The moon barely shone through the cloud cover, only giving the faintest of light to the mountainous landscape. Each of Klara’s breaths warmed her face beneath her half-mask for a half second before the below freezing temperature of the Gromadnyy range stole the warmth. The mountain slopped away to Klara’s left and far below her she could make out the twinkle of lights that marked the Alchemist factory. A row of lights led up the mountain—the light towers. Though she couldn’t see them, Klara knew next to the towers the ver-train rails ran.

  To her right, a cliff face rose twenty feet into the night, while about a hundred yards ahead a tower sat atop another small cliff. Dull red light shone through the windows that encircled the control room at the top of the tower. Every ten minutes, white light flared from the signals as they flashed a message up or down the mountain. Hoods covered the lights, hiding the message from Klara and her squad, but the flashes of light still lit the mountainside.

  Every time the tower sent a message down, it lit the ver-train rails that ran south into a three hundred yard long tunnel cut into the mountain below the tower. From her location, Klara couldn’t see the light tower sitting at the southern end of the ver-train tunnel.

  Elana, Mikhail, Yeger, Nika, Adamov and Matvei followed behind her as she crawled through the snow toward the tower closest to her. All of them wore splotchy white coats—courtesy of Uncle Yuri, who seemed to have a coat for every occasion. At her waist, she had her father’s knife and a sword. Yeger carried similar weapons, along with a pack of explosives, the pack with a canvas sheet Elana and Mikhail claimed would help get him into the mine, and the modified gas rifle. Matvei had his throwing knives as usual and also carried a pack of explosives. The rest carried an assortment of blades and grappling pistols.

  The plan was simple. First, they’d take the tower, setting Adamov and Nika up to operate the signals. Then they’d get Yeger into the next ver-train heading up the mountain, hidden in the coal of the last car.

  Using a gas cylinder from a gas rifle, Elana had made a breathing apparatus for Yeger so he wouldn’t suffocate while buried in the coal. She’d also brewed a small batch of ironhide. Between that, strength extract, and the parachute, he should survive.

  So far as Klara could tell, the thought of dropping down a two-hundred-foot-long chute—with explosives—didn’t seem to bother the man. The explosives would ensure the machinery in the mine came to a complete halt.

  “Klara,” Elana whispered from behind, bringing her attention back to the present.

  Klara glanced over her shoulder at the nearly invisible white lump sticking out of the snow. “What?”

  “Let me by, I think I see something in the tower.”

  Shuffling to the side, Klara let Elana by. That Elana could see the mind of anyone within a hundred yards because of her bond with the uzhas… Sila… unsettled Klara. She could well understand why the woman had failed to mention it until necessary.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Elana faded into the night ahead.

  Seconds crept by, made long by the murderous cold seeping through her thick coat. They’d only been crawling the last few hundred feet of the approach, but even in that short distance snow had found its way beneath her coat.

  A faint crunch of snow sounded ahead, and the shadow of Elana loomed before Klara. “We have a problem,” she whispered.

  “Encouraging.”

  “One of the thirteen people in the tower is using telepathy extract.”

  It took a moment, then Klara’s shoulders sagged. “They can see us.”

  “Yes. And worse, they can see me—because of the Sila—as glowing cobalt. There’s no way we can get close without alerting them.”

  “Fantastic,” Klara said, resisting the urge to swear. She wasn’t sure her stepmother would appreciate the choice selection of words and phrases she’d picked up in the Warrior Guild. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the exact features of the light tower she’d seen on their earlier scout. She vaguely recalled a balcony that jutted from the tower about two thirds of the way up. An observation deck, she assumed.

  “What’s going on?” Yeger asked from down the line.

  “Yeah, is something wrong?” Nika echoed.

  Klara waved them quiet before remembering they probably couldn’t see her. “Quiet.” To Elana she said, “Where in the tower is he?”

  “A little over halfway up.”

  “All right,” Klara said, her mind racing. “When you see a mind, what does it look like?”

  “A mind, just shining grey.”

  “What about Sila? What does that look like?”

  “Whatever shape the Sila is,” Elana said.

  Klara pursed her lips. “Are there any shapes or creatures you could mimic with the Sila that would draw his attention but not have him raise an alarm?”

  Elana fell silent as she considered the question.

  “What I want,” Klara continued, “is for something to snag the edge of his attention, force him to go onto the balcony to see clearly.”

  “My best suggestion then is no shape, just a cloud of Sila flickering in and out of his awareness.”

  Klara turned to the rest of the crew. “An Alchemist in the tower has telepathy extract, he can see us. Elana will try to draw him out onto the observation balcony.” Klara pointed to the cliff beside them. “Yeger, you’re our best shot. Climb the cliff and take the Alchemist out as soon as you can. And take this…” She pulled out the one phial of nightsight and handed it to him. “Just in case. As soon as the telepath is down, join us. Unfortunately, that shot will probably be heard. The rest of you, come with me. Elana will get us into position just out of the range of the Alchemist’s sight. Everyone, take Trinity and get ready.

  Yeger grunted, pocketed the nightsight, pulled his gloves off, and ascended the cliff.

  Klara pulled the dose of Trinity from her own belt and downed it, shuddering as the extracts restructured her body.

  Thirty seconds later, her muscles burned with the combined power of Trinity. “Lead the way, Mother.”