Hunted

PART IV

Kali woke to something pressing against hermouth. Her first thought was of Cedar giving her a kiss, but thatfantasy evaporated quickly. The pressure was too hard. It smotheredher nose as well as her mouth and cut off her air. Someone’s hand.She tried to unleash her teeth, to gnash down on it. The gripmerely tightened.

She tried to sit up, but failed to rise aninch. Hands forced her shoulders down, and something across herlegs pinned them to the ground.

Darkness still blanketed the forest, but shefigured out what was going on. Cedar had gone to investigate theother camp, and Sebastian was taking the moment to truss her upfor…whatever stupid plan he had now.

She writhed and bucked in the blankets,though only to disguise her real goal: she found the two smoke nutsin her pockets and yanked them free.

“Hurry, pick her up,” Sebastianwhispered.

Trying to be quiet was he? He must fear Cedarwould hear and return. Good.

Now if Cedar’s fancy blanket weren’tconstricting her almost as much as her assailants, she might beable to do something. The men-at least four of them-hefted her intothe air with the Euklisia Rug still tangled about her. She grippeda smoke nut in each hand, thumbs poised to press up on the triggertabs.

“In the tent?” a man with a guttural accentrasped.

They started moving her, stumbling over therocky ground as they went. Maybe they would be more distractednow.

“No, we don’t want her lover to be able toget to her,” Sebastian said. “We need to-argh!”

Kali grinned fiercely as she bit down on hishand, glad he was the one who’d sport tooth marks. He snarled andlet go.

“Cedar!” she bellowed.

One of the hands gripping her shoulder let goto reach for her mouth. The maneuver dipped her down, so her headalmost cracked against the rocks.

Sensing she had her moment, Kali yanked herarms from beneath the blanket, flicked a trigger tab, and droppedone of the smoke nuts. She twisted and used her free hand to grabthe closest thing to her face. A belt. Perfect.

Something slammed into her back. She almostdropped her second smoke nut, but she managed to yank on the beltand stuff the device down the owner’s trousers.

Unfortunately, she was as close to the smokeweapons as the men. Kali burrowed back into the cocoon of blankets,squeezed her eyes shut, and dug for the knife at her belt.

“What did she-”

“Damn it, move!” Sebastian yelled. “It’s oneof her things!”

Whoever held her legs dropped them. Kalithrashed, though she made sure not to leave the padded shelter ofthe blankets. The last man with a grip on her lost it, and she hitthe ground, a hard nodule gouging into her side. She rolled away,not wanting to smother her own artillery.

She did not hear the click that heralded therelease of the metallic shards, but yelps of pain told the story.Though she was rolling away as fast as she could, severalprojectiles struck the side of her blanket. A couple burrowedthrough the material and her clothing, slicing into her skin. Itwas not as bad as it would have been if she had no padding though,and she scampered out of the blankets without permanent damage.

Smoke from the weapon stung her eyes. In thedarkness, she struggled to see what was happening, but angry shoutsof “It got me!” and “Get it out!” told her where people were.Agonized screams came from the man who had taken the projectile inthe pants. Given these thugs’ goals, she could feel littleremorse.

Kali patted about, looking for her rifle.They must have taken it. She could not find her packsack-hertools! — either. Damn Sebastian. He must have moved all herbelongings first. Damn her heavy sleep too.

Knowing the smoke nuts would not buy herindefinite time, she scrambled away from the camp. All the firesalong the shoreline had gone out, and clouds hid the stars and themoon. Only the sound of the river helped her navigate. Though shewas on the wrong side of the waterway, she headed in the directionof the Wilder camp, hoping Cedar had heard the commotion and wascoming to help.

“Which way’d she go?” one of the men behindher snarled.

Kali kept running, not bothering withstealth. The pained curses of the most injured man pierced thenight, and concerned calls from other claims covered herretreat.

“Get her, you idiots,” Sebastian yelled.“She’s worth a lot of money.”

That quieted some of the outcries.

A blocky shape loomed out of the darknessahead of Kali. She threw out her hands to keep from crashing intoit. Hard, cold metal met her touch. A couple of seconds of gropingallowed her to identify a steam engine and furnace. Had flames beenburning in the firebox, she might have come up with a creative usefor the machinery, but she merely noted it was probably used to aidin digging and that a mine shaft would be nearby. She skirted thearea.

“Sebastian?” came a man’s whisper from aheadof Kali.

She froze.

“I lost track of the big bloke with the gunskills,” the speaker went on, raising his voice. “Sebastian, isthat you?”

“Stay up there,” Sebastian yelled to the man.“She may have gone that way. Head her off.”

Boots crunched on river pebbles. Kali easedback until she bumped against the boiler. She hunkered in itsshadow, hoping it would camouflage her. A hint of dawn brightenedthe sky, and it would grow harder to hide soon.

“A hundred dollars cash to whoever finds thegirl,” Sebastian called.

At first Kali thought he was still trying torally his men, but an answering call came from a claim downriver.“What’s she look like?” That wasn’t one of Sebastian’s thugs.

“A woman!” Sebastian called. “There aren’tmany up here.”

“Oh, right. You want her dead or alive?”

“Women ain’t no good dead!” came a call fromacross the river.

Kali thunked her head back against theboiler. The entire Sixty Mile River was going to be after her in aminute. She glared down at the puny knife she still held. If shehad her pack, she would have tools and supplies and might be ableto build something. In lieu of that, her rifle would be handy justthen too.

“Anyone who touches the woman dies.” That wasCedar. Good. His voice came from across the river. Not good. Howhad he gotten over there and how long would it take him to return?She had not seen any boats.

“Says who?”

Kali had no idea who that was.

She patted around the dormant steam engine.Maybe this claim held something useful she could use. Since nobodyhad come out to check on the ruckus, she figured the owners were intown.

“The last man you’ll ever see if you hurther.” Cedar’s voice was closer. He must be on the shorelinedirectly opposite from her.

In the growing light, she thought she couldpick out his tall form over there, but she dared not call to him.She patted the ground, found a stone, and hurled it in hisdirection. The surrounding shouts kept her from telling if itsplashed down or clattered onto the bank next to him, but she hopedhe heard and guessed where it had come from.

A shot fired. It originated in Sebastian’scamp, and she had little trouble guessing the target. Her stomachchurned with concern for Cedar, but it was best to leave him to hisown devices and figure out a plan of her own.

Kali returned to her inspection of theequipment. Her knuckles bumped against a wood box. She found thelid, opened it, and groped inside. Charcoal and a smaller boxcontaining long wooden matches. She grabbed the latter, though shedid not know how she might use them yet.

More gunshots fired, going back and forthacross the river, and the chatter died down. So far no bullets hadslammed into the ground near her, but the scout was still standingguard up ahead-she could make out his dark figure now too-and hewas bound to see her if she made a run for the forest.

On her hands and knees, she crept around theboiler, still hoping to find something she could use. Her fingersbrushed air. The mine shaft entrance, nothing but a hole in theground with a pipe leading into it. Not digging equipment afterall. Maybe some sort of heating system to thaw the permafrost andmake it easier to work? If so, there might be a whole network oftunnels beneath her.

Tunnels she could get herself trapped in. Sheshook her head. Going in was not a good idea.

Unless…

Could she make them believe she had gone in,get them all to follow, and then escape into the forest whileeveryone was searching the tunnels? She better check and see howextensive the system was first.

Hoping the one-man-versus-the-entire-rivergunfight Cedar had started would give her time, she eased over thelip of the hole. She probed for a bottom with her feet. There. Fivefeet below.

She released the lip and dropped to thebottom, clunking something with her elbow on the way. A lanternstuck in a niche in the wall. She grabbed it and followed thepiping system into a low tunnel that led away from the river. Thewalls radiated coldness and smelled of damp earth. Creeping intothe Stygian darkness made her think of the tombs and sepulchers ina book she had once read about the Dark Ages. The gunfire grewmuffled and distant. When she judged herself far enough from theentrance so the flame would not be visible, she lit thelantern.

Pickaxes and shovels leaned against dirt andstone walls marbled with quartz and thin threads that might havebeen gold. For all she knew about mining, it might have been ironpyrite too.

A few meters ahead, the passage branched intothree tunnels. Enough exploring. The mine promised the maze she hadhoped for, one her would-be captors could waste several minutesexploring. All she had to do was set a decoy at the entrance sothey believed she had gone down and then hide nearby until theydropped down to explore. It’d be better if she could figure outsome sort of time-delay device to cause a sound, making the meneven more certain she was down there, but she did not want to riskdelving further and genuinely being trapped.

Kali was about to turn around when somethingglinted in the darkness, reflecting her lantern light. She onlyhesitated a heartbeat before jogging toward it. Just anothermoment….

The tunnel broadened into a small room filledwith… Were those potatoes? She peered closer. Several crateslined the wall. Though they must have been harvested monthsearlier, they appeared fine, preserved by the surroundingpermafrost. But why were they in a mine?

A rusted, decommissioned boiler stood in thecorner while rows of ceramic jugs lined the opposite side of thechamber. A clunky metal contraption rose against the back wall. Itwas the source of the reflection she had noticed. Theobject-machine? — might have been anything; the mishmash of partscomprising it reminded her of something she would create out ofscrap metal. It was only when she opened a box that emitted ayeasty smell that the pieces clicked together.

“Oh.” She rolled her eyes, feeling foolishfor taking so long to get it. “Alcohol. Right.”

A thump sounded near the entrance. Someonejumping down.

Kali cursed under her breath and cut out thelantern. She had dawdled too long.

“Kali?” came a soft call.

She blew out a relieved breath. “Cedar, backhere.”

“We have a problem,” he said, voice drawingnear.

She relit the lantern. “You’re mad that Ishot up your fancy sleeping blanket?”

“All right, two problems.”

Cedar jogged into view, water sloughing fromhis clothes and matting his hair to his head. He bore a rifle inone hand while his sword dripped blood in the other. A second riflepoked over his shoulder, scraping against the wall as heapproached. He also wore his packsack. No, wait. That was herpacksack. Her tools! Excellent.

“Your old beau is gathering his men, and he’sabout to search in here,” Cedar said, letting her help him out ofthe packsack. She tore into it as he continued to speak. “Iapologize for my ineptness, but it’s getting light, and he spottedme when I went for your gear.”

“I’ll think of something.” Kali pulled toolsout of her pack. “Can you guard the entrance?”

“Yes, but, ah…” Cedar cleared histhroat.

Kali glanced up. “What?”

“On account of people shooting at me, I hadto choose between your pack and mine.”

“So…no fresh smallclothes until we get backto town?” She tapped a pickaxe leaning against the wall. Maybe shecould dismantle it and-

“No fresh ammo,” Cedar said. “I have abox on me, but I won’t be able to hold an advancing army off forlong if they’re enthusiastic with their siege.” He leaned herWinchester against the wall. “I don’t suppose you have any?”

Kali fished in her pack, groping around thebottom, and pulled out a fistful of cartridges. “Sorry, I’d usuallyhave a full box, but I had to make room for my pliers. And mywrench set. And-”

“Never mind.” Cedar grabbed the cartridgesand shoved them in his pocket. His gaze fell upon the potatoes.“Too bad those can’t be used for ammo. They’re probably frozenharder than cannon balls.”

“Technically, I suppose you could make somesort of spud launcher.”

His eyes brightened. “You could? Now?”

“No, not now. I don’t have time to do thatand get us out of here.”

“Oh.” Disappointment tugged down the cornersof his mouth.

“Just do the best you can with the rifles,huh?” Kali grabbed her wrench and tore into the piping on theceiling to rip a segment free.

Sand and rock dribbled into the hole thatmarked the entrance to the mine. Cedar whirled, raising his rifleand firing before Kali spotted anyone.

A yelp came from above.

“Yup, they’re down there,” a man called.

Kali grabbed one of the pickaxes and kickedthe iron end off, figuring she could turn it sideways to use as thebit in a hammer drill. The tool she had in mind would be clunky atbest, but it only needed to work long enough to dig a way to thesurface, preferably from the end of a tunnel far from the entrance,so the gunmen waiting outside would not hear her.

The drill would need a lot of power, and shedid not have the time to build a steam version. She pulled out oneof the vials in her sock and eyed the glowing flakes.

Cedar fired again. “I better go up front andsee if I can discourage them from getting so close. Sooner or laterone of them will think to try and smoke us out. Kali?”

She lifted her eyes from her growing pile oftools and salvaged equipment. “Huh?”

He hesitated. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.I’ll keep them away as long as you need.”

Jaw set with determination, he strode towardthe entrance. Kali worked. Much to do, little time.

Shots fired while she twisted metal andhammered her casing into shape. Cedar shot at anyone who camewithin his field of vision, but she knew he could not poke his headout of the hole, lest someone shoot it off. The gunmen could creepdangerously close, as evinced by more than one bullet ricochetinginto the tunnel. One bounced off the rock-hard floor, hit a wall,and skidded all the way back to her chamber. Any one of thosebullets could hit Cedar. Or her.

“Work,” she told herself. “Focus.”

While thumps, groans, and gunfire continuedat the mine entrance, her fingers flew. The drill itself was easy,but the motor took a steady hand and a lot of squinting, given thepoor light. More than once, she fumbled a small screw, and itbounced onto the uneven floor to hide in a crevasse. At least shehad all the parts she needed.

A clash of steel announced the end of Cedar’sbullet supply.

Kali lunged to her feet, remembering he hadtaken her cartridges but not her rifle. She grabbed it and dartedto the front of the mine. She almost stumbled over an inert body onthe way. A bullet had taken one of Sebastian’s men in the eye. Shegulped and stepped over him.

Cedar stood a few feet from the hole, hisback toward her, his sword poised and ready. Blood spattered hisshirt. Not his, she hoped.

“Cedar,” Kali said, not wanting to startlehim, not when he held that sharp blade. “Here’s my rifle.”

Before he even turned around, she was leaningit next to him. She had to get back to the drill so they could finda way out of there.

Thunk!

A tin can bounced off the wall and landed onthe ground. Fire spat and hissed at the end of a fuse.

Cedar lunged, snatching it and hurling it outof the mine in one motion. Inches above the entrance, it explodedwith a flash and a bang that thundered in Kali’s ears. The walls ofthe mine shuddered, and dirt and rock rained down. Black powdersmoke hazed the air, and its pungent smell flooded the tunnel.

Before Kali could scramble back from theentrance area, Cedar grabbed her rifle. With smoke blanketing theentrance, he used the opportunity to stand straight, his head andshoulders above the hole in the ground. The rifle cracked severaltimes.

Outside, screams of pain erupted.

Kali closed her eyes and reminded herselfthese men had intended to hand her over to gangsters-or worse. Shehad no idea how Cedar could see his targets through the smoke-theymust not have moved after the explosion-but she was glad for hisaccuracy.

“Pace yourself,” she said. “I need five moreminutes.” She ran back to her workspace.

Gunfire answered her, and she glanced back intime to see Cedar duck low. Dirt knocked loose by the bulletsspattered his head and face, but he gave her a somber nod and wavedfor her to go.

Kali dropped to the floor before her drill.The construction was complete. It just needed a power source.

She slipped a flake of flash gold out of hervial. Despite the need to hurry, she took the time to cap thecontainer and tuck it back into her sock. If the goons outsidefound that vial, it would end up in the hands of some criminal.It’d be hard to deny the existence of flash gold after that, andshe would have even more people hunting her.

The flake pulsed as she tucked it into a slotshe had etched for it next to the motor.

Streaks of lightning coursed up themetal-reinforced wooden shaft, merging and sparking above the drillhead. The air crackled around the tool, and energy hummed up Kali’sarms.

“You could be less obvious about yourpresence,” she told the gold chip.

It throbbed in response, and one could almostbelieve it sentient. Not for the first time, she lamented that shehad not inherited either of her parents’ gifts for sensing andmanipulating otherworldly elements. She could instill commands intothe gold, something her father’s research said most people couldlearn to do, but she could never make more of the substance.

Kali pressed her thumb against the flake andclosed her eyes to concentrate. With such a small piece of gold, itdid not take long. It could not accept a complicated imprint, butit would do what she needed.

“Spin and hammer,” she whispered to it,imaging the actions she wanted the drill to perform.

The pickaxe point twitched, then rotated.Though slow at first, the revolutions soon picked up speed. Ithitched with each revolution, thanks to the haste she had used onthe chuck, and the perfectionist in her growled at the hiccup, butshe reminded herself the tool need not last for long. It wasworking. That was all that mattered.

Kali touched the drill bit to the closestwall. The hitch grew more noticeable, but stone sheered off asreverberations coursed through her body. Tiny shards pelted her,reminding her of the shrapnel from her smoke nuts.

She dug out her snow goggles, grabbed thelantern, shouldered her pack, and ducked into the three-wayintersection. Cedar knelt beneath the entrance, like some knightfrom centuries past, his sword point pressed to the ground beforehim, his hands atop the hilt, ready. It had grown quiet outside.The men must have paused to concoct some plot-or build anothergrenade.

“I’m going to make a backdoor.” She heftedthe drill.

He gaped at the tendrils of lightningstreaking along the tool’s shaft. She wished she had time to buildmore of a casing to hide the telltale signs of the magic, but, withluck, nobody except Cedar would see the drill.

“If you could arrange some extra noise,” Kalisaid, “I’d appreciate it.”

He dabbed at a cut dribbling blood into hiseye. “You don’t want much, do you?”

Kali winked. “I just want to make sure youearn your fifty percent.”

Cedar tilted his head, listening to someconversation outside, and she left him to his work. Later, shecould ask him if his spying had given him a bead on CudgelConrad.

With the whirring drill in one hand and thelantern in the other, Kali delved deeper into the tunnels. Alabyrinth of passages spread out around her, and she soon wonderedif the owners of the claim had mined beneath the adjoining parcelsas well. If so, she hoped they had scraped all the gold out ofSebastian’s land. Had that bastard even intended to mine, or hadthis all been a setup to capture her and turn her over to somegangster? He must think her a delightful idiot for showing up andsleeping ten feet away from him. If not for Cedar’s scheme, shenever would have come up here, but even with that excuse she wishedshe had been too vigilant to get caught.

A likely dead-end opened to Kali’s right andshe stopped, figuring she had better choose her spot before thetunnels wound her around so much she ended up drilling out rightbeneath Sebastian’s toes. She thought she was under the trees now,several dozen meters from the river, but the permafrost kept rootsfrom piercing the ceilings anywhere. She hoped the tunnel had notslanted down, putting a dozen feet of earth above her head. Cuttingthrough more than a couple of feet would be a tall order, even fora flash-gold-powered tool.

She lifted the tip to the low ceiling. Thoughit lacked the grooves of a typical drill, the pickaxe “bit” spunand pulsed so rapidly it ate into the dirt and stone anyway. Beingon the other end of the tool jarred her to the core; her teethrattled, her body quaked, and her joints ached as if she were theone being drilled, not the rock. Dust filled the passage and sooncoated her tongue and nostrils. Clumps of dirt and rock fell,pelting her on the head. Too bad she did not carry a helmet as wellas goggles in her pack.

Too slowly for her tastes, a concave holeformed over her head. She went slower than she wished, conscious ofthe noise the activity made. If Sebastian heard the drill and hadmen standing at the top when she broke through, she would have madetheir situation worse, creating two entrances to guard instead ofone.

She should have created something capable ofissuing loud booms and given it to Cedar to use as a diversion.

“Kali?” his voice came from the tunnelsbehind her. “Which way did you go?”

Unease roiled in her stomach. If he hadabandoned the entrance, that must mean it had been breached.

“Back here.” She lowered the drill.

“Don’t stop,” he whispered, appearing out ofthe darkness. “If I did it right, your distraction is coming.”

Shouts echoed through the tunnel. Lots ofshouts from lots of throats. Just how many men had Sebastian luredinto helping?

“A stampede of invaders wasn’t thedistraction I had in mind.” Kali returned to drilling, certain theyonly had seconds before armed men swarmed into their tunnel.

Then a massive explosion boomed, pounding hereardrums like a steam hammer. The earth heaved and hurled Kalibackward.

She would have hit the floor, but she crashedinto Cedar, and he wrapped his around her, keeping her upright. Howhe remained upright, she had no idea.

A thunderous roar filled the tunnels. Anotherexplosion? No, a cave-in. Multiple cave-ins maybe. Screams added tothe cacophony, but they sounded distant, as if piles of rubbledivided them from Kali and Cedar.

“You all right?” Cedar released her with apat on the arm.

The lantern had tipped over and gone out.Somehow Kali had kept a hold of the drill, and the slender streaksof lightning arcing along the tool provided the only light. It wasenough. She found her hole and went back to work. This time she didnot bother with slow and quiet.

“I reckon that’s a yes.” Cedar, sword inhand, turned to guard her back while she worked.

“Did you cause that explosion or did they?”Kali asked, her voice vibrating with the reverberations of thedrill. Dirt and rock sloughed from the growing hole.

“I did.”

“How?”

“You, being a bright book-reading girl, knowthat hydrogen is flammable,” he said, referencing the airship shehad crashed. “I, being a bright alcohol-drinking boy, know thatvodka is flammable.”

“You blew up the still?”

“Not bad, eh?”

She agreed, but all she said was, “Huh.”

“There you go again,” Cedar said, “making meblush with your fulsome praise.”

The dim lighting hid her grin.

She rose on her tiptoes, pressing the drillhigher. Cedar would have to take over soon if she didn’t reach-

A draft of fresh air whispered across hercheek. Her grin broadened. The resistance disappeared, and thedrill poked through.

“I’m going to need a boost.” Kali widened thehole so Cedar’s broad shoulders would fit through.

“I’ll go first and pull you up.”

She cut off the drill and nodded toward thehole. “Not interested in handling my hips again?”

“Oh, I’m interested, but let’s make surenobody’s waiting to put a bullet in your head first.”

“Or drop a grenade on it,” Kali muttered.

Cedar grabbed both sides of the hole andpulled his head through. Long seconds passed while he hung, bootsdangling above the ground. At first, she marveled that he couldhold himself in that position so long. Then she lost patience andwanted to shove him out of the way so she could look.

Elsewhere in the tunnel, the screams hadabated, and she doubted it would be long before some of the menclimbed out, if only to tend to each other’s wounds.

Finally, Cedar pulled himself up, slitheringover the edge without a sound. Only a trickle of dust marked hispassing.

As promised, he soon extended a hand for her.Kali plopped the handle of the drill into it. With their ammo gone,it was the best weapon she had. Besides, she would not leave itbehind with precious flash gold embedded in it.

Cedar lifted the drill out, then lowered hishand again. She gave him her pack, which he also pulled free.

“What’s going on up there?” she asked,wondering how much time they had.

“Ssh,” he whispered and wriggled hisfingers.

Kali grabbed his hand and bunched her legs,preparing for a good jump, but he simply pulled her out as if sheweighed no more than a snared rabbit. She settled beside him wherehe crouched above the ragged hole.

Dawn had come to the river valley, revealingmore stillness than expected, considering the activity of momentsbefore. As she had hoped, they were in the trees above the rockybank. The engine and boiler that marked the mine entrance satdownhill twenty meters away. Several bodies lay on the bank,unmoving, and Kali swallowed, numbly aware of the carnage they hadcaused. More dead must be buried in the rubble beneath them. Aconcave depression marked a cave-in, right about where the stillwould have been. She clenched her teeth, resenting Sebastian allover again for starting her along this path where bountyhunters-and simple prospectors-vied to turn her in for areward.

“Stay here,” Cedar whispered. “I’m going formy pack and ammo.” He pointed to Sebastian’s camp. His mangledbedroll lay visible on the rocky earth. “Keep an ear open. Ithought I heard some mechanical noises in the forest behind us whenI first poked my head up.”

“Blazes,” Kali said. “That woman again?”

Why couldn’t she have gone back to Dawson torest, like a normal just-shot person?

Cedar left her side to follow the tree linetoward Sebastian’s claim. The spring foliage soon hid him. Kalitook a few steps from the hole and put her back against a spruce.The undergrowth should hide her from anyone who came out of themine.

She closed her eyes for a moment, bothbecause looking at the bodies made her uncomfortable and becauseshe wanted to listen for suspicious noises.

Kali did not have long to wait. In the woodsbehind her, a soft click-whir grew audible. It repeated, steady andregular, like the ticking of a clock. Oddly, the sound seemed tocome not from the ground but from the trees, perhaps ten or twentyfeet in the air. It couldn’t be the flyer; she and Cedar hadcrashed that. The noises were not the same either.

She craned her neck, her eyes probing thecanopy. Though birds should have been chirping to welcome the dawn,no animal sounds drifted from the woods. Water rushed by in theriver, and a soft breeze rattled tree branches, but nothingwarm-blooded stirred.

Click-whir, click-whir, click-whir.

It was definitely coming from thetreetops.

Movement rustled a clump of needles high upon a spruce. Kali squinted. Another breeze? No. The other branchesremained still.

She chomped down on her lip, tempted toinvestigate, but she should wait for Cedar’s return. If that womanwas responsible-and who else would be out here with things thatclicked and clanked? — Kali would need help against her.

She checked on Sebastian’s camp and did notspot Cedar, but his packsack had disappeared. The first man wascrawling out of the mine entrance. Time to get going.

Something sharp stabbed Kali in the butt, andshe gasped in pain, almost dropping the drill. She glared behindher, thinking Cedar was playing a joke. The pain had been enough tobring a tear to her eye, and she planned to give him a mouthful ofvitriol.

Nobody stood behind her.

She patted her rump, expecting shrapnel or adart protruding from it. That had been too powerful to be a bugbite, especially given the thickness of her trousers.

Cedar slipped out of the foliage to her side,glanced at her hand placement, and raised an eyebrow.“Problem?”

She yanked her hand away from her backsideand glowered suspiciously at him, but the angle of his approach waswrong. Whatever had attacked her had come from behind. Behind andmaybe above.

Click-whir.

Kali lifted her eyes. Leaves shuddered.“Something’s up there.”

Cedar knelt beside her and plucked somethingfrom the mud. A tiny metal sphere, perhaps a third of the size ofan old musket ball, glinted in the palm of his hand.

Low voices came from the mine entrance.Another man had crawled out. Blood stained his sandy hair andsaturated his shirt.

Weariness dragged Kali’s shoulders down; shehad grown tired of this adventure and wanted to go back to the citywhere she could rely on the defenses in her workshop to protecther. And where no one need be injured. Or killed.

“We can go back to town,” Cedar said, perhapsguessing her thoughts. “Wilder…isn’t going to pan out. He isn’twith Cudgel any more.”

“Didn’t you say his head is worth money inits own right?”

“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.

Click-whirs grew audible over the roarof the rapids. The flying constructs drew closer, forming a tightsemicircle at Kali and Cedar’s backs. One buzzed a couple of feetfrom her ear.

“What do you think of my cicadas?” the figurecalled. The head wrapping did not cover the speaker’s lips, so thevoice came out clearly. It definitely belonged to a woman, an olderwoman, Kali guessed. “Incase you’re thinking of fleeing, I shouldinform you that you’ve experienced only Setting One of theirfirepower. There are three settings.”

“Who are you?” Kali asked. Maybe thequestion should have been, “What are you?”

Though the voice and the swell of a bosombeneath the brown wrapping made femininity clear, Kali struggled tobelieve this was a mere woman. Cedar had shot her the daybefore-they had seen blood-but no sling cradled the arm, nordid the figure appear wounded now.

“Who do you think I am?” the woman asked, asmile in her voice.

Kali glanced at Cedar, but his face wasmasked, and he said nothing.

“A witch who studied engineering?” Kali saidto the woman. “Or an engineer who studied witching.”

“Witching.” The woman chuckled.

“Oh, good,” Kali muttered. “I amuse her.”

“Your first guess is most accurate.” Shesmirked. “Huzzah.”

“And what do you want with me?” Kali asked.“It is me, right? I couldn’t help but notice your littlebutterflies had a fixation for my bottom.”

“I’m here to kill you.”

Cedar took a step forward, his knuckles whitewhere he gripped his rifle. “If you try, I’ll kill you first.”

“Not likely, dear,” the woman said. “Youdon’t seem too bright.”

“Why?” Though Kali did not think Cedar wouldbe rash enough to charge the woman, she put a hand on his armanyway. The hard knotted muscles beneath the sleeve testified tothe tension in his body. “Why kill me? Most people just want tokidnap me. Which is a might inconvenient, too, but preferable todeath.”

She eyed the woman’s vessel as she spoke,mulling over a way to sink it or push it out into the rapids. Ifthey could manage that, the river might sweep their foe milesdownstream before the woman could pull herself to shore. That wouldgive her and Cedar time to escape. But if the “cicadas” truly had asetting three times as powerful as the one she had already felt,she might be filled with holes before she could reach the shallowsand the boat.

The woman’s gaze fixed on the drill. Kali hadturned it off, but the flake of flash gold continued to glow, as itwould for all eternity unless someone destroyed it. Maybe it wasvisible from the boat.

“The secret of flash gold must die,” thewoman said.

Ah, yes, visible from the boat indeed.

“Most people want the secret,” Kalisaid, “which I don’t have, by the way, so there’s no need to killme. As far as I know, nobody living has the secret.”

Kali subtly poked through the innards of thebroken cicada, looking for a clue that might let her nullify themall. If they were decommissioned somehow, charging the boat mightbe a less foolish proposition. Her fingers tingled as she touchedsome of the fine gears. Magic?

Cedar watched her hands through hoodedeyes.

“You know how it’s made even if you lack thepower to imbue it,” the woman said. “You’ve studied your father’snotes, I’m sure.”

“Notes?” Kali said. “Was he supposed to leavenotes? He must have forgotten. He was busy dying.”

“Ezekiel kept excellent notes. I know. I washis research partner for more than ten years.”

Kali blinked. “You knew my father?” She hadnever met anyone outside of Moose Hollow who did. Old Ezekiel haddone a good job of falling off the map when he came north. IfSebastian had not blabbed to the wrong people, all thesetroublemakers would never have known of her existence.

“Yes, did he never speak of me? Amelia?”

“No.”

“That figures,” the woman said, voice likeice. She-Amelia-picked up something. A small bronze box. Some sortof controller for the cicadas? Had she grown tired of chatting?

“My father didn’t speak to me aboutanything,” Kali said, trying to buy more time. She went back toprodding the wreckage of the broken cicada. “If you were lovers orsomething, he might still have cared. I just wasn’t…a confidantof his. He barely acknowledged me.”

“Because you lack power, I imagine. If thearrogant coot hadn’t been obsessed over looks, we mighthave…”

She did not finish, but Kali could guess.They might have had a child. So, this was some spurned woman herfather had not chosen for a lover. Maybe Amelia wanted Kali deadfor more reasons than flash gold.

“Sorry, he didn’t love you,” Kali said. “Butit’s not my fault. Killing me won’t-”

“It will ensure no more flash gold is evermade,” Amelia snarled. “It’s bad enough that it exists at all, butnow that gangsters know about it, they’ll not stop until theycapture you and wring its recipe from your brain. They’ll findsomeone who can imbue it, and the world will suddenly have powerenough that countries can destroy each other without ever fieldingan army.”

Kali’s probing in the broken cicada revealeda small cracked compass. “Don’t you think flash gold has power forgood? To be used as an energy source? It’s more efficient thanburning coal or wood and-”

“Don’t lecture me, child. I know what it is.I helped invent it. And then I watched as the first experimentburned half of a town and killed dozens of people. I wascaught in that fire.”

For the first time, Amelia lifted a hand toher face and pushed up her goggles. She used her left hand. Maybethat bullet in her right shoulder had hurt after all.

Next she removed the wrapping, letting itfall about her neck like a scarf. Short graying blonde hair frameda narrow face with a pointed chin. She might have been pretty once,but shiny scar tissue ran up and down the right side of her face,contorting her features.

“I have that lodestone with me,” Cedarwhispered, and Kali realized he had been watching her finger thecompass. “Wrapped up in the bottom of my pack.”

Kali caught on immediately. If the cicadasused the compasses for navigation, a lodestone, with its magneticproperties, might be enough to throw them off by a hair. A hairmight be all they needed. “Get it,” she whispered back. “Hook it onthe lead one’s wings.”

She tossed the broken machine aside, and tooka couple of steps toward Amelia, placing herself to block thewoman’s view of Cedar. “I’m sorry you were injured, but look.” Kaliheld out the drill with both hands. “Flash gold is a brilliantinvention. It needn’t be used as a weapon. I’ve used it for toolsand plan to use it for transportation. I’m sure there are a millionways it could make people’s lives better.”

“It would only take one unscrupulous personto use it to destroy the world,” Amelia said. “It’s too dangerousto keep around.”

“We just have to make sure it doesn’t fallinto an unscrupulous person’s hands. If we worked together we coulddo that. You have no idea how much I’d like to learn from you. I’venever had a teacher.” Kali was buying time, yes, but the ache ofsincerity in her voice surprised her.

It must have surprised Amelia too for shefrowned thoughtfully at Kali. Might she consider it?

“It’s true I’ve no magical gifts,” Kali wenton, “so I couldn’t make the alchemical potions or whatever you usedto heal yourself and deflect that bullet…” She raised hereyebrows. She was guessing since she had little knowledge ofwitchery, but Amelia nodded slightly. “I’m told I’m a fair tinkererthough.” Kali juggled the drill so she could remove her packsack.“I love to make things. I can show you some of my handmadetools.”

“I was impressed by your vehicle,”Amelia admitted. “Nobody taught you, you say?”

“I’ve had to learn it all on my own.” Kalitook another step. If Cedar gave her a chance, she would have tosprint forward and act before Amelia had time to think upsomething. “This drill isn’t fancy since I only had a couple ofminutes to make it, but it shows you the potential flash gold hasfor useful things.”

Amelia’s face hardened. Mentioning the goldagain had been a mistake.

“No,” Amelia said. “It’s too dangerous. And,because you know its secrets and criminals know of you,you’re too dangerous.”

A clunk sounded behind her. Cedar tossing thelodestone at one of the flying creatures?

Before she could turn around to check, metalclashed. He was attacking the cicadas. That was her cue.

Kali sprinted toward the water, gripping thedrill in both hands.

Amelia sneered and pushed a lever on hercontrol box.

With the river roaring in her ears, Kalicould not hear the click-whirs of the machines, but she knewCedar could not take them all down at once. They would be pursuing.Pursuing and shooting.

Balls hammered the granite bank, bouncing offlike hail. None struck Kali, but she sprinted faster anyway.

Three strides from the shallows, she touchedthe flash gold flake with her thumb to turn on the drill. Cedarsurprised her by running past her. He leaped into the air, clearlyhoping to jump over the shield on the boat and land on Amelia. Shesaw him coming, though, and hurled something. A small black ballexpanded into a net, entrapping him in a heartbeat.

Kali splashed into the shallows, high-kneeingit to the back of the boat.

Though the net entangled Cedar, his momentumtook him into the pilot’s seat. He crashed down on top of Amelia,who shrieked in anger.

Kali reached her destination, the furnace andboiler at the back of the boat, but frigid water reached to herchest, and a strong current tugged at her body. She spread herlegs, trying to brace herself on the slick bottom. She would needleverage if she meant to succeed at her task. Something akin to acat fight was taking place in the pilot’s seat, with both peopletangled in the net.

“Cedar!” Kali called. “Get out of there!”

Stones shifted and moved beneath her feet,and the current threatened to suck her into the rapids, but shefound a big rock to brace her boot against.

Amelia screamed in pain.

A splash sounded-Cedar obeying her order.Good.

Kali closed her eyes, tucked her chin, andpressed the drill to the side of the boiler. As soon as she feltthe tip pierce the metal casing, she dove down, hoping the waterwould provide her some protection from the-

Boom!

Even though she knew what to expect, she hadno way to defend against the raw power of the boiler failure. Thewater did little to soften the blast wave, and it hurled her intothe stony river bottom. Her back slammed against the rocks. Herbreath escaped in a burst of bubbles.

For a dazed moment, she could do nothing. Thecurrent swept her off the rocks, and she forced her stunned limbsto work. She kicked and stroked, hoping she was angling toward thesurface, but the powerful water defied her efforts. It swept herout of the shallows and into the rapids where she picked upspeed.

She clawed her way to the top only to bebattered against a sharp rock. She managed a gasp of air, but thetorrent forced her underwater again. More rocks barred her way, andshe bounced between them until her hand caught on something.

Rope?

If so, it was narrow, but she wasn’t going tocomplain. She twined her fingers around it and lunged for anotherpiece with the other hand. Not rope, a net.

As soon as she gripped it with both hands,she felt herself being hauled out of the current. Her head brokethe water. Rivulets streamed into her eyes, but she dared not letgo to wipe them, so she merely trusted it was Cedar.

The current lessened, and her knee bumpedagainst the bottom. Shallow water. She heaved a sigh of relief.

Strong hands gripped her by the armpits andpulled her out of the water. Before she could so much as wipe hereyes, she found herself crushed into a soggy hug. She did not relaxinto the embrace immediately; she craned her neck, searching forAmelia and the vessel. Kali had been swept a good hundred metersdownriver, and she could barely see the bank where she’d started,but she squinted and spotted a couple of cicadas, flying around,lost. One crashed into a tree and went down. Others were alreadysmashed into the ground. Kali did not see Amelia or the boat.

“You sank it,” Cedar said. “She wentdownriver in the rapids. I got her with my sword through the net,but it wasn’t a mortal blow. I don’t know if we’ve seen the last ofher or not.”

“The last of her for today, I hope.”

Kali let herself slump against Cedar forsupport and warmth. Now that she was no longer thrashing to escapethe current, shivers coursed through her body. Though May lackedthe harsh bite of a Yukon winter, it held no warmth either, and acold breeze needled her through sodden clothing.

Cedar released her. “We better fetch our gearand get out of the area before those prospectors come looking forus.”

“Agreed.” Kali jumped up and down. Her teethchattered.

“Did you bring a change of clothing?” Cedarasked. “Or only tools?”

“Of course I brought clothing, and don’t youpick on me about how I packed. Not when you brought a rock.”

“A lodestone.” He grinned. “And it came inhandy, didn’t it?”

She tamped down her own grin and sniffed.“Moderately, I suppose.”

“You’re still a hard lady to please, Isee.”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”