Cadin closed his eyes as and ended his Retain, noting the sharp after-image of the boy’s portrait disappearing beyond the door fade to shadowy blobs on the back of his eyelids. He opened his eyes, then shook his head as he smiled. Ryden was right, something out of the norm did happen. If that worker stays out past the toll again soon, it could be our first legitimate rescue since Mix’s.
Cadin pushed the exciting thought from his mind, refocusing on the task at hand. Okay, I need to finish the job. Ryden won’t be pleased if I return with only half a bag of energy cells.
He jumped for the obsidian bar a full-arm’s length above him, pulled himself up, then jumped for the next level, raising himself. He continued replacing the partially-used energy cells with his nearly-empty ones. When he finished the the full row, he moved to the second level, then the ground. With the first of three stacked rows complete, he started from the ground level on the second, then moved up level by level.
From his sixteen years with the tolls, he knew the time lapse in between them instinctively. Almost out of time. Cadin was on top of the second stack now. He quickly dropped down to the ground floor, like he had done to meet the worker.
On the third stack, Cadin decided to take multiple cells from single boxes. I’m not afraid to improvise, he thought. Years of navigating the rock walls of the city taught him as much.
The second toll sounded. A gong like the first toll but a half-pitch lower. Cadin saw the familiar white hill in his mind’s eye. At the gong’s sounding, the snow fell away from the cliff, and the memory continued through forest path to a clearing with a bench.
The red lights over the plants went out. For a moment, before his eyes adjusted, the room was black. A faint glow, though, flowed in from the open portal to the main chasm walkway. Cadin knew the lights from the chasm bridge were reaching up into the room. Without Heighten, it would have been quite dark.
I can get a few more cells, thought Cadin. He flicked on his wrist-lamp to more easily locate the energy cells. He picked a few more, feeling the satchel pocket’s width. Almost have all that I came for.
Partway along the third stack’s ground level, Cadin reached to replace a cell, but heard something that sent him into an instinctive crouch.
A hiss. It sliced the air like an obsidian edge through a turma bulb.
Time to go, thought Cadin, flicking off his wrist-lamp. He pocketed the energy cell, then jumped up, reaching for the second level ledge an arm’s length above him. He pulled himself up it and then the third level, too, reaching the top of the obsidian scaffolding.
Have you seen me, or just caught my scent?, thought Cadin. He peered through the darkness toward the bluish glow from the portal. An unmistakable shadow stepped into the glow. A sentinel. Four legs, slithering tail, jaws of fury.
Should I use Predict?, he thought. No, I can escape without a fight.
Cadin tiptoed along the scaffolding away from the room’s entrance. He skipped silently between the boxes, keeping his arms ready if he slipped. Reaching the gap where he had jumped onto the scaffolding, Cadin risked opening his lamp for a view of his landing target. Since he was jumping up and out over the air, he needed to visually find a specific hold before launching.
He spotted the holds he wanted just as a hiss slithered through the air from near the room’s entrance. Scraping on stone echoed up to Cadin; the sentinel was likely running on four clawed feet across the ground floor in pursuit, but would still have to climb the scaffolding or the outer wall. Catch me if you can, sentinel, thought Cadin. The massive lizards were fast, strong, agile, and deadly. The scar above Cadin’s eye was evidence and reminder enough. I don’t need to cut this one too close.
Cadin swung his arms behind for momentum, then leaped from strong, practiced legs.
His hands connected with the holds; his nine fingers tightly gripping them. His feet caught the wall a moment later. Since he was three levels up, a mistake could be fatal, or at least injure him badly. With or without the sentinel, whose granite claws would surely seal his fate if given an opening. Not planning on giving it a chance, though, thought Cadin.
He flipped himself up and over the railing. Then in one motion, located his crawlspace, flicked off his lamp, and dove through the opening. He stood, finding the hand holds. As he twisted them, the stone door slid shut on his lookout.
Crouching below the slit, satchel on his lap, Cadin listened for the sentinel. The scrapes seemed to come from the wall below him, as if the sentinel was scaling the wall. It’s claws probably give it enough leverage to climb, thought Cadin. And it must be lighter than it looks. He heard scratching and scraping in the walking passage that rounded the room, next to the railing. The sentinel might be on the other side of the stone wall now. Cadin wondered how long the creature would search for him. You sensed me before, but can you see through walls? If Ryden’s right, you can’t. And he has studied you a long time.
YOU ARE READING
The Rahz Ascendancy - A Novel
Fantasy"A cool mix of Wool, Red Rising, and Mistborn." --Benjamin W, avid sci-fi/fantasy reader Synopsis: A boy must explore the limits of his mind and memory to escape enslavement.
