to Taupo Rough and ask help from Kermadec and his Trolls. Whatever this thing is, the Rock Trolls are likely a better match for it than we are.â
âYou might be right,â Pen agreed. âBut in order to find out, we have to go all the way to Taupo Rough, then persuade Kermadec to help, then come back this way again and find the
Skatelow,
which is flying while weâre on the ground. I donât much care for our chances there, either. If we donât do something right now, it will probably be too late. This creature wonât bother keeping Cinnaminson around if itâs not to its own advantage.â
He was remembering how Cinnaminson, blind but privy to a sort of inner mind-vision that sighted people did not possess, had deliberately led her captor away from the spot where Pen and his companions were hiding in the rocks. He could not be certain that she had known he was there, but Pen felt in his heart that she had. Her courage astonished him, and he was terrified that it might have cost her life.
âAll right.â Khyber straightened and leaned forward. âLetâs try it again. We know what we need to do. We need to get this thing off the
Skatelow
and away from Cinnaminson. We need to keep it off long enough to take over the airship, get airborne, and escape. How much time would that take if you were piloting?â
Pen thought, running his hand through his red hair. âA few minutes, no more, if the power lines havenât been disconnected. Even then, not long. A reconnect from any draw to any parse tube would be enough to get off the ground. Cut the ropes, engage the thrusters, open the draws, and youâre away. We wouldnât have to worry about Cinnaminson until after we were airborne.â
âAll we need to figure out, then, is what it will take to get our cloaked friend off the ship.â She considered. âBesides you.â
âBut I am exactly what it
will
take, Khyber,â he said quietly. âYou know that. Iâm what itâs after. We know that much from Anatcherae. We donât know the reason, but we know Iâm what itâs come for.â He took a deep breath. âDonât look at me that way. I know what I told Tagwen.â
âGood. That means you know as well that you are talking nonsense. Tagwen was right to warn you against latching on to any plan that exposed you to risk. That isnât why you came on this journey, Pen. You are the reason for everything thatâs happened, and you donât have the right to put yourself in a position where you could be killed.â
âThat isnât what Iâm suggesting!â He couldnât keep the irritation from his voice. âThe trick is to make sure that by becoming bait, I can still get away when I need to. The trick is in getting the monster off the
Skatelow
and me on, all at the same time. But I donât see any other way of making that happen if we canât deceive this thing into thinking it has a chance to get its hands on me.â
Khyber sighed. âYou assume that getting its hands on you is its goal. What if it simply wants to kill you? It came close to doing that in Anatcherae.â
Pen looked down and rubbed his eyes. âIâve been thinking about that. I donât think it
was
trying to kill me. I think it was trying to scare me. I think it was hoping I would freeze in place and it would be on me before anyone could help. It wants me for its prisoner, to take me to whoever sent it.â
He saw the look of doubt that crossed her face and went on hurriedly. âAll right, maybe it was trying to injure me or slow me down. Itâs possible.â
She shook her head. âWhatâs possible is that you are no longer in touch with reality. Your feelings for this girl have muddled your thinking. Youâre starting to invent possibilities that have no basis in fact or common sense. You have to stop this, Pen.â
He suppressed