44

The whirlwind vanished down the connecting tunnel, roaring and shrieking and shaking the ground like a caged beast hungry for release. Dillon kept his arms outstretched and his eyes scrunched shut, then as the sound eased he said, “That’s as far as I can push it.”

“Let’s hope it’s far enough.” Sean reached for his brother’s hand.

They stepped and transited from the first Havoc cavern to the second. And found themselves at the border of a full-fledged panic.

Sean spotted an empty ledge, pointed, and had to shout to be heard. “Up there, two o’clock!”

“Go!”

Once they arrived, the height diminished the clamor to the point that they could hear themselves think. The middle cavern, the one formerly holding the Havoc military compound, was a chaotic mess. The precise layout was gone, replaced by a jumble of men and equipment and debris. Sean could see how Dillon’s tornado had roared from the tunnel mouth and sprayed destruction almost the entire way across the vast cavern.

“Time for me to help the others get started,” Sean said.

Dillon was already into his windup. “I’m good here.”

As Sean started to depart, he had an idea. “Maybe you should seal the mouth leading to Tiko’s main cavern.”

Dillon hesitated. “Say again?”

“Stop the army here from coming to Tiko’s aid. You know, once we move on.”

Dillon spared time for a fierce grin. “Go get the others and hurry back. I miss hearing the sound of your brain at work.”

When Sean returned to the Hawk market cavern, he found Logan and most of his team standing in rough formation in the empty plaza fronting the tunnel mouth. Vance and Nicolette were shaping the teams, squaring them away, prepping for the next step. As per Sean’s plan, Gerrod had been sent ahead with a few of the transiters and most of the newly arrived militia. Their aim was to take control of the first Havoc cavern while confusion still reigned.

Logan stood alone, wrapped in a solemn cloak of grimness and loss.

Sean stepped in close. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sidra was my first discovery,” Logan said, his voice as bleak as his expression. “Sometimes it felt as though I learned my secret craft so I could release her from her chains.”

Sean gave that a beat, then said, “Dillon and I are after a certain kind of tactic.” As he spoke, Nicolette and Vance drifted into listening range. Sean gave Logan a chance to object, but when their commander remained silent he went on. “It’s called stressing the situation. The aim is to keep your opponent off balance. Show him that his assumption of control is all wrong.”

“Stressing,” Nicolette repeated. “I am liking this word very much.”

“The thing is,” Sean said, “we have to move fast. There isn’t time for . . .”

Logan nodded his understanding.

“We will mourn with you,” Vance said, gripping Logan’s arm. “Once we have found the man who did this and ground him into the dust.”

Logan focused for the first time since Sidra had dropped to the stones. “It’s good to rely on the strength of friends.”

“That’s the word for this hour,” Nicolette said. “Friends.”

Sean loved having a reason to grin. “Let’s go shock Duke Tiko right out of his boots.”