“Yeah, you’re the one with the guide,” Solana reminds her. “If something happens to you, we won’t know the path to follow.”
Okay, that’s definitely not the reason I was going with—though I hate to admit that it’s actually a valid point.
“If anyone’s expendable here, it’s me,” I tell them. “Raiden said as much back in the oubliette. Plus, I’m the one with the least injuries, so I should be the first up.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping they’d talk me out of it—or at least try. But of course this has to be the one time they decide to agree with me.
I turn to Audra as I move into fan-jumping position, ready to tell her I love her in case I turn into Vane-splatter. But the words vanish when I realize there’s a chance she might not say it back.
“Okay,” I say, pretending my eyes are watering because of the fan. “Here goes nothing.”
“Be careful,” she begs, and that gives me a little boost as I raise my hands above my head like I’m about to dive into a pool, and launch myself into the fan.
The air vibrates all around me, and my ears throb from the hum, but there’s no pain—until I face-plant onto the cold metal floor.
“I’M ALIVE!” I shout, checking all the key body parts to make sure everything’s where it should be. “And there’s not a lot of space over here, so be careful with your landing.”
I’m still scrambling to my feet when Audra leaps through, tucking her legs as she lands. I’m so happy she’s okay that I can’t help it—I throw my arms around her.
She hugs me back, and I think maybe—maybe—she and I are going to be okay. Assuming we survive the next sixteen fans.
I let go of her as Solana lands beside us, and a few seconds later Gus follows, hitting the ground even harder than I did.
“It’s the Shredder,” Audra explains as Gus struggles back to his feet. “Some of its winds are still in his essence.”
Gus coughs up blood, and I want to punch myself for my earlier jealousy.
“We need to move faster,” I say, checking the guide, which shows the eight o’clock position on the next fan.
Audra insists on going first, and we fall into a pattern for the next seven jumps. You’d think it would get easier—but every leap is just as terrifying. All it takes is one mistake and we’re splattery pulp.
Gus has to go and prove it on the tenth fan by clipping his left arm on the blades.
He doesn’t chop it off—though it sure sounds like it as it happens. And he loses enough skin that when I try to help him I almost throw up.
“I’m slowing you down,” Gus says as Audra rips off part of her pant leg to bind the wound. “Just leave me and I’ll catch up later—”
“No way,” we all interrupt.
But Gus is super wobbly. No way he can jump high enough to make it through.
“What if we throw him?” Solana asks, and I assume she’s kidding.
Scarily enough, Audra’s game, which is how I end up holding Gus’s feet as Solana and Audra each hold his shoulders and we shove him through the blades of the next fan.
“That worked,” Gus calls—though he didn’t land well. But a bruised shoulder is way better than anymore missing Gus-bits.
We do the next fan the same way, and I’m starting to feel pretty good about it, until a Stormer screams, “THEY’RE IN THE SHREDDER!”
The walls around us slide to the left, nearly knocking us into the blades.
“Oh goody—this thing can move!” I grumble as we struggle to get into our Gus-tossing positions. “Because this wasn’t impossible enough already.”
“All Raiden wants is a shot at learning Westerly,” Gus says. “So let him have me. I’ll keep them distracted long enough for the rest of you to get away.”
So he has had the breakthrough.
I’m digesting that revelation when I realize Gus is still talking.
“I’ll protect your language,” he tells me. “Raiden will never learn anything.”
I have no doubt about that.
But I’m not ready to give up yet.
“Come on,” I say, hoisting him over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “We’ll make this quick.”
Audra shows me the position, and I rally all of my strength and jump through the fan.
The blades clip my shoulder, leaving a pretty gnarly gash—but I keep going.
Three down.
Then two.
Only one.
I’m running on pure adrenaline at this point, and feeling pretty delirious.
But I can do this.
One. More. Leap.
Audra jumps through to make sure the outside is clear and Solana goes next, promising she’ll have a wind ready to catch us.
“Hey,” Gus says as I catch my breath before the final jump. “Thanks for not giving up on me.”
“Never,” I promise. “We’re getting you out of here. And then we’ll figure out how to get you better.”
“Maybe,” he says.
But he sounds like he finally believes he has a chance of surviving this.
And he does.
We all do.
Raiden doesn’t get to win this time.