rather than her missing husband. Alegra had wandered up twenty minutes ago and after scoping out the city, had settled down next to her with hardly a word. Between the light of the twin moons in the sky and the city glow, Alegra was avidly reading a bible she had found inside. The damp evening air was thick with smog and as the night wore on, the roads emptied. There were no signs of Prio’s men, but Zoë did not think for a moment that they were safe. She glanced over at Alegra who was flipping one page back and forth loudly, as if it were saying something it shouldn’t.

“You look perplexed.”

Alegra gave a frustrated sigh. “Gideon’s battle strategy is entirely counterintuitive.”

“Most stories of faith are.”

“He gained good ground in a short amount of time. There must be something to his tactics.”

“Aside from it being a faith story?”

“I considered that. But fanatical devotion to a diety and a mantra of self-sacrifice do not explain the small losses.”

“Why are you trying to glean battle strategy from a Holy Book?”

“I’ve studied so much of military strategy and tactics, but I’ve never seen this book before. The Shepherd says it depicts actual events on Earth That Was!”

“Some think so.”

Alegra paused for a moment, considering the book. “It does get rather fantastical at points.”

“You’re a strategist?”

Alegra nodded slowly. “I worked for Alliance Intelligence for over a year.”

“They’re recruiting young,” Zoë commented, surprised.

“Between a prodigious intelligence and synesthesia, it just comes naturally to me. I find things people want to hide. That’s how I found the Academy. Found them.” She made a brief gesture toward the church, indicating the boys inside, then she stared silently at the space in front of her.

“Why them?” Zoë asked softly. “Of all the ones to rescue, why them?”

“Tyler is an orphan. He has no one to rescue him.”

“They got him pretty young.”

“He cries and the roo