Persh’al cringed when she stepped across the invisible floor toward him, but he swung his legs down off the second seat so she could settle beside him. Then she took the tin bottle of mudshine and cracked it open. “You know what, kid?”
“What?” Cheyenne sniffed the bottle and rubbed her nose.
“When you next make the crossing to this side and get your hands on another activator, remind me not to freak out about it, huh?” He chuckled and shook his head, lifting his bottle toward her in a toast. “I guess you do know what the hell you’re doing.”
“You mean, with all this? Please. This was just for fun.” She tapped her tin bottle against his and took a long, fizzy drink.
“Just for fun.” Persh’al stared blankly at the field and the approaching forest in front of them, then downed the rest of his mudshine. “I should’ve kept that second bottle for myself.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
The shuttle’s system took over when they approached the closest Grimmer city, an expanse of nearly black ramshackle buildings rising haphazardly from the field fronting the forest on their left. The sun had set now, and Cheyenne stared up at the glittering dome of stars in Ambar’ogúl’s night sky. Then the walls regained their opaque solidity, and the stars were replaced by the smooth metal ceiling. The music cut off, and the shuttle slowed considerably.
“Guess that means we’re getting close.” She stood and walked slowly toward the controls with a steadying hand against the wall.
“Yep. That’s a relatively safe assumption. Probably the only one we’ll have out here.”
“That mudshine was supposed to lighten your mood, Persh’al. Not turn you into a pessimist.”
“This is me in my lightened mood, kid.”
Cheyenne studied the data moving swiftly across the console and cocked her head. “If you say so. We’re five minutes out from the Grimmer transport station.”
“Excellent.” The troll belched and folded his arms.
“How come there aren’t any other stops on the route?” She turned to face him, leaning against the edge of the console. “We passed other towns back there. None of them had a station.”
Persh’al let out a noncommittal hum and closed his eyes. “These things were built to unite the territories. You know, ‘cause they’re all so spread out. I’m pretty sure the shuttles were just for show. Dignitaries could travel back and forth on a straight line to the capital to show the rest of the world that they supported the Crown by zipping across Ambar’ogúl instead of casting portals in secret or whatever.”
“Huh. And Grimmer sent dignitaries.”
“Well, I mean, back before this place was known as a happy hub of theft, violence, and debauchery, yeah. I’m sure they sent someone.”
Cheyenne’s fingers drummed on the edge of the console. “When did they turn to the Dark Side?”
He looked at her. “Ha. Right around the time L’zar Verdys decided he was fed up with his life the way it was going and had to make a change. He calls it ‘an inspired improvement.’ Most people wouldn’t agree with that.”
“So, he wasn’t always a manipulative asshole trying to overthrow the Crown, huh?”
“Oh, he’s always been a manipulative asshole.”
They both chuckled, and Cheyenne ran a hand through her hair. The chains around her wrist clinked against the thick silver cuff keeping her tethered to her drow form and made her pause. “What did he do before that inspiration struck?”
Persh’al stared at her, then quickly looked away and shrugged. “Not sure. That was a long time ago.”
“Huh. Too long ago for you to remember?”
“Yeah. We live a long time on this side, kid. At least, we used to before the new Cycle brought us to where we are now. A lot happens, and most of it isn’t worth remembering.”
Cheyenne narrowed her eyes and studied the blue troll’s jaw clenching and unclenching as he stared blankly at the front of the shuttle. I call bullshit. “But you have such a long memory, right?”
“What?”
“I heard you say that twice today. And everyone else in L’zar’s secret little Hangivol hideout didn’t call you out on it, so it’s gotta be mostly true.”
Persh’al’s orange eyes flickered. “I didn’t know L’zar before he became what he is now.”
“But you followed him once he took up this whole rebellion thing after Maleshi left.”
“Like I said, kid. Some things aren’t worth remembering.”
She was about to keep pressing, but the shuttle slowed, shuddered, and jerked to a grating halt beneath them, knocking her hip against the control panel.
Persh’al nearly spilled out of his seat, but his hand clamped on the back of it, and he pulled himself up again. “Not much of a smooth landing with these things.”
“Yeah, time will do that, won’t it?” Cheyenne stared at him and pursed her lips. What is he not telling me?
“Sure will.” Clearing his throat, the troll stood and reached behind the row of seats for both their packs. He tossed the backpack to Cheyenne, then strapped his much lighter pack over his shoulders and turned toward the shuttle door. “Back on our feet, right? We get to take a nighttime hike through the woods. Woohoo.”
He passed his hand over the door, his palm glowing with green light, and it slid open. Cheyenne followed him out, pausing in the doorway to gaze at the cabin and the blinking data flashing across every surface in her vision. She gave the metal wall a little pat and jumped the two feet onto the soft grass. I’ll be back. Can’t stop that from happening now. This won’t be the last time I get to play around with O’gúl tech.
The door slid shut again with a stuttering hiss, and she glanced around the open land in front of them. The transport station in Grimmer was apparently just a raised platform at the base of a small hill, the forest running alongside them
