Seera Wyndham led her group up through the tunnels. Her talent showed her the fastest way as she used her body light to pick out any obstacles in front of them. The roar from below caused her to check on Mister Shanahan.

It came back with an all clear for her. She smiled in the dark. She had thought he had been stopped by the giant dragon. She should have known better.

She turned her attention to the path ahead of her. She had to get the Wu Chi up to the surface to fulfil her contract. Then she and her partner could go back to where they belonged.

She wouldn't miss the hexes and their strange inhabitants. New York, as dangerous as it could be for an ordinary person, was nothing compared to a place that could grow monsters on demand.

The war parties were ahead of them somewhere. Apparently the release of the giant beast was something that didn't worry them. They were moving slowly along in the tunnels above the explorers.

Wyndham checked their position. The door to the central shaft was ahead. Once there, she could have Everett pull Master Yuen to the surface with his spider power. He could come back for the other two masters, then herself.

The Wu Chi had to be evacuated first. The contract demanded it. She didn't want to have to return home to keep doing tasks for Grandview because she failed this one.

She threw her sense out. Mister Shanahan was still climbing up through the tunnels. He might catch up with them before the masters could be sent to the surface.

“Everett,” she called. She fanned the air in front of her. Something horrible smelling filled the central tunnel. “Get ready to climb. Master Yuen has to reach the surface with what we know. If you have to use the other door we carved, be careful. The cavemen are still wandering around up there.”

“Don't worry,” said the Spider. “I can get him to the top fast enough.”

Wyndham nodded. Her fellow weapon was fast and agile. Something would have to fill the tunnel to hit him when he was on the move.

“We're going to wait for Mister Shanahan,” said Wyndham. “If you think you can come back and get the other masters, that would be good. If you can't, we'll do the best we can with what we got.”

“If Emil is around, I'll ask him to bring you back up in person,” said Everett. “That will be a lot faster than any of us climbing to the top.”

Wyndham nodded. She pointed her rifle down from the door. Something burned below. It wasn't directly in the shaft, but she could see the flickering flames.

“Better go while you can, Everett,” said Wyndham. She stepped out of the way. “Mister Shanahan set something on fire down there.”

The Spider wrapped a halter of webbing around Master Yuen. He made sure the grip was sure. He didn't want to drop the man after all this. He swung out in the toxic cloud from below, hanging from the wall with his hands.

“Just kick away from the wall when you need to,” said Everett. “I'll do the rest.”

The weapon started up the rocky face of the shaft. After a few minutes of climbing, the model maker swung out into the shaft. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He disappeared from sight in seconds.

Wyndham admitted that was faster than the long trek they had performed going down. She didn't think it was safer.

She put that worry out of her mind. Everett would get the Wu Chi to the top to report, or he wouldn't. There was nothing she could unless she developed the means to fly from where she stood.

She considered the idea and let her talent search Vasily's stones. She frowned when none of them would let her fly.

She checked to see how many would let her step to the top of the mesa. One lit up in her mind. When she checked it further, it was only good for one of them to go.

She decided that would be good for an emergency in case Emil decided not to help them. Sending one of the remaining masters would get him out of the way while she and Mister Shanahan protected the last one from harm.

She felt that was better than letting both of the assistants die because they were forced to remain by the one person who was supposed to be looking out for their safety.

She checked on the climbers. Everett had already passed the first door they had cut to get to the central tunnel. He would be at the top faster than what she had thought. Carrying Master Yuen didn't seem that hard for him.

It would take them ten times as long to follow the tunnels up. She grimaced. It was either do that, or rig some way for all of them to climb up the central shaft after the Spider.

Mister Shanahan could carry them if they had some way to make harnesses. It would be uncomfortable, but he had enough strength to carve handholds for himself and drag the rest of them behind him. The Fist could let him do that if he agreed to it.

There had to be a better way to do things.

She reached out with her talent. Mister Shanahan was still climbing up toward them. He would be there in a few minutes. Then they could talk about their options.

She picked out a place she could stand without the wind blowing the strange burning smell to her nose. She kept an eye on the tunnels leading to where they waited. The other hunters still circled around at the edge of her sensory power.

How much time did they have before the hunters stumbled over the four of them by the hole in the wall? Could she protect the Wu Chi?

She could protect them with the rifle as long as she kept her senses sharp, and her mind clear. Her talent would pick targets for her, the weapon in her hands would do the rest.

“Which one of you is the better fighter?,” Wyndham asked.

“I believe I am a better boxer than my fellow,” said one of the masters. It was assistant number two. She hadn't learned their names.

“All right,” she said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a cube of stone. She pushed the top open with her thumb to reveal a button. She handed that to assistant number one. “Press the button.”

“What happens when I do?,” asked the master.

“You'll be at the top of the shaft and able to meet Everett and Yuen,” said Wyndham. “I only have one, so go ahead. We'll come up the slow way.”

“I don't think that's a good idea,” said the master.

“It'll be a lot safer for us if we don't have to defend more than what we need,” said Wyndham. “The surface should be safe enough unless another one of those dragons sprout from the underground city.”

“Go ahead,” said the other assistant. “I have faith in these two. They will get me back to safety.”

“I will be waiting for you,” said assistant number one. He pressed the button. The stone crumbled away in his grasp as he faded away.

“All right,” said Wyndham. “Now we wait for Mister Shanahan to catch up to us. Then we'll figure some way to get you out of here.”

“I don't have a problem with that,” said assistant number two. “Are you sure he's alive?”

“Yes,” said Wyndham. “He's moving faster by himself than with the group. I think we slowed him down to some extent.”

“There have been rumors about the two of you,” said the assistant.

“I wanted to leave Emil's circle, and made a deal with one of the Shapers,” said Wyndham. “He betrayed me and sent some of Emil's people after me to bring me back. Mister Shanahan killed one of them there, and one of them here. We struck a deal with Emil for this one last job before we go back to Mister Shanahan's hex.”

“Do you think the Master Weapon will honor his part?,” said the master.

“Yes,” said Wyndham. “Emil values his word over everything else. To give that up and break it would kill him inside.”

“I understand,” said the assistant. “Some of my own people are the same. Honor means more than life.”

“Don't misunderstand,” said Wyndham. “Emil would kill his own mother for an advantage. He just won't break a promise to do it.”

“We have those too,” said the assistant.

“Wyndham?,” said a voice in the darkness.

“We're here, Mister Shanahan,” said Wyndham. “I already sent most of the others up ahead. It's just the three of us.”

Mister Shanahan stepped out of the darkness. His habitual frown covered his face. He didn't point his rifle at anyone in particular as he glanced behind him.

“If you run into one of those big lizards, shoot them in the mouth,” Mister Shanahan said. “They breathe acid that can cut through the rock around here, but it catches fire easy enough.”

“Grenade?,” asked Wyndham.

“It will work better,” said Mister Shanahan.

Wyndham nodded. She hoped she didn't have to face one of those dragons, but it felt good to know they had a fatal weakness.

“Fire will kill them?,” asked Assistant Number Two.

“Only if you can get it in their mouth,” said Mister Shanahan.

“I understand,” the master said. “I will advise the others. Some countermeasure will be built to fight these creatures off.”

Mister Shanahan didn't say anything. Wyndham knew his thoughts tended to run to murder. If Emil asked his opinion, he would declare that the surface dwellers should get ready to go down and wipe the underground people out. That was the only way to stop the dragons from being unleashed on the surface.

Wyndham doubted anyone would agree to that. It had been a long time since the hexes had seen a full scale war. That was what Mister Shanahan would propose, and she felt that something piecemeal would be tried before Emil and the Wu Chi would invest significant thought into an invasion.