The Other Side of the Sky - Amie Kaufman Page 0,146

roiling beneath her. An entire flotilla of barges tears away from the water with a muted roar that takes a few seconds to reach us. Below us, screams ring out from the crowd—and then they see her too, a physical shock going through them like a wave.

A section of wall, some ancient ruin, vanishes into the mist with a grinding and tearing of stone. A platoon of guards comes running out of a tower at the end of the higher ground, only to halt in uncertain terror as they stare up at the goddess they used to protect with their lives. Some break and run. The rest are swallowed up by the mist as Nimh advances, oblivious to—or unmoved by—the destruction all around her.

Someone knocks me off-balance as they push past me, and I lift up my hands to grab at the cat and steady him, finally tearing my gaze away to look out across the terrace. Most of the priests are cowering against the far wall, several of them on their knees, their voices raised in prayers lost to the wind.

The Graycloaks have broken, elbowing the guildmasters and council members aside as they run for the stairs and whatever safety they offer. A woman hits the ground and shrieks, covering her head with both hands as a boot lands in the middle of her back.

Inshara still stands to one side of me, Techeki to the other, and her guards ring us, but they’re clinging to their last nerve, gripping their spears tight, eyes rolling to the side to check they’re not the only one who’s holding their ground.

“The—,” Inshara begins, her voice rising in something very close to panic. But she’s drowned out by the noise of the storm, and she’s forced to shout: “The sky-steel, now!”

Horror washes over me and I lunge toward her, not knowing what I plan to do. All I know is that if she rings the city in sky-steel, if she kills its magic, then Nimh’s mist will be gone.

She’ll fall.

I have to believe in her—I can’t let her die.

I grab for Inshara’s arm to spin her around, and one of her guards is between us in an instant, catching me in the stomach with the butt of his spear and sending me staggering backward to hit the ground. The cat goes flying and somehow lands on his feet, but my breath’s driven out of me, and I’m gasping. Pain blanks out my thoughts as I roll over onto my hands and knees, crawling to the railing to try to haul myself up.

The wind is rising with the mist now, the air thick and oily, my clothes whipping around me and up into my face as though they want to smother me.

“Stop,” I gasp, reaching out to grab at her red robes. “Inshara, stop! I-I’ll tell you how to get up to the sky!”

She freezes in place, her body absolutely motionless, her robes whipping wildly in place around her. Then she spins on her heel, holding up one hand in a signal. I’m only distantly aware of the signal being passed along, of other hands raising around us. All I know is that I’ve bought myself a minute. I can’t let myself think about what I’m about to do in it, my heart pulling me toward home, that same heart anchored here, tied to the goddess above us.

This is my only choice.

“Promise,” I rasp, still fighting for breath. “Promise you won’t kill her.”

“I give you my word,” says Inshara slowly.

Above us the cyclone carrying Nimh has nearly reached the temple. My eyes are streaming in the wind, ragged tendrils of gray and green and violet mist twisting in broken shapes around us, Nimh an incandescent white.

I have to force the words out.

“I know how to activate the crown.”

Our eyes lock, me on one knee, her standing straight-backed above me, the wind grabbing with wild fingers at her hair and robes. “Well?” she demands, eyes blazing.

“It’s my blood,” I gasp, heartsick, trying not to think about the cost of what I’m saying. “I’m a prince in the cloudlands. My royal blood unlocks the way.”

Inshara’s eyes narrow, and she holds my gaze for a long, long moment, trying to determine the truth. Satisfied, she nods, and I sag in relief, turning back toward Nimh, who still approaches, ringed by destruction on all sides.

Then, from just behind me, comes Inshara’s voice again: “Lower the anchors!”

“What—no!” I try once more to stagger toward Inshara, but I’m too late.