Page 162

The meadow was turning into a sea.

We moved quickly, reaching the edge of the cavern before more than a trickle of water had reached our feet. Everyone started to climb, but some of us were better at it than others. Visha practically leaped up the rock face, then leaned down, holding out a hand to help pull a panting Zaira to safety as Kazmyn jumped up easily beside her. Blake was next. He turned back to grab my hands, pulling me up the last few feet, before leaning over to help Rodriguez. Hawl was the slowest. The bear clambered up, paws on stone. I watched in concern, but in the end had nothing to worry about. Bears could climb trees: Hawl’s paws ended in sharp claws which they now dug into the rubble, heaving themself upward. Still, they were slow. I watched, holding my breath, bent over, my hands held out in case they needed one.

Finally, everyone was up. Dazed, we looked around. The ledge we stood on didn’t follow the entire cavern wall. It was wide enough for us to stand on about three abreast without someone slipping off, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Not when the water was still rising below us.

“How the fuck did House Mortis get through this?” Visha demanded bluntly.

Zaira was staring down at the water. “I don’t know. Perhaps the alarm was delayed. Perhaps they passed through the field somehow without triggering this.”

“Or maybe they all died, their bodies were washed away, and now there’s no one ahead of us.” Kazmyn glanced around. “What? We can hope.”

“He’s right,” Magda said. “If they did have to pass through this, they wouldn’t have all made it. The water is a curse, but it probably thinned their ranks.”

“That won’t help us unless we can get out of here,” Rodriguez pointed out. He’d crouched down and looked out at the water. “I don’t think it’s slowing down. It’ll reach us eventually. Then, what?”

“Can the little one swim?” Hawl boomed. “If not, I will carry him on my back.”

I paled, thinking about us trying to swim out of there. “That won’t help. Look.” I pointed to the mouth of the tunnel we needed to get through. The water would soon block it completely.

“There’s only one other way out.” It was Sankara. We followed his gaze. High up on the far left side of the cavern, in the same direction we’d been heading, was an opening—a wide rough rectangular hole in the rock, like the mouth of another tunnel, slanting upward.

“I don’t think I can jump that far,” Kazmyn joked.

“I don’t think any of us can,” Visha said sourly. “We’re completely fucked. Unless one of us has …” She looked at Blake. Soon all of us were looking at Blake.

“Wings,” Hawl finished. “The fluffin is saved. Even if the rest of us must perish in this flood.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves there, Hawl,” Blake said. He met my eyes. I saw tension there. But strength, too.

“You can do this,” I said quietly.

Was this a test? To see if we had a dragon with us? Did that mean House Mortis had failed? Or had the alarm even gone off for them at all? It didn’t matter. The answer was here: Blake was our only way out.

Chapter 52

BLAKE

The water rose higher, clearly intent on swallowing us all whole if it could have its way. It had reached about a quarter of the way up the cliff already. I wondered where the water was coming from. Just what kind of mad geniuses were these dwarven architects? But that was a discussion for another time.

“All right,” I said, forcing my voice to keep level. “No one is going to die today.”

Medra was nodding. “Blake can transform. He can carry us across.”

Rodriguez frowned. “I thought you could only carry your own rider.”

“On my back, yes …”

“Oh, shit no,” Visha breathed. “Talons? You’re going to pick us up with your fucking dragon claws?”

“Not all of you,” I conceded. “Neville should be able to ride on my back with Pendragon.” I knew Nyxaris had carried the fluffin before; there was a special hollow spot for the tiny creatures on a dragon’s back.

“Thank the gods for that,” Hawl boomed. “You may take the fluffin and leave me here to die. Or perhaps I will swim.”

“Hawl might have a point. We could wait for the water to rise,” Rodriguez murmured, looking down at the meadow-sea, “then swim across to the tunnel.” He looked across at the opening.

“That would be cutting it pretty close,” Pendragon pointed out. “You’d have to be confident you could swim across in time.”

“And how do we know there are no eels in that water?” Visha added. Rodriguez paled.