Reclamation

A muffled roar, building faster than a flash flood's, made Aria jerk her eyes skyward. A silver splinter dived out of the clouds and hurtled across the sky, leaving long white trails behind it.

"No!" Jay sprang to his feet. "Run!"

Before Aria could force her frozen legs to move, Jay was already halfway to the dome. She pounded after him, hurdling the larger stones, grateful that she was at home and on steady ground.

What is going on! Her mind shouted as Jay tore open the dome's door and darted inside.

She followed without stopping, though. Whatever the aircraft brought, Jay obviously thought it was worse than meeting the Vitae.

In the distance she heard a shrill whine. Jay threw open a trapdoor and Aria barely had time to see the dark shaft.

"Down!" He shoved her forward, hard enough that her body swung out over the edge.

Aria shrieked as she fell, so startled that she barely remembered to tuck herself. Everyone in the Realm knew how to take a hard fall. The floor slammed against her shoulders and arm, knocking all the breath and almost all the sense out of her. She rolled halfway over just as the Skyman dropped like a stone beside her.

The world shouted. It rumbled and groaned and growled deep in its throat. Overhead the dome creaked and shuddered. Equipment crashed against the ground and fabric, probably the dome's side, tore. Aria curled further in on herself, trying to hide behind the darkness and the ringing in her ears.

Nameless Powers preserve me. What have they DONE?

Eric saw the flash over the top of the Wall. It turned the clouds sulfurous yellow and bounced back to earth again. Then came the noise, like a roll of thunder that meant to go on forever.

No! Eric stumbled between the boulders, tripping over stones and brush, trying to follow the vapor trails dissipating into the formless clouds. The rumble kept on, steady, endless. Nameless Powers preserve and forbid…no!

Now the light on the clouds was burnt orange, sienna, and scarlet. Eric stood panting in his tracks. The thunder still rolled.

He turned and sprinted back to the sledge.

"What…" began Heart. Eric snatched the reins and the stick out of his hands.

"Move!" he screamed to the oxen. "Go!" He smacked their backs until they both gave outraged bellows and lumbered forward.

"What's happened!" Heart shook his shoulder.

"A bomb!" Eric wielded the stick mercilessly. The thunder wouldn't stop. It wasn't ever going to stop. He knew it. The oxen lowed from fear and broke into a heavy, jolting ran.

"What?" shouted Heart. "Talk, Hand!"

Smoke now. Huge black billows rose up to block out even the light on the clouds. The oxen balked and stamped, but Eric drove them on. Heart still clutched his shoulder, watching the boiling black smoke. His mouth was moving. Reciting the litanies. Begging for preservation and guidance from the Nameless, for something he couldn't possibly understand.

Too late, brother-in-law, a voice sniggered in the back of Eric's mind. Way, way too late.

The oxen were stampeding now and Eric was barely hanging on to the reins. The sledge bounced and skipped over stones, jerking around like a toy in a high wind.

Suddenly, Heart let go of Eric's shoulder and snatched the reins from his hands. He threw his whole body backward, dragging the reins back until the oxen screamed and tossed their heads. They slowed, though, and finally stopped, puffing and shaking.

"What're you doing!" Eric shouted. "We have to get to Narroways! We have to…"

"Then tell me why!" Heart ordered. "What's happened?"

"A bomb, you idiot! A…" Heart's mystified expression stopped him and Eric realized he was using a Skyman word. "The Skymen have just dropped…a ball of fire over Narroways. The city's probably ashes by now. Aria might be…might be…" He couldn't make himself say it. The smoke was spreading out, embracing the clouds and covering them over.

"We have to get to First City!" cried Heart. "Now. They have to know. Our family. Our frie…"

"There's no time! We have to find out if Aria is all right. That Unifier base was right outside Narroways!"

"She's just a Notouch!"

Eric grabbed Heart's tunic collar. "She is not just a Notouch! She was never 'just' a Notouch!" Eric slammed him against the support pole and the whole sledge rocked. "She has more guts and loyalty in her hand marks than you have in your whole heart!

Heart's eyes searched his face. "Hand, have you taken leave of your senses?"

"You'd better hope I haven't," Eric shoved him away. "You'd better hope I have sense enough to remember that I might need your help to get to her. Because if I forget that, you aren't going to be able to run fast enough to get away from me!"

"You forget who you're talking to!" Heart raised his palms. The gold circles all but glowed, even in the cloud-dimmed light.