He caught it, boosted himself again, managed to shove the shadow ore through the opening before he dropped to the ground.
He danced backward, watched Aidan open his own dome, get free, and scramble out of the way.
The guard's machine made a strange sound and then went quiet, and the two intertwined mechanical giants went down, toppling slowly to the sound of grating metal.
The guard wriggled through the gap in his dome, eyes bulging, one hand clawing at his throat.
Eli came to stand beside Garek and watched the guard crawl toward them. They both took a step back when he tried to grab them with a sharp-clawed hand. Then he shuddered and lay still.
“They killed every single one of my leviks,” Eli said, looking down. “They ruined me, and stole away my life. They stole my whole world.”
Garek glanced over at him. “We'll make sure they're sorry for it, although when we get to the camp, it probably won't be as easy as this was.”
Eli frowned. “We've been thinking of ways to kill them since we got here. There isn't one of us here who thought what you just did was easy.”
Aidan joined them as the rest of the shift started emerging from the mine.
Several looked over at the transporter, then at the guards, and whistled in quiet appreciation.
“You're a fearless bastard, Garek.” Lynal murmured as he took in the mangled heap of machinery and the dead sky raider in front of them.
“Yes,” Eli said, and Garek was surprised at the warmth in his voice. “But he's our fearless bastard.”
Chapter 38
Taya knew Garek would be gone when she got back to camp after her shift, but knowing it didn't help ease her fear. He was in danger, and all she could do was be ready to move when he returned.
She washed quickly and dressed in guard clothes; pants that were bias-cut and stretchy, a soft long sleeved shirt she had to pull over her head and a leather vest with lacing that she could tighten for a perfect fit. She hadn't had to ask for these or barter for them like the more popular finds from the Stolen Store, they had languished in there for a long time, obviously made for a woman guard. There was . . . not exactly a taboo on it, but not many were willing to don the clothing of a guard if they weren't one. It was disrespectful to those who called the Change, because it was a symbol of the year they'd given up.
Taya had no such reservations. She had given up less than a year's worth of time here on Shadow, but she didn't think any guard would have preferred to take her place.
She'd remembered the clothes when Kas had first confirmed she was calling the Change, and had gone to find them. They would be perfect for what lay ahead, but she didn't forget the soft silk dresses.
They were both a symbol of her captivity and a reminder that not everything about this strange abduction had been negative. There had been things to learn, and joy to experience.
She packed her favorite two gowns in the bag Garek had found for her yesterday, rolling them up tight and pushing them down to the bottom.
Then she went to get some dinner, laughing at the comments at the sight of her in her guard gear. Kas looked pensive as he handed her a plate, but neither of them spoke.
She knew she needed to eat, that it was wise, but she found it almost impossible to swallow the fragrant flatbread past the icy knot of fear in her throat.
She looked toward the mine, and Kas slid a warm, strong hand along her shoulder.
“You know him. He got all the way here. He isn't going to fail now.”
She drew in a deep, shuddering breath. Nodded. And managed to force half the food on her plate down.
Then she put together two plates and walked to the forge, where Quardi and Pilar were stoking fires.
The guard watched her carefully.
She ignored him, handing the plates over and fussing around Quardi as she usually did.
“How's it going?”
“The fires are hot.” Quardi smiled an almost demented grin of victory. “We're going to have to start smelting something soon, or he might get suspicious.”
“He already is.” Pilar leaned forward, pushing his hair back from a sweaty forehead with the back of his hand.
“Do you have something to smelt?” Taya asked and they nodded.
“I was hoping Garek would be back before it came to that, but it doesn't matter. We've got enough we can do.”
“Did you notice a transporter come down after the night shift left?” She hadn't, but she couldn't watch the sky every second.
They shook their heads.
“Doesn't mean anything. We're under a roof here, and busy most of the time.” Pilar patted her knee.
She nodded, stood from her crouch, and looked over at the guard.
Saw he had turned toward the landing area, and then she heard it, too.
She walked out of the forge, keeping her stride steady, but fast.
A transporter was coming in.
She walked past the guard, ignoring him, and glanced back at Quardi and Pilar.
Pilar was standing, face tense, but Quardi was smiling that same demented smile.
She slipped into the narrow path between the shacks and huts, making her way to the camp fire.
Kas was waiting for her, his whole body tense.
She'd removed her headband, had her pieces of shadow ore in her hand.
“Let's go.” Kas started walking as the transporter came to a rest, disappearing from sight behind the big jousting tent.
As she followed, she sensed others coming with them. Men and women walking quietly in the dark, making their way through the narrow alleys and spaces between the houses.
She caught sight of Jerilia, and exchanged a nod as she noticed the woman was clutching a piece of wood in her hands.
Everyone was carrying something, she realized. Using parts of their huts or shacks as weapons.
They stopped at the last line of huts, and she and Kas crouched low, leaning against a rickety wall and peering around.
The guard was moving toward the transporter. It was quiet now that the engines had powered down, no sound but the wind blowing.
The doors didn't open, and the guard seemed to hesitate. He'd been moving toward the back of the transporter, probably out of habit, but he changed course, walking toward the front, to the pilots Taya had never given much thought to, because she'd never seen them, not even once.
He tapped on a panel, and a door slid open.
What happened next was so fast, she struggled to make out what was going on in the strange orange illumination of the landing area lights.
It looked like the dome top of the guard's machine lifted up, and someone--Garek--grabbed the guard from his seat and threw him onto the ground.
He dropped down after him, and perhaps called his Change a little to heave the guard further from his machine.
She could hear the sounds of choking, of coughing, and then nothing.
Kas seem to take that as his signal, because he ran out into the open toward the transporter, and Taya followed close behind, shadow ore at the ready.
Garek met them halfway, and she had to force herself not to touch him, because this wasn't the time.
But she was so very happy he was alive and well. She forced her hands into fists to stop herself reaching out to him.
With a gentle whine, the back of the transporter opened and then Aidan climbed out of the pilot's door and dropped softly to the ground beside them.
Eli and a group of other night shift workers ran down the ramp.
“Where're the others?” Kas asked and Taya realized only about half of the shift had come back from the mine.
“They're sorting through the pile of shadow ore so when we go back and get it, we have the best pieces,” Aidan said.
Garek stepped closer to her, and she couldn't help reaching out to touch his arm.
“Is the guard still watching my father?”
She nodded.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the landi
ng area, running for the forge. Kas was at her heels, Aidan just behind him.
They passed a few people who melted out of their way and then followed them, too.
Garek slowed as they got close and pulled her down into a crouch a little distance away.
“The guard will definitely be on alert. He's suspicious,” Taya whispered. “He stopped watching your father right away when the transporter came in, turned to look at the landing area. But I'm sure he couldn't see what just happened. There're too many buildings and tents in the way.”
Garek nodded and slid a hand along her nape, gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
She turned her head, kissed his cheek, and then lifted the hand holding her shadow ore shards. “Just as we discussed?”
Garek nodded.
She stood, straightened her shoulders, and took a step forward. Found herself pulled back against a big, hard body.
“Be careful.” The whisper was a low murmur in her ear, rumbling through her.
She didn't want to show her nerves but there was no hiding them from Garek, he must feel her heart pounding beneath his hand.
He let her go, and she sucked in a deep breath, shoring up her courage. He would be right behind her. So would Kas, and plenty of others. And she could help them all by disabling the guard as quickly as possible.
She took the turns, left, right, and then she was at the forge.
The guard turned in her direction, and she forced herself not to falter, to keep walking as if she were merely returning for the plates she'd brought earlier.
She looked over at the guard, making it casual, noting the areas on the machine that protected him that would be good to target. She raised her hand as if to wave to Quardi, and let the needles of shadow ore go, sending the slivers of metal into every joint on his machine she could see.
The dark tint of the glass dome flickered and then went clear, and she saw the guard's face. Even though it was alien, she could read the astonishment.
Then he snarled, his upper lip lifting to show long incisors. The machine lurched, as if he was trying to take a step toward her, but the knees had locked up, and the whole thing toppled over.
She ran backward, just as Garek and Kas ran forward, past her.
Garek hit a circle of light that had lit up in the center of the body of the machine, but aside from a strange grinding sound, nothing happened.
“It's the shadow ore. It's affecting the operation of the buttons.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “Can you get them out?”
She ran over to him, called the shadow ore back from the places closest to the lights, leaving the shards in the legs and arms.
Garek hit the button again, but nothing happened.
“I'm taking them out of its arms now,” she warned him, and pulled them out, but the damage must have been permanent, because the arms remained stiffly outstretched and unmoving.
The guard pressed his face up against the glass dome, staring at them with teeth bared.
Taya couldn't help but smile at him, and it wasn't a nice smile at all. He drew back, startled, as if it suddenly occurred to him that he was no longer in control.
Pilar emerged from the forge as she pulled out the shards from the legs, and he was carrying a hammer. The huge one Quardi had made to shape the picks and shovels they used at the mine.
“If you don't mind,” he said politely to Garek, and when Garek stepped back, Pilar raised the hammer over his head, muscles bulging and straining in his arms, and brought it down on the glass.
There was an ominous crack, and Taya saw a hairline fracture on the dome, but it held.
“My turn.” Eli was there suddenly, still dusty and sweaty from the night shift.
Pilar handed him the hammer, and he lifted it with the ease of enormous strength. When he hit the glass, Taya could see the vibration run along his arms.
Another crack appeared.
Jerilia stood behind him, and even though she visibly struggled to lift the hammer high enough, she still managed it. And perhaps because of the angle she struck it at, the crack she made seemed deeper than the other two.
“Anyone else?” Kas asked as he took the hammer from her. “Because we have a time issue.”
One man stepped forward as a few others hesitated, and then shook their heads with regret.
It was a Kardanx, although not one Taya recognized. Maybe he was from the night shift. He took his turn, crying out a strange call as he brought the hammer down. Again, cracks spread like winter frost, but the glass held.
He handed the hammer reluctantly to Kas and her brother lifted it, vengeance personified as he drew it up over his head; neck and arm muscles bunched and flexing, leg stepping back, and then driving forward as he brought it down with a crack that echoed louder than a thunderclap. The dome shattered, collapsing in on itself, the glass seeming to disappear, although she realized it had merely disintegrated into minute pieces.
The sky raider launched himself out and stood, staring at them all.
He took a breath, and there was surprise and panic on his face.
“Hard to breathe?” Jerilia asked.
Taya had never heard her so cold.
The guard turned to her, but when Kas moved a little, the guard's head swung back, took in the hammer.
He took a second breath, one that seemed to rasp and tear at his throat, and then he looked back at the ruined capsule that had been his lifeline.
“Not so powerful now.” Eli took a step closer.
Taya glanced at him, and there must have been something on her face to cool his bloodlust, because he caught her eye and stopped.
It took so little time, after that.
They all stood and watched as the guard fell to his knees and then face first into the ground. He went into a spasm, like a fit, convulsing until he lay still.
They were all silent for a moment after he gasped his last breath, and then Garek pulled her to him, pressing her cheek against his chest, holding her close.
She held on until she felt him shift back.
“We need to get moving,” he said. It seemed to rouse everyone from wherever they'd all gone in their heads.
“Let's go,” Kas called. “Everyone knows what they have to do.”
And just like that, they were moving. Taya grasped Garek's outstretched hand, and they left the guard lying face down in the gritty black dust as they headed back to the landing area and the transporter.
But she couldn't seem to walk away without looking back one last time.
“He would have left you to die on Shadow without a second thought.” Garek stopped tugging her along.
“I'm better than he is,” she replied. “It seems . . . wrong to be so callous.”
“It's not callous. We didn't kill him for fun. He would have stopped us. Prevented us leaving if he could.”
She sighed. Gave a nod.
“And for taking you, forcing you to work here, I would kill him again.” He looked upward. “I'd kill them all.”
She slid a hand up his cheek. “Ruining their plans is enough for me.”
He seemed to come back to himself, leaned forward and nuzzled a spot just above her ear. “We need to hurry.”
She nodded against his cheek, and then let him take the lead back to the transporter.
The clock was ticking, and they had a planet to escape from.
Chapter 39
“Nearly your turn to run the show,” Quardi told her, as Taya stepped back a little from the intense heat of the fire he had going.
She'd gone with Garek back to the mine, and Dom had come along, to watch Garek pilot the transporter, and then learn to work the controls. They'd loaded the ore into their boxes of water, and brought them back to camp, with Garek making Dom land and take off three times on the way.
Quardi had assembled a small group to help him at the forge, and everyone else had been given a shift watching the skies for anything coming in.
Those not on watch slept. It was understo
od everyone needed to be up and as fresh as possible tomorrow morning, when the day shift transporter came in.
If it didn't, Taya didn't know what they would do. It would mean the sky raiders knew something was wrong.
But until that happened, they were operating on the belief that their captors were too arrogant to think anything could hurt them or disrupt their plans.
“Ore's liquid,” Pilar called from under the heavy canvas hood he had on to protect his face from the intense heat. He stepped back and waved to the team standing beside one of the long wooden boxes full of water.
They each took a corner and lifted it, bringing it closer to the flames, setting it down and then backing away, shielding their faces.
“Ready?” Quardi asked her.
She nodded. She'd spent the time as they were waiting for the ore to smelt thinking of what would be a good shape.
She reached out to call the Change, jerked as her senses locked on to the ore. She pulled it up, feeling the elemental metal separate from its impurities, letting it stretch in a long, thin cylinder, and when she had something about half her body length, she cut it off from the molten liquid and concentrated on the tip, making it as sharp as she could.
When she was done, she moved it above the box, and dropped it into the water.
There was a bang, and steam shot up in a hiss.
Everyone ducked instinctively but nothing else happened.
“Whew.” Pilar wiped his brow, edged closer to the box to look in. “That was a surprise.”
Garek exploded from between two tents on the opposite side to where she stood, his face wild.
“Just the water reacting to the heat of the ore,” she told him when his stricken gaze fixed on her. “We're all fine.”
His eyes snapped to his father.
“It happens. You know that.” Quardi had hardly reacted, Taya noted.
Garek looked at her again, and then blew out a shaky breath, gave a sharp nod. “You going to do that again?” he asked.
“I want to see if this one's any good, first.”
Pilar already had the clamp in his hand, and was lifting the spear out of the water and moving it to a second box of water to let it cool even more.
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