(Dyn)

  It surprised Dyn when the deck shifted under his feet. He grabbed onto the closest sturdy object—Wedge. The big guy gnced down at his own arm to find Dyn clinging tightly around it, using it for bance. A grinding sound accompanied the vibrations as the hull of the Everafter worked her way free.

  Dyn fshed Wedge an apologetic smile as he let go of his arm. “Sorry.”

  Wedge chuckled with a deep rumble, draping an arm across Dyn’s shoulders to hold him in pce. “I have got you, captain.”

  Dyn looked up with a frown. “Aw come on. Not you too?”

  The big guy continued his deep rumbling chuckle, shaking Dyn as much as the ship was.

  Most of Nightshade white knuckled the railings as the ship unearthed herself. Dyn gnced back at his two officers, who seemed unbothered by the shifting deck under their feet.

  “Is this normal?”

  “No, the Everafter lies partially buried under the ground. Nothing about that sentence is normal for an airship. We’ve just got to work our way out and then I promise the shaking will stop,” the first mate said.

  “Okay.” Dyn exhaled, having no other choice but to wait and see.

  The deck let out another terrible groan before straightening abruptly, throwing him off bance. He’d adapted to the ship’s slight lean, only for it to shift again. Thankfully, Wedge’s arm kept him steady.

  As the ship stopped shaking, Wedge released Dyn, letting him stand on his own. The ground had finally lost its hold on the airship.

  “We’re free,” First Mate Echo’s voice said over the speakers.

  Cheers and cries of joy erupted from the crew and Nightshade alike. Even the Everafter seemed to hum with excitement, relieved to be back in the air. Dyn winced as concussive booms from Wedge’s eted cpping rattled his ears. Nearby, the twins hugged each other, jumping up and down with abandon. Even Runemist wore a rare smile.

  Quinten released P’reslen and spun, hunting for his next “victim” to embrace. His eyes nded on Athrax, who leaned against the railing with crossed cybernetic arms, unimpressed by the airship doing airship things. Catching wind of Quinten’s approach, Athrax narrowed his eyes, unamused by the easygoing elf’s antics.

  P’reslen took out his echo locator to share the good news, still smiling as he brought it to his mouth.

  “Tome & Key to Ostello.”

  “Go ahead,” the rock said. Ostello’s voice came in sharp and quick, as if still running.

  P’reslen retreated to an empty corner near the aft deck, pressing the rock to one ear while covering his other to muffle the celebratory ruckus.

  “We’re in position. How’s the arc beetle?”

  The rock spoke in short bursts. “Still moving… Same direction… Faster.”

  “Are you still running?”

  “Sprinting…” the rock said breathlessly.

  Dyn overheard their conversation and approached P’reslen, weaving through the excited crowd. “What direction?”

  P’reslen gnced at Runemist, who gave him a quick nod. Dyn appreciated the small show of trust, letting him follow his intuition.

  “What direction are you headed?” P’reslen asked.

  The ship continued its slow ascent, nearing the jungle canopy. The tops of the trees stretched closer, their dark leaves gleaming faintly in the mid-morning light.

  “East… and south,” the rock said.

  Dyn spun, scanning the deck. ‘There he is,’ he thought, spotting the easygoing elf closing in on Athrax with open arms. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, “Quinten!”

  Quinten’s head tilted at the sound of his name. His arms dropped as he abandoned the celebratory hug and turned to see who’d called him.

  Dyn followed up with his next question. “What direction was the beetle going when you tracked it?”

  Quinten squinted, jogging up to Dyn and P’reslen. “West for a bit, then north, I think. Why?”

  Using the scientific process of guestimation, Dyn plotted out the path of the arc beetle’s territory in his mind. It came out looking like a very rge circle—a clock.

  Their first encounter with the beetle was at the six spot. A day ter, they found the nest at the four spot. By st night, the beetle had walked all the way to the eleven spot before breaking into a run. Dyn didn’t know how the kaiju knew, but its destination was obvious.

  “The beetle’s been making a beeline to the nest since st night,” Dyn said.

  Runemist snatched the stone from P’reslen. “Stop following the beetle right now.”

  “You… sure?” came the rock’s staccato reply.

  “Yes!” Runemist barked. “You’re heading toward the nest—where the explosive is. Stop now before you or the infernal beetle set it off.”

  “Alright… Stopped…” There was a pause in communication as Ostello caught his breath. Dyn counted every agonizing second—it was the longest twenty of his life.

  “Beetle’s still moving. Going to lose sight,” the rock said, still winded.

  Runemist turned to the first mate. “How fast can we get into the air?”

  “A’liyah’s made some adjustments—”

  Runemist’s hand shot up to cut him off as she repeated, “How fast?”

  Unfazed by her interruption, he expined calmly, “Our mechanic refitted the engines. They’re faster now, but only in thrust. She sacrificed the Everafter’s lift speed to maximize our chances of escape.”

  Runemist growled under her breath. “Get us in the sky now. I don’t want Ostello down there if that infernal beetle sets off the bomb.”

  “Understood, ma’am.” He gave a curt nod and then spoke into his own rock.

  “Lift to full,” his command echoed over the speakers.

  The first mate thought out loud and said, “Perhaps we should head toward the field to pick—”

  “No,” Runemist cut him off again. “The arc beetle’s still out there. I want as much distance between us and the kaiju as possible. Just get us high enough for Ostello to see the ship—he’ll handle the rest.”

  “Then there’s nothing left to do other than wait,” the first mate said.

  Their ascent was painfully slow, the engines humming in strained protest. The tension in the air rivaled the jungle humidity, both heavy and unrelenting. Dyn wiped his sweat-slicked brow with his forearm as he waited impatiently.

  No one could fault A’liyah’s decision. Logically, it made sense—they’d only need to reach cruising altitude once. And with the long journey home, along with their limited supplies, it was the right call. None of them could’ve predicted the need for a faster ascent to save a teammate.

  The canopy finally gave way, the ship breaking free into open air. Dyn watched as the trees below shrank, their leaves fading into a patchwork of jungle and shadow.

  The rock could finally form full sentences again. “I’ve lost track of the arc beetle.” Ostello’s voice sounded ragged with exhaustion.

  Runemist still had the echo locator. “That’s fine,” she said. “Keep your eye to the sky; teleport the moment you see us.”

  The trees faded into the canopy. Dyn had almost forgotten how serene it all looked from up high—distant and untouched. Like most things, it appeared much more beautiful from afar. The horizon stretched further with every moment of their climb.

  Six minutes felt like forever as the ship rose high enough to reveal the beetle’s ir. The open field formed a rough circle, just as Dyn had predicted.

  “How do we know when we’ll be high enough for—”

  A surge of clouds rolled in, darkening the sky and cutting W’itney off mid-sentence. Thunder rumbled overhead as the storm brewed, threatening to unleash a torrent of rain, wind, and electricity on them.

  A fsh of lightning struck the starboard railing, revealing Ostello as he stood precariously on top of it. His legs buckled, and with one st burst of momentum, he tumbled forward into the ship.

  Quinten, the closest, sprang into action, catching Ostello just in time to ease him gently to the deck.

  “Easy there, mate. We’ve got ya.”

  The intense elf’s chest heaved as he y on the deck beside Quinten, exhausted. His suit was ruined—drenched in sweat, marred with stains, and littered with snags. Mud caked his boots and spttered up his pants to the knees, his jacket missing entirely.

  “You look absolutely shattered, mate. Been touching yourself again?” Quinten said with a smirk.

  Dyn knew Quinten was referring to Ostello’s mana restoration ability. The intense elf had once expined how it came with a stacking debuff that prevented him from having unlimited mana.

  “Had to,” Ostello said, ying there with his eyes closed.

  “Let’s get you to your cabin for a nap, yeah?”

  “Ahead full,” First Mate Echo’s voice ordered over the speakers.

  The Everafter lurched forward, the modified engines roaring to life. Dyn gripped the railing as the sudden burst of speed threatened to topple him. The first mate hadn’t exaggerated about the ship’s new acceleration.

  “P’reslen, give us a hand?” Quinten asked, pulling the echo detonator from his pocket.

  “Athrax.” That was the only warning before he tossed the detonator to the old soldier.

  Dyn’s breath caught as the detonator tumbled through the air in slow motion. His hands shot to his head, twisting his poor hat with an anxious grip. He couldn’t stop imagining the detonator bouncing off the deck, slipping through the railings, and vanishing into the jungle below.

  To Athrax’s credit, he snatched it out of the air with ease, as if it were child’s py.

  “Stop messing around,” Runemist said, as if she were talking to children tossing a ball in the house and not a remote fucking detonator on a moving airship.

  Dyn couldn’t believe the titanium gonads of everyone around him. How they kept their heartbeats steady on this ship baffled him, especially as his own heart threatened to leap out of his throat.

  “I think I need to sit down,” he muttered, sinking against the nearest railing, his face pale.

  P’reslen jogged over to grab Ostello’s legs as Quinten lifted him from under the arms.

  “On second thought,” Quinten said, giving pause. “Let’s set him up in my cabin for now.”

  “Why?” Ostello asked with a hint of suspicion.

  “Mine’s posher, is all…” Quinten lied. Everyone knew all the cabins were the same. “But no worries, mate. Yours will still be there when you wake up.”

  Quinten and P’reslen shuffled Ostello below deck, taking extra care with their friend.

  Athrax turned to Runemist with a shit-eating grin, holding up the echo detonator, and asked, “May I?”

  She gave him a nod. “Blow it.”

  “Bout bloody time,” Athrax said. Frost spread over the stone as he activated one of his abilities, wisps of mist curling off the supercooled surface and vanishing into the jungle humidity.

  Engineer Echo practically vibrated with excitement, his gaze darting between the frozen stone and the open field like watching an intense tennis match.

  “Detonating now,” Athrax said, snapping two cybernetic fingers. A crackling arc of electricity surged from his shoulder, racing down his arm, across his wrist, and into the detonator.

  All eyes turned to the field. The twins had even pced bets on who would spot the fireball first.

  The result was a tie—no one could’ve missed it. The reflections in their wide-eyed gazes showed the giant fireball blossoming into the sky. Like a pnet sized fmethrower, it spewed gouts of fire and bck smoke hundreds of feet into the air as it went off.

  For a moment, Dyn thought he’d lost his hearing as the first explosion bloomed silently in the distance. Then, barely a heartbeat ter, the sonic boom tore through the air, proving he hadn’t gone deaf.

  The ground around the nest buckled violently, erupting in a wave of dirt and debris that shot skyward, tearing itself apart in midair.

  “By the Mother…” Runemist whispered under her breath.

  “Holy shit…” Dyn joined her in awe.

  The engineer, who stood right behind Dyn, gasped loudly and moaned, “Magnificent…”

  Athrax barked in pain, his face buried in the crook of his free arm, shielding himself. His other arm trembled, holding out a mangled cybernetic hand. Purple blood mixed with hydraulic fluid dripped from the shattered limb. The echo detonator was gone.

  Runemist, ever the experienced mender, rushed to his side. She pced a hand on his arm, activating a healing ability. His wounds closed, and the bleeding stopped, but his missing fingers didn’t reform.

  The air vibrated with a deep rumble as the explosion continued expanding. The underground gases went up to reveal the extensive cavern system that networked under the entire field. Starting at the nest, the bst spread outward, perfectly tracing its circur shape. Dyn’s guestimation had been spot on—it was one massive fucking circle.

  “What happened?” Runemist asked, gently pulling Athrax’s good arm aside to inspect his face.

  He growled in pain as she cupped his face, examining him. “Bloody thing popped in my hand…” His eyes stayed cmped shut, and Dyn noticed the freshly healed scars on his face, leaving behind patches of missing fur.

  “I think I know what happened,” Hay’len said, their voice trembling as they covered their mouth at the sight of Athrax’s disfigurement.

  “Tell me quickly,” Runemist said, deftly pulling embedded shrapnel from his face and neck.

  “When he froze the stone and set off the arc charge, the resonance magic caused the brother to spark and ignite the explosion. But it’s a synchronous connection, and the explosion also super-heated the detonator in return. The sudden temperature shift sublimated the ice, causing a rapid expansion inside the detonator and turned it into a bomb of its own.” Hay’len finished their hypothesis but had to look away.

  “This was something the engineer should have warned us about,” Runemist said angrily, gring at the mprian as he pressed himself firmly against the railing.

  He continued to elicit erotically moaned words as he stared at the ongoing destruction below.

  “Marvelous! Glorious! Simply superb! Beyond my wildest—my magnum opus…” the engineer said in breathy bursts, gripping the railing as he shuddered.

  W’itney pointed to something in the thick cloud of dirt and smoke lingering above the field.

  “What’s that?”

  ---

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