Page 28 of Rogue: Planet Athion
I caught Xavier’s eye as he returned. “What did you say to them?”
He grabbed a basket. “See the metal platform directly opposite us, a level above?”
I glanced across the chasm. “Yeah.”
“I told them to wait for my signal and then head toward it. There are troughs there.“
“And what will the signal be?” Killion asked.
Xavier grinned. “I’ll flash you.”
For a moment I thought he meant he’d take off his clothes, but then he tapped the torch on his hat, his gaze knowing. My cheeks heated. He’d touched me, and I’d let him, and damn if I didn’t want him to do it again.
Vex steered me away, toward the steps that would take us up to the blue platform above. The basket was wicker and light, but the hand drill and scooper were heavier. I went first, holding on to the rails, not looking down. Shit, it was a long drop. Vex’s bulk behind me was both a reassuring presence and a nerve-wracking one because each step had the stairway rattling as if it was ready to come away from the wall at any moment. What if the bolts came loose, what if … No. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and then focused upward. I could do this.
We reached the blue-roped platform where two other workers were already hard at work, their rust-colored jumpsuits discolored with sweat. They didn’t even look our way, but the color of their skin told me they were Athion.
Vex pressed the tip of his drill to the rock face. “We best get to work.”
* * *
The minutes blurred together as I drilled and scooped. My basket got heavier. It would be time to empty it soon. What was taking Xavier so long?
Light danced across the rock face in front of me.
Vex paused in his drilling, and we both turned to look down at the yellow section. Xavier was looking up at us. He nodded and then headed toward the steps that would take him up to the platform that was our rendezvous point. Below him and across the chasm, the Trads were making their way to the platform where Xavier was headed.
Vex touched me lightly on the arm, and we both turned to the steps just as the main doors opened and a familiar figure stepped in.
Marick.
My heart stilled in my chest.
“Keep moving,” Vex said.
The metal frame juddered beneath our feet as we headed down the steps that would connect us to the rendezvous platform.
“Don’t look at him,” Vex instructed.
I kept my head down, moving quickly, aware that Marick was scanning the pit, looking for us.
We hit the rendezvous platform at the same time as Marlon and Killion but before the two Trads. They weren’t far behind, though. Xavier’s helmet was off, and his finger was pressed to the comm unit embedded beneath his ear.
“Almost ready. Yes, civilians. Yes. Six. I know. I know. Count of three? Okay?”
“Hey! Hey!” Marick’s voice echoed across the chasm. My head whipped around to see him clutching a megaphone to his mouth. “What are you doing? Get back to your stations.”
“Now!” Xavier reached for me. His body began to glow.
“Shoot him. He’s about to phase,” Marick shouted in horror.
Xavier’s fingers grazed my arm, and then a blast of light whizzed past me and hit him in the chest, sending him flying back. His body convulsed on the ground as guards surrounded us.
I hit the metal grill with my knees beside Xavier, and then my hands were on him, smoothing over his chest. He was intact, stunned but alive, thank goodness.
“What is this?” Marick appeared on the other side of the platforms suspended on some kind of hover platform with its own railings. “A spy?” His gaze was on Xavier. “An escape plan?”
He sounded delighted. Damn things must be boring on this rock for Marick to be jazzed up about a possible prison break. His hover platform drew closer, and the guards tightened formation around us.
