The Navigator Read Online Free

might consider a friend, and she’s asking me to leave our world behind. Lorien, which I’ve been fighting to change.
    But it is changed now. It can never be the same. And I realize that if I do go with her, all I’d be leaving behind is a planet. Not a home or family. My options are to try to escape or die fighting for a place that I had already grown to hate.
    “There’s more to it,” Zophie says softly. “There are others going. There’s another ship that’s leaving. It may have already left. We have to join it. Janus is piloting it.”
    The doors burst open before I can respond. A small, floating trolley piled high with boxes and bags sails in. A dozen or so Chimærae follow behind it, and finally, a man. He’s tall, with dark, curly hair and thick eyebrows. His pale-blue shirt is ringed with sweat.
    “Crayton!” Zophie exclaims, rushing to close the doors behind him. “Where are Raylan and Erina. Are they . . . ?”
    “They’re staying,” Crayton says. “They’re Garde.They’re going to fight.”
    Zophie’s mouth hangs open for a few moments. Then she just nods.
    “Who’s this?” the man asks, staring at me.
    “Our pilot,” Zophie says, looking at me in a way that makes it obvious that she wants me to keep my mouth shut and just go along with her. “Lexa, this is Crayton. He’s a caretaker at Raylan’s estate. You may remember seeing him making deliveries to the museum when you were here. He’s been our go-between with Raylan for years.”
    “What is all this?” I ask.
    “Supplies,” he says, waving to the boxes. “Food. Weapons. Water. Medicine. Even some bags of jewelry and valuables to barter with. Raylan had it all loaded up and ready to go at a moment’s notice. I think he’d been anticipating something like this.”
    “I meant the Chimærae.”
    “They’re coming with us.” His voice gets quiet. “There were more of them when we left the estate. They fought bravely to make sure we got here.”
    I’m about to protest the idea of taking an animal horde on board the already-small ship—not to mention the fact that I don’t even know if I can fly it—when Zophie steps forward.
    “We need a pass code to access the fuel,” she says. “Did he give it to you?”
    “Yes.” Crayton nods. “It’s her name.”
    My head buzzes with confusion. Crayton shifts his weight, turning slightly, and that’s when I realize that he’s not just carrying a backpack. There’s something moving inside the bag strapped to him, stretching beneath the dusty layer of fabric covering his pack and starting to fuss, as if just waking up.
    A baby.
    I must look surprised, because Crayton nods his head back over his shoulder.
    “Her name is Ella. That’s the pass code. I watched Raylan change it on his data pad right before I left. Something simple so I’d remember it.”
    Zophie pulls back the cloth covering the baby. She’s tiny, pink and wrinkled. I haven’t had much experience with babies, but she looks too small. Like a doll.
    “She’s so tiny,” Zophie whispers, almost cooing.
    “Everything happened very fast,” Crayton says. “Erina wasn’t feeling well, and then suddenly she was in labor. No time to trek into the city. But everything was fine. Erina and Raylan looked so happy. Then the sky turned red and everything went wrong. They entrusted her to me. I don’t think . . . I don’t think they believe this is something they will survive. I have to make sure she’s safe. It’s bad out there, Zophie. If they don’t make it . . . their sacrifice can’t have been in vain.”
    There’s an explosion outside—close. Too close. Dustand debris fall from the ceiling around us.
    “We have to move,” Crayton says.
    “This way.” Zophie pulls on his sleeve. “Hurry!”

CHAPTER FOUR
    WE THROW ON ILL-FITTING SPACE SUITS PULLED out of an exploration exhibit, slipping them on over our own clothes. They’re supposed to help with the changing pressures as we exit the atmosphere, but