“It feels light,” he said. “Lighter than iron, anyway.”
It barely sizzled as it went into its second cold water bath and after a moment, Pilar used the clamp to pull it out, brought it over to her and Quardi.
They bent over it and then she felt Garek behind her, his arm tugging her back against his chest as they all peered over the spear.
Steam wafted off it, so it was still hot, but it had an almost pearlescent sheen to it. She took the clamp from Pilar, and gave a nod. “It does feel light.”
She passed it to Garek and he agreed.
“This won't be cool enough to test for a while, and we don't have the luxury of time,” Quardi reminded her.
She nodded. “It looks all right. I'll have to trust it'll be strong enough.”
She turned back to the pot, and Garek gave her a last squeeze and disappeared back into the darkness, to oversee the watch.
There was enough ore for Taya to pull four more spears from the pot, and when she'd used up as much as she could, Pilar tipped out the slag and impurities that were left, and added the next lot of ore to smelt.
She moved on to the second fire.
She'd seen a picture once, when she'd been in Juli for the princess's wedding, a wall mural depicting the Iron Guard going into battle.
It wasn't a true depiction, as far as she knew. The Iron Guard patrolled the West Lathor border, and they were fearsome, but West Lathor hadn't been to war for a long time, and the Iron Guard had only been formed twenty years ago.
Nevertheless, something in the picture had spoken to her. There was a truth to it, and Taya had thought perhaps the artist had watched the Iron Guard do their patrols, or train in their barracks. They had looked real.
In the painting, the guards had been wearing armor that looked like the scales of a slither, overlapping iron hexagons that hung from leather breastplates and arm guards, and from leather helmets that protected the ears, nape and throat as well as the head.
Clothing had become her business, as the dyed levik wool she sent to Gara and Juli became more and more popular. She thought more about the end product than she ever had before, about how the colors would influence what the wool was used to make, and she'd stared at that picture for a long time, thinking of ways the strange decoration could be used for the general population.
Of course, that was back when she thought the iron hexagons were only for protection. Before she understood what calling a specific element could mean.
Even now, she didn't know how they would release the hexagons and use them in a fight, but back then, when she'd gotten home to Pan Nuk, she'd had Quardi make her thin circles instead of hexagons, and she'd sewn them in a way that they overlapped on woven fabric.
The iron had turned out to be too heavy for the cloth, and she'd given it up. It seemed leather was the only thing that could hold the iron without tearing and she wasn't in the leather decoration business.
But if shadow ore was that much lighter than iron, and it had felt like it, she would try again. Make something both light and protective, and lethal, for herself.
She lifted a small amount of ore out of the second pot, and formed the most perfect circle she could. It seemed to want to form a circle, she realized. It was almost no work to pull the ore up and let it spread until it was about the size of her palm.
She would have chosen to make them smaller if she'd had time, but that would have taken much longer.
As it was, the only hard part was the tiny hole she made at the top.
She drew up more and more ore, until she had over twenty circles, and then dumped them in the box. She was only able to make another forty before the ore ran out, and she went back to the first pot again.
“The ore's nearly ready,” Quardi told her, and she realized she was thirsty, and there was the hint of a headache, slinking like a thief toward her. She walked to the small jug someone had set on a table, poured some water and realized the team Quardi had gathered to help him were all staring at her.
Most of them sat on the ground, looking exhausted but bemused.
“What?” She tipped back her head and swallowed half the water in one long gulp. “Shouldn't you try and get some rest?”
They'd finished moving all the boxes of water close to the forge fires, she saw, and there was nothing else for them to do.
“Watching you is too interesting.” Noor pulled herself up. “But yes, I need some sleep.”
It broke the thrall everyone seemed to be under, and soon it was just Pilar, Quardi and herself.
“How much ore is left?” She had the sense she couldn't waste the ore. She would need it, need it like she needed to breathe or eat, when she got back to Barit.
“We filled the first pot again, and I'll put these last few pieces in the second pot.” Pilar had tipped the second pot out, so the slag lay, glowing, on the ground. He set the pot down on the fire and threw three pieces about the size of her fist into it. “That's all of it.”
She had to make sure they could fight when they got to Barit, but if the spears lodged in the sky craft and they managed to fly away, she would lose them. She would have the shards in her headband, she would have the circles, but she wanted a knife, too, or a short sword. Something that was a true weapon.
The pieces smelting in the second pot would have to be enough, she decided. Because none of it would matter if she was dead, or Garek or Kas were dead. She needed to protect them when the sky raiders tried to take them back, so she needed the full pot in front of her to go toward more spears.
She managed to get six spears out of the pot, and she could feel the act of doing this over and over was making her better at it, making her more accurate.
When she got to the second pot, got the nod from Pilar that it was ready, she pulled everything out at once, shaping it into a long straight blade with a pommel below. Too long, she realized, and cut a piece off the top, made a small knife with a handle using the excess.
She stood for a while, until she was happy with the length and width of the blades.
She was about to toss them into the water, when Quardi lifted his hand.
“Wait. Your blades are too thick at the edges. Give them to me to shape.”
She laid both on the anvil and then stood swaying for a moment to the sound of Quardi pounding with his hammer.
If felt as if each strike was drilling into her head, her headache darkening her vision at the edges.
“Time to crash?” Pilar asked her.
She nodded, unable to answer, and then Garek was there, helping her to bed.
“Will you stay?” she managed to mumble as he lay her down on the soft, wonderful mattress, but she didn't know if he answered her before the headache pulled her under.
Chapter 40
The sound of running jerked Garek awake. He was standing, opening the door of the hut, before Eli even reached it.
The sky was still dark, although with a hint of gray on the horizon that told Garek dawn could not be far away.
That meant he'd managed to get five hours of sleep, and he felt the better for it.
“They're coming?” he asked, looking upward.
Eli nodded. He stepped away from the door and pointed above the roof.
Garek joined him, watched the flare of blue fire making its way toward them.
When he'd joined Taya an hour after he'd put her to bed, they'd been ready in every way. Everyone from the Illy and the Kardai side had their orders.
“They're coming in too early for day shift, so they know something's wrong,” Eli said.
“Aidan awake?” Garek asked.
Eli nodded. “He was bunking with me, anyway. He's already waiting by the guard's machine for you.”
Garek looked back into the hut, saw Taya was still asleep.
“Called the Change too much,” Eli said, with a sympathetic nod. “Do we need her for this fight?”
“It wouldn't hurt.” But he wasn't sorry there was a good excuse to keep her out of it,
either. “She's no good to us at half-strength.”
Eli nodded. “Half-strength may be better than nothing, though.”
Their voices must have roused her, because she blinked and sat up. Regret rode him, and he wished he'd left with Eli right away.
“They're coming?” Her voice was husky.
“Yes. I'm getting in position.” He hesitated. “Are you able to help?”
She gave a nod, scrambled to her feet. “Go. I'll see you there.”
He turned to do just that, realized he didn't want to without a kiss, and went back for it.
She smiled against his lips as he bent down, holding him close, and then he forced himself back from the warm, sweet smell of her and ran to the transporter.
Eli kept up with him. “Why do you think they've decided to come now?”
“They may have only just realized they have a craft missing.”
Eli's eyebrows rose in disbelief.
“They don't think they have anything to fear from us, and they seem confident they're the biggest, baddest things out here.”
“So what do they think happened?”
“Maybe that something broke?” Garek guessed that's exactly what they thought. He hoped so, anyway. This would go much more easily if it was the case.
He arrived in the landing area, and Aidan waved. There were people standing just out of cover all along the edges of the landing area. Everyone was looking up.
Garek could sense the tension, and the excitement.
“Want me to get in now?” Aidan pointed to the guard machine.
Garek nodded. He'd managed to land the transporter close to it when they'd come back from the mine with the shadow ore. It looked as if the guard was talking to the pilots.
Aidan could move around in it, if necessary, make it look like there was a guard inside there.
“Let's hope they don't go to the mine first,” he said, as he watched the craft with its blue trail swoop lower.
Nothing would tell them things weren't as they seemed louder than the abandoned mine.
“If they do?” Kas was standing beside him now, stepping out of the darkness silently.
“I'm hoping they'll come straight to the transporter. If they go to the mine, they may still think something simply went wrong. I don't think they'll jump to the right conclusion until we actually attack.”
Kas gave a hum of agreement. “Taya?” he asked.
“Just woke up. Says she's all right.” He looked down the narrow pathway between the shacks to their hut, and saw her coming, still in her guard uniform, although for some reason she wasn't wearing her coat, despite the chill. Her hands were in her hair as she braided it off her face.
She looked tired, pale beneath the dusky gold of her skin, and the need to get her away from this place became a deafening drumbeat in his blood.
“How many do you think will be in there?” Kas tensed beside him as the craft banked right, angling toward them. It was five minutes away at most.
“If we're lucky, two. If not . . .” He shrugged. “We deal with it.”
“We're ready to deal with whatever comes.” It was Jona, stepping out from the Kardai side, flanked by Dom and another man.
“Dom needs to stay back,” Garek said. He looked directly at him. “Only engage if we clearly need help.”
The boy hesitated.
“You aren't a trained guard,” Kas told him. “And there's no time to teach anyone else how to fly the transporter if you're hurt too badly to do it. So you need to be safe until we have the situation under control.”
Jona touched Dom's shoulder. “We can't leave without you.” There seemed to be respect there, which was different from a few nights ago.
Dom gave a nod, shared a quick look with Taya and then walked back into the camp, disappearing among the tents.
“If he does get hurt?” Jona asked.
“Then we teach his mother,” Taya said. “Or you stay behind.”
Both Kardai men drew in a sharp breath.
“Are you ready?” Garek asked her.
She nodded, held up the shadow ore shards, and Jona took a step back.
“Don't let them get near the transporter,” he said, panic in his tone. “I saw what they did to that guard machine by the forge.”
“I've taken them on the transporters before, so it isn't enough to affect them while it's on me. But I know the stakes,” Taya told him. “I'll be careful. Garek and I have talked about when and where I'll use them.”
The sound of the transporter's engines were audible now, and Garek gave the guard signal for everyone to take cover. Then smiled at himself when only the few from Pan Nuk and Harven who had done guard duty complied.
“Go hide,” he said.
“What about you?” Jona asked.
“Don't worry about me.” He turned, following Taya to the Stolen Store, the closest structure to the landing area, and waved her deeper into the shadows. He crouched in front of her, his body shielding her completely.
“You don't fool me,” she whispered, shuffling so close to him she was right up against his back, her lips almost touching his ear. “I know you wish I was still sleeping in the hut.”
He grunted, his eyes on the transporter as it came in to land.
She kissed the side of his neck, a quick, hard press of lips and then she burrowed her face in his shirt as the grit swirled around them.
He put his hand on her knee, squeezed, his gaze never leaving the transporter.
It settled, and once the dust had stopped flying, Aidan turned the guard machine to face it.
That was good, Garek thought. It would have been odd if a guard hadn't turned to see the new transporter.
They waited, seconds ticking by so slowly, they felt like minutes.
Eventually, Aidan started walking toward the ship.
Risky, but Garek agreed they needed to do something to get things moving.
Aidan's walk was more a lumber, stiff-legged and jerky. When he got to the doors, Garek moved forward, ready and focused.
The pilot doors stayed closed, but he heard the unmistakeable sound of the back ramp lowering.
Aidan didn't move, and Garek realized he probably couldn't hear it, encased in glass and metal as he was.
Garek held still, the warmth of Taya still pressed against his back, and watched to see who came out of the back.
Four sky raiders, all in the same dark blue suits as the ones he'd killed at the tower.
Now he had to decide whether the pilots were among them, or whether they were still inside.
“What now?” Kas came up behind them, crouching low.
“I have to get into the pilots' area and kill the pilots if they're there, then fly the transporter a short distance away, so they can't fly off with it. We won't get another chance at one.” The sky raiders may think they were untouchable, but Garek would bet losing two transporters would make them sit up and take notice. There would be no more opportunities after this.
“I agree. We'll deal with the four that are outside. You take the transporter. I'll let everyone know.” Kas slipped away.
“You want a diversion?” Taya whispered. “To get to the pilots' door?”
“No.” The word came out more harshly than he intended. He swallowed. “Taya, please don't risk yourself.”
Then before she could argue, he ran, bending low, and keeping to the shadows.
The four sky raiders who'd stepped out were walking toward Aidan in his guard machine, and Garek felt a leap of relief as Aidan moved away from the front of the transporter, heading for the open area in front of the jousting tent.
The sky raiders attention moved with him and just as Garek moved to the other side of the transporter, out of sight, Aidan seemed to stumble, and the machine fell over.
Garek guessed he hadn't meant that to happen, but it shocked the sky raiders into action. They ran forward, and Garek slipped around the back, swung up the small ladder on the side, and hit the button to open the pi
lot's door.
The door opened with the familiar whoosh of air as the outside atmosphere mingled with the strange sky raider air in the cabin.
A sky raider turned to him, helmet in hand as if about to put it on. He stared for a moment, shocked, and then lunged for a button on the side.
Garek dived in, drawing as much air as he could with him and hit the helmet out of the pilot's hand as he straightened from closing the door. The pilot panicked as he tried to breathe air that was a mix between Shadow and sky raider and Garek took advantage, moving in and striking him hard on the side of the head with his elbow. The pilot grunted and stumbled back, but the system was pumping more sky raider air in, and Garek could see him getting stronger.
His window of opportunity was closing.
The pilot lunged, claws out, catching the leather of Garek's coat, and Garek threw himself forward, bringing them both down hard on the floor.
Sharp claws dug into his chest, he could feel them sinking into his skin, tightening their hold.
He ignored the pain, enveloping the pilot in the air he'd brought in with him and got his hands around his throat. He tried to draw what air he could from the sky raider's lungs, but there was so little to get hold of that he had to accept the sky raiders' air was just too different from Barit and Shadow for him to work with it.
The pilot bared his incisors, tried to bite, but Garek slammed his head back against the floor, tightening his grip around his throat as the sky raider sunk his claws deeper.
The door suddenly opened on the camp side of the transporter, and Garek lifted his head in surprise.
A sky raider in full suit and helmet stood on the rung, and the pilot beneath him twisted to look, shouted something in the sky raider language.
Garek used the chance to pull in armfuls and armfuls of air, flooding the chamber.
He felt the claws loosen, then retract, and he levered himself up, shoved the sky raider trying to climb in off the side of the transporter.
When he turned back, he saw the pilot was scrabbling to get his helmet.
Garek went on his knees, found the dial beneath the console and moved it to the Barit setting, keeping his attention split between getting the correct mix and watching the pilot.
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