Shortly after Jaxor had kidnapped Erin and Crystal from the Golden City, they’d been skimming over the black sand desert in his sandcraft. They’d attempted to escape—a reckless plan, admittedly—by jumping off the back after lobbing a heavy sack at him. Jaxor had retrieved them laughably easily, but as punishment he’d made her stand in front of him at the console, her back to his front, surprisingly close given his obvious disdain for her now.
She’d watched his hands as he’d navigated the sandcraft because there’d been nothing better to do. But the question was whether thehovercraftwould work in a similar way. It was like comparing driving a car to flying a plane, wasn’t it?
She blew out a small breath, her eyes flickering to thekekevirtunnel, making sure the sconces were still lit.
It was a risk she would have to take, wasn’t it? And while she wasn’t going to be piloting out of therethatday, she could at least memorize the controls—the pad, the layout of the console, maybe even take the chance to see how to start it up before Jaxor returned.
Shehadto do something. She couldn’t just wait around, twiddling her thumbs.
Erin only wished that she’d paid more attention when Jaxor had piloted the hovercraft yesterday.
There were no buttons on the console, only clear blocks of a material that felt tacky to the touch when she skimmed her fingers over them. When she dared to press one of them with more force, the block grew warm to the touch and she suppressed a surprised cry when beams of blue light suddenly shone in front of her, outlining—she peered closer, frowning—terrain, it looked like. A map?
It certainly resembled one, but unlike any map she’d ever seen before. When she applied force to the clear block again, it disappeared.
Okay, the map button, she thought.Progress.
There were six clear blocks in total, three on each side of the silver pad. One down, five to go. Her finger hovered over the next one, just to the right. Inhaling a small breath, she pressed down before she lost her nerve…but nothing happened.
Then she moved on to the next. Again, nothing happened.
Moving to the ones on the opposite side of the silver pad, she pressed one—and then yelped when a rush ofsomethingcoming from the front of the hovercraftwhooshedher hair back. Her alarmed cry echoed around the tunnel and she held her breath, not daring to move, listening.
Her shoulders relaxed, though her heart still stuttered in her chest. A faint humming sound met her ears and she noticed that the air seemed to shimmer towards the front of the hovercraft. Lips parting, she lifted her hand to touch whatever it was and her fingers met slight resistance. It was the strangest sensation. When she pushed her hand farther through the shimmering air, it feltthick.
It’s some kind of shield,she realized excitedly, peering down at the block. A blue glow emanated from it and—
A familiar hissing shriek came from deep within the tunnel to her left.
A shiver raced up her spine, her blood chilling with the sound. She had no weapon, had nothing to defend herself with except for a torch.
Fool, fool, fool, she chided herself mentally, fumbling with the block, pressing it with force. There was a slight hiss and the shimmering in the air fell away, but Erin hardly noticed. She was already scrambling down from the hovercraft and snagging her torch.
She didn’t spare thekekevirtunnel a second glance as she ran back towards Jaxor’s base, her footsteps echoing as they slapped on the rocky floor. A biting pain registered when she felt something cut into the bottom of her left foot, but she bit her lip, ignoring it as she stumbled into the brightened clearing. Cold air whipped across her cheeks, unshielded by the rocky walls.
Her eyes alighted on the cave she’d slept in the night before, on the thick door that could offer protection just in case one of those things managed to slip past the protection of the fire sconces.
Hurriedly, she snuffed out the torch against the wall and propped it back into place, hoping Jaxor wouldn’t notice she’d used it. There was still no sign of him. Although, Erin had probably only left for five or ten minutes at most.
Racing towards the cave, scrambling up the makeshift staircase, she opened the door, slipped inside, and then sealed it behind her. Only when it was bolted did she relax, drawing in lungfuls of air. She stood there, listening, but after a few minutes of hearing nothing, she finally turned and sat at the back of the cave, her spine curving against the hardened, cool stone.
She felt a tingling pain and, remembering she’d cut her foot, she lifted it and inspected the bottom.
Wincing, she saw the cut wasn’t too deep, though there was a smear of blood across her sole.
“Shit,” she murmured, watching more well up. She hoped she hadn’t left a blood trail leading from the entrance tunnel for Jaxor to find.
There was a chest next to her that she’d snooped through the night before as Jaxor slept. Inside were supplies and rations…and weapons. Though, rummaging through it now, she saw that those were gone. Jaxor must’ve hidden them after the stunt she’d pulled last night.
There was, however, a skin of fresh water and strips of what she hoped was clean cloth. Rinsing her foot with the water, Erin gingerly wrapped her foot, knowing it was all she could do for it now.
She blew out a small breath, remembering the panel of the hovercraft console in her mind.
Far right is the map. Third from the left is a shield, she recited, swallowing.
Then, since there was nothing else to do, she waited for Jaxor to return.
Chapter Nine
