The Devil's in the Wind

Chapter Seventeen

              Helvar's face disappeared, and Nina immediately fell into Nat's arms. Natalia didn't know what to do. She was worried about Kaz. He was fast but Helvar could break him in half. Nina was shaking and Natalia pulled her off of her, so they were looking eye to eye.

   'If it comes down to it, Nina, let me take the jurda parem,' Nat whispered. 'If there's a way for only one of us to get out of this unscathed it needs to be you. Kaz will come back for me, or he'll at least tear Helvar to pieces. It can't be you.'

   'I'm not going to—'

   'Promise me, Zenik,' Nat said, harsher than she meant. 'Promise me. You've got a life back home.'

   Nina's jaw set. 'Fine. Fine, I promise.'

   Before anymore could be said the door starts to open. Nat shoves Nina behind her. When Matthias takes a small step both of the girls hesitate. But when Matthias held his hand out to Nina the other girl ran straight into his arms. She trusts easily, Natalia thought. Helvar swept Nina into his arms and buried his face in her hair.

   'I never want to see you like this again,' Helvar said to her.

   'Do you mean the dress or the cell?'

   Matthias laughed. 'Definitely the cell.' Then he cupped Nina's face. 'Jer molle pe oonet. Enel mörd je nej afva trohem verretn.'

   'If we make it out of here alive, I'm going to kiss you unconscious.'

   Natalia cleared her throat. 'This is adorable, really. I have a couple questions.'

   Helvar looked at her. 'Yul-Bayur is in the vault. Let's go.'

   Natalia raced down the hall after Nina and Matthias, feeling very much like a third wheel. All that could really be heard was the clanging bells of Black Protocol.

   'What happened to Kaz?' Natalia yells up to Matthias.

   'Yeah, did he run off again?' Nina asked.

   'He never ran off,' Nat argued.

   'I left him in the ballroom,' Matthias said. 'We're to meet him by the ash.'

   'Last time I looked, it was surrounded by drüskelle,' said Nina.

   'Maybe Black Protocol will take care of that.'

   'Matthias we can't do anything now. Not with N—'

   Matthias put a hand for them to stop before they turned the next corner. Natalia wanted to ask what Nina meant but figured there would be other, better times. They approached slowly. When they rounded it, Nina made quick work of the guard at the vault door. Matthias took his rifle, then Brum's key was in the lock, and the circular entry to the vault was opening.

   Natalia prepared herself for a fight and Nina lifted her hands. They waited as the door slid open.

   The room was as white as all the others, but hardly bare. Its long tables were full of beakers set over low blue flames, heating and cooling apparatuses, glass vials full of powders in varying shades of orange. One wall was devoted to a massive slate board covered in chalk equations. The other was all glass cases with little metal doors. They contained blooming jurda plants, and Natalia guessed the cases must be heated. A cot was pushed up against the other wall, its thin covers rumpled, papers and notebooks strewn around it. A Shu boy was seated cross-legged on it. He stared at them, his dark hair flopping over his forehead, a notebook in his lap. He couldn't have been more than fifteen.

   Nina started talking to the boy in Shu and after a minute of back-and-forth Nina turned to translate for Natalia and Matthias.

   'Bo Yul-Bayur is dead,' she said. 'This is his son.'