Chapter 109: Skyraisers

"You expect me to ride a Seventh Rank?"

"I expect you to hold on while she carries us. Riding suggests a degree of control you will not possess."

"Is it safe?"

"No form of travel involving a Seventh Rank is entirely safe. She understands that you are under my protection, however, and this is the fastest way to reach somewhere I can treat your companion."

"How far are we going?" Mara asked as she approached.

"Far enough that walking would be inconvenient and slow enough to kill him."

That ended the argument. Somewhere to the west, a heavy impact shook dust from the cavern ceiling, reminding Mara that the stampede was still advancing toward the Forty-Second.

She approached the feline cautiously. Its fur felt rough beneath her hands, thicker than rope and still damp in several places with blood from the battle. Mara planted one foot against its foreleg and pulled herself onto its back. The creature shifted beneath her, and she immediately flattened herself against it, gripping two fistfuls of fur.

The old man watched her settle. "Try not to pull so hard. She dislikes strangers tearing at her coat."

"I'm trying to keep myself from falling off a creature large enough to swallow me."

"You may hold around the base of her neck."

"Her neck is wider than I am tall."

"You'll find a solution."

The feline released a low rumble through its chest. Mara felt the vibration travel through her entire body and tightened her grip instinctively.

The old man tilted his head as though listening. "That was her asking you to stop pulling."

"She can complain again when I'm safely on the ground."

"She heard that."

"Good."

He placed one foot upon the feline's bent foreleg and stepped onto its back with insulting ease. Instead of sitting, he walked along its spine and stopped near the base of its neck. The cane remained in one hand and the lantern in the other as he stood upright above Mara.

"You're going to fall," she said.

"I have traveled this way before."

"That means you have avoided falling so far. It doesn't make standing on an Abomination sensible."

"If I fall, tell her to stop."

"How am I supposed to make a Seventh Rank obey me?"

"Shout loudly. She has excellent hearing."

"Why are old people the same. It's like you and Rook were brothers."

"The older one gets, the fewer joys they get from life."

"And you all decide to become cynical and bitter? Is that a coping mechanism?"

"You may consider it such. It's just that the more experience you have…" he looked up ahead, "The more color seems to drain from the world."

Before Mara could decide whether he was serious, the feline stood. The sudden movement nearly threw her backward, forcing her to lock both arms around its body and bury her fingers in its fur. The old man merely bent his knees and waited for the creature to steady itself.

The feline began climbing along the narrow ledge. It placed each paw where the stone remained solid, extending its claws whenever the path became steep. The points sank into the rock and dragged its enormous body upward. Mara kept her chest pressed against its back and tried to ignore the massive drop below.

They climbed through the fracture between two leaning slabs, and the world opened around them. Dark grass stretched beyond the broken earth, interrupted by thin clusters of trees and formations of black stone rising from the soil. The Seventy-Second's Beacon burned behind them through the opening, faint at this distance but still visible. Farther west, another pale glow marked the direction of the Forty-Second.

The old man raised his lantern, and the feline began moving across the open ground. Its first few steps were cautious as it tested the soil and drew several deep breaths through its nose. Mara adjusted her grip and wrapped her legs as far around its sides as she could.

Then the creature accelerated.

The wind struck Mara hard enough to tear the breath from her lungs. Grass blurred beneath them as the feline crossed the land in long, silent bounds, its body stretching and compressing with every stride. Its paws touched the ground for fractions of a second before launching it forward again.

Mara lowered her face into the fur, but the creature continued gaining speed. Trees appeared ahead and vanished on both sides before she could brace for them. The feline twisted through gaps that seemed too narrow for its body and cleared fallen stone without slowing. Every landing drove the air from Mara's chest and threatened to tear her hands free.

She tightened her grip until strands of dark fur came loose between her fingers. A warning growl rolled beneath her, though the creature made no attempt to slow.

Mara had watched Seventh Ranks fight. She had seen the pale creature destroy pillars, tear through Reapers, and wrench itself free from the Manager's stone. Their strength had always been measured by the destruction left behind.

Now she understood their speed.

Almost nothing could pursue the feline because almost nothing could move through the land as freely as it did. Roads were unnecessary. Slopes, roots, and shattered ground vanished beneath its paws. Forests became open paths, and cliffs offered places from which to leap.

How could reapers even kill something like this? Not to mention, there are more ranks above it.

Mara forced herself to raise her head. The old man still stood near the creature's neck with his coat snapping violently behind him. His feet never shifted, and the white flame inside his lantern remained perfectly steady despite the wind.

"You could have warned me!" Mara shouted.

The old man glanced over his shoulder. "I told you to hold on."

"You told me to climb. That is a very different warning."

"You were already gripping her as though the ground had disappeared. I assumed you understood."

"I was holding on because I didn't understand anything!"

He appeared to consider the distinction before facing forward again. "Then your instincts compensated admirably."

Mara shouted something less polite, but the wind carried it away.

Several minutes passed before she noticed their direction. The Seventy-Second's light had fallen far behind them, while the Beacon marking the Forty-Second had disappeared entirely. The old man was taking them east, away from both Bastions.

Mara raised her head and shouted again. "Where are we going? The Forty-Second is behind us."

The old man either failed to hear her or chose to ignore the question. She pulled harder on the feline's fur until one of its ears turned toward her.

"I asked where you're taking us!"

This time, the old man looked back. "Somewhere I can treat him properly. The Forty-Second has too many eyes, too little equipment, and an army of Abominations approaching its walls."

"You told the Manager you could help repair the Beacon."

"I gave her the information she required before we left. She has capable people and enough sense to follow instructions."

"And you decided that meant you could carry us in the opposite direction without explaining anything?"

"I explained that I could save your companion. You agreed to come. The destination was never part of our bargain."

Mara looked over her shoulder, though there was nothing left to see. Both Beacons had vanished behind the trees and rising land. The repaired Bastion, the Reapers, and every place she recognized had already disappeared into the distance.

Ahead lay an expanse of darkness without a road or light to divide it. The feline plunged deeper into that emptiness, accelerating until the trees became brief shadows at the edge of the lantern's glow. Mara could no longer tell whether they crossed grass, stone, or something else entirely.

Only three things remained clear: the old man standing ahead of her, the small blue lantern raised against the dark, and the translucent chain bound around her wrist. Its links stretched beneath her hand and vanished into the body of the creature carrying them east.

The chain had grown faint, but its light endured. Mara wrapped one hand around it and held on as the last trace of both Bastions disappeared behind them.

The feline continued moving through the terrain unbothered with any of its structure or its inhabitant. Foolish smaller ranked Abominations were either crushed underneath paw, or bulldozed if they stood in the way. Trees and rocks received more respect as the feline decided to avoid most.

Far up in the distance however, several gigantic looking structure rose up.

"What are those? Beacons?" Mara shouted.

"No, those are Skyraisers."

Mara waited for an explanation that never came. "And what is that?" she once again shouted.

The old man looked at them as they approached and said, "They used to hold and carry the sky of the underworld before. Unfortunately, when the light went out… they became useless. At least in that specific objective."

"And what are they used for now?" Mara asked.

"We're about to find out."