pirates’ rowboats. If they rowed out far enough, would the soul construct be thwarted? It did not seem like something that should be able to swim.
“We’re through the first trap,” Yanko said, picking up his pace.
A loud thud came from behind them.
“Uh, I think it’s coming.” Lakeo glanced at her hands. She was carrying a small chest and also had a bag slung over her shoulder in addition to all of her usual gear. The woman had the stamina of an ox when it came to toting stolen goods.
Yanko wanted badly to ask about the lodestone, but they reached the second trap, and he needed his concentration for that. Another bang came from behind them, then an ominous thud, thud, thud. Footsteps. Heavy footsteps.
“Definitely coming,” Lakeo whispered.
Light flared behind them. The first trap being triggered. Yanko wished that meant the construct would be incinerated, but he doubted it.
The thud, thud, thud continued, growing closer.
They were almost through the second trap. Lakeo was so close to him that he could feel her breath on his neck. Yanko risked a glance back and wished he hadn’t. The construct loomed right behind them, about to enter the trap.
Alarm surged in Yanko’s every fiber as he realized it would trigger the trap and that he and Lakeo were still in it.
“Run,” he yelled.
“But the—”
“Just run.” Not worrying about the pieces of floor that could be depressed, Yanko sprinted toward the entrance, toward the distant roar of the waterfall.
Light flared once again, more intense since they were so close. As Yanko and Lakeo sprinted away, the inferno burst from the walls, filling the passage. They reached the end of the trap a second ahead of it and escaped unharmed. For a moment, the fire swallowed the construct, and it disappeared from sight. But the thud of its footsteps continued.
Yanko ran so quickly, he couldn’t turn to follow the ledge around the waterfall in time. Instead, his feet slipped on the slick rock. He tumbled into the waterfall.
Its power crushed him, smashing him into the pool. He was turned over and over, water filling his nostrils and his mouth. He flailed about, trying to swim, but he was so disoriented that he did not know which way was up.
If the current hadn’t carried him into calmer waters, he may never have figured it out. He bumped into slimy rocks—the bottom of the pool. His sword—he wasn’t even sure how he had kept hold of it—scraped along the pebbles. He twisted around, getting his feet underneath him, and pushed off. He kicked until he broke the surface. He gasped for air, his throat and lungs burning from inhaling water.
Shouts came from somewhere nearby. Confused, he dashed water out of his eyes. Before he could see clearly, he grew aware of lights. Lanterns. Many lanterns.
Lakeo came up near him with a gasp. Yanko treaded water, certain he should swim in one direction and try to escape, but which direction? The lanterns completely ringed the pool. The pirates had found them.
Chapter 7
“Get those two in the water,” a woman said from somewhere in the crowd near the waterfall.
Yanko glanced toward the other side of the pool, wondering if there was any hope of swimming across and slipping out into the dense foliage. But lanterns burned on that end of the pool too. There had to be a hundred pirates ringing the area. How had they found this spot? Were the gods sending tortoise visitors to guide everyone?
Earlier Yanko had felt pleased at the divine intervention, but now he wondered if someone up there loved the pirates even more than they loved him. A disgruntling thought.
“Duck.” Lakeo shoved down on his shoulder.
Yanko had little choice but to submerge. Trusting that she had seen trouble, he paddled backward several strokes before coming up. When he did surface, he only lifted his eyes out, hoping the darkness would make him tough to target. He looked for the underwater boat, thinking to hide behind it, but it wasn’t where it had been when he had gone in. He didn’t see it at all.
“I said get them, not shoot them,” the woman said, her tone dry. “I want them questioned. I—”
A distressingly familiar screech erupted from behind the waterfall. The soul construct.
Lakeo bumped his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
Yanko did not need the suggestion. He was already paddling backward, the monster worrying him more than the pirates. Since he had struck the most grievous blow to the soul construct, it was probably still