Sparky's Arc

Chapter 5 of 10

The sky cleared, but the field did not. Guests kept pouring in from every direction. Sparky scanned the crowd and spotted dark clouds rolling back fast. He waved everyone toward a small stone lodge with soft padded walls and shimmering blue accents. Travelers ducked inside as the first raindrops fell. Sparky planted his magnet rod in the dirt outside the lodge door. Lightning cracked down and the rod hummed, pulling the bolt sideways into the soil. Safe for now, he thought. But the lodge was filling up fast. Sparky reached into his pack and tossed out a handful of glowing spheres. They drifted up, iridescent and soft, bouncing gently between the guests. The bubbles nudged people apart and made room where there had been none. Children laughed and pressed their palms against the floating colors. Still, more ships landed. Sparky ran to the bright star marker at the field's edge where his usher stood guiding traffic. "We're past capacity," she said flatly. "Forty more inbound. The lodge holds twelve." She pointed up. "Drifting station, two minutes out. I can route them there." "Do it," Sparky said. She raised her arms toward the sky, and the supercharged star at her feet pulsed bright. New arrivals veered upward, following her signal to the floating overflow station above. Sparky watched the sky settle into order. The festival was bigger than he'd planned for — and still growing.