Chapter 96
96
A S R HAIF HEADED over to the others gathered near the dark tunnel, he spotted movement across the dome’s entry. He flinched and ducked, expecting the worst, which considering all that had happened was not unwise. Then he straightened with a smile and hurried to the others.
Ahead of them, Nyx balanced on a leg, leaning on Daal for support. They stood before the giant Myr bat. Rhaif had heard from Krysh that the beast was Bashaliia in a larger body. Rhaif was not convinced, especially as Perde got too near and the bat lunged at him, snapping fangs at his face.
Nyx scolded both bat and brigand. “Keep back. Both of you. He’s still ruled by madness.”
As Daal held her, she reached her hands up. Bashaliia lowered his bloody crown to meet her palms. Golden tendrils rose from Nyx’s fingertips. The shining strands wafted high, then dove into the open holes where the copper needles had once been.
Rhaif grimaced and held back, not wanting to intrude in what looked like a delicate matter. Nyx bowed her head, and the glow about her bloomed brighter. Rhaif wasn’t sure what she was attempting. Then suddenly golden fire burst out of all the holes in the bat’s skull. One of the remaining copper needles went flying. For a fleeting moment, emerald fire danced about those holes, too, but it was vanquished by the brighter gold.
Bashaliia collapsed for a breath, wingtips skittering wider, but he caught himself and pushed into Nyx’s arms. He keened and fluttered, acting more like his former self.
Daal joined her, and even Perde took a tentative step forward, but then retreated in a clear act of wary cowardice.
Rhaif hurried the last of the way, joining Graylin and Darant. “We’ve got company,” he announced to the two men.
Graylin frowned.
Rhaif pointed up. The broken hull of a ship glided across the opening, slowly circling through the warm mists out in the cold. Though it was fogged by the pall, there was no mistaking the Sparrowhawk. The ship was in rough shape, shot through with cannonballs. But it must have defeated the Hálendiian ships that had chased after it and was able to return.
Darant craned up and gave a nod of approval. “Good girl.”
Rhaif glanced over to the pirate, unsure if he meant the Hawk or his daughter Glace.
Graylin turned to Rhaif. “How is Shiya managing?”
“That’s why I came over. She’s finally tamed the turubya, and she thinks she understands what she’s supposed to do. But there’s two problems.”
“What are they?”
“Though she’s calmed the crystal orb, it remains unstable. If not employed soon, it may become inoperable.”
“How long do we have?”
Rhaif stared up at the dome entrance. “Just be glad the Sparrowhawk is here. We have little to no time. The sooner we act the better.”
“And the second problem?”
Rhaif shrugged. “Best see for yourself.”
G RAYLIN R UBBED HIS chin and studied the rise of the crystal sphere. It had indeed settled down, resting quietly in its cradle. The golden fluid at its heart had returned to a more regular pulsing, but even to his eye, it looked unsteady and tremulous.
Definitely don’t want to wait too long.
The other challenge was more straightforward. One of the bronze suspension bridges had been damaged, twisted askew by the earlier violent quaking.
He turned to Shiya. “You believe this could be a problem.”
“I do not know,” she admitted. “Once I energize the turubya, it is intended to be dropped down that hole, to fall somewhere near the world’s core. The delivery must be precise. It must not strike the walls, or it could be damaged and rendered useless.”
He nodded. “And if this suspension doesn’t release as intended, it could throw off the angle of its descent.”
She simply crossed her arms, her face worried.
Krysh approached with Jace after the two had finished inspecting the bracing. “We may have a solution.”
“Which is what?”
Jace lifted his ax. “Brute force.”
Graylin frowned. That seemed to be the young man’s answer to every challenge of late. “Explain yourself.”
“As near as I can tell,” Krysh said, “it appears the bridges are calibrated to release at the same time.”
Shiya nodded. “That is true.”
Jace explained the rest. “The damaged brace could be released manually. An ax strike at its housing, where it connects to the cradle, should release it.”
Krysh nodded. “The design is simple enough in that regard. But I would not mind more time to test it.”
Graylin turned to Shiya.
She turned to the chrysalis. “We must do this now.”
Graylin trusted her judgement. There could be no further delay. “We’ll need someone to man that brace,” he said. “When they see the other bridges release, strike that housing hard and fast.”
Jace stepped forward, hefting his ax.
Graylin turned from him and pointed to the strongest among them. “Vikas, would you be willing to do this?”
She nodded and swung to Darant. She gestured firmly, clearly asking for something.
“Aye.” The brigand turned to Jace. “She wants your ax, my boy. Guld’guhlian steel is far stronger than anything we have. Can’t risk a mishap, can we?”
Vikas stared down Jace.
With a heavy sigh, he relinquished his weapon with great reluctance. “Be careful with her,” he pleaded.
With the matter settled, everyone began moving at once. Daal gathered up the remaining raash’ke. Nyx, with her shin hastily splinted, used Bashaliia to carry Darant and Perde up to the Sparrowhawk, to ready the ship for a swift departure.
Graylin kept with Krysh and Rhaif beside Shiya’s cocoon. She was already ensconced and sealed inside, waiting on their word.
Across the way, Jace showed Vikas where to hit the housing to release the brace. He seemed to want to go into more detail, but Vikas planted a huge hand on Jace’s chest and pushed him ten paces away. She then returned to her post and nodded toward the chrysalis.
Graylin did a final inspection, making sure everyone was clear. Once satisfied, he boomed across the chamber, “We’re starting!”
Rhaif put his palm against the cocoon’s crystal. Shiya placed her bronze hand over his, then leaned her head back against the copper and closed her eyes.
Graylin held his breath. Nothing seemed to happen for a long stretch. He finally had to let his air out. As he did, the sphere began to glow. A low rumble shook the floor. Down the tunnels, the huge rubber cables vibrated.
The glow of the orb grew brighter. The golden lake at its heart stopped its tremulous pulsing. Rather than remaining amorphous, the pool blinked through a variety of crisp shapes: a pyramid, a cube, a prism, a cone. Some shapes defied the eye. They flashed faster and faster, growing into a blur that looked like a match to the orb: a perfect sphere made of thousands of blended shapes flickering into and out of coherence.
The glow grew into a blaze of shining energy.
Vikas squinted her eyes, but she maintained her post, holding her ax high.
Shiya moaned a single word of warning. “Now.”
The blaze exploded outward with a nimbus of wild energies. The force blasted away the braces—except for one.
Vikas, with her ax still above her head, got hit by the same glowing nimbus as it blasted beyond the cradle. She flew far, losing her ax as she hit the floor. The weapon skittered to Jace’s toes. Vikas slid farther.
Graylin inhaled to yell at Jace.
But the young man was already moving. He grabbed his ax and followed behind the path of the collapsing nimbus. Ahead, the brace and cradle danced with sparking frazzles of power, but the way was clear. Jace swung his ax two-handed and struck the brace’s housing. The Guld’guhlian steel proved its forging and cleaved the bridge free.
At the same time, Jace was blown back, wrapped in that residual energy. His body convulsed through the air and slammed down hard. His skull rang off the copper.
Vikas was already on her feet and rushed to his side.
Graylin turned toward the greater concern.
Did Jace strike too late?
Graylin held out one hope. The turubya sphere still hung over the open mouth of the pit, suspended by that fiery nimbus. Maybe the timing of the braces’ release was not as critical as they had believed. Maybe the bridges just had to drop, allowing the nimbus to take over.
He stared, unblinking. The fiery shine stung his eyes until he could stand it no longer. He blinked. In that fraction of a moment, the orb shot up into the dome and hung suspended in the middle. It hovered like a new sun, blinding and stunning to behold—then with the next breath, it slammed down into the hole.
Graylin’s eyes still burned with the afterimage of the sphere.
Rhaif shifted toward the pit. “Did we do it? Did we actually do it?”
The answer came with a thunderous slam of steel. A vault door sealed over the hole. Others could be heard closing in succession down its length, until the sound faded away.
Behind them, the crystalline cocoon opened, and Shiya stepped out.
Graylin turned to her, but Shiya addressed Rhaif, touching his elbow tenderly. “It is done.”
Vikas waved frantically over by Jace, a reminder that not all had come through unscathed.
N YX HOBBLED ACROSS the dome floor toward Jace and Vikas. She had been in motion as soon as she saw her friend blasted by that ball of destructive energy.
Once close enough, she winced and dropped to a knee next to him. No broken leg was going to keep her from him.
Jace was her only connection to her past. She had lost her dah and brothers, given up her whole life. Nothing of her past remained. Except for Jace. He had been the only true constant throughout all of this.
I can’t lose you.
Vikas looked at her with concern. The tall woman gestured rapidly in Gynish, fluttering a hand at her throat, then over her chest. “Jace is still breathing. His heart is still beating.” Still, Vikas covered her eyes with a shake of her head. “I can’t wake him.”
Nyx prayed he was just knocked out, but even that could be dangerous.
The others joined them, hovering around.
“Do not move him,” Krysh warned. “Not until I examine him.”
Shiya spoke up. “We must go. With the turubya now seated, this complex will destroy itself to protect against any future tampering.”
As if reinforcing her words, the floor jolted hard under them and continued trembling. The dome shook crystal off its wall. All around, the huge cables in the tunnels hummed menacingly.
Nyx shifted closer to Jace. “Let me try to wake him.”
“Hurry,” Shiya commanded, and turned away. She strode quickly toward one of the tunnels.
Rhaif called after her, “Where are you going?”
She answered without turning, “To retrieve something we will need.”
Before more could be asked, she sped away with the preternatural speed of bronze.
Graylin dropped next to Nyx. “You must hurry as Shiya warned.”
Nyx nodded and built a glow in her hands. She hovered her palms over Jace’s temples and cast glowing tendrils from her fingertips. She glided them into Jace, passing through skin and bones. As soon as she breached his skull, a vast coldness swept into her. She gasped, having never felt such ice. It was far more bitter than even the Wastes, more like brushing against the coldness of the void, the blackness between stars.
Shocked, her song collapsed, and her strands dissolved to mist.
Graylin looked at her. “Well?”
She refused to answer, not until she was sure. She rubbed her palms, still feeling that dread cold. She hummed as she did, rebuilding her song. She stoked it harder, knowing she had to go in there. She sang until the golden tide was strong enough to carry her. She leaned down to his ear and whispered its release. She flowed along with that gold river, sailing through bone as easily as through copper.
As she reached to the contours of his brain, its folds lay dark and quiet. She detected no firing of energy, no sparks of life. The smooth ridges and deep grooves were as quiet as a grave. She risked touching that silent matter—only to again sense the enormity of a void. To her ethereal self, it was not cold.
Only vast and empty.
She shuddered back out of him and into her body.
Graylin had the same question in his eyes.
Nyx stared around. “Jace… he’s not there at all. There’s nothing inside him.”
A cough conflicted her judgement.
They all turned as Jace coughed again. He groaned and tried to sit up, thought better of it, then lay back down. “Ow.”
“Are you all right?” Krysh asked.
Jace lifted a hand to his forehead. “I think so. Just dizzy.”
Rhaif reminded them, “We must get going.”
Jace pushed up again, this time successfully, and saw the sealed pit. “Did it work?”
“We can explain later.” Graylin helped him to his feet. “Are you truly feeling fit enough to get up to the Hawk ?”
He squinted, then nodded. “Head feels like it’s been kicked by a horse.” He shook his fingers. “And my palms still sting from the ax. But yeah, I’m ready to get out of this place.”
“Then let’s get moving.”
Jace noted Nyx looking at him strangely. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, picturing what she had found inside him. “Nothing.”
G RAYLIN AND THE others all gathered in the wheelhouse of the Sparrowhawk . Darant was again at the wheel. Stories had been shared, updating all.
Glace had managed to outmaneuver the other Hálendiian ships by using the power of the new forges: “Only took me strafing over their sodding balloons with our forges at full flame. Burned them right out of the sky. They had no chance.”
Graylin suspected there was more to her story, especially with a large portion of the keel and lower hold missing. But detailed explanations could wait.
Darant guided the Sparrowhawk away from the copper sprawl below. He aimed them toward the Crèche, where the Hawk would undergo another round of repairs. For now, they didn’t have to worry about any further Hálendiian raiders.
Darant had kept his promise to Commander Ghryss, to deliver an especially brutal end to the man’s life. The bloody act also served to free the tongues of two of his crew—who met far quicker deaths for their help.
From the pair, Darant had learned that the barge and its support ships were the only ones dispatched into the Wastes. The two men had also revealed how Graylin’s group had been tracked all this time. Apparently, some emanation from Shiya was able to be detected by Iflelen alchymy. Such knowledge was worrisome, but for the moment, as far out in the Wastes as they were, it was not an immediate threat.
Still, the plan was not to spend any more time in the Crèche than necessary. If their group could be tracked, the best course was to keep moving. Fenn had some thoughts on that, but he wanted to do some further calculations.
A door opened behind Graylin with a blast of cold air. The whistling roar from the ruins of the ship followed Shiya as she entered with Rhaif.
“Did you get the devices secured?” Graylin asked as they joined him.
“Bloody things weigh as much as a forge,” Rhaif answered. “But we managed. Or rather, Shiya did. I clapped approvingly when she was done.”
Nyx limped over with Jace and Krysh. “But what are they?” she asked. “You never said.”
Graylin wanted to know, too.
Rhaif smiled. “We’re definitely going to need them soon. It’s why Shiya told us we had to come out to this site in the Wastes first, before traveling to the next one.”
Jace pressed him. “Why? What was so important out here?”
Shiya answered, “Cooling units.”
Rhaif shrugged. “If we’re heading next to the sunblasted side of the Urth, we’re going to need more than just new forges.”
Darant interrupted them, calling from the maesterwheel, “You might want to come see this.”
Graylin headed over with the others.
Darant pointed to their starboard, to where the copper complex still glowed on the broken plains of the Brackenlands. Only now it shone far brighter. From the chasms around its edge, molten rock bubbled and overflowed, spilling out around the dome and its legs.
Darant glanced back at them. “Glad we got out of there when we did.”
“Look,” Jace said, shifting to keep the view in sight. “I think it’s all sinking or melting or something.”
Graylin joined him. The entire copper structure was indeed sagging into the Brackenlands. The dome flattened and spread wider, while the limbs sank into the molten rock. Eventually, the intense heat fogged the view, erasing it from sight.
With nothing else to see, Darant turned the ship and swung away. “No one’s gonna be trespassing back there anytime soon.”
Graylin glanced at Shiya, wondering if her exiting the dome had triggered its final destruction. He remembered how the Root had called her an Axis, confirming she was the key to the facility.
Shiya ignored his look. In fact, she had gone very quiet and still during all of this. She held her head cocked to the side, her brows pinched and frozen.
Rhaif noted the strangeness, too. “Shiya, is something wrong?”
She didn’t answer, just continued her long stare.
Rhaif took her hand. “Shiya?”
She finally stirred and patted his fingers, reassuring him. She then faced everyone and announced, “Prince Kanthe wishes you all to know that he is getting married.”