Oksana's smile was strained. "I grew up in the mountains. Not here, but I have a very good sense of direction. Trust me?"
I nodded. "Zyn."
Even though I didn't know her, I did. There was something like a bond between us. Not only because she mated my son… Gods, that still sounded so strange. She didn't look a day older than me. Neither did Thalia, my daughter. It was all too strange to wrap my head around.
"Let's go," I said, but before I could take one step, a low growl rooted me to the spot. The dragoons immediately tightened the ring behind us.
"Over there," Zhoran pointed at the strange altar, "get up there."
Agile, like she had proven herself to be earlier, Oksana was the first one up the altar. She helped Thalia, and then the two of them held their hands out to me. Despite the situation, I laughed, "I'm not that much older than you."
That created a smirk on Thalia's face, "You look more like my sister than my mother."
The banter stopped right there, as Eulachs streamed in from passages we hadn't even noticed yet on all sides. Zhoran did a full rotation, then turned to us. "When I sayrun, you run right for that tunnel," he pointed at the same tunnel Oksana had. He must have listened to our conversation earlier. "We'll keep a path free for you and distract them. Do not turn, do not stop."
Thalia held out her hand. "It has been an honor."
Zhoran took it. "There is no greater honor than protecting you."
Two more of the oversized Eulachs arrived, holding themselves in the shadows, for now, but their presence was felt. As one, the other Eulachs stormed forward, and one held up a little black device. Zhoran cursed and screamed, "Run!"
We jumped off the altar and began running like he told us, without a backward glance, while the dragoons surged around us, mowing down Eulachs who threatened to get in our way. Without breaking stride, Oksana ripped part of her shirt sleeve off and wedged it into a seam in the wall by the entrance. A blast pushed enough air down the tunnel to push us forward and make our steps falter for a moment, but with a surge of adrenaline, I regained my footing and ran like I couldn’t remember ever having run before.
Mercilessly, we drove the nictas on in a breakneck speed that left them and us exhausted by the time we arrived at the camp where we’d left our seffies.
Major Stafford was organizing dragoons as we arrived.
"Susserayn, Vissigroths, thank God," he greeted us. He pointed at a bloodied dragoon, missing an arm. " Susserayna Oksana and Vissies Daphne and Thalia went to explore and were ambushed. They're down there. This man just barely made it up to get help."
With a curse, I jumped off the nicta. "Where the snyg is Surnak?"
I named the dragoon in charge of the camp during our absence.
"Dead." The male with a missing arm shouted.
Dread filled me, but there was no time to waste.
"Every male down now!" Myccael yelled. Already heading for the elevator shaft.
As much as I wanted to vent my frustration at the dimwitted bastard who allowed the susserayna and our vissies, my Daphne, down into the tunnel, this wasn't the time. Myccael didn't even wait for Darryck and me; he was already pushing the button for it to go down when Darryck and I squeezed in.
"This will take forever," Darryck observed darkly. He was right too. If they squeezed real tightly, four dragoons would fit into the elevator at one time, but getting the legions we needed down there would take the rest of the day, if not more.
I slammed the elevator wall so hard, the entire contraption shook. Myccael frowned but didn't say anything. We were all on edge.
The Zuten apartment we entered was eerily silent. There were no bodies here, nothing that indicated a fight.
"By Grandyr, where are they?" Darryck thundered.
Myccael pointed at some rubble near a hole. "That's new."
We filed through, and it didn't take long to find the rope dangling from another hole in the ceiling.
"Of all the nictaheaded things these seffies have done…" Myccael cursed under his breath.
"I'll kill her. I'm sorry, Mallack, but I'll find and save her, and then I’ll kill her," Darryck roared.
"Let's find them first," I suggested, and grabbed the rope to climb up.
