Page 280 of The Cradle of Ice
He turned to Shiya. “You believe this could be a problem.”
“I do not know,” she admitted. “Once I energize the turubya, it is intended to be dropped down that hole, to fall somewhere near the world’s core. The delivery must be precise. It must not strike the walls, or it could be damaged and rendered useless.”
He nodded. “And if this suspension doesn’t release as intended, it could throw off the angle of its descent.”
She simply crossed her arms, her face worried.
Krysh approached with Jace after the two had finished inspecting the bracing. “We may have a solution.”
“Which is what?”
Jace lifted his ax. “Brute force.”
Graylin frowned. That seemed to be the young man’s answer to every challenge of late. “Explain yourself.”
“As near as I can tell,” Krysh said, “it appears the bridges are calibrated to release at the same time.”
Shiya nodded. “That is true.”
Jace explained the rest. “The damaged brace could be released manually. An ax strike at its housing, where it connects to the cradle, should release it.”
Krysh nodded. “The design is simple enough in that regard. But I would not mind more time to test it.”
Graylin turned to Shiya.
She turned to the chrysalis. “We must do this now.”
Graylin trusted her judgement. There could be no further delay. “We’ll need someone to man that brace,” he said. “When they see the other bridges release, strike that housing hard and fast.”
Jace stepped forward, hefting his ax.
Graylin turned from him and pointed to the strongest among them. “Vikas, would you be willing to do this?”
She nodded and swung to Darant. She gestured firmly, clearly asking for something.
“Aye.” The brigand turned to Jace. “She wants your ax, my boy. Guld’guhlian steel is far stronger than anything we have. Can’t risk a mishap, can we?”
Vikas stared down Jace.
With a heavy sigh, he relinquished his weapon with great reluctance. “Be careful with her,” he pleaded.
With the matter settled, everyone began moving at once. Daal gathered up the remaining raash’ke. Nyx, with her shin hastily splinted, used Bashaliia to carry Darant and Perde up to the Sparrowhawk, to ready the ship for a swift departure.
Graylin kept with Krysh and Rhaif beside Shiya’s cocoon. She was already ensconced and sealed inside, waiting on their word.
Across the way, Jace showed Vikas where to hit the housing to release the brace. He seemed to want to go into more detail, but Vikas planted a huge hand on Jace’s chest and pushed him ten paces away. She then returned to her post and nodded toward the chrysalis.
Graylin did a final inspection, making sure everyone was clear. Once satisfied, he boomed across the chamber, “We’re starting!”
Rhaif put his palm against the cocoon’s crystal. Shiya placed her bronze hand over his, then leaned her head back against the copper and closed her eyes.
Graylin held his breath. Nothing seemed to happen for a long stretch. He finally had to let his air out. As he did, the sphere began to glow. A low rumble shook the floor. Down the tunnels, the huge rubber cables vibrated.
The glow of the orb grew brighter. The golden lake at its heart stopped its tremulous pulsing. Rather than remaining amorphous, the pool blinked through a variety of crisp shapes: a pyramid, a cube, a prism, a cone. Some shapes defied the eye. They flashed faster and faster, growing into a blur that looked like a match to the orb: a perfect sphere made of thousands of blended shapes flickering into and out of coherence.
The glow grew into a blaze of shining energy.
Vikas squinted her eyes, but she maintained her post, holding her ax high.
