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my teeth as it thumps down, pulverising everything beneath it, vaulting on, thudding on the rocks at the sea’s edge, veering sideways, cast off-course by the uneven ground, crashing at last into the ocean. It’s flown right over us.
    Relief surges through me, though I know we’re not yet out of danger. Farra strides past, yanking the door wide. “What —?”
    He flips his crossbow from his shoulder. The carriage sways as the brakes let out another prolonged scream. “Everyone hold on!” he calls, his eyes meeting mine.
    There’s no time for questions. The last thing I see before the darkness swallows us is the stony ground sliding past in a blur as Farra leaps from the open door.
     
    The barrier is midway along the tunnel. We’ve just time to slow before hitting it, but even so the impact sends me skidding down the carriage. I fetch up against the legs of a seat, something heavy pressed against me. All around, voices break into a cacophony of cries and complaints.
    “Quiet!” Jofeia’s voice cuts through the noise. The adults, at least, comply. “We’re all right, but we need to keep calm. We hit something on the line.”
    Someone sobs. I sit up a little and the weight against my back shifts, transforming into a body. “What? What did we hit?” someone asks. A child calls for its mother.
    “I’m here. It’s all right. I’m coming,” the woman who lies against me calls. 
    “Are you hurt?” I ask.
    She ignores me. Glass crunches as she moves. “Mind your hands,” I warn.
    Voices tumble over one another. As far as I can tell from their grumbles, no one is badly hurt, though the children’s thin cries make me wish for enough light to be sure.
    “Is anyone injured beyond bruises?” I ask.
    A chorus of voices starts up. Jofeia overrides them. “Stay in your seats. I’m going to call each of your names. I want you to respond, reporting any injuries. Anything that’s not critical can wait till we’re out of the tunnel.” Jofeia’s instructions settle them, shaky voices complying. I haul myself upright on the back of a seat.
    Jofeia reaches the end of her litany without discovering any ailments that require my immediate attention. “Does that leave anyone unaccounted for?”
    “Farra,” I say. “He jumped out as we reached the tunnel.”
    She hesitates. “Right. Now I want you all to keep calm and quiet while I check on whatever is blocking the line. It’s probably a rock fall or cave-in. Once I’ve assessed it, we’ll put a team together to shift it.”
    Whatever it is, I doubt it’s naturally occurring. Jofeia crunches her way past me through the glass. I hear the quiet thump as her feet hit the ground.
    Feeling my way to the open door, I follow her out. The darkness is like a muffling fog, tight and choking in my lungs. I stretch out my arms and step away from the jigger, counting my steps — four — till I find the tunnel wall. With one hand against it, I walk back the way we’ve come. It’s not long before light starts to filter into the blackness, then I round a curve and the arch of the tunnel’s entrance is a few dozen paces ahead. “Farra?” I call quietly.
    There’s a scraping sound up ahead, but no answer. I hesitate. If it’s not Farra … quietly as I can, I creep back the way I’ve come. Sounds seep towards me as the darkness grows deeper: the rasp of timber, low voices, a sudden rattle of stones.
    As I stand undecided, a weight slams into my belly, knocking me sideways. My head connects with something solid and I crumple like a scarecrow knocked from its pole, spiralling away in a storm.

CHAPTER 5
    “Ness?” The voice calling my name tows me up from the darkness. “Ness!”
    Someone groans. It’s a moment before I realise it’s me. As I move, memory hurtles towards me, then ripples apart like still water disturbed by a stone. When it re-forms , it brings pain tumbling with it.
    The jigger, and some kind of blockage on the line. Something heavy lies across my