“Dwayne’s next!”

  A Greencloak peered out from cover, her wide eyes searching the upper levels. “Is…is she gone?”

  Two levels above, Mei put her coil of rope across her shoulders then started to reload her rifle.

  “It doesn’t matter.” A monk grabbed the Greencloak and pulled her to her feet. “Get the torpedo into position.”

  “But-”

  “We don’t have time. Do it!”

  Finished reloading, Mei took up position in the deepest shadow, took aim, then paused. She might not have to fire.

  “Do you really want to disappoint her?” The monk shook the Greencloak. “Burn the rot!”

  “Right.” The Greencloak straightened up. “Burn the rot.” She faced the bomb. “Qe-”

  Mei fired, her bullet piercing the thigh of the Greencloak, who fell gasping.

  “There she is!”

  Clink.

  Huan popped into Mei’s corridor three wir away, well out of reach. He’d finally learned not to get too close.

  “I’ll handle this.” Huan drew three black-handled knives. “Get that thing into place!”

  He charged Mei, knives already flying in her direction. Backpedaling, Mei batted away two of them, dodged the third, then turned to dash to the stairs, which she climbed two at a time. With Huan and the monks at her heels, this wasn’t ideal, but it would do.

  Before Sioned had called down, Mei had gotten a good look at the explosive, a steel-sided, drum-like monstrosity whose shiny, rubbery top was higher and wider than she was tall. It had handles welded to its sides for easy carrying, and a long cord tied to its bottom. Considering how muddy it was, that had to be a pull trigger. Personally, Mei would have installed a wick, which only someone like Dwayne could light in a hurry. As it was, Mei could have charged the bomb, pulled the trigger, and ended all this, but, since she didn’t want to die, she’d have to take a different approach.

  When she reached the fifth level, she dodged into its corridor before, clink, Huan above her and the monks below could close down her like a pair of jaws. Down in the pit, the wounded Greencloak got back on her feet and limped back over to the bomb as her partner cowered in a corner. Not good. Mei wasn’t ready. With no time to reload, Mei stepped onto the railing, drew her dagger, and threw it. Her reward: a yelp of pain and her brother’s arm around her neck.

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  “Just give in.” Huan’s voice was a quiet rumble. “Why try so hard?”

  He knew why, and she didn’t want to give his other hand time to find the License Key under her shirt, so she pushed off the railing hard with her legs, bowling them over and putting them both on Huan’s back.

  “Oof!”

  Two hard elbows and a hard bite later, Mei was free. After leaping over one monk’s flying tackle and ducking the other’s punch, she led her pursuers down the curving corridor towards the hooks. Once she was four wirs away, she turned, whacked Grabby monk in the face with her rifle, kicked Punchy between the legs, then turned to run.

  Clink.

  The red-handled knife landed between her and the hooks. Mei put on speed and reached it right as, pop, its owner appeared. Driving her shoulder into Huan sent him rolling down the corridor, leaving her to leap over his gasping body and reach the hook shaft. She looked down.

  “Give up, Mei.” Huan flipped to his feet and drew his sword. “You’re trapped.”

  In the pit, the uninjured Greencloak had dragged his partner out of the mud, and once again, hope fluttered in Mei’s belly. Maybe the two of them would run away, and her crazy, risky plan wasn’t needed.

  “Mei.”

  Too bad she couldn’t count on that. Mei leapt onto a hook, then another, then jumped and grabbed a ledge one level up and pulled herself up. She resumed running.

  “The stairs! Get back to the stairs!”

  Clink. Pop. “Mei, stop!”

  She kept running, reaching the stairs long before the monks, but not before the second Greencloak approached the bomb, his sleeves rolled up to reveal a very familiar blue stone. Bruce had made her own Qe cores. Mei had to keep going.

  She went up the spiral staircase two more levels, then hopped the railing to drop down through the spiral’s center, catch the stairs and double kick her brother into the pit. Mei didn’t have time to check for his survival because that was when Grabby tried to catch her in an arm hold, and she had to headbutt him and shove him down the stairs into Punchy. As they both painfully descended, Mei ascended.

  “Qechicieut!”

  Mei stopped and looked down. The bomb was rising into the air, had already reached the third level. She was out of time. She got onto the railing and readied herself.

  “Mei,” shouted Huan three levels down, from the other side of the air shaft, “don’t be a fool!”

  Good, he was okay. Mei let out a breath then leapt into the pit. She’d needed height for her plan to work, for her to build enough momentum to get her to the center and catch the bomb, but the air rushing past her, the certain death waiting for her if she missed, still made her scream. Then her body hit the bomb and sent it careening into the ninth level. Mei tumbled off it, her sides aching.

  “Qechitisut!”

  The bomb tried to fly back into the pit, but Mei grabbed one of its handles and hauled it back.

  “Qechitisut!”

  The bomb tried again, but Mei got her rope through a handle and then around a pillar.

  “Qechitisut! Qechitisut! Qechi-”

  A great noise sounded above, shaking stones loose and causing monks to stumble. Dwayne’s practical was over. Mei’s plan had succeeded. Now, she needed to figure out how-

  Clank. The bottom fell out of the bomb, and its trigger cord went slack. Mei had only an instant to dive into the nearest doorway before the world became only light and sound.