Book One – Chapter 17

As Yu turned, Estingar slipped through the door.

Yu stared. Then he nodded, stiffly.

And then, the instant the thought of Bubs and kitchen connected, a hollow emptiness exploded in his gut. He was starving. When had he last eaten? He could not remember. He needed water. He also needed the bathroom, which, much too sudden, became one of the more pressing matters, literally.

Yu rushed for the door. He had crossed the whole platform before he realised that he should have given some sort of Thank You to Imbiad. But by then, it was too late and too awkward. So Yu just hurried to press his arms and full weight against the massive double door next to Estingar, to push it open. It did not budge.

“Did you know,” Estingar started, “that when they have a place where they want to keep people out, they build the doors to open outward? But if they don’t want people to get out, they open inward?”

Yu hesitated for a moment. “Uhm, no.” Then he tried again, really pressing his whole body against the metal.

“It’s pull,” Estingar laughed.

Yu stopped the dumb thing he was doing and yanked the door open.

Estingar’s arm shot out. He shoved the door close again. “But hang on. There was a lot going on with you.”

Yu froze. His gaze darted from Estingar to Tirran and back. They would not —

“Did you notice something?” Estingar asked, amusement flickering in his voice. “Hear anything weird?”

“What? Yes, well, no —” Yu stammered. “I mean — Wait, what do you mean?”

Estingar drew in close. “You tell me.”

Yu’s mind was chaos thrashed by questions and fear and desperate plots to get the fuck off this mountain first chance arising. The result of this mental mess was a complete frozen fina-instinct dead-stare right into Estingar’s face.

And the consequence of that was that Estingar leaned even lower. “You heard heartbeats before. What else? Something from the mountain? Something from the witch?” His voice dropped to a whisper, sharp between needle-teeth. “Or maybe, from the shaman —”

“Estingar.” Tirran’s voice cut through the hush.

Estingar straightened. There was a heavy exchange of glances — at least on Estingar’s part, who had fallen silent in an instance. Even the soft clicks of his coded communication with Deltington stilled.

“Yu,” Tirran said, low and final. “Go inside now.”