Page 275 of The Cradle of Ice
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GRAYLIN SEARCHED THROUGH the fiery debris of the Hálendiian barge. Bodies lay among the wreckage, burned, broken, or in pieces. They had all witnessed the destruction of the ship. The splinter of its hull, the explosion of its forges. Parts of the barge had fallen through the dome’s door and crashed into flaming pyres.
Daal kept alongside him as he combed through the piles. “She can’t be dead.”
Graylin nodded. Though it was the hundredth time that Daal had made that statement, Graylin didn’t discourage the young man. It helped stoke his own hope.
Still …
“Where can she be?” he asked, and turned to Daal. “Are you certain it was Nyx riding that beast?”
Daal nodded, but his face looked as if he hoped he was wrong.
Graylin searched the breadth of the dome. Much of it remained smoky, hiding corners and areas he had not yet hunted.
A handful of raash’ke stirred out there. Two wafted the air, testing their bruised wings. A few more shifted through the smoke, moving like pained shadows, but they were alive. A meager five or six. Daal had told him how Nyx had been trying to get them out of the air. The survivors must be the few who had heeded Nyx’s warning, sweeping lower or landing as the debilitating screams of the bat struck.
Before they moved on with their search, the pounding of boots and panting breaths drew Graylin’s attention to the tunnel of a copper leg. He grabbed hold of his sword’s hilt and shifted closer, ready to defend this space, remembering that a batch of Hálendiian raiders had escaped in that direction. He also recalled that agonized scream from down that tunnel, the one that had drawn the bat.
From the smoky mouth, Darant appeared, flanked by Vikas and Perde. The trio looked exhausted, bloody, and spent.
Graylin crossed to them as they surveyed the fiery destruction.
“Looks like you’ve been busy,” Darant said, shaking blood from his hands with distaste, as if not even wanting to wipe them on his pants.
“The other Hálendiians?” Graylin pressed him. “Commander Ghryss?”
Perde answered. “Seems the bastard choked to death on a couple things. Not that they were that big, mind you, but he still couldn’t quite swallow them down.”
Darant shook his hands a few more times. “Can’t say I’m not a man of my word.”
Before Graylin could inquire any further, Jace ran up with Krysh. They both looked excited and hopeful, two emotions far from Graylin’s heart at this moment.
“What is it?”
Jace nodded to loosen his tongue. “Shiya has the turubya calmed down. It’s still shivering some, but it’s already settling back to its cradle.”
“Once that happens,” Krysh said, “she believes she understands what she needs to do.”
Despite the hope in those words, Graylin frowned. “Have her hold off for now.”
Jace’s enthusiasm dimmed. “Still no sign of Nyx?”
A savage cry split the dome, making them all wince and duck. Above, huge black wings carted wide. The monster had returned. The bat swept a tight arc and dove at them.
Graylin waved everyone toward the tunnel. “Get back!”
They all fled, but one member remained behind, still standing, staring up.
“It’s Nyx,” Daal said.
Graylin skidded to a stop and squinted up. In the claws of the monster, a body hung there, slack and lifeless. He immediately recognized Nyx. Still, his heart clutched.
Has the bat killed her?
The beast landed hard into the smoke. Its wings buffeted the pall aside, clearing a space around it. Nyx lay on the floor. The bat leaned over her, balanced on its wingtips. It swept its head low through the air, screaming a warning.
Blood spattered from its head, revealing the wounds there. The steel helm was gone, along with most of the copper needles. A few still glinted from its shaved scalp.
