Leigh Bardugo - Ruin and Rising

Leigh Bardugo

RUIN AND RISING

CHAPTER

WE BOBBED AND FALTERED, the little craft swinging precariously back and forth beneath the sails as Tamar and the crew tried to get control of the Bittern. Snow lashed at our faces in stinging gusts, and when the hull nicked the side of a cliff, the whole deck tilted, sending us all scrambling for purchase.

We had no Tidemakers to keep us cloaked in mist, so we could only hope that Baghra had bought us enough time to get clear of the mountains and the Darkling.

Baghra. My eyes skittered over the deck. Misha had tucked himself against the side of the hull, his arms curled over his head. No one could stop to offer comfort.

I knelt beside Adrik and Genya. A nichevoya had taken a massive bite from Adriks shoulder, and Genya was trying to stop the bleeding, but shed never been trained as a Healer. His lips were pale, his skin ice-cold, and as I watched, his eyes began to roll back in his head.

Tolya! I shouted, trying not to sound panicked.

Nadia turned, her eyes wide with terror, and the Bittern dipped.

Keep us steady, Nadia, Tamar demanded over the rush of wind. Tolya, help him!

Harshaw came up behind Tolya. He had a deep gash in his forearm, but he gripped the ropes and said, Ready. I could see Oncats shape squirming around in his coat.

Tolyas brow was furrowed. Stigg was meant to be with us. Harshaw hadnt been trained to work the lines.

Just hold her steady, he cautioned Harshaw. He looked to where Mal stood braced on the opposite side of the hull, hands tight to the ropes, muscles straining as we were buffeted by snow and wind.

Do it! Mal shouted. He was bleeding from the bullet wound in his thigh.

They made the switch. The Bittern tilted, then righted itself as Harshaw let out a grunt.

Got it, he grated through clenched teeth. It wasnt reassuring.

Tolya leapt down to Adriks side and began working. Nadia was sobbing, but she held the draft steady.

Can you save the arm? I asked quietly.

Tolya shook his head once. He was a Heartrender, a warrior, and a killernot a Healer. I cant just seal the skin, he said, or hell bleed internally. I need to close the arteries. Can you warm him?

I cast light over Adrik, and his trembling calmed slightly.

We drove onward, sails taut with the force of Grisha wind. Tamar bent to the wheel, coat billowing behind her. I knew when wed cleared the mountains because the Bittern ceased its shaking. The air cut cold against my cheeks as we picked up speed, but I kept Adrik cocooned in sunlight.

Time seemed to slow. Neither of them wanted to say it, but I could see Nadia and Zoya beginning to tire. Mal and Harshaw couldnt be faring well either.

We need to set down, I said.

Where are we? Harshaw asked. His crest of red hair lay flat on his head, soaked through with snow. Id thought of him as unpredictable, maybe a little dangerous, but here he wasbloody, tired, and working the lines for hours without complaint.

Tamar consulted her charts. Just past the permafrost. If we keep heading south, well be above more populated areas soon.

We could try to find woods for cover, panted Nadia.

Were too near Chernast, Mal replied.

Harshaw adjusted his grip. Does it matter? If we fly through the day, were going to be spotted.

We could go higher, suggested Genya.

Nadia shook her head. We can try, but the airs thinner up there and well use a lot of power on a vertical move.

Where are we headed, anyway? asked Zoya.

Without thinking twice, I said, To the copper mine at Murin. To the firebird.

There was a brief silence. Then Harshaw said what I knew a lot of them had to be thinking. We could run. Every time we face those monsters, more of us die. We could take this ship anywhere. Kerch. Novyi Zem.

Like hell, muttered Mal.

This is my home, said Zoya. I wont be chased out of it.

What about Adrik? Nadia asked, her voice hoarse.

He lost a lot of blood, said Tolya. All I can do is keep his heart steady, try to give him time to recover.

He needs a real Healer.

If the Darkling finds us, a Healer wont do him any good, said Zoya.

I ran a hand over my eyes, trying to think. Adrik might be stable. Or he might slip more deeply into a coma and never come out of it. And if we set down somewhere and were spotted, wed all be in for death or worse. The Darkling must know we wouldnt land in Fjerda, deep in enemy territory. He might think wed flee to West Ravka. Hed send scouts everywhere he could. Would he stop to grieve for his mother? Dashed on the rocks, would there be enough of her left to bury? I looked over my shoulder, sure that at any minute Id see nichevoya swooping down on us. I couldnt think about Nikolai. I wouldnt.

We go to Murin, I said. Well figure out the rest from there. I wont force anyone to stay. Zoya, Nadia, can you get us there? Theyd been flagging before, but I needed to believe they had some reserve of strength to call on.

I know I can, Zoya replied.

Nadias earnest chin lifted. Try to keep up.

We can still be seen, I said. We need a Tidemaker.

David glanced up from bandaging the powder burns on his hand. What if you tried bending the light?

I frowned. Bend it how?

The only reason anyone can see the ship is because light is bouncing off it. Just eliminate the reflection.

Im not sure I follow.

You dont say, said Genya.

Like a rock in a stream, David explained. Just bend the light so it never actually hits the ship. Theres nothing to see.

So wed be invisible? Genya asked.

Theoretically.

She yanked off her boot and plunked it down on the deck. Try it.

I eyed the boot skeptically. I wasnt sure how to begin. This was a completely different way of using my power.

Just bend the light?

Well, said David, it might help to remember that you dont have to concern yourself with the refractive index. You just need to redirect and synchronize both components of light simultaneously. I mean, you cant just start with the magnetic, that would be ridic

I held up a hand. Lets stick with the rock in the stream.

I concentrated, but I didnt summon or hone the light the way I did with the Cut. Instead, I just tried to give it a nudge.

The toe of the boot grew blurry as the air near it seemed to waver.

I tried to think of the light as water, as wind rushing around the leather, parting then slipping back together as if the boot had never been there. I cupped my fingers. The boot flickered and vanished.

Genya whooped. I shrieked and threw my hands in the air. The boot reappeared. I curled my fingers, and it was gone.

David, have I ever told you youre a genius?

Yes.

Im telling you again.

Because the ship was larger and in motion, keeping the curve of light around it was more of a challenge. But I only had to worry about the light reflecting off the bottom of the hull, and after a few tries, I felt comfortable keeping the bend steady.

If anyone happened to be standing in a field, peering straight up, they might see something off, a blur or a flash of light, but they wouldnt see a winged ship moving through the afternoon sky. At least that was the hope. It reminded me of something Id once seen the Darkling do when hed pulled me through a candlelit ballroom, using his power to render us nearly invisible. Yet another trick hed mastered long before I had.

Genya dug through the provisions and found a stash of jurda, the Zemeni stimulant that soldiers sometimes used on long watches. It made me feel jittery and a little nauseated, but there was no other way to keep us on our feet and focused.

It had to be chewed, and soon we were all spitting the rust-colored juice over the side.