Page 115 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
He ignored Samuel’s cries and the women’s questions as he stuffed everything he saw into the packs. Zelda seemed to understand without any words exchanged. She handed him salves and bandages and vials with stoppers. He tied up the pack and shoved it into her arms. “Take this and get to the lower tunnels. The Stradat Lord Kapitan’s tent. Now.”
Zelda pulled the pack on her back. Clara grabbed Kase’s arm. “What is going on?”
“Attack.”
Her eyes were wide, and her lip trembled. “Jove.”
It was the first time since arriving in Kyvena that he saw the fear in her eyes. He needed to do something.
“If he’s lasted this long, he can hold on for a few more hours.” He was getting good at projecting confidence he didn’t feel. He just hoped he wasn’t lying.
Zelda grabbed Stowe’s pack and gave it to Lady Davey. “Let’s go.”
Clara held Samuel tightly, her face tight with panic. Kase led them into the chaos. Refugees ran, their salvaged belongings gathered in their arms. Screams and the shouts of barked military orders echoed off the walls. Kase grabbed Clara’s free hand and pulled her along. Zelda and Lady Davey followed close behind. Zelda glared at anyone who jostled them too hard.
They were trapped like rats, and they had no way of fighting back. What were the soldiers going to do? The swords were useless, and the electropistols were still dead. Was therea reserve of flashpistols anywhere? Though they wouldn’t do much to the enemy hovers.
Helpless. It was a feeling Kase knew well, but as he dragged Clara, Samuel, Lady Davey, and Zelda through the crowds, he felt failure so hard it nearly made him collapse right then and there. There was no way out. There was no way to fight back.
If something happened to Clara or Samuel, Jove would never forgive him.Hewould never forgive himself.
Think. Think.
He had to do something. He could get them to safety, but how long would that last? How long would it be before the upper tunnels collapsed into the lower ones? How long would the bombardment go on? If he just had a hover, he could take out the enemy easily. But without electricity, any hovers that had survived the initial assault would be nearly as useless. He assumed they hadn’t been refueled either, and he wouldn’t have time to dig for more Yalvar fuel.
Then it clicked.
If he could just get to the surface, he could use the stolen hover. He whipped his head wildly around as he fought the river of refugees, searching for a ladder, another tunnel, anything that would lead him up.
People pressed against him. Screams and shouts rang through the air. His eyes scanned above their heads.
There. A ladder. Whatever guard who’d been manning it had disappeared into the fleeing populace.
He could make this right.
He pulled Clara close so she could hear what he said. “Find the Stradat Lord Kapitan. Stay safe. I’m going to help.”
Clara’s face was strained, and Samuel screamed, though his cries were lost to the cacophony around them. “Kase, no. Your mother would never forgive me.”
“I have to, Clara. Please.”
Zelda leaned close. “I’ll take them.”
Kase gave a nod of thanks as Zelda dragged the other two women back into the flow. Kase watched them disappear, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that said he was abandoning them only to die in the city above. Kase waited only one more second before fighting his way toward the nearest ladder. Shouts and screams bombarded him. Someone tried to pull him off the ladder. He kicked them, unsure if it was purposeful or accidental. He could apologize later.
He had to make this right. Especially if he was the reason it was all happening. He shouldn’t have gone with Eravin. He shouldn’t have drunk the whiskey. He was a stars-idiot.
His father was right. He was rubbish at decisions unless he was up in the sky.
The metal rungs chafed against his palms as he climbed. His forearms and calves burned with each step up to the next rung. The entire ladder shook. Whether that was from bombardment, cave-ins, or the general scrambling of refugees, Kase didn’t know. He didn’t look down, only climbed faster and faster until he reached a landing and a door cloaked in darkness, sunlight pushing through the infinitesimal crack to the right. Kase didn’t see a knob or anything to open the door with. He wrenched himself up and pressed on the door. It was locked. Or coded. Or maybe even halfway sealed shut.
He felt along the edges, looking for hinges. He didn’t find any, so the door had to open outward. A good sign. He didn’t have much room to work with on the landing, but he’d have to make it work. He flung himself at the door; it gave only a little before bouncing him back. He caught himself on the rough stone wall to keep himself from falling back down the shaft.
“You have a death wish, Shackley?”
Kase glanced down toward the bottom of the ladder shaft to find the outline of Eravin Gray, sporting a busted lip. Of course.
Kase only felt slightly guilty, as he had a sneaking suspicion he’d been the one to give it to him. Kase rolled his shoulder, ignoring the pain; it was fading fast anyway. Maybe he should try kicking the door instead.
