“I’m not collecting on it. He says he’s gonestraight, and I believe him. He’s up here with his pregnant wifeand one-year-old son. They’re hoping to find enough gold to make afresh start.”
“Oh.” Kali did not know what Wilder had doneto earn his bounty, but she could not argue for killing a man witha new family to provide for. “Sorry the trip was a waste foryou.”
“Not a total waste. I got kissed.”
“By Wilder?”
Cedar snorted. “By you.”
“I know about that. I was just makingsure I didn’t have competition. This Wilder might be a looker.”
He waved away her goofy comments. “Wilder didsay he agreed with me in that Cudgel was probably on his way up toDawson. He’s too greedy to miss an opportunity like this.” Hespread a hand to indicate the river and the claims.
A thud sounded beside Kali’s ear, and shardsof bark flew off the tree beside her. A gouge appeared in thetrunk.
“Time to go,” Cedar said.
“Do we face the angry humans by the river orthe unknown somethings in the forest?”
“Your choice. I have ammo now.
“We can cut back to the trail through thetrees.” Kali glanced at Sebastian’s injured men. “I’m tired ofhurting people.”
“You want to hurt machines?” Cedar led theway into the forest.
“No, but I want to see them up close.”
“Even if they’re shooting at you?”
“I’m odd,” Kali said. “I know.” She wanted toknow what powered them and what directed them to move-and shoot.Nothing natural. That much she knew.
Something glided out of the branches. BeforeKali got a good look, burning pain lanced into her abdomen. Shehunched over, clutching her stomach. Again, the wound was notenough to break skin or rip clothing, but she would have a bruisebefore long.
“You all right?” Cedar gripped her shoulder.“I saw it. It’s a foot long and looks like a big butterfly withwings made of the same mesh as the flyer.”
“If you saw it, why didn’t you shoot it?”
“Don’t we want your friends to believe wewere caught in the cave-in?”
Right. Weapons fire would give them away.“All right,” she said, “let’s get out of here. That thing is aimingfor me.”
They broke into a jog with Cedar leading theway. Though no trail meandered through the forest, enough peoplehad clomped around their claims that Kali and Cedar could maneuverbetween the trees, following paths of trampled foliage. Theirfootfalls drowned out the click-whirs of the mechanicalcreature, but she feared it was not far behind. Between thepacksack bumping on her back and the drill snagging on branches,she was not moving quickly. More than once, Cedar glanced back andslowed his pace for her.
Without warning, another tiny projectilehammered Kali in the jaw.
“Tarnation!” she blurted, grabbing her chin.Without the protection of clothing, that one hurt more than theothers. Warm blood dribbled through her fingers. “How’d it get infront of us?”
“I don’t know. Another quarter mile, and I’llrisk a shot.”
They kept running. Though the balls did notcause overbearing pain, the face shot made Kali aware of thepossibility of getting one in the eye.
The next stab of pain came from the side. Shegrowled in frustration and gritted her teeth.
Sword in hand, Cedar darted in front of herand crashed into the undergrowth. He leaped into the air andwhipped the blade upward so quickly Kali could not track its path.Metal clashed against metal, and something slammed into a treetrunk. Her eyes finally caught up with the action when thecontraption clattered to the ground.
“Keep running,” Cedar said. “There’s morethan one.”
But she sprinted over to check out thedevice. It was worth a few more balls in the butt if she could takeone home to study.
The winged, bronze and steel creature had afinely wrought carapace, and Cedar’s blade had sliced its body inhalf. When she picked up a piece, its lightness surprised her.
“Go, go.” Cedar pulled her to her feet andgave her a shove.
He was staring past her shoulder, and sherisked a glance before running the direction he indicated. And shegulped. No fewer than ten of the flying creatures were descendingfrom the trees and angling toward her, like a swarm of bees.
Still clutching the broken one, she tookCedar’s advice and ran. There were no clear trails, and shestumbled on roots and rocks. Branches whipped her face and snaggedher hair. She almost dropped the drill, but she did not have timeto dig the flash gold out, and she refused to leave a piece ofthat on the forest floor.
Footsteps thundered behind her. Cedar.
“They’re staying out of sword reach,” hesaid.
“They’re smart.”
“Flash gold smart?” He must have alsorealized no natural explanation could account for the autonomouscreations.
“Maybe.” Flash gold was her father’sinvention, and she did not think much of it was out there in theworld, if any. She had read of witches animating inanimate objectsand controlling them, and thought that a more likely explanationfor the swarm, but she could not be sure. She lacked the breath toshare her speculations.
Cedar grunted, then cursed. He was runningdirectly behind her and taking the hits.
“You don’t have to…do that,” she said.
The effort of holding the pace was catchingup with her. Without the packsack, she would have an easier time,but she was unwilling to leave her tools behind. She could havedropped the drill or the metal carcass, but she might find anotheruse for the former, and she had to check out the latter assoon as there was time. This woman’s work was incredible.
“Veer right,” Cedar said. “The river bendsahead, and we’ll run into some rapids if we keep goingstraight.”
“It’d be nice if…someone would have…madea trail for us.”
“We’ll meet up with it soon.”
When Kali tried to follow his instructionsand run right, movement in that direction made her falter. Two ofthe creatures swooped out of the canopy.
Cedar’s rifle cracked. One of the constructsflew backward, smashing into a tree. The other returned fire. Thebullet was too small to track, but Cedar cursed and dropped hisrifle. He snatched it up and caught up with Kali.
“They’re herding us,” he said.
Yes, she was getting that feeling. “To cornerus…at the river? I’m hot and tired enough to jump in and…takemy chances with the current.”
“With all that gear?” Irritating thathe did not sound out of breath. “You’d sink like a goldbar.”
Before she could think of a retort, the treesand undergrowth ended, and she stumbled onto a granite bank, dampwith spray. In the center of the river, white rapids frothed andchurned, but Kali’s gaze went to a shallow niche filled with calm,dark water-and a brown-clad figure standing in a metal boat. No,not a boat. The lower half of the flying machine, the half they hadnot found in the wreckage. The furnace and boiler appearedundamaged, and puffs of gray wafted from a narrow smokestack. Somesort of screw-style propeller kept theflying-machine-turned-land-vehicle-turned-boat from drifting outinto the rapids.
Kali slowed down, not sure what to do next.Stop and talk? God knew she was curious about this woman. Or turnright and run downriver, taking her chances navigating thetreacherous slabs of rock framing the waterway?
Cedar had no trouble deciding what to do: hefired his rifle.
The transparent barrier still protected thepiloting area, but since the woman was standing, her torso roseabove it. The bullet slammed into her chest. Or it should have. Itclacked, as if hitting rock, and ricocheted off without the figurereacting. Actually she did react. She tilted her head and gaveCedar a look that managed to convey, even with goggles covering hereyes, pity for such a simple creature whose only solution toproblems was gunfire.
He seemed to get that message too for hegrowled like a bear roused early from hibernation.