Page 23 of Dark's Savior

"We barely scraped the surface of that blasted cave system, and I can barely walk," Nar complained after they counted the amount of minerals harvested in one of their converter tanks. "This is going to take ages."

Ryziel crossed his arms and glanced over to the ship. When they had first found it, it had been nearly a wreck. Only now could he finally start to see a fully functional ship. But it still needed a lot of work if it was ever going to fly. Which meant a lot more minerals.

And judging by the past few days, it would take several more weeks than planned to even get the ship off the ground, let alone travel quickly through space.

Ryziel rubbed his temples, his receptors humming ever so slightly. He hadn't spoken to his brother in nearly a year and a half now as any line of contact between them had been severed and strictly monitored by the Council and the enforcers. The more time that went by, the more he feared his uncle's influence within the First House and his brother's right to rule becoming compromised. Perhaps it was only a false paranoia on his part, but it was a fear like many others. And regardless of any political movement within the city of light, his brother needed support. He needed Ryziel just like Ryziel had needed him in his youth. And the longer he was gone, the more he feared for his brother. Their father had many enemies, regardless of status; and friends—even family—were quick to turn sides when it benefited them. Ryziel could be his brother's guard, a physical manifestation of terror itself, if he had to be to protect him. Even his Night Blade if he so wished it, an assassin and silent enforcer of his brother's vengeance. Just like he had been for their father.

He knew his brother would never ask him to do the things his father had. He had loathed what his father had made Ryziel do. But if he asked it—asked Ryziel to take out a threat to their family and house—he didn't think he would hesitate.

But he couldn't help his brother now, and each day their uncle remained with some semblance of power was one day closer to him overthrowing their house and taking what was rightfully Korzien's. If Ryziel didn't get this damn ship going soon, he could be hearing about his brother’s death from some low-life miner. No, he needed to find a faster way to harvest, and, unfortunately that meant telling Nar he might have to stay behind and asking Xilya to come instead. The vrisha was way too big to fit into the areas that Nar could, but together, they could at least get to the minerals that were outside these tight spaces, even if there were less to be found. Meanwhile, they would have to find another way to get to the rest when the time came.

"You’re sticking here for now, Nar," Ryziel said, turning back to him.

"Like hell I am!" the little urk protested.

"You don't have a choice. You will stay at the console instead and work the map, maybe get the tracer to search any of the areas for unknown dens and any threats lurking within. For now, I'm going on alone."

Nar shook his head as he sat on the edge of a worktable, his metal legs dangling, one more loose than the other. "You'll never get enough done on your own."

"I may ask Xilya for aid."

Nar snorted. "She's nearly as big as you. Neither of you can fit—"

"I know," Ryziel almost snapped, his receptors vibrating a little stronger now. "I know. But she could at least help me with the outer chambers."

"What are you going to do, then, when the inner ones are all that are left?" Nar asked. "And don't say ask one of my kind for help ‘cause you know they won't. Or they will ask for an outrageous price."

Ryziel rubbed at his neck and smirked. “I could always wait for one to have its legs chewed off then save them before they get eaten entirely. Then perhaps they will repay me by helping."

Nar gave him a grimacing stare. "Very funny."

Ryziel let out a breath. "We will figure it out. Just have the tracer ready for tomorrow, and I will message Xilya. Until she can make it down again, I will go on alone."

Chapter Ten

The rain didn't let up this time. Feeling drenched (even if she wasn't thanks to her slipsuit) and weary, Aly worked tirelessly at one of the charging station generators meant to keep drills charged and ready for use. Only it had suddenly decided to stop working, and, by the looks of the bashed-in pieces of metal and ripped sides, she could guess why. She was able to repair one outlet easily, but the rest had her fixing and mending for at least half the day now, and the hours were slipping away fast.

Groaning and gritting her teeth as she pulled and wrenched at a piece of metal bent and stuck in between another outlet, Aly could see at the corner of her vision pairs of beady red eyes watching her. She tried to ignore the howlers as they climbed and jumped and ran nearby, some electing to perch up on a ledge above to observe her, but when they screamed, it was hard not to flinch.

Aly cursed them silently, both for wrecking the charging station and for making it more difficult for her to fix it. When she wasn't looking, they would come dangerously close, one even braving to tug at her bag, forcing Aly to keep a tight eye on them while trying to do her job.

Her shift was over soon anyway, and if she couldn't fix it by that point, then she would just forget it. Braxin could yell all he liked.

Finally, the metal broke off but not without a lot of effort, causing Aly to stumble backward, splashing into a puddle behind her. Muddy water scuffed her boots and dirtied her suit from ankle to shin. Though she couldn't feel it, she could imagine the feel of the cold mud on her legs, and it made her shiver. She shook each leg as if that would help then went back to the generator, wiping away the wet hair from her brow with her arm.

Lightning lit up a portion of the ground and the booming thunder followed, igniting a hoot and holler from the deformed monkeys around her as Aly attempted to dissect the generator one outlet at a time. Her techband went off, but she ignored it as she brought out her mender and stuck it into the set of wires before her, sparks flying at her face. She was alone on her current level, the other miners electing to take a break when the drill station went out then electing to move on somewhere else when she took too long in fixing it. Feeling worthless and annoyed, she stubbornly kept at it, even if it was unwise to be alone at that time within the mines.

It usually didn't bother her. But when her mind started slipping to images of the dead tylian from the day before, she suddenly felt a tad more anxious. She found herself looking to the shadows, jumping every time a howler passed her periphery or lightning lit the cavern. She also couldn't help thinking about seeing a pair of silvery eyes staring back at her in the darkness.

But no, he wouldn't be here. She wasn't even close to his territory so there was no way. She shouldn't have anything to fear.

Shouldn't.

Aly tried her best to concentrate on the work at hand. With the metal piece gone, all that was left was to reset the outlets, pulling back wires and twisting her mender around then shoving wires back in. Pull, twist, shove. Pull, twist, shove.

She was almost done. She just had one more outlet and the charger should be set. She pulled and mended the last outlet then shut the metal door soundly. She went to one side of the generator and turned on several switches.

Nothing happened.

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