Page 84 of Heart of Iron
With another laugh, he leaped out into nothingness.
Lena screamed, burying her face in his shoulder as they hurtled toward the far side of the cavern.Air rushed past her ears, cooling her flushed cheeks, and her skirts whipped around her legs.It felt like forever, but within moments he was curling his feet up underneath him and landing with a jolt on a rocky ledge.
“Righto, boys.We’re landed,” he called.
Lena collapsed onto her hands and knees, her body shaking.She felt like she was going to cast up her accounts, the world still whirling around her.
“Buck up, luv.You’re safe.For now.”Mendici unsnapped his hanger and tucked it away again.He hauled her to her feet, then peered closer.“Here, you don’t look so good.”
“I’m not feeling quite myself.”
He clutched her chin, then felt her cheeks with the back of his hand.“Christ, you’re burnin’ up.”
“My head’s been pounding all afternoon,” she admitted.“I believe I’m coming down with a chill.”
The flare stick lit his face with an eerie green, highlighting the dark gleam of his good eye and the steel eye patch.Thought flickered behind his eye.“Aye, well don’t come near me men.None of us need to be sick right now.”
The young boy, Jeremy, came flying out of the darkness, his face alight with glee.He landed and staggered to a halt, then unsnapped his handle.“I’m done, boys!”
One after the other they came sailing through the darkness until only two remained on the far ledge.Mendici dragged a pocket watch out and checked the time, pacing restlessly on the edge of the ledge.Lena leaned against the cavern wall, too exhausted to do anything.There was no point in trying to escape.They’d run her down in seconds, and the idea of getting lost in these tunnels terrified her.Who knew what else lurked in the darkness, like the Gatekeeper?
A massive roar echoed through the tunnels.Mendici spun on his heel and squinted up into the dark.
“What was that?”the young boy asked.“Mendici?”
Mendici held up a hand to quiet him.Another roar shattered the stillness of the tunnels.The two men on the ledge above raced to hook their hangers onto the cable, glancing over their shoulders.In the tunnel, flares of orange light flickered and died.
“Rollins,” Mendici grunted.He cast her a dark look.“Looks like them friends of yours decided to come play in our world.Hope you weren’t too fond of ’em?”
Lena drew herself to her feet, leaning hard against the wall.Will.The source of that enraged sound was suddenly apparent.“Don’t be so sure,” she said, staring up.Pleasebeallright.Please don’t be hurt.
Silence fell.The two men on the ledge glanced over their shoulders, their movements slowing.A relieved smile flickered over one of their faces.
Then one of the men stiffened.He shouted something and jumped for the cable.His body arced out into the air erratically.Barely a second later, the second man made his leap, dropping his flare stick on the ledge behind him.
Lena found herself holding her breath.Could Will truly take on the monstrous Percy and survive?The Greek fire that the Spitfires used could burn through anything, and she’d seen the barrel of the flamethrower attached to Percy’s mechanical arm.
A shadow detached itself from the mouth of the tunnel, becoming a man with familiar broad shoulders.Lena let out a shuddering breath.He was alive.
Will stepped up to the ledge, the phosphorescent gleam highlighting his singed shirt.The light cast a play of shadows over the stark bones of his face.There was something in his hand.He held it up; Percy’s square head.
Mendici sucked in a breath.“Bring me the girl.”
Someone shoved her toward him.He grabbed a handful of her hair and pushed her forward, her slippers teetering on the edge of the ledge.Lena froze, staring up into the darkness.Will had stepped forward too, fury and frustration playing over his features.Only fifty feet separated them, but it might as well be a mile.
“You want ’er?”Mendici roared.“Then come and get ’er.”
Lena glanced up at the nasty little smile on his face.“No!Don’t, Will!I’ll be fine—”
A hand wrapped around her mouth, cutting off her words.
Will wrapped a meaty fist around the cable and swung out, a grim look of determination on his face.Lena’s heart leaped into her throat.Damn him.Why wouldn’t he listen to her?Her heart hammered against her ribs.If he was hurt trying to save her, she’d never forgive herself.
“Ready, Lowerston?”Mendici asked, watching Will swing hand after hand across the cable.
“Got him,” someone muttered behind her.
A thin, tubular shape lifted out of the corner of her eye.Lena turned her head, Mendici’s hand sliding from her mouth loosely.Five feet behind her, a man peered through the sight on a rifle.
