As Vladim moved to turn the locks, I heard Genya whisper. "You definitely owe me a kiss after all this, Don't think I won't hold you to it."
I laughed lightly. "We'll see."
"There is no seeing, you will, if I have to be the one to do it then so be...
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THE WHOLE CAVERN SHOOK. LITTLE RIVULETS OF pebbles clattered down on us. Mal and Alina were beside me in an instant. Alina and Mal yanked Genya and me away from the falling rocks as Zoya bracketed beside us.
"Lights out!" Mal shouted. "Packs off."
We shoved our packs against the walls as a kind of buttress, then doused the lanterns in case the sparks set off another explosion.
Boom. Above us? North of us? It was hard to tell. Long seconds passed. Boom. This one was closer, louder. Rocks and soil rained down on our bent heads.
"He found us," moaned Sergei, his voice ragged with fear.
"He couldn't have," Zoya protested. "Even the Apparat didn't know where we were headed."
Mal shifted slightly. I heard the smatter of pebbles.
"It's a random attack," he said.
Genya's voice trembled when she whispered, "That cat is bad luck."
Boom. Loud enough to rattle my jaw.
"Metan yez," said David. Marsh gas.
I smelled it a second later, peaty and foul. If there were Inferni above us, a spark would follow and blow us all to bits. Someone was crying.
"Squallers," commanded Mal, "send it east."
I felt Zoya move, then the rush of air as she and the others drove the gas away from us.
Boom. It was hard to breathe. The space seemed too small.
"Oh, Saints," Sergei quavered.
"I see flame!" Tolya shouted.
"Send it east," repeated Mal, voice steady.
The whoosh of Squaller wind followed. Genya's body was braced next to mine. My hand snaked out, seeking hers. Our fingers twined together. I heard a small sob from my other side, and I reached for Alina's free hand, taking it in mine.
BOOM. This time the whole tunnel roared with the sound of falling rock. I heard people shouting in the dark. Dust filling my lungs.
When the noise stopped, Mal said. "No lanterns. Alina, we need light."
Light blossomed through the tunnel. We were all covered in dust, eyes wide and frightened. We did a quick tally: Mal, Genya, David, Zoya, Nadia, and Harshaw— Oncat tucked into his shirt.
