“It is the same one who tried to kidnap you earlier,” Alain agreed. “The one I knocked unconscious.” Her certainty about what they were seeing impressed him, even though he could not grasp her descriptions of what they had found. But the objects in the barge were definitely Mechanic work. Alain took in the many Dark Mechanics below, not liking the odds if they were discovered. “Should we go?”
Mari chewed her lip, plainly reluctant. “I’ll have to convince a bunch of other Mechanics to come here, but if I can get even one or two others to see this, it should be the lever I need. It’s the best I’ll get unless we steal that barge.”
“You wish to steal the barge?” Alain asked, trying to think up a plan that might succeed in doing that.
“No. I’m not that crazy,” Mari said. “But if there was any way to do that it sure would—”
Both of them froze as someone banged loudly on the main entrance to the warehouse. The commons in the warehouse stopped their work, staring silently toward the door, then all of them produced weapons of various kinds. A woman who seemed to be in charge beckoned to two others who had grabbed crossbows, then walked to the door, a knife at ready.
Alain could not see the woman’s reaction when she peered through the door’s security peephole, but he did not have to. “There is a Dark Mage there. At least one,” he murmured to Mari.
Mari frowned at him. “The Dark Mechanics are working with Dark Mages?”
“I doubt that. Even Dark Mages are Mages. They disregard Mechanics, considering them beneath notice.”
Anything else Mari might have planned on saying was cut short as the leader of the Dark Mechanics opened the door. Alain could just make out a lean, middle aged man with a hawk nose. He did not wear Mage robes, but the power that hung around him announced his status clearly to another Mage. “A strange place to find dragons,” the Dark Mage announced impassively.
The Dark Mechanic leader shifted her hold on her knife so it was ready to stab. “You’ve got a very short time to convince me not to kill you.”
The Dark Mage shook his head. “My comrades would take that poorly, and you do not want that. We hold this place in the palms of our hands. Should we choose to close our hands, you will all die and lose all that is here.” The emotionless monotony of his voice was in strange contrast to the threatening words.
“You’re a Mage,” the Dark Mechanic spat.
“That should not bother you. You already have a Mage here.”
Alain saw all of the Dark Mechanics start with surprise. His efforts to hide his presence from other Mages clearly had not been effective enough. “The Dark Mages sensed me,” he breathed to Mari. “They have been following me. That is how they found this place. They may have been watching us for some time.”
“Great,” Mari muttered back. “We’ve been chasing Dark Mechanics, and Dark Mechanics and Dark Mages have been chasing us. Do they know exactly where you are in here? Is this anything like the thread?”
“No, it is very different. They can sense my general location, but that cannot lead them directly to me. They know that I am inside the building. If I use a spell, they will be able to find me.”
“Let’s not do that, then,” Mari said.
Down below, the leader of the Dark Mechanics was glowering at the Dark Mage. “A Mage?” she said scornfully. “Here? That’s a lie, but since you’re a Mage, that’s no surprise. What do you want?”
“A piece of the action,” the Dark Mage said with emotionless calm. “We have been wondering who was behind these dragon acts, and now we know. If you do not wish us to inform others—perhaps the Mage Guild in this city, or the Mechanics Guild—you will agree to pay us half of whatever you make. Half before expenses.”
Dark Mages, Alain thought, must know a great deal about money and such things as paying. But the Dark Mage’s offer did not sit well with the Dark Mechanic. Even from where he was Alain could see the Dark Mechanic’s face darken with anger. “No deal. Because killing you would be a distraction, I’ll agree to give you one tenth. After expenses. Not a single bit more.”
“One half.”
“One tenth!”
“One half.”
Snarling, the leader of the Dark Mechanics swung her knife forward, but her target vanished as the Dark Mage invoked a concealment spell. Alain could see the Dark Mage still, as a pale pillar of fire that marked his use of power. That pillar leaped back as the Dark Mechanic fruitlessly swung her knife through the space where the Dark Mage had been. With a growl of disgust, the Dark Mechanic slammed the door, locked it, and faced her comrades. “Get everything together. We have to move it all tonight, as fast as possible.”
“What if those Mages try anything?” one of the others asked.
“Just get moving! Get a good head of steam up on the barge!”
As the Dark Mechanics began running around, Alain tapped Mari’s shoulder. “We must leave quickly. I sense a Mage preparing a spell of great power somewhere nearby.”
She gave him an alarmed glance, then wriggled backwards to drop back to the floor. Alain followed, staying close as Mari moved quickly back toward the side door, trusting the noise the Dark Mechanics were making to cover the sound of their retreat.
“Hey! Who the blazes— ?”
Alain saw a Dark Mechanic staring their way from the end of the lane they were in.
The Dark Mechanic shouted again. “There are some commons in here! No, one of them is a Mechanic!”
Mari brought her pistol up, but the Dark Mechanic dodged away and out of sight. Mari took the next right, then kept ducking through the maze of crates, running. Alain followed, hoping that Mari had some idea where she was going.
As it turned out, it was in the wrong direction. They burst out into the open area, where Dark Mechanics were turning to look, point and raise weapons. Behind them Alain could hear other Dark Mechanics pursuing them through the crates.
He would have hesitated then, deciding on a course of action, and been quickly trapped as the Dark Mechanics closed in. But Mari moved instantly, not pausing at all. “Come on!” she yelled, grabbing Alain and running full out for the main door.
Crossbows sang and bolts tore past, thudding into walls or crates. A Dark Mechanic reached the entry first, holding a knife at ready. Still running, Mari raised her pistol and the Dark Mechanic scrambled away, yelling. “She’s got a pistol! Shoot her!”
As they got closer to the door, Mari gasped with anger. “I forgot. It’s locked.”
“I will take care of it,” Alain replied. “Keep running!” Concentrating despite the weapons being aimed at them and the solid door coming rapidly closer, Alain managed to make a section of the door vanish just before Mari reached it.
Mari made a disbelieving noise but went through the opening as another crossbow bolt tore into the door frame. Alain followed right behind as they ran onto the darkened road in front of the warehouse, letting his spell relax so that the door would reappear behind him. It would take the Dark Mechanics a few moments to get the door unlocked, allowing them time to—
Alain reached out and pulled Mari to an abrupt halt. She glared at him in disbelief. “We need to get away. Why are you stopping us?”
“Because of that,” Alain advised, pointing down the road. The Dark Mage he had sensed at work had completed his spell.
Mari looked that way, then stared, her mouth falling open.
Chapter Sixteen
“It is a dragon,” Alain explained. “An actual dragon. Not a very big one, but still dangerous.” The creature’s head did not even come up to the top of the warehouses on either side, so it was only about the height of three people. But its armored scales winked in the dim light and its powerful hind legs drove it toward them as the dragon charged, the huge claws on its smaller forearms extended, its powerful tail raised behind to balance it.
Mari spun around and yanked Alain back toward the warehouse entrance. “Can it breathe fire?” she gasped as they ran.
“How could
a dragon breathe fire? They are just very large and powerful creatures, as you see. We discussed this.”
“I’m having a little trouble concentrating on past conversations!” Mari yelled.
Dark Mechanics had managed to unlock the door and were spilling out of the warehouse in pursuit of Mari and Alain when she ran full tilt into them, bulling through the startled enemies before they realized that their quarry had changed direction.
The dragon roared as it sighted the Dark Mechanics, who stood paralyzed for a moment before stampeding back through the entry as well, the last ones slamming and relocking the door, then bracing themselves against it.
Mari and Alain ran across the open area and had just about reached the crates again when the door and the surrounding wall burst inward in a mass of splintering wood, followed by the dragon. The Dark Mechanics who had tried to hold the door shut flew in all directions, some hitting the floor to lie still and others stumbling to their feet and limping frantically away.
Crossbows were firing again, the bolts glancing harmlessly from the dragon’s scales. One of the Dark Mechanics had produced an old Mechanic weapon and fired, the crash of the shot followed by a clunk as the projectile struck the dragon and fell harmlessly to the floor.
Dark Mechanics were running in all directions as the dragon snapped at anyone within reach. But then the creature caught sight of Mari and Alain and with another roar sprang after them.
“Why is it chasing us?” Mari screamed as they ducked in among the crates again.
“It saw us first,” Alain explained. “Dragons are not very intelligent. I told you that as well.” She gave him a murderous look. Perhaps it was not the best time to remind Mari that he had already told her things. “It will keep after its target until that target is destroyed or for as long as the dragon can move.”
“Tell me you’re not serious!” Mari jerked to a halt as the shape of the dragon loomed before them, its head above the level of the crates as it searched the open aisles between. Catching sight of them, the dragon roared, revealing a mouthful of daggerlike teeth as it slammed into the intervening crates to try to reach them.
Mari stood her ground, her expression determined, holding her weapon with both hands as she fired several times, the sounds of the shots echoing deafeningly from the crates around them. Her projectiles glanced off the scales with bursts of sparks, just as useless against the dragon’s armor as the weapons of the Dark Mechanics had been.
Mari’s attack had caused the dragon to pause for a moment, giving Alain time to concentrate. He built as powerful a fireball as he could manage in the time available, then placed it against the monster’s head.
Nearby wooden crates exploded into flaming fragments as the dragon roared with pain as well as fury this time. The scales on one side of its head had been blackened with heat, but it did not seem to have been hurt badly.
Mari grabbed Alain again and pulled him along into the maze of crates, taking lefts and rights in quick succession. They ran past some of the Dark Mechanics, also fleeing with no more thought of trying to catch intruders. “Was that your best shot?” Mari gasped as she leaned against some crates to catch her breath.
“Do you mean was that my most powerful fire? Yes,” Alain admitted. “I still need to grow my abilities.”
“Great. My weapon can’t kill it and neither can yours.” Mari stared forward, her face intent. “It’s going to keep after us until it’s dead?”
“It is not alive—”
“Answer the question!”
“Yes,” Alain said. “It will kill or destroy anyone and anything else that gets in its way before then, of course. If we survive long enough, the creature’s spell will expire even if it has not been destroyed.”
“How long is long enough?”
Alain spread his hands. “Perhaps a few days.”
“That’s way too long.” Mari paused as a hissing sound came to them over the sounds of the dragon crashing through the crates. “I thought you said they didn’t hiss.”
“That is not the dragon,” Alain said, trying to identify the sound and failing.
“It’s the steam boiler on the barge,” Mari gasped. “The Dark Mechanics fired it up before this mess started and they’ve forgotten about it.” Her eyes lit with hope. “We’ve got another weapon, Alain.”
“We do?”
“Yeah. We just have to survive long enough to get to it.” As if summoned by her words, the dragon’s head appeared, darting down toward them, crates splintering and flying to either side as it lunged. Mari held her weapon in both hands again, now looking stubborn as well as scared, aiming carefully as the dragon reared back for another strike.
She fired a single shot.
Alain saw the projectile from Mari’s weapon hit just beneath one eye and shatter, fragments pelting the dragon’s eye. It screamed in rage and pain, the sound so intense the air itself seemed to pulse with its power.
“Go left!” Mari urged, darting past the creature’s blinded side as she grabbed Alain once more and led them through a couple of more turns before skidding to a halt as they faced a solid wall of crates. “We’re dead.”
“No.” Alain concentrated, even though his strength was draining rapidly. For a moment he wondered if he could manage the spell, but as his fear for Mari peaked he felt her presence more strongly, felt the thread between them, and sensed a small additional surge of strength from somewhere. An opening appeared in the crates before them. Mari dashed through the opening, Alain following. Moments later he heard the dragon crashing around in the area they had left, trying to figure out where its prey could have gone.
Mari headed back into the open area, running toward the barge. The leader of the Dark Mechanics, scurrying past in another direction, turned to face them with a livid expression and opened her mouth, but when Mari pointed her weapon at her, the Dark Mechanic wheeled away and ran.
With a leap, Mari jumped onto the barge’s deck, running to the big Mechanic creature she called a boiler. Alain followed, seeing the dragon’s head where it was floundering through the crates, hurling aside broken wood and the occasional Dark Mechanic as it searched for Mari and Alain. But they and the barge were to the monster’s left, unseen thanks to the damage done by Mari’s last shot.
Mari was crouched near a very large barrel which radiated heat, her hands spinning some wheels attached to it or on things leading into or out of it. “Wire or rope. We need wire or rope,” she gasped.
Alain looked around, faded memories of his earliest years on his parents’ farm coming back to him. He spotted a coil hanging from a hook. “Will this do?”
She grabbed it gratefully. “I hope so.” Hastening to one side the barrel, Mari started winding the rope around something high up, over and over again until all of the rope had been used up, then knotting it hastily.
Alain took another look at the dragon, which had reduced most of the crates to splinters and was digging through the remains while the few surviving Dark Mechanics near it tried to crawl away.
Mari came up beside Alain and grabbed his arm, not to direct him this time but apparently for comfort. Her face was very pale and her eyes frightened, but she spoke with forced calm. “All right. I’ve opened the fuel valves all the way. The pressure in that boiler is going up fast, but I closed off the steam exhaust pipes and I’ve tied down the relief valve. When the pressure gets high enough the boiler will explode with enough force to hurt even something like that dragon. I hope.”
“You are frightened of this boiler,” Alain said.
“Alain, an over-pressured boiler is incredibly destructive. It may well kill us instead of the dragon, but it’s our only chance.”
Alain nodded. “How do we get the dragon here when your device explodes?”
“If the boiler is close enough to blowing, having that monster step on it or crash into it will finish the job,” Mari explained. “As to how to get it here, I was hoping you knew how to do that. Being that you’re my expert on dragons
.”
“The only way to get it here is to show it a reason.” Alain nodded again, this time slowly, not having to think through his decision. “One of us must act as bait, so I will—”
“No!” Mari shouted. “You will not act as bait! You can’t judge when the boiler is close to blowing, and I won’t let you die saving me! Nor will I leave you or anyone else to face something like this alone. Is that understood, Alain? If that’s what we have to do, then I’ll do it while you go—”
It was Alain’s turn to interrupt. “I cannot allow you to die saving me. I will not leave, either.”
She glared at him, then unexpectedly smiled in a sad way. “You’re as stubborn as I am, Alain. We’ll do it together. All right? When I give the word, follow me and run like your life depends on it, because it will.” Her hand shifted from his arm, reaching down to clasp his hand tightly.
They waited, Mari glancing back at the Mechanic device behind them. Alain took a firmer grip on the bag containing his robes, surprised that he had not lost it during all of the running and fighting. He could feel the increasing heat coming off the boiler and hear it roaring and hissing ever louder. Metal pinged and groaned in a way that sounded more frightening than the dragon did.
Her hand gripped his, and even amid the fear and danger he marveled at the feeling that came with that contact. If we die holding hands in this way, will we enter the next dream together?
Mari took one more look at the Mechanic boiler, bit her lip, then looked at him. “I’m going to say this because in another minute we may be dead, and I don’t want to die not having told you. I love you.”
Before he could reply, or even try to grasp her words, Mari had aimed her weapon at where the dragon was still rooting around in the mess of broken and battered crates. “Hey, ugly!” she yelled. “Come and get some!” She fired, the projectile sparking off the side of the dragon.