“Keep an eye on that skyskimmer,” Elion called back to Keyla, straining his voice to be heard over the wind rushing past them and the whine of the bike engine. He kept his eyes glued to the road, which showed signs of having once been paved but was now mostly a dirt track.

  “It’s coming this way,” Keyla shouted back to him.

  Elion scanned the road, which cut straight across the plains for miles. Tall grass waved on either side of the road. In the distance, the ruins of Kairn Tol beckoned. If they could make it to the city, they could try to lose the warlocks there.

  “It’s catching up,” Keyla yelled. “Coming in really fast!”

  Aterfel dropped away behind them as the tires of the cycle chewed up the ground. A huge crater in the ground off to their right still smoked. Chunks of debris from the explosion dotted the road.

  “We can’t out pace them,” Elion called, glancing over his shoulder. Beyond the drawbridge, the skyskimmer no longer hovered over the island. It cut through the sky like a sliver blade, straight toward them.

  Elion looked ahead, searching for an escape. He spotted a narrow track splitting off of the main road, diving into the tall grass. “Hold on!” Swerving across the road, he hit the gap in the grass.

  Slowing down slightly to maintain control, Elion peered up at the sky. The grass grew several feet past his head, sprouting from the ground in thick stalks and waving overhead as blades narrowed to a point. The thin sliver of sky overhead revealed nothing of their pursuers.

  “Where does this go?” Elion asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I thought you said you knew the area!”

  “I do! I just don’t know this part… Besides, I can’t really see where we’re going!”

  Elion groaned, and they continued riding through the grass. He was still breathing heavily from his encounter with Gorman. *I shot him. Right in the chest. And destroyed his arm. But what else was I supposed to do? He was hurting Keyla!*

  Something about killing Gorman felt different. He’d killed scavengers before, sure, people infected by the Shard. But they had all been nameless, not people he’d known. And they’d been viciously attacking him. Except for Brynna…

  Again he felt the impact of her body as he slammed her into the ground.

  Despite all the lies, Elion had grown to like Gorman. Then he’d murdered him, leaving his body lying on the ground, a gaping hole in his chest.

  The wind picked up, forcing them to slow down. Large blades of grass waved into their path, slapping Elion in the face as he passed. The skyskimmer did not appear overhead.

  “Maybe we lost them,” Elion said, slowing the bike to a stop, listening for signs of pursuit. “We could hide here, wait for them to leave?”

  As he spoke, the rumbling of the skyskimmer grew around them. The ship flew low to the ground across the path just ahead of them, its wash flattening grass as it passed. It stopped, and turned back toward Elion and Keyla.

  “I think they spotted us!” Keyla called. Elion gunned the throttle, and they shot out of the grass, across the large swath flattened by the airship.

  The ship shot forward, its shadow racing across the ground. It came to hover over the speeding cycle, matching it’s speed.

  Flattened grass obscured the trail, and Elion struggled to maintain control of his bike as the wheels slipped over the stalks.

  “Elion,” Keyla called, warning. He caught sight of the ledge ahead, an open void of space in the midst of the tall grass.

  He slowed the bike, turning as they approached, and emerged onto the lip of a huge crater in the ground. The pit had to be more than a mile across. A narrow trail led down into the bowl, and Elion took it.

  Loud cracks behind him signaled the arrival of warlocks teleporting to the ground behind him. Purple blasts of power whizzed past Elion’s head as he dropped down into the crater.

  The path, made of loose dirt, cut across the side of the crater, spiraling down toward a pool of water. Openings in the cliff walls suggested caves, disappearing into nothingness.

  “What is this?” Elion exclaimed.

  “Bomb crater, from the Cataclysm,” Keyla explained. “If we can get down lower, there’s a tunnel that’s been cleared heading into Kairn Tol.”

  Elion continued along the path, part driving, part sliding in the loose soil. A pair of warlocks on foot hurled spells from the lip of the crater, but they were too far away.

  The skyskimmer hovered, lowering itself down into the crater. Three cubes dropped from the bottom of it, sending plumes of water and dirt into the air as they landed. Legs unfolded from the arachnatronics, and warlocks teleported in beside the machines with purple blasts in the air.

  “Which tunnel?” Elion shouted, as they rode past a gaping maw in the crater side.

  “Not that one,” Keyla yelled. “I think that one caved in. Keep going!”

  Elion gunned the motor, skimming across the ground at the opening of the cavern. The warlocks below began riding the arachnatronics up the slope, angling to cut them off.

  “There,” Kelya said, pointing over Elion’s shoulder at a hole in the cliff side up ahead. Water ran out of it in a shallow stream that wound down to the pool at the bottom of the crater. Elion pushed the bike.

  They reached the opening as the warlocks rode into range. A blast of energy struck the top of the tunnel, dislodging debris that rained down over them. A few other shots flew past them, striking the ground and sides of the cavern, forcing Elion to slow and swerve to avoid craters in the ground.

  Keyla returned fire, wielding her rifle with one arm and clinging to Elion’s waist with the other. The laserarm bounced awkwardly as she tried to aim, but her shots sent the arachnatronics scrambling.

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  “I hope you’re right,” Elion muttered. “If this is caved in, we’re trapped.”

  The ground was uneven, jolting through Elion’s arms as they entered the hole. Water sprayed up around them, splashing Elion’s legs and face. He spluttered as droplets hit inside his mouth and nose. The sound of wheels cutting through the stream echoed in the cavern around them.

  Snickers still perched in the front basket, clinging onto the wire frame for dear life. He yowled angrily as water splattered up onto him.

  Light died out quickly as they charged deeper into the tunnel, until Elion could no longer see the sides of the tunnel. The ground became smoother beneath the tires of the cycle.

  Keyla reached around him and hit a switch on the handle bars, activating a headlight. The blue glare of the light shot out, illuminating the tunnel. Slick walls and an even floor rushed past. Water seeped through cracks in the stonework of the ceiling and walls, creating large stalagmite ribs and spikes that hung overhead.

  Cold droplets of water fell from the ceiling, splashing fatly against Elion’s face. Rivulets ran down the middle of the tunnel, and mud splashed up onto Elion’s legs as the bike tires churned up the ground. Elion risked a glance behind them, and glimpsed the telltale teal glow of arachnatronics scrambling after them in the tunnel.

  “They’re still coming,” Elion gasped. “Where does this cave go?”

  “It heads into New Kairn Tol,” Keyla said. “It cuts through the bottom of a few craters along the way.”

  “Any places we can lose them? Somewhere to hide?”

  “This pipe used to be part of the Karin Tol sewer system,” Keyla said. “If we can get in closer to the city, it turns into a massive network of tunnels. Easy to get lost in. I don’t know how they’d find us.”

  “Let’s get into the city then,” Elion said, increasing their speed.

  They drove for several more minutes, all while the clattering of arachnatronics behind them echoed loudly in the pipe. Keyla occasionally twisted around, firing off a shot or two to discourage the warlocks, but they still came on.

  In the distance a spot of light appeared, glowing brighter as they approached.

  “That’s the other crater,” Keyla said. “We came through here once and cleared a cave-in. There’s a smooth path straight across the bottom and back into the tunnel.”

  Elion watched the bright light grow, trying to make out any obstacles in the road. But his eyes didn’t adjust to the light until they were nearly outside again.

  The motorcycle shot from the tunnel like a bullet. Emerging into another large, shallow crater, Elion immediately realized their mistake.

  The skyskimmer had beat them here. It hovered a dozen feet off the ground, its platform lowered. A group of people in uniforms unloaded several pieces of equipment, setting them up beneath the aircraft.

  Warlocks blocked their path forward. Arachnatronics scrambled from the tunnel behind them.

  Trapped, with no way to escape, Elion made a snap decision. He kept pressure on the throttle, holding the bike steady as they charged toward the warlocks in the road. The warlocks stood unwavering, spaced out in the road like a game of red rover. Either Elion would break through their line, or they’d snag him.

  The bike tires devoured the ground, hurtling Elion toward the barricade. The warlocks raised their wands. Venya stood in the middle of them, wind from the skyskimmer sending her gown and hair flapping torrentially around her.

  Elion aimed straight for her. Venya didn’t even seem concerned as he bore down on the place where she stood.

  “Hold on!” Elion called back to Keyla. Her arms, already wrapped around his waist, squeezed more tightly. She rested her head on his back.

  Elion sped toward Venya, locking eyes with her as he charged. She would have to move or get run down.

  When Elion was close enough to see the whites of Venya’s eyes, the warlocks released a blast of spells, twisting purple lances stabbing through the air.

  > << Manifest Armaments >>

  Elion felt a rush of strength and energy as he entered his Ascended state. A warlock’s spell impacted his right shoulder, bursting in a swirl of light. Elion gripped the handlebars of the bike.

  Venya raised her wand, bracing herself.

  Elion swerved the bike, ducking beneath blasts of sorcerous energy and shooting through the gap between Venya and another warlock. The back tire of the bike skidded out from underneath him, and he threw out his leg to catch himself, his knee popping as his leg jarred into the ground.

  The jolt popped him back upright, nearly throwing Snickers from the basket. Elion leaned forward and accelerated.

  A thrill of exhilaration washed over him as he sped away, blasts of warlock power flying more erratically past him as he lengthened the space between him and his pursuers. The bike felt lighter, more maneuverable. He aimed for the growing cave mouth at the other edge of the crater, and deactivated his armor.

  When his normal clothing returned, he realized that something was wrong. He could no longer feel Keyla’s arms wrapped around him. She was gone.

  He pulled the bike up short, skidding around in an arc. For a moment he panicked, wondering if he’d somehow been ‘wearing’ her and had sent her to some kind of Aurelian void.

  Instead, he saw surrounded by warlocks, floating in a bubble of purple light. Three warlocks surrounded her, and a platform lifted them all up toward the belly of the skyskimmer.

  Elion glanced at the tunnel behind him; a free, open escape. The arachnatronics and warlocks continued pursuing him. Surely they would abandon Keyla, leave her alone if Elion ran again? They wanted him, not her.

  He couldn’t leave her to their mercy.

  “Sorry cat,” he said, scooping Snickers out of the basket and placing him in the dirt. He kicked off the ground and throttled up, charging back toward the skyskimmer.

  The aircraft hovered off of the smooth path running from tunnel to tunnel. The terrain around it was rockier, waves in the earth formed by erosion. Elion swerved his bike off of the path, away from the oncoming arachnatronics, and shot toward the skyskimmer.

  A particularly unassuming hill provided Elion with an opportunity. He wasn’t a pro dirt biker by any means, but how hard could it be to hit a jump? His heart was already pounding in his chest, arms trembling as adrenaline amped him up even more.

  He raced across the ground as quickly as he dared, dirt spraying up behind him. A confused arachnatronic scrambled for him, snapping at him with its mandibles. *Wait until the last moment. Save your strength.* Elion dodged past the machine, hit the slope, and launched himself into the air.

  A blast from a warlock struck the bike as Elion cleared the jump, sending the bike spinning away to the side.

  Elion flailed his arms in the air, trying to stay oriented as he flew toward the skyskimmer. The bike fell away beneath him. He manifested his armor, the clothes materializing around him as he flew, sunlight glimmering off of him as he arced across the sky. His knife formed in his hand.

  He could not control his rotation, and flipped end over end. Slamming into the top of the skyskimmer, he slid across the slick, silvery surface on his back. The impact knocked his knife from his grasp, sending it skittering away. He gasped for breath and scrabbled for purchase as he slipped toward the edge of the ship.

  Rolling, he resummoned the knife to his hand and stabbed it into the skin of the strange, shimmering aircraft. The blade cut through the metallic surface cleanly, the strange substance peeling apart smoothly as Elion slid.

  Friction from the cut stopped Elion’s slide. He pulled himself to his feet as angry warlocks shouted down below. He stood, his footing tenuous on the slick surface, and walked higher onto the skyskimmer, where the craft flattened out more.

  A large span of reflective glass protected what Elion guessed might be a cockpit, so he slammed his knife down through it. The knife punctured through, but did not slice cleanly through when Elion tried widening the cut.

  Instead he stabbed repeatedly in an arc around him, weakening the glass until it cracked beneath him, and he fell through it into the ship.

  Elion landed clumsily in a white room. A woman sat in a pilot’s chair, eyes wide, a pistol in her hand. She shot at him twice, one bullet flying wide, the other hitting him in the shoulder. Elion shook off the shot, his Ascended State protecting him, though he felt the impact draining his energy.

  He needed to be more careful or he’d trigger Ascendency fatigue. He crossed the room and struck the woman in the face before she could shoot again.

  Blood dripped from her nose, staining her white collar as she crumpled to the side, falling back into her pilot’s chair and leaning on the controls.

  The vessel plummeted, lurching to the side and knocking Elion to the floor.