She began to walk toward the scooter, but her pace was frustratingly slow. It was almost as if she was trying to remember how to walk. Instinct itched, but I swiped it away. Right now, I needed to concentrate on getting us out of here rather than the puzzle this woman presented.
I boosted her into the rear of the scooter and quickly strapped her in. The sloping roof meant she had to bow her head, a position that would soon get rather uncomfortable—but better that than dead.
I jumped in front of her, slid the door closed, and then switched off the auto hover. The engine kicked in, the noise almost deafening after the silence of the Tenterra wasteland.
“Base, we’re on the move.”
Even as I said the words, I hit the accelerator. The scooter jerked forward; there was a responding crash and woman behind me swore. “Be careful.”
“You be careful. I’m trying not to get dead.”
I punched in the coordinates for Winterborne, but the direct path put us on a collision course with the Adlin. I ordered a more circular route then hit the autopilot. The scooter began a sweeping curve as it accelerated to top speed. I unclipped my blaster so that it was easier to grab, then loaded both the gut busters and the rifle. There was nothing else I could do. Nothing except hope the Adlin decided we were too much trouble to pursue.
“Have you got a name?” the woman said.
Her voice was barely audible over the screaming engines. They weren’t exactly designed to run at top speed for very long; I hoped they held up.
“Neve. You?”
She hesitated and, after a long moment, said, “Saska.”
The earwig buzzed. “The Adlin are echoing your movements,” Jeni said. “They’re now two miles away and closing fast.”
“Thanks, Base.” I picked up the rifle and placed it across my lap. “How did you get to be out in the middle of nowhere, Saska?”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
The wind rose at her reply, buffeting the scooter and sending it drifting sideways. “Getting pissed off at my questions doesn’t do either of us any good. Why don’t you put all that hostility to better use, and direct it at the Adlin instead?”
“I’m not sure what you—”
“I mean that.” I waved a hand at the window and the dust being torn up by the battering wind. “It’s hindering our speed and making us easier to spot. Direct your power at the Adlin instead—draw up a cloud so thick and a wind so strong they can’t move with any speed against it.”
“That’s not me.” But her voice was confused. Uncertain.
“Then who’s drawing the wind to us? Because it’s sure as hell not me.” I might be able to call on the wind, but I’d never been to raise this much force.
Not that I’d ever really had a reason to try.
She didn’t say anything. I wished I had the skill to touch her skin and read the secrets I suspected she was keeping, but that was a task for the readers. Besides, I had more important problems right now—like the scooter’s sensors finally kicking in, signifying the Adlin were now within a mile of us. We weren’t going to make it to Winterborne. Not without help.
I touched the earwig. “Base, this is Nightwatch eight-three. We’re going to need assistance.”
“The captain said we’ve no units close enough to render any. Alter course and head for the Blacklake encampment. He’ll order them to fall out.” Jeni paused. “Be aware that we’re picking up secondary movement at twenty-two miles out from your position. They appear to be shadowing you.”
“How big a sleuth?”
“We’re not entirely sure it’s Adlin. The readings aren’t quite right.”
“How can the readings not be right? It’s either Adlin or wildebeest. Nothing else lives in this godforsaken place.”
“We’re getting tech to check out whether it’s a fault or not. But it’s not them you have to worry about right now.”
Something I didn’t need reminding of. “Tell Blacklake if they don’t hurry, we’re going to be Adlin meat.”
“ETA estimates are twenty minutes.”
Which meant they were going to be about ten minutes too late to prevent a running battle happening between the Adlin and us. Fear rose, swift and sharp, twisting my gut and momentarily snatching my breath. But that was okay; fear could be controlled and channeled. It could make you sharper, more alert, more dangerous. Every single Night or Daywatch officer was taught that, and every single one of us had learned the truth of it.
But it was a truth I wasn’t looking forward to once again confirming. Not when I was about to go into battle alone.
“Tell them to get here faster. Oh, and Base? I have the woman’s name for you—Saska.”
“No surname?”
“No, but I think she’s an air witch.”
“We’ll check if any have been reported missing.”
“Thanks. Eight-three out.”
I punched in the Blacklake coordinates, turned off the sensor’s audible warning, and then reached for both gut busters. The scooter did a sharp right turn and began speeding away from the Adlin. I knew it really wouldn’t make all that much difference. I could see—and hear—them now.
At least the wind was no longer battering the scooter but had instead shifted behind us, seeming to urge us on to greater speeds. But we were already at full tilt.
It definitely wasn’t going to be enough.
If the scent of fear coming from behind me was anything to go by, Saska was also aware of it. But that fear apparently wasn’t strong enough to unleash her abilities, to reach out for the air and the storms and fling them at the Adlin. I wondered what had happened to her to cause such a cataclysmic breach between mind and abilities, but it was a thought that swiftly died as a long, drawn-out roar reached above the noise of the screaming engines.
“Can’t this metal bucket go any faster?” Saska said, voice tight.
“Yeah, but only if I throw your ass out of it.”
“You won’t… will you?”
“As tempting as it might become, no, I won’t.”
The Adlin were almost upon us. Tension crawled up my spine and sweat broke out across my brow. I didn’t wipe it away, didn’t move. I just waited.
The noise behind us died.
Here they come….
The scooter lurched to the right as one of them cannoned into it, then bounced, briefly hitting the soil as another jumped on top. Claws raked roof, tearing into but not breaking through the metal skin. Saska screamed, the sound deafening in the small cabin.
“That’s not helping,” I said, voice harsh. “So for freedom’s sake, shut up and get as low down as you can.”
I raised a gut buster as she obeyed, but didn’t immediately fire. I wouldn’t—not until those claws broke through. As long as the scooter remained intact, we had a chance. A slim one, but I’d take that any day over none.
Another hit sent the scooter sliding sideways. I glanced to the left and saw four Adlin, teeth bared and eyes bloody with rage and hunger, running beside us. Three more appeared to our right. Eight all told.
May the gods of earth and air help us….
Another thump on the roof. The scooter dipped under the weight, and the engine’s screams became high-pitched as it struggled to maintain speed and height under the additional weight.
A third thump, one that made the metal echo. Not another Adlin this time, but rather a blow. The roof dented, then several claws pierced the metal and began peeling it back. I fired both gut busters. The boom was deafening in the confines of the cabin, but the metal pellets did their job, tearing through the roof and into the Adlin above us. They screamed but weren’t dislodged. Their claws bit deeper into the shredded metal; I fired again. One of them fell and the scooter surged forward.
It still wasn’t enough.