She was whispering, but took pleasure in his not knowing. The worker hadn't considered his attire was woven with the insides of the small, shifty creatures.
This is…nice, he thought, trying the headrest. Not enough to make him stay, no matter what this Ry had said. Director Dimah won't let me stay, anyway.
“There’s even a compartment for you, there.” Maryn smiled when he again frowned his ignorance. “Once we get to turma allocations, you can store it there. Now you should sleep. You’ve had enough excitement for one day--or shift--I should think.”
It took all of his focus not to check his pocket to ensure he still had the turma bulb. The pain still shot through his face if he moved too much, so he settled in as best he could. He couldn’t think of anything else to do as his eyes closed except wonder if he would wake up with memories of all that had so recently come to pass.
Bel excused herself for the evening, and Kaydin remained with Gara, Mav, and Ry.
“Are you guys alright?” said Ry.
“Still have my nose,” said Gara, touching his bent nose.
“Still have all nine,” said Kaydin, wiggling his fingers.
“Good here,” said Mav.
“I’m interested in seeing the rescue,” said Ry.
“I’m low,” said Kaydin, turning an eye to Mav.
Mav sighed, but went for his cloak’s pockets. He brought out a handful of obsidian vials. “This is into my allocation, now,” he said, raising a finger.
“It’s for the good of us all,” said Ry.
Mav nodded. “Of course. Kaydin will tell us what he sees. Two to start with, right?”
Kaydin uncapped and downed two vials. He felt the turma in his chest. Reaching for it, he focused on the moment he wanted to begin reviewing the Retained memory, then lit Reflect.
Kaydin’s attention shifted to the scene. From his post on the eastern wall, Kaydin watched the adolescent boy walk onto the chasm bridge. He checked that his gauntlet was tight on his wrist. Then he felt for the turma inside his chest. He had just downed two large vials. Ten doses on top of the three he had taken earlier: one to Heighten senses and two for Retain. He would need ten more if things got serious.
He shuffled onto the ledge, shutting the door on the crawlspace behind him. He listened for movement with Heightened hearing. Anything. A hiss, or the scrape of lizard feet against stone. Even the buzz of a glowfly, which could signal a retreat from a sentinel's passing.
As the boy reached the halfway point of the bridge, Kaydin saw the beasts: one on the nearside, one on the far. They had crawled from below the bridge. Kaydin reached for the turma, brought it into his head and all the way to the front.
Now things were serious: he activated Predict. Shadow images of the two lizards and the boy swirled around them. These were the most likely combinations of movements given the memories of previous sentinel battles he had Amplified.
Silently, Kaydin hung, then dropped from above the Growing Room One entrance to the landing. The stairs, then the walkway, then the bridge. He looked out. The great lizards moved in on the boy as he backpedaled.
Kaydin took the stairs three at a time, feet landing expertly. He could run from here to the bridge in seconds. The shadow images converged on the boy, and Kaydin broke into a run. Upon reaching the bridge, he skipped the short stair with a leap. The sentinel lunged for the boy’s face, but he ducked, mostly avoiding the monster.
Kaydin met the second sentinel as it lunged for the boy, his gauntlet striking it on the unprotected underside of its jaw.
The second sentinel, which had just swiped the boy, turned. Kaydin watched the boy’s shadow images teetering off-balance toward the edge of the bridge. In that moment, the sentinel’s shadows shifted their attention to Kaydin. He focused, collapsing the shadow images from four to two, one of which began taking steps toward Kaydin, the other of which prepared a lunging jump.
Either way, he could outsmart it. He waited a breath. The lizard began its attack, but Kaydin was too fast, sidestepping it and landing a stunning blow.
The boy’s shadow images tipped over the edge, but the boy’s brighter version still stumbled toward the railing. Anticipating the timing and specific location of the fall, Kaydin raced to prevent it.
He reached both hands over the railing, gripping the boy's forearm. “No you don’t!” he said.
Back in the main room, Ry, Gara, and Mav watched Kaydin Reflect. Apart from slight twitches, grimaces, or eyebrow raises, he remained still.
Eventually Kaydin opened his eyes.
“So?” said Ry. “We noticed your reactions.”
Kaydin itched his scar. “The sentinels, they seem…faster."
"How so?" said Ry.
"The second one’s shadow image was preparing a jump at me from a considerable distance—it would have been quite the attack.”
Gara tapped his hammer on the table. “If they can jump further and move faster, they are that much more dangerous."
“I still managed to strike it true,” said Kaydin, rubbing his wrist. He passed his gauntlet to Gara, who said he would mend the damage it too had taken against the sturdy skull of the sentinels.
“Maybe they are adapting,” suggested Mav.
“Maybe…but how?” said Gara.
"Don't know," said Kaydin.
“Keep that in mind,” said Ry.
“I will,” said Kaydin. “If we have to fight them again, I’ll remember.” I’ll use Amplify to strengthen these memories.
“I wish we could kill those bastards,” said Gara.
Ry slammed his fist against the table with such force that the stone cracked. “What did I say about that, Gara?”
“Sorry, Ry, I forgot. I was just caught up in the moment.”
“Anything else?” asked Ry.
“That boy evaded the first sentinel’s lunging attack. It’s as if he saw it coming.” The room went silent. “I’m curious myself,” offered Kaydin.
“We’ll look into it,” said Ry.
They started to rise.
“Wait, there’s one more thing,” said Kaydin. “You might want to sit down.”
“Well, what is it?” said Ry.
“I noticed a fifth sentinel.”
The bags below Ry’s eyes sagged deeper. The thin pair of lines between his eyebrows and across his forehead suggested surprise. Not the unexpected kind. The dreaded, knowing, inevitable sort.
“I’ve
