She clearly could not hear him, but he pulled the AK-12 rifle from his shoulder. He had stripped the fully equipped weapon from one of the dead soldiers. He lifted and pressed it against the ice, then waved an arm, pantomiming for her to retreat.
He waited, still not sure she understood.
But her shadow fell back, fading into blue ice.
He backpedaled in turn, retreating a safe distance. Then he lowered the weapon, aimed it at that azure mirror, and fired.
A grenade shot from the rifle’s undermounted barrel. The round sped and struck with a fiery explosion. Smoke blasted, and ice cracked. Before it could clear, Gray rushed forward through the ice and fire.
Blinded, he still ran headlong.
Then something struck him, wreathed in crystals, smelling of sulfur.
Arms wrapped around him.
He pulled Seichan tightly to him.
She gasped in his arms, breathing heavily. “I... I didn’t think I’d get out of there.”
Gray hugged her hard. “You need to learn to trust your man.”
7:10P.M.
Tucker followed the last of the group up the steps. They had traversed three-quarters of the way toward the top. To the side, the waterfall continued to fragment into massive sheets that crashed into the city. The thunder was nearly nonstop now, becoming a storm underground.
Ahead, everyone stumbled along, exhausted, most having to support another. Anna helped Jason. Seichan gripped Gray as if she would never let him go. Turov and Bragin hauled the archpriest between them. Harper kept a steadying hand on Omryn, who hugged an arm over his wrapped belly.
Directly ahead, Elle climbed with Kane and Marco.
A change in timbre of that thundering storm drew Tucker’s gaze. He watched the entire top section of the waterfall give way. It tilted far, a glacier about to give birth. Then the section toppled away, falling into the darkness. When it struck, the ground shook. A huge cloud of frost and ice blasted to the roof, casting rainbows in the last shine of the day’s sun.
Tucker gaped at the sight.
Elle spotted the danger. “Look!”
With the top of the fall gone, the ramp that led down to it cracked into pieces and slid over the edge. One of the Russian snowmobiles was carried along atop one slab, then tumbled away with the ice.
Tucker’s heart clenched.
If more of the ramp broke free, they’d be trapped. Or at least, it would be a long, treacherous climb to reach the small arched opening in the peak.
Tucker bellowed to the group. “Go! As fast as you can!” He waved an arm toward the falling ice. “It’s all collapsing!”
The group paused, staring in that direction, then set off again.
At first slowly, then gaining speed.
Tucker herded everyone in front of him. They reached the top and set off for the collection of snow machines. The ice quaked underfoot, shaking each time another section broke away. Cracks skittered around and ahead of them.
Jason fell and slid down the slope on his stomach, but Omryn caught him and hauled him up. The two forged ahead together.
They reached the machines and split their group up—including the trio of Russians. Tucker took Turov into a Snowcat with his dogs and Elle. Gray and Seichan guarded Bragin and Sychkin, not that the blind priest needed much oversight. Jason and Anna doubled up with Omryn and Harper on the Polaris snowmobiles. ThePolar King’s crew had more experience with ice and snow, so they drove the machines.
Engines started, and the group fled up the ice chute. Massive floes cracked and slid away. The destruction chased the retreating group. Behind them, the crashing ice filled the cavern with more crystals and frost. The rainbows grew more brilliant back there, while sunlight beckoned ahead.
The two Polaris shot through the exit first, vanishing into the glare. Then the two Snowcats followed.
As Tucker trundled free, he saw the world had vastly changed since they had departed. Past the ring of outer peaks, a crater had been blasted into the ice, framed by twisted metal. A pall of smoke hung low and heavy, competing with the surrounding fogbanks. Fires burned everywhere.
