Too many pieces of the puzzle were missing for it to be solved, but Ruxbane would find them. He would not let Tayel or the princess escape his grasp. Not until he had all the answers.
“Sir?” Iselglith asked.
“Come, Iselglith,” Ruxbane said. “We need to search, too.”
He lifted his hand, spread his fingers wide, and opened a portal to Castle Aishan.
Chapter 16
The bright white lights of the hangar bay snapped on, and row upon row of shadow between parked ships disappeared in an instant. Guards ran over the viewing bridge above, barking orders to spread out and stay alert. If Tayel and Shy couldn’t get out of the hangar bay soon, they’d be caught and imprisoned. Or worse.
Tayel peeked out of her hiding space between the underside of a ship and its fuel rig. “Can you hurry up?”
“Alhyt, Tayel.” Shy ran her hand along the fighter class’ model code. “I need to find a compatible ship. We can’t just take any FTL drive.”
A pair of guards jogged across the main path less than a hundred yards away. Shy slipped into cover with Tayel, the men’s quick glances scanning where she’d stood a second before.
“Are they even in here?” one of the guards asked.
“Here or the armory, but the council sent a special task force there.”
Tayel closed her eyes as the guards ran past their hiding place. She held her breath.
“Xite, I’d rather have the armory,” the other man said. “How the hell are we supposed to find them if they’re in here? It’s huge.”
Footsteps clinked away, taking whatever the reply had been with them.
Shy leaned out of cover for a half-second and looked back to Tayel, eyes wide. “Tayel, listen, that Varg in the main hall—”
Guards stomped over the viewing bridge directly above them. Shy ducked — close enough Tayel could catch the must of sweat and dirt wafting off her.
“What about him?” Tayel whispered.
“You’re not hiding anything from me are you?”
“What? No. Why would I? I don’t even know what that was about.”
Shy’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?” Tayel asked.
“Never mind. Just keep your head down. You’re going to get us both caught.”
“Wha—?”
Tayel clamped her mouth shut. Guards ran past the end of the row.
While Shy checked the next vessel in line, Tayel lowered her head to the cement. She scanned for movement. In between landing gear and fuel rigs, guards got on their hands and knees, and began looking under ships. Her heart thudded to a stop. A sharp whining sound built in her ears, like a siren telling her to run. Her body complied, muscles tensing with a sudden rush of adrenaline.
“Xite,” Shy hissed, hand on the ship’s handle. She touched her forehead to the door, teeth bared.
“What is it?” Tayel breathed.
“It’s in lockdown, Tayel, what does it look like?” Shy stepped off the ladder. “Do you remember seeing the maintenance area from the viewing bridge?”
“Yeah, but—”
“I bet those will be the only vessels unlocked.”
“But it’s completely exposed,” Tayel hissed. She flicked her eyes to the sound of footsteps nearby.
“I know. Give me a moment to think.”
“We don’t have time to think!”
“Then you do something. I can’t babysit anymore; you’ve been nothing but dead weight.”
Tayel suppressed the urge to scream. She couldn’t have accounted for any of this. She was just following Shy’s master plan. The desire to abandon this quest for an FTL drive that might not even be attainable was growing stronger by the minute.
Shy tried another ship, tugging on its handle despite the obvious: it wasn’t budging. Tayel sighed. If it wasn’t for Shy, that Varg would have taken her at the front of the castle. And if it weren’t for Shy the night before, Tayel would already be in the castle with Jace — in prison. What had Tayel really done to pull her own weight lately?
She grimaced. Maybe Shy had a point. Maybe. Now wasn’t the time to argue either way. Jace needed Tayel right now. Hell, the stubborn princess wouldn’t admit it, but Shy needed her, too.
Guards ran the row over, their armored boots hitting the ground far too close.
Shy squeezed her temples. “Xite, xite, xite.”
Tayel could use her fear — like adrenaline in a championship game. She was fast. She didn’t need to beat the guards, she just had to outrun them.
“Go. I’ll distract them.” Tayel stood.
Shy’s eyes widened. “What? No!”
She reached out to stop her, but Tayel moved fast. She darted out of cover and ran.
“There’s one!” a man shouted. “Stop!”
Tayel’s arms tucked instinctively to her sides, every swing of her elbows generating more momentum. Her legs propelled her forward, moments of air time in between footfalls. She could do this. The wall on the far side of the bay seemed to be the furthest landmark from the maintenance area. It would have to do. Her mind raced scanning every route. She had to be fast enough to dodge the guards, slow enough to give Shy enough time. But she forgot to ask how much time Shy would need.
Two bolts whizzed past, each implanting with a thunk into the side of a ship and it’s rig directly ahead. Instantly, the bolt shafts lit up white hot and a wild arc of plasma exploded between them.
“Xite!” Tayel dove under the arc and heated air.
Her palms scraped across the ground, rubbing them raw. She rolled the rest of the way under the ship, heart hammering, mind conjuring a storm of gruesome images. Her, dead, a bolt in her back. Her, dead, vaporized by plasma.
Guards shouted to one another far behind. She kept going, weaving in and out between ships, practicing the pattern-less evasive maneuvers years of magball had taught her. She scurried under a few of the larger vessels, skipping one, two, three rows — but soon there weren’t any more to duck under. Empty space threatened capture behind the next ship, but her pursuers still sounded far off.
She jumped onto a stepladder and used its height to hurdle to the top of the nearby fuel rig. She clambered up the control box until she could leap to the final vessel in the row — the final vessel before the wall she’d set as her target.
The speed of her careless climb left throbbing pain in her elbows and knees. She rolled to the far side of the cockpit and plastered herself to the metal, now almost fifteen feet off the ground. Sweat slid down the small of her back. She steadied her breathing as the guards drew close. Clanking boots came to a stop between her refuge and the wall.
“Where’d she go?”
“Must have gone through the door. Two of you stay here and keep searching. We’ll follow this exit.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Tayel swallowed. Seconds ticked by. Maybe minutes. The two guards by the door started back toward the ships. Any elation she might’ve had at her successful flee dissipated back into gut-wrenching fear. She had to get out of there. She was too exposed.
Taking a deep breath, she sat up and placed her hand on the hull to steady herself. Her sweaty palms slipped. They slid over the smooth service and she fell forward, toppling off the vessel and barely catching herself on the fuel tank. Her heart lurched.
“Hey!” one of the two guards by the door shouted.
Tayel gasped. She had to get out. She had to get out now.
“Go get the captain! I’ve got this one. Go!”