Page 10 of Under the Iron Sky

The world spun, but Soraya managed to grab the headrest of the nearest chair and hoist herself over it just before the carriage was vertical. A second later, and she’d have been devoured by those snapping jaws below.

Now lying flat on her stomach, Soraya aimed her gun at the queen and opened fire. Bursts of Light streaked out of the barrel like tiny shooting stars straight into the queen’s snout and eyes, but none of them pierced the protective skeleton.

Outside, more eggs were cracking open. More shooting stars outside the carriage window as Noah tried to contain the hatchlings. “There’s too many of them! What are we gonna do?”

“Blow the charges!”

“But …” Noah’s voice was shaky. “You’re still in range.”

“Doesn’t matter. Can you get cover?”

A short pause, then, “I think so, but—”

“Then blow them!”

All the bombs went off, swallowing the platform in an eruption of searing heat and light. The carriage was thrown into the air, Soraya with it, and it was all she could do to cling on to the headrest as hard as she could and pray that when death came, it was quick and painless.

The carriage spun and spun, then slammed onto the ground, sending Soraya’s teeth rattling in her jaw. Every window popped on impact, shards of glass exploding in every direction.

A heavy silence followed.

Then a dull ringing in her ears. She wasn’t dead, then.

Head throbbing, Soraya dragged herself to her feet and hobbled out of the carriage, biting back a scream against the stabbing pain in her lower back. Everything hurt. And she was fairly certain that the warmth she felt trickling down the side of her face was blood.

The blast had shattered what little glass remained in the ceiling, covering the floor in fresh fragments of purple, green, and yellow. None of the eggs survived, each clutch now nothing more than a flaming charred husk.

So how the fuck was the queen still alive? She was on the far side of the nest, her ribs poking out from a large wound on her side, and spurts of blood splashed onto the floor with every ragged breath she took. It was astounding that she was still standing—not that it mattered. She’d heal from those wounds with time and the right help, but the blast had blown her exoskeletal mask right off to reveal raw, vulnerable skin beneath.

The queen did not hear Soraya approach. Too busy screaming and pawing over the burning clutch at her feet to notice Soraya pick her battered sunrifle up off the floor and stalk closer.

There was only enough power in the weapon for one shot, but with the mask off, one shot was all she’d need.

Soraya was just about close enough when a pile of nearby rubble moved, and a single Dar’rak emerged from beneath. His armor was scratched but still intact, although given the deep dent in his chest plate, Soraya was pretty sure taking a full breath must’ve been rather difficult right now. His left arm looked a little worse for wear too, hanging limply by his side at an awkward angle but in his right—

Noah.

All the air was sucked out of Soraya’s lungs.

Bloody and broken, Noah was alive. But not for much longer. Not with the Dar’rak’s fingers curled around his throat.

Soraya aimed her gun.

“Not so fast, human,” the Dar’rak hissed from behind his helmet. His voice was low and cruel. Everything she hated. “Lower your weapon or I kill the boy.”

“Let him go and I will.”

“You will not. You hate us so much. I can feel it pulsing from you.” Sparks of black magic crackled at the Dar’rak’s fingers. Noah flinched and squeezed his eyes closed.

It took everything in Soraya to keep her arm steady. “If you hurt him, I swear I’ll—”

“You’ll what,” the Dar’rak scoffed, his dry chuckle sliding across her arms like sandpaper. “Look around. You destroyed the eggs, but the queen lives. Your mission has failed.”

At this, the queen stopped screaming and whipped her head toward Soraya. Hatred shone in her red eyes. Hatred that now had only one target: Soraya.

She turned her gun toward the queen, arm trembling slightly. The queen’s enormous body wobbled as she slowly stalked to the Dar’rak’s side, pure wrath and need to avenge what’d been taken from her.

Shit—this was bad.