Quaking shook frozen dirt from the ceiling, and Lapis bent over, covering her head with her arms. What else would jiggle loose? She jerked as cracking wood reverberated off the walls, followed by the clunking of stone against metal. A rock had broken a crate’s top, and she did not want to picture what one that big could do to her skull.
“The cave is not safe,” Dov said, examining the nooks and crannies of the pitted stone above them.
“No, but neither is the way along the cliff,” Chiddle said as a boulder flumped in front of the opening and rolled. Lapis closed her eyes and shoved her clenched fingers against her lips, fighting with fear. She had bravely faced the palace guards, the cannon operators, the mercenaries, but this? How could they escape the ‘shroud?
Patch slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. If she were to die in that cave, at least she had him with her. How terrible, for her to think it; she needed him to live. She dug her forehead into his chest, and he smothered her in his embrace.
Faelan hissed. Everyone looked at him as he withdrew a khentauree hand from the broken crate.
“What is this?” Dov asked, outraged, whisking over and snatching it from her brother. He subsided as Chiddle buzzed at him, his free hand relaxing until it hung at his side instead of forming a clenched fist. His head swiveled to the containers, back to the hand, then he replaced it with gentle care.
“There’s a door back here,” Jetta called. “Can you tell if it leads to a tunnel?”
“I’m not stepping near your shit,” Perben muttered.
“Good thing that’s not what I needed to do, then, is it?” she asked, her voice sharp as one of Tuft’s icicles.
“There’s a room, not a tunnel,” Patch said. “At least, as far as I can tell. There is some interference coming from inside.” Lapis looked up as he touched his patch; the glowing pattern sped up.
“You are correct. There is a room.” Dov looked at Chiddle, then trotted behind the crates. After a flash of cyan, the squeal of metal, and the clang of him tossing the door aside, he entered. Jetta moved back to their group as he dragged another, larger crate into view and tore the lid from it.
“That looks like khentauree skin,” Faelan said, standing on tiptoe to peek inside.
“Raw sheets for forming the chassis,” Dov said, punching down and lifting one out with the tips of his fingers embedded in the center. It was thick—much thicker than their skin was.
What in the Pit was that doing there?
“So the smugglers aren’t only dealing in parts?” Patch asked, raising a lip. “Where did they get this stuff from? Torc Bedan?”
“Maybe,” Faelan said, peering at the boxes. “The Dentherions were looting old Taangis military bases, too, so maybe it came from those. I don’t see logos or stamps to indicate origin, though.”
“There was no identification in the room, either,” Dov said. He raised the sheet. “We shall use these. Our material is light but strong. We can create umbrellas that will protect you from the rocks.”
“We must leave,” Chiddle agreed. “This cave is not safe, if the skyshroud explodes. It might collapse.”
The squealing of metal became louder. Dov looked at the larger chunks falling past the overhang and returned to the sheet. Chiddle joined him, and between their heated beams and their strength, they folded the corners down and pushed the center up, creating a crude umbrella. Dov tore into other crates until he found black cylinders, and the khentauree melted them to the centers for handles.
More debris rained from the overhang, and Lapis watched the pile with dread. What if they got blocked in before they could leave? Patch slid his arm around her and kissed her forehead. She looked up at him, worry, anxiety, and a heavy dose of numbing terror stamping through her. He took the large weapon from her, set it on his shoulder, then accepted an umbrella from Dov with a grin—not with his normal cavalier attitude, but close enough.
Jetta hefted hers up and raised an eyebrow. “This is light,” she agreed. “I take it other parts make khentauree heavy?”
“The mechanics and electronics inside, yes,” Dov said as he and Chiddle melted two together and used them to cover Tuft. “Our bones are thick and strong, but they weigh much.” He tapped the top of Tuft’s umbrella. “This is older material. Later designers did not want it to conduct aquatheerdaal, but reflect attacks. It was expensive to outfit khentauree with such protection, so those of us who fought received them, while others did not.”
“It is time, it is place, whether khentauree have such skin,” Chiddle said as he bent a piece into a half-cylinder he set on his head. Dov handed him straps he ripped from stacked crates, and he wrapped them over the top of the hat and beneath his chin three times before tying the ends. “There are other alloys better suited for various work, and Gedaavik had his own recipe.” Another boulder thumped into the opening, splashing mud and debris in a large circle around it.
“We must go, before we cannot get out,” Dov said, arranging his helmet.
Lapis swallowed. Patch nudged her, and she took that as a sign to move. Chiddle pulled Tuft after him, Dov took the rear, and the rest of them proceeded in the middle.
Darkness everywhere, and mud, clumps of earth, rocks, boulders, and random bushy debris slid over the crumbling edge of the ever-shrinking overhang. Chiddle’s light faded from view, and Patch used his patch to add more illumination to what Dov provided—for all the good it did. Bouncy lights did not make for easy detection of impediments.
They hopped over and around obstacles, waded through puddles and slushy mud, and crunched through frozen branches. The metal above them squealed, and every time Lapis looked up, she noticed enormous gaps in the hull that sparked with electricity. If those damaged parts came down . . .
She jerked as a rock bounced off her umbrella, leaving a slight dent. They had to hurry. Hurry.
The cliff just in front of Faelan, Jetta and Perben gave way, sending mud flowing over the edge. They rushed to get on top of boulders and larger rocks as it expanded to coat the ground.
“RUN,” Dov commanded.
Like it was that easy!
Lapis stretched to keep up with Patch, huffing, crying, as they veered away from the cliff, climbing over rocks and hopping to piles of debris to avoid the rushing mud.
“You can run faster,” Dov buzzed, deep disappointment in his voice.
Did he not realize humans were, well, human? Did he not know how tired they were? If he wanted to run ahead, let him! They’d do just fine with Patch’s tech light!
Anger burned through her as she leapt to the ground beyond the flow and scrambled over a pile of rock and ‘shroud rubble lying against the cliff face, crackling and sparking. She avoided the bright bits; she might not stay conscious, let alone alive, if she touched one.
The snapping of branches caught her attention. Faelan, Jetta and Perben waded through a tangled mess of brush; they had no time to go around. She winced as she followed; much of it Chiddle had already smashed, but the stray twig snagged her clothing and tore holes.
They passed through a shower of dirt from the bottom of the ‘shroud, and light not from Chiddle’s head greeted them. The edge of the vessel!
The cliff sloped down, so the ‘shroud’s belly did not touch it, which meant less debris blocked their way. The mud was still slick, but the uprooted bushes and boulders were absent. Lapis slipped, slid, and yelped as Dov grabbed her waist and heaved her up; something landed, sparking and sizzling, where she had been. The khentauree snagged Patch as well and leapt away from the rubble. He bounded after the others, and she winced as his fingers dug into her side. She clenched the umbrella arm so the jostling would not cause her to drop it and fought not to whimper in pain.
She would bruise, but that was better than the alternative.
They hit open air. Her brief joy crashed as she stared at the edge of the humongous cliff.
Faelan, Jetta and Perben disappeared over the lip, and Lapis sucked in a breath as Dov followed. Her feet dangled over a narrow trail, with a many-stories drop to the next level. Tuft’s sled was too wide, and Chiddle fought to keep it from tumbling over the edge.
The path crossed back where the cliff jutted out, and they headed down a steeper slope wider than the upper part, but without railing or boards to create stairs. Both would have been nice, as the ground was icy and snow-laden, but Dov did not slide as much as she expected.
Her umbrella snagged a ragged bit of rock, and she tipped it over her shoulder, protecting more of Dov’s back than her head. Better that, than having it ripped from her hands. She would need it after the khentauree put her down.
BOOM.
Flame and oversized chunks rocketed into the air high over the ‘shroud’s back end, followed by the blackest smoke. The earth shook, and the ship tipped their way. Of course it did. Why would it stay the direct course?
“Against the cliff!” Chiddle yelled.
A whirlwind later, she and Patch sat on Dov’s back as he lay against the cliff, umbrellas pushed together to protect as much of them as possible, Perben on Tuft in the middle, and Faelan and Jetta mimicking them on Chiddle.
The stone vibrated as the next explosion deadened her hearing. The walls of the palace and the cliff below them blew outwards, huge chunks spinning through the air while the main mass tumbled down the hillside, heading for the Avranda. Rock, dirt, mud and wood rained down, pattering against their umbrellas and bouncing on the trail. Boulders struck near the crossback, taking bits of the edge with them as they rolled off, then plummeted.
Flaming clumps fell through the smoke, coloring everything a hot orange, and the squeal of metal grew sharper. Chiddle hissed as a shadow veered over them.
Lapis gasped. The ‘shroud slid onto the jutting cliff, tearing the top apart and sending a shower of earth their way. Her heart rammed frantically into her chest as the rock at her back shuddered in time with the craft.
Dov’s head swiveled, and he said something, but Lapis’s ears rang so loudly, she could not hear him. Patch nodded, so she did too. The khentauree rose, and she squeaked at the unexpected move. He held her partner’s legs as one would a child’s, and she latched onto his waist to keep from sliding off.
Jetta and Faelan did the same with Chiddle, while Perben continued to sit on Tuft. Good thing the icy one was not awake, because she doubted he would appreciate the company.
The khentauree stuck to the cliff like glue. Lapis’s leg scraped against the rock, and she winced, hoping the fabric held up for just a bit more. She did not want bleeding cuts that might get infected when she knew doctors would have wounded rebels and syndicate shanks to worry about.
A cylindrical something larger than the khentauree landed in the trail, bounced, spun, and blocked them, burning and smoking. Lapis choked on the smell; how horrible was that going to be for her lungs? Faelan and Jetta slid off Chiddle, and greatly daring, he leapt to it, pivoted, and kicked it with his hind legs; the thing rolled over the edge, trailing smoke in its wake.
Another numbing explosion left her hearing nothing but ringing, her lungs vibrating, and her eyes quivering. She squeezed them shut as Dov stumbled, stopped, then laid down. They had gotten halfway to the next crossback, but too late; the cliff had collapsed, taking the passage with it.
They were stuck.
Lapis slid her leg over Dov’s back, set her feet against his belly, and held her umbrella as best over him as she could. Patch did the same, then glanced at her and said something. She shook her head.
“I can’t hear anything but ringing.”
He clenched the handle between his knees, touched her cheek, and mouthed ‘I love you’. His fingers caught her tears.
Smoke settled around them, and Lapis wrapped her scarf tighter around her mouth and nose, and pulled her coat collar up for added protection. The rock shuddered again, and wind careened past, clearing enough of the haze that she could see chunky shadows fall through the sickly brown clouds to the north, then a huge flaming blot slide after them.
The trail beneath her feet vibrated, and the smoke turned hot orange. Pebbles and stone showered them, then flecks of mud splatted against everything. Clumps of snow mixed with earth and the tattered remains of branches and roots followed.
Patch nudged her. She looked at him as he set his weapon across his lap, leaned forward and grabbed Dov’s hand. She slid her free hand around him and covered both of theirs with her fingers as the khentauree took Perben’s hand. Faelan had his hand on the traitor’s shoulder while Jetta had linked arms with him and Chiddle.
A chain, however awkward. If they died, they would die together. She supposed, at the end, it would not matter if Perben was there. Dead was dead, and the Pit did not care about a life ill-lived.
The part of the ‘shroud sliding over the jutting cliff screeched to a stop. Lapis did not want to stick around and see if it stayed that way, but looking at the destruction of the trail, they might not have much choice. Climbing over loose material that continued its way to the Avranda with every shake might end with a quick trip to the bottom of the mountain.
What were they going to do?
Heat reached them, and sweat popped out on her brow. She snarled and rubbed her eyes against Patch’s back, not wanting salt added to the dirt and dust she already blinked from her sight. How much more miserable did this event plan to make them?
The ground shook, and her grip tightened.
“I think I am not so ready to go to silence as I thought,” Dov said, his attention on the ‘shroud as it slid further over the cliff.
At least she could now hear him over the ringing.
“Then you’re in good company,” Patch said.
The khentauree’s head swiveled to Chiddle, then back to them. “Sanna said that Darl took a bird to explore the cliff. He said the debris obliterated the trail at the base. We cannot get down this way. Because of the smoke, they cannot get a Swift to us.”
As if they could land a Swift anywhere nearby!
“How far can we go on the trail?” Patch asked.
Dov paused. “Hmm. Sanna says halfway if we are lucky.”
“Any suggestions?” Faelan asked.
Silence.
