Smoke reached us first—thin, gray, metallic. Then the sound of boots on stone. Human voices shouting. They’d breached the upper access tunnels.
The first plasma burst hit the far wall, sending people scattering in all directions.
The flow broke.
I was shoved sideways into a side corridor, away from the main path, away from the others.
Away from Mara.
We moved against the flow, back toward the smaller tunnels. Heat pressed in. My lungs burned with every breath. The sound of fighting echoed closer now.
Then—a new sound. Deeper. Mechanical. Engines. They’d driven inside.
I pulled Miko behind a supply crate. “Quiet.”
Voices drifted closer—rough, laughing.
“…beacon came from this direction…”
“…tech worth taking…”
“…and the alien freaks that built it…”
I risked a glance. Three armed men, moving fast, heading straight for the central galleries. The children were there.
I had no weapon except a torch. It was enough.
“Miko,” I whispered. “Run to the main hall. Tell them raiders are coming from the east passage. Find Veklan. Go.”
He shook his head. “What about you?”
“I’m right behind you.”
He hesitated—then ran.
I stepped out from cover, ignited the torch, and shouted, “Hey!”
They turned.
The nearest man grinned. “Well, look what—”
The torch flared white-hot and I swung it. The beam caught his forearm. He screamed, dropping his rifle.
The second man lunged, slamming me into the wall. Pain exploded behind my eyes. The torch fell from my hand.
“Got a live one!” he shouted. “They’ll pay for this—”
I fought—kicking, clawing—but his grip held. The third man pressed a cloth over my mouth. Chemical and sweet.
Wrong.
I tried to bite, to scream— Rygnar—
The sound never came.
The mountain’s green biolights dimmed to amber warning as darkness closed in.
The mountain was still alive.
