Tick saw a glimmer of metal when he pulled off a prickly branch, his curiosity increasing his pace. Soon, they’d cleared the entire pile, and all of them stared at what they’d uncovered.

Three sleek and shiny motorcycles were lined up in a row, silver with sparkly metallic red paint. They were the coolest things Tick had ever seen, but there was one thing about them that seemed a little odd.

None of them had wheels.

Chapter

46

~

Chi’karda Drive

They’re called Windbikes,” Mothball said, gesturing with a wide sweep of her arm. “Quite fun, they are.” Everything about the strange vehicles looked exactly like a normal bullet bike you’d see zooming down the freeway: a small windshield, silvery handlebars, shiny body with a big black leather seat. But the machine ended in a flat bottom instead of two round wheels.

“I hate to break it to you,” Paul said, “but somebody, uh, stole the tires.”

Mothball laughed, a booming roar that bounced off the overhanging branches. “You’re a funny little man, you are, Paul.”

“Are you telling us these things . . . fly?” Sofia asked.

“Well, I’d hope so, what with them not having wheels and all. Come on,” she said while pulling the bike on the end away from the rest, pushing it across the ground. “There’s three. One for me, and two for you kiddies to share. Methinks you’ll be better off if ya go in pairs.”

“Not me,” Sato said. “I go alone.”

“You’ll go in a pair,” Mothball said. “Or you’ll sit ’ere and hug this tree all day.” She stared down at Sato, daring him to argue. He said nothing in reply.

It was the first time Tick had seen Mothball use her size to intimidate someone. I have a feeling this lady is a lot tougher than she acts.

“Sweet biscuits!” Paul said as he grabbed hold of the next Windbike and dragged it a few feet away. “You’re serious? This thing really flies? In the air?”

“Where else would it fly, Einstein?” Sofia said. “Underground?”

“You got me there, Miss Italy,” Paul said, seeming to have grown accustomed to Sofia’s smart mouth. “How does it work?”

Mothball sat down on her bike, her body taking up the entire seat that was meant for two. “You push this ’ere button, which turns it on, like so.” She pressed a red button on the small dashboard under the handlebars. The Windbike came to life, humming like a big computer and not like a normal motorcycle at all. “Doesn’t use gasoline. Takes hydrogen right out of the moisture in the air, it does, burns it right nicely. Come on, get on, now!”

“Who’s going with who?” Tick asked.

“I’ll go with you or Paul,” Sofia said. “But not him.” She nodded toward Sato, who scowled back at her.

“I don’t want to go with you, either.”