“The wagons were going back to the city to get more when I came via dragon,” Syla said.
The soldier mouthedvia dragon, apparently not parsing that as a normal mode of transportation.
“But… we shouldn’t bring more people down here.” Syla gave her aunt a significant look and waved at the machinery, silently asking if what she needed to drill with was in the machine-storage area with them.
“Wehaveto, Your Majesty,” the man said as Tibby nodded back to Syla. “The stormers outnumber us and havemagic.”
“I know, but we’ll have to try to avoid them.”
“They’re after the shielder, aren’t they? How are we going toavoidthem?”
“They don’t know exactly where it is. Or they shouldn’t.” Syla remembered that Lesva had Abrya, who might have divulged that information. Abrya might even now be leading Lesva to the chamber with a sword pressed into the back of her neck. “Have you seen Lady Abrya or Captain Lesva? The silver-haired woman?”
“I know which one that storm-cursed scion of the mad god is.” Tibby climbed into the cab of a giant wagon with machinery in the back. “No, I haven’t seen her, and I hope not to.”
Fel lifted his hand, as if to pull her back down where she wouldn’t be visible to someone in the distance. “Are yougoingsomewhere?”
“The mission that Syla mentioned must be completed.” Tibby waved toward the machinery in the wagon, which included numerous sections of long, thick helical bits.
Were there enough to be assembled to reach the surface? The drill machine itself looked complicated with a glowing bulb and panel of switches and levers that presumably powered and controlled everything.
“You two, go with Lady Tibaytha.” Syla pointed at the soldiers. “Sergeant Fel and I will find Lesva and deal with her.”
“You can’t deal with her, Your Majesty,” one soldier blurted. “She took out half a squadron by herself in the palace. I was there. And there are archers down here that took out the rest ofour team just minutes ago. There are only one or two riders with them, but they’re deadly too.”
“We’ll get some more men down here,” Fel said firmly, giving Syla a defiant look.
Aware of the possibility that the mines would later be flooded, Syla didn’t want to bring any more people down than necessary, especially since the lift cage was slow and couldn’t hold many occupants. But… she had to be reasonable. She and Fel wouldn’t defeat Lesva and a horde of stormers without help.
“Get reinforcements, Syla. If we do this—” Tibby waved at the drill bits, “—it won’t happen quickly. And once we get through, anyone down here will see what’s happening and have time to get out.”
“All right.” Syla had envisioned the lake rushing in like a huge waterfall, but the drill wasn’t so wide that the hole would be huge, and the mine was vast. Even if Oyenar got a team down here to seal off the lower levels, she supposed it would take hours for this one to flood. Her aunt must have done some math to figure it out. Knowing that made Syla’s muscles loosen. She’d been imagining Oyenar’s scenario, of armies of stormers being drowned, but Tibby’s vision had to be more accurate. The goal was as Syla had wished, to deny access to the shielder chamber, not drown the enemy. “All right,” she repeated. “Tibby, would any of these machines be useful to us as… er, weapons?”
Syla waved at the other wagons with equipment built into them or loaded on the backs. A couple of them looked like digging and boring devices, while others were simply large carts for hauling salt and maybe men. None of them looked like an armored carriage.Thatwas what she needed.
“You might run over a slow stormer with one,” Tibby said.
“Slowis not an appropriate adjective for describing those people.”
“Unfortunately not.” Tibby pointed at the front of a wagon with a shovel-like device on the back. “That one has a covered cab and can move faster than a person can run, probably even an enhanced person, and you’d be somewhat protected from quarrels. Put your hand on the panel there. It’ll activate for you without a foreman’s key.”
“All right.”
Fast was what they would need to catch up with Lesva.
“Here.” Tibby leaned down from the cab of her wagon and handed a bag to Syla. “There are numerous explosives in there.”
“I… when did you make all these?”
“I’ve been preparing to end up in trouble with you fordays. I was lucky to get them off the ship before your lecherous rider sank it. The bag almost blew up with all those fires around.”
“He’s delightful, not lecherous.”
“He looks at your boobs every time we meet.”
“Yeah, but I like that.”
Tibby rolled her eyes and pointed at the bag. “Be careful. Remember, those detonate on impact.”
