The water swallowed them into a strange silence and cold, the noise of the Mechanic device and that of the dragon muted and distorted. Alain had lost his grip on Mari when they hit the water, but he did as she said, stroking downward until he reached the mud of the bottom and trying to hold himself there.
The world shook.
A wave of pressure swept across Alain, hurling him tumbling through water suddenly opaque with mud swept from the bottom. Half-stunned by the force of the wave, Alain struggled to reach the surface. He broke it, taking in deep lungsful of air, wondering why the lights inside the warehouse were all gone, and only slowly realizing that he still had a death-grip on his bag.
Heavy objects were splashing into the water around him. Alain looked upward, baffled, seeing stars in the night sky through a massive hole framed by shattered fragments of the warehouse roof. Pieces of the warehouse flung high into the air were still falling back to the ground.
Looking around, Alain saw that the warehouse walls were also shattered. The entire part of the barge above the waterline had almost vanished, and the pier it had been tied to had been reduced to matchsticks.
Off to one side, the massive bulk of the dragon twitched, then lay unmoving, apparently hurled there by the force of the Mechanic boiler’s explosion.
Where is Mari? Alain looked around frantically. Finally spotting a dark jacket, Alain lunged that way through the water.
Mari was floating on her back, more badly stunned than Alain had been. But her eyes were open and focused. “Are you all right?” he gasped.
“Uh…yeah.” He helped her to the pier, where they painfully climbed up the remains of the wood to the floor of the warehouse. Mari glanced back at the dead dragon and the wreckage. “This is why you don’t tie down relief valves on boilers,” she said in a voice almost as calm as that of a Mage, as if she were giving a lecture.
“How did we survive?” Alain wondered.
“The boiler was above the water when it blew, so almost all of the force vented above and to the sides, unfortunately for the dragon and fortunately for us. I did plan on that, you know.” Mari shook her head and looked around. “We’ve got to get out of here before people come to investigate this. Are the Dark Mages still around?”
“I do not sense any nearby. If any of them had come close to the warehouse, they probably regretted it when your Mechanic boiler exploded.”
“Yeah. Come on.” They staggered to their feet and stumbled through the wreckage. Getting out was fairly simple, since most of the warehouse walls had been blown out. People bearing torches and oil lights were running toward them, and Mari led Alain off at an angle. More people appeared, though, coming their way fast. Finding a dark alcove, Mari pulled Alain in with her, waiting as rescuers dashed past heading for the warehouse.
They were close together inside the alcove. Alain could feel her body moving as Mari tried to catch her breath, could feel the warmth of her. He felt an urge to pull her even closer and fought it off only with great difficulty. Then Alain heard her breath shudder.
“You stayed with me,” Mari whispered, and a moment later one of her hands grabbed one of his again.
“I would not leave you to face danger alone,” Alain answered, wondering once more at the sensations inside him from her touch.
Mari’s voice turned despairing as she held his hand tightly. “I am in so much trouble.”
“No one can blame you for what happened in the warehouse.”
“Oh, you big, dumb, wonderful Mage, I’m not talking about the warehouse. Do…do you like me? A lot?”
“Yes, Mari.”
“Oh, no,” she groaned.
“You said…on the barge…you said…” He could not seem to get the words out.
“Yeah. I did.”
“Did you…?”
“Yeah. I meant it.” Her hand released his and both arms came around him, her hug so tight as to be almost painful. “But, Alain…oh, blazes…we can’t.”
His mind filled with a roaring in which the only thing outside himself was her. Alain’s arms came around her loosely, awkwardly. He had not held anyone in so long, not since being taken by the Mages, that he was not sure how to do it.
The moment ended as Mari abruptly broke her grip on him. “We…we should go,” she said as she stumbled away.
He followed, wondering what had just happened, as they went out into the growing crowd on this roadway. In the dark, the fact that they were soaking wet wasn’t obvious, and they were able to move through the onlookers until the crowds thinned out and Mari could find a deserted street.
Only then did she lean against a wall, looking at Alain with a wan smile. “Do you know, back when I was taking Basic Steam Engine Mechanics the instructor told us ‘Never tie down a safety valve. The only one of you who would ever do that is probably Apprentice Mari, but I hope even she will avoid doing it just to see what happens.’ And I did do it!” Mari said with a forced laugh.
Alain had been taught so stringently not to laugh that he could not summon the same hilarity even amid the elation of unlooked-for survival, but he was barely able to avoid smiling. “Our elders should be impressed by what we accomplished, but somehow I do not think they will be.”
“You’re amazing, Alain!” Mari’s smile became rueful. “I can’t believe we survived that. Go ahead. Say it.”
“Say what?” Alain asked.
“You know what I mean! You were right. Going in that warehouse was a dangerous thing to do.”
Alain shook his head. “Yes, but together we were able to handle the danger, and the Dark Mechanic threat to you in Dorcastle has very likely been eliminated. You were also right.”
“I was also right? Ohhh nooo.” Mari had lost all of her attempt at humor, once again sounding as despairing as she had when they were in the alcove together. “You have the perfect chance to say ‘I told you so,’ but instead you find a way to say I was right, too. What’s the matter with you, Alain? You listen to me, you believe in me, you respect me and you care about me. You’re honest and smart and brave and resourceful. You never ask for anything for yourself and you’re always there when I need you. Where are your flaws? You were supposed to have flaws. Do you have to be perfect? Except for what I can fix, that voice and that face that doesn’t show anything?”
“I am not perfect,” Alain objected. “All of those things you said, they are true of you. You listen to me, you believe…” He had trouble bringing out the words for a moment. “You are also smart and brave, and can do anything, it seems. You have saved me when it seemed impossible. Mari, do you know how hard it is to slay a dragon? Any Mage who can do so earns great respect. We have survived. I do not understand why you are upset.”
Mari shook her head. “I’m unhappy because I wanted to find those flaws so I could find reasons not to feel…like I do. I wanted to learn about all of the things wrong with you. And you just wouldn’t cooperate. This can’t work, Alain! It can’t happen! Don’t you know that? What will your Guild do to you if they know about me? Tell me the truth.”
He knew some emotions were showing on his face, knew she could see bewilderment and something else, something he could not comprehend, but he could not control his expression at this moment. “It did work, Mari. We have found those behind the dragon illusion, we have destroyed their creation and the place they worked from—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Mari was slumping against the wall now, her expression distressed, her eyes fixed on him. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about. And you’re not answering my question.”
His stomach seemed to tying itself into a knot. “I…”