He lit the cording and we ran.
* * *
Mason, Priya, and Samuel stood at the tunnel entrance, shooting their launchers and shouting for us to hurry, providing cover as more guards flooded in from the road through the back entrance. Dirt and grass exploded into the air near us, and Jase and I were both thrown to the ground.
“Run!” Priya yelled, and we did. We scrambled back to our feet and kept moving. Every second mattered. We weren’t sure how much time we actually had. The cording was improvised, and this was not something any of us had ever done before. How fast would it burn? A minute? Two? More explosions rattled the air, but they were shots fired by our crew. Soldiers ran for cover behind the fortress wall.
We made it to the entrance, and Jase whistled for the dogs to follow. They came bounding across the grounds toward us. He shouted more commands to them and they heeled at his side. “They won’t hurt you now, Kazi,” he said. “You don’t need to worry.” With Tor’s Watch about to explode, I had no time to worry. I would save that for later. Imara, Wren, and Synové led the way with the extra launchers from the dead guards slung over their shoulders. Partway in, Mason, Priya, and Samuel stopped to reload. Our precious ammo was already dwindling. Jase and I brought up the rear, guarding our backs, looking over our shoulders as we ran, firing several times when soldiers appeared.
Samuel slowed at the curve of the tunnel, looking for soldiers coming from the other end. Surely they had heard the explosions in Cave’s End and were coming to investigate by now. He peeked around the curve. “It’s clear!” he called, and we ran again. The tunnel seemed twice as long as when I had walked through it. Where was the intersection to the vault?
“We’re almost there,” Jase said, reading my thoughts. But just as we reached the T that led to the vault, we heard the heavy stampede of steps.
“Hurry!” Jase yelled. “The code!”
Priya and Imara ran ahead of us. It would take time to get the enormous door open. We heard her pounding the code against the door, the rumble of footsteps getting louder. The rest of us walked backward, our weapons aimed.
A squad of soldiers rounded the corner, and Jase fired, the single shot in the short tunnel nearly shattering our ears. Even the soldiers who weren’t hit were momentarily stunned. They fell to their knees, grabbing their heads, and searched for their fallen weapons.
“It’s open!” Priya called.
I turned. Gunner, Aleski, Titus, and Aram stood shoulder to shoulder with their launchers aimed.
“Go!” Jase ordered. “Go!” He waved them all past us, including the dogs, while he covered their backs. But I had counted Jase’s shots. He was out of ammo, and so was I. There wasn’t time to reload.
The others ran into the vault as more soldiers flooded in from the other direction. They had launchers.
“Down!” Gunner shouted.
I pulled Jase to the floor with me, and the tunnel flashed with light. A boom like a bolt of thunder ripped over our heads. I shook my head, trying to get my bearings, and saw the soldiers on the ground. Gunner and the rest had fired over our heads, taking them down, but we heard more pounding footsteps coming. Jase and I ran, yelling for them to close the door, diving in through the small crack before it shut. The wheel spun, and the lock clicked, but as we tried to get to our feet, we were knocked to the ground again. The vault rocked violently, the ground beneath us shaking like we were in the fist of a furious giant.
CHAPTER SIXTY
JASE
The floor pitched. Screams bounced off walls and lights flickered. The earth growled and grated like a monster sharpening its teeth and knocked me to the ground again and again. Bodies bounced into mine, and then finally … the shaking stopped. I couldn’t see. Gray dust choked the air, but I heard moans. That meant some were still alive.
“Kazi!” I yelled.
I felt a hand on mine. “I’m here,” she answered. “I’m okay.”
I heard Synové cursing. “You oaf! You landed on my bow! It’s broken!”
Gunner coughed. Someone else grunted.
That shaking hadn’t been from soldiers firing on the vault. It came from someplace deeper—from thousands of pounds of ammunition blowing up in the Darkcottage cellar.
I got to my feet. As the dust cleared, the first thing I looked at was the vault door. It was intact, not a single bend or buckle. I turned and looked down the tunnel entrance. There were no fallen rocks, no cave-ins. Others were beginning to stand, the same shocked wonder I was feeling showing in their faces, their eyes wide as they looked around. I ran to the bunk room, then the study, sickroom, kitchen—things were strewn everywhere, but the walls and ceilings had held. Rhea was already moving through the rooms checking on everyone. They all seemed to be okay.
It held.
The damn vault held.
I leaned over, my hands on my knees, and blessed the Ancients and Aaron Ballenger with every prayer inside me.
The horses whinnied from the hall where they had been stabled, and Tamryn and Kwan went in to tend and calm them. Others were beginning to set order back to the vault too. I found my mother in the kitchen just as she was getting to her feet along with Judith. “We’re all right,” she said. She put her hand on her belly. “The baby too. You all made it back?”
“All of us.”