Page 30 of Ruthless Fae
The ship leveled off somewhat and our descent slowed, though only infinitesimally, not enough to save us from falling to our doom.
“That’s it. You have to get out.” Vaughn resumed pounding and clawing at the window.
I pulled his arm down with difficulty and stayed his frantic movements. Shaking my head, I said, “I would never leave you, so stop it.”
He blinked rapidly, my words dawning on him. Finally, he nodded his acceptance. “I would never leave you either.”
“Touching,” my aunt said behind me, “but you should listen to him and save yourself.”
Surely, it was whatshewould do.Gòrak, she’d done it before, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
My sluggish mind finally kicking into gear, I said, “Vinya. Where is Vinya?”
“She and the twins headed for the control room,” Vaughn said.
“Let’s go.” I started down the passageway, Vaughn, and my aunt behind me. We did the best we could holding onto the wall as the ship lurched and dropped erratically.
At the first fork in the corridor, we met Antonio and Regina. “Get Ronnie and Becca and bring them to the control room. Quick!”
They nodded without hesitation and went after the kids, stumbling down the passageway while we veered left in search of Vinya. She could teleport us all out of here before the ship crashed. For a moment, I imagined she had already left, abandoning us without care, but I pushed the thought away and climbed up the now-angled floor that led to the control room. Its door stood open. When I spotted the twins, Vinya, and some of the ship’s crew, my chest unclenched, and I breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn’t abandoned us.
Vinya stood, leaning over a set of controls, her hands tightly gripping the edges of the console while she peered into a screen.
“Give it more throttle, Anika” she ordered.
“I already pushed it to the max,” a crew member said, a woman with dark skin and neon green hair that stood up on end. “One damaged engine won’t do, and the second one is on fire.”
“Fifteen thousand feet until impact,” a computerized voice announced.
Vinya let go of the console, closed her eyes, and weaved her hands in the air. “There, I’ve put the fire out.”
Anika pressed a succession of buttons, then shook her head. “It won’t start. It’s dead.” She glanced up at Vinya from her sitting position. “We have to abandon ship.”
“No!” Vinya said between clenched teeth. “We can’t teleport everyone out. We need the dean.”
“Ten thousand feet until impact.”
“The dean isn’t here. It’s up to us,” Anika said.
I stood dumbfounded, rendered mute by the confusing chaos. This was too much for me. I wasn’t used to dealing with magic or machines, much less with the combination of the two.
Vinya ran stiff fingers through her crimson hair. “If only I had more power, I could stabilize the ship, but it’s too big.”
Anika rose to her feet in one swift motion. “You can’t expect us to go down with the ship. I’m sorry, but we’re leaving. Gather round everyone. I can take two.”
A second crew member stood up. “And I can take three.”
Before Vinya could do anything, the crew members clasped hands in two groups and dematerialized, leaving Vinya standing in the middle of all the controls, a look of desolation and defeat in her eyes. Just as the crew drifted away in a million little particles, Regina, Antonio, Becca, and Ronnie appeared behind us. They were panting, their faces petrified in an expression of dread.
“Eight thousand feet until impact.”
“Vinya, can you get us out of here?” Vaughn said, his voice booming within the cabin.
Snapping out of her stupor, she blinked and stared at us, as if just now realizing we were there. Her gaze drifted over everyone, her lips moving slightly. She seemed to be counting us, then she shook her head, stopped, and started again.
“Six thousand feet until impact.”
“Nine,” Vaughn said. “It’s nine of us.”
