Klara watched, horrified and helpless, as the Warriors descended on her uncle. She waved up at the airship and jolted to a stop a few feet below Elana.

  Seeing the approaching danger, Yuri backtracked, but two Warriors appeared through the branches beneath him. They’d trapped him.

  And she was too far away to help. Frantically Klara looked around. There had to be some way to get Yuri out of there.

  Yeger continued to fire, his shots dropping several Warriors. However, his accuracy was hurt from hanging suspended from an airship. He couldn’t afford to shoot the Warriors nearest Yuri lest he hit the Air Trader instead.

  Matvei just above Klara, level with Elana, who had paused and was staring down.

  “What’re you waiting for?” Matvei yelled at her.

  Elana glanced up at Matvei, then finally she looked at Klara.

  Klara’s hearts ran cold. The Alchemist’s eyes glowed like a rager’s. Except instead of black, they were cobalt blue. What the depths?

  With impossible speed, Elana turned, slammed her hand into the tree trunk, then threw herself into the air.

  “No!” Klara screamed as Elana fell—

  —then swung in towards the tree.

  Flying.

  Flying! So the report was true.

  Elana swooped past the Warriors above Yuri, grabbing one by her coat and, with tremendous strength, flinging her a dozen yards clear of the tree.

  Her scream cut off as she slammed into a nearby tree and fell, limp body crashing through the branches.

  Klara could only watch frozen in shock as Elana looped around and picked another off the tree.

  The last two immediately pulled knives and as Elana flew in again, lashed out at her with speed and reflex enhanced muscles.

  Elana took a blow to her shoulder. The blade sliced cleanly through her coat, exposing pale skin beneath.

  But no blood.

  Does she have steelskin?

  The blow only seemed to enrage Elana. Out of nowhere, a wicked-looking blade of metallic black appeared in her hand. Then, instead of flying by the Warriors, she flew straight into one.

  He jerked away, but could only go so far without letting go of the tree.

  Klara grimaced as Elana’s blade did its work, her blow unstopped by his strength boosted muscles.

  He didn’t even have time to scream as he died and she threw his lifeless body away.

  The final Warrior, a woman, circled the tree, seeking to strike her from the side.

  Elana turned, hovering in the air to face the woman, fury etched into her rounded features. With a bellow, the Warrior leapt at her, tackling her, and the two tumbled away, crashing through the foliage.

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  With barely a glance at them as they passed, Yuri continued climbing, the path now free.

  Yuri looked at Klara as he drew level. “She can take care of herself!”

  Klara stared down at the trail of broken branches, then back at Yuri who continued his climb. Of course she could… the cursed woman could fly!

  Still, she wouldn’t leave her. Too many people had died today. “Get to Matvei,” she yelled. “I’ll wait for Elana.”

  Yuri hesitated.

  “Go!”

  With a shake of his head, he continued the climb, grunting as he hauled himself onto the next branch.

  The two Warriors below Yuri pushed after him, slowly catching up.

  Klara watched as Yuri reached Matvei and threw himself at the wiry little man. They spun away from the tree and were whisked into the sky.

  The Warriors drew level with Klara, and, seeing their original target disappear, turned their attention to her. One drew a throwing knife, but before he could use it, a crack sounded from Yeger’s gas rifle and a bolt slammed into the man’s bicep. He screamed and tipped back, drawing his comrade’s attention as the woman grabbed him.

  Klara looked up, pointing towards the airship. A moment later she hauled skyward, the yells and curses of the Warriors fading.

  Sun filtered through the trees above and Klara noticed a glint of black buried in the trunk where Elana had hit the tree before leaping from it.

  With a desperate wave, the crew stopped the rope, and she jerked to a halt level with Yeger.

  “What is it?” Yeger asked, reloading the gas rifle.

  “Not sure,” Klara squinted through the foliage at the glint of metal. Sure enough, Elana had buried a shard of black uzhasgart deep in the trunk. Klara couldn’t fathom why or how Elana had done that, but it had to be important.

  Below, the Warriors resumed their climb. Twelve feet.

  Yeger’s gas rifle roared, slowing them as they dodged the shot.

  “I’m going for that shard. Elana needs it,” Klara said, swinging, picking up momentum.

  Yeger grunted a response and took another shot.

  The two Warriors scrambled out of sight behind the trunk.

  “Hurry,” Yeger said, “I only have a few bolts left.”

  Klara threw herself forwards, swinging through the treetops and reached out. Her fingers brushed a branch, and she grabbed hold, just stopping herself. Quickly she pulled herself to the tree and found the shard of uzhasgart.

  A branch snapped below her. The Warriors swiftly scaled the tree, now only a yard away.

  Klara swore and snatched at the shard. She tried to wrench it from the tree, but it didn’t even move. Sweat trickled down her forehead and she wiped it away, glancing down as she did so—

  —just in time to see the woman reaching for her foot.

  Klara wrapped her fingers around the shard and kicked off from the tree.

  The Warrior’s hand closed around empty air and she swore.

  Klara barely had time to register that she held the shard before she smacked hard into Yeger, catching hold of him and sending them both spinning, tangling the ropes above them.

  They collided with another tree, branches scratching at Klara’s exposed forehead. She winced and threw her hands out, trying to stop the crazy movement, and realised she no longer held the shard.

  “Oh, you yutzi mucker!”

  “What?” Yeger asked, steadying them, gas rifle still in one hand, tree branch in another

  “I dropped the shard.”

  Suddenly, something yanked at the gas rifle. “What the depths?” Yeger said, letting go of the branch to grab the rifle with both hands, straining as an unseen force pulled at it.

  They swung away from the tree and Klara’s eyes went wide as she stared at the glossy black barrel of the weapon in Yeger’s huge hands.

  Uzhasgart.

  “It’s Elana!” Klara said. She looked up and waved to the faces peering at her from Vera’s Revenge.

  The ropes jerked, and they sailed into the air, away from the trees, away from the Warriors.

  But not away from Elana, soaring up through the greenery, her Alchemist coat fluttering behind her, her white hair a mess of twigs and leaves.

  Yeger kept his grip on the gas rifle as Elana shot towards them, all three racing up to the airship already pulling away from the clearing.

  Moments later, eager hands hauled Klara and Yeger into the airship. Yeger kept the rifle outside the door and a second later, Elana reached it and grabbed hold as Yeger yanked the gas rifle and her into the hold.

  The doors slammed shut, and the engines roared.

  Klara collapsed to the deck, her legs suddenly weak as she glanced around. They’d all made it. And they had Elana. Shutting her eyes, she let out a soft groan and let her head thud against the deck.