"What about us?"
The woman ignored her as the three left and the cell door clanged shut.
Silence fell thick and heavy. Adena had sharp hearing, but she struggled to hear Greg's breathing. She looked at his slack form, hanging in the chains. The red burn marks on his pale chest had already begun to blister. "Greg? Are you alive?"
After a long moment he raised his head. It took him a few moments to focus on her. "I'm afraid so." His voice was slurred.
Relief flooding through her, Adena renewed her assault on the staple. The metal creaked and groaned as she rubbed the skin on her wrists raw with effort. At last the staple snapped at one end. Adena took a few deep breaths, then guided the chain through the ragged gap she'd created.
"Oh boy!" Her arms ached and tingled with relief as her blood began to flow properly through them once more. Thankful the guards hadn't time to secure her ankles in fetters, she crossed the cell and crouched by Greg.
He greeted her with a tired smile. "Nice to see you here!"
"Likewise." She examined Greg's chains. "Let's get you free."
Chapter 9
Greg winced as pain shot through him in spite of Adena's best efforts to avoid shaking him. It took several minutes of steady work before the chains finally gave way. He groaned as the circulation returned to his arms and he rubbed them hard.
Adena drew his arm around her shoulders, her strength a comfort in his distress. He felt her breath warm on his cheek, which had become chilled by the prolonged exposure to the cold damp air.
"Come on. Let's get out of here," she said.
"The door?"
"Unlocked. The creature's attack has got them rattled."
She opened the cell door and held him steady as she peered out into the passageway. "All clear."
They moved as quickly as they could, Greg committing many a stumble along the way. Twice they ducked into cover as guards hurried past, torchlight trailing in their wake.
Eventually they emerged from a doorway and came to a familiar area of rubble. Adena sniffed the air. "I can smell burning."
"I'm not surprised." Greg tried to stand straight, found he could manage it. "There's so much damage around here. Where's it coming from?"
Adena sniffed again then her face creased in horror. "The ship!"
She took off at a dead run. Greg's cry of protest at being left behind died as he realized the Oculus Nightingale offered the best chance to escape the hellish city. If it was in peril Adena had to save her ship. Groaning with effort he launched into a shambling run. Adena darted ahead of him, leaping like a gazelle over piles and rubble and broken timbers. Greg tried to follow her course but soon lost her amid the shattered walls.
He reached the cratered remains of a courtyard and stopped to get his bearings. As he looked around a bright purple light engulfed him and his nerves caught fire. A scream emerged from his throat but seemed to grow distant and muffled as he fell into a warm soup of unconsciousness.
When he came to, Greg found himself looking up into a bearded face that was both repulsive and familiar. The apparition cracked a grin full of ragged teeth. "Well, old horse, I didn't expect to see you again!"
Greg felt groggy. Nausea swirled in his stomach, and he scrambled to sit upright. A group of equally ragged figures surrounded them, most looking on with curiosity, some keeping watch on their surroundings. He recognized a few faces from his days at the mine although some of the men and women appeared to have found better clothing since the escape. More than a few weapons were evident too. Greg refocused his attention on the grubby creature in front of him. "Mungenast?"
Mungenast assisted him in standing with rough kindness. The heavy black leather duster he wore creaked as he moved, the front falling open enough to reveal the butt of what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun. Mungenast grinned again, his gap-toothed teeth stained with some blue substance, the nature of which Greg could only guess at. "Uh huh." He slapped some dust from Greg's coat front. "Accept no substitutes."
"Where did you come from?" Greg wiped his eyes to ease the gritty feeling in them. "The last I saw of you was at the mine."
Mungenast sniffed and winked. "My buddies and I made our way into the workings. There's tunnels down there, y'see, and we got into them. They lead here, to this city." He looked around. "What's left of it, anyway. Hoo-ee! What a carve-up!"
"Did you see some kind of bright flash of light?"
"Oh yeah, we saw it. Knocked a few of us out, it did." He cocked an eye at Greg. "You too, it seems."
"What was it?'
"Dunno." Mungenast gestured vaguely. "It came from over that ways. A few of my boys got toppled by it and we dragged them into shelter. We was getting out of there anyway, too much fighting going on. Stopped now though." He wrinkled his nose. "Could be the flash stopped it."
"I've got to get out of here. My friends need me," Greg insisted.
"Friends? Where are they at?"
"Over that way."
Mungenast chewed the inside of his cheek. "I saw a mess of those vampires and their buddies heading over there."
Greg began to walk in the direction of the hangar where the airship had docked. The prevalent cold of the city had worked its way into his bones, and the numbness reminded him of the terrible days spent slaving in the mine.
Mungenast trotted alongside him. The troop of escaped slaves followed, their eyes watchful as they scanned their surroundings. "You're going to help your buddies?" Mungenast asked.
"It's what I plan to do." Greg spoke through gritted teeth as he walked. "My friend has an airship, and it could be our only ticket out of here."
"An airship, huh?" His companion scratched
