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ELINA SAT WITH A GROUP of freed prisoners in the shadow of the prison, peering at the army depot. Two similar groups, headed by Finn and Ragnur, were concealed on the other two sides of the depot. She waited for the signal to attack. Their plan was simple: they would rush in from three sides to overwhelm the soldiers in the depot with their numbers. They would grab anything explosive, and get out before any reinforcements were brought in.
She sighed. The plan felt too simple. There could be more soldiers than they thought. One of the golems might awaken, or reinforcements could be just around the corner. Or something else unforeseen could happen. All these people depended on her to escape, not to get them killed.
Kristofer placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He had been a great help in getting everyone in place. She gave him a weak smile; he nodded back.
Across the cavern, Finn and his group appeared from between the houses and stormed toward the depot. That was her signal. She raised her arm, looked around to be sure everyone noticed her, and pointed at the army depot. Then she jumped to her feet and charged. Almost immediately, a shout went up from the watchtower on the corner closest to her, followed by a horn blast.
An arrow struck a man at her side; he stumbled and fell. Elina pushed her legs harder. They were target practice out here. Another man next to her was hit and staggered away.
She arrived at the wall beneath the watchtower with Kristofer just ahead of her. He gave her a leg up, and she clambered to the top of the wall. With her help, he made it up after her. After him, Elina helped up a svelte blonde woman and a tall bald man. Kristofer was already partway up the stairs to the watchtower, leading the man and woman, by the time Elina dropped to the ground on the other side of the wall. She hurried after them as the sound of clashing steel filled the air. "Shit!" Kristofer cried from above. "Take care!"
Elina burst into the top of the tower. Three of the guards had encircled the bald man and the blonde woman. Kristofer, bleeding from his left arm, gave way before a fourth.
Kristofer needed her help first.
She circled round the Ochloroc guard attacking Kristofer as her fellow human made a wild swing at the soldier with a captured Ochloroc sword. When the Ochloroc blocked the strike, Elina leaped forward and stabbed the guard in the neck with her knife; then, before he hit the floor, she scooped up his sword, whirled, and ran to the other fight. The two humans were forced against the battlements; the bald man bled from a gash in his side. The Ochloroc soldier to her right stabbed the man in his chest with his sword, and he collapsed, coughing blood. Elina ran the same Ochloroc through from behind, taking him down. Kristofer dealt with another. The remaining guard turned to face this new threat, showing his right side to the blonde, who finished him off by planting a knife between his ribs. She wrenched the sword from his nerveless fingers, and grinned fiercely at Elina.
The woman wore the remains of a silk gown. A month ago, she wouldn't even have looked at Elina on the street. Now they were bound by battle and spilled enemy blood.
Elina panted, and looked down into the courtyard of the army depot. There, Finn and a small knot of human fighters dealt with the last of the Ochloroc soldiers protecting the facility. Maybe half of the humans who had joined them lay dead around him. She hung her head. So much suffering, just to get to the Crystal!
She turned. "How's your arm?" she asked Kristofer. It hung limp at his side.
Kristofer pressed the wound closed with his other hand. "Just a scratch. I'll live."
Sadly, the bald man was dead, so they left him behind and headed down to the courtyard with the blonde, who called herself Lotta, where they joined Finn. He was discussing something with Ragnur. He looked at Kristofer as they approached. "You worked in their army, right?" Kristofer nodded. "Do you have any idea of where the Ochloroc might keep their explosives?"
Kristofer shook his head. "No. If they have any, they were too precious to be handled by slaves. However, I know how to work one of those." He pointed at the Ochloroc war machine standing behind Finn.
Ragnur sucked in his breath. "How?"
"They made me pull one of those damned things from Sylvgard to Sleiptalen. I then watched them reduce the city to rubble with it and its brethren. I think they're powered by crystals. You put one in, and pull one of the levers. The machine does the rest."
"That would be even better than explosives," Finn said thoughtfully. "If we can fire those, then the whole city will feel like it's under attack. That'll clear out the pyramid in no time."
"It won't work," Elina said. "We need to be at the pyramid when the machines fire. And other soldiers are probably already on their way here after that alarm."
Finn cursed. "You're right. Someone would need to stay behind to fire them while the rest of the prisoners make their escape, and we rob the pyramid."
Elina hung her head. They were this close, and yet there was no way to get the crystal.
"I'll do it," Ragnur said suddenly. "You go to the pyramid. I'll remain behind and start firing."
"It will be tough to get out if you do," Finn said, concerned.
"I know," Ragnur said. "But I can stop the Ochloroc here. That's worth more than my personal safety."
"I'll help," Kristofer said. "I'm no use at the pyramid, and I'd like to get even with the Ochloroc."
The four of them looked at each other in silence.
"Well," Finn said after a moment, "good luck. You go find the crystals for the machines. Give us a count to five hundred to make it to the plaza. And don't take any unnecessary risks."
Ragnur gave a short laugh. "This whole business was a risk from the start! You just promise me you two will get out with the crystal and find a way to destroy it."
"We promise," Elina said. Finn nodded. Elina was surprised when she felt a tear slide down her cheek. Impulsively, she gave Ragnur a hug.
"Now go, you two," Ragnur said. "Go save the world."
Finn and Elina hurried out of the army depot, with Elina once again dressed as an Ochloroc. She kept count in her head. She reached four hundred as they took the last turn and saw the pyramid ahead, sitting in the plaza.
Thunder echoed through the cavern a moment later, and Elina pressed her hands over her ears. Ragnur and Kristofer had started. Either her count was slow, or theirs was fast. The shot struck somewhere in the city to their left.
"Run!" Finn shouted over the noise. "We need to get to the crystal while they're still shooting." He sprinted towards the plaza; Elina ran after him.
A second shot rang out, and struck out of sight to their right. A couple of Ochloroc ran past them, away from the plaza. Ahead of them, another ran towards the plaza. A third shot rang out as Finn and Elina got to the plaza. It looked like someone had poked a stick into an anthill; Ochlorocs were running wildly in every direction. One group forced their way into a building on the far end of the plaza. At one of the roads leading off the plaza, Ochlorocs were pressed so tight that they blocked the road.
The stairs up the pyramid were deserted.
Finn and Elina dashed across the plaza. Ragnur or Kristofer got off another shot, and a building lining the plaza exploded into pieces as the smell of sulphur filled the air. Ochloroc all round them screamed and cleared off the plaza.
Finn took the stairs up the pyramid two at a time. Elina followed more slowly, breathing heavily. Arriving at the top, she took off down the narrow corridor, Finn blocking all light ahead, until they reached the silver-encrusted shrine. Finn took in the scene and began prying at the base of the Dark Crystal with the tip of a knife. "This one?" he asked.
Elina leaned against the wall to catch her breath. "Y-yes," she panted, as gibberish whispered through her head. She saw a flash of an Ochloroc army assembling in the depot they had just left. Finn was having trouble getting the crystal out, so Elina just grabbed the plinth and stuffed the whole thing—Crystal, lightning bolt, broken shards, and all—into her rucksack as best as she could. "No time!" she shouted over the whispering in her head.
She closed her pack, and the voices quieted somewhat. As Finn hurried toward the exit, she ran after him. The light of the end of the tunnel grew, and somewhere outside the pyramid another cannon shot slammed into the city. Then she was out of the pyramid, with Finn already halfway down the stairs. She gulped as vertigo washed over her. She turned and clambered down, facing the pyramid.
A guard stood at the bottom of the pyramid, shouting at Finn, brandishing a tall axe. Finn reached the bottom of the stairs, stepped inside the arc of the axe, and punched the guard with all his strength. He went down, and Finn pulled his knife and stabbed him in his chest. The guard went still.
Elina jumped the final handful of steps as Finn took the Ochloroc axe in hand. "Where to next?"
"Away," Finn said. "I suspect they'll lock down all tunnels and start hunting for us once they notice the Crystal is missing."
"And Ragnur? Kristofer?"
"We can't do anything to help them," Finn said curtly. "If they make it out of the depot, then they have the same chance of escape as we do. Maybe better."
Elina nodded. Finn jogged away from the pyramid towards the nearest exit away from the deserted plaza, and she hurried after him.