Page 116 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
“Get out of here,” Kase barked, turning back to the door. He lifted his right foot and placed it on the spot that would give him the best shot at kicking it open. He’d done it in the Narden Pass with a frozen lock and hadn’t broken anything. Surely he could do it again here. If he didn’t get to the hover, he would have more than a broken ankle to deal with.
The rumbling overhead was deafening. Kase jumped, covering his ears. He needed to get out there. He placed his foot against the door again.
“Stop, you’re going to do something stupid,” Eravin growled, crawling the rest of the way up. Kase pressed himself against the wall as Eravin joined him. His old friend pulled something Kase couldn’t quite make out from his pocket and sliced it through the crack. “Simple locking mechanism, but it’s not actually locked. Door’s just jammed, I think. Easy fix if we do it together.”
They lined their shoulders up against the door.
“On three?” Kase asked.
Eravin nodded.
Kase took a few steps back, and Eravin followed. “One…two…three!”
Both men surged forward, their shoulders leading the charge. They smacked against the door, pressing hard and fast. With a great groan, the door flew open, smacking the opposite wall.
Kase caught Eravin before he tumbled onto the stone walkway.
“Thanks,” Eravin muttered as sunlight poured into the tiny space. Kase squinted painfully against the light and forced himself out into it, ducking instinctively when hovers roared over his head. His heart thumped in his ears louder than the hovers as he stumbled out onto the city wall. Eravin joined him moments later and cursed.
There were at least seven Cerl hovers flying in formation. They whipped over their heads. The force of wind knocked Kase into one of the battlements. Eravin hit the deck. Kase peeked around the stone monolith that had saved him from cascading off the wall. His heart sank. He was on the opposite side of the city from where he’d left the hover.
He cursed loudly, but not loud enough to drown out the quaking of stone as one of the hovers dropped some sort of electrobomb on a part of the outer city to the west. Holy shocks. He needed to get into that hover. He needed it faster than he could make it to the other side of the city. By the time he did, everyone below would be buried under rubble. His only chance had been taken from him, and he would never get to say goodbye to anyone. It was his curse to sit and watch as his world crumbled around him.
He turned and shoved Eravin. “This is your fault. If you hadn’t told them about Loffler, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
For once, Eravin’s eyes were missing their cold undercurrent. He shook his head. “This wasn’t the plan!”
His shouts got lost when another hover blazed directly over their heads. Kase dropped so hard on the top of the wall that he nearly knocked himself out. His head buzzed from the impact. Eravin landed beside him, the whites of his eyes showing and staring directly behind Kase.
Kase pushed himself to his knees, his body protesting the movement. He turned and nearly blacked out once again.
A Cerl airship. Guns out. Pointed directly at his heart.
He was about to die. How kind of the pilot to give him a chance to say his last rites.
He glared at the cockpit, determined to face his final moments with as much bravery as he could muster. Stubborn to the end.
Only the ship was…
Empty.
No one was flying the ship.
Kase’s breath caught in his chest. It washishover. The one he’d stolen. How was that even possible? He laughed, the relief stealing away the panic. He lunged toward it, and miraculously, it popped open the top, hovering close enough to the wall for him to climb aboard. Kase patted the side almost like a hunter would his loyal hound. It was only slightly absurd, but after everything Kase had seen, he didn’t question it. Eravin watched, shock elongating his features. Kase turned back and held out a hand. “Come on.”
Eravin’s face turned nasty. “How dare you accuse me of working with the Cerls when one of their machines welcomes you with open arms!”
Kase gritted his teeth before shouting, “Just trust me!”
It was a harsh echo from three years prior, when he’d stood outside Eravin’s door…and his friend had shut it in his face.
Eravin didn’t take Kase’s proffered hand. Kase was unprepared for the sting of rejection it brought.
“I’m sorry,” he croaked. “About your mother. It wasn’t my intention, and if I could go back and change it, I would. But I’m trying to save the city and everyone in those tunnels now. I’m trying to do better. I’m sorry if you can’t bring yourself to forgive me.”
When Eravin shook his head, his jaw firm and unyielding, Kase closed the cockpit.
The truce might be over, but Kase had a job to do.
