Under the Ice Blades Read online

Angulus gripped the wall beside her, a pained grimace crossing his face. Kaika worried the shaking would escalate, that they would have to suffer through another large quake, this time without a counter to hide under. But the tremors did not last long or increase in force. The wail faded away, and the shakes along with it. As the last of the tremors disappeared, Kaika stared up at the explosive atop the closest statue. Its perch on the dragon’s head, resting between a horn and a ridge that thrust up from the skull like a bad hairdo, seemed tenuous.

  “Need to do something about those,” Kaika said.

  Not waiting for a response, she jogged toward the statues, glancing left and right as she did so, knowing she was risking herself by running into the open. Nothing stirred. Not even a bat, though layers of guano coated the floor, and she crunched through a crust. Lots of other footprints had punctured that top layer too. She might have found useful information in those prints if she’d had more time to look, but she was too busy peering into the alcoves between the statues, looking for a ticking clock.

  Why someone wanted to blow up a bunch of statues, she couldn’t guess. She also couldn’t guess what those statues were doing here in the first place.

  Maybe Angulus had an idea. She glanced back, the question on her lips. He was frowning into the shadows behind a stalagmite. She would wait until later to ask. It was probably a question for an archaeologist to answer. All that mattered for now was nullifying the explosives, or, if that couldn’t be done easily, finding an exit to the outside. But dealing with the bombs would be ideal. Given that the facility was full of weapons, some of them probably explosives, having bombs go off this close could be a very bad thing. The earthquakes were troubling enough. If the bombs in here went off, it could bring down the entire mountain. She had a flash of insight as to why those Cofah fliers—and the sorceress—might have been so far away from here. Maybe they had been the ones to leave these bombs, and they’d been escaping, making sure they got far enough away not to be hurt by the collapse. Maybe the fliers had even been coming to pick up the sorceress when the Iskandians chanced upon them.

  As Kaika got closer to the end of the row of gray statues, she stumbled on uneven rock, blurting a curse as she got a better look at the multi-hued one. She stared, unable to parse what she saw before her, even forgetting the bombs for a moment.

  The bottom half of the dragon appeared as the others, gray stone—or what she had first taken for stone—but the golden top half seemed alive. It had to be alive. It was bleeding. Two long lances had been thrust through the creature, one going through its shoulder, pinning the wing to its chest with the point sticking out on the back side, and the other cutting through the side of its neck. That one looked like a mortal wound, but drops of blood were dribbling from the puncture, leaving a streak down its scaled torso. Dead dragons didn’t bleed, did they? The creature’s eyes were closed, but its face, reminiscent of a cross between a lizard and a wolf, wore an expression that seemed the equivalent of a human grimacing in pain.

  Wires stuck out of the ends of the lances and trailed down the dragon’s wing and across the floor to a square box on the ground with a couple of switches sticking out of it. The air around the box and the dragon hummed, reminding Kaika of being caught out in an electrical storm. There was an odor, too—charred meat.

  “Uhm, Sire?” Kaika glanced back, wondering if he’d seen this yet and what he made of it.

  He was only a dozen steps away, holding his rifle and watching her back. She was supposed to be watching his back, but this wasn’t the time to point that out.

  “I have no idea,” he said softly. “Have you found the timer?”

  Kaika flinched. How could she have forgotten, even for a few seconds? The dragon was an oddity, but it didn’t appear dangerous in its current condition. The explosives were another matter.

  She ran toward the box on the floor. It didn’t appear to have anything to do with the explosives, as its only wires were hooked to the ends of the lances, but maybe the clock was nearby. She almost tripped over a black cable, the same one they had been following through the tunnel. It connected to the back of the box. They had found the receptacle for their stolen electricity.

  In the shadows of the wall next to the dragon, Kaika spotted the timer, a clock face attached to a detonator with all manner of wires running out of it. It looked like a mess, like someone hadn’t known exactly what he had been doing. That could make it more dangerous than explosives laid by a professional.

  “Wonderful,” she muttered, racing toward it.

  A giant, dusty bronze plaque was mounted on the wall above the detonator. She could make out writing, something old and in a language she didn’t recognize. There wasn’t time to do more than register the plaque’s presence. Whatever it said, she doubted it had anything to do with the explosives.

  Angulus was on the move again, finishing his search of the chamber. She would be on her own for this.

  Kaika dropped to her knees in front of the detonator, careful not to touch anything. She had dealt with Cofah bombs before and knew they tended to be less stable than their Iskandian counterparts. She’d seen a crate of them go up in a fiery explosion when men loading it onto a dirigible had lost their grip and dropped their load to the ground. That had been a gory mess. Each of the explosives she had passed had been balanced atop the heads of the frozen dragons. One inadvertent tug of a wire could start a chain reaction that would bury her and Angulus.

  “Sire, there’s only thirty minutes left on the timer,” Kaika said.

  “Can you disarm it?”

  “I know how, but a lot of things can go wrong. I’d rather not try with you here. Or anywhere near this mountain.” Thinking about what could have happened if they hadn’t come to check out this chamber made her hands shake. They could have died in a fiery explosion that would destroy the mountain without a clue as to where it had come from or why. At least this way, there was a chance to survive. Thirty minutes wasn’t a lot, but she could work with it. “What do you think about finding wherever that draft is coming from and going to flag down Zirkander?”

  “You want me to leave you here? Alone?”

  “Better one person than many if things don’t go well.” Kaika dug pliers, wire cutters, and tweezers out of her explosives kit. It was a good thing she always kept that gear on hand. “I could go find Zirkander with you, and we could let these statues get obliterated, but I’m assuming it would not be good if bombs went off in close proximity to your labs.”

  “You are correct. And as far as me leaving, if the rocket in the facility goes off, it won’t matter if I get a thirty-minute head start.”

  Twenty-nine minutes now.

  “Also,” Angulus added, “I don’t think these are statues.”

  Kaika glanced up at the bleeding dragon, but she wasn’t ready to analyze what he was saying yet. She focused on the detonator and went back to work. “Let’s get this disarmed then. I—”

  A shot rang out, almost deafening in the enclosed cavern. At the same instant, something slammed into her lower back. Pain exploded, and she gasped, falling forward. She kept the presence of mind to catch herself with her hands, not letting any part of her body land on the detonator. Even with her training, it took her a long second to realize she had been shot.

  Hearing another shot and a roar of fury snapped her out of her stunned state, and she pushed herself back up, yanking her pistol from its holder. She spotted two men in the shadows across the cavern, crouching behind a massive column. She recognized one, the Cofah garrote specialist, Seeker. A second man she didn’t know stood at his side, a rifle in his hands. Seeker riveted her attention, because his pistol was pointed straight at her, smoke wafting from the barrel.

  She saw her death in his eyes, knew he was about to fire again and knew also that she had nothing to hide behind. But then his gaze flickered to the side, toward the roaring person. Angulus barreled into Seeker, taking him to the ground. Without hesitation, Kaika shot the second man. He h
ad skittered back, avoiding Angulus, and wasn’t focusing on her.

  Her shot took him in the shoulder. She cursed her aim—her stupid fingers seemed numb with shock, and she almost dropped her pistol.

  “Quit it,” she snarled at her fingers. She’d been shot before. She wasn’t going to fall apart and be unable to perform her duty here, not when Angulus was engaged in a fight he probably couldn’t win and there was a second Cofah with a gun.

  The shot man grabbed his shoulder and lunged toward the column. Aware of Angulus wrestling with Seeker, she willed her hand to steady. She fired a second shot an instant before her foe made it behind the rock formation. The bullet cracked into the side of his skull, and his head whipped sideways. He stumbled and collapsed at the base of the column.

  Kaika tried to get to her feet, but pain blasted outward from her back. She fumbled and fell to her hands again. Hot warmth soaked her shirt, and the fabric rasped against the wound. Strange that she found that almost more annoying than the pain, but she couldn’t do anything about either problem.

  She lifted her head. She’d managed to keep the pistol, and she had more shots, but black dots swam through her vision. Trying to blink them away, she focused on Angulus. She couldn’t shoot his enemy, not when they were wrestling on the ground. Seeker had gained the advantage, shifting to the top, and she raised her pistol. She had four more shots, plenty to kill the man, but her hand was shaking, and she didn’t trust her aim. Before she could steady it, Angulus clobbered the Cofah agent in the chin, knocking him to the side. He threw himself after Seeker, and they writhed about again, each trying to gain the top position.

  Once more, Kaika tried to stand, but her legs were numb and wouldn’t cooperate. Fine. She would crawl over there then. She wasn’t going to let one little bullet keep her from doing her duty. Besides, she hadn’t told Angulus that she found his story of wanting to get to know her flattering, and that she would love to have dinner with him. He better not get himself killed.

  Chapter 8

  Hands wrapped around Angulus’s neck, hands much stronger than seemed possible. Somehow, the man had squirmed behind Angulus and had him from behind. He had the weight advantage and more muscle than his opponent, but the wiry Cofah agent was fast and harder to keep ahold of than a castle page caught in a lie. Angulus didn’t usually appreciate his big build and the fact that he had a neck like an ox, but it served him well now. Even though the agent’s fingers dug in, he gritted his teeth, flexing the muscles that protected his throat.

  The man’s weight shifted, and one hand loosened slightly. Angulus threw his elbow backward. Though the agent almost shifted out of the way, Angulus landed a glancing blow. Something fell on the ground, thin double wires attached to two wooden handles.

  He barely registered the weapon, other than to realize this might be Kaika’s garrote man—Seeker?—the one who didn’t pay enough attention to his footwork. It would be hard to take advantage of that from the ground.

  Angulus jabbed backward with another elbow and twisted around. He struck nothing but air. His opponent was scrambling to his feet and drawing a knife. Angulus jumped up, raising his fists, though they would not be much protection against a blade. He wished he had his rifle. Instead, alarmed at Kaika’s injury, he’d shot wildly, missed, and charged in with bare hands. Some strategy.

  Seeker lunged toward him, his hand moving so quickly it seemed to blur. The blade lashed toward Angulus’s stomach. He scrambled to the side and threw out a wild block, hoping to hit the man’s forearm instead of the sharp dagger. The blade nicked him, but he managed to turn it aside. He followed the block by leaping in and punching at the agent’s face. Seeker jerked his head back, but could not completely evade the blow. Angulus caught him in the jaw. Instead of retracting his punch, he opened his fingers for a grab. But the agent had recovered and was trying to skitter away. Angulus caught his sleeve before he could put too much space between them. The blade slashed toward him again, the angle awkward now since Angulus was to the side. Remembering Kaika’s advice, he kicked at the same time as he deflected the knife swipe.

  His boot struck Seeker’s shin. The man grunted, his gaze flicking downward for an instant. This time, Angulus succeeded in grabbing his foe by the scruff of the neck. He jumped to the rear and pulled the agent backward. Seeker attacked again with the knife, this time a wild stab as he toppled off balance. Angulus caught his wrist, turned it against the joint, and ripped the weapon out of his hand. With one hand still tangled in the agent’s hair, he intended to jab the blade into his back, but the man twisted, bringing up a knee for a kick. Angulus thrust the knife at his chest.

  He had never stabbed a man before, had only trained with practice blades in the gym, and he’d been warned about hitting ribs, but feeling the blade barely dig in and crunching against bone was another matter. In a surge of panic, he reversed his attack, certain the agent would recover. He slashed at his foe’s throat as the man landed a kick to Angulus’s knee. The blow sent pain lancing up Angulus’s leg, and he stumbled backward, but it was too late to matter for the Cofah agent. Angulus’s wild swing had been more effective than his opponent’s calculated kick. The agent collapsed.

  Angulus leaned back, his arms shaking. He needed a moment to catch his breath, but he couldn’t take it. There had been a second Cofah, and there was—Kaika! Fresh panic clutched his heart at the memory of seeing her shot.

  He whirled toward the detonator she had been working on, forgetting about the second enemy. He feared he would find her lying on the ground, unconscious—or worse. Instead, she knelt on one knee with her elbow propped on the other, her pistol held in both hands. It was pointing at the ground now, but he realized she must have been aiming toward his fight, waiting for a chance to fire.

  “Guess you didn’t need my help, Sire.” She smiled, though it came across more as a grimace. Blood smeared one of her hands, and he had seen the bullet strike her. There was no chance it had missed.

  Angulus wanted to sprint to her, but he paused to look for the second Cofah agent. Fortunately, the man lay unmoving beside the rock column, blood pooling underneath his head. His eyes were frozen open.

  “No, but you look like you could use mine.” Angulus ran across the chamber and dropped to his knees beside her.

  “Do I? That’s distressing.” Kaika tried to put away her pistol, but missed the holster twice before snarling and jamming it in.

  Angulus wanted to gather her in his arms and carry her to safety, but he had no idea where that might be. Even if they found an exit to the forest, they still wouldn’t be safe. The clock had ticked down to twenty-five minutes. It seemed like his battle had lasted much longer than that. He gripped her shoulder and her arm, trying to support her without hurting her.

  He leaned around to look at her back and spotted the bullet hole in her fatigue jacket. The dark material hid the blood, but he could tell it was damp. She didn’t seem to be bleeding a lot, but he should fashion a makeshift bandage until... until what? He didn’t know. One of the scientists working on the project had a medical background, but until they found that person, they had nothing. He’d had extremely basic first-aid training in the military, but that had been long ago, and he’d never had to put it to practical use.

  “What do you want to do?” he asked, hating that he felt helpless. He was the king; he was supposed to know what must be done.

  “Finish disarming the detonator,” she said without hesitation. “Help me back, will you? My legs aren’t working that well.”

  He hurried to obey, slipping his arms around her and carefully lifting her to her feet. “I should make a bandage for you.”

  “In twenty-four minutes, if we’re still alive, you can do anything you want to me.” She wriggled her eyebrows. Her face was pale, and her eyes crinkled with pain, but she managed a halfway convincing leer.

  “Have you decided you want me to do things to you?” He would have wriggled his eyebrows back, but was too busy judging his question. He ha
d meant it to be funny, to distract her from her pain, but he feared it had been crude. At the least, it wasn’t articulate. Why couldn’t he manage some of Zirkander’s ease with her?

  “You caught me by surprise back there, but I’m cozying up to the idea.”

  Angulus almost kissed her, but that would have been ludicrous timing. She was also cozying up to a bullet at the moment. He settled her on the ground in front of the detonator.

  “Can I help with anything?” He eyed the tremor in her hands with concern.

  “Just—”

  An unearthly moan filled the chamber, making Angulus think of stories of undead monsters that supposedly haunted cemeteries on Spirit Walk Night. He looked up at the dragon beside them, its legs and lower body trapped in the stone-like material that comprised—or coated—the rest of the figures. The dragon was still bleeding, drops dripping down its scales, but now its eyes were open.

  The eye closest to them swiveled downward to stare straight at Angulus. Even though the dragon was trapped and must be close to dead, it had an aura, a presence, that made him want to sink to his knees and plead for his life.

  “Take care of that,” Kaika finished.

  “I think I’d rather work on the bombs.”

  “Too bad.” She picked up the pliers that had fallen on the ground. “Soldiers deal with bombs. Kings deal with dragons. It’s a rule.”

  Human. The voice sounded in his head, long and drawn out and filled with power. Power and pain.

  Angulus backed away from Kaika, both so he wouldn’t distract her and also so the dragon wouldn’t pay attention to her. Its powerful lower legs and the bottom half of its wings were frozen in stone or whatever that was, but he wagered it could still do them harm. Angulus had seen Zirkander’s reports of dealing with the other dragon, and he’d read enough history books to know that they were the source of all magic and that they could do much with nothing more than their minds.

  Reminding himself that he was a king, not just some puny human, Angulus lifted his chin and stared the dragon in the eye. “What do you want, dragon?”