Chapter Two

 

The dig site sat at the bottom of a deep bowl, illuminated by glow lanterns hung on poles. The sound of water splashing from a stream that ran through the center was barely audible above the twin generators echoing through the cavern.

Pandora leaned on her elbows between Choo-Choo and Navos. She held up four fingers, signaling the number of Eights clan members she saw clustered around the hole, then pointed to a secondary dome of light at the far end of the cavern and held up two more fingers. Along with the four workers they assumed were deep in the hole by the number of oxygen lines running down, the excavation crew numbered ten. The three Drops clan members slid back down the rise.

"Fucking Eights," whispered Choo-Choo angrily. "This is our territory."

"We should go back and get more and show them the price of stealing our stones," said Navos, equally heated.

"By the time we get back, they'll be gone. It's the same as the others," said Pandora.

For the last few months, dig sites had been found inside their territory in the region that bordered the alliance clans to the north. They'd find abandoned holes with empty oxygen tanks and litter from their meals. The clans wouldn't stay longer than eight hours, which wasn't enough time for patrols to return to the Pajot for additional numbers. Talk of increasing the size and quantity of patrols had been shot down, since the Drops were already struggling to protect their own dig sites in the disputed region between them and Razor. The Drops had the largest population amongst the clans, but too many of their number were noncombatants, tied up farming the terraces for food and drugs.

"I hate this," said Choo-Choo. "We're getting picked apart at the edges and the only thing we're mining are ambers, the occasional topaz, and those null stones that only the mages can use."

"We can take them," said Pandora.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Choo-Choo.

"We have two sapphires and they won't know we're coming. They think they have the entrance covered, but didn't realize there was a separate entrance through the ceiling. If we don't start taking chances, they will pick us apart, and once one of the clans gets a stone superiority, it's game over for the rest."

Their silence was made from the bones of the clan's failures. After Shade's End, the incidents between the clans had been more frequent, and recently they'd heard that Demon Dogs had found more black diamonds. While some thought it was only rumor, designed to encourage mistakes, the clan leadership had taken it seriously. While they still trained at the Academy, half their time was spent on patrols or other important clan business.

"What about the peace?" asked Navos.

"Fuck the peace," said Choo-Choo, pounding his fist into an open palm. "I say yes, but I'm only an amber. You two are going to have to do the heavy lifting."

"We need all three of us," said Pandora. "And as far as the peace, these Eights are in Drops territory. We have the right to defend ourselves. No one would rule against us."

"Assuming we lived to tell the tale. It's six against three, and two of them have automatic rifles," said Navos.

Choo-Choo pulled out a pistol from his inside vest pocket. The cavern was warm and he had a patina of sweat across his chest.

"I have this, but once we get in a shooting war, we're outgunned."

"Guns aren't going to win this. Not at first anyway. We have to get close enough that they can't afford to use them or risk killing their own," said Pandora.

"Okay, theoretically, if we did this, do we take out the four or two first?" asked Choo-Choo, running a hand over his slick bald head.

"The four," said Pandora. "Once we take them out, we'll have numbers on the other two and their workers as hostage."

Navos screwed up his mouth as he glanced in the direction of the lights. "Are you sure we can do this? You're not trying to make up for the duel, are you?"

"Of course I'm trying to make up for that," said Pandora, looking away angrily. "No one trusts me. I worked so hard to be accepted and then he took that away when he offered yield."

"Would you have preferred he cut your throat?" asked Choo-Choo.

"I would have preferred to win," said Pandora. "He surprised me when he leapt through the stalactites, but I should have seen it coming."

"Was an epic duel," said Choo-Choo, nodding. "And I appreciate you not killing him before I could."

Pandora rolled her eyes. "Thanks, asshole." She tossed a pebble between their feet. "But this isn't just about me. We all know things are going sideways. Someone's backing the alliance clans, giving them money and more weapons and people, shifting the power in their favor. Razor's not sitting on their hands either."

"Would have never expected them to bring in a city gang," said Navos, shaking his head.

"Which means we need to start taking chances if we're going to survive," said Pandora.

"You know I’m in."

Choo-Choo leaned his head towards Navos, who knocked the swath of blond hair from his face before nodding with a single shoulder shrug.

"If you think we should."

Pandora crawled up to the edge. It was more than the Drops' future at stake—it was her own. Since the duel, she feared her mother's superiors no longer viewed her as useful, and if she ever turned into a liability, a simple leaked bit of information would leave her at the end of Duro's knife, or dropped into a deep, dark hole.

"What's the plan?" asked Navos as he knocked his bleach blond hair out of his eyes.

She reached out with her sapphire. The dig site was about eighty feet from their location, right at the edge of where she could feel with her stone.

"The weapon is new. I can't touch it."

"If you can't, then I certainly can't," said Navos.

"We have to get there fast or we're dead meat," said Choo-Choo.

"And there's the question of their stones. Any clues to what they have?" asked Pandora.

Choo-Choo extended a finger towards the Eights clan member standing on a ridge on the opposite side of the excavation hole.

"I'd bet Navos' sapphire she's an amber the way she's kinda spacey and distant. A strong one. A Hawk."

Pandora nodded. She'd thought the same thing but wanted confirmation from her friends.

"The guy with the gun might just be a soldado. Would be overkill to send six waku for one dig site," said Navos. "I can't imagine the Eights have that many waku to spare."

"Fair point," said Pandora. "You think you can take the guy with the gun with your pistol?"

"I thought you didn't want to get into a firefight."

"I don't, but we need him out of the way. I figure Navos and I can Pull ourselves down to their location and once they spot us, you can take out the gun. Once he's out, we should be able to clean up the rest, two sapphires against an amber and two others. If we're quick, then the two at the entrance won't have a choice but to flee."

"Not worried about survivors?" asked Choo-Choo.

"This is our territory, we have a right to defend it. You good?"

Navos screwed up his mouth. "Better plan than I could come up with."

Pandora gestured to their left. "You should come at him from a different angle in case Choo-Choo doesn't take him out. That way he can only get one of us before we get close enough for our sapphires."

Navos nodded and began moving along the ridge towards the location she'd suggested. Once he was away, Choo-Choo frowned at her.

"You're trying to protect me, keep me up here in case things go wrong."

"Now why would I do that?"

Choo-Choo stared at the ground. "For the same reason you keep bringing Vasy and my mami gifts."

"I like them."

"They like you." Choo-Choo cocked a grin. "You know my mami keeps asking if you're my girlfriend."

Pandora nodded towards Navos. "Not going to tell her?"

"Like all mothers, she wants kids."

"Not mine."

Choo-Choo tilted his head. "You never talk about her, or your dad."

"For good reason. Navos is in position. You ready?"

He held up the pistol. "You know I’m a terrible shot."

"Just don't hit me," she said as she crouched at the edge of the ridge and pulled out her twin blades.

Pandora gave Navos the signal as she leapt from the edge, using her sapphire to tug on the ceiling, propelling herself forward then Pushing as she neared the ground. The Hawk sensed them immediately, crying out an alarm, but it took the guy with the gun a moment to orient towards them. He hesitated between her and the rapidly approaching Navos, which was enough distraction. A single shot from Choo-Choo knocked the guy with the rifle over a pile of equipment, the weapon tumbling from his hands.

As she arced towards the excavation site, Pandora swiped out her hand, knocking over the glow lights and shattering all but one of the bulbs, leaving the area cast in shadows and dimness. Landing near the oxygen tanks, Pandora had to defend herself as the Eights with a long spear leapt after her. She tried to knock him back with a strong Push, but he jammed his metal spear into the ground, halting his movement.

Topaz.

And he was used to fighting sapphires.

He leaned down, clicked something on his boots, and approached with his weapon extended forward. It had more reach than her short blades. She tried to knock him back when he thrust with his spear, but his feet didn't move and he brought the bladed tip around, forcing her to bend backwards to avoid getting her throat slashed.

Before he could bring it back around, she Pulled herself backwards, out of his range. The purpose of his boots became clear. They anchored his feet to the ground, making her sapphire less useful. Pandora leapt back in, focusing on disrupting his spear rather than the warrior, but he was a topaz and his strength made him hard to counter.

She attacked the shaft of the spear, but gave up when she realized the entire thing was made of steel. Normally, an entirely metal weapon would be too heavy to wield effectively, but his topaz overcame the limitations. Their blows came fast and furious, her blades ringing sparks against his spear. She Pushed and Pulled on his arms, disrupting his attack, but he was too strong to nullify.

Pandora caught the approach of the other two Eights running furiously their way. If she didn't kill the Topaz soon, she'd be outnumbered. Distracted by their advance, the Topaz made a leaping advance, his spear thrusting towards her heart. She was too slow for the block.

A blast exploded in her ear and the Topaz went down hard with a hole in his chest. Choo-Choo nodded to her as he aimed at the approaching guards, firing at a steady clip and forcing them to dive to the ground.

To her left, Navos was wiping his blades on his pant legs. Two lifeless bodies were strewn near his feet. Without a way to counter his sapphire, they'd been easy targets.

Pandora was reaching out to the two guards on the cavern floor with her sapphire, checking if the weapon had been in the Undercity long enough to make it vulnerable, when she heard Choo-Choo yell to take cover. She barely dove to the ground before a figure appeared from behind the pile of equipment, spraying bullets in an arc.

The first waku that Choo-Choo had shot appeared to be unharmed. Before he could fire, the pistol flew out of Choo-Choo's hand and tumbled past the Eights Sapphire.

Pandora grabbed the spear from the fallen Topaz, and when the Sapphire turned to fire at Navos, who was sprinting behind a rocky outcropping, she threw the weapon. He never saw it coming. It hit him in the side and she was about to pump her fist in victory until she realized the spear had bounced off his flesh.

"Oh fuck," exclaimed Choo-Choo from her right.

He was both a Sapphire and a Black Diamond. With a gun. Pandora checked behind them, but it was too far to the ridge. They'd get mowed down before they reached its safety. With nowhere to go but forward, she leapt upward, using the ceiling to Pull herself high, then again towards the Sapphire.

The barrel of the rifle almost made it around when she landed, putting her shoulder into his chest. It felt like slamming into a brick wall. He fell from her overwhelming momentum, but she'd taken the brunt of the impact against his steelskin.

She abandoned her blades and fought for the rifle, but he kneed her in the gut. With her hands on the barrel, she lobbed it away, knowing that he couldn't touch it with his sapphire either.

The scramble had given the two guards a chance to advance again. When the one with the rifle lifted it to fire, she Pushed, knocking them down like bowling pins. But the distraction gave her opponent a chance to grab her around the neck. She couldn't Push him away, because he was Pulling her towards him. His strength was equal to hers.

His iron grip was crushing her larynx. Pandora pounded on his arms, but he'd locked them in place with the steelskin. Spots were rapidly forming in her vision. Choo-Choo tried to come to her rescue, but was knocked away with a Push.

A trio of gunshots had her worried that her friends had been hit, but she saw Navos running towards her with Choo-Choo's pistol in his hand. When the last Eights member tried to Push him away, Navos countered with a Pull. When he reached them, he fired two bullets into the side of the Eights member, but they deflected off his steelskin, one of the bullet fragments impacting into her hip.

The world started to fade away. She couldn't break his grip, and he was impervious to their weapons. As the spots in her vision were connecting, Navos leaned into view, forced the barrel of the pistol into the Eights' mouth, and pulled the trigger.

The explosion threw his head back, splattering warm dark blood on the ground. The Eights member vacantly stared at the ceiling.

"No steelskin in there," said Navos.

The stranglehold released, allowing Pandora to fall away, sucking in precious air. While she coughed painfully, the staccato of gunfire erupted over her head.

By the time she recovered, the workers in the hole had climbed out and there were no living Eights waku. Choo-Choo was busy binding the workers' hands and shaking them down for stones. He held up a small leather bag when he noticed Pandora had sat up.

Pandora grabbed a water bottle sitting near the hole and drained it in an attempt to soothe her throat. Her hand touched blood at her hip, but after pulling down the loose pants, she found the wound was superficial and would close on its own.

"How's the haul?"

Choo-Choo shrugged. "Dozens of stones, but no idea if they're useable. Some weird colors, but I think that's normal. Ol' Gaunt will have to figure it out."

Pandora rubbed her throat while she nodded. The Drops employed a Hall mage for interfacing with the magical world. Luscious Gaunt, in addition to his regular duties, had become their expert on the identification and use of faez crystals.

"What about the waku stones?"

"Navos grabbed them," said Choo-Choo, wagging his eyebrows. "Clan leadership will be beside themselves over the black diamond, even if there's nothing from the pit."

Behind them, Navos was pacing near the kneeling workers. Their hands and mouths were bound and they looked terrified. Navos had the pistol in his fist as he mumbled.

When she met his gaze, he said, "We can't let them go back, right?"

Pandora pulled herself to her feet tenderly. She was joined by Choo-Choo as they approached Navos. His hands were covered in blood and his face had splatters across the jaw and forehead.

"Nav?" asked Choo-Choo.

The anguish in Navos' eyes was palpable.

"This was your first fight, wasn't it?" asked Pandora.

Navos swallowed and looked away. "It's never come around. I've always been on the patrols or guard duty when nothing happened. Until now."

"The first one is never easy."

"First?" he shot back. "I killed four. They almost killed me."

Choo-Choo approached Navos with his arms out. "You did great, Nav. But now it's over. You can relax."

Navos gestured wildly with the pistol in his hand. "But what about them?"

"Let us decide," said Choo-Choo, gently taking the gun from his grip and pulling Navos into an embrace. The taller Drops member sobbed as soon as his forehead tucked into Choo-Choo's shoulder.

Pandora crouched by the workers, who were watching her with wide eyes. Bending at the hip made the wound ache, but she wanted to get a good look at them. Two men and two women of various ages. She slipped her finger into the gag of the first woman and tugged it free.

"What's your name?"

She spoke in a language Pandora didn't understand. It could have been Scandinavian for all she knew. The woman had dark hair and a blotch of purple birthmark on her neck. She looked like a woman who'd led a hard life, and not by choice.

"You understand me?" asked Pandora.

The woman kept speaking in her language, forcing Pandora to sigh and return the gag. She moved to the next woman, who was a little younger. Her lips were cracked and she had a bruise around her eye.

"Can you understand me?"

"Yes," replied the woman in a heavy accent. "Please don't kill us. They make us go in deep places. Dig their stones. Beat us if we resist."

"Where did you come from?"

"I live in apartments in ninth ward, but couldn't pay rent because lose job. Someone told me about good work with good pay and when I show up, they take me into ground and make me dig. Live in shit room at Grotto."

"What or where is Grotto?"

"Big cave, lots of tents, stinks like smoke and shit. Keep us there. Will you let us go? Or will you kill us?" asked the woman.

Choo-Choo had his arm around Navos' shoulder, but he had heard the description. He shared a concerned look with Pandora. Letting them go was almost the same as killing them. Four workers without a way to defend themselves, and no way to find their way out. They could wander the endless cave systems for days.

But they couldn't take them back to the Pajot either. The Drops wouldn't accept them since they'd been working for the Eights and on their territory. Bringing them back might as well be a death sentence.

"What do you want?"

"Let us go. We find our way out," said the woman.

Pandora didn't think so, but she wasn't going to argue with the woman's delusion. She joined Choo-Choo, who had deposited Navos on the ridge, where he was wiping his face with a handkerchief and drinking water.

"What do you think?" she asked Choo-Choo.

"They're dead either way, but at least it's their choice."

"What if we took them to the Terreno? It's out of our way, but not terribly so."

Choo-Choo frowned. "Not a good look."

Pandora nodded. If it got back to the leadership that they'd let the workers live, it could come back to haunt her.

"Are you going to kill them?"

Choo-Choo paled, his lip snarling with distaste.

"And we know Navos can't."

She held out her hand and he gave her the pistol that he'd taken from Navos. After retrieving her blades, she cut the bindings from the workers and told them to remove their gags.

"Grab your travel supplies," she said, gesturing towards the bags in a pile. "Be ready to move."

The workers cautiously retrieved their gear, pulling out headlamps and fixing them to their foreheads. They glanced amongst themselves.

Pandora approached the woman she'd spoken with and grabbed her hand, placing the pistol against her palm, then gently squeezing her fingers over the grip.

"Head back through the tunnel where you came, but instead of going left towards the Grotto, try to go right occasionally. You might find your way to the Terreno, or you might not. Trade the gun for passage out. That's the best I can do."

The woman stared at the gun as if it were a live serpent. She held it awkwardly.

"Go. Before I change my mind. Good luck. May the shadows keep you safe."

Pandora watched as they stepped over the dead Eights on their way out, their lights bobbing in the darkness of the cavern. The woman she'd given the gun to spit on the guard who'd had the rifle, and one of the men grabbed the weapon, checking back when he had it in his hands. Pandora waved and they quickly hurried towards the tunnel.

"Was that a good idea?" asked Choo-Choo.

"Were you going to shoot them?"

He shrugged. "They'll die down here."

"At least they have a chance." She jutted her chin at Navos. "He ready to move?"

Choo-Choo nodded.

She wasn't sure when she'd assumed the leadership role in their little group, but the battle with the Eights had confirmed it. Pandora dug through the Eights' gear, making sure they hadn't missed anything valuable, and then shouldered the other rifle as they headed out of the cavern with a bag full of stones and the stink of death in their noses.