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darken the
path.
    They came to the edge of a meadow with the
burned hull of an abandoned log cabin hunkering in the middle. Half
its roof had caved in, and the door hung from a single, rusty
hinge. Drifts of snow framed the clearing, though it had melted in
spots touched by sunlight, leaving patches of matted dead
grass.
    The trail passed through the meadow, but
Cedar gripped her shoulder before they entered it.
    “Stop here,” he said.
    “A likely ambush point?” she guessed.
    “Yes.”
    Kali gazed at the unimpeded expanse of sky
before them. “I am reminded of the open area where that airship
attacked us on our last outing together.” She eyed the sky again.
She did not hear any of those clanks at the moment, but...
    “While I’d enjoy driving this,” Cedar said,
“I’d prefer you be conscious at the time in order to give me
instructions. Can we go around the clearing and stay under the
cover of the forest?”
    She eyed the shrubs and brambles growing
between the trees. “Not unless you want to cut a path with your
sword.”
    “I don’t cut vegetation with my blade. It
would take an hour anyway. It’s not that big of a clearing. We’ll
chance it.”
    “If you say so.” Kali eased the SAB into the
meadow. “I suppose if you’re wrong, there’s always the chance an
assailant will target you first. You are larger and more
menacing.”
    “I prefer I be conscious for my first
driving lesson as well,” Cedar said. “And I’m dangerous, not
menacing.”
    They had traveled less than a third of the
way into the clearing when the clanks sounded. Kali should have
groaned and sent an irritated eye roll to the heavens, but her
curiosity distracted her. She wanted to see the source.
    She did not have to wait long.
    A metallic...contraption with giant mesh
butterfly wings bobbed over the treetops. The clanks grew louder as
it approached the meadow, and moving machinery came into the view.
The wings flapped in synchronization with the clanks. Kali craned
her neck, searching for another source for the craft’s propulsion.
The large wings might keep the flying machine aloft once it gained
momentum and found a place in the air, but they could not provide
enough thrust to carry it into the skies. Could they? The metal
frame appeared too sturdy to be light, and a compact furnace and
copper boiler behind the pilot’s seat must add significant weight.
Could magic be involved? Or even...flash gold? Was it possible
there was more out there?
    Kali’s fingers twitched at the idea of
clambering about the thing, investigating every inch. The rider
sitting at the controls might object. Wrapped in brown, head
included, the figure was impossible to identify, though from the
slightness of the form, Kali guessed it might be a woman. The one
who had eavesdropped on them? Goggles covered the person’s eyes,
making it impossible to read her face, though Kali had a sense of
determination.
    “...faster?” Cedar was saying.
    “What?” Kali had been so focused on the air
vehicle and its pilot she had missed his words.
    “Can’t you go faster? She’s aiming for
us!”
    Before she could answer, a rifle shot fired
behind her ear. She flinched and nearly lost grip of the
handlebars, a calamity that would have pitched them over
sideways.
    She glanced back as Cedar fired a second
shot. “What are you doing? She hasn’t even—”
    Something thumped to the earth ten meters
before them.
    Cedar grabbed Kali’s arm. “Veer away. Veer
away!”
    More on instinct—and his orders—than out of
understanding, Kali pulled and pushed on opposing handles and
leaned into a hard turn. They skidded as wheels ground on old snow,
but they caught, and the SAB sped to the side.
    A concussive roar filled the clearing, and
realization pelted Kali. No, that was shrapnel. It clanged off the
SAB and hammered against the charred side of the log cabin.
    Kali turned again, figuring the structure
could provide cover. “She’s hurling grenades at