Page 206 of The Dark Mirror

She was too far away, unable to hear.

Nick was now out cold. Without a Reph to help, I wasn’t likely to be able to get him away in time. I towed him into our circle before I returned to where the floor ended.

As I watched, two figures emerged from the subterranean maze. Arcturus and Lesath were climbing one of the arches, the latter with the blade on his back, both of them slashed all over. My heart leapt into my throat.

Kornephoros was battling Pleione, who sailed around him, weaving spools. Gomeisa clenched a fist, shaking the column that Arcturus and Lesath were scaling.

Lucida sprang into action. She stretched a hand towards the arch, calming it, allowing Lesath to crane himself higher – but Gomeisa kept pushing, and both Rephs slid back down. Terebell called to the other Ranthen. Pleione and Errai made for the stands, pursued by the Sargas loyalists. Lesath clambered over the top of the wall, even as it quaked.

‘Lesath.’ I beckoned him. ‘Can you take Nick?’

Arcturus spoke to him in Gloss, voice stifled by his mask. Lesath threw his sword to Terebell and came to my side.

‘Sala is going to bomb this place,’ I told him as he lifted Nick. ‘Unless Rephs can survive an explosion, everyone needs to leave.’

‘I will take Nicklas and return for the others,’ Lesath said. ‘Warn them, Underqueen.’

I had expected Arcturus to come straight after him, but when there was no sign, I looked back down. Arcturus was no longer moving. Some part of his body must have seized up, so all he could do was hang on to the wall. I started forward, preparing to climb to him.

Terebell had seen as well. With her blade in hand, she took a running jump off her side of the arena, on to the ruins. That was when my whole body prickled.

Gomeisa’s gaze was fixed on me, and there was nowhere left to hide.

A moment passed. My skin turned numb. The æther pulled taut between us, seeming to resist his will. Then he lifted a hand again, as if to physically wrench me towards him, breaking whatever force had protected me. All at once, I was airborne, soaring over the hypogeum. Even as the Buzzers roared up at me from the pit, I fought his influence with everything I had, knowing he would condemn me to death. When I broke free and hit the floor, the landing slammed the breath from me.

My right arm shook as I pushed myself up. I was cold and stiff, as if a poltergeist had touched me. Now I understood how the Sargas family had dominated the other Rephs for so long.

Some way above, Pleione reached Gomeisa, distracting him from the rest of the battleground. Lucida was doing her best to steady the column so Arcturus could get higher.

And Kornephoros Sheratan was closing in on me.

My breath came in white gusts. The levitation had shaken me to the core, turning my limbs to stone. As Kornephoros approached, I pointed my bloody knife in defiance.

‘You never give up,’ he observed. ‘I will enjoy breaking you, fleshworm.’

‘You saved me,’ I rasped. ‘You let me go.’

‘For Arcturus, not for you.’ His grip on the club tightened. ‘And now the debt is paid.’

He raised the weapon. The thing was almost as long as me, and the top of it was spiked, like quartz.

A blade sliced above me, stopping it. Terebell was back for her cousin, spirits rushing to her aid. I looked across the pit to see Arcturus, still on the lower ruins.

She had chosen me over him.

As Terebell fought Kornephoros, she stayed in front of me, not letting him close. I crawled away from them with no idea where I was going, trying to get out of the way. When a frisson passed through the æther, I turned, just in time to see the blade go flying towards Gomeisa. He seemed to draw strength from a bottomless well.

Kornephoros spoke in Gloss. I might not understand the language, but I knew a taunt when I heard it. Terebell was now empty-handed, and Pleione had the second blade.

The club slammed into Terebell, sending her to the floor. I made towards her, only to buckle to my knees, my legs too weak to hold me. Still, I kept fighting, knowing only I was left to hold Kornephoros at bay. Every spool I made bounced off his ironclad dreamscape.

‘Get up, Terebell,’ I urged. ‘Come on!’

She planted a hand on the ground. Her side was misshapen, the ribs staved in.

In desperation, I tried to leap into the æther, but my broken wrist was excruciating, the pain chaining me to my body. Even if I had succeeded, Kornephoros was a Reph, and I was exhausted.

‘Terebell.’ My voice trembled. ‘Please, Terebell. We have to leave—’

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